Holiday Gift Ideas!

Don't forget!

Tomorrow is the first ever

Favorites on the First

Linky Party 

at the Polohouse.

Post on your favorite holiday

gift ideas and link it to

the party here tomorrow!

See you then.

:)

Alison

Bling is not my thing..... usually!

 If you have spent any time here

at the Polohouse....

you will agree, 

bling is not my thing.

Buy this here

Not that I don't love it for other people

and other homes and other situations,
but come on ... I live in a barn!

I'm just pri-tee laid back and casual.

No crystal or sparkly objects...

they don't really belong here.

Buy this one here

I am more of a jeans, pearls,

 and preppy plaid kind of a girl.

Buy this here

BUT..... then there IS

my little addiction to Putz.

I

love

it!

 Glittery and sparkly vintage sweetness
collides with architectural cardboardiness ---
my new word. Just made it up.
:)

Buy these fabulous new ones made from recycled Christmas cards here

Buy this church

It's all about PUTZ.
You know it, 
but maybe 

you didn't "know" it!

So what IS Putz?

Wikipedia says:

A Christmas village (or putz) is a decorative, miniature-scale village 

often set up during the Christmas season. These villages are rooted in 

the elaborate Christmas traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. 

Mass-produced cardboard Christmas villages 

became popular in the United States during the early and mid-20th century.

In the 1920's,  dime stores and catalogs sold small 

cardboard Christmas houses. In 1928, the houses were then 

decorated with "snow" made of mica, translucent windows, and lights. 

There are various types of Putz houses from the US, 

Japan, Germany, Italy and other countries

  In early-colonial American Moravian homes, 

the construction of a nativity scene, or putz, 

at the base of a Christmas tree was very common holiday activity. 

The term was derived from the German verb putzen, 

which means "to clean" or "to decorate." 

These nativity scenes soon became very elaborate, 

and often included sawdust or fine dirt spread to represent roads 

leading to the manger; stones and fresh moss to represent grottos or caves; 

and sticks and branches to represent miniature trees. 

These details were in addition to the carved wooden figures

 that represented the Holy Family, animals, shepherds, 

and other traditional nativity figures.

Buy these little Putz lambs here

If you remember... my roots are in Pennsylvania

and I grew up seeing these little houses and churches

but it wasn't until I started selling antiques for a living

that I really got the bug to collect them.

Aren't they the sweetest?

(I am busy trying to get my house decorated for the holidays

and will show you my collection of these little cuties once they are in place.

I started this blog last February and missed the whole experience of seeing

all of your holiday decor last year! Let me tell you.... I am beyond excited to

see how all of you decorate your homes and cabins and cottages and castles!!! )

So tell me,


do you collect vintage


Putz mica pieces too?

Shedding a light on sconces....

Vintage beauties from 1stdibs.com

worldclasslighting.com

Visualcomfort.com

Antique sconces from 1stdibs.com

Visualcomfort.com

worldclasslighting.com

visualcomfort.com

Have been looking for

 some sconces for my client 

and there are so many to choose from.

shopcandleabra.com

More antiques from 1stdibs.com

shopcandleabra.com

We will need some casual ones 

and some formal ones as well.

 Take a peek at some of 

the options that are out there,

both new and old. 

aidangrayhome.com

Which ones would you prefer?

Remember.... the style of the home is French!

Vintage French sconces from 1stdibs.com

aidangrayhome.com

visualcomfort.com

Lots of pretty options, 

wouldn't you agree?

A Thankful Thanksgiving

 

Will you be home for the holiday?

This year we are staying put 

and won't be traveling to see family

in far away states, unfortunately.

It will just be the four of us, nice and quiet.

I am so thankful this year 

for so many things.

But oddly enough, 

we are trying something different this year.

We are not having 

the traditional Thanksgiving feast 

with the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, 

cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie 

that most of you will be sharing.

Say WHAT?

Nope. 

We decided to make this year's meal 

a themed one....

and since none of us are 

particularly fond of turkey.

We are having a 

"Thankful Thanksgiving".

By that, I mean that I have agreed 

to make (or buy) something

that each of us would LOVE to eat, 

a dish that we love,

our ultimate favorites --- 

food we are most 

"thankful" 

for!

So here is our Thankful Menu:

Lasagna 

(completely homemade from an local Italian Deli in town)

 Mac and Cheese

Stuffed Green Peppers w/Mashed Potatoes

Pesto and Goat Cheese Pasta Shells

Chopped Salad

and Texas Hot Cocoa Cake

I know some of you 

are probably 

gasping right about now!

We will have lots of leftovers 

and everyone is extremely happy about this plan, 

and I am very, very thankful about that! 

 

So I will be busy at my not-so-easy bake oven all day today preparing things!
(Cute little nightstand turned child's stove from Pinterest. :)

Hope this finds you 

enjoying your holiday preparations today,

and may your Thanksgiving feast 

be a most enjoyable one tomorrow.

 

I am thankful that you are my friend

and that you came by today.

Warm wishes to you and yours~

Alison

P.S. Is there anything on your menu

that is not a traditional Thanksgiving dish?

Tom, The Inspirational!

Earlier this week,

I was a little bit hard on 

Old Tom Turkey.

I said he wasn't one of

the "most attractive" animals 

on this planet.

Sorry Tom!

Please don't pout.

So to make it up to you ....

I wanted to share 

how your feathered image has

inspired others 

(via Pinterest) 

to make

these great treats and decorations

for the holiday upon us.

Check these out:

 

 

 Chocolate turkeys? My new favorite version!

 

 

 

Gobble gobble!

 

Here's one way to get your little ones to eat healthy!

And now.... 

some shopping links 

for those of you who mentioned 

you might like to add a

 vintage transferware turkey platter 

like mine

to your entertaining serving pieces.

Here are just a few 

of the many available out there online!

Buy this old guy HERE

Buy this! Link Here

Or buy this one HERE

Or this one HERE!

Have fun getting ready for 

the great American feast 

on Thursday.

Are you hosting?