Pennsylvania for the Holidays

Have been back home for the holidays --

in Pennsylvania, but will

 drive back to Illinois tomorrow.

Have been having a great time 

catching up with my family. 

We play lots of games 

and get really silly.

Is your family a game playing bunch?

We love to play "spoons" 

and this year,

we also played two new store-bought games:

"What?" and "Logos."

Both were lots of fun!

My sister, Susan, bought us all

fake moustaches from the dollar store 

which we all wore and laughed until 

we cried with them.

Hilarious.

 

(Would have shared the photos

but there were many taken

and I would need to get permission

to publish some of nieces and nephews 

images on the web so I better not!)

Wanted to wish you all

a healthy and prosperous

 2012

and to remind you

one more time

about the 

Favorites on the First 

Linky Party!

Theme this month will be your favorite COLLECTION!

Write a new post on your favorite

collection 

OR

link up an older one

and join in on the Linky Party

 on the First with me.

Cheers to you my friends! 

Thanks so much in advance~
xoxox

Alison

Happy New Year!

(Photos from Pinterest)

Holiday Traditions in Chicago

Chicago is a great city 

to visit during the holidays.

Lots to see and do.






My daughter and I have a tradition
for the last five years now,
that we go to the city on Christmas Eve's
eve and spend the day (and night) running around
shopping and taking in all of the holiday sites.



We get up the next morning, 
make a few more stops,
 then grab some lunch 
and make it back home on Christmas Eve
just in time to start dinner 
and make it to church services!







Wanted to share our great windy city
with you, all decked out for the holidays!

This was the Water Tower two nights ago.

And this was the Lego version at Water Tower Place! It was about six feet tall.

Drove by the skaters at Millenium Park

but didn't have time to stop and skate.  :(

Here is a view at night with the Michigan Avenue buildings as a back drop.

We made our annual stop to see
 the gorgeous old Marshall Field's 
flagship store on State Street, 
now a Macy's.  :(


 (Sorry, not a fan --- of Macy's.)

Brunch under "the tree"  in The Walnut Room at the old Marshall Field's store.

Checked out the themed holiday windows along State Street.

Love Field's landmark clock has been helping Chicagoans keep time since 1897,

 

Made sure we looked up to take in the glass tiled mosaic ceiling that Louis Tiffany designed for the flagship store.

This year
we did not get a chance 
to stop by the ChristkindlMarkt 

in the heart of the city. So much fun! 
The market runs an entire month  

and for an hour or so you would

swear you are in Bavaria! 

Good food, cold beer, lively music
 and lovely European gifts.

Looking down onto the market from a building above.

 Charming booths and many vendors selling their old world wares.

Not enough hours in our day
for a trip to the Art Institute.
Love the lions and their pretty collars
in December.

We did swing by Navy Pier 

which extends out into Lake Michigan

where they host the

Winter WonderFest 
indoor carnival and holiday festival.

On Saturday morning we had the most gorgeous clear blue sky! (Navy Pier entrance)

Then we hit our favorite lunch spot, Wishbone, before heading home!  Yum! Must eat there!

My son met us there! An unexpected holiday surprise! :)

It was an action-packed 24 hours,
and we all had a wonderful Christmas too.

Hope your weekend was a great one.

Santa Claus is coming to town

Santa Claus is coming to town!

When I was little

my grandmother gave me a little

Japanese battery-operated lantern

in the shape of a Santa.

On Christmas Eve

I would sit it next to my bed

and turn it on in anticipation

of Santa's arrival that night.

That was a long time ago.

Not sure what happened 

to my little Santa lantern,

but was able to replace it ---

thanks Ebay! 

I also found two other similar ones....

so now I have a little set of three.

(The one in the foreground has a celluloid head, 

 and is not glass like the other two.)

It's much older dating back to the 1930's. 

Are you ready for Santa?

Merry Christmas. May all your holiday wishes come true!

Evergreen Urns and One of Your Collections

We have had a very mild November.

Not many cold days at all. 

Now we are

nearing the end of December,

and it has been mild as well.

This is not your usual winter in Chicago!

So as you can see,

the ground is brown and most of our mulch

was blown away with the fallen leaves last month.

Here is the grand-daddy urn near the driveway.

This is a small urn along the path to the back door.

Two horsehead posts flank the main sidewalk.

Ok, now to move on to some

business matters. 

;)

This is a reminder.....

for my second 

 linky party!

You are invited to attend.

 So on January 1st,

the theme will be

COLLECTIONS 

So just create a post 

or link up to an older post

where you share 

a collection of something!

It will be New Year's Day 

so maybe just link up 

an older post

if that's easier.

(That way you can plant yourself

in front of a football game

instead of the computer if that's your plan?!)

Just PLEASE join me!

 Last month was a big flop.

I did not remind and advertise enough!

(Bear with me.)

Hope you will come by and link up!

Galvanized Love

Found this old galvanized

olive picking basket

from one of my favorite antique

dealers last month.

Have you ever seen anything like it?


Not sure if it is from our country
or could it be an import?
Let me know if you know something about it!

Thought it might be fun 
by the door with some

logs and lights and pine branches 
for the season.

Love the patina and the rust.

Don't you?

I should have bought more of these!

Holiday Mantel and Staircase

Hi there!
Thanks for popping by today.

Still tweaking things here
and was thinking about
how December allows us 
so many visual reasons 
to share 
with blogging friends,
doesn't it? 









In our home,
like many of your homes,
we have holiday traditions and routines
for making everything 
look festive
for family and friends.

(But before all the trimmings are up.... 
there is an invasion of  
plastic storage bins around here!
If you stack them up high enough, 
you can create a walled corridor!
Yes, there are THAT many.
Do you have the same
thing at your house?
Embarrassing! )

My favorite vintage ornament. A Santa head as big as an apple!

Still have lots to share
and may run out of days 
before the 25th! 

Vintage and antique postcards hang on the tree. My daughter added clear glitter
to them for some sparkle and then added vintage tinsel pipe cleaners for hanging them.

Gotta go!
Santa  called and is
having a problem with
stocking stuffers....
needs some suggestions!




Stay warm~
Alison

Linking up with

SavvySouthernStyle