something lovely

local art

These beautiful pieces of artwork are from two different artists I've grown to know over the past year. This intricate mosaic displays our house address and was a personal and thoughtful gift to my family from Robin Thompson- a birmingham artist who does mosaics among other wonderful artwork. Pieced together on an old whitewashed shutter this mosaic is bright, beautiful and a fun touch to our front porch.

Kirk Stansbury is the local artist behind the "soul" piece. Kirk's collection has a folk art flare with bold touches of color and character. This piece was given to me as a gift and is a fun and funky addition to my space. Learn more about Kirk at http://www.whohadada.com/kstansbury/index.htm. Support your local artists!

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old and new traditions

Many people have traditions they do each year at Christmas; one of our favorite fun traditions for Christmas morning is "find the pickle". We have a pickle ornament that mom hides in the tree among the other ornaments; the first to find the pickle gets the pickle gift. It's a fun tradition, originating in Germany, that my mom started for us years ago.

This year, the family I babysit for gave me a gift to start a new tradition- the Peppermint Pig. This peppermint pig is placed in the velvet bag, then passed around the table at Christmas Eve. Each person takes a turn sharing a story of prosperity from the year past and then hits the pig with the silver mallet. After everyone has had a turn and told of their past prosperity, the Peppermint Pig is then shared among the table in hopes for prosperity and good fortune for the year to come. This is a fun new tradition that helps us to stop and think about what all we have to be thankful for from the past year, and remember the true spirit of Christmas.

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christmas traditions

Christmas is an exciting time of year full of family traditions and beautiful decorations. Some decor decisions come from tradition, other from creativity, and others from love. Our traditions are some of my favorite things about the season. We always have a tree covered with old fashioned christmas lights, and handmade ornaments from years past. We display our Christmas cards on the piano by the front door, for everyone to, along with my grandmothers favorite santa collection. Other decor comes from creativity- using simple ball ornaments in a glass bowl creates a beautiful understated center piece. A few left over branches from trimming the Christmas tree, mixed in with beautiful red holly berries creates a great door decoration that smells wonderful too. Love is all around us this time of year, handmade christmas ornaments from children as gifts are one of my favorite things about our Christmas decor, like this santa ornament was a gift from Miller, a 4th grader that I babysit. Traditions, love, and personal touches make this season full of warmth and memories; may your season be full of special traditions and love.