Aftermath

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas holiday. We had a very nice time. It is such a blessing to get to spend time with family and even more so when everyone gets along!
In keeping with my last post on old movies I thought I would share some of my favorite Christmas gifts. Alex is so good to me. I am so thankful that he also shares my love for old movies. He gave me some that had been on my list. I got My Favorite Wife with Cary Grant. Love the remake with Doris Day too, but I already have it. I also got High Society and it's original The Philadelphia Story. Love them both. I mean how can it get much better than Bing, Frank Sinatra and Lois Armstrong all in one movie!?!? Last but not least I got Bringing Up Baby. I love Katharine Hepburn.
Well I am off to put up the Christmas decor. I always find the house a little sad and lonely when all the Christmas cheer is removed. I think my friends and family would think I was crazy if I left it up though. I already put it up so early.

A Few of My Favorite Christmas Classics

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! I hope you are all done shopping and just able to enjoy this beautiful day. I just have a few brown sugar creamy apple pies to make for this evening and then I am done! I thought I would share some of my favorite Christmas movies with everyone. Fair warning but I have a lot. Christmas movies are a year round event in the Stone household.

The Bishop's Wife: Love this one. It is a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and of what is most important everyday of the year.
Here is the trailer, kind of funny.

My favorite part:

Miracle on 34th Street: Mary loves this one. And who doesn't like Maureen O'Hara.

Christmas in Connecticut: Barbra Stanwyck is such a strong woman

Who can leave out It's a Wonderful Life: Hard to believe it was a flop when it came out.

The next two aren't ones that most people think of as Christmas movies but I do.
It Happened On 5th Ave.

Bells of St. Mary's

Everyone knows White Christmas

But did you know the song White Christmas was first made famous on my next favorite? Holiday Inn

I think it is funny how the trailer from then are so different from the ones today. Now they have to catch your attention in 30 seconds. So are there any movies I mentioned that are your favorites, ones you haven't seen, or did I leave yours off? Let me know.

Christmas At Last!

I hope everyone is taking time to enjoy the season. I thought I would show some pictures of Mary and Jeff decorating the tree and then some of the finished touches.

So last weekend we had our 3rd annual Happy Birthday Jesus Party. It isn't much but we really try to remind the kids the best we can that Jesus is the real reason we celebrate Christmas, and that he is the best gift we have or ever will receive. I took a few pictures to show some of our family's Christmas decorations.

One of the favorite decorations I have is my Dickens Village. It was passed down by my Grandmother years ago. I love the soft glow it puts off at night and the memories of it at my Grandparents. We are very blessed that one of our local colleges has a fantastic horticulture department. Every year they have a poinsettia sale and my mother and I go. One of my annual purchases is one of these poinsettia trees.

 Here we have a picture of my peninsula with the Birthday cake for the party. It was a 6 layer salted caramel chocolate cake. Made from scratch of course! It was one of the more time consuming cakes but oh so worth it! Below is an appetizer I made for the party. It was a very easy Paula Deen recipe and so good! Ritz crackers topped with graded Parmesan cheese and wrapped in half a slice of bacon. Bake on 250 for 35 min.

 My dinning table center piece is some silver I have collected either from my Grandmother or at antique stores. This is the same silver mentioned in a previous post. I love how it reflects the light and the colors of the hanging ornaments. I have just tucked some of my favorite vintage ornaments all around it so no matter where you sit there is something pretty to look at.

 I told you we were crazy about blow molds! They are everywhere.

More vintage ornaments, although the lighting is really bad in this picture. They are tucked next to a "rose" poinsettia I chose in white to brighten up the corner.
I pray you are all having a stress free Christmas season. Remember to slow down and spend time with the people you love. Also take heart knowing God loved you so much he sent the gift of his Son just for you.