Monday, December 31, 2018

Christmas 2018 Wrap up

Hope everyone is having a very 
merry holiday season.
I thought I should round out the year with
at least one post for December.
It was a pretty good month overall.
Let's take a look at a few new finds
on the little round table. 
Sam and I found this awesome 
battery operated snow globe at Kohl's 
by FAO Schwarz. 
It lights up and a little motor 
inside creates a snow storm.
The lighted houses and little 
snowman is just so charming.
Plus, having something special from 
FAO Schwarz really notches up 
the Christmas nostalgia.
When placed in my vignette, it's almost like 
Santa has a personal magic globe 
to peek in on the village and 
check out the weather for the night.
Next we have a new Hallmark ornament
called "Santa's Christmas Train Musical Ornament
with Lights and Motion".

 There really is a lot of motion!  
The train, the handcar, the elves, 
the package delivery, the reindeer and sleigh,
Santa's head and arms all move.
The lights flash and music plays 
"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas"
Santa blows a train whistle and 
moves the train controller.
It really is magical.
It really goes well with the 
Toymaker Santa Ornament series
that I've been collecting from the start.
2018 toymaker Santa
 Now we go out front to see
the new "RING" doorbell
my folks sent us as a Christmas gift.
 It's pretty nifty.  
It certainly records all the action out front 
and makes our phones ring a little
wind chime noise, and I mean ALL
action!  Our house sounds like a wind tunnel
with chimes going off all the time.
I've been tweaking it to be less sensitive
so still a work in progress.
Now a bit of bad news.
My dream car, the 2013 Red Scion XB 
was rear ended by a motorcycle this month.
I was in front of him in steady rush hour traffic
then suddenly there was an abrupt stop because of a 
traffic light waaaaay up there.
I stopped in time and two beats later my back window 
exploded.  I was not injured.
 The motorcyclist got a concussion and was 
taken away in an ambulance.


 The insurance company said there was $7,500 in 
damage and that was over 65% of the total
cost of the car. 
State law says they have to total it.
 They gave me over $11,000 for it.
Thankfully my dear ol' dad helped make my 
Christmas merry and bright when he
added to the insurance money and after
a whirlwind car search Sam and I found
a 2019 metallic red 
(they call it a scarlet ember tintcoat) 
Nissan Rogue SV with the 
"Sun and Sound Touring Package" upgrade.
That comes with a large moon roof 
and 9 Bose speakers. 
 Plus fog lights, mud guards, floor and cargo mats,
a first aid kit, and a chrome rear bumper guard.
It even has a heated steering wheel!
Plus a complete driver's assist safety package. 
Which means auto braking and steering when needed.
It sure has a lot more than my Scion ever had,
but I sure do miss my little XB.
Big thanks again to my dad!
We bought it December 21st right before Christmas.

I'll need to think up a 
Christmassy name for it.

This year I moved the Becky Denny Retro Santa 
candy dish to this little accent cabinet.
And filled it with Santa hat Hershey Kisses
I think it fits in quite nicely.
Right before we took the tree down this year
I put away my "grandson proof" LGB train
and had a little fun with my 
Aristo Craft C-16 2-8-0 locomotive.
It sure is a pretty engine.  Sadly,
Aristo Craft is no longer in business.
My guess is the rising cost of production 
and the fact that there's almost no interest in
electric trains by today's young generation.
There's just no competing with smartphones.
Here's a shot of our little Cher bear 
and her squeak toy Christmas present.
She's good at looking innocent.
till you get too close.

That's a wrap for December 2018
Thanks for stopping by
and Happy New Year!

Monday, November 5, 2018

Turkey Plate 2018

Sam and I found this year's turkey plate...
 It's from Williams Sonoma and called 
"Harvest Pumpkin Turkey Salad Plate"
The best part, we got it on sale for $11.17
down from $15.95.
It's one plate from a large line 
of "Harvest Pumpkin" dinnerware.
It is really a gorgeous collection.  
I told Sam we should have waited and made this
our Thanksgiving dinnerware.
But I say that every year. 

We also saw this next plate at Pottery Barn
but they were sold out of everything turkey.
It's called the "Botanical Harvest Turkey 
Salad Plate".
They only had one set of four assorted bird
plates left.  No single turkey plates available.
Oh well, maybe next year.
Thanks for stopping by
and happy hunting.

Friday, October 12, 2018

Quoth The Raven "Well Hello There!"

Some time ago I acquired a conspiracy 
of these beautiful raven statues from 
the "Victorian Trading Company"
They are now discontinued,
I am glad I got them before 
they faded away. 
This year I decided to nestle them
into the country vignette going on
atop the kitchen cabinets.
They bring just a little foreboding to the
Halloween atmosphere in the kitchen. 

They even startled my 4 year old grandson
when he saw them for the first time.
I told him to keep an eye on those pesky ravens,
they may try to swoop down and snip off his nose!
Boy did his eyes get big!
Thanks for stopping by and
happy haunting.

Monday, September 17, 2018

Target Halloween Find

Look at this nifty bat platter
I found at Target.
It's large, a whole 17''wide, from their 
Hyde and Eek! Boutique collection.
And at only $10, it's a pretty nifty price too!
I plan to hang it on a wall during Halloween.
I've always been a little short on bats
so this will be a nice addition.
I want this "Black Cat Candy Bowl" too
from the same collection.
Also only $10!
But Sam asked where I would put it 
and I couldn't answer. I have a ton of
candy bowls in the Ozark collection
and no place to put another one.
😿 
Target has a lot of great things 
this year for Halloween!
Some really great animatronics too. 
 The sad thing is, at least in my experience, 
they seem to wear out so fast and
may not even work next year. 
So I tend to shy away from things 
that move with tiny plastic motors.
You however, may have better 
luck then me.

Update: 10/11/2013
Here's my bat on the wall. 
I think it looks FANGtastic!
 I had to find an extra large 
plate hanger with rubber tips
and bend it a bit to get it a good hold 
on such a large platter.
 I also had to change the
nail on the wall to a picture hook,
but the results were worth the trouble!
I'm EEK-xtremely happy!

Thanks for stopping by
and Happy Haunting!