Show 'n Tell: Audrey's Dollhouse

Audrey says "You want to see my dollhouse?"

"I LOVE IT!"

It's something that's really nice and will last her (and possibly little sisters, too) for years!  (It was $95.99 and now it's on sale for $79.)

 You can see her motor home she got from us for Christmas in the background.

She got the dollhouse and dolls for her birthday in October, but it's really fun to add things to it for Christmas...

It comes from either Amazon.com (here) or Bed, Bath & Beyond, online.

The house comes with the wooden furniture (shown) but not with dolls.  Wooden dolls that KidCraft makes for it just aren't as much fun.

After looking around, my daughter settled on the Fisher Price Loving Family dolls (like this) and extras (like this) because the family of dolls are jointed and pose-able, and will actually sit at the table and on the couch, in the car, etc.  

Those Loving Family dolls are easily available at any major retailer that carries toys or again, from Amazon.com, although on Amazon the dolls themselves seem to be very expensive, at places like Meijer or Wal-Mart are very affordable.

It's fun to add to her house for birthdays and Christmas, and mom has even made her a few things to go with it.

It's well-constructed and very tough, and will more than likely be kept as an heirloom.

The doors and the windows open and shut.  Above you can see how well the Fisher Price Loving Family dog house and dogs fit in with the scale of the Kid Craft house.  We like this house much better than the Loving Family doll house, which is gaudy and plastic.

I found a Christmas tree for Audrey's house!  It's the perfect scale and size and she loves it.  Right away she said "twee!".

The bathroom with tub, toilet and sink that it came with.

The kitchen table.

The groceries on the table came with the Fisher-Price Loving Family Mini-van.

So the KidCraft house and Loving Family dolls and extras like the minivan and pet furnishings all work well together!  

Soon, I'll show you the Fire House that KidCraft makes and Levi got for his first birthday.  It's another well-constructed piece that would last through several kids and be kept for an heirloom.

It's always good to know a quality toy that's worth spending your money on and this one is for sure in that category!

Hope your Christmas was great, and you're enjoying your family and the holidays.

Absolutely "Must-Have"

Cookies are made of butter and love...

Our family loves Christmas goodies, and most of what I make for them are treats like Chex Mix, dipped pretzels, Yurtles, things like that, but the ONE THING my family INSISTS on as a must-have for Christmas it is sugar cookies cut out and frosted.

I don't get fancy on the frosting, I just make SURE that the frosting tastes good, and the frosting goes on for taste only.  8)

I hope you enjoy these good old-fashioned sugar cookies, our family sure does!

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Oven @ 350 for 8-10 minutes

(I prefer mine MORE done, you might prefer yours softer and less done.  I like my edges browned and a crunch when I bite into the cookie.)

5 c. flour

1/4 t. soda

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. nutmeg 

(or a pinch more!)

Sift these ingredients and set aside

In your Kitchen-Aid mixer bowl, with the dough paddle on, cream together:

2 c.sugar

2 sticks of butter, 

softened to room temp

1 t. vanilla

2 eggs

6-8 T. milk

Mix to fluffy stage and then start adding flour a little at a time, then mix to correct consistency for rolling out and cutting.  Spread flour and roll out dough and cut into shapes.

I have to make at least four batches to have enough for everyone!  This is a family project, I get everyone in on it, cutting out, baking and frosting.  I generally do all the mixing.

Then I make a batch of frosting using butter, almond flavoring as well as vanilla, and beat in powdered sugar with alternate glops of milk and let it go in the Kitchen-aid until it's a smooth consistency and no longer tastes gritty.  

Then I make all of us sit ourselves at the table with trays full of cookies and we all frost!  Otherwise, this would take a whole day and night to get done!

Never throw out those gorgeous burned-out C-7's or C-9's.
I collect mine in a enamelware bowl in the middle of the table at Christmastime,
for a colorful Christmas centerpiece.
They support a glittery snowflake, just pushed down in the center.

Old-fashioned bubbles lights gurgle away on my dining room windowsill.

Tell me...

WHAT are your FAVORITE Christmas goodies?  

SnOw!

Finally.

Shiny Brites

They are a welcome find, I get so happy when I spot these at a garage sale or thrift store.

They are a little dusty.  Anyone got a trick for cleaning them?  

The funny thing is, all the tissue is still in the bottom of each and every section of this "egg carton" type of box.  All the old metal hooks were in the bottom of each square.

I think a makeup brush is probably the only thing that would work on cleaning these beauties.

This box has quite a few with mica!

I am so happy someone decided to sell them instead of pitching them!  

Reflections...

I (finally) got the tree down last weekend, and while I was un-decorating on a gray, rainy, perfectly awful, ugly day, I noticed something beautiful.


It made me stop and look... 




And smile.

So, like other times in the middle of something I am doing, I get distracted by a tiny treasure, a jewel there just for me to snap up...

With my camera.

All around us are little treasures like the lights I saw reflected in the windows on a perfectly awful gray day...


Do we take the time to notice...?

Christmas at Pine Hollow Lodge

Monday I went north to see my brother who was visiting from Great Britain.  While I was there, I got a chance that I haven't had in years:  to go to my sister's house, Pine Hollow Lodge, to be able to see her house decorated for Christmas.

Although her tree was down because it was so dry and was dropping needles, the rest of the decorations remained in place.

So, I handed the camera to Katie, her daughter and said "Go to town!"...because I thought you might like to see the way she decorates her home for Christmas.

I hope you enjoy all the vintage goodness...I sure did!

Mary LOVES Christmas and decorating for it.

So Christmas-y, the red and green porch lends itself so well to Christmas garland and old fashioned Christmas lights!

Mary is partial to aqua.  
I am amazed at how she has worked red and green into that--so beautifully!  

Come along for a look...

Oh.  My.  Shiny Brites!!


Mary's kids all know she loves these and they watch for them at thrift stores in their travels.  Her son Casey has found most of these for her in batches here and there at amazing prices.  Once he found a nice bag of them and paid fifty cents for all!  


He knows nothing makes his mom happier than a bubble-gum bag full of colorful Shiny Brites! 


They are treasured and greeted every Christmas with big smiles.

One of Autumn's vintage Christmas trees, a gift to mom.  

Vintage indents in a milk glass bowl.  (For filler in her displays, Mary uses the iridescent Easter grass, bought after Easter on clearance.  It makes a nice soft nest for the vintage bulbs to rest on.  Smart!)

These were once called "dimestore houses" or glitter houses.


This house was a gift from Autumn & Clint for a birthday.  What a thoughtful thing to do, especially when Putz houses are so welcome in this house!

The snowman here to the right of the silver church was picked out by Mary's daughter, Katie, who spots treasures she knows mom will love when they're out and about.  


This was a new find this year at a special shop they visited in Bay City, Michigan, in an old downtown area revived with new shops full of wonderful goodies, especially at Christmas.

And, of course, my favorite corners were the RED & GREEN ones.  Just lovely!  

Autumn finds vintage Christmas items to create mini-Christmas trees in a vintage feel, this cutie is standing in small milk glass pedestal bowl...this vintage Santa decoration was brand new!

Are you overdosing on vintage cuteness yet?!  

Mary also loves bottle brush trees of all kinds.

Mary has a very large collection of vintage Christmas bulbs, and lots of yummy Shiny-Brites!

How about this punch set in red and green!?  Adorable.

Mary has the market cornered on Putz houses!!  Most are new but some are vintage.  She has a wonderful collection.

Now who can resists vintage choir children candles?  

And that Christmas carol book? Oh.  My.  

She used a vintage Christmas "hankie" for a doily, perfect!

This album cover is as cute as it gets! 

A kitty curled up in an armchair always makes Christmas seem even cozier!

Mary's daughter, Autumn, painted this cute vintage postcard snowman.  

Mary framed it, but first glammed up the frame with paint and glitter.  

Oh, how lovely is a pale robin's egg blue with red and green and pink?  I love it all.

Mary and Katie, her daughter, made these "shadow box" decorations with papier' mache' boxes found at a craft store.  They just cut the centers out of the lid and went to town!

And cute corners in the kitchen...

A cute little vintage-style garland made with vintage Christmas  cards printed onto card stock and then mounted on scrapbook paper hangs from the shelf overhead in the kitchen.  Red tinsel garland is a great vintage-style touch, too.

Cute vintage-style snowmen in a grouping.

And in the lodge-style room...

I hope you enjoyed seeing Mary's vintage style Christmas decorations!  I know I did!