Where Christmas ISN'T

 With one week left until Christmas day I am determined to pull back the reins on running through the last few days of the holiday season like a horse racing to the finish line. At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, I have to confess that I resent the commercialism of this beautiful season. It seems like the push for getting the holidays ' right ' whether it be securing the perfect gifts on time or decorating to the nines comes earlier and earlier every year. 

By the time I got going on decorating this year I was already beginning to tire of seeing the mess of fake decorations and pre-packaged gift baskets everywhere. Earlier this month I went out to my local Michael's Craft Store in search of some Christmas decorating inspiration for our dining room table. After circling the floral department for what seemed like an eternity, I assembled some fake evergreens, selected a gilded bird cage and tossed some sparkling faux berries in my shopping cart  for some added bling. As I got close to the check out line ( which is also conveniently located right near the exit doors ) I parked my basket and made a run for it!  Yep! I left empty handed! The whole experience left me cold. It took a few days for me to shake it off so I stayed home, baked some cookies, went to an open house at friends ( which cheered me up ) and then I attempted to find Christmas again. 

This time I didn't travel far. I stepped outside in the wee hours of the morning (still in my jammies and slippers) floral cutters in hand and snipped some fresh pine branches from a lovely tree in our backyard. It was cold, misty and damp outside but it felt good to be in the garden. Once I was back inside I gathered supplies for creating a simple, sustainable bouquet. 

I dug out one of my gold plate chargers, a mason jar, some vintage lace with gold threaded edges, and a sprig faux of holly berries from my stash of Christmas decorations and got busy trying to find Christmas!

Low and behold the next morning when I got up the sun was shining brightly through the window in our dining room lighting up my natural centerpiece so beautifully. At last, I found Christmas! Right here at home!

Have you found Christmas yet? I know where it ISN'T. Do you?

Farmgirl Friday CHRISTMAS Blog Hop # 138

Dear friends, Happy Farmgirl Friday Christmas! I'm taking a break from holiday wrapping and other holiday elf like activities so we can link up and share some holiday cheer over the next few days before Christmas. If you're like me, you still have a few things to do and Christmas is never complete without putting the last little details on your meal plan and getting your shopping done.

Then you can kick back and relax while visiting your favorite blogs from the hop! 

Heidi, Dolly, Debbie and I want to thank you for linking up every week. Each and every one of you brings something unique and special to our weekly hop!

 I swear I'm going to make my first loaf of homemade bread this year! I say it every year and this time, I'm gonna do it! REALLY, I am! Did you know your Farmgirl Friday Kitchen Pinterest Board has 859 followers? Keep those recipes coming!!!

I love red and black anything. Even Christmas ornaments! The Chick n' Coop shared the cutest DIY Barnyard Style ornaments made form the simplest supplies list ever. Thank you for the inspiration Farmlife Chick!

   What NEW and CREATIVE things will YOU try on your homestead in 2014! What did last year teach you in your homesteading endeavors. These are the things we want to hear about when we meet again for the FIRST Farmgirl Friday in January 2014! 

NO LINK UP NEXT WEEK  

But this week's on! 

 Time to link up for your weekly dose of farmgirl soul food!

Your Farmgirl Friday Hostess

Heidi of My Simple Country Living 
and White Wolf Summit Farmgirl Blog
Dolly of Hibiscus House and Dolly is Cooking
Debbie of Farmgirl Unleashed 
and me of course!

1.) Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals,  quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!

2). Leave your entry in the  Linky tools space to your  Farmgirl Friday post.

3). Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!

4.) Enter up to three entries per hop! 

 DON'T BE SHY~  

Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop! If you haven't clicked that follow button yet, please join us and be sure to stop by our FACEBOOK page and like us there too! 

As always, thank you for your continued participation! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! See you on the hop! 

PS. This is a blog hop, so please share it with your friends by copying the code at the bottom of this post and including it into your weekly entry!

 I'm crafting up more Christmas over on the Beach Farmgirl Blog... Come on by! 

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop # 89

Happy Farmgirl Friday # 89 friends! 

 It's where we gather to flaunt our farmgirl/boy spirit every Friday no matter what! I hope you're all enjoying a little break after Christmas! We are taking it easy and dreaming up new things to do in 2013!Can't wait to share all the fun plans we have in a future post.. But, for now it's jammies and slippers time. I bet you're cooking up some wonderful things too! 

Farmgirls love anything to do with homesteading, keeping chicken's, embroidering, sewing, knitting, spinning, quilting, natural home remedies for health care and cleaning, horses, goats, cows, organic gardening and cooking, caring for their loved ones and friends and are community minded. Re-purposing and UP-cycling are high on their list of " fun things to do too! "FARMBOYS like to join in from time to time and we are glad to have'm.

  Your Farmgirl Friday Hostesses are:
Heidi of My Simple Country Living
Dolly of Hibiscus House and me of course!

You know, I get such a thrill out of hosting this blog hop because you make it so much fun! I've been paging my way through last weeks entries with my best friend and constant companion.

Here are Max's picks for last week! 

Let This Mind Be in You  shared her saggy shelves in her food pantry. This made Max a little nervous because he hates to see any food go to waste. Especially after all of the hard work that goes in to producing, cooking and canning! Any ideas for propping up these saggy shelves?

Heather of Scratch Cradle blog shared some outstanding chicken snow day images... Max  really enjoyed them too because they reminded him of his Cottage Hens in the snow too! Last but certainly not least Mindy of Purposefully Simple blog shared a fabulous paper flower tutorial for the Bloggers Unite for Cookies and Crafts for Sandy Hook. A tribute to the entire Newtown, CT. community.

Max says thank you Mindy for your generous heart and he really likes your flowers too. You didn't know he enjoys crafting did you? Wait a minute, maybe it's being crafty he enjoys? Either way, Max and I thank all of you for your wonderful entries! 

Now, it's your turn to link up for yet another, weekly dose of farmgirl soul food!

 Here are the rules for the Farmgirl/guy Blog Hop!

1.) Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals,  quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!

2). Leave your entry in the  Linky tools space to your  Farmgirl Friday post.

3). Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!
4.) Enter up to three entries per hop! 

 DON'T BE SHY~  

Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop!

We want to get to know you better! 
Have a great week and I'll see you on the hop! 
 Thanks to all who participate and welcome new linker- uppers!

 If you haven't clicked that follow button yet, please join us and be sure to stop by our FACEBOOK page and like us there too!  If this is your first visit, come on back and join the hop!

Thank you all for your continued participation! I'll see you on the hop!
Love,
Deb 

PS. Don't forget about YOUR Farmgirl Friday Recipe Box on Pinterest! I'm adding new recipes each week!  It's become a terrific resource for meal planning here at Dandelion House!