It's A Wonderful Wreath !

It's A Wonderful Wreath

Seems like the summer and fall just flew past with all the changes in our world - and it is hard to believe that Christmas is one week from today!  It was a big challenge to decorate our new home.  I kept unpacking Christmas treasures and thinking to myself "this goes there...wait, there is no "there" there anymore"!  But we were able to get our treasures arranged and now it feels like Christmas here in The Vistas.   This wreath started out as "Cat's Meow" gifts from dear friends of ours who know how much we - and especially my husband  - love the classic movie "It's A Wonderful Life".   In past houses we had plenty of window sill and frames to display the buildings ( Bailey Brother's Building and Loan, Gower's Drug Store, Martini's, 320 Sycamore, Ernie's Cab,etc. - but limited window and shelf space inspired this wreath.   I used a staple gun to attach wire to the back of each piece and placed them on the wreath.   A simple silver bow, a bell ( for when Clarence gets his wings!) and some of Zuzu's petals complete the scene.   Donated many of the wreaths that decorated our former, larger home...this is the one that made the cut for our new front door!

The "wonderful" theme is carried into our foyer with the angel that graced the top of our tree in past days as well as the certificate from "The Real Bedford Falls"...aka Seneca Falls, NY.   Several years ago to celebrate a special birthday for my husband we traveled to Seneca Falls where they transform the town into Bedford Falls for the weekend.   On the closing Sunday the bells of Bedford Falls ring and you can make a donation to have them ring in honor of someone special.   I had them ring in honor of my husband!  You can read more about the It's A Wonderful Life Weekend here - 

http://therealbedfordfalls.com/

The foyer decorations continue...with the Powder Room marked in case Santa needs to use the facilities!

You know you really love Christmas when you find yourself decorating the kitchen...

We no longer have a formal, separate dining room, but we are loving the new dining space and how it opens up to the living area and kitchen.

The living room mantel was a challenge since we never had the television mounted over the fireplace until this move...

 Lots of fun to decorate the bookshelves with old photos...

Always display my dear Uncle Joe's cane the minute we finish watching Miracle On 34th Street.  He was our Santa Claus...and we miss him to this day.

Love how our "old"tree fills this new space so well - and love the reflection of the lights in the window at night!

Waited many weeks for our new sofa to arrive...and love the look of this candle on the server that divides the living and dining areas.

Outdoor decorating has become VERY simple as we have only our screen patio...but we could not leave it unadorned for Christmas.

While we don't have an official "Elf on the Shelf" we do have elves all over the house keeping an eye out for good children...

And this is to remind Santa that what we REALLY want for Christmas is and Eagles WIN in the Super Bowl!

 Beautiful Willow Valley decorations in our elevator lobby...

 A menorah,

 and a nativity scene in the library...

 and festive decorations in the building lobby.

Love the simplicity of this tree!

Lots of things left on my to do list....more cookies, some wrapping, preparing for a walk around appetizer party on our floor tomorrow and  a traditional Eastern European Holy Supper on Christmas Eve.  Hope you are having fun preparing for the holidays. Wishing everyone a peaceful and beautiful holiday season.

Please leave a post and let me know what you think of the decorations and how you decorate to celebrate the season. Peace!