a happy new year!

i can scarcely believe today is the first day of 2011- 2010 seems to have just flown by! i hope that you're all having a wonderful holiday season filled with things that bring you joy!

the holidays around our house seem to have thrown me for a loop- i haven't blogged since around thanksgiving! i don't normally do resolutions, but i've decided to set goals for the new year and one of those is to be a more consistent blogger. to that end, though i won't spend a lot of time doing it today, i did want to post a quick peek at what living vintage means at our house during the holidays!

i hope you enjoy the photos! if you have any resolutions for 2011 you should share them here! they say you're more likely to reach goals if you make them public, so here's your chance! happy new year friends!

a little outdoor tinsel forest to greet you as you approach our door

welcome to our home!
 my wreath of vintage dictionary pages wilted a bit over the season,
 but still did a good job welcoming our friends and neighbors. 

vintage bells adorn the wreath

i really wanted a real tree this year, but with a tight budget
 we used our aluminum tree instead

our first year of marriage, we started collecting ornaments from every trip we took.
this bavarian pretzel is from an overnight snowshoeing trip we took to
leavenworth, washington (an adorable town done up in bavarian style) after our first christmas!

i love vintage mercury glass ornaments and even the
reproduction pieces, like this cute squirrel! 

since they go with the shiny silver so well, whenever we use
the aluminum tree we only use the glass ornaments. 

from our second christmas. we visited bill's sister in manhattan
before heading to his parent's place in maryland for christmas. 

a funny glass moose from a camping vacation we took to glacier national park!

we are fortunate that our mother's allowed us to have our childhood stockings!
bill's is amazing- his grandma russell made it and it's a very intricate crewel piece!
mine was also made by a family friend. the green tree was a pin i made and wore in a school
christmas program when i was in grade school. 

my after christmas score from last year. my mom and i spent an afternoon in the
antique malls of snohomish, washington. when i saw these working glittered bells i couldn't resist! 

the kitschy santa collection

though there are many christmas things i love more than santa,
 i can't refuse a cute kitschy santa figure!  

my favorite santa. his belly is a snow globe and that's a deer he's holding
over his shoulder. random, but so cute!

one of my most favorite vintage christmas items- the 'glolite illuminated christmas tree star'.
we can only use it on a real tree, so this year i displayed it with it's box. 

isn't it great?

some bottle brush wreaths. i'm keeping my eye out for more. i think they're adorable!

though most of these deer are always on display, they got a little christmas renovation. 

some christmas friends for the year round deer. so kitschy and wonderful!

light up noel candle with more deer friends. did i mention i love christmas kitsch?

a little display for my craft supply shelves.
a vintage christmas card i found at an estate sale keeps my typewriter company. 

isn't this card wonderful?

an idea i saw at unexpected necessities. these are almost all old dictionaries and thesauri
that i display year round. instead of putting them away to make room for
christmas decorations, i turned them into a tree! 

a few of my gurley candles. i adore the deer!

a little candle forest

the kitchen never goes neglected at christmas!

this wonderful holiday thermos was a gift from a friend. i only display it at christmas!

vintage tablecloths in holiday prints fill an old locker basket. 

another favorite of mine- i found this complete tom and jerry set at goodwill for $7! 

though i rarely make tom and jerry's, we use the mugs for eggnog and other drinkable treats!

a touch of christmas makes the kitchen feel even more warm. 

a lovely holiday apron. yes- i do actually wear it! 

our christmas card creation this year. we had a friend take some photos of us in a cute little
tree lot- they turned out wonderfully we think! to embellish the card with some vintage flare
 we cut sections out of an old dictionary and stamped them before affixing them to the cards. 

a few lucky people even got a christmas stamp from 1962 on their envelope! 

we always try to make as many gifts as we can, and i especially love receiving handmade gifts!
these are some great little notebooks that my dear friend melissa gave us! 

and a beautiful and creative headband that my friend, and schoolhouse craft co-organizer, kristen, made me.