Christmas in Quebec City

Hi Everyone,

Just one short week away from Christmas, can you believe it?
I know you are all busy planning, doing last minute shopping, baking, decorating, and more!
Such a busy time of year, isn't it?
I am trying hard to not get stressed from all of the
"should do's" and "need to do's",
and instead
remember the real reason for the season.

Hubby and I returned last night from a trip to Quebec City.  It was our third time there, and is such a magical place at Christmas time!

Thought I'd share a few photos with you today of our getaway.

Here was our home away from home, the historic Chateau Frontenac!

 I felt like a princess staying here:)

Quebec City is not a cheap place to visit, but thankfully for us Americans the exchange rate is great for us now!

So now is the perfect time to visit!

Loved our room, my photo just doesn't do it justice.

And here is the view out our window!

 When visiting Quebec City, you truly feel as if you are in a quaint village in the heart of France.

French is the language spoken, and of course all of the signs, menus, etc are in French.

And the architecture is amazing!

 The city really goes all out decorating for Christmas.

I was just mesmerized by this adorable and oh so sweet window display of an antique shop that we came upon.

(I wish I could figure out how to photograph thru glass and not get a bunch of glare.)

It was just the cutest ever!

An antique doll is decorating the tree while her friends watch admiringly.

Perched on a ladder with a garland in her hands, she is having such fun getting the tree just right!

As her dolly friends look on.............

I just had to snap a photo of this sign below, certainly nothing we see at home!

Watch out for snow falling from the rooftops above!

Moi!

You would just love walking the cobblestone streets!

Here's hubby in front of "our" chateau!

Meet Daphne!

She is the ambassador of the seeing eye dog program in Canada, and comes to "work" each day at the hotel.

She is part Labrador and part Bernese Mountain dog, and is just gorgeous!

The grand lobby was decorated with some amazing Christmas trees.

 This blinged out one was my very favorite!
They were all decorated by different organizations for a charity fundraiser.

 Just magical!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I'll share more of our trip in a few days!
Au revoir!

A Glittery Christmas, and a Prayer Request for a Special Friend

Bonjour Mes Amis

and Joyeux Noel!

I've got a ton of photos to share today, but since I know you all are very busy this time of year, I will spare you lots of my chatter, and just let you enjoy the pics (ok, with a few words here and there!!).

We always get a big Fraser Fir each year for Christmas.  As you will see, this puppy is really tall!

Around 13 feet, I think!

I'll show you more in a second.

Right now I am asking for prayers for my special friend Diana and her husband.

 Many of you already know Diana from her blog, Nana Diana Takes a Break.

Diana is such a kind and kindred spirit with a heart of gold.  Not only is she a caring friend, but family is everything to her.  So I was very saddened to hear that her husband has just been diagnosed with cancer.

You can read about her husband here.

Could you please send prayers their way? And if you get a second, visit her blog post and leave an uplifting message. She has her hands more than full right now, so she probably won't be around blogging much.  But I do know she reads each and every comment anyone leaves, and our support means so much  to her.

 Whoops, looks like I forgot to turn the tv off when I was snapping these pics last night!

(notice the reflection in the window?).

 The tree is filled with glittery, silvery, creamy white ornaments.  Many treasured gifts from friends, and many that I have made.

 You might remember my giant glittered pinecones from last year.

I just love them and want to create some more!

 Ok, here is an overview of our living room.  I took these pics this morning, and it's a bit gloomy.

My Christmas gift arrived early!

Notice the beautiful new sectional couch?

Love!  I will share more of it in a second...........

 My antique hutch.

 The crystal trees were given to me by my mom many years ago.  I just love them!

 Ok, back to the couch!

My photos just don't do it justice.

I wish you could all come over and share a cup of hot cocoa with me, and cozy up on the couch.  

It is SO comfy!

Our old couch was 15 years old. While it was still structurally in great shape, the upholstery was looking pretty tired.  And it really wasn't big enough for hubby and I to both stretch out on comfortably.

 It looks so much better in person than my photos capture!  It's my favorite shade of moss green, in a gorgeous velvet material.  It came with amazingly cushy feather down pillows that you just sink down into!

 It was well worth the $$$ and nearly 2 months wait that it took to order.

Come back next week, and I'll share more of my glittery Christmas!

Wishing you a peace filled holiday season!

Random Acts of Kindness

Hi everyone,

Hope your weekend is off to a good start.

Today I wanted to share with you something amazing that happened.  

It couldn't have come at a better time either. What with all the sad news, the attacks first in Paris a few weeks ago, and then the tragic shootings in California a few days ago, it is easy to become jaded. 

So I thought I would share this with you, a reminder that goodness, and good people, still exist.

 Hubby and I were in line at the grocery store yesterday, with our cart heaped full.

There was a young woman that got in line directly behind us, with just a few things in her hands.

I told her to go ahead of us, and thought nothing more of it.

Well, as we were paying for our groceries, the cashier told us that the girl who'd been ahead of us had paid $40 towards our purchase!  I had to have him repeat what he said, as it took a second to sink in!

I was floored!

What an amazing and generous gift that girl gave!

We could hardly believe that a stranger would be so kind, and to do it without wanting any accolades either

(she of course had already left).

 To say that gave us a lift is an understatement!

I assured the cashier that we would spread the kindness for sure.

We are having fun thinking of ways that we can reach out and pass the good will on to others.

 I think no matter how much or how little we give, it is just the act alone that counts.

Helping others, being kind, caring, and respectful all go a long way to helping spread peace.

 In all honesty, I had begun to lose faith in people, with all of the terrible violence in the news especially of late. Peace on earth has come to seem like only an unreachable dream.

This young woman gave a gift more meaningful than a dollar amount.  Not to sound cheesy, but she truly helped restore my faith that there are indeed many wonderful, kind souls out there.

It all starts with just one person, and one kind act, right?

We can all make a positive difference, I truly believe that.

Praying for those who have lost loved ones.

Let's spread peace, ok?

Earning My Wings

Hi everyone,

Are you having fun planning and preparing for the holidays?

I'm afraid that I've gotten way behind this year.  For the past 2 1/2 weeks, hubby and I have had an unwelcome visitor in our home.  The kind that arrives without an invitation, and just won't leave soon enough!  No, I'm not talking about an elderly eccentric aunt, or a loud and foul mouthed brother in law!

I'm talking about a really nasty cold/flu bug that just won't go away.  I won't bore you with details, other than to say we've felt more miserable than we have in years.

We are slowly improving, but have quite a way to go til we are back to our old selves.

Not very good timing, but what can you do?

So needless to say, I've not been doing much of anything, and really have missed blog visits and playing in my craft room.

I did manage to complete a project for DecoArt, that I want to share with you today.

Angel wings are all the rage. Well, I know they have been for quite some time, but I guess I am always slow to catch on to things:)!

So when I was given the assignment to create something featuring the new metallic lustre

by DecoArt, I immediately thought of angel wings!

Metallic lustre is a water based wax, that can be buffed to a high shine.  For this project, we had to use their "rose gold", which to me looks like a light pinkish copper.

Ok, I am babbling.  Must be all of those cough drops I've been eating!

At any rate, here is what I came up with................

 And this is what they started out looking like.

I searched high and low for wings, and finally found this beautiful wood pair on line.  I didn't care for the overly distressed look on the bottom portion of the wings, but no worries!  I would soon be painting over them!

 I first painted the entire wing area with my favorite creamy "Lace" chalky finish paint. A bit of distressing followed. Then I 

used DecoArt's "Dazzling Metalics"

to add a really pretty iridescent shimmer.

It's not showing up well in my photos, but trust me when I say it is lovely!

 Then I used a combination of my fingertips and a stencil brush to apply the rose gold, to highlight the feathers and the edges.

 It's a rainy gloomy day here, so unfortunately my photos didn't turn out that great.  They really don't do the wings justice.

 Here you can see the detail in the feathers. So pretty, I think!

 It was a really fun project.

 I'm hoping I can get my handy hubby to create a really large pair of wings for me using his saber saw.

 Thanks for visiting, enjoy the rest of your week!

(I've been compensated by DecoArt, but all of the opinions here are my own.)