Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Oh What a Year!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Last year I did a post about looking back and how I had no regrets.

This year has been another wonderful year. I have met so many new blog friends that have brought so much joy into my life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your sweet comments and the love that I have felt.

I thought it might be fun to hi-lite each post that got the most views for each month in ‘2012’. Some of them surprised me.

January: I created a garland from paper doilies and cupcake liners.

February: Hubby and I put bead board on our living room ceiling.

March: I painted yard sale shutters and placed them next to my vintage mirror.

April: I showed my love for turquoise by dying a coffee filter wreath.

May; My hubby and I created a Rose garden for Mother’s Day.

June: My friends and I got together and created new shades for our lamps.

July: I showed you some of my vintage vacation finds.

August: I shared my new collection of Pyrex bowls.

September: I shared my old cupboard out on the porch that I got from my daughter. This post got 1,937 views. That’s way more than any of my posts have ever gotten.

October: I showed the sign hubby made for me and my recipe for Pecan nut French Toast.

November: I shared some of my crafts I made for Christmas.

December: I showed my kitchen Christmas décor decorated in farm style.

I had so much fun looking back. And my favorite project for ‘2012’ was that of our new fire pit inspired by Williamsburg.

I hope you enjoyed a look back on ‘2012’. I am looking forward to sharing and visiting with all of you in ‘2013’!

Hugs,

Jann

Winter Mantle. . .

Hi my friends, this morning I woke up feeling a cold coming on.

I’m thinking that all of my trips up and down the stairs to the chilly basement may be the cause of it.

I have stayed in, bundled myself under a cozy quilt, and Zicamed it up. Hoping to nip it in the bud before the New Year.

One can only veg for so long so I decided to share my Winter mantle with you.

But, before I do I must take the time to thank Elaine form Sunny Simple Life for featuring my Christmas Bug post.

My Winter mantle is pretty simple. Just pulled out some of my favorite vintage aqua bottles and mixed them with a few frosty whites.

A couple of white tree candles set upon a mercury glass cake stand. While a small one finds shelter under a cupcake cloche and pedestal. I have loved my little framed chalkboard. It was one of my very first give away wins. My wreath hangs from a holder that was made from an old baluster that I had a base and hook added.

I added a glitzy pinecone to my paper wreath.

A sweet little white bird finds refuge among a frosty branch.

A few crystal icicles dangle from each side of the mantle. Winter kissed pinecones that I added Epsom salt to are mixed with a couple of white and cream balls. The rustic birdcage was a Christmas gift from my friend, Shelley.

I thought of adding branches and snowflakes to the blue tins my son and DIL gave me for Christmas. They were a gift from their two boys. But that was a fleeting thought. I just left them as is. Really, think I just got lazy. But did you notice? Clean fireplace! Thanks to a contractor that came to our home we now know how easy it is to clean.

I wanted to leave you with this Winter quote. While vegging I was going through old magazines before I discarded them. I always tear out poems and quotes. With a little coaxing, hubby wrote it on the chalkboard for me. I love it!

Hugs,

Jann

I will be sharing with:

Ivy and Elephants for What's it Wednesday

Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday

Cowgirl Up

Common Ground for Be Inspired Friday

Funky Junk Interiors for Winter Decorating

The Cold Shoulder. . .

Friday, December 28, 2012

First of all, I want to thank Cindy from Old Time Farmhouse for featuring my Weekend Whites post. and Lavender Garden Cottage for featuring my Silver and Gold Christmas Tree post. I truly appreciate it!

Hi my friends. Just wondering, have you ever entered a room and had someone give you the cold shoulder?

That’s been happening to me every single evening for the past month. I thought that now Christmas is over that it would stop. But no, it’s going to continue till the end of January.

Come on in and I’ll show you why. Really, this snow garland above the door should have been an indication.

And how about my chalkboard canvas. Do you think it was trying to warn me?

Or this fella hanging on the bedroom door?

What about this gal standing just inside the door?

Even my ‘Winter Wonderland’ quilt on my bed didn’t explain why.

Why I was getting the cold shoulder. Actually, it was more than just the shoulder. It was cold legs, arms, feet, and hands. In other words, my whole body.

I didn’t know why until I saw what was hanging out in my bedroom. A cabinet full of frosty fellas. And look, they were even encouraging it to snow. Right in my bedroom. Can you imagine?

Oh my, even more of those cold hearted guys on my fireplace ledge.

This one stands guard at the fireplace. I would turn it on, but I wouldn’t want him to melt. No matter how cold he is I couldn’t be so cruel.

This one is hiding behind double glass.

Oh well, if it gets too cold I guess I’ll just have to climb into my cozy bed and…

read myself a bedtime story.

And if it gets really bad I could just skate right out of here.

Hugs,

Jann

I will be sharing with:

Pink Saturday for Snow and Snowmen

Alderberry Hill for Make the Scene Monday

The Winter Blues. . .

Thursday, December 27, 2012

As many of you may know, this time of year alot of people suffer from the ‘Winter Blues’. After all the hustle and bustle of Christmas things slow down and for many of us, we settle into a long cold Winter.

Lucky for me, I have never really had a problem with the Winter Blues. That’s not to say that I am not already counting the days till Spring.

I find that keeping myself busy is the best cure. Who has time to get down in the dumps?

I fight the ‘Winter Blues’ by pulling out some of my ‘Blues’. I swapped out my red dotty bowls for my vintage Pyrex.

I also created a little ‘blue’ baking center in the kitchen.

I placed my snowflake Pyrex on an old scale and filled it with a vintage pastry blender and beater.

My wicker scale holds another beater, a turquoise fridge mate, an old cooking thermometer, and this funky flour tin.

A couple of blue bottles hold snowflakes.

And look at this frosty blue bubblegum.

My mantle is now home to some of my ‘blue’ bottle collection. I will show the entire mantle in another post.

And look at these fun new ‘blues’ that I got for Christmas. My son bought them for me from his two boys, Jack & Will. Haven’t done anything with them yet, but lots of possibilities!