Holiday Home Tour

My Mom has been asking me when I was going to post pictures of my new Christmas tree. So, since it was a special request and all, I figured I’d better get to it.

First, let me warn you. It’s not a traditional tree. It’s a primitive-type country tree. Tall, skinny, and sort of twiggy looking. Also, the needles are green and brown instead of just green.

Our Skinny Country Tree

I really like our country tree, which looks much better in person than it does in pictures. For one thing, it doesn’t look seven feet tall, does it? With the star, which I made by the way, it’s probably seven and a half feet tall.

I couldn’t just show you the tree. Especially since it really doesn’t look all that grand in the photo. So I decided to show you a bunch of Christmas decorations. They’re scattered throughout the house, so you’ll get to see some of the house, too. Which is why I’m calling this the holiday home tour.

Anyway…

Living Room

We don’t just have one tree. We have three small trees. The one in the family room, shown in the first picture, is the tallest. The one in the living room is only about five feet tall.

Stair Tree

Our smallest tree sits on the landing of the staircase. That door behind the tree leads to my messy office. (The mess is why the door is closed.)

Family Room Tree (different angle)

There’s the family room tree again. By the way, the armoire is the one I talked about HERE. I bought it right before we moved.

Family Room

There’s the fireplace. It was a working, wood-burning fireplace, but we converted it to gas. That way we don’t have to deal with the mess and inconvenience of wood.

Don’t you just love the white mantle against that brick?

Mantle

The fabric garland is one of the things I made on my girlfriend getaway at Granny Trace’s house. Along with a whole bunch of gingerbread folks, aka gingers, which you’ll see in a bit.

Meg Posing with Santa

This Santa gourd is one of our new additions this year. I really wanted to sit him on the dining room table, but at the moment it is covered with gifts. Some wrapped and some waiting to be wrapped. Along with boxes, wrapping paper, tissue paper, tape… it’s a mess. But how much do you love that Santa gourd? It, along with the tree and some other things, is from Sherrie’s Stuff, the coolest little craft store ever, which is right here in town. Sherrie painted the Santa herself.

Tres Chic Snowlady

This snow lady is another new addition. I saw her in a store window on Main Street and HAD to have her. I have a thing for snowmen. And snow women, apparently. When’s the last time you saw a snow lady in a fur coat?

Living Room from a Different Angle

Another shot of the living room. See the awesome snowman pillow on the chair? Granny Trace made that for me.

Kitchen
Kitchen

The kitchen is where Wilhelmina usually sits. I just now decided that show be the snow lady’s name. She looks like a Wilhelmina, right?

Kitchen Again

I took that shot a tad later in the day after I realized one of my favorite cards had slid down the string and gotten covered. I added a couple more cards, too. Hubby added the raisins, which he bought to make oatmeal cookies.

Family Room

There’s the family room from another angle. Yes, our walls are still mostly bare. And those horrible bamboo shades haven’t been replaced yet.

I have to pause in the home tour to share this picture of the girls. When I got up from my desk, camera in hand, they thought we were going outside. They weren’t too thrilled that I was walking around inside taking pictures.

Meg, K, and Belle

I was about halfway down the steps, taking pictures of the little tree on the landing, when I turned around and saw them waiting at the bottom for me.

Ornaments

Our trees all have a mix of ornaments. Old and new. Bought and hand-made. This tree has some of Eric’s ornaments, which I’ll have to hand over to him, soon. Since he’ll be getting married. More on that later…

I always try to buy at least one new ornament each year. One of my favorites new things this year are the clip-on cardinals (red birds).

Ornaments

Plus the gingers and garland I made at Granny Trace’s.

Ornaments

I told you there were lots of gingers. I guess I could have spread them out on the three trees, but they all ended up here.

Ornaments

Tracey made the stocking for me this year, too.

Ornaments

Sorry there aren’t any artsy ornament shots here. I was in a hurry. I even used the flash (gasp!).

Foyer

Here’s a look up the steps from the foyer. See the cute little tree? I love it when it’s dark and all the lights are glowing.

One of My Favorite Santas

I didn’t get out all of the Christmas stuff. In fact, there’s still a bunch missing. Not gone, I don’t think. Still in boxes somewhere.

K Not Looking Very Merry

The dogs were really getting impatient with the picture thing. They followed me everywhere, as usual. I thought K looked pretty funny sitting next to the Santa.

Foyer

The table that Hubby hates sits in the foyer holding a little wintry farm.

Belle and Her Rat

That just about concludes the holiday house tour. The upstairs isn’t decorated. Other than green garland, red bows, and white lights along the railing.

But there’s one more pic I have to post. Not because it’s particularly festive, but because I have to share a picture of this bench.

Bench

I bought it when I was with Granny Trace and Carol earlier this month. I knew it would be perfect for either the foyer or this spot by the back door (in the breakfast room), where we keep our shoes, jackets, and dog-walking equipment. And I was right. It’s the perfect spot to sit and put your shoes on.

And that’s all, folks.

How’d I do with the tour?

Just Look

Yep, I’ve been slacking again. I can’t believe it’s been ten whole days since my last post.

Things are still busy. And this week I’ve been cleaning. My mother-in-law is coming to spend the weekend with us. Hubby and I are very excited. It’s her 80th birthday weekend, so we have all sorts of culinary delights planned.

There’s not a whole lot to do around here, but that’s okay. We still love our new town. The other day, it was so pretty (about 75 degrees!) that K and I went for a lunchtime stroll. I took my camera, of course. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of just walking around this place looking.

There are just so many cool, old houses.

If this big red-brick house was mine, that little building in the backyard would be my home office. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

And I just love all the Fall colors. Good thing I got out when I did, because over the last few days it’s been very rainy. And LOTS of leaves have come down. Our poor fig trees are completely naked.

This is the Warrenton Branch Greenway. An old railroad bed turned bike/walk path. It’s only a couple of blocks from our house. Which is convenient considering we walk the dogs there every morning. This morning we all got a bit wet, but it was still nice to be outside.

I just love this little signal house (or whatever it is).

And the caboose. How can you not love a red caboose?

You’re probably tired of me saying “I love this, and I love that…”

Sorry. But look at that little yellow house. Don’t you just LOVE it? I love-love it. The clearstory. The windows.

But do you want to know what I find the coolest?

The iron work on the fence. And the flagpole. This is just one rocking little yellow house.

I hope you enjoyed the latest tour.

Perhaps I’ll snap a few pics this weekend to share.

I did mention that it’s my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday weekend, right?

It’ll be a weekend spent sitting around relaxing and just visiting. She told us she didn’t want a party. Which is good, really, since we moved down to Virginia and all.

It still feels weird thinking of Virginia as home…

 

Pumpkinville

I bet you can’t guess what I did this weekend.

It involved a hairy cow.

Mooo! (that's "hello there" in cowspeak)

A stupid sign.

No Do Not Have Fun!?! (That's all I could see from afar.)

Some crazy teeth… (I couldn’t help but think of Whoopie Goldberg in that scene from the Color Purple movie when Miss Celie smiled for the first time and her teeth filled the entire screen.)

Cheese!

Seemingly endless repetition of the phrase, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”

Oh, and a really pushy jackass.

Give up?

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

Amy and the boys came for a visit!

Amy with the Pushy Jackass

Brianna and TJ had to stay home in Maryland because Brianna was supposed to have a soccer tournament.  It got canceled, which really stinks. It would have been nice to have all of them down for a visit.

Though, to be honest, Brianna probably would have been bored at Pumpkinville. That is where Amy and I took the boys on Saturday. We’d actually planned it pretty far in advance.

Pumpkinville is the annual Fall festival at the Leesburg Animal Park in nearby Loudon County. It was sort of lame, but the boys had fun.

Boys Having Fun (aka Gaige Goofing Off for Camera)

And they had a really cool petting zoo, which I loved.

Joey and Gaige

It was a nice visit. On Sunday, we walked down to the Warrenton Branch Greenway, which is about two blocks from our house, to take some pictures.

More on that adventure later.

I took lots of pictures. Some good, and some not so good.

We’ll save the outtakes for another post, okay?

I Walk the Line

I can’t help but think of Johnny Cash when I look at that last shot.

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Here’s the best shot of the weekend. It didn’t come easy. Or cheap!

Joey, Amy, and Gaige

More shots from their visit to come in my next post.

I hope your weekend was equally as much fun!

More of Our Town

Yesterday was a chilly but otherwise nice Fall Friday. I decided to drive to Panera for breakfast. I took my camera along in case I saw anything interesting along the way.

It wasn’t very long after sunrise when I left the house, so the light was quite nice. I figured it would be a good opportunity to detour down Culpeper Street to capture a few images of the houses there.

Why Culpeper Street? Because that’s where a lot of big, cool, old houses are located.

Big Old House on Culpeper Street in Warrenton

Remember, click on the image for a closer look.

One day I’ll have more time to just stroll around and get some better pictures. For now, you just have to settle for snapshots.

Big Old House on Culpeper Street in Warrenton

Neither of those houses are particularly large when compared to some of the other houses on the street. I just love seeing all the different architectural styles.

Big Old House on Culpeper Street in Warrenton

This blue house is one of my favorites. I just love blue houses for some reason.

Big Old House on Culpeper Street in Warrenton

That house is actually small compared to some of its neighbors.

Big Old House on Culpeper Street in Warrenton

You can’t see much of the house in that shot, but don’t you just love the Fall colors?

Big Old House on Culpeper Street in Warrenton

You gotta love the widow’s walk on the roof of that one.

Now this next house was nice, but it was made even more interesting by the Halloween decorations that adorned the yard.

118 Culpeper Street - John Quincy Marr House

According to the Warrenton history book I purchased recently, this is the John Quincy Marr House, one of “several notable residences of prominent Confederate soldiers” in Warrenton. It’s a brick and weatherboard-frame Federal-style house circa 1830. The book, which was published in December 2010, lists the owners as Ron and Elizabeth Scullin. The latter is/was the Chairwoman of the Warrenton Planning Commission.

I didn’t know any of that at the time. I did notice a man in the yard, so I asked if it was okay for me to take some pictures. He said yes but urged me to wait a minute or two as some of the decorations they had displayed aren’t weatherproof and had been covered with plastic bags the previous evening.

Very Realistic Crow

I’m glad I waited. These crows of his are really quite realistic-looking. I should have asked him if they were stuffed (as in taxidermy) or manufactured.

"Caw! Caw!"

Even if that isn’t a Raven, one can’t help but think Edgar Allen Poe when seeing that shot.

118 Culpeper Street - All Decked Out for Halloween

The man, I’m assuming it was Ron, said there would be even more stuff put out on Halloween day. Like lights. And a fog machine. He said the kids love it. And that last year they had over 200 trick-or-treaters.

118 Culpeper Street

Those birds really do add a lot to the scene, don’t they?

118 Culpeper Street

All in all, I thought the display was very cool.

I didn’t have time to linger, so I headed home. But not before making one other stop.

4th and Lee Street

I just love the flag on this brick building, which I now know (because I finally read the sign) to be the JD Eicher Builder office on the corner of S. 4th and Lee Streets. We walk past this one every day.

Red House at 4th and Lee

Here’s another house I like. It’s just a big, red square. But I like it. Maybe it’s the flag. It’s only two blocks from our place.

And finally… my favorite church.

Purple/Gray Church

This church isn’t really a church at the moment. It WAS the first St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. When that congregation moved to a bigger building in 1965, this building became the home of a community action group. Now, according to that same history book I mentioned, it’s owned by “renowned interior decorator Barry Dixon.” I’m not sure if it’s being redone to become a church, or a residence, or what. But it’s awesome. I just love the way the morning sun lights up the copper roof and downspouts. I think the color is a deep purple. Hubby says it isn’t purple at all. So we’ll call it the Purple/Gray Used-to-be-Church building.

It’s a shame all those power lines are in the way. It really is a pretty building.

And that ends your look at our town today.

Let me know when you’re ready to come for a visit!

Our Town

Yesterday was a gorgeous Fall day here in Warrenton. It was quite a welcome change after all the rain.

It being Friday and all, Hubby and I decided we should go out to lunch.

Anyone want to guess the destination?

Great Harvest Bread Company

Yep, our favorite store in Warrenton. It isn’t often Hubby and I share favorite retailers. I love HomeGoods, he prefers Lowe’s. I like The White Elephant, he likes Home Depot.

Get the picture?

As I reported last week, the Great Harvest Bread Company has awesome sandwiches. This week, I opted for the chicken salad. Hubby stuck with roast beef and provolone. Both were served on their delicious grainy bread.

Bread!

When you walk into the store, you’re always greeted with a very friendly hello. As you make your way into the place, an employee almost always meets you at the bread board and says, “What can I get you to sample?” It’s great. If you see something you like that isn’t available for sample, they’ll pull a fresh loaf down and cut it for you.

I had tried calling ahead, but they were either busy or the phone wasn’t working. So we just ordered when we got there then walked around Main Street for a bit while we waited.

Piccadilly Ltd

Piccadilly Ltd is one of the many cute little gift shops on Main Street. You know I have my eye on that frog, right?

Old Drug Store

The Rhodes Drug Store building currently houses a restaurant on one side and a gift shop/card store on the other side. That store also sells fishing supplies. They had a pretty good selection of flies. You know, for fly-fishing.

Sixth and Main

After lunch, I walked over to the Visitor’s Center to purchase a copy of the book, Warrenton, Virginia: A Unique History of 200 Years. It was commissioned by the Warrenton Town Council as part of the town’s bicentennial observance. The Partnership for Warrenton Foundation took on the project, which resulted in a very well-done publication.

Looking West on Main Street

The Visitor’s Center is only about two blocks away. Maybe three. It’s staffed by the nicest people. Of course, we’ve encountered lots of nice people here in town.

Brentmoor, the Spilman/Mosby House

This Italianate-style house is at the corner of Calhoun and Main. It was built in 1859 by a John R. Spilman. It was only owned for two years by Colonel John S. Mosby (from 1875 to 1877). But he’s pretty famous around here, which I guess is why the name stuck.

Across the street from that is the Pollard/Evans House, another example of Italianate-style architecture, which was built around 1870.

Pollard/Evans House

It’s one of my favorite houses on Main Street.

Spilman-Mosby House from Side

This is the Spilman-Mosby House as seen from Calhoun Street, north of Main.

It was a work day, so I didn’t have much time to linger. I did manage to capture one more nice shot of the side yard at Brentmoor.

Wider View of the Spilman-Mosby Side Yard

I bought my book, which is why you now feel so informed, then went back to work. Sigh.

Working inside on days like that is difficult. It was such a pretty day.

Hopefully today’s weather will be just as lovely. For you, too.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Location Finding

I’ve talked a lot recently about how the MD place (where we used to live) isn’t all that far from the VA place (where we currently live). I don’t think I mentioned that the VA place is closer to the WV place (our getaway spot). It’s now only a two-hour drive each way instead of three hours. Two hours through much-less-congested lands.

To help you get a better idea of our location, I created a map. Have a look…

Our Towns

If you click on the map, you’ll get a larger view.

The little green house in the upper left-hand corner represents the WV place. It’s the most-remote of the three.

The house near the upper right is the old MD place. It was closer to Baltimore than to DC, but it was all just one big metropolitan area.

The house on the lower, middle section of the map is the VA place. We’re about the same distance from DC, only in the other direction. It might be just a tad further. But not by much.

It remains to be seen how easy/difficult it is to drive into the city. We’ll be approaching from the southwest instead of northeast, so we’ll have to drive through more of the city to get to Union Station and the Mall area.

A Wider View

Not that we ever went into the city all that much.

Looking at my wider view map, perhaps you can better understand why we feel so much less like we’re smack in the middle of chaos and mayhem.

Yes, we’re further from the Chesapeake Bay. We didn’t spend much time there anyway. But look how much closer we are to the Shenandoah National Park (SNP).

Heck, US-211, one of the SNP gateway roads, runs right through Warrenton. So it’s hard to get lost between here and there.

In the Fall, SNP is a very popular destination. As the SNP web site explains, “Shenandoah National Park is 105 miles long stretching from Front Royal, Virginia to the Waynesboro-Charlottesville area. Skyline Drive is the scenic roadway that takes you through the park.” Color in the higher elevations along the drive is quickly approaching peak. So if you’d like to catch nature’s display this year, you’d better hurry!

If you’re feeling even more adventurous, the Blue Ridge Parkway starts in Waynesboro, VA, which is only about 90 miles from the VA place. Or about a two-hour drive.

Whether you prefer measuring in miles or drive time, either way isn’t far.

In fact, it’s so close, I could probably take the afternoon off (if I didn’t have lots of work to do) to go see the leaves.

Cool!

I’ll have to keep that in mind for next year.

Speaking of leaves… as I mentioned yesterday, things are getting pretty colorful in West Virginia. Here’s one of my favorite shots from the day.

Cows

Yes, I realize there aren’t many leaves in that shot. But you can’t say it isn’t colorful!