Finding Your Christmas Spirit

Donzell's brings back a lot of memories for me.
Around this time of year I get excited about visiting there.
Being in Florida however does not always make that possible.
However last year I was able to go because I was up in Ohio visiting.
This year I am living here.
So far I have not felt the Christmas Spirit.
I was having a hard time finding it.
This was weird for me, seeing as I usually start watching Christmas movies in September.
This year it seems I can't even make it through one.
It partly has to do with being away from my family.
I needed a boost of Christmas Spirit.

I found out last weekend was Donzell's Christmas Open house.
Now Donzell's does it all out for Christmas every year.
T, who went with me has never been to Donzell's for Christmas.
I was more excited for her than I was for myself.
One of the many things that makes me happy is sharing places close to my heart with other people.
I could not wait for her to experience the magic as I have for many years.

The weather was good.
A bit cloudy but with a chill in the air.
Which is perfect weather if you are looking to find that Christmas Spirit.
Walking up to the building I immediately got butterflies in my stomach.
I could see the brightly lit Christmas trees glowing in the window.
The smell of Christmas was in the air.
With hat and gloves on the warmth of the building was welcomed.
T and I browsed through the selection of artificial trees.
Some with twinkling lights, some bare waiting for you to add their glow.
Then we found our way into the rest of the building, where all of the ornaments and Christmas decor is located.

As usual we decided to browse around the store first, grab our doughnut and coffee, and then go back and pick out items. This was easier said than done. We took turns pushing a cart around and the store is packed; the isles are small already and then add a mass of people into the mix. We eventually made our way around the store checking out the different sections. It was not easy to look around at everything either. I am sure there are things that I had missed. Another trip will just have to be made.

This year Frozen even had it's own section.

Out in the garden center is where we found Fairy Land. And of course the doughnuts and hot apple cider.

I mean what a magical place to live. I wouldn't mind living there myself, escaping to a wonderful magical land.

There was lovely live music.

We even found our way out to the succulents. 

Donzell's is divided into sections, sections with different themes, some have to do with color and some have to do with animals. Yet all are very beautifully put together.

Get your Department 56 needs.

Polar Bears and Pretty Purples

I love Donzell's and it always puts me in the Christmas Spirit mood. It's a wonderful feeling being there. Although I do wish it was a bit colder here. I would definitely like a little bit of snow. 

I did not leave the store empty handed. I got items for some Christmas gifts as well as a couple of ornaments and a peacock mask for myself. I was pleased with my purchases and left Donzell's feeling satisfied. Although it was packed and hard to maneuver around in I had a pleasant trip. One that left me filled with a little bit of Christmas Spirit. T found some good items as well. A beautiful center piece for her Thanksgiving with her family was in her mix.

Christmas is fast approaching us.
Only 36 more days.
I am slowly getting excited.
I am excited to be giving gifts!
I am excited for the lights.
And the smells.
I am excited for the movies.
I am excited for the overall cheer the holiday brings.
Thanksgiving is first though and I am looking forward to the holiday.
To spend time with my extended family.
Making memories.
Family is a wonderful blessing.

I hope if you have been missing the Christmas Spirit you found a little in this blog post.
Visit my Facebook Christmas page for even more Christmas Cheer.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*
Don't get overwhelmed with Christmas and forget about Thanksgiving.
It's a wonderful time to spend with family and reflect on why we are thankful.
The people of Paris suffered a tremendous tragedy Friday night.
I am thankful for my life and those people overseas will be in my prayers.
#PrayforParis
Reflect on your life and the life you live.
Be thankful to be around your family.
Forget everything else that is going on.
Love.
Namaste.

Home Decor: Flower Feature

I recently discovered  flower delivery by BloomNation and was inspired to do a post on how I use flowers to decorate my home. I love to decorate and I often use flowers to decorate my home and my personal space. With inspiration from BloomNations social media sights such as Pinterest and Instagram I began thinking of more ideas and ways to use flowers in my home decor.

First a little about my thoughts on flowers:

I love poppies and lilies

I enjoy flower prints

I think flowers add charm to any room

With a couple of ideas in mind I headed to the craft store in search of flowers and some more ideas. I quickly found them. I was drawn to the fall colors where I found some shades of pink I really liked. I bought them in long stems and had a perfect vase in mind.

This is my dresser in my bedroom. This is one of my favorite pieces. I found it at a furniture resale shop and scored it for $50. It's banged up and has character. I am a lover of antique flea markets and consignment shops. I love any piece of furniture with some character. The vintage look can be found throughout my house. 

Starting in my bedroom...

The vase I was talking about it an empty bottle of wine. It looks like a cat. I absolutely love it. The wine was very good as well, a Riesling... my favorite white.

Meow.

Also on my dresser a dried up bouquet can be found. This bouquet is from my best friends' wedding. I was bridesmaid in their wedding a couple of years ago. I loved the bouquet and have kept it displayed ever since. I think it gives the top of my dresser that vintage feeling. Also that is a vintage train case that I found at a flea market. I love it. It holds all of my spare makeup that I have on hand but are not a part of my every day used makeup.

I have many of these little vases around. In the summer I had wild flowers displayed in them. Now that it's fall and chilly outside those flowers are gone. I tried to recreate that look here with a touch of fall color in the mix. Plus a painting I did awhile back of some lilies, which are my favorite flowers.

Next up in my bathroom. I must say first my bathroom is my most favorite decorated room in my house. The mint green tiles are just the cherry on top. Last year at the Mount Dora craft fair I found these wild flowers.

They are dried and dead and give off that straw smell but I love the colors. My bathroom colors are blue, tan, and green. This splash of color adds to the overall look of my bathroom. I have them displayed in a vase on top of the toilet.

In the hallway outside my bedrooms are some flower paintings I did.

Another little vase in my office with wild flowers in it.

With a few more flower touches in my office space.

In my dining room are my house plants. I brought the peace lily all the way from my old apartment in Florida.

Basil and Rosemary. I want to add a thyme plant to my herb garden. And one day I eventually will.

This is my gnome and his friend the fox. I would like to add a couple more friends to my mix as well.

A few fall table decorations throughout the kitchen and dining room with some trimmed stalks of basil.

In my kitchen I have a flower in an empty hard root beer bottle, Not Your Father's Root Beer. I mean finally them come out with this stuff, taste just like root beer but its alcoholic. Delicious.

I also have a bonzi tree, a mint plant, and a beautiful air plant.

If you have never heard of BloomNation, flower delivery by BloomNation supports local florists through their online marketplace. They send fresh blooms from local florists to your doorstep or office space. I have checked out the bouquets online and must say they do some incredible work and have some amazing florists working for them. I even checked out their blog 5th & Hollyhock, which you can find here. There you can find all things flowers from playlists including flowers in the title to beautiful bouquets, even fashion finds in flower prints. Like these floral leggings. Next time you are looking to deliver flowers to that special someone or someone in need of some flowers check out BloomNation and support local florists in your area.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*

As the seasons change I will do an updated version of this blog post.

Again I am grateful for BloomNation reaching out to me.

This was a fun post to do.

And gives me an chance to show you a little inside my home.

And how I display flowers.

I only get so many hours of daylight and I am at work 9 hours a day.

By the time I get home it is already getting dark.

That doesn't leave me a lot of good light to get pictures.

It happened to be particularly sunny that day and I wanted to get these pictures done.

So I came home on break one day to capture these pictures.

Namaste.