Happy New Year! And a Thank You

As we say goodbye to 2012...

we look forward to a great 2013.

 

Thank you to everyone who

reads my blog, leaves comments,

or who supports my vintage shop.

 

You keep me going each and

everyday! What a blessing to

be able to stay home and work

while I have my little Bebe here.

 

May you be

equally blessed!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Christmas Cliche

 

Enjoying time with family,

watching Bebe's eyes

light up with joy,

and counting our blessings.

 

My wish is that you

were able to do

something similar today.

 

A Merry Christmas to all!

 

And to ALL a goodnight!

The One and Only Gift

Last week our choir sung

a beautiful song "Born in Bethlehem."

 

These are the words from

the song that keep sticking

with me:

 

"Baby Jesus, do you know?
You'll die for all our sins?"

 

 

 

It was not any

ordinary birth.

 

He was born

to be our Saviour.

His SOUL purpose!

 

The only gift we'll

ever need on this earth.

 

Merry Christmas.

 

I Can See A Rainbow

The recent tragedy in

Connecticutt has most

Mother's of little

ones feeling emotional.

 

As I was pulling away

from Bebe's preschool

the other day...

 

This magnificent,

beautiful, and very

large rainbow stopped

me in my tracks.

I pulled over so we could look at

it for awhile.

 

It brought me to tears.

 

The pictures do not do it justice.

 

A simple reminder that God

is there. He is faithful, He is true.

 

Thank you.

High Tea Time: A Christmas Party

 

My MOPS group

(Mother's of PreSchoolers)

had a "High Tea" as

our Christmas party

for all of us who

are leading the group

 this year.

 

 

What is a "high tea" exactly?

I did find a little info here.

 

One of our Mom's serves these

types of teas with her Mother.

 

There were five courses.

 

The tables were set with

gorgeous centerpieces,

china and teacups.

What to choose?
What to choose?

 

They had made one of

each kind of EVERYTHING.

Just so we could

 sample it all. 

 

I've attended "teas" before...

but I'm not sure I've ever

eaten this much food

in one sitting!

 

We were all having

a great time though!

And I was able to share with

the other Mom's about

what I do when I'm

not trying to keep up

with Dear Bebe.

 

I also heard about

their china, teacup

collections and other

fun facts that we normally

do not have time to talk

about.

 

A nice relaxing evening,

shared with other Mom's!

 

What a blessing!

Cookie Baking and Vintage Traditions

Recently a friend and I got together

for a Christmas cookie baking day.

 

An EXTRAVAGANZA.

 

Let me explain.

 

When she said we could

make cookies I thought,

well, that would probably

be about two hours

and then we'd be done.

 

She informed me it

was an all day affair.

 

"All day?" I thought.

You see, I do not come

from a long line

of cookie makers.

 

 

My cooking skills far outshine

my baking efforts.

 

But, living in central Pennsylvania

has an effect on you.

 

Everyone here bakes.

 

If you don't,

 you are left out

in the cooooolllldd

shiver-i-ness

of store bought

or package mix

cookies.

 

OOOOOOhhhhh.

The horrors.

 

It will make your friends

shudder at the thought.

 

 

So, when a friend suggested we make

cookies for fun, I took her up on it.

 

Why not? I only had more to gain.

Plus, a few dozen cookies to boot.

 

She brought over half

of her kitchen,

probably fearing the

worst.

 

That I would

have nothing to

bake with!

 Who could blame her?

 

She had cookie recipes she

brought along, too.

 

A version from her husband's

family and some recipes
 from when she was a little girl.

 

What I discovered about cookie baking

day was...

It was about TRADITIONS.

 

Handing down family

recipes, stories

and memories.

 

I even used my

Grandmother's old

Pyrex mixing bowl which

made it all come full

 circle for me,

even though I didn't have

a cookie tradition myself.

 

I did manage to whip up a

tasty batch of SPRITZ

cookies, which were from

my Dear Hubs' family.

 

What a great day!

 

And now that we've started

teaching Bebe, it is

something we can

look forward to every year.

Decking the Halls... And Everything Else

Yes, we've decked the halls...

and just about everything else!

 

We are set!

 

This tree has all of the

vintage pink ornaments,

which I wrote about here.

We had one of these cutie old

Santa's when I was a kid.

I'm sure it is older than I am.

 

Which is getting pretty old!

Ha!

He's either faded red

or was originally pink!

 

This tree we found on clearance at Lowe's

last year.
A Martha Stewart, pre lit tree.

35.00!

 

We pulled it out of the box

assembled it in a few pieces

and VIOLA! Instant Tree.

 

We decided to only use gold, silver,

 & white ornaments since the
branches are flocked in gold glitter.

I kind of like it!

Last year we had a

real tree in it's place.

 

 Speaking of real...

I got out the clippers

and used some natural

green again.

Why not use what you have outdoors?

 So, I snipped off a few branches

here, and few branches there....

  And made this...

 And a couple of these....

While hubby hung some wreaths on the

windows....this one was in the

"before flufffing" stage!

This mantel has been a sore spot

in my home...I've written about it

 before.

Probably, lamented, 
is a better word! 

It used to be brown.

 

My hubby painted it this past

summer thinking I would be

happier with it ivory.

 

I was not.

I tried to hide it under the
greenery.

Didn't work too well.

Maybe next year's
Christmas post
I can brag about
the NEW mantel
in it's place.
 

And here are a few baubles on

our new wreath,

found during the same

clearance sale last year

as the tree!

 

 

And last but not least,

here is something pink I found

while shopping this week!

 

What won't they

make in pink now?

 

A feminine tool carrying

caddy...except I think

I had a vision for it being

used for crafty stuff!

 

Linking to Pink Saturday!

 

Ho Ho Ho!

 

 

Sweet Treats and the Case of the MIssing Cookbook

This weekend we are finishing up some last minute decorating,

updating our antique booth, and then going to see a Christmas

parade. Bebe is hoping to get a peek at Santa!

 

This past week my Mom's group had a cookie exchange so

here are some of the sweet treats from our get together.

A rare occasion to be without our little ones.

 

We sit around and chit chat and some of the  

Mom's bring their gifts to wrap while others

 work on crafty projects.

 

The life of a stay at home,

work at home Mom.

Finding time to squeeze in

stuff for us.

 

On Tuesday I have a friend coming

to bake cookies with me.

We've never cooked or baked

together before but I think

it could be a great way to bond or

to get to know each other better.

 

The problem is, I bought

a cookie cookbook (I seriously need one)

last year and I saw it right as I was opening

up some of my Christmas decor boxes

but I haven't seen it since.

 

Where did it go?

The cookie cookbook black hole it seems.

How does this stuff happen?

I can't seem to find the time

to really hunt it down either.

It may just have to be the surprise

for next year when I haul it all out again!

 

Leaving you with a shot of Bebe and Daddy working on his antique

train set and Bebe helping with some of the cookies!

 

Linking to Pink Saturday.

To blog shop my blog...all you have to do
is check out my website, BellaRosaAntiques.com

I'm offering 20% off, even sale items to my
email subscribers, and now to my PINKIE friends, too.
You must click on the link above or else the sale
will not appear.  Sale ends Sunday at midnight.

Have a great weekend!

The Three Wise Men: What Their Gifts Mean

Mostly everyone who has grown up in the United States
knows what a nativity is.

They know it's about a baby in a manger,
Mary and Joseph.

They might even know about the three wise men.

And maybe, they know the three gifts that were brought.

Gold
Frankincense
and Myrrh.

Not exactly exciting gifts for a baby.

The gold maybe. Save it someday for a college tuition, eh?

 

(Nativity scene from 1000bulbs.com)

But here is the real story behind the gifts, from helium.com: I found it enlightening and amazing all at the same time. I hope it inspires you as well:

The gifts demonstrated who Jesus was and what his mission was going to be.

1.) Gold: The gift of gold was often reserved for royalty. The Magi told King Herod that they had come to see the one born King of the Jews. It is clear that they recognized Jesus as being royal but the question is why? The issue is the star of Bethlehem. The Magi had seen the star and they recognized the importance of the star in the sky as a sign of a spectacular birth. The Magi brought gold in some form, whether it was jewelry, coins, or just pieces, we are not told. The importance of the gift was that it represented the fact that Jesus was royal.

2.) Frankincense: The gift of frankincense is somewhat unusual. Frankincense was a highly valued commodity and somewhat rare. The Jewish people had a common use for frankincense that was directly connected to the worship of God. In the Temple, the Jews prayed before the Altar of Incense which was always kept burning. The substance burned on that altar was frankincense. When frankincense is burned it gives off a sweet smelling white smoke. The smoke rising from the altar of incense represented the prayers of the people rising to God in heaven. The only use of frankincense for Jews was at this altar and it was reserved for the worship of God. The Magi presenting this gift to Jesus represents the fact that He was indeed divine.

3.) Myrrh: The gift of myrrh seems the most odd of the gifts. Myrrh was extremely valuable and had a number of uses. The most common use was a perfume. Sometimes myrrh might be used in the homes of the wealthy to create a pleasant fragrance but was normally reserved for special instances. The major use of myrrh was for burials. Myrrh was placed on the cloths used to wrap bodies for burial to help prevent the smell of decay following death. The Magi presented this gift to Jesus as a representation that He would one day die. The gift almost seems to convey the fact that Jesus was born to die.

Though there are still many questions about the Magi that may be left unanswered, we can determine that they brought a fourth gift that is often forgotten by many. After they laid their treasures down before Mary and Joseph, they worshipped Jesus. These wise men from afar came not just to court favor but to proclaim that they believed Him to be the King of kings. The greatest gift that we can offer to Jesus this Christmas is our praise and worship.

CHRISTMAS SALE 20% Off for Email Subscribers

This week I am offering a special sale to those

who sign up for my weekly email list.

 

(From my own personal collection,

this set is not for sale... But you'll

find other goodies on my site!)

 

Click here to sign up and mention

the word SUBSCRIBE.

It is that easy!

 

Then you'll receive an email with a special

link to the sale.

 

Spend 20.00 or more and receive 20% off!

 

Sale ends Sunday,

December 9th at midnight.