Paula's Cozy Christmas Cottage 2013 - Part 1

Ah...yes! 

That is Paula's charming cottage immortalized

 on this very special hand painted Christmas ornament.

We had our annual, wonderful, whirlwind 2 day

 Christmas shopping extravaganza!

We covered it all....from our favorite home decor boutiques, holiday open houses, antique shops, upscale specialty,

 dress and jewelry shops...

...to junk shops and even Home Goods and TJ Maxx. 

In between shopping and eating I managed to take

 lots of photos of  Paula's Christmas cottage.

This post is way too long... with 50 plus photos... so you may want to read this when everyone else is taking their post turkey nap!

...just so you know!

First, here is a peek at her little cottage kitchen decorated,

  of course, with a small Christmas tree on the counter.

 I counted over 17 decorated trees this year!

The charming kitchen is indeed tiny, but let me tell you,

 I have enjoyed some pretty awesome meals coming out

 of this wonderful space!

I didn't even count this sweet little tree...

...or this one! 

Paula made a pair of angel wings, trimmed with lace

 and old buttons, for this wire dress form.

And then she crowned a Christmas tree with it!

Where does she get these ideas from?

We were together antiquing when she found these bed springs...

...now turned into a table candelabra centerpiece.

Her silver table top tree filled with birds and nests

 was set up in the corner of the dining room again.

Don't you love the colors in these bird plates

 that she found in Pottery Barn?

The colors fit in perfectly with her palette

 of creams, whites, green and brown.

And yes, that is one of Evi's hand made Santas.

Evi's Country Snippets

Another of Evi's Santas...in an antique shoe.

A newly acquired, hand crafted curly wool sheep

 stands beneath another tree.

Small vignettes fill each shelf of an old chimney cupboard.

Paula converted some old chair springs into her version

 of a "dove cote".

There are those wonderful skates she bargained for

 at Brimfield a few years back...

...and one of Evi's rabbits.

The bed in the downstairs bedroom has a new duvet cover 

on sale at PB...

The pine cones and boughs are just perfect for a winter bed...

...and I was thinking ...it would be wonderful on one of the beds

 at the lake house in the summer too! 

  

There's the olive bucket I gave her for her birthday...finally!

I love these little Charlie Brown trees she finds.

Michele from Taken For Granite
 made these charming pillows last year!

Pillow by Michele at Taken For Granite!

I loved the way she decorated the mantel in this room

 with the hairpin gate, clock faces and funky trees.

The Mama rabbit and little bunny are making their first appearance

 this year as they are new to Paula's collection

 of Evi's one of a kind creations.

Every single detail is important to Paula

 which is what makes her Christmas cottage so special.

More to come!

We haven't been upstairs yet!

Until then....

Sending best wishes for a healthy, safe and

 Happy Thanksgiving

to you and your families.

:)