Santa's Watching

Do you believe in Santa? I do. I guess that's why I have a Santa collection. I like to display some of my collection on our antique buffet hutch in the dining room. (It's a tricky place to take a photo because of the large mirror below the top shelf.) 

I add a new Santa (or two) each Christmas. That tall one I picked up for .75 cents at the thrift store about a month ago.

A few more on the other end. Love that tole painted one with the clay star...

...and a few more below, waiting for SNOW!

More Beach Glass

In February, I mentioned that I like to collect sea glass or what I call 'beach glass'. I display most of it at the cottage.  Some I have in jars and they make great doorstops. On the coffee table I have this glass star where I keep my most recent finds.


Every once in a while I find 'beach china' and I keep that separate in this little dish, a gift from my dear friend, Nancy.

I adore these pieces. Some I thought were just clam shells when I stooped to pick them up, but when I turned them over they were china.  Oh happy day! But not every day is Christmas at the beach...

A Charmed Life

My Charm Bracelet

*I may or may not have borrowed that title from an article in an old Mary Engelbreit magazine. Today I am going to reveal my charm bracelet. Now anyone who knows me well knows that I never wear jewelry. I'm serious here. I wear my wedding band and twice a year I pop my diamond studs in :)  But I digress... I think I got this charm bracelet when I was 17. Three of the charms relate to water skiing, my passion as a teenager. Another three are souvenirs from places I visited such as England, the Bahamas, and Calgary. The key was a gift when I graduated from university. Eventually I tucked my bracelet away and had sort of forgotten about it. But then I bought my vintage trailer in 2011, and I discovered that they had little trailer charms. So for Christmas that year Santa brought me one. I think that tiny RV is so cute on there nestled in between my dolphin and the Calgary Tower! Of course my bracelet is once again safely tucked away in my jewelry box:) 

Heart Rocks

                              

Heart rocks, another collection of mine. I'm telling you, I never return empty handed from the beach, haha. In the summer I display my heart rocks on the ash plate of our wood stove, but when it's wood stove season I keep them in a Mason jar. Only one has any real significance. See that one on the far right of the bottom row? Found that on the beach the day after our oldest daughter became engaged. I think that might be a good omen ;)

Beach Glass Bonanza

Yes, I call it beach glass. I figure you find it on the beach therefore the term "sea glass" just doesn't seem right. But whatever you call it, I think you will agree that this is a pretty good haul for one evening at the beach. I have never found an old marble before, but I did that night! So what do I do with all this glass you might ask? Not much. I have filled some mason jars with it to use as door stoppers at the cottage. I also give some to my students each year after I read the beautiful story,  The Story of the Sea Glass by Anne Wescott Dodd.

It doesn't seem to matter how much I have at the cottage, I never come back from the  beach empty handed. My favourite pieces are the blue or aqua ones. I also have a small dish filled with beach china. But that's a post best left to the summer when I am back at the cottage and can get a good picture of it :)