OOTD...dressing up for domestics!

This Christmas I received a fabulous JCrew necklace from my son and his lovely wife...
thank you my sweets.

You might remember that when I went shopping to the mall before Christmas I found a GAP tee top that was sprinkled with sequins. My DIL encouraged me to splurge and buy it, she also suggested that I could wear it watching TV. I wore it Christmas Eve to an open house where I was with close friends and family.

It's a whimsical foray into FUN.
One that pushes that proverbial fashion envelope a bit when one takes into account my age.
I never want to look dowdy or frumpy, it's a bit of a concern and one that I hope I'll always have the good sense to "know" what is too "Mummsie."

On the opposite side of the scale...
I hope that I do not look like I am dressing "too young."
I wonder what The Fashion Police would have to say on this number.
They may chime in and report if they are not on holidays...

 JCrew and GAP paired together to make my domestic duties more of an event.

worn with basic LuLuLemon black yoga pants

they go with the graphite grey LG machines

my feet are cold though 

as the in floor heat needs to have the electrician install the thermostat

soon I'll have warm toes!

I'll check in with you later as I am working on a renovation post.

All is not yet complete but we are nearly finished.

It's been a long haul and we have worked very hard.

It's such a wonderful space now.

I am like a dizzy little school girl

wanting to do laundry at every opportunity

I washed and ironed my husbands work shirts!

( we've been sending them out for ages )

Are you keeping well?

There are some nasty bugs out there and many family and friends are bed ridden.

Take care.

What fashion styles give you energy?

The kind of energy that one needs to perk you up when "down in the dumps"

 sick or tired.

I'd love to know.

~ ~ ~

Hostess

Domestic Bliss!

Hope that you have been enjoying an idyllic festive season.
It's been very busy busy busy here in The Humble Bungalow and I needed a "slow-mo day" today.

That meant staying in my robe until just before noon...
the second load of Christmas china in the dishwasher, washing and ironing the table cloth and napkins.
I know it's all the glamour around here 24/7...
seriously, our lives are so very ordinary it's absurd.

I am having such fun with the new Steam Turbo series LG workhorses...
they work very well unsupervised.

Look away if you are expecting a fashion post,
I am wearing my cooking uniform, a black apron
with my holiday bling Club Monaco earrings!

I am on the IPAD learning curve

an IPAD mini was in the bottom of my stocking

and my IMAC needs to get with the program

Mountain Lion or Snow Leopard...

HELP!

I am able to play games, search the internet but not able to sync my new device...

soon

"ALL IN GOOD TIME HOSTESS!"

(don't fret)

Did I ever mention that I am tech challenged?

(impatient)

I want it and I want it now!

Clever son,

darling daughter, 

and 

Mr. HB 

are my tech supports.

Thanks guys, 

I love you lots :-)

~ ~ ~

Mr. HB and I went for an invigorating and refreshing post turkey trot

on the waterfront for an hour today,

it was loverly.

More of those brisk promenades in my future as I am going to be getting fitter

retirement plans are scheduled for this June...

I desperately need to get back into shape as I have let my team down.

I know

 I had the best intentions but I have been remiss.

~ ~ ~

Chester had an appetite for the tulips.

He was banished to my hobby room for the better part of Christmas Day.

Tulips might be poisonous for kittens.

Will be back when my technical challenges can be rectified.

Happy Days my lovelies.

Be Kind

and

SMILE!

See you as soon as we can get the technical stuff sorted,

XO

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It's the festive season!
I am nearly ready to host the family for our annual holiday feast.
I've got a few things left to get done...
so I am going to walk away from my laptop for a bit and put on my apron, roll up my sleeves and get busy in the kitchen.
Christmas music playing on the radio and all is calm...

I want to let you know how much I appreciate your comments and emails.
They connect me to you in a warm and fuzzy way and honestly they often are the highlight of my days.

The Bungalow is decorated in a simple green fashion...

The wee Charlie Brown tree

white lights and vintage ornaments.

Vintage wee pine cone baubles 

and glass garlands.

~ ~ ~

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays

from

The Hostess of The Humble Bungalow

XO

Santa Baby!

Christmas came early to The Humble Bungalow.
Santa has delivered some pretty nice gifts with the Hostess in mind...
Thank you Santa!
Our renovation is almost finished and the rest is mostly decorating and reorganizing the storage areas.

This has been what I have been living like for about 2 weeks....

it's not our usual bathroom look.

Welcome to the new Humble Bungalow workhorses

LG steam machines

They are heavy duty so I can wash our duvets and covers instead of sending them out.

They are lined in stainless steel and are very quiet.

Nothing like my ancient ones which sounded like a 747 landing!

We are so pleased so be able to start putting things back in order.

We'll work at this over the holidays in between hosting Christmas dinner and attending a few social events.

When all is in place I'll do a post on the various improvements.

It's a very busy time for me as I am sure it is for many of you

 I have a few things left to purchase and wrap

and shop for all the food needed to put our annual Turkey dinner on the table.

So I must keep this post very brief

I need to pop by and check in with the blogs I follow as I have been offline for a couple of days.

Enjoy your weekend

Be calm and don't forget to smile.

Hostess

XO

The Cat in the Hat!

I've got a new hat (I'll show you later in this post)
which I wore when we went to see the Christmas lights at Butchart Gardens.
If you have never been to the Gardens it is a must see if you ever get to visit our fair city.

Butchart Gardens Christmas display December 2012

(picture courtesy of lovely daughter using her "fancy pants" camera)

(lovely daughter's image)

~ ~ ~

the rest of the pictures are mine

~ ~ ~

the lights are spectacular

there is also a carousel

and 

an ice skating rink

thousands of lights are wound around the trees

I particularly like the white ones

they look so crisp silhouetted against the dark night sky

The Twelve Days of Christmas are on display

here are the "Three French Hens"

you can see the Eiffel Tower in the back!

The Gardens have been open since the 1920's

please visit at any time of year you won't be disappointed 

there is a fabulous restaurant

The Blue Poppy

which has amazing high teas and delicious dinners.

It was a chilly weeknight evening 

but there was not a breath of wind and there was no rain so it was a perfect time to wander about

I wore my Lands End down coat, leather boots, leggings and my black Lands End cashmere sweater

I wore wool gloves and a new hat.

The hat has a feline flair...

it's an animal print

snow leopard perhaps?

in

soft wool and angora

cozy and warm

can you say MEOW?

The Cat is in The Hat!

Wearing my new hat 

with my 

wear them everyday 

diamond studs.

I embrace our festive Christmas traditions 

and am always on the look out for more meaningful ways to mark the holidays

with family and friends.

What are your Christmas or Holiday traditions?

Have they been passed on for generations or did they become tradition in recent years?

What is the silliest tradition that you have?

~ ~ ~

Hope that you are keeping your cool this season

there are tempers flaring at every turn 

as evidenced by erratic drivers

cranky pushy people in line up

and

rude comments made by the stressed and impatient shoppers.

Let's try and be calm and collected shall we?

There is nothing attractive when losing one's manners in public!

If you need to vent...

try singing Christmas carols in the shower at the top of your lungs!

~ ~ ~

Hostess