Decorating our lovely tree by the railroad tracks!

It's Beginning to look like a Hallmark Movie Canonsburg Christmas!

What an honor to be asked to participate in the decorating of one of the town pine trees for Canonsburg's Old Fashioned Christmas sponsored by the Hallmark Channel.  I am sharing some photos of our day spent in Canonsburg decorating the tree and hanging out with Mayor Rhome!

Lauren and I at the borough building checking out the old barn.

I always hang the largest ornaments first, even on this beautiful big pine tree!  These ornaments were huge!

Mayor David Rhome attaching the bows at the top.  We were discussing the best plan of attack for this tall beauty and these very large glittery bows.  The Mayor ended up putting two of them back to back...one on the front facing Pike Street and one on the back. 

Adding more ornaments and picturing myself in a Hallmark 
movie with our wonderful friends and family!

My shirt says It's beginning to look a lot like a Hallmark Canonsburg Christmas!  We love our town and the Hallmark Channel.  I loved these large white snowflakes we added to the tree.  They really popped on the fir.

John in the holiday spirit is attaching some large glitter striped ornaments to the side.  Notice how I am supervising this!

Lauren and I stopping for a cute photo opportunity while working so hard in the windy conditions.  It was starting to rain but we forged through the weather and got the job done.  Lonny helped us by putting wire on the balls.

Teamwork makes the dream work-look how lovely it's looking!

Mayor David Rhome on the ladder again!

A train even came by and waived at us decorating.  I bet that was a first for this engineer!

John was thrilled to wave at the engineer and see this 
large engine coming through.  He LOVES trains!

I am handing Mayor some ornaments for higher up.  
He loved putting those up high.  Perfectionist tree decorator!

Mayor David Rhome, Lauren Ruffing, Debra and John Ruffing proud of the beautiful tree we decorated for our towns celebration.

O Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches!

We had a great time volunteering with Mayor David Rhome and Lonnie Flood.  Thank you for letting us be a part of this community event.  The pine tree in the Jean Popp garden got a big "popp" of Christmas cheer this week.  We finished just in time for Canonsburg's Old Fashioned Christmas celebration sponsored 

by Hallmark Channel.    

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Decorating an Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration tree today in Canonsburg!

Christmas Celebration in Canonsburg

Today we have the honor of decorating a Hallmark Channel Christmas Tree in Canonsburg in preparation for the Hallmark Channel event at Canonsburg's Old Fashioned Christmas celebration this year.  The event is being held December 6 & 7, 2019 on Pike Street in Canonsburg, PA.  Head over to their website to see the full schedule of events for the two day celebration!  You can find a map here.

My husband John, my daughter Lauren and I will be decorating this tree on Pike Street with the Mayor of Canonsburg, my cousin David Rhome.  We are so excited to be able to help with this event!  We love you Hallmark for the wonderful memories you have given our town!  Our citizens are overjoyed that you are here with us!  

We also want to thank you for providing us with Christmas programming on the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries for the past ten years! And we love the new subscription service, Hallmark Movies Now.  The memories you have given families over the years by providing for sale the beautiful cards, ornaments, and gift items in your wonderful stores has been a blessing to all at Christmas and the rest of the year also.  What a joy and blessing to have you as part of our lives in so many ways!  We are so excited to see you on December 6 and 7!    

The Chef Approves!

Today we start the final decorating of trees in the kitchen!  We are so excited to get started.  The first to go up will be the Coca Cola tree.  My father collected memorabilia so this tree is a tribute to him.  Daddy, I hope you love your tree this year.  All of your great grandchildren miss you and are helping to make this our best Coca Cola tree yet!

Is there anyone who has not started to decorate yet?  We are so behind compared to the last 12 years.  We have been doing a lot of renovations in our house.  The warm weather meant we closed the pool late and scrubbed our furniture in anticipation of securing it for winter snows twice.  The furniture was ready to put away and then the hot weather returned from October 1st through the 3rd.  Being a southern girl who loves summer most of all, we simply continued to have more barbeques and swim parties!  Autumn shmautumn...it was 90 degrees outside in Pennsylvania!  That, my friends, is a miracle!  We enjoyed every minute of that beautiful weather!

So today we will show you some of the decor around the kitchen.  The trees can not go up today because...our senior kitty, Buster, decided to start eating strange things.  Like the fake snow on the two trees in the kitchen.  I am frantically looking for two new trees that will fit in the spaces beside the candy bar.  It is not an easy task and we need them very soon for photography purposes.  Here are the cocoa bar photos...

We always have hot cocoa every fall and winter.  Over the years we have tried many different brands of the chocolatey drink.  Some of our all time favorites are Hershey's hot cocoa, Hershey's York hot cocoa, and Williams Sonoma Hot Chocolate!  Our bar is stocked with Hershey's Hot Cocoa Kisses, marshmallows and of course Spangler Candy Canes!

Hot cocoa bar for those cold days and nights!

Our Hallmark mugs are ready to be filled with cocoa and marshmallows!  You could offer a hot cocoa bar in any corner of your kitchen too.  Grab your favorite hot chocolate mix or if you have a family recipe whip that up and get ready for these brisk, chilly winter days and nights!  I just love these small sweater mugs, dont you?  They say Comfy Cozy inside!

Mugs and sweater bowls and canisters are all from Hallmark!

I fill this little cottage teapot with boiling water so its easy for us to make our mugs of Hershey's hot cocoa.  And you can get a good glimpse of the Martha Stewart gingerbread houses that adorn the buffet in the kitchen!  These ceramic ornaments came from Macy's years back.  These ornaments have been the hit of all our gatherings!  They are secured with the garland and wire underneath the cabinets.  I found the copper cookie cutter lights at WalMart and they go perfectly with the gingerbread town!

Mary Englebreit teapot

Oh the weather outside is frightful!

Today marks the first snow of the wintery season here in Pennsylvania.  My family has mixed reviews on this sparkly white stuff that fell all day blanketing the ground in fluffy snow.  Our pumpkin looks chilly with its snow cap!  Inside we were preparing the kitchen for the upcoming Christmas and holiday season. 

The frost is on the pumpkin!

I'll be back soon to share more of the kitchen decor and trees!  Until then keep warm in this cold fall weather!  I'm wrapped up in my blanket watching Hallmark!

Today is the day for quilts and good friends!

Today is the start of Martha Washington's Quilt Show!  It is exciting to see all the new quilts that have been made by members and other quilters.  Everyone in my family makes quilts.  We love them for cuddling in winter and for a pretty bedcover or wall hanging.  If I quilted all day long for the rest of my life I would never finish all the quilts I want to make.  Today my friend Sherle and I will visit the show.  We will oogle and aaaw over all the beautiful quilts and have a great lunch.  We will visit my family's booth too.  They sell beautiful tee shirts and gifts related to quilting and the coming holidays.  I can't wait!  I will be taking photos of our favorites and posting them here later.  Have a wonderful day doing something your heart loves!

"Thankful for Your Service"

"Black Tie Required"

"Penguins on Ice"

"Iris Garden"

I just love seeing these four together!

"Don't Stop the Music"

Tag for Jackson's Quilt

"Living in Lancaster"

"Her Irish Eyes"

Isabella on the left "Mermaid Wishes, Starfish Kisses"
Caroline on the right "Gram's Garden"

John William's quilt "I Made It to Arlington"

"Gram's Garden" left, "Daffodil Beauty" right

Delighted with these two!

Little boys quilts

"Celebrating"

"Holiday Houses"

John William and Nate with their quilts

Nate's quilt on right "American Soldier"

The Chef Is In The House.

The Chef is in the house!  

And she is noticing all the changes for the Christmas Holiday!  Our chef is Isabella and she is most talented for a chef of age 13.  But like most chefs, she does not like her kitchen messed with!  Of course I wait until I have the rest of the kitchen decorated before I attempt to get her permission to put a little Christmas in her baking area...which you can see here...

This is Isabella's baking area with her two Kitchenaid mixers with new glass bowls.  She bought them from Macy's.  She gets her basics out so it is ready when she gets home from school.  Her new kitchen towel is from Primitives By Kathy, the spatulas are from The Old Mill store in Tennessee and her pan is Rae Dunn from Marshall's.

The cookbook is her own recipes with some passed down from her Mama, Nana, Auntie and Gram.  It is an album from Michaels Craft Store with the recipes slid into plastic protectors.  Nana made it for her birthday this year.  

These are treats for her after school today.  She collects spatulas with cute designs on them.  I found the Spangler candy canes that are a favorite as they were made by my mother's family, the Spanglers.  We bought them today at Aldi's-where we also bought the cutest Advent Calendars!  Love that store!  Notice that she is prepared to bake her favorite brownies, Isabella's S'More Brownies.  The chocolate jar in the back is filled with her Hershey's cocoa.  Everything she cooks is nut free as she is allergic to all nuts.  That is the reason she started baking and cooking.  She knows her ingredients and the dishes she makes are totally safe for her to eat.  

More decorations in the kitchen after the Chef is in the house again!

Sugar Hill Christmas Trees in 2018

Sugar Hill Christmas Trees in 2018

Starting our tour today in the Tennessee room are three trees flanking the window that overlooks the swimming pool in summer.  On the left is Smoky Mountain Christmas full of red and black ornaments and ribbons, in the middle is the Martha Stewart tree full of handmade ornaments through the years from family and friends.  On the right is the Farmhouse Christmas tree.  It is black and white.

Tennessee Room Trees

Handmade Tree

Smoky Mountain Christmas tree

Farmhouse Christmas tree

Annalee Santa and his Christmas Moose

Sleigh Bells Ring

I love this sign I purchased at Tis the Season store in 
Berlin, Ohio for the Sleigh Bells Ring tree.

Baby It's Cold Outside...so let it snow!



We love this Advent pillow in Tennessee room from TJMaxx.


Red Kugels from Marshalls and TJMaxx.

Close up of the Taste The Feeling tree.  This is full of Coca Cola decorations that were collected by my daddy, William Smith, and daughter Lauren Ruffing.

The Coke polar bears are so cute!  They really make this snowy 
tree an over the top design!

Coca-Cola Santa just finished his rounds and is ready for a Coke and a nap!

This tree is full of unique Coca-Cola ornaments collected over many years.

Candy bar...watch out for elves sneaking some treats!

They can get into so much mischief!  Five elves visit us from 

the North Pole every year!

Gingerbread tree-Karina's favorite! 
She decorates this one every year!

Elf Mischief tree

Cute and ornery elves are tucked all over this tree.

Elf Mischief tree topped off with elf hat and elf legs.

Christmas in Vermont tree

A snow flocked tree with sparkling snow ornaments and mint green ornaments

What Will You Keepsake this Year? Our Hallmark tree!

Yes that is a Cinnamon Bear ornament from the 1980's!  
I have the whole series!

That wraps up our 2018 Christmas home tour.  I loved sharing our decorations and trees with you.  Thank you for stopping by and come back soon for more great ideas and decorations in 2019.

Merry Christmas Y'all!