www.jenniferrizzo.com

Hopefully, this will work.  I enjoy looking at all the magical Christmas decorations on blogs.  I have been wanting to contribute for some time now.   I hope you enjoy my little tour of The Walnut Cottage.

The Clunker!

Well, we moved into our little cottage roughly three years ago.  It was built in 1930.  When we first looked at the house, it was snowing...and we risked our lives to get up the slippery steps to the back door.  It was dark outside and I looked through the door window and what caught my eye...then I knew in my heart....that I loved the place.  I could see the staircase and wood floors. 

Now, when we finally got to go in, the basement held a questionable feature, a 'steam boiler'.  Never had one before so we were a little skeptical.  After doing a little research on the old boiler systems, it seems that they produce nice warm heat.  Oh, I forgot to mention that it still has the old radiators, but are nicely hidden under wood frames.

We went again and bought the house.  Everything has been great.....but now....the old boiler broke!  Yep, not working anymore, has a crack.  The plumber came in and shut us down...  One positive thing came out of this experience, my dear husband decided to see if the fireplace worked.  To our surprise, it did.  How wonderful it looks! I just love the look and feel it gives me.  Plus, it does help heat the home for now.  Looking into getting prices on the boiler..  WOW, they sure are expensive!  Someone told me to change it over to forced air, but to be honest, I don't want to ruin my beautiful plaster walls.  We have a very large air-conditioner at the top of the stairs and it cools the whole house. Eventually we will get the air put in through the attic.  Even the plumber said he wouldn't change it over, steam heat is nice.

So here is a picture of the fireplace in all it's glory!

I love memories!

It was a very busy Sunday today.  My sister and I took my mom to the cemetery to take a wreath for my dad.  If you knew my dad, you would know that he LOVED real Christmas trees.  Unfortunately, every year, my mom would start getting a horrible cold.  We finally figured it out that she was allergic to the pine.  Fake trees from that day on.  Today at the nursery, we saw a wreath shaped like a Christmas tree.  How fitting that we bought him the tree.

Came home and decided that we would put spend some time with my mom. So after we left the cemetery, we went and picked up my mom's tree and decorated her tree.  In the meantime, we curled her hair.  It was a fun day afterall that's for sure!

When I got home, I was thinking about my Christmas Memories and how they make me smile......so I thought a pillow would be appropriate! 

I can't believe how cute these came out!  This year, was it me or were the colors of the trees absolutely gorgeous! I can't tell you how many cars I almost ran into while admiring the colors while driving..oops!  I even found myself pulling over on the side of the street to collect those amazing  maple leaves.  I folded them and set them aside and they still look great after 1 month.  When I show them off, people don't realize that they are 'real' leaves.  They look like paper.  The best part about it?  They're FREE! 

Finding bricks...

I was digging in the backyard this weekend, (which is something I find myself doing frequently lately).  I came across some old bricks, solid bricks actually.  How fitting that I find bricks, after all, my husband C is a bricklayer/stone mason.  The house was built in 1930 and the man who built it was the builder.  He was a contractor.  The house is solid, could probably stand another 100 years.  I love the character of the house, it has the natural woodwork (not painted) and the staircase is in the middle of the house.  I love my Walnut Cottage. 

I took the brick and figured I would put the year the house was built on it.  I did contact the city about putting it on the historical registry, but since they put vinyl siding on it, the house doesn't quality anymore.  Oh well, I made my own sign....

Beach time!

This is what I've been doing in my 'spare' time.  I am trying to figure out some better sayings..something that's different.  I did a couple more in different colors. The one in grey is really nice too. Once I figure out what I am putting on it I will post.

It helps me to keep busy....

The finished product!

This is the finished sign....I made this for my spare bedroom!  I love it!