No Place Like Home # 8

Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart... filled it, too, with a melody that would last forever. ~ Bess Streeter Aldrich


Hello dear friends and welcome to my last No Place Like Home before Christmas!

The minutes are ticking down and the day we've all been busy as bees getting ready for is just about here. I have some last minute baking to do like my donuts and pies. We will have lots of family around this year. How about you? Are you just about ready?

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~ Edith Wharton

This is my centrepiece on the coffee table this year. A mercury glass lamp is surrounded by greenery, winter berries, pinecones, magnolias and hydrangea petals.

Peace on earth will come to stay when we live Christmas every day. ~ Helen Steiner Rice

Over the weekend I shared my main Christmas tree and a Christmas Roses Tea. I also shared another little Christmas tree that I decorated.

If you would like to see this post, you may click here.

Now, on to my features this week. I am always amazed at your posts, the creativity and the beauty of them. You're all so talented and I am so happy you could share them with us.

If you have been featured at my party, you may take this "I was featured" button to place on your blog if you wish. Just copy and paste.

My features this week are~

Mrs. T @ Across My Kitchen Table  had the most clicks on her post. She shared some wonderful ideas using fabric from her Christmas fabric stash such as this cute yo-yo candy cane. Congratulations Mrs. T!

Kitty @ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen shared her beautiful Christmas Rose teacup as well as her recipe for her scrumptious Eggnog Bread. I know I'm going to make this.

Martha @ Lines From Linderhof shared an outing with a friend to celebrate their birthdays at a wonderful Tea Room. The food looks fabulous and Happy Birthday Martha!

Gina @ Victorian Wanna Be  shared her Christmas in the dining room. Isn't this a gorgeous room? Love the wallpaper!

Christina @ Cloches & Lavender  shared her lovely foyer all dressed for Christmas with some very unique pieces including a tree decked out with German glass ornaments. 

And Judy @ Gold Country Cottage shared her Christmas around the cottage including her darling tablescape set with her special china and bunnies.

Thank you everyone for sharing last week. Now let's see what you are creating in your home to make it a cozy place to come home to for your family, your friends, and yourself. 

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~ Roy L. Smith


As much as I don't like to cancel parties, No Place Like Home will be cancelled next week due to the Holidays. I will return in the New Year on January 4, 2016. Have a Beautiful and Blessed Christmas dear friends and Happy New Year to you all!


"Lord, this humble house we'd keep
Sweet with play and calm with sleep.
Help us so that we may give
Beauty to the lives we live.
Let thy beauty and Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place." ~ Edgar A. Guest

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Christmas Roses for Tea Time

Each Christmas I remember
The ones of long ago;
I see our mantelpiece adorned
With stockings in a row.
Each Christmas finds me dreaming
Of days that used to be,
When we hid presents here and there,
For all the family.
Each Christmas I remember
The fragrance in the air,
Of roasting turkey and mince pies
And cookies everywhere.
Each Christmas finds me longing
For Christmases now past,
And I am back in childhood
As long as memories last. ~ from Christmas Past by Carice Williams

Welcome sweet friends to my last tea time before Christmas! Can you believe it is almost here?

This is my tree this year. It is much the same as last year only with all white lights instead of a mixture of white and coloured. As you can see, I have a lot of pink and teal/aqua in my decor; two of my favourite colours.

What is the Christmas spirit? It is the spirit which brings a smile to the lips and tenderness to the heart; It is the spirit which warms one into friendship with all the world, which impels one to hold out the hand of fellowship to every man and woman. ~ Anonymous

Every December I bring out my Royal Albert Old Country Roses.

This pattern boasts a rich array of red, golden yellow, and deep pink roses; perfect for December. It reminds me of days gone by; a time when good manners were still in vogue.

It also reminds me of my daddy who always admired this pattern. When I see OCR, I always think of him, because he brought my mother roses every week and he really loved Christmas. 

The teapot, you remember, was a birthday gift from my family a few years ago.

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December. ~ JM Barrie

I found another teacup and a dessert plate at Home Sense a few months ago and am happy to add them to my collection. 

Tykes on sleds and shouts of glee, icy-window filigree, sugarplums and candle glow, part of Christmas long ago. ~ Jo Geis


My decorating is finished and now I just have to finish up the baking. There will be lots of company this year as we will have family joining us. 

The holidays are a time of family traditions and gatherings with friends - simple moments to savour like a cup of tea. 

Do you remember the little twelve inch trees I found for next to nothing after last Christmas? I glued one into a Santa boot which had been a part of a floral arrangement and then I decorated it with little ornaments and Timothy the teddy bear.

The other one I decorated to match the OCR china. This is the little angel on the top of the tree.

She was put together by hand and the ornaments are all the colours in the china.

Notice the wee roses. This little tree will be part of my tea table today.

May I pour you some tea? I am having Celestial Seasonings Sugar Plum Spice which has hibiscus, roasted chicory, chamomile, rosehips, roasted carob, ginger, and cardamon in it.

Doesn't it sound delicious? I think it will go well with my Sugar Plums, gingerbread cookies, and pumpkin nut bread.

I love to capture the lights and have them reflecting in the tea!

Love and friendship are the best sweeteners of tea. ~ Unknown

In the light of that star, Lie the ages impearled;
And that song from afar Has swept over the world.
Every hearth is aflame, and the beautiful sing
In the homes of the nations That Jesus is King! ~ From the Christmas Song, "There's a Song in the Air"- Josiah G. Holland {1819-1881} Karl P. Harrington {1861-1953}

I am so happy you could stop by for a visit and I hope you can join me on Monday for my last No Place Like Home before the holidays. Enjoy your weekend dear friends and bask in the loveliness we call Christmas!

 I am joining the following parties as well~

Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Bernideen's Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party
 Tea Cup Tuesday
 Share Your Cup Thursday

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi