Merry Christmas!

Hoping your Christmas is Merry and Bright!

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Boston Store Christmas Sale

Just a quick note to let our local shoppers know that our Christmas merchandise is on sale~today, Sunday, is the last day we are open before Christmas for those of you who have last minute items to get.

Justin has been busy stringing up our bistro lights and it has added quite 

the festive atmosphere! I might be popping in the shop myself to get a gift for my hubby...seems like I have lots still left to do....do you?

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Antique mirrors at Maison Decor and sharing the wealth

 Mirrors and me...lets just say I love them! 

So whenever I can I try to add more antique and vintage mirrors 

to my stores. Today I got 3 mirrors to add to the inventory.

This partial frame antique gesso and wood grey gilded finish is one

I have never seen before.  The frame runs half way around the bottom with tassels on

either side and swags of roses in between the fluted molding.

At the top there is a crown with clusters of roses and a ribbon!

 This round mirror is large and measures about 28" in diameter.

 A pretty header of ribbons and roses with a crown!

 A powder room would be the perfect spot for this beauty don't you think?

 The next mirror is an art deco style antique etched floral design mirror with a bevel edge.

 Whats neat about this mirror is that there are 4 amethyst glass rosettes! 

Yeah~purple glass!! You know I love purple....

 Its got a few minor condition issues, but all in all a 

nice vintage piece with special details at a great price.

 I have two fireplace mirrors~that is what they call these elongated rectangular shaped old mirrors.

This one is in the art deco style with etching and brass rosettes and its huge!

It measures 48" wide x 21" tall.

 The second fireplace mirror is more ornate and in the French style~

its also etched but has a beautiful frame along with the rosettes.

This large mirror is about 43" wide x 41" tall and has a grey gilt finish~

its a grand reception hall mirror and came out of an estate in Wellesley Mass.

(psss...that's where all the rich folk live....the old money rich kind of folk.)

When you need an antique or vintage mirror,

don't forget to check Maison Decor! 

We have more in the Boston store too!

This sideboard is getting the Gustavian treatment~

I'll be sharing after Christmas the before during and afters 

of how you can try to achieve this popular look.

Christmas is coming in a couple of days~

we had a nice family party at my son's dad's house the other night.

(Remind me that I am past the age to wear sleeveless attire now.

Bummer because I really thought I was ageless....)

I did wear a cute white mink stole with the silver sequined top...(why did I take it off?)

I got both of these at this great little consignment shop run by a single mom.

Now that I have my own shop I realize how much it means to a shop owner 

when you give them your business~so I picked up a few items for the women in my

life while I was there~including one SPECIAL item for my MIL!!

I'll share what she got after Christmas!

The consignment shop owner told me that my purchases are 

really going to help her out with her own Christmas.

I was so touched when she said that, because I really was 

trying to share the wealth, as it were, with real people hustling 

and working hard for a living.

So remember to shop local whenever you can~

it really does make a difference.

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Tree trimming party at home in matching PJs!

source
Well it started with this~I had the idea that this year it might be fun if we all wore matching PJs for Christmas.  One year I found us some cute red dog PJs by Nick n Nora at Target...but that was about 5 years ago and some of us don't fit in our PJs anymore (not me~our little guy)!  I found this cute print of Downhill Santas and they happened to be on sale too on Target.com.  They didn't have any matching ones in my size though, so only the guys got this pattern. Target delivered them the very day we planned to decorate the tree!! It was kismet!  

 So one by one all the boys put on their Christmas pajamas...it set a merry mood!

 My pajamas were snow men and I got this pattern 

because you know I love aqua!

We took turns posing in our new pajamas and got ready to 

decorate the tree. Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care 

(and cuphooks)~all hand knit by my mother except for

 my childhood stocking which was knit 

by my Grammy (see the tiny one on the left?).

 The tree needed some lights first...

but I had to snap a few pics to capture this family time.

 The lights were getting put on and Mr. Maison Decor 

goofed around answering the phone for Miss Maison Decor 

on my frenchy phone that isn't even plugged in~

 I had to rearrange the lights after Mr. MD 

was done doing it...he had two full strings still laying on the ground 

that he didn't think we needed!!! 

 OMG~you know you can never have enough lights!

 So as I unstrung it and started again he looked over with fury in his eyes~(kidding)~

 Then he ran around and grabbed me and started 

trying to wrestle me as I had been a fresh girl 

telling him how he didn't do a good job on the lights!

 He squeezed and hugged and we were both laughing like little kids right before Christmas!

It was about as perfect as a family night can get, 

and I was so glad it was!  Claire, my MIL told a story\

about how she and her hubby would always

 get in fights over the lights! I think lots of people fight over the lights~

and the ornaments~and certainly the icicles....

although we don't use icicles now as they can kill the dogs 

if they swallow it (I think it gets wrapped around their intestines 

or something was what Mr. MD said) 'cause if icicles 

didn't pose a danger to dogs I would have had icicles all over this tree.  

So sparkly and vintage and makes me think

 of the real Christmas trees we had as a kid.

After the lights were done we all plowed through the boxes of ornaments

 and not one was broken! It was a family record I believe~

Colin loved his PJs too by the way...and when I sent a 

text with a pic of everyone in their matching PJs to Justin I 

sensed he might feel left out and want a pair...he replied back with a :-) yes please!

  So I went back online and ordered 3 more pairs: one for Justin, 

one for Brandon and even one for their dad Barry!! 

Hows that for a very Brady Christmas?  

(I used to be Marcia...but now I am the mom).

The tree finally got the last ornament hung!  

Grammy Maison Decor was there to lend a helping hand too!

The next step was to sit back with a glass of eggnog 

and admire the handiwork.  There really is something 

special about having a lit Christmas tree in a room~

it suddenly becomes CHRISTMAS time!!

 After all the tired elves went to bed, I snapped a couple more pics. 

 I still have to get a tree skirt around it,

 and put away all the boxes, but it was a triumph all in all!

 A matching green wreath with glass ornaments wired

 to it hangs above the mantel. I was so tired but a good tired~

the matching PJs and family participation with all on board made for a splendid night.

And that was the story of how we trimmed our tree.

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Painting the latest auction pieces and our February classes

 Oh we know Christmas is coming....but we have a lot to do around the shop~and it really doesn't leave us much time for doing much of any Christmassy stuff at home.  Like last night we finally got our tree.  It was icy rain and dark outside when Mr. Maison Decor and his 10 year old and I went a hunting for our tree.  I think the lady at the tree stand was so happy someone came as she mixed up a cup of hot cocoa for the little guy while we had the entire tree farmstand to ourselves!!  I guess everyone else had already bought their trees, and probably decorated them too. At any rate, we found the perfect tree and brought it home to our dark lifeless house....I blurted out "How about we put up some lights outside?"  "Now?" was the response~and it wasn't from my husband. But in the end we deemed it a good idea to keep decorating for Christmas in the cold rain~and before we knew it we had the house railings and front door decked out in white lights! It was so cheery and we were frozen to the bone...we dashed inside and pushed the button to our fireplace (nice to have modern conveniences even if I SAY I prefer a real fireplace) to warm ourselves up.  A cup of Eggnog and soon we were trading stories of Christmas' past~all in all a nice holiday moment.  

But today I am back in the store and tonight we will decorate the tree with Colin's help~I will have my camera to chronicle it all and hope to share it here later this week!

Little touches in the store remind us of the season and that

 I am happy and grateful for all of my blessings this year~

the store and its success, along with the willingness of the boys 

and my husband who all make this operation a reality from day to day.

 Today Colin was busy unloading our shipments of Chalk Paint 

and Milk Paint and finally we got to pick a project to paint.  

We also had this beautiful bed to wax and finish off for a client as it has been SOLD.

 Colin is a great painter now and loves working 

with the Chalk Paint.  He used Graphite on this

simple country spool chest.  

 The turned spool details and the big wooden knobs give this piece its personality.

 Graphite is the perfect color too~and it will get a light distressing 

and head into Boston as the demand for smaller chests and

 anything in Graphite remains high!  The price on this piece 

will be very reasonable so I don't expect it to hang around for long.

 I decided to get going on the console table 

and planned to do it up in Ironstone Milk Paint.

 Milk Paint is so much different than Chalk Paint~

its drippier and you need to pay attention to the consistency of the paint 

so you don't have dribble marks.  This piece is half way done...

as it dries it will self distress and reveal what parts are

 going to chip up and chunk up and fall away!  

Woo hoo~lets see what this piece will do.  I love surprises!

A great block front desk needs a paint job..

.the auction house said it was a vanity 'cause it went 

with a bedroom set...but I am not so sure. 

You could use it as a vanity, but it looks quite like a desk to me.

 Our shelves are restocked again with every color including 

sample sizes and we have tons of wax so 

come on in and rest assured we have what you need.

 Everything comes to Malden first, gets sorted out

 and then boxes are set up for Boston and Colin will run them in~

this goes for the furniture too.  Everything comes to Malden first...

 Another exciting project that I cannot wait to do

 is this beautiful Jacobean buffet...it came out of a house

 with this mirror hanging above it.  This style mirror is my favorite!!

 Pretty right? THe sideboard is going to get the Shabby Chic treatment 

in Old White.  Soft and pretty and elegant in white...

all the details will scream "look at me!!" after its painted.

 You will catch us painting for sure if you pop in this week~

its not the busiest time to sell paint for projects at this time of year, 

but I have been surprised to see what is selling~

I was asked to create these:

Gift certificates! 

I sell them online at shopmaisondecor.com and they are good for everything!

My Workshop classes are selling out as usual too~

I just listed the February classes with two dates for the "Everything" class 

(that's what I call the Annie Sloan Introductory class). 

You can sign up online for that as well if you want to secure your spot.

In the meantime Colin just finished this chest and 

left to pick up Tobey at the groomer. 

 He badly needed his Christmas haircut...and so do I!! 

I am going to squeeze in an early appointment tomorrow~

as we have a family party tomorrow night at Colin's dad's house! 

 Until then~stay merry and bright!

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