The merry week is almost over. Can you believe it?
Just a handful of hours, so I better get my holiday wrap up photos loaded here pronto :)
I had a lovely, curious, strange week.
I sort of relapsed, and got sick again, clearing that hawrrible stuff out of my system.
The doc said this would happen.
(the horrible B vitamin my body rejected – tale a couple posts below)
It really messed me up, so I missed Christmas.
Well, I missed venturing home for the 24th and the 25th.
Instead, I was ill.
But cozy with my boys to hug.
All 3.
On the 26th I felt a tiny bit better, and was too sad to miss the festivities altogether.
So, I asked Mister Lovee to please drive me home.
Packed up quick…
And, off to the family pad we went.
It was great.
It was like it was still Christmas.
And santa had left all my goodies in the same place he has my whole life.
That Santa.
I had gifts for everyone, and they for me.
But most important, we all just wanted to see each other.
So, we got to visit and open treats, and eat good food, and be together.
Mombie's decor was silver and gold this year.
Here is a past Christmas visit link, you might recall, the red year.
It was very sparkly, and so warm and glowing too.
I love the santa moon…
I tried to take lots of pics to share, mostly in the day actually.
Mombie puts out so many pretty things.
It's a good combo of cute and sweet, mixed with elegant.
I like that meshing of treasures.
The big tree!
Of course, we mustn't forget the fairy tree in the other room…
There has got to be over 100 fairies in there.
I asked Mombie where she gets them all.
She says, she just keeps her eye out at little shops and such.
She showed me some of her faves, but I told her she shouldn't pick faves.
Or the fairies might pull some shenanigans on her ;)
There was lots of delicious munching.
Baked ham and potato salad.
Tamales.
Beans.
(I rarely/never partake in the beans and tamales, weird right?)
And a whole bunch of other things, I can't recall now.
Lovee and his coffee.
Beheaded. He likes his privacy 😉
Also, lots of Pan Dulce.
Mexican sweet bread, yumm.
One of my gifts to my parents, below…
I found this ceramic/clay owl, all in clay brown.
And I saw major potential, if painted.
Lovee was like, meh.
But then once I painted Owlie, both he and I had a hard time parting with him.
He is about 20"+ tall.
Also…
There is a story that makes a white owl relevant to my mom, dad and me.
You see, when I was a little girl (about 5) I heard a ghost in my room.
I went to my parents room, and my dad said, no, no ghosts, go back to bed.
I went back to bed, and I heard the ghost again.
I went to their room, and dad said hogwash.
So, Mombie went to my room with me, and she heard it too.
Oooooooo, ooooooooooooo…
Mombie told my dad he better go listen for himself.
So, my dad went to my room with me and laid on my bed.
There was no sound for a long while.
Then, ooooooo, oooooooooooo.
The funny thing, it wasn't as much a "whooo whooo."
It was really more ghostly.
My dad got wide eyes when he heard it.
He said, it's coming from outside.
So, we went into the back yard.
And on the telephone pole, was a HUGE white owl.
Just looking at us.
Then he spread his huge wings, and flew over us.
It was amazing, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
My parents had (still have on their wall) a giant white owl painting.
Which always made me think of that owl ghost night.
But, once I painted this ceramic owl, it was like, the owl from that night came to life.
My mom and dad both were jaw dropped.
It was him, in statue form.
So, that was a neat holiday thing.
We sat around the big table and told lots of stories.
I peeked around Mombie's 3 table huge village.
We also took out a bunch of our childhood photos and albums.
That is always fun.
But at the same time, it is weep worthy, to see how much time has past.
How fast life swooshes by.
Wow, it's really something.
I laughed at the never ending photos of me hitting pinatas.
There were soo many.
I snapped pictures of a few.
Plus some faves, like biting into cake – which I think I shared before.
Sis, Mombie and me on the top right.
And, my first Christmas meeting Santa…
Soooo many pictures, albums, memories.
As I get older, it seems like so very long ago.
It was a lovely time.
I hope you had a lovely time too.
For those of you who love landscapes + Arizona, I took a bunch of photos on our return journey.
I love the moon getting brighter as night loomed…
If I looked to the right, I saw this…
And if I looked ahead, this-
Heading back to Tucson…
I could see the observatory pretty clearly…
Just outside of Tucson, some saguaros, and then a hill full of them…
As kids, we knew Tucson was close when we could see the saguaro filled hill.
And then, entering Tucson – with a view of downtown Tucson.
I basically live on the other side of those mountains you see below.
You sort of wrap around the left of them, to get to the other side.
You don't go through/over them.
And now, we await a new year, hooray!
Here at the country pad, pink tufts hover over our mountains.
Snow tops, and rain on the way.
Do you have any plans?
I personally like a low key New Year's evening.
I've already done the young discotheque nights, boys shaking champagne bottles at midnight, getting soaked.
Champagne and pieces of confetti covering you.
Hair ruined.
Smooshed between people.
Freezing, dancing all night, catching a cold.
It was fun, a blast even (at the time), however…
Been there, done that, no thanks 😉
I think we should come up with a list of hopes and reflections this year, you?
Hope is something that is very important in my life.
It's the thing I look to for everything really.
And I have lots of hopes, as I am sure we all do.
I am dreaming of a hope tree….
Love, V
I’ve been hoping you would post pics of you mother’s Christmas decor again this year, it’s always so pretty in your photos!
Oh Vanessa:
Thank you for posting these gorgeous photos and bringing to my memory the good times I had hitting Pinatas.
The landscape all around you is my favorite. I adore saguaro. The are so royal and strong.
New Year’s Eve will be very low key at my house too. I can also say “been there done that.” I am happy to have a glass of Champagne in the warmth of my house with my family.
xoxo
Kim
I hope you’re feeling better now. Thanks for sharing your photos! I can’t believe it’s all over. All that preparing & then it’s over in a flash!
We stay at home New Year’s Eve & just relax. I don’t like driving with all the partiers on the road. Being hit by a drunk driver once is enough for me!
I had a couple allergic reaction things happen to me. One was when I took Glucosamine Chondroitin not knowing there was shellfish in it. I puffed up all over & had to take steroids. Guess who’s allergic to shellfish! The other time was years ago when my mom was in Texas getting a stem cell replacement for cancer. I was at her house taking care of my grandma. I was outside messing around in the garden & I got itchy & puffy all over! The Dr. said she had never seen anything so bad! My mom was due home & I was afraid that I touched something outside that I then spread around the house. I was crying & upset that I was going to end up killing her if she touched the stuff. I wiped the whole house down! I had her landscaper look around & he didn’t see anything like poison oak, etc. I had a hunch it was this white flowering plant I was touching. I don’t know what is was. The itching was horrible. My eyes were swollen shut. The steroids helped settle it down & my mom wasn’t affected. Thank God!
Happy New Year to you & your family!
Vanessa,
Thank you for sharing your holiday experiences. I just love reading your posts with all the beautiful, interesting pictures. I hope you continue to feel better and have a healthy and happy new year! 🙂
Your Mombie’s house looks glorious! What wonderful goodies she has…very lovey goodies. And the fairy tree…how magical! Wowzer!
So sorry you weren’t feeling well, but so happy you were well enough to be with family a day later. That’s what counts!
I am wishing for a New Year, that whatever happens in it we will all somehow survive. This past year was a duzzy for many of us, so for right now, if anything worse than what happened last year comes our way, it won’t surprise us as much because we will already have gone through the same thing. So its ‘Chin up’ ‘Look ahead’ ‘Shoulders back’ ‘Head Held High’ and onward we go into the future…with the fairies following behind us!!!
I truly hope we can have some inspiring days…in fact…everyday should be an inspiring one, come what may.
many XX’s and OO’s to you for a peaceful, at home New Year’s Day.
Miss Teresa
Your Mum’s decorations are magical Vanessa! Like mother like daughter it would seem! I especially love the village. Have you seen the Jacquie Lawson advent calendar this year? I know it is a bit late now but I think you would like it. If not let me know and I will try to send it to you.
I am glad you felt well enough to visit your family so you didn’t miss out. I was ill at the start of the holidays but thankfully better by Christmas eve so we could still have the day at our flat for a change. I agree with you on New Year. Although we usually visit our friends in Holland this year we all decided to go for low key too. It is just me, Andy and the cats and some tasty food.
I love your photos of your journey. It really is beautiful there. The mountains and the moon-so lovely!
I wish you and yours a happy and dream filled new year!
xx
Honestly, I love seeing photos of your Mums home, her decor and taste in everything is fabu! Happy New Year to you, and here is to another year of blogging and all the fun that goes along with it. XoXoE
Oh my Goodness! Your Mother’s decor is awesome, and what an amazing village she has collected. I am glad you were able to have Christmas even if if it was few days late. Thank you for sharing all the beautiful pictures of your Parent’s house and the Arizona landscapes. I adore the saguaro plants!
Happiest of New Years to you and the boys!
Tracy M.
Oh P.S.
How could not eat tons of tamales? LOL!
Tracy M.
I’m sorry that you relapsed a bit, but I’m glad you enjoyed yourself anyway! Happy New Year’s Eve! (and I don’t like tamales either, but growing up my family loved them!)
Sad that you got sick just around Christmas Eve, but your Christmas seems quite nice anyway. I fell completely in love with your mothers Christmas decorations. She has an excellent taste!! And her fairy tree is adorable!
Amazing tale about the white owl. I have the owl as my totem animal and I think they are fascinating. My tree this year has the owl theme with 7 of them…need more 🙂
Happy New year from Sweden! I also wish you a healthy year <3
How happy you had a special late Christmas with family.
I just loved seeing your families home/decorations and the surrounding countryside.
I’m glad you are better and glad you were able to go visit your family. Your mother’s decorating is so pretty. I have a lot of village pieces and have started packing them up today.
I love Christmasey decorating. I add a few more pieces to various collections each year.
Low key NYE for us, too. We are leaving in a couple minutes to go meet my nephew and niece-in-law to pick up one of their daughters to spend the night with my grand here tonight. The girls have so much fun together. They look more like sisters.
Love the old family pictures. I’ve inherited family pics and am copying them to try to make some albums for the other family members. So many memories, so many loved ones gone on.
Love the owl and the story.
happy NEW YEAR dear Vanessa and family.
Thank you Mr. Lovee for driving the sleigh, so Miss Vanessa could have her family holiday time that means so much to her! Also thankful Vanessa, that you felt well enough to go. I just love to hear and see all the fun you enjoy with your wonderful family!
Your mom has such lovely decorations! I really enjoyed your scenic pictures too!
Wishing you Vanessa, Mr.L, Matty and Miles a Happy New Year!
I posted a little something about Hope yesterday as well! Lets HOPE it finds its way in many hearts for the year 2013. I <3 your idea about a tree of HOPE too! 😉
I really think your mom and I would quite get along.
I hope you continue to feel better every day. Sorry to hear you had a relapse.
Thank you for taking us along on your holiday journey. We were unable to observe any holiday this year, but perhaps will make up for it come spring and summer. Maybe we will invent a holiday to enjoy.
We are planning a very quiet night at home. As long as there is shrimp I will be happy.
So sorry to hear about your relapse! Dear Vanessa, your poor health has made me so sad. I want you to be happy and healthy so you can garden, and paint, and sculpt and create to your heart’s desire! Health for the new year! And a marvelously enormous dash of whimsy, am I right? Beautiful pictures, your parents’ house is so wonderful. I see where you get your creativity from. Just wanted to let you know how well the jewels went over with the ladies of my family. Everyone loved them and got a big spiel on the fanciful place they came from too! 🙂
Such an amazing family you have…Amazing decor, lovely memories, amazing photos awesome foods to eat and amazing things all around….I am so very glad that you are feeling better. Now lets hope that 2013 will be amazingly healthy and happy for all of your family and friends.
Just the two of us..sitting by the fire and drinking champagne, toasting another year…
Happy new year miss vanessa…owls are truely awesome,
Miss Jenn, I know! I am not a very good sick person at all. I
always feel so great (and adore feeling great), it seems when I do get hit, its
something weird and bizarre, like my body reacting bad to something (like this
horrible Biotin vitamin, ugh). Weird!! But I feel a bit better every
single day. 😉 I love that the jewels were a hit, wooo
hoooooo!!
Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
In a message dated 12/31/2012 2:24:50 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
Happy New Year my friend!!! Here’s wishing you health, happiness, inspiration and new adventures.
XOXOXO
Oh and your Mom’s decorations are like looking inside a Christmas store!!!
I love seeing these photos! All of them!
You capture a holiday so well…all of the little in and outs and feelings and moments.
And Lovee’s hair is getting so long!
That fairy tree makes me so happy.
Laura, he seems to do this. He cuts in, then lets is grow waist long,
and then cuts it again. I think we all need a fairy tree, dont you?
She leaves it up all year long. Just adds different things for different
holidays and such 😉
Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
In a message dated 12/31/2012 5:00:07 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
I love the idea of the hope tree! My mind is twirling with possibilities! Your Mombie and Dad’s house is fabulous! I’ve always wanted to have a winter village, but didn’t ever start one. I’m glad you are feeling ever so much better and I hope that you don’t get sick again for a very very super duper long time!
Happy New Year!!!
love & blessings
~*~
Your mom puts a lot of love into making Christmas special…..
The owl makeover is spectacular!
The French part of you must not like tamales & beans!
Just think, Vanessa ~ you have had all the health issues you’re going to have for quite a while. I can feel it (I’m witchy that way)
2013 is almost here…..
Dearest Dear Vanessa,
As always, you have given us so many glimpses of magic and wonder! I’m so sorry you haven’t been feeling well, but I’m so glad that you were able to go see your family for Christmas after all. I loved all of your pictures (and the story of The Ghost Owl), but I really loved the pictures you took on your way back to Tucson. It is such a beautiful place and having visited there a few years ago, it makes me wish we were there instead of here (might get to -5 tonight! Eeeek!)
I do hope you will be better soon and I wish you, Mr. Lovee and The Boys a Most Wonderful, Creative and Prosperous 2013!!
My wish for this year is that it will be so wonderful that it will convince everyone that the Number 13 is the luckiest number after all!!
With biggest hugs,
Betty
What a perfectly lovely holiday you had! I see the apple doesn’t fall from the tree when it comes to decorating. 😉 You mom has lovely taste!!! 🙂 I am so sorry to hear that you fell ill again and I hope that you are now fully recovered. We also like a low-key New Year…we feast on tasty treats and watch the ball drop…then it’s off to bed for me! We always go on a New Year’s Day hike – thankfully, the weather cooperated. Take care of yourself, dear friend, and enjoy the New Year! xoxo
I love your mom’s exquisite home, but I like yours better.
Happy New Year! Your holidays look lovely and Mombie’s decorations are GORGEOUS! I too, am in love with the Santa Moon…so cute.
Our NYE celebrations were low-key and cozy. We grilled steaks & Portabello mushrooms and rosemary & sea salt crusted potato’s and sat outside under our tent gazebo while listening and watching fireworks. After dinner, we lit sparklers around the fire pit, and then went to bed. LOL – we’re so lame and were in bed by 11 PM, although the fireworks from our neighborhood kept us awake until 1 or 2 AM. It was crazy – like a war zone.
Hope you’re feeling all better now! LOVED all the photos in this post. Your Mom’s Village Display is over the top. I have so many pieces & I would love to have a place to display them. Does she keep them out all year? Or does she pack it all away? It’s a lot of work!!!! Happy New Year!
Charlene
So many beautiful and festive photos! I have been gone for several weeks and am finally catching up on blogging.
Hope you are are spectacular! Happy Happy New Year!