Our Home in Winter

Hi folks!  Did you all watch the Super Bowl, or did you opt for Downton Abbey?  We always watch the Super Bowl at our house, but we recorded Downton Abbey.  I'm planning on watching it tonight, so I hope I don't accidentally see any spoilers today.

Last week I showed you our foyer, and this week I want to show your our living room.  Like our foyer, I've only shown a few pictures of our living room on my blog, and those were mostly little close-ups of Christmas decor.  This is the living room in winter.

For the most part, I like this time of year.  All the Christmas trappings are finally put away, and we get some time to catch our breath after the non-stop bustle which starts in the fall and lasts all the way through New Year's.  I like some quiet, cozy time to dream about spring.

After I put the Christmas things away, I bring out my snowmen to keep things from looking too drab after the holidays.  They sort of cheer up the end tables and bookcases until I can decorate for spring.  I thought I'd show you a few of those snowmen and women today.

I love this little snowman.  He reminds me of a French clown somehow; it must be his conical hat and the ruffle around his neck.  This table sits beneath our front window, but we have to move it out of the room at Christmas because of our Christmas tree.  I'm always glad to have it back in place.

I have two of these snowmen; I purchased them at a music store (Separk Music) in downtown Winston-Salem when our son was in high school.  It was the neatest music store in the prettiest old building.  They're still in business, but after years of being located downtown, they moved to a new shopping center outside of town.

This is a candle snuffer that my husband gave me for Christmas one year.  Please ignore the dust on the piano in this picture.  I only dusted it about ten times, but it never fails that some shows up in my pictures.  I had some ceramic carolers on the piano at Christmas with angel hair surrounding them.  The angel hair is beautiful, but it's so hard to get it up afterwards.  I keep finding little bits here and there.

This is a picture of our son (and more dust) when he was about eight or nine, taken on a snow day when school was cancelled.  He and his grandmother built this snowman, and she kindly gave me this picture.  I'm so glad to have it.

This is the mate to the other snowman from the music store.  Isn't he the cutest thing?  From the sparkly tassel on his hat, to his pink cheeks, down to the little bits of  "coal" for buttons, he just really makes me smile.  A treble clef hangs from the little circlet he's holding.

One of the reasons I bought these snowmen is that they have a sort of music theme.  The first one you saw is holding a little drum with drumsticks.  Those of you who read my blog may remember that our son played piano, as well as playing in the concert and marching band for many years.

 Here's how this end table looked at Christmas...

...and in January.

The coffee table has switched from Christmas...

....to winter.

I also love my Dedham Pottery snowman and snow lady.

These are treasured gifts from my parents and my sister.

I got two new decorating books for Christmas this year.  My husband gifted me with  "Feather Your Nest," by Mary Carol Garrity, which most of you probably own or have looked at by now.  I love this book.

The second book I purchased with some of my Christmas money.  It's a very recent publication titled "THE GREAT AMERICAN HOUSE, Tradition For The Way We Live Now," by Gil Schafer, III.  I'll share some more about this book in a later post.

A few remaining pictures of the living room...

I love the different seasons of the year.  I don't think I would want to live somewhere that doesn't have four separate seasons.  That's just what I've always been accustomed to, and I look forward to the changes each season brings.

I don't have a lot of Valentine's things, but I'll be putting those out this week, and the snowmen will stay out until sometime in March.  How about you?  Are you ready for Valentine's Day?  Don't you love all the cheerful red and pink hearts?

As always, thank you for taking time to read my blog.  If you're a regular follower, thanks for returning; if you're a first-time visitor to House at Forest Manor, I hope you'll come back.  Have a great week!

Denise

This week I'm joining:
 Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Kathy at A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden Thursday
Sherry for the Home Sweet Home party on Friday
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday

A big thanks to all these ladies for hosting each week; I hope you'll stop by their parties for some creative inspiration.