holiday charm

I love little sweet Christmas details tucked into little spaces in my home --- and I spend a good day unpacking all my favorites.  I have become a bit more discerning over the years -- and generally now just use vintage decorations (I have also down-sized to just 4 Rubbermade containers -- smile).  In recent years, I have become especially fond of tarnished silvers & golds and faded red -- and always my go-to color - green.  Tinsel garlands, spools of holiday thread, little papered boxes, sweet little cards, Christmas ribbon and millinery will always come home with me.

 Of course, fabrics that make me swoon are tucked here & there

not to mention sweet little nods to Santa.



Now...speaking of Santa -- let me take a moment to share a little story about "holiday charm" - or rather, lack of it (this is the "you'd better be nice" stuff).  Recently, I stopped in what I always consider a fun little antiquing town in Minnesota (names will not be added to protect the innocent).  I had driven a bit to get there, so the first stop was a multidealer mall with a restroom in the basement.  As I entered, I checked in with the two older ladies sitting behind the counter, "Hello....how are you two doing...now, your bathroom is in the basement - correct?".  One of the ladies lifted her painted-on eyebrow to reply (in a curt manner), "that is the employee bathroom.  But if you have used it before - go ahead."  O.K... but as I walked to the back of the building to access the stairs she yelled, "we like to have people buy something before they use the bathroom".  Hmmm -- so sometimes (not usually) I might let this go -- but come on, Santa Claus is coming to town.....so, once I came back up to first floor I went back up to the counter to ask what their mall discount policy is and identify that I am a dealer & tax exempt.  Then I stated quite clearly & concisely, "you know, a part of me would like to take my wallet and leave this mall right now -- as that was the rudest welcome.  I suspect that if I ever treated a customer like that at the mall I work at, I wouldn't work there anymore."  The lady apologized (sort of) and stated that so many people come in to just use the bathroom -- to which I responded that the 3 foot by 3 foot sign next the bathroom that states "restroom"  -- feels mighty public to me.  And, I followed up again that no one deserves a rude welcome in a place of business.  Later, as I checked out my almost $100 worth of purchases, she apologized again & again.  Fine, accepted --- but in the end, I would guess that she hadn't been reminded as of lately that rude is rude.   And, I suspect that she may not have had eyebrows left as she was sweating bullets when I left---which I felt kind of bad about, and kind of not -- see, I do believe that I will be the last rudely welcomed customer in a while........see, holiday charm shouldn't be relegated to shelves & table tops only.  As I left, I might have let out a tiny "ho, ho, ho" (thinking that I may indeed have earned me my own little lump of coal -- oh well.)