ARE YOU READY?
I MADE SPACE FOR THE TREE……..that wasNOT easy!
A LITTLE VIGNETTE that speaks to my SOUL.
THE STUFF I COLLECT……..NOTHING CHRISTMASSY about this display cabinet!
HO HO HO………….
AT least I have the BEGINNINGS!
ORNAMENTS A GLOW!
TAXIDERMY CHICKEN…………taking CENTER STAGE!
HOPS,MIRRORS,SILVER Candelabra’s and a STOCKING or TWO!
MY COMPANY at my KITCHEN SINK.
SHE NEVER FAILS ME!
Never leaves.
Never speaks TOO much.
Does not JUDGE if the water is not HOT.
ALWAYS, has an accessory or TWO on.
My kind of GIRL!
WE DO HAVE FALL IN CALIFORNIA!
THIS STREET was FULL of these TREE’s!!!!!
THIS IS ME LOOKING RATHER SKINNY!
Don’t know what MY camera did to make me LOOK so TAUNT but I had to SHARE the NECK PIECE!
INSTEAD
of purchasing ONE necklace……..I BUY TWO!
IT IS SO MUCH >>>>>>>BETTER!
You know MORE IS MORE!
WHO knows what those BUMPS are on MY FOREHEAD?
They have multiplied…….I use to have two!
They are not PIMPLES with PUSS………BELIEVE me I have DUG DEEP!
BETTER PHOTO of the CHRISTMAS TREE PIN!
VRBA
These pins are BIG!
I have one MONTH To ADORN MYSELF and I DO!
I am ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE…….
ANYONE have a VBRA hiding in a DRAWER……………..I might be INTERESTED!
PARTY TIME!
I was suppose to WEAR something I MADE!
ARM CANDY for the FESTIVE NIGHTS!
Maybe ONE MORE would have been BETTER?
WELL, I guess I AM READY……………ARE YOU?
NINE DAYS………TO GO!
Actually WE open on the night of the 24th.
I think this is an ENGLISH TRADITION anyone know?
Does SANTA still come to your house?
He still comes TO MINE!
Let’s HOPE the VISA statement arrives after the HOLIDAY!
I think HE will ADORE me MORE that WAY!
XOXO
PS.To ALL of YOU who send me comments and or emails…………YOU KEEP ME GOING HERE!
YOU MAKE ME SMILE and LAUGH and TAKE MY BREATH AWAY time and time again!
I
THANK YOU
for
THAT.
ENJOY YOUR FRIENDS and FAMILY and the MUSICA of the SEASON!!
I HOPE I can SHARE a PHOTO or THREE of ME and the PIGGY BANKSY come the NEW YEAR!
Maybe SANTA can SWING by to pick him up with the HELP of the REINDEER!!!
AT last WEIGH IN he was 130 POUNDS!
SO, much for being the size of a TEA CUP!!!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
Jeane says
Dear Contessa you are always the life of the party in my bloglife. Thanks for knowing who you are and being her so divinely. Sometimes that takes a lot of work but you light the path with your humor and laughter for all of us to “become” our best selves.
Peace and joy and hugs!
Jeane
LA CONTESSA says
THAT IS A BIG BIG COMPLIMENT JEANE…………
Yes, I’m afraid I do KNOW WHO I AM and HAVE YET to FIND A TWIN!!!
From what people tell me………I am a RARE BIRD!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU!!!!!
XX
Lisa White says
Fabulous blog. Love the content and pictures. Gorgeous style??Love the ornaments
LA CONTESSA says
THANK YOU!
I thought you may ENJOY as I will ENJOY yours as well………..
THANKS for taking a PEEK!
XX
Catherine says
You have such beautiful hands Contessa. No, not a tradition in England to open presents on Christmas Eve, in Germany and Denmark, I think, we wait to Christmas Day her in the U.K.! Have a wonderful Christmas with your family, much love ??????
Catherine says
*here in the U.K. And ?? Are suppose to be stars, I’ll send you xxx’s instead xx
LA CONTESSA says
I GOT IT!
I have NO idea why it does THAT………….XX
Alexandra says
The brooches are heavenly! Love that taxidermy chicken;)
Merry Christmas!!
LA CONTESSA says
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALEXANDRA!XX
Kimberly Bringgold says
Gorgeous, glamorous, gracious, glorious, giddy and GOBSMACKED! Had to use that word again! Not really GOBSMACKED as I knew that YOU of all people would decorate, adorn, celebrate and embrace the Christmas spirit like no other!!! Every day is a Holiday being with you! Cheers and lots of love!
LA CONTESSA says
MERRY CHRISTMAS dear friend………….Bet I GOBSMACKED YOU when we became roommates………….AFRICAN STATUES IN clothes be gone!
ENJOY this HOLIDAY SEASON………..XO
Lily says
That Christmas tree is so beautiful, and so is your spirit! Yes, you are a rare bird, but such an interesting one! A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, Contessa, and your family! And the dogs, cat, and pig too! 🙂
LA CONTESSA says
LILY!!
A VERY HAPPY and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AS WELL…………..
I bought the PIG a NEW BED………SHHH don’t tell!
XX
Diana Amato says
It’s the MERRIEST!! You are in overdrive with the your festivities and everything SPARKLES! I love this time of year and all the chaos and excitement it creates. I had to adjust my son’s thinking, however… He actually asked if we could sleep in on Chistmas morning?!,,,, WHAT? I told him he was sadly mistaken and that his teenage hormones were not allowed in the house on Christmas Day!!!
Peace, Contessa… Or not;-))
LA CONTESSA says
SLEEP IN!!!!!
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT KID!
I will answer THAT NOT A THING!
What a GORGEOUS BOY!!!!!!!!!!
Tell him there will be time for a NAP in the afternoon!
MERRY MERRY………….XX
Katie Clooney says
My dear Contessa… you look positively gorgeous in every one of these photos. I so enjoyed meeting your royal self in person this year! What a regal treat. You are truly a class act. Hopefully, we can get together again in 2017. Have a fabulous Christmas with your handsome Italian, boys, and of course that 130 lb. piggy.
LA CONTESSA says
I HOPE SO TOO!!!!!!
Tell THAT HUSBAND of YOURS you need to come to SAN FRANCISCO for a brief ESCAPE!
LOADS of restaurants HE can VISIT!!!!!!!
I would LOVE to come back to be HONEST.Let’s see what 2017 has in STORE for us!
MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS KATIE!!!!!!!!!
XX
Nancy Case says
Oh so festive and full of Holiday beauty and joy Contessa! I am most fond of the “to die for “Christmas Tree pin. She is a one of a kind treasure. She deserves to be up front and center as you have shown! Love the evergreen, Christmas Tree grandor, sparkle and baubles. Have the Merriest of Christmases and love to your dear family. xoxoxo and..I remember our most delicious lunch with a big smile! Loved it!
LA CONTESSA says
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!
DO you know I went back to that restaurant and the WAITER remembered ME!!!!!!!
ENJOY those GRANDCHILDREN!!!LUCKY YOU!!!!!XX
Melinda says
It is so nice to see your glowing self back online! You glitter from the inside out:) I had the joy of spending three months at a villa in Scandicci in the spring of 2013 and had the pleasure of touring that factory that is part of your story. I was amazed to have that connection. And then I am drawn to sparkle and beauty, so there’s that, too! Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!
LA CONTESSA says
OH SCANDICCI!!!!!!!
I use to know an AMERICAN on those hills in a big old VILLA!I think her name was KATHERINE?!A beautiful SPOT……………I lived on the other side of FLORENCE FIRENZE SUD and UP the HILL!LUCKY YOU to spend three months there………….I also use to TREASURE HUNT OUT THERE A LOT!!!!!!!!!XX
Anita @ Vue at Jindivick says
So wonderful to see your treasures and the house looking so festive……..plus a very glam Contessa.
Elizabeth, I have 3 Kirkpatrick Christmas cards in my collection now.
Our friendship is clocking up the years……….what fun we’ve had in that time…..bouncing off each others delights on opposite sides of the world!!!
Well my darling, I’m back in Beaumaris now………home of the great internet!!!!
Tomorrow I’ll go to Melbourne and shop for seafood and treats for the 25th.
I can only imagine what feast your preparing…………it will be superb!!!
Thank you so much for another great blogging year my friend.
Ciao Bella and Happy Christmas.
Neat xx
LA CONTESSA says
THANK YOU!
IT IS A VERY SPECIAL CONNECTION!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!AS YOU ARE A DAY A HEAD OF ME IF IAM NOT ON IT PRONTO!I will share my feast with you on the telephone perhaps on BOXING DAY!!!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND PAUL and ONNEE TOO!!!!!!!!
XO
annie vanderven says
thank you for all the joy you bring all year to this french woman living in the US
Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annee a vous et votre famille
annie v.
LA CONTESSA says
MERCI ANNIE………….MERCI!!
XX
Pamela Zwieg says
LaContessa,
Merry Christmas to you. You truly know what Merry means and it shows! Keep on doing your “thing”, life is to be lived out loud and in COLOR. I enjoy popping in at your blog because it always makes me feel happy, thank you.
LA CONTESSA says
I SHALL and THANK YOU for the ENCOURAGEMENT!
HAPPY NEW YEAR PAMELA………….XX
Susan B. says
Wow, now THAT is a tree!! I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas, and that you will go into the New Year well adorned. Love your joyful spirit!!
LA CONTESSA says
I BEST be giving that OUTFIT some thought!!!!!!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR and may I ask where you are HEADED TO NEXT?
XX
Mithra Ballesteros says
Merry Christmas Elizabeth! Your hands are a marvel. How were you not hired by Palmolive years ago? And I read through all the comments, hoping to find out about the dots, which I too have on my face. Alas, no dermatologist amongst today’s readers.
LA CONTESSA says
NO, and they are not MILIA as one commenter had thought.I think they are KAROTOSEN and I am not spelling THAT word right!WE MUST LOOK INTO MORE……..my facial lady has gifted me a serum we shall see what THAT does!
HAPPY NEW YEAR……………XX
Dore @BurlapLuxe says
Such beautiful Mystery in your creating here my dear, and of course it would not be the holidays with out a taxidermy Chicken center stage, staging as a French hen. It is beautiful here and says everything about your beauty inside and out.
Loving the placement of the tree with its backdrop surrounding it with your carefully placed ornaments. The flooring of brick is what I noticed what a beautiful grounding authentic in every way.
A Happy New Year my sweet Contessa
See you soon
Xx
Dore
LA CONTESSA says
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU……………….XX
LA CONTESSA says
VIA EMAIL:
Love it all!! Happy new year!!
Lisa says
I loved getting a peek inside your house at Christmas! The tree is just beyond magnificent, beyond. Your outfits are always amazing; you are the maestro of accessories, for certain.
For the forehead bumps, I wonder if they are not blocked oil glands? I had one exactly like that on my chin. I kept expecting it would go away on its own, but after two or three years, it didn’t! I went to a dermatologist who said it was a blocked gland (deep in the skin, it isn’t possible to ’empty’ it). He used a laser to burn it away and now you can’t even see where it was. These things seems to sprout on our faces with no notice, annoyingly.
Anyway, Happiest of Happy New Years to you, darling Contessa xxx
Lisa White says
Love Christmas and you have done it justice. What a spectacular show. The dressed tree in all its jewels and you in yours! The velvets, furs, glimmer and shimmer that peeked out from embellished corners and glass cases. Your necklace and brooches are gorgeous and displayed with spirit. Christmas has cast its magic and it swirls through the rooms of your lovely home.
On a less magical note:
See a dermatologist about the bumps.
cindy hattersley says
More is always more with you Elizabeth! You do it so well! I am catching up on all my missed blog posts. Of course you always make me smile!