(l to r, Carolyn, Rhoda, Cheryl) Click all the pics to enlarge & see the details!
What a treat! Even though I didn’t do anything special on my actual birthday, Saturday ended up being the fun day & a perfect way to celebrate my birthday…a total girl day of touring 4 homes all decorated for Christmas (the 58th annual tour of homes by the Independent Presbyterian Church).
When we moved to Birmingham two years ago, I only knew 2 people who lived here & that is my friends Carolyn and Cheryl. We met several years ago on a decorating message board & became friends in real life when we all got together periocally in Atlanta & Birmingham to do showhouse tours. We all have a love of decorating & gardening & that has drawn us together. We try to get together as often as possible, which is not nearly enough with everyone’s work schedules & life in general, but Saturday was one of those days that came together just perfectly. Cheryl graciously invited us over to her house to start the day with breakfast. Cheryl has a beautiful home & she is a very talented decorator. Her home is truly a showplace & she has it all decked out for the Holidays. Seeing it was a treat itself & breakfast was just the icing on the cake! The bad news is…we found out that no photos were allowed on the tour, but don’t be disappointed, Cheryl allowed me to take pics at her house to share with all of you & you are in for a real treat! I only took a fraction of what I could have taken, but you will love these.
Cheryl & her hubby have worked tirelessly on their backyard & it is really a dream come true. I would love to have a backyard & porch like this. She has added many Christmas touches out here on the screened porch as well as out on the patio.
Bombe chest with a baby Christmas tree in an urn….so very garden-y.
Love this little pillow that says “Meet Me Under the Mistletoe”. You can get a glimpse in the background of the patio & firepit area.
Here is the brick patio & firepit. She added a beautiful urn with Christmas touches here too.
More little touches of Christmas. She was telling me that she built this wall last summer & worked hard on getting all of this done. Pictures do not even do it justice!
I love this! Christmas balls, greenery, & a bow & pinecones in an iron box…how festive.
Pretty fountain in the backyard.
Screened porch…check out the stocking, I love that fabric.
Breakfast area chandelier…all ribboned for Christmas.
Bowl of ornaments & jewels. I just love everything she has done. Makes me want to go out & buy more stuff!
Morning room off the kitchen…beautiful tree in an urn.
And the diningroom table was set so beautifully. Cheryl has a magical touch with everything!
And check out the fantastic breakfast she made for us…baked Orange Marmelade French Toast, Fresh fruit, sausage, coffee & juice. It was wonderful!
Love these beautiful plates she has & doesn’t the food look so yummy sitting here..it was yummy, I had 2 helpings of french toast?! By popular demand, here’s the recipe from Cheryl…thank you Cheryl! I know these ladies will love to make this too:MARMALADE FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
3 tablespoon butter, softened
1 (16-ounce) sourdough French bread loaf, cut into 24 (1/2 inch) slices
Cooking Spray
1 (12-ounce) jar orange marmalade
2 3/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 large eggs
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (being a “Southern” gal, I used pecans)
Spread softened butter on one side of each bread slice. Arrange 12 bread slices, buttered side down, slightly overlapping in a single layer in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread marmalade evenly over bread; top with remaining 12 bread slices, buttered side up.
Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) stirring with a whisk. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Sprinkle casserole with walnuts (pecans). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Outside Cheryl’s home…an urn filled with Christmas greenery & cheer. Cheryl’s entire house is to die for…they have been working for about 2 years on finishing up their basement & I finally got to see it too. Oh. my word! It is gorgeous. Stained concrete floors, media area, pool table, game table, workout room, & office space. They have done all the work themselves & it is truly amazing. I had seen pics of it in progress, but they do not even do it justice. It’s fantastic!
We left after breakfast for the home tour & it was a lot of fun. There were 4 homes in the Mountain Brook area of Birmingham, which in case you don’t know is the ritzy, old-money part of town. We saw so many pretty homes & got a lot of great ideas for Christmas decorating. This is the only pic I took outside at one of the homes. These homes are gorgeous, inside & out….some of them had the most beautiful patio & outdoor living spaces you can imagine. Most of the homes in Mountain Brook are older homes that have been renovated to the nines.
We went back to the church after we toured the homes. They have tea & dessert set up in their great hall, which is a treat in itself. This is one of the older churches in Birmingham & is so beautiful. Looks like something you would see in England. I took a few pics inside. This is inside the frontdoor, all natural greenery & apples.
They had fresh flowers all down the aisles going to the front of the church. The red was just gorgeous, as you can imagine.
Down front was another huge display of fresh red flowers.
And this was the centerpiece on the table in the great hall. It was a nice ending to a wonderful day…tea & dessert made by loving hands, I’m sure. 
Wow! that was an amazing and beautiful tour! I love the center piece with the pinecones and apples.
Everything at Cheryl’s home looks beautiful and festive. It was such a treat to see it all. But I’m still really looking forward to seeing your home in its Christmas finery. I know it must be gorgeous.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful pics. I especially like the flower arrangements in the church. We are having a tour of homes in Dothan this weekend, I always like to go and see what other folks are doing and gather new ideas.
Count me in as one of the ones waiting for the french toast recipe. LOL
Yummmmmm.
Kimberly 🙂
Beautiful, beautiful photos. I love the bombe chest!
What a lovely and inspiring tour! All her little touches were just right! we felt as though we had our own personal home tour! Sounds like a wonderful day filled with fun, laughter, and memories!
blessings,
kari & kijsa
What a wonderful pile of hoilday photos…the tour looks like it was truly inspirational!!
Happy belated birthday to you (sorry I’m so late), a Christmas baby you are!!
Linda
xox
Looks like y’all had a fun day!It’s been a while since we all toured Cheryl’s home together then moved on to the Southern Accents Holiday home there in B’ham, but I remember how beautiful Cheryl’s holiday decor was in person. She is a wonderful hostess as well! Her outdoor spaces are amazing! Glad to see the three of you having fun!!!
What a grand tour…thanks for sharing…specially the recipe…I’ve copied it to print. Think I’ll serve it for Christmas breakfast
Yea! Thanks for the recipe. I look forward to trying it soon!
Rhoda, I love the outside Christmas decorations. I’ve decorated a little on our back patio, but unless you are heading out to the hot tub – no one sees them! (tooooo cooold!):)
Mmmm, can’t wait to try the recipe!
Sandy
i do wish you would come decorate for me…everything you do is wonderful…hugs, r
Hey Rhoda!
And Hi to Sweet Cheryl and Kee!
That was such a great surprise to come by and see a bit of you all.
Cheryl’s house is at the top of my list places to “visit” at this time of year. It is so wonderfully decorated any day of the year, but she does such a fantastic job at Christmastime. She has the perfect touch of not too much while making it really festive.
Thanks Rhoda for sharing your day with us!
Donna
Wow, what a beautiful home and yummy breakfast. Thanks for sharing that. I sure do enjoy the pictures you share with all of us.
Your friend’s house is so pretty. I wish I had that talent. And that french toast looks way too yummy. Glad you had a nice birt.hday
This looks just a LITTLE more exciting than an ice storm…I’ll be “wishin” myself right down to your patio….
take a peek at my 200th post.
Gosh, Cheryl’s home and yard are stunning! Looking foward to more pics! Glad you had such a nice birthday! Love, Esther
Rhoda,
Thanks so much for the tour. It all looks so beautiful, and there is nothing better than enjoying it with sweet friends.
Special touches for celebrating a very special time. Thanks, dear Rhoda, for including all of us!
xo Lidy
Wow, such lovely photos! Thanks for sharing them!
xo
Cheryl’s home is so beautifully decorated. Thank her for allowing you to share it.
I’m salivating over her breakfast too!
Never heard of “dirty santa”…you have to share this! N