December 24, 2008

Nutcrackers. Sweet!

This past week I went on a holiday house tour in Ocean Grove. And I have to say it exceeded my expectations. I thought we'd just get a quick peek at some trees in living rooms, but we pretty much got to wander aimlessly through people's homes. My kind of tour!

One house (on my street, in fact) housed the largest collection of nutcrackers I have ever seen. In. My. Life.
Tchaikovsky's got nothing on this guy.






That's the homeowner above, playing holiday tunes as guests arrived (nice touch! I could play the kazoo if our home is ever on the tour). Below is a wider shot of the living room...there are even nutcrackers above each window! (And, throughout the house above most of the windows and doorways.)


I went to a lulu of a yard sale at this house this year -- tables brimming with antiques and collectibles. Now that' I've been inside the house, I can see why! Clearly the gentleman needed to clear some room. His collections didn't end with the nutcrackers. Tucked in his cozy little den was the Santa collection, part of which is here:



And the rest of which is on the other side of the room, surrounding the wood burning stove, and the large elk (moose? gigantic deer?) -- who got in the spirit by donning a big red nose:



He even collects candles (!), cleverly displayed in his kitchen on an old drying rack:



And since the table was set so lovely, I considered asking if my clan could just crash here on Christmas. I mean, we're right down the block. We could make it potluck!





I'm exhausted just thinking about how long it took him to set his house up. When I asked, he just sort of shrugged and said, "Well...I'm retired."

Yet another reason to look forward to retirement.

If you haven't already, be sure to leave a comment on my cookie post (click here) to enter my Boxing Day Giveaway -- a lovely pair of earrings by my friend at Piedra. Just leave a comment there by midnight Eastern Standard Time on December 26 to be eligible (that sounds so official!)

9 comments:

The Quintessential Magpie said...

WOW! What a collection! This is a treat to see, but I sure wouldn't want to have to put them away! Does he own a storage company unit??? ;-) They are WONDERFUL! I'm so glad you posted this because I wanted to say, "Merry Christmas" one more time.

XO,

Sheila

The Quintessential Magpie said...

And someone interrupted me via a jingle jangle of the telephone! Let's see where I was? OH, please don't forget to give your mother my very best, Laura! I'm hoping you, Mr. Shorehouse and Shorehouse Mom will have a very blessed Christmas and a fun one. And I forgot to wish Shorehouse Dog many happy bones! ;-)

Okay, I better go get dressed. We have been blessed to be invited out where I don't have to cook! Yea! Yea! And also dining with friends tomorrow! Yea! Yea! Can you tell how excited I am NOT to be cooking??? I have to do it Sunday, and that will be a several day deal! I'm conserving my strength... spelled Lazy Bones. LOL!

Love to you! You're a BIG Christmas blessing to me, Laura!

XO,

Sheila :-)

Unknown said...

Merry Christmas Laura!

I loved viewing your photos...they are so lovely.

Diane

Joyce said...

Oh my goodness! What a beauty of a display and he entertain you! Now that is a hostess- excuse in this case a host!
I was going through before I shut the computer down for the night. I'm so glad I saw this wonderful post.
My dear friend have a bright and golden Christmas!! I'm glad I found your site before the year end and look forward to leaving more comments in 2009!!! xoxo

cherry said...

That is some collection! MERRY Christmas, cherry

tam said...

Just stoppin by to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! ~Smiles~Tam!

Anonymous said...

WOW! I don't have anything to rival those collections!

Merry Christmas, Laura. :) Also wondering how your mom is; I've been praying for her!

Have a fabulous day...

Jen :)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful Christmas tour!! This home so cries Christmas. The nutcracker collection is really neat with just the perfect spot.
Thank you for taking us here.
I hope you had a peaceful and very happy Christmas.
It was so nice to see you visit me!
come back again.
Judi

Maureen said...

Wow! That's a whole lotta nutcrackers! I can't imagine where it's all stored during the rest of the year.