Tuesday Treasures.

Last Treasures of the year.

A random sprinkle of kitchen wares.

crystal

spoons

bowls

baking soda

lantern

enjoy.

Not in All of My Twenty Five Years...

Have I ever had a White Christmas.

I really can't believe it happened.

Snow gets me so excited considering I grew up

in Alabama and an inch of snow

is like three feet of snow

to a normal person.

My doubts were high

and I had really not thought about

the winter precipitation forecast.

About 6pm on Christmas night

as the boy was leaving for work,

he called in to tell me there was a snow/rain mix.

I got up about 45 minutes later

to let the puppies out

and the whole backyard had a blanket of

SNOW!

Sheer magic!

fire pit, not so fiery

Most Nights....

v2.0

My Version

My version of the Holiday photo card.

***

It came together in a snap.

I love that I spent more on a book of stamps

than the actual cards.

4x6photograph+cardstock+stamp=

Homemade postcard at it's finest!

I crafted these up at work one Saturday morning.

I finished them before the mailman came for the day.

I'm really happy with the simplicity

& the fact that I didn't spend

forever pining & thinking & making

the perfect card.

They were perfectly fulfilling

and non-stressful.

Just a little reminder to myself

to just jump in

& start making.

Two days.

Tuesday Treasures.

It's the last Tuesday before Christmas.

I bring you vintage holiday cheer.

doily angels watching over a tiny pink tree

the crown, the crystal, the perfect trimmings

(this was next to a perfect glittery reindeer...indoor light was not his thing)

bowl full of baubles

suited up, ready to go

bow tie & all

Three days til Xmas!

hehe...

still counting down

even though

I'm wearing my present

& he's playing his present

as we speak.

BEAUTIFUL!

I'm in La-La-Love with these pretty rings.

Anna Sheffield...

my favorite/dream ring for a long time now.

Suzanne Kalan

a very close second runner up

Decking My Halls....

Christmas in our home this year is nothing elaborate. We put up the tree the night before Thanksgiving. I had had a whole bottle of wine, and the boy got a hankering to put up the tree. We put up the tree. I snapped a few photos with the self timer that turned into our Christmas cards and I decided to hold off on the ornaments in case I wanted to photograph the bare tree with the stockings I made for my Etsy shop. I made the shelf pretty for said shoot. . Ferns were brought in from the cold. I never got around to the ornaments on the tree (there is one that was still attached when we took the tree out of the box), but I did accomplish two super simple Christmas decor projects, a wreath and an Xmas card holder Here's a little rundown of how to whip them up for yourself.

WREATH

Supplies:

grapevine wreath

yarn

fabric

ornaments

large jingle bells

styrofoam balls

straight pins

1. Wrap styrofoam balls with yarn until covered and to your liking. Use straight pins to hold yarn end in place. Leave a long yarn tall for attaching to wreath.

2. Rip 3 fabric strips and string the jingles with the fabric.

3. String up the ornaments on matching yarn.

* I used groups of three-3 yarn balls, 3 jingles, and 3 ornaments..you can add or subtract accessories for your desired look.

4. Rip a long strip of fabric. Wrap around a small section on the wreath.

5. Tie on the jingles. Just make simple knots with the fabric and hide knots to the back of the wreath.

6. Add yarn balls and ornaments by tying on.

7. Wrap some yarn around to your liking.

*I ended up tying a knot around all of the dangles with yarn where they hang from the wreath. It keeps them all together and more neat.

This wreath that can be completed in under 30 min. It takes more time to gather up your supplies than to tie them all on. It an be adapted to suit anyone's style by switching up the accessories. I love this project. Plus it's easy on the budget and the busy schedule.

CARD HOLDER

Supplies:

frame

thread

2 push pins

(the flat kind, not the colorful plastic kind)

paper clips, bobby pins, small office clips

1. Place the push pins on opposite sides of the back of the frame.

2. Loop thread around the push pins tie a knot to create a line to hang the cards from.

3. Attach paper clips, office clips or bobby pins and hang cards.

Voila!

This takes five minutes or less and is a great way to display the Christmas cards that you've received. When Christmas is over, you can hang photos or other inspiration.

PS. We have already given our gifts to each other. Grey Toms for me and a video game for the boy. We are enjoying them as I write.

Happy Holidays!

Spectacles.

I have worn glasses since the ninth grade. That is eleven years of waking up & throwing on my eyes. They have become a part of my face. I do not feel or look normal without them. It is so weird to look at this picture. It is like it is not even me. Some people say they feel naked if they forget their watch or wedding band, that is how I feel without my glasses. Anyone else in my boat...Feeling like a stranger without your second set of eyes?

Most Nights....

We're lazy like this.

Sweet Dreams.

xoxo.

Merry Christmas to Me!!

Holy Moly!! Look what I stumbled upon while treasure hunting!! I found this camera Monday night in my quick sweep of my treasure spot. I though hard and researched over night. This morning, I could not get a lunch break fast enough for my anxious heart. I rushed out of worked for a 10:30 am lunch. SCORE!!

This will be my first ever vintage camera and I do believe I made a wise choice!

Good times.

It's an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic,

made between 1964 and 1967.

Merry Christmas to me!

Anyone have any good "Christmas" scores they want to share?

Eclairs.

Random Fact:

I am older than I look!

Random Story:

On my weekend adventures, I met the bestie, her mom, & her friend at Sam's Club. We strolled around and sampled all the goods. I had made it through four or five sample ladies, all super friendly, knowledgeable ladies trying to sell their products. I get to the eclair lady. I stood for a little bit and she was fussing with her box, so I passed and we came back to her. She asked the bestie how old she was. She lied and told her 21. (She's 24.) I tell the lady my true age, 25, and she precedes to ask me what year I was born. I told her it didn't matter. She pointed to the sign that said the samplers have to have parental permission to serve samples to children due to possible food allergies. Apparently, I'm not old enough to make educated food decisions on own behalf. I'm told I'll appreciate this when I'm older, but for now I'm not a fan of being hassled by the Sam's Club sample lady. I am older than I look lady! OLDER THAN I LOOK!

Tuesday Treasures.

AHHHH! I just found six treasures in ten minutes, just in time to come home & watch LA-TV make an agenda! Good times! I found a camera that I am really tempted to go back and get...like knocking down the door when they open. I really like the assortment I found for this week! Enjoy!

I love the style of this chair

& the blue/grey velvet!

Mickey's DJ-ing the party!

Wooden creepy-eyed kitty salt-n-peppers.

CineZoom

Westinghouse blue!

At the Park

These park pictures crack me up! The bestie & I took the doggies for a romp at the park. We cruised around the path for awhile, but once no one else was at the park with us, we ran through the baseball fields and took the dogs on the playground. It was great fun.

twirling around...

my legs were a little long!

before

after.

don't you just love the excitement on my face.

Joey was a pro-slider.

Bestie+Joey+TRex.

I bought bestie Joshua Radin tickets for Atlanta as her Christmas from me. While swinging on the playground, she was asking me about vacation time & if I could ask off. Come to find out, she was going to buy the Birmingham, AL tickets. Two great minds think alike!! Good times.

Afterwards, I attended my work Christmas party.

Hands down, the playground was more fun than a bunch of adults who didn't want to be a Christmas party! Oh well, I stole my gift back in Dirty Santa and came home with a full belly.

Love.

...as in BLOGLOVE.

Elsie's Blog Love to be exact!!

This is my early Christmas present to myself. I have always wanted to take Elsie's classes! I'm so excited. I bought the class on the Wednesday night. I waited, for what seemed like forever, but was really only a day to receive the email to get into the course. I got the email while I was at work. I spent all of lunch trying to check out as much as I could of the course on my phone. I really want to amp up my blog & make it something I'm really proud of, not just a fair weather hobby. Hooray that it is Friday night and I will have most of tomorrow to dig in.

If you are interested,

check out, & purchase

The Blog Love E-course

here.

Tuesday Treasures.

In lieu of treasures, I give you holiday cards....

I created a "card" similar to these using Picnik. I uploaded the image to Snapfish. I had a credit for free 50 4x6 prints with Snapfish. I used 40 of my free 4x6's to print off my Christmas cards. I just made sure before I saved the image from Picnik that it was cropped to a 4x6 ratio so that none of my "card" was cropped wonky. That is what happened at my first attempt at these. The good thing about Snapfish is you can do a print preview & make sure the image you create will fit just right on the 4x6.

Once I receive my prints, I have two options narrowed down. I have some Kraft paper envelopes. I can just throw the print in the envelopes, address, & mail (using a Sharpie on the back of the print if my heart desires). Option dos, glue colorful coordinating cardstock to the back of the print & make homemade postcards. Both of these are choices because they are cost effective. I paid a little over $3 for shipping for the prints and either way I will spend more on stamps than anything else.

Holiday2010 cards are in the works.

They are simple, yet epic.

The real deal.

Our personal card.

Update! Celebrate!

Way back when, Elsie challenged the blog world to set four simple goals (before 2011). You can see my four goals here. I am excited to announce that yesterday I reached a goal! It was a bigger a goal for me, but I sold a piece of furniture that I painted! I tried so hard not to get my hopes up about finally getting finished with it and finding a taker. This was the first time I had Craigslist scammers, but a sweet husband drove 2.5 hours to pick her up. He showed up bright & early this Saturday morning & made it happen for me! Thank you sweet sir!

As far as my other goals are concerned, I don't think I'll make it.....

-I made ten quilt squares and then lost momentum. My momentum was lost in correlation to the boy returning home. He stayed with his mom for a few days and I had the kitchen to myself. I spread out quilting central across the kitchen counters. I never got back to it, once someone was home who actually uses the kitchen (& he makes big messes unintentionally. Nothing is safe!)

-I never sold off my stuff, but I did gather all of my "never to be finished" craft projects, & hoarded craft supplies. I took them all down to my old high school art teacher so they could use them for class. I think some of those kids were happy to score on with my loot, & I am happy I unloaded a car load and freed up some space at home. I still need to get rid of random home things that I never use, but I've found a place that takes donated items and lets the needy "shop" through the things. I just have to actually get back in the attic and gather it up. I made a dent. I'm satisfied with this.

-I've done pretty good with taking three photos per week. I normally take that many for my Tuesday Treasures. I did break my 50mm lens, so I'm not as satisfied with my camera at the moment. I have captured life fairly well.

-Last but not least, I sold the buffet that I had given a new life. I'm excited about this & hope this is the first in a long success of giving furniture new life as a side job/project.

Adios Sweet Lady!

Christmas Parade...sorta

The local Christmas parade was yesterday. My job is at the end of the parade route, so some of the spouses of coworkers brought the babies up to work after the parade.

Mickey+Minnie also stopped in.

The J's being sweet.

(All the babies born around the same time from work,

all their names start with a J.)

Hello December!

Two Saturdays ago, my friend & I adventured to Atlanta for ICE-ATL. I did not snap any photos there, although there was loads of photo-worthy craftsmanship. After ICE, we headed straight to Ikea for Meatballs. We're rather predictable. It's my first choice being from a non-Ikea town, and considering that Atlantic Station is where I feel the safest in Atlanta, it's a pretty good choice. So we ate our meatballs & cruised through. I walked away with two plastic thrash cans with plans to put my ferns in them for the winter indoors and two suction scrub brushes....

Anyways, after Ikea we went to walk around Atlantic Station. We noticed some fluffy white shapes floating in the sky. We couldn't figure out what they were. Balloons? Miniture blimps? Kites? We had to investigate! We carried on and turned a corner & found lots of excitement. A humungous Christmas tree, Make-a-Wish folks, a stage, and whole big shindig!! They just so happened to be having the tree lighting that evening, and we couldn't pass it up!

These giant snowflakes are what we saw floating around. They were magic & beautiful.

They were giant bubbles with helium that were being launched.

This was probably my favorite part.

Most amazing in person.

I'm so happy we stuck around. There was a real live flash dance/street dance...whatever you call it, where folks from the crowd slowly all start dancing together until they've taken over the entire street like a movie. It was crazycakes! I've never seen anything like it!

There was "snow" for kids to walk/play in.

A train cruising through the streets.

There were various forms of entertainment including

a cute little 14 yr old amazing singer,

a gay mens choir,

a lady singing pop songs, &

A Nativity Choir (pictured above).

This little boy with Santa is a Make-a-Wish child.

He got to be a weatherman for the day.

To his surprise, he got to be on stage and "light" the tree with the big wand.

They led a countdown and everyone held their Make-a-Wish wands high.

& Wha-La!!

The final product.

Following the tree lighting, there was fake snow, in the form of bubble/soapies.

It was magical. They went all out.

I'm so happy we happened to wander upon some blobs floating in the sky

& decided to check it out.

**The regular, non-polaroidy photos are courtesy of my friend, Melissa.

The rest are mine. More here.