Wishing you...

Merry Christmas!

All is calm. All is bright.

Christmas Corners Continued

The tree probably looks the same as last year and the year before, but I still love it.

The mantle is a little bit the same and a little bit different. I know I used some of the same decorations, but maybe omitted one glass jar (insert mock gasp here).

Note to self... work on taking photos without the flash in 2011.

Yes, the flash is soooo 2010.

Ooh, and adding more icicles to things should be a top priority in the coming year as well. Glitter and icicles...always good choices. Happy Christmas Eve eve!

A Glimpse of Christmas

The gifts are wrapped, the cookies are baked, and the house is clean...time to share a few corners of my holiday home with you!

This is part of my dining room decked out for the holiday. I love when things from other parts of the house come together to make new and different Christmas vignettes, don't you? Tomorrow I'll show you some more. Hope you are enjoying the magic hours of Christmas week.

Sing We Now of Christmas...

Christmas music is my favorite music. I love the traditional carols and the Top 40 Hits. I am moved by Silent Night each year at the church candlelight service, yet get the giggles when listening to The Drifters version of White Christmas. I have a little playlist going with some of my favorites to share. No, having the word "bell" in the title was not a prerequisite to being on the list. LOL! What are some of your favorites?

For a glimpse of what other folks might have on their Ipods at this time of year, please pop on over to the blog of our wonderful hostess Beverly.

Merry almost Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!

I love it! Have you started decorating yet? You can you know. It is after Thanksgiving. The holiday police cannot issue you a citation now. You are in the clear. So go ahead and drag out those Shiny Brites and show them off. You'll be so glad you did!

If you are in need of a little inspiration, pop on over to Beverly's. She is the wonderful hostess of Pink Saturday, and can give you a list of all the folks who are participating today. Hope you have a delightful weekend. Holiday hugs to you!

Caught in the Act

Remember how I told you that the squirrels were taking over my backyard? Well, the saga continues. I spotted this little guy helping himself to our jack o' lantern. It was a moldy, leftover jack o' lantern, but he still has some nerve.

I took these photos from inside looking out the window, hence the graininess, but you can still clearly see his arrogance. He is rather proud of himself in this second photo don't you think? He's acting like he craved the pumpkin instead of being the one that took bites out of it. I hope he has a stomachache.

Houston, we have a costume!

Okay kids, I pulled it off... Barely... By the skin of my teeth... Snipping the last thread seconds before walking out the door... No exaggeration. Six yards of fabric, fifteen yards of cording, one broken needle, and a whole spool of thread later, I finished. But check out the coup de gras... Behold the bubble helmet!

This crowning touch could not have been pulled off without the help of some obliging friends who are handy with a jigsaw.

Much fun was had by all.

My services were paid for in candy. All is right with the world.

Same Song, Second Verse...

I'm making my daughter's Halloween costume again this year. If you are wondering why I haven't mentioned this earlier, it's because I haven't started it...yet. I have had good intentions, but no follow through. To be honest, I am definitely in over my head this time. I am terrified to cut the fabric and equally frightened about sewing on the stuff. Shiny, slippery fabric will be very unforgiving if (when) I have to rip out. I'm bowling you over with my positive attitude, right? But I think you figured out a long time ago that this is not Tony Robbins' blog, and I can own that.

So are you curious as to what kind of creation this fabric is going to morph into? (Yeah, me too.) If you visit me again next week hopefully you will see a finished product. If not, I'll just show you the picture on the pattern envelope so you can see what might have been. This will without a doubt be my "make it work moment" so wish me luck.


Give yourself a little treat and swing by the blog of our wonderful hostess Beverly to see what other pink delights are on display. Happy Day!

October's Party

October gave a party

The leaves by hundreds came

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

George Cooper

"It was a small town by a small river.


The town was full of trees.

And dry grass now that autumn was here.

And full of fences to walk on and sidewalks to skate on and a large ravine to tumble in and yell across.

And it was the afternoon of Halloween.

And all the houses shut against a cool wind.

And the town full of cold sunlight.

But suddenly, the day was gone.

Night came out from under each tree and spread.

Behind the doors of all the houses there was a scurry of mouse feet,muted cries, flickerings of light.

The wind outside nested in each tree,

prowled the sidewalks in invisible

treads like unseen cats.

Anyone could see that the wind

was a special wind this night,

and the darkness took on a special feel

because it was All Hallows' Eve.

Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet.

Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys

like the plumes of funeral parades.

From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells:gourds being cut, pies being baked.

Attics were still being rummaged, old locks broken,

old steamer chests disemboweled for costumes.

The wind came a seized a thousand dark leaves

and blew them away up over the sky..."

from The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

For a list of all the houses with their porch lights on in honor of this autumnal celebration, please let the wind carry you over to visit our enchanting hostess

~Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist~

Autumn Favors

I've been getting little corners of my house decked out for autumn. In my entry way I have this table where I like to have small favors for friends and family who might pop by. I change it out seasonally. Right now it has these pumpkin shaped jars filled with candy corn.

These were so fun to make. I just bought the jars at the craft store, filled them with treats and topped them with ribbon. Easy. So glad October is here. Happy Day!

Pink is the New Orange

I just adore clever people who are wildly creative and fun. I know you do too, so I had to take this Pink Saturday to introduce you to my FABULOUS Etsy friends at Anders Ruff. They designed the wonderful graphics for Courtney Dial's dazzlingly genius "Pink-O-Ween" concept featured in these photos.

These gals create the most AMAZING array of party goodies. From invitations to mini candy bar wrappers and water bottle labels, they have everything to make your event one of a kind and memorable. This is a peek at just one of many printable graphic design collections they offer.

They can design anything your pretty little head can dream up to make your event extraordinary.

Don't you just LOVE it? Knew you would! Pop on over and give them a look. They are donating a portion of their sales to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as well. Creative and caring. Gotta love that!

Thanks to the girls at Anders Ruff for letting me show off their creativity. And to Courtney Dial of Pizzazzerie for the beyond gorgeous table styling. And Kristen Steele for the lovely photography.

And thank you for stopping by today for a visit! For a list of all of today's participants please click over to the blog of our wonderful hostess Beverly. Happy Day!

Score!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, we have pumpkins. That's right, pumpkins. Plural form. Not one, but two. Two twenty pound beauties. Finally. I'm photographing them for posterity and silently praying they don't get stolen off the front porch.

Cloudy with a Chance of Magic

Today we awoke to an overcast sky and a fine mist of rain falling. It was the perfect weather for sleeping in, but the alarm clock beckoned. I let the Baby Girl carry her umbrella with her to school, after she promised not to run over to the coat rack throughout the day to play with it. Sadly, the clouds parted before noon and the temperature rocketed into the nineties. So much for fall. After arriving home The Girl decided that she had to play dress up, and that the umbrella was an integral part of her ensemble.

Oh yes, and hot pink wedges were the order of the day as well. And no, I did not let her wear those to school. But yes, she did ask.

So glad you stopped by for a visit! For a complete list of all things sunny and pink please pop over to the blog of our wonderful hostess Beverly. Happy Day!

Pumpkins Please

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of pumpkins this year. There is a place out in the country that offers locally grown produce and I called them to ask if they had pumpkins yet. I could practically hear the clerk's eyes roll at my inquiry. "Pumpkins aren't ready yet," the woman said. In farmer talk what she really said was, "Pumpkins aren't ready yet, you big dummy." Granted it was September 1st when I called, but she still could have had some compassion on a poor pumpkin loving girl like myself.

So I have to play it cool now, I can't call back there again. I'm trying to convince my Sweetie to call from a pay phone for me or something like that, to find out the pumpkin status. His eye roll at this request makes me think that he and the farmer's market clerk are in cahoots somehow. So until I can get my hands on some orange beauties of a larger variety these little tiger pumpkins from Walmart will have to do.

America Remembers