Weekend Update

Oh my stars! I can't believe that there are only 18 more days until Christmas!! The plan was to get all of our Christmas decorations up this weekend. We kind of got it done....

My weekend started with a trip to Hobby Lobby. I wanted some ornaments to fill my covered jars. I saw something similar in my Re.al Simple magazine . I wanted to try something new this year. So here's my before:


Here's my after. Pine cones with berries in one, extra small ball ornaments from HobLob in another and regular size ball ornaments in the third one. The two ornaments on the table are candles that My Sweetheart bought for me a couple of Christmas' ago when we went down to Tempe Town Lake and did some shopping on Mill Ave. I think I may add some more greenery and candles or I may just leave it as is. I also need to add my Christmas plates.

My Christmas village is up and the townspeople are having a blast. I have to figure out a way to connect the cords for the lights in the back in a way that doesn't look messy. I will figure that one out this weekend. Until then, the townspeople are in the dark. Note: if you look closely at the far right, you will notice My Sweetheart's contribution to my village. He added Darth Vader to the village.....

My coffee table centerpiece sans the lights I bought to light it up. I bought a battery operated string of lights to add to my centerpiece thinking it would make it look stunning. I bought the wrong size batteries for it so this too will have to wait until this coming weekend to be complete.



Our nativity scene. Need more greenery and lights.

While I am inside creating a mess, My Sweetheart was outside mowing the lawn while Grievous acted as supervisor.

By the way, we got the Christmas tree up. And by "we" I mean "he". We got the lights on it too. But that was it. We were supposed to decorate the tree tonight but by the time we got home from work...we were too tired. So it will have to wait too. And My Sweetheart got the lawn figures up and the bush and tree lights up. But the house trim lights will have to wait for this weekend. P.S. I had to sneak in a trip to Kohl's nightowl sale. I got the greatest sales for me and my Sweetheart. Oh, I didn't get anything for anyone of my Christmas list either...

It was cold in Phoenix today. It was 55 degrees and it rained most of the day. For us native Arizonans, that COLD! :) Anyway, it made for a nice, cozy night. I came home and put on my pj's and my warm slippers and watched Lifetime and worked on my blog.

Hopefully we will get it all done this coming weekend! Have a wonderful week!

Weekend Update - Thanksgiving Weekend!

What a great weekend! My Sweetheart and I both had a much needed four day weekend! Our Thanksgiving weekend started on Wednesday night. When we got home from work, My Sweetheart's dad asked if we wanted to go out to dinner and a movie, of course we said yes!

We went to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then went to see Men Who Stare at Goats. It was a good movie, pretty funny. I didn't think I would like it but I was pleasantly surprised! (it didn't hurt that George Clooney starred in the flick)

Holiday's are a little stressful in our household. My family lives in Tucson (about 90 miles away) and his family lives in Phoenix. We want to be able to be with both families but that is not always feasible. My family has a lot of holiday traditions that have been around since I was just a little girl. It is sometimes hard for me to bend when it comes to making holiday arrangements. I don't like being so difficult but inevitably we always seem to have 'discussions' about how I won't yield when it comes to family...my family. I must say this holiday was not any different. After much discussion, we went to Tucson for Thanksgiving dinner. We had breakfast with My Sweetheart's mom and dad and his brother that was visiting from Miami. It was a nice breakfast but My Sweetheart wished we could have spent more time with them. In hindsight, I should have been more flexible. We talked about it that night and I am hopeful that the next holiday I remember just how bad I felt and will be more aware of My Sweetheart's feelings.

We spent all day Friday and Saturday with My Sweetheart's mom and dad and brother. We had breakfast together on both days and watched movies at our house. We did some backyard shopping on Saturday at the local Mexican pottery store and bought some cool stuff for the backyard. It was a good time. We spent Sunday in Tucson - it was my mom's birthday! We had dinner at my sister's house. We made it back to Phoenix about 6:30pm last night and I was so tired today. We had a full weekend filled with family fun.

As this Thanksgiving holiday is behind me, I reflect on this past year and I am so thankful to have My Sweetheart in my life, he is a very sweet and caring man. Everything he does, he does with me in mind. Always doing what he feels is best for me and him and Grievie. I am also thankful for my family. I feel blessed to be here.

Well, here's some more pics of my holiday decor. I normally take down my Thanksgiving decor and put up the Christmas tree on Friday after Thanksgiving but we were much too busy. My Sweetheart promises me he will pull my Christmas bins out for me on Saturday so we can start on Christmas decor!



My wreath and pine cone project having over the mirror in our living room:

My pilgrim people that I have on the kitchen counter:

My pumpkin and pine cones in the living room:

My pine cone centerpiece on the coffee table:

My end table (with my new Birthday lamp):

My entrance way:
More pilgrims in the kitchen:

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Have a great week!

Weekend Update

Beautiful, isn't it? I just love it!! This is one of the birthday gifts My Sweetheart gave me. I have had my eye on this lamp for months now. I got two of them; one for each end table for our living room. I love it!

We had a very busy weekend. I had to work on Saturday so my morning started early. Well, early for a Saturday anyway. I worked from 9:00am to 1:00pm. When I got home from work, My Sweetheart and I went shopping. But not the fun kind of shopping that I like. My Sweetheart was in search of a new lawn mower. We went to Lowes and Home Depot and had the salesperson tells us all about each and every model. Boring. Oh, did I mention boring? Ha! After the lawn mowers we went to the garden area and saw a really nice arbor. We had been searching for one and we saw one we really liked. It turns out it was the last one they had so we got a smoking deal for it. We took the one of the floor and paid 1/2 off! It's so cool. I'll post pictures of the backyard soon. It looks so good, I can't wait to show you!

After running around all day we came home, got dressed and went to Native New Yorker for dinner and to watch the UFC fight. One of our fav things to do. It was a great fight! We had a great time.

Today, I ran to Ulta, Kohl's and Steinmart to pickup a few things I needed before we had to resume the lawn mower search. When I got home, My Sweetheart and I ran to the mall because he wanted to check out Sears. Well, after consulting with the salesman forever, he finally found the one he wanted. He was so thrilled with it.

After Sears, we ate lunch and then ran to Lowes. We bought plants for the flower bed we created for our St. Francis statue. I'll post pictures soon. It looks fabulous.

So since I ignored my chores all weekend, I need to run off to finish my last load of laundry.

Have a great week!

Weekend Update

What a weekend we had! It was my birthday on Saturday and my family came in from Tucson to celebrate my birthday with me! We had a blast.....I didn't get any pictures with my camera so I don't have pictures to post right now. But My Sweetheart's mom took tons of pictures so hopefully I can get my hands on those.


It was so wonderful having my family here. It was the best time. And not only did My Sweetheart plan my birthday bash (complete with goodie bags that EVERYONE loved), but he drove 2 hours to Tucson to pick up my sister and my niece and nephew because they didn't have a ride here. He was even going to drive them back once the party was over but my mom and dad had room for one in their car and my cousin had room for two in her car so he didn't have to make that 4 hour trip. Which we were both thankful for.

I got the coolest gifts! My Sweetheart gave me a really nice watch and a SNUGGIE~!! My Sweetheart's dad gave me a BIKE!! A beautiful, pink beach cruiser. It's awesome! My cousin Maya made me the BEST birthday card and gave a gift certificate to Joann's and brought the Tamales and my mom and dad gave me my usual birthday ca$h (and brought the Tortillas)!! Oh and my Aunt gave a me a Christmas Cactus that I hope to keep alive. My Sweetheart's mom was very sweet and made Posole (mexican dish) and gave me the cutest jewelry holder that is shaped like a shoe and a Christmas ornament shaped like a handbag! My sister brought the macaroni salad which was delicous!

Thank you Sweetheart from the bottom of my heart! My birthday was so special because of you. I feel so blessed to have you in my life! xxxooo ooh ooh ooh.

Grievous and I stayed home on Monday. While I layed on the couch most of the day, Grievie spent most of the day outside. He has a doggie door so he comes in and out as he pleases. He was loving just laying in the sun...I had to get a picture of him.




He wouldn't look at me....he knew I was trying to get his pic:

When he finally looked at me, he put his big head right up to the camera!

Have a great week~!

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Pumpkin Tree Project Complete!

Ahhhhhh....finished with one more project! This evening while I had cookies in the oven for a United Way bake sale that we are having at work, I decided to work on my Pumpkin Tree project that I started on Saturday. Every craft and decor store has these beautiful Christmas trees made of feathers that I decided I wanted to do the same. So I bought a Styrofoam cone and decided to use these little pumpkins that I got on clearance at T.arget last year.


First, I painted my cone gold:




Then, using a glue gun, I glued the pumpkins on the cone. I started from the bottom and worked my way up:


I was going to wrap the beaded Garland around the base of the tree but My Sweetheart suggested I wrap it up the tree (great idea Sweetheart, thanks!). And here's my finished project:

So now our dining area look is complete:

On to the next project! We are having a get together at our house on Saturday so I am trying to get all my projects done before then. Tomorrow hopefully I can get to my wreath/mirror/cone project!

Good night!

Weekend Update

The weekend can't be over, I'm not finished with my weekend projects!

I went to HobLob on Friday after work and picked up some necessary fall decorations and materials. My goal was to pack up all my Halloween decorations on Saturday morning so I could spend the afternoon bringing out all my Thanksgiving stuff. After another trip to HobLob, Michael's and Kohl's for more materials on Saturday morning....I finally got started about 3pm. That may be due to the fact that I had to squeeze in an episode of Project Runway (down to the final three!) and Sherri on Lifetime on demand.

Anyway, it took all evening yesterday and all evening today for me to put it together and I'm not completely done. I made a new wreath for the front door and painted white pumpkins gold and bronze Saturday evening. I had a huge mess every where! I kept running into obstacles where I just wasn't happy with what I was creating...

Here's a picture of my dining table. In the background to the left is a cone/tree project that I'm working on. When I finish it, I'll post it. I'm really excited about it.

And here's a couple of my pilgrim folk that I bought at Big Lots a couple of years ago.

I actually have a total of 4 pilgrim couples and 1 Native American couple. I love Big Lots for Thanksgiving decor; I always find great stuff there!

While I was busy making a mess that pretty much took over the kitchen, dining room and living room, My Sweetheart was working in the backyard. He and his nephew installed Sod in the backyard. It looks so great! I'll post a picture this week when I can get a good shot. I was going to do it tonight but it's too dark.

Well, time to head off to bed. I have an early start tomorrow. Have a great week!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween all!! We had a great time tonight. We had a TON of trick-or-treaters come to the house. They started at about 6:00pm and continued until 8:30pm. We turned the lights out at 8:30pm because we were tired of jumping up every time the bell rang. Here's why:


Every time the doorbell rang, My Sweetheart would have to grab Grievous and hold him while I opened the door and handed out candy. Grievous barked and barked and barked at every single trick-or-treater that came to the door! It was loud and obnoxious. But My Sweetheart said there was no harm in letting him bark so he let him bark! He scared some young kids...they jumped when they saw him!! I don't know why kids are so afraid of him, he so darn cute!!!

Here's some pictures of our Halloween decorations:

Here's the wreath that I made to hang on the front door:






And the front entrance way with the lights on:

Here's My Sweetheart's contribution:

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!

It's not as easy as it looks.....

Wow! Maintaining a blog site is not as easy as it looks! I loves reading my daily blogs and for some reason I always thought well that looks like fun! Well, it's really hard work! I generally catch up on my blog reading while at work so it's rare that I read blogs at home. That in itself is the problem here. I realized I need to schedule time in my evenings to maintain my daily (or even weekly!) blog. Tonight I sat down and created a schedule for myself so that I can try to update my post at least 3 times per week.

There's so many things going on here, I should have plenty of projects to keep me busy. By the way, I finally got to some of my projects that I was working on in July. Here's the list:

Paint front door - done
Paint flower pot at front door - done
Buy (drought/heat tolerant) flowers for pot - done
Go to Marshalls and Home Goods in Chandler to see if I can find matching bowls for cake plate I just bought - done
Start designing guest bedroom makeover
Plan master bedroom furniture painting project

Not bad, eh? So the guest bedroom and the master bedroom are still untouched.....I'll get to that later.

Well, that's all for now. I can't wait to start posting and sharing pictures again.

Mid Week Blues

My Sweetheart is in San Diego. He is hanging out with his best friend Adam. Today is Adam's birthday and it's tradition for them to hang out on his birthday. They have been best friends since they were kids. I miss him...so does Grievous. but he deserves to have fun he works hard for us. So while he's out to keep myself busy I have a slew of projects that I'm working on. I always joke with my Sweetheart that I have plans on top of plans buried underneath of plans. So here goes:

1. Paint front door
2. Paint flower pot at front door
3. Buy (drought/heat tolerant) flowers for pot
4. Go to Marshalls and Home Goods in Chandler to see if I can find matching bowls for cake plate I just bought.
5. Start designing guest bedroom makeover
6. Plan master bedroom furniture painting project

So this is just the start. To keep myself busy this weekend, I'll try to check off as many items as I can.

Stay tuned for an update.

Sunday

Sunday is by far my favorite day of the week. Our Sunday always starts with church. My Sweetheart and I attend 9a.m. mass at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. St. Mary's is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Phoenix and is home to Arizona's largest stained glass window collection. The church has been staffed by Franciscan Friars since 1985. It has a wonderful community and walking in the church always reminds me of home.

After mass, we always stop by our favorite Mexican restaurant in Phoenix. It's called Poncho's Mexican Food. We loved the food; I mean we go there EVERY Sunday for lunch. My Sweetheart said I already mentioned our favorite Mexican restaurant....to clarify, that was in Cave Creek, this is in Phoenix. I also have a favorite in Scottsale and Tucson......

Well time to sign off. The Next Food Network star is about to begin. Down to the final three so this week will be intense! Then of course Army Wives after that. Although my Sweetheart does not like to watch these two shows, he always sets his laptop up in the living room and plays his game while I watch my shows. Frankly, I think he is hooked on the shows too but won't admit it. But that's okay because as long as my Sweetheart and Grievous are here with me, life is good.

Have a wonderfuly week!

Our fun day in Cave Creek

What a fun day we had today. My sweetheart and I had an appointment at the eye doctor (we had to pick up our prescription glasses). First time for me and I was totally loving it. I got these really cool black rimmed glasses. My sweetheart on the other hand was dreading it. He had lasik done about 10 years ago and was finally rid of glasses he had to wear since he was a very young boy. Lately however, he was complaining about his eye site so I scheduled an appointment for both of us to get our eyes checked. End result: glasses for BOTH of us. I still love mine....he's still loathing his!

After our fun time at the eye doctor, we headed out to Cave Creek. It's a fun little town located north of Phoenix. It's full of eclectic shops, art galleries and restaurants. We had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. I can't recall the name and my sweetheart won't stop playing his game long enough to check the receipt in his wallet. Anyway, great atmosphere and great company. After lunch, we fed the ducks which was really cool. When they see the food being pulled from the dispenser they gather around and wait for their treats! We only make it out to Cave Creek about twice a year, generally during the winter months. Today was about 104 degrees out there so shopping was minimal. My sweetheart scored today. He bought a leather jacket and a leather hat at a going out of business sale (think Stevie Ray Vaughan). The last time we were there in February he bought me two gorgeous rings from this vendor that sells really bizarre but cool jewely.

Well, this was my very first post. I am totally digging this. It's nearly 11pm and I must run to catch last week's episode of Army Wives.