Cold Sunday morning

It was a cold 50 degrees in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday morning! That's cold for us. Like really cold. After breakfast, My Sweetheart headed to the backyard to enjoy the cold weather. He was so excited that it was cold enough to light his Chiminea (Spanish for outdoor fireplace). He is a real firebug when it comes to that thing!


I ran outside for a quick second to snap a quick picture of him and also to roast a marshmallow or two and I may or may not have also brought out the graham crakers and chocolate bars.......


Here he is loving his fire:

Grievous got to wear his brand new coat. He LOVED it. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to brave the cold. He stood at the door for a while as he contemplated:

He eventually headed outside. He found that his coat kept him nice and warm. He was strutting around in it:

Meanwhile, I was inside putting away Thanksgiving decor and pulling out Christmas decor. Here's a sneak peek:

I decided to decorate in phases. Tonight I'm working on my Christmas Village.

Have a great week!

Christmas Cards

What a great Thanksgiving day we had! We were fortunate enough to be able to spend time with both of our families. We spent the first half of the day in Phoenix with My Sweetheart's family then we drove 90 miles to Tucson to spend the second half of the day with my family. It was a great day!

I spend Friday relaxing. Oh, I did manage to get up at 5:30 a.m. to go 'black Friday bargain shopping'. It was a bit of a bust. I went to Target, Michael's and Kohls. I got good deals at all three places but I gave up after that. There were so many people and the checkout lines were crazy! I came home and decided to just relax the rest of the day. And that I did!

Today, I decided to get a head start on my Christmas cards. I've been sending out handmade cards for three years now. I'm getting better and better each year!

I made a quick trip to Joanne's to buy some scrap booking supplies. I started by cutting out my cards and the background piece:


Then My Sweetheart and I worked on the inside. He always helps me put together our message:


It took me about 30 minutes to cut all the separate pieces to my ornament using my Cricket Expression:


It took me about 2 hours to get everything glued on:

When I finally finished the ornament, I glued it to my card:

The end product looked pretty good:

Now all I have to do is type out my mailing labels which I will do this week. My goal is to have my cards in the mail by December 1st.

I am spending all day tomorrow putting away the Thanksgiving decor and pulling out the Christmas decor. I'm excited!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Have a blessed day!

Thanksgiving - frontdoor wreath

I love decorating the front door and entrance way when I decorate for the holidays. And I HEART wreaths. It's one of my vices. I will make a wreath for any occasion. I have a wreath on my front door year round. My sister says I have a serious problem...but what does she know?

Last year I was on a 'feather wreath' kick. I made one for Halloween that I tweaked this year here. I also made this brown one last year. I added a gold bow to it this year to liven it up some:

I got this cute tin sign on clearance at Michael's last year. I'll probably fill it with dried flowers next year. Possibly this year if I can make it to HobLob or Michaels before Thursday. For now, it look good as is:

I piled some pumpkins outside next to Mr. Duck:

Makes for a cozy, autumn-themed front entrance:

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Birthday Weekend

Wow, what an absolutely wonderful birthday weekend! My Sweetheart always goes above and beyond when it comes to my birthday and he certainly did not disappoint this year!


He kept my birthday surprise a secret from me for close to 3 weeks. He would give me hints now and then but didn't really divulge anything until the Friday before. And the only reason he claims he told me is so that I would know what to pack for my surprise weekend getaway. He really wanted to surprise me...and surprise me he did!




The first part of his birthday surprise to me included a weekend stay in Sedona. Sedona is beautiful all year round but Fall is one of our favorite times to visit because of the nice cool weather. We actually wore sweaters during the day and coats and scarves at night! Something that we don't get to do in Phoenix until about January and then it's only for a few days:

On our way to the resort, we stopped to take in the beautiful mountain air and the breathtaking scenery:

We stayed at the Poco Diablo Resort off the main drag. Our patio opened up to the golf course and beautiful trees that we just don't get to see to much of in Phoenix:

The second part of my surprise included a hot air balloon ride! I was beyond thrilled when My Sweetheart told me we were going to soar over Sedona in a hot air balloon! Wow! I've been wanting to do this since I was 16 years old! It was simply amazing!

We were 200 feet above the earth. It was so peaceful and serene up there. We were both overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounded us. This is a picture that I took of the other hot air balloon that launched with us.

After our hot air balloon ride, we shared mimosa's, fruit and muffins with the crew and other passengers. It was a great time!!

After our balloon ride, we drove to Jerome, Arizona and enjoyed some shopping and lunch before heading back to Phoenix. All in all, it was an absolutely amazing weekend. Thank you Sweetheart from the bottom of my heart for always making me feel so special! I love you. xxxoooo.

Fall Decor

I can't believe it's already November. Where has the time gone??

I spent this weekend putting away my Halloween decor and pulling out my Thanksgiving decor. I have to admit that I wasn't in the mood for doing this but pushed myself to do it.

Entrance way table:


Dining table:

My cone tree project from last year:

Pumkin plate in the kitchen:

Pumpkins in the cake plate:

Have a great week!