Christmas Eve

First an update on my Christmas card wall:

On Christmas Eve, Sweetheart and I did what we have done for the last 10 years.   We went to Christmas Eve mass and then went to eat Chinese food at Flo's Asian Kitchen:

On Christmas morning, we headed to Tucson very early and opened gifts with my family and then we fixed a big breakfast.     When it was time to drive back to Phoenix, my niece decided she was coming back with us....so she did:

She loves hanging out in our backyard.  We had some lemons and grapefruits that were ready for picking and she loves helping with that.   It's one of her favorite things.  That and going to our neighborhood park:

She likes to re-arrange my furniture so she can watch Teen Titans or Moana or Brave or Beauty and the Beast in comfort:

And she loves that Tio Miguel gives her surprises: 

And this kid LOVES rocks so he got her a gem digging project which she had the best time breaking into:

I made a big pot of posole on Christmas Eve so we've been feasting on that pretty much all week:

Needless to say, my plan to get a million things done this week didn't quite work out as I planned.   But spending time with the little girl was so worth it!

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas!   It comes along so quickly and then at the blink of an eye it's done.    We put our tree up Thanksgiving weekend after our guest left so I've been able to enjoy this for a full month.   And still, it's not long enough.  I would keep it up year round if it was socially acceptable.

A colleague of mine was selling Yankee candles for her son's football fundraiser and I bought some of the Balsam & Cedar candles.   They smell amazing and make my living room smell like we have a fresh cut tree:

Sometimes a throw, a pillow and some jingle bells are all I need to make a festive statement:

And mini wreaths.  Because how can you go wrong with a wreath?

This is one of my favorite spots.   When I sit and drink my hot tea in the mornings I admire this area. It makes me feel grown up and stuff.

Don't you love how sometimes you don't feel the creativity flowing and you throw mini ornaments into a bowl and then people are all "wow, so pretty!"....

This nutcracker is one of my fav's:

See the bow?  I made that.  I went on youtube and searched for how to make a bow and viola!

The ONLY time of the year I get excited to see the U.S. Mail is when I know there's a possibility that I can add to my Christmas card wall:

There's that mirror that just roams from room to room until I find a good place to put it.  I think it adds a nice touch to the tree here.   And see the blocks that should spell out "Christmas"?  My four-year old niece was here for a four-day visit and she "fixed the blocks for me".   Perfect.

Merry Christmas!  Be blessed and safe!

I'm on vacation for the next 10 days and I have a HUGE list of things to do.

Wish me luck!  

Christmas Cards 2017

Introducing my 2017 Christmas Card!  I am well aware of my delusions of grandeur about how anyone shares my excitement over this card.   But it was not easy getting to this year's card.   This year I dabbled in embossing which is a very cool technique involving ink, powder and a heat source.  It's also a very acquired technique.  It took months of practice to get it just right.   The end result was pretty and simple.   Too simple I thought at first, but my best friend told me it was the best card I've created.   She said the simplicity of it was just stunning.   

Phase one of my card was a disaster.   I had this vision of red glitter with frosty white glitter on a white card.  The concept was brilliant.  The execution was a major fail.  This is the best of the worst: 

When I mentioned earlier that embossing is an acquired skill I was totally serious.   And through trial and error, I realized my first plan was a bit too ambitious.  So I went with plan B.   I used a stamp with a thin outline.   I found using this stamp was within my skill set.     

I used red ink with red glittered embossing powder.   It's hard to capture (in a picture) just how impressive the raised letters and the shine of the glitter really is. 

I took pictures of my process because I didn't want to forget how I did this.   That was the initial thought but after making 30 cards I'm pretty sure I won't forget the step process. 

On the inside of the card, I used black ink with clear embossing powder.   First I stamped the card with black ink then sprinkled (liberally) the embossing powder on:

Then I shook off the excess:

Then I applied heat with the heating tool.   The heating tool projects heat through a steady stream of heat.   Once the powder starts to get hot, it will transform into these beautifully raised, shiny letters:

One I knew I had a handle on the process ( and it took LOTS of practice), I started a production line:

After the first one was made, the rest was done within a couple of hours and the next day I signed them and headed off to the post office!

Llamas

There's a llama craze out there and I have officially jumped on that bandwagon.   It all started with an email I got from Pier One.   I had just had the guest bathroom walls painted a warm gray and was in the midst of brainstorming ideas for a color/theme for this hall bath.   That's when the email from Pier One popped into my inbox.     I instantly fell in love.  The tassels, the embroidery, the Llama!

I ordered it immediately and when it arrived I yanked it out of the package and draped it over the navy blue towels I had just bought from Costco.

Seriously, how cute is this towel??

I was so in love with it that I said to myself "self, what would go well with a llama towel?".   "How about a llama print for the opposite wall?", I said.   And thus the llama print I got from Esty!  Is it not simply adorable?   It's an 8x5 print that I downloaded and printed and the put into an 11x14 frame that I found at Hobby Lobby.  I added the white mat to give it a more custom look.   I think it looks great!  

I found the shower curtain at Target about two years ago.  Navy blue is one of my favorite colors so when I saw this I knew immediately that it would look great in the hall bathroom.   I don't know if it can be described as a moroccan pattern but that's what I see when I look at it.    It's lovely. 

I've said this before but I really love how just a few additions can really bring a room to life.    The navy towels are from Costco ($4.99 for full bath towel), the navy bath rug is from Ikea (less than $10), the potted plant from Home Depot and a white towel with a navy trim from Target.   Everything else I had on hand.

BTW, I'm almost done with Christmas shopping and I already mailed out my Christmas cards.    It's a great start to the most wonderful time of the year!

Thanksgiving 2017

And just like that, it's the eve of Thanksgiving.   It feels like I just took down the Halloween stuff and now I'm going to be taking down the Thanksgiving stuff and putting up the Christmas stuff.  Lots of stuff movement going on.  That's the haps around here.

Notice the chevron pillows again?  Yep, I found these in my linen closet.   I can't remember when I bought chevron pillow covers but I know I had them on out on the couch at one point.   I found them to be the perfect compliment to the 'thankful' pillow that I found at Target.   

I thought putting the pumpkins in a basket was a cute idea.  Sweetheart said he liked it better when they were just gathered around the plant.   He said it felt more like a pumpkin patch.   

And well because you know I love my wreaths:

I'll be honest, laziness kicked in right after Halloween and I went simple.   And by simple, I mean I just grabbed some pumpkins and scattered them about:

Pumpkins and pinecones was all I needed:

I picked up this cute Snake plant at Home Depot a few days ago.  I found the perfect spot for it in the hallway.   I just noticed the top book is misplaced...but that's okay.  It makes it that much more fun.

And as I'm going around snapping pictures of the pumpkins I walked by the mirror and was all "hey there groovy chick.....".   Holiday comedy.

The long Thanksgiving weekend is going to be a whirlwind.   My sister and cousin and aunt will be here for shopping and movie watching.  We are gong to have SO MUCH FUN!

Let me not forget to mention how very thankful and grateful I am for my many blessings.    Cheers to you and yours this holiday weekend.   Be safe and be blessed!

Halloween

My favorite time of the year!   It's fall in Arizona which means we are out of the 100 degree temperatures and into the low 90's!   Pumpkins and football and cooler weather = happiness!    It also means Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!

When we painted the interior walls last year I moved the entrance way table from this wall and added a mirror and bench.   Now it's is my go-to place to hang a banner.   I'm not gonna lie, I like banners almost as much as I like wreaths. 

Pumpkins.  Banners.  Pillows.   I love how just a few items can make such a festive statement.




And that  black and white chevron pillow?   It sets my heart aflutter.  It's actually a pillow cover with a flower clip that I found at Hobby Lobby.   Years ago I started buying pillow covers instead of buying all new pillows because storage was becoming an issue.  That and I was getting side-eye from Sweetheart every time a new pillow came into the house.   The Happy Halloween pillow is from the Dollar Spot at Target.

And talk about setting my heart aflutter.   I don't know why I have an obsession with wreaths.   Maybe because they dress up a door and have a way of saying "welcome to our home"!

I'm not really the Queen of Halloween......

Polka dots are also one of my favs.   I love this darling coffin with the white polka dots and the orange ribbon.  It's a great color combo.

Didn't I tell you I loved banners?

Remember the entrance way table that I mentioned moving from the wall by the front door?  Well I re-purposed it and now it's a desk in the living room corner.   And the mirror behind it is a recent addition.  We had it our bedroom (before that it hung over our sectional in the living room) but we recently bought a media center for the bedroom and the mirror had to go.   We didn't want to get rid of it but it's a beast and really heavy so we were looking for a place where we could just lean it.    I've seen plenty of  Pinterest inspired rooms where a large mirror is placed behind a table so we tried it.   And we liked it.      

That "beware" sign has to be about 10 years old but still adorable.   

And those little colorful, glittered pumpkins....love them!   They are from Target and when I first saw them I had to have them. 

Hobby Lobby faux flowers and  pumpkin with a message finishes off the decor.

Happy Halloween all!