Christmas 2011

This is the ONLY picture I took of our Christmas decor. We put the tree up Thanksgiving weekend and I'm so glad we did. Not only did we get to enjoy it every evening for nearly a month but if we had not put it up when we did I'm not so sure it would have ever gone up! I'm just saying...

Pre Halloween

I can barely wait for next Friday! It's October 1st and every October 1st I have my Sweetheart pull out the Halloween bins from the garage and I get busy decorating! I absolutely love it!!! Our first year together my Sweetheart was surprised with my obsession with holiday decor. But now he totally gets into it too. For Halloween, he takes control of decorating the front yard while I work inside. It's great!

I went to Michael's and Hobby Lobby yesterday; I was picking up a few last minute items. Mr. Bones in the picture above being one of them. I thought he looked cute in the cake stand. I may add some feathers or black leaves to it...not sure yet. I just couldn't resist putting him in there.

My Sweetheart walked in the kitchen after I had put him in and thought it looked really cool. :)

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!

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!