christmas tree with a little flair

i wish i could take credit for how awesome my christmas tree looked this year BUT i can't.... better homes and gardens december 2010 issue showed me this unique idea of adding branch's/sticks to my tree. we decided to not get a real tree this year and use the old fake tree i bought when i lived in my first apartment- it did look pretty small with the high ceilings in the new house...so adding the branch's/sticks took our small tree to a different level.

great finds....

french hen barn had their first holiday barn sale and i had to go... and its a good think i got there when they opened! look at all the great finds i brought home with me! within 5 mins i had a pile behind the counter and could have bought so much more. i even had to make a trip to the atm and come back.
while shopping i ran into my friends happy hopefuls and salutations- i can't wait to see what they bought. can't wait for the next sale- i won't miss it!

Thursdays... my day off

I say that Thursdays are my day off.... but really its my work from home day. The greatest parts of this day is that it truly is my day off from the real world. I don't have to get up and shower and face the crazy/busy world- I can put my sweats on and boot my computer up... and I am working by 7am- this is one whole hour before I usually get to work. I'm finding that I have less distractions and I'm more productive when I am working from home. My cube at work has tons of papers and flies everywhere- at home I have what I need to do for the day. When I get to work  (about 8am depending on traffic) I catch up with my co-workers and even go get coffee.. I am at my desk working by 8:30. We work in what is called an open office atmosphere- taking and making phone calls is really distracting with the noise- my day off... I can make calls and not be distracted.

BUT the absolute best part of my day off is that I don't have to get in my car and drive anywhere- when I leave work in the evening it can take me on average 1.5 hours to get home. I am tired, hungry and cranky- but not on my day off!

I believe that everyone should have at least one day off from this crazy/busy corporate world.

feeling behind....

I am behind already with our Christmas card for 2010... I struggle every year to find the perfect card, the perfect outfit, and the perfect picture! I’m hoping to get out this weekend and take some pictures to create my cards with one of Shutterfly's awesome flat card Christmas card this year! There are tons to pick from I don’t know how I will ever decide.

Shutterfly is easy to use and has so many fun things to do with your pictures. Not only do they have awesome Christmas cards, but they have photo books, coffee mugs, and 2011 calendars that make great gifts for the holidays. Last year I made the cuties photo books for some of Gavin’s friends- filled with pictures of him and his friend- they loved them! Gavin has one too and looks at it all the time~

Which design do you think I should pick for this years Christmas cards?



Kaleidoscope stars - All Wrapped Up- Holiday Window

Looking forward to finding out which card you think I should pick!

happy thanksgving

wishing you a happy thanksgiving day ~
enjoy all the good food and company!

off to the beach

we are spending thanksgiving this year in hilton head island with my husbands family. i am hoping the weather will be nice and the sun will bring some warm days so we can go to the beach and play (of course not in our suits) but warm enough to take our shoes off. the last time we visited was in 2007- the pictures below are from my favorite restaurant- santa fe, the beach, and a few animals i met.

a few things i would like to do while we are visiting:

1. go to the beach with gavin
2. go to dinner at my absolute favorite restaurant in the whole world- santa fe
3. relax
4. go for a few walks
5. visit savannah
6. shop the outlet malls
7. try to take a family photo for christmas cards
8. go back to my favorite restaurant for drinks on the roof-top
9. eat lots of turkey on thanksgiving
10. eat leftovers on friday after thanksgiving
11. i almost forgot... blogging!


Hilton Head Island 2007



gobble gobble....

yesterday we made turkeys out of pine cones. i wanted to have something for the table on thanksgiving day that gavin had made. i combined a martha idea with family fun idea and created my own idea....

 i just hope they survive the ride in the airplane to hilton head island. i might have to pack my glue gun for last minute make-overs before thursday! gobble gobble....

fry daddy

the cover of the September 2010 better homes and garden magazine featured these delicious looking doughnuts. i remembered that when i was a kid my parents would make doughnuts with us. my mom doesn't keep many things in the house anymore but to my surprise she still had her fry daddy.

i brought it home with us the last time we were in michigan... and i couldn't wait to start making the doughnuts. i followed the recipe and it was really easy... the doughnuts were good but something was missing... after looking at a few other recipes online i decided to try again but this time i added sour cream (when does sour cream not make everything taste better) that was the secret ingredient that made them delicious!

here is the recipe that i created....
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t ground cinnamon
3/4 t salt
4 T sour cream
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/3 cup butter milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
bowl of sugar

combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; set aside. in another bowl combine butter milk and melted butter. in a large mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla; beat with mixer until thick (about 5 min). add milk mixture and sour cream; stir with wooden spoon to combine. add flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until smooth.
turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. roll dough about 1/2 inch and use doughnut cutter to cut doughnuts. depending on your deep fryer; fry 2-3 doughnuts in a deep fryer for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until brown, turning halfway through with slotted spoon. drain on cooling rack and than shake warm doughnuts with sugar.

one two three four five.....

num·ber
–noun
1. a numeral or group of numerals.

2. the sum, total, count, or aggregate of a collection of units, or the like: A number of people were hurt in the accident. The number of homeless children in the city has risen alarmingly.

3. a word or symbol, or a combination of words or symbols, used in counting or in noting a total.
4. the particular numeral assigned to an object so as to designate its place in a series: house number; license number.
5. one of a series of things distinguished by or marked with numerals.

i like to decorate with numbers in my house.... the old gasoline numbers i've found inexpensively at antique sales. november 2010 issue of better homes and garden magazine home -style made simple showcases petrol numbers for $130... i know you can find them at your local antique sale for under $12.

some of my numbers have meaning behind them... like 557 was my old address to my first home i bought and  7, 3, 0 is my anniversary date.

anyone else decorate with numbers?

freemans farm

we found yet another great place near our house... freemans farm!

hayrides: $2 adults $1 toddler

kettle corn: $1 (snack size)

pumpkins: $.35 per pound

scarecrow making: $20

clean petting farm: free



love

i love small towns. i love big city's.
i love my new neighborhood.

i love watching people.

i love creating/crafting.
i love girls night.

i love learning about blogging.

i love the fall time.
i love decorating for christmas.

i love 600 thread count sheets.
i love the color blue.

i love shoes.
i love kut jeans.

i love eating pizza for dinner on friday nights.

thought i'd share a few of the things i love.... more to come later.

just released

new to the abk design collection.... fabric banners!



i have loved these for a long time and finally have found some extra time to launch my newest collection. they measure 3 yards or 108 inches long and  are made with unique fabrics (robert kaufman, amy butler, moda just to name a few) found at one of my favorite local sewing shop (sew to speak).


i think these banners are a great addition to any party decoration, bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, a child’s room or play room, or just an addition to your everyday decorating. it was fun mixing fabrics to create this halloween banner below to accent my fire place.

many more to come... but just wanted to share a sneak peek of what's coming.... let me know your thoughts!

yipeeeeeee......french hen farm barn sale

you won't want to miss this sale.... i'm pretty sure i will be taking a day off from work to go shopping! hope i find some good "finds"!

Cherry on Top Award

AWARD- cherry on top

thanks to my blog mentor mattie, i received this exciting award!!
the cherry on top award for beautiful blogs, with that little something extra- there are a couple things you are supposed to do with the award but I can only do 2 out of the 3 since i am still new...

1. If you had a chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?
i always dislike these types of questions and struggle with an answer.... BUT if i had a chance to go back and change one thing in life i would have to say how hard school work was for me. it was always a struggle and didn't come natural to me so i just didn't want to do it. i was the worst speller and my worst subject was english/grammer (my mom was even an english teacher). the subjects i favored were math and art (i don't think art is technically a subject either). regardless i made it thru grade school, high school, and college. i manage to have a great job and use spell check often!

2. The second thing you have to do is pick 6 people to receive this award. You then have to inform those people on their blog about the award.
yikes... this is the one that i can't do.... i don't have 6 people to give the award to yet. :)

3. Thank the person who gave you this award.
thank you mattie! you are not only a co-worker but a great friend and i appreciate all your help and encouragement. believe me when i tell you i could plan my wedding over and over again. i loved hearing and reading about all your awesome creative wedding ideas. your wedding truly was the best i've been to in a long time all your work paid off with a beautiful day. thanks for inviting us and sharing all your thoughts along the way. hope we do start a blogging club and can share and learn more.

country living fair- columbus, oh

to go or not to go…. it's that time again for the country living fair this weekend at the historical ohio village.. i have gone the last two years and having a hard time deciding to go or not to go this year…..


reasons to go:
~ the village is really cute and the perfect setting for this event
~ makes me think of fall
~ $5 subscription to the magazine
~ amy barickman will be giving a demonstration on "sewing vintage" on friday only

reasons not to go:
~ if i went on saturday i'd be rushed... we have a wedding
~ crowds
~ no real deals
~ if i go on friday i'd have to go alone and take a day off from work
~ some of the demonstrations/events seem to be the same as last years


Link to: Country Living Fair

hmmmmmmmm......

i miss my life... i miss my planner

i really have missed using my planner all summer long. i can't wait to get back to the days that i can open my planner everyday and see what i have going on (other than work). work has taken over my life and honestly i can't wait for my life to take over work again.  we have had a few weekends with friends but i haven't been able to really enjoy them.

actually i am going to start from scratch and get a completely new planner this will help me weed out old information and hopefully make me feel like i have some control again. some might think i am a little obsessive of my planner but it has been my key to saving me time. after all, that is what a planner is supposed to do right? i keep a list of birthday, anniversary, baby, sympathy messages within my planner to help me while on the spot. i know keeping important information like log in and passwords are not supposed to be kept in a planner but again this has saved me time in the end. i rely on my planner a lot and especially more and more since i can't seem to keep things straight in my head anymore.

i used to think that i needed the franklin planner system and had a semi medium planner book... but over the last 5 years i took it down a size to fit in my purse. this has been even more helpful .... i don't use the day to day pages that franklin system has just the overall month to month cally and than lots of extra tabs for web address/passwords, card messages, stamps, return address labels, christmas lists, and anything else that comes to mind.

here is my old planner...

here is my new planner :)....

here is to being organized again and having my life back!!!!

havin fun

today we went looking for the park with the tree house - i had no idea how cool this park was and its practically in our backyard- we defiantly will be going back to explore more!
the sisters' garden is a combination of a country garden with a working windmill and a secret garden where you can look for the wise owl. this was only one area that we had time for today- i have a feeling we will be back next weekend for more.

blog worthy

we are blog worthy! i was excited to see that our family photos were posted on our photographers blog (http://julieranee.com/theblog/) i  have been a huge fan of her for about 3 years and my husband bought me a gift certificate to have our family pictures taken for my birthday. i am so happy that i received this as a gift because i would never have bought this myself. we had such a great time and i really had a hard time picking which photographs to purchase... i wanted them all. (please tell me that i will receive this as a gift again next year)!
i bought two frames from pottery barn outlet in february and actually have them hanging on the wall in the living room waiting for pictures. i have two pictures that hopefully tell a story about us that will fit perfectly. 
she told me two weeks until we will get our pictures... good thing i am so busy at work right now that they should be done by the time i get back from anaheim.

Learning

Today I am learning how to make my blog super cool.