Hoppy Easter!

We're only having 4 guests for dinner, but I've been prepping all week!  How do you like the little bunny dirt cups (chocolate pudding sprinkled with oreo crumbs and tinted coconut)?  Easy and cute - couldn't resist (saw them on Pinterest).

I also baked bunny buns (although they look a little like cats) . . .

and chocolate-coconut birdnests . . .

 I dipped strawberries . . .

and baked and decorated this carrot cake (I'll top it with a chocolate rabbit).

 The table is all set and the turkey breast is in the oven (do you think we'll have enough food?!?!).  Now all we need is our guests!

They should be here shortly, so Happy Easter, everyone!

Quick Holiday Project

I love projects that are quick, cheap, and useful, don't you?   The last few years, I've kept all the Christmas cards we received in basket on top of the piano - they're contained, but not really easy to see or read.  I've been wanting one of those wire card holders you hang on a wall, but didn't want to spring for the $25 or more (plus shipping).  I recently saw something in a catalog to display cards or photos made from old barn wood criss-crossed with twine.  I came across some birch branches in the backyard and decided to modify the idea.  This is what I came up with:

 After cutting the branches to size, I tied them together at the corners with florist's wire.  Then I strung some ribbon back and forth between the side branches and added some bows and clips.  Couldn't be easier!  It makes a nice display on the back of the front door and all the cards and photos are easy to see and read.   I can take it apart for easy storage to reuse next year... And it cost nothing!  I love it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to mail out Thanksgiving cards this year, with the above artwork, but I only just finished the final stitches a few minutes ago so I'll send it out electronically.  I hope this Thanksgiving finds you healthy and safe, together with friends and family, counting your blessings!

Are You Ready?

Spider webs and eerie lights on the railing...

Check!

 Cute little ghost hanging near the front door...

Check!

Bags of candy in a bowl near the door for easy access...

 Check!

Whimsical Halloween banner hanging in the entryway...

Check!

 Fake jack-o-lantern glowing in the front window...

Check!

Miscellaneous horns, ears, tails, wigs and hats just in case...

Check!

Some orange and black cupcakes, just because...

 Check!

Halloween, bring it on!

Thankful Thursday, Christmas Edition

This is a good time of year to stop and recognize the abundance we live with on a daily basis.  Today I am most particularly thankful for the leisure time I've been spending at home the last couple of days.  In the mad race to get everything done before the big day, it's been almost hard for me to slow down and savor quiet moments alone or with the immediate family (or the dog!).  And now that I've had some quiet and rest, I hope I can get my momentum going again when I'll need to (tomorrow!).  I'm also grateful for my husband, his job and salary which enables us to have this lifestyle, and the vacaton time he's been able to take this week.   He's been a huge help driving the girls around, shopping, wrapping, helping with cooking and clean up.  And he's always in a merry mood too!  Finally, I'm grateful for the gift of faith which is reborn at Christmas.  I pray that I'm passing it on to my children and they will find it of value throughout their lives.

Craft Sale Pix

I finally made it down to the Putnam Arts Council holiday craft sale this afternoon to see all the beautiful artsy gifts available this year.  There's always a great assortment and this year is no different - as you can see above, handmade wire jewelry, hand thrown ceramics, even handmade journal books this year!  Notice at the top the basket with the antler handle.

There were some beautiful art cloth pillows and some wooden signs with cute quips and quotes like "Simplify" and "To thine own self be true."

 My bracelets were along this wall with some ceramic bowls, dog biscuit ornaments, and blown glass baubles.

Here is a closer shot of the display.  Look - two of the eight bracelets sold!  Maybe I'll bring over a couple more, and a few more necklaces and earrings too!

 Here are a few more shots of some of the beautiful gifts for sale - if you're local, check it out Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5 pm!

Thanksgiving Thursday!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you are all spending the day with family and loved ones, indulging in turkey with all the trimmings.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, most especially because all Americans celebrate it together, and because it is so important to stop and appreciate our many blessings (not to mention all the great food, especially the pies!).

Today I'm feeling grateful for the basics, things like plentiful food in the fridge, a warm, comfortable home, and good health for myself and my family.  My husband is also at the top of the list again, as well as his job, which enables us to live the life we do.  

I hope you are healthy, loved, and blessed too!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thursday, Halloween Edition

 
To me, the scariest thing about Halloween is that the very next day, the frantic Holiday Season begins!  I thought the rule used to be to wait until after Thanksgiving, but I've already seen Christmas decorations, candy, and gifts in all the stores, so now is a good time to slow down and savor our blessings.

Today, I'm feeling especially thankful for heat and electricity, as we spent the last two Halloweens without power, following that freak snowstorm in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy last year.   I'm also grateful that no one I knew personally was injured or suffered substantial losses, as did many people in the tristate area.  We were also fortunate to have good friends, neighbors, and relatives who gave us a warm meal, hot shower, or place to bunk overnight.  It made all the difference!  And despite the fact that I'm currently feeling like our entire home needs a huge cosmetic overhaul, I'm still grateful that we have a warm, comfortable, safe place to live in a beautiful setting.  It's easy to forget that we're more fortunate than most.  On this All Hallow's Eve, I'm also grateful for the close relatives who have passed on before me, most especially, godparents and grandparents.   Finally, I'm thankful for my daughters, who manage somehow to keep me young and give me gray hair at the same time, who make me smile, laugh, and sometimes cry, as we journey together through their adolescence.  It's a bit like a roller coaster these days, but certainly is never dull!

What are you feeling thankful for this Halloween?

Much to Celebrate

There's always lots to celebrate this time of year, but we had an exceptionally merry time this year, beginning Christmas Eve.  We attended an early mass at our local church and came home to a dinner of royal proportions, including shrimp cocktail, crab legs, fresh cheese ravioli, and broiled lobster tails drenched in butter!

After we ate and cleaned up, we spent a quiet evening together, and then came my favorite part of the whole season:  the stillness of the holy night.  I got to enjoy a few peaceful moments alone after all the work was done for the day.

 The morning brought a dusting of magical Christmas snow and a flurry of present opening, which never seems to last very long!  Then a hearty Christmas breakfast and another flurry of activity preparing for a big family get-together.  Here we all are!  It's surprising not one of is is making a goofy face in this shot!

 There was plenty more eating and general merry making, including some hot-tubbing

and a musical interlude provided by my lovely and talented nieces!  

It was fun to have real children in the house again, as mine are all adolescents now and not half as energetic and spontaneous as my brothers' kids.  What a fun time!

This year, we also celebrated my oldest daughter's 16th birthday!

It's hard to believe that it's been 16 years since we brought her home from the hospital and began this exciting, rewarding, amazing, (and sometimes scary - notice the pink hair!) journey called Parenthood!  She has grown into a lovely, sensitive, caring, fun, smart young lady and we're so proud of her!

And to top it all off, last night my husband and I got to spend a little time alone to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.  We certainly had a lot to celebrate this year!  God bless us, every one!

Gift Card Holders!

If I can't make a homemade gift, I usually try at least to choose something special for each person, but this year I resorted to a few gift cards for our nephews.  They didn't come with any holder or folded card, and I didn't feel like spending another $2.50 (times four) for a cute cardboard or tin holder that would just be thrown away, so I came up with these little wallets!  I actually used recycled denim from one of the girls' old jeans, as well as some of that stiff interfacing like Timtex, a thinner fabric lining, some contrasting thread, a little velcro, and some fabric paints.  It's pretty much just like an envelope, very quick to stitch up.  At the last minute, I decided to add the loop on the side (which is from the seam of the jeans) and the carabiner, so the boys can hook them onto their backpacks or belt loops.  I left them pretty plain, 'cause I figured boys would like them that way, but they could also be jazzed up with pieced prints, additional paints, buttons, rick-rack, decorative stitching, you name it!  I love when a project is quick, easy, costs next to nothing, and creates something useful!

Advent Begins

Once school begins in September, it isn't long before we're seeing Halloween costumes and candy in the stores, the leaves change and fall, it's November and Thanksgiving, and suddenly December is upon us!  The last four months of the year just seem to fly by!  And even though I've been thinking about Christmas since September, and trying to get as much as possible done early on, I always feel a mild sort of panic settle in when I see that 12 in the month column.  So many things to think about, plan, accomplish in these few meager weeks!

So this year, I bought myself an early gift:  the little Nativity pin you see above.  I found it at Darlene Hardenbrook's Etsy shop Freeheart1 (where she has some beautiful polymer clay pieces - the design of this one is so special, she had it copyrighted!).  I hope it will be the perfect little reminder to myself not to get caught up in the anxiety of rushing, buying, wrapping, overdoing, but instead to take it one moment and one day at a time, and try to prepare my heart for the Savior's birth.  Amen to that!

Woo Hoo!

Yesterday, I felt just like the Pillsbury Dough Boy looks - absolutely thrilled to be there!

It's hard to describe how exciting it was to see the Thanksgiving Day banner, the first marchers, and that first balloon come around the corner onto 6th Avenue.  I think the only thing that could be more exciting than attending the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade would be marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade!  I may just have to become an employee so I can experience that!

 Who's having the most fun here?!?!  I hope you'll indulge me and let me show you some of my most favorite shots (all taken by my DH - he took over 200 photos!).  Don't you love Kermit...

 and Charlie Brown with his football?

I love how huge the balloons are, even in contrast to all the skyscrapers.  Spiderman was so awesome!  

There were some awesome floats as well, including Sesame Street and many muppets.  Bob was even there, smiling and waving.

 Here is Don McLean with Mt. Rushmore...

  and Miss USA!  The women's gold-medal-winning USA gymnastics team was there too!

Unfortunately, I am not up on all the latest celebrities and didn't know who some of them were...  But I did recognize the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

 And Whoopie Goldberg was dressed as a pirate and waving from the front of this ship.  How cool is that!

 Not sure who this was either, but we waved to Colby Callait, Cody Simpson, and Carly Ray Jepson, even if we weren't sure which ones they were!

 Once again, I seem to be having the most fun in this photo, but my DH loved Buzz Lightyear, below.

 Finally, after two hours of waving, cheering, and standing on tip-toes, Santa came riding up to usher in the official start of the shopping season.  Isn't he spectacular?!

 We were so fortunate with the weather, so after the parade we wandered around Central Park a bit and found the statue of Balto.  I'm so glad we made the effort to get to NYC this year - everything just came together perfectly:  I had researched everything online beforehand, so we had a good idea where to park and how to get in and out with the least amount of hassles.  We did hit a bit of traffic afterwards on the LIE, but we made it in time for a spectacular dinner at my SIL's.  Everything was scrumptious!

I realized this morning that one of the things that was so fabulous about being there, was that I was perfectly happy "in the moment."  I wasn't thinking about what I needed to do or where I needed to go next.  I completely enjoyed where I was and what I was doing for the full three hours!  Wish I could do that more often, even on a daily basis - just be happy where I am, doing what I'm doing.  I think it would be a lot easier if I enjoyed cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping a bit more, but it's probably all in your attitude.  I'll have to work on that!

Anyway, hope you were able to be "in the moment" as well, wherever you were, whomever you were with, whatever you were doing!