converse day

Some snaps of the card I made for my co-worker Debbie who left our office Friday. Super simple because I was SO not in the mood.













Also a snap of the red velvet cupcakes I made on Thursday. I was not super impressed but I've never had red velvet before so I don't really have anything to compare it to. The funny thing is that I brought four cupcakes home and this morning E said (I had been up for about 5 minutes) "I'm going to have a cupcake, there's still one left though" I had totally intended to take a picture of the four of them but I guess he had finished two off yesterday and the other two today. So I literally grabbed the one out of his hand and took a picture of the two before he ate them.
I guess he liked them more than I did. I'm not really a big baked goods eater though. I bake quite frequently but I rarely eat any more than one piece of anything I make.

In the vein of baking my adorable friend KIMMY:













posted some cupcake love on her blog (now to convince her that she needs to make me a banner as one of her "create something everyday" project). She is seen here posing with paper JOSH....and JOSH is wearing CONS! And as today is CONVERSE DAY! Enjoy the converse love below!












As it's almost midnight and i'm still rockin' the headache that i've had for about oh four days...I'm out till after the jump!

feels like home

I love to have small, pretty, unique things around our home. I'm not a collector of anything and really don't have any patience for a lot of nick knacks. It's one of those things where you can appreciate why other people like them but have no desire whatsoever to do the same. These were on the top of our wedding cake and are now sitting in our kitchen on top of the microwave.












My dear, darling friend Nicole painted this for us as a wedding present and I painted the one below. These both hang on the side of a cabinet in my kitchen.













This little sign hangs just above and I LOVE it. My sister Crystal gave it to me and I don't know where she got it. I love the bright color and all of the fun stitching. Simply adorable!!












We had a good day today. E got a lot done in the classroom while I was at work and then after work we did some purging and reorganizing in the kitchen to make room for the things I bought at the container store. I've been in the mood to get rid of things so I expect that we will have quite a bit to bring to goodwill. It's a nice feeling trying to get to a place where you have space in your home and the things you have are either needed, beautiful or loved. I also made red velvet cupcakes for the first time, I hope everyone likes them. Also on the agenda for tonight was making a card for a co-worker who is leaving our office. Tomorrow is her last day and she will be missed. I'm thinking of picking different themes for each day of the week and posting on those topics each week. Any ideas?
Night!

Lazy Sunday

Had a really fun day today. Got some stuff done this morning and then Kimmy came over this afternoon and we had lots of fun playing Super Mario galaxy and making cupcakes!
I also remembered that I still needed to post about this awesome necklace that my sister Crystal made me for Christmas. I love it so muchly! Also can be worn as a bracelet.














Also we were discussing this yummy popcorn that I made for Christmas. It's super easy to make. You take 2 bags of microwave kettle corn. Pop and remove all unpopped kernels. Put popcorn in large mixing bowl and prepare 2 large baking sheets by spraying with a non stick cooking spray. Melt about a cup and a half of white chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth and pour over popcorn in bowl. Stir gently to mix and coat. At this point I like to sprinkle over some crushed soft peppermint candies. Super yummy and you can add as much or as little as you like. You can also leave it plain or use colored melting chocolate that you get at places like Michaels in the candy section if you want colored popcorn. Great for baby showers. After popcorn is coated spread it out on the baking sheets to cool/harden and that's it. When it's cool break it up gently with a spatula and serve. Super yummy and easy to make.













Sorry for the crummy pictures! Later!

Christmas 2007

Christmas this year was a little different. I don't know if it was just harder being far from family after being in Canada last year or if it's just less of a big deal with no kids around. I love our stockings and having the Christmas cards all up to display. So fun!












And our tree. Which the cats love. If it were a better picture you could see that there are only decorations on the top half because the cats liked playing with them SO much!













Christmas morning was nice. We ended up staying in our PJ's pretty much all day, eating breakfast and opening presents. Doing puzzles and watching movies.
I made white chicken chili and it was really great to just relax and stay in the bubble.












New Christmas PJ's from the night before and just relaxing all day. Looking forward to a repeat of that for New Years. We spent Christmas Eve with Eldon's family and that was nice too. I missed my family's tradition of Christmas eve Chinese food though. I heard it was really good this year too.













I'm so ready to be home from work today. We rented Mario Galaxy for the wii and it ROCKS! We played a bunch last night and I think i'm going to buy it tomorrow. It's a really fun game.

Tomorrow we are headed to Flagstaff for some sushi, gift card spending and watching of this:



Should be fun!

Four things

Four things about me that you may or may not have known.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Tart packager at a bakery.
2. Children’s party entertainer.
3. Data entry for CCRA.
4. Legal assistant.

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Amelie.
2. Pride & Prejudice.
3. The little mermaid.
4. Love Actually.

Four places I have lived:
1. Ottawa, Ontario
2. Holbrook, AZ
3. Sudbury, Ontario
4. Capreol, Ontario

Four T.V. Shows that I watch: (or used to watch )
1. Grey’s Anatomy.
2. Project Runway.
3. Top Chef.
4. Jeopardy.

Four places I have been:
1. Montreal, Quebec
2. Toronto, Ontario
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Washington D.C.

People who e-mail me:
1. Kimmy
2. Angela
3. Nicole
4.

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Sushi.
2. BBQ crab at Joe’s.
3. Jamba Juice.
4. Dad’s stew.

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In bed.
2. Paris.
3. Canada.
4. South Korea.

Things I am looking forward to next year:
1. Traveling, no idea where!
2. Our 5th anniversary.
3. Nicole coming home.
4. Angela visiting!

Kitty hideaway

Today was a good day at work. I felt like I got a lot done which is always nice. AND it's casual clothes for the rest of the week so that's ALWAYS nice!
I made tasty raisin bran muffins when I got home from work (the house is always so nice and clean when Eldon is on a break from work. We joke that he is the house elf when he is on vacation but seriously it is so nice to come home to a clean house.) and talked to my mom for a bit before we went to the Roxy to see "Enchanted". Yes again. It's adorable!! I can't help it!!

I promised my mom I would post a picture of our kitty tent. The cats love this tent and the fact that there is a little kitty bed tucked inside. I took this picture tonight while I was on the phone with my mom telling her how much they like it and that we may buy another one and I walked in to take a picture and there Ariel was. Chilling out!












Also really liking that Blaine bought me an itunes gift card for Christmas. Bought this CD (I had a few tracks but not the whole thing) and I'm really loving it!


















Time to sleep. I still have to work TWO WHOLE DAYS before I get to take four more off.Just kidding. I know how lucky I am. Even if I was deprived by not having Boxing Day off work. Seriously.

kuuduk

Had some fun times today. My in-laws came over for dinner to celebrate the first snowfall. Actually I was home horribly sick the day of the second snow fall and it was WONDERFUL looking. All of these big flaky huge snowflakes drifting down. I pulled all of the blinds up and the cats were watching and chasing after snowflakes. The crazy thing is that it was all melted and gone by the time Eldon got home from work. I miss snow that stays!


I made gingersnaps to send with the Moody's on their way to Nevada for the Holidays and after my in-laws went home we ended up going over to Kimmy's to bring her her present and stayed to hang out.

We played this game that we bought about a year ago and had never played, kuuduk. It was fun but apparently there was a rule we didn't know about. (Kim you are supposed to link the letters together with either the same number or the same colour side by side as shown in the below picture. Who knew!) That and the fact that we were playing with just three people made it a little different. I really liked it though and would totally play again. We love card games. They are so inexpensive that we usually pick up any that look interesting but we have several that we have never played.













We rented "Stardust" last night. Really great movie. My sister Angela really likes the author Neil Gaiman and I am super excited because Kimmy had the book and loaned it to me to read! I love reading and comparing books to movies. I don't know why I just do.














I've been feeling kind of not in the Christmas spirit and tonight as I was flipping through my recipe book to get the recipe for my mom's shortbread I realized I have really not done any holiday baking. I'm making shortbread sometime in the next few days but I think there are a few other recipes that I should bust out as well. I'm also trying really hard to take pictures of the recipes as I cook them so when I post them I have photographic evidence.
OK my bed is calling me. Night!

fave christmas decoration

I absolutely love this little nativity that my aunt MargaretJane gave me. In the day it looks like white carved porcelain but when it's lit with a candle and the room is dark it is absolutely luminous....showing every detail of the carvings. So beautiful and very treasured.
I'm feeling a lot better today. I look like I've been beaten because I have two black eyes but I'm feeling much better.
More later. Sleep now.

vomit free since about 3

I wish I looked like this today. I am a sorry sight for sure. I believe I have the flu and I'm hoping the worst is over. I feel super super crummy!
Just a random pic for today and I'll be back when I feel much much better.

organize

Am I the only one who gets the irrepressible urge to organize when the new year hits?
I have been making up an order for the container store and these are a few of the fun things I have found.
I never would have thought of it but the individual boxes of tea can get quite overwhelming. Neat way to organize all of your packages!















Speaking of Tea, This one is awesome! So delicious! I'm completely addicted!














I also really need a few of these. Cans completely overwhelm our pantry and are a constant annoyance. Plus it would be handy to have this labeled and know when you were out of a particular canned good.














I think that these days ago timers would be a plus. You hit the button and it starts counting the days UP so you would know "OK this milk has been in the fridge for 5 days" etc. With just the two of us sometimes we don't use things as quickly as a larger family would.





















How nice would it be if you don't have cupboards that have built in pan racks to have things be somewhat separated. Muffin tins and baking sheets and cutting boards.











I wish we had a container store closer because they have some seriously cool organization products. Oh well! The Internet will have to do for now!

tag

Ok a friend e-mailed this to me so here it is! Another effort to get into the holiday spirit!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like them both. Depends on the gift.

2. Real or artificial? Artificial.

3. When do you put up the tree? 1st of December.

4. When do you take the tree down? Soon after New Years.

5. Do you like eggnog? It totally grosses me out. Even the thought of it. Even watching Eldon drink it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I think probably the Cabbage Patch Dolls Aunt Margaret bought us. I’m pretty sure it was the gift I loved the longest in childhood.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? No….but I really want a fontanini one that I can add pieces to each year.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Hmmmm…..I can’t really think of anyone in particular….I like shopping a gift giving….maybe my boss?

9. Easiest person to buy for? Anyone with an Amazon wish list!

10. Worst Christmas present ever received? Wine. Two bottles at a work Christmas party when I was in college.

11. Email or Christmas card? I love me a good handmade card but I think I’m going to start editing my list even more. It’s a pain to send them to people you never get one back from you know?

12. Favorite Christmas movie? I love Elf, and Love Actually, and the Mickey Christmas Carol and White Christmas….wait did you really want me to pick ONE?

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometimes I shop all year. This year a lot of it was done after Thanksgiving and it was a PAIN! I’m all about having it DONE by thanksgiving usually.

14. Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a Christmas present? Yes.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Probably Chinese food Christmas eve.

16. Favorite Christmas tradition? The advent calendar.

17. Favorite Christmas song? River by Joni Mitchell this year.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Either we travel or stay at home. A little bit of both depending on the year.

19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Prancer, Dancer, Dasher, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and of course Rudolph.

20. Do you have an angel at the top of the tree or a star? A star. My only complaint is that it does not light up.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? One on Christmas Eve and all of the rest on Christmas day.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Random drop by’s by people who we never see the rest of the year.

23. Best thing about Christmas? The chill relaxing time.


And I tag.....NICOLE!

post office

So I go to the place where I have spent oh so much money and time this holiday season for hopefully the last time this year. (fingers crossed)I will of course make exceptions if it is to pick up packages but that is where I draw my line in the sand people! Speaking of which Angela I think one of your packages has come because I have to sign a delivery confirmation from Canada. They are holding it hostage until I sign my life away. ;) And I have two more of these to mail as well.














And some packages that contain handmade items that should have been in the mail sooner...I know. Forgive me MargaretJane and Mom! They are worth the wait though I promise! They contain my blood sweat and tears!!

I have also been making a TON of these little darlings lately. Cranberry bliss bars. So good! I foresee a batch or two more before the Holiday season is over though. SO popular! Nothing goes better with a starbucks steamed milk than a cranberry bliss bar.

Can I just say that it is only Tuesday and I am SO ready for the weekend. (a four day weekend for me I may add) Eldon's off starting Friday for the next two weeks and I have a four day weekend, work three days and then repeat. Super fun times around our house I tell you! I still have some Christmas gifts to finish (it is so sad) and i'm really trying to get into the spirit. I'm thinking of making some shortbread or maybe butter tarts as a depression buster. Any other ideas?

Christmas Cards

So excited that my christmas cards are mostly sent out. Nicole made this awesome collage for us to use in our cards and I am so grateful. It would have taken me ages and she did SUCH a nice job!

River

I'm in a mood. I'm blue. I'm listening to River constantly. So not the right mood for a week before Christmas. So in an attempt to cheer myself up miss Lexi came over today.

We have scrapbooked and played "Mario Party 8" with Eldon and have now moved onto the making pizza and playing "Ratatouille" part of our evening.
I also have a goal of getting my Christmas cards done sometime this weekend to mail them horrible late on Monday.
Three cheers to pizza and Lexi!

a few of my favorite things

I love books. This is usually what my nightstand looks like. Books piled everywhere it's seriously a problem. I even have a system of bookmarks and positioning books in certain places on my nightstand based on if it's read already or in progress or in queue. And that's not to mention the whole nightstand if basically full of books that have been read that I am storing in there. Problem. Seriously.













Fla Vor Ice.
Delicious and chilly! Not quite as good as cream soda Mr. Freeze which I like better but are unavailable here in Arizona. But still tasty.














I love pretty printed napkins. I usually find them at IKEA in these huge packages and they make me so happy.














This mixer. Present from Eldon for Christmas one year. I could not be happier. I love the colour and i use it constantly. I would be surprised if a week went by and I didn't use it for something.




















I love this foot lotion from Philosophy. It makes my feet happy!!

i hear it's your birthday....

I am one lucky girl!



28 LONG years ago this boy was born.







Four years ago we got married and I've never been happier.
For our anniversary he surprised me with this:



I think this may be the first time he has ever surprised me with a present (I still really love all his gifts but he's a "what do you want?" kind of a guy)
I will share the rest of the story about the ring because believe you me it was a funny one. But today is all about Eldon.



He makes me smile constantly. He is a devoted husband. He chooses me over his family when it comes down to it. He chooses US over almost everything. He totally indulges me...and I love it! He loves me unconditionally.


He's kind. He's funny. He's super intelligent. He's totally into fantasy football. He likes musicals. He loves to try new food. He always takes out the trash.








He's all mine and I love him!
Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Cats

Our friend Katherine asked Sunday night if the Cats often sit this way. Perched on different tiers of the "tower" as we call it. They certainly do!
So adorable!




Today has been a rough day so far. Someone at work has been getting on my last nerve and i'm SO ready to call it a snow day and go home. We got a bunch of snow last night and some of the surrounding area is under winter warnings and have school closures and stuff. Bunco last night was a blast and I won JENGA in the white elepahnt game!!
Love it!!

Daring Book for Girls

I'm loving this book today! I couldn't stop flipping through it yesterday and today the lesson on how to put your hair up with a pencil came in VERY handy!
Thanks to my family for thinking i'm a daring girl! Love you guys!!!