Happy Thanksgiving!

Every Thanksgiving I wake up and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Thank you Mama, I get it from her. In fact, I am certain it is one of the first things my sister did when she woke up this morning too (that is if she gets that TV channel, ha only kidding sis). Our Thanksgivings were usually spent at our grandparents farm in Cleburne. We would wake up and watch the parade while my grandmother and mother would prepare breakfast. I think breakfast was probably the best thing about going to the farm. My grandmother would always make the most extravagant breakfast meal. Then, a few hours later, we would have lunch. After that, she would start cooking dinner. So, needless to say, she certainly did not mess around when it came to making Thanksgiving dinner. Good times.

In memory of the old farm days, I made breakfast this morning while watching the parade. I thought it would be fun to make piggies in a blanket. It was nothing in comparison to the farm breakfast, but I had fun doing it. Jeff even watched the parade. I was surprised because he does not really get into holidays and stuff. I guess I am finally rubbing off on him after all these years.














So, to continue in the spirit of baking, I also made these pumpkin cookies. I was inspired by Amy Karol. The recipe is fabulous! I have never tasted a more fabulous cookie. This one, I think I may make every year. I bet that darn squirrel would like it. Maybe I will leave a few out for him. I guess it is kinda like leaving cookies out for Santa except the squirrel does not leave gifts when he visits.

It was fun to make the cookies and it was even more fun to bust out the Kitchen Aid mixer. It has been a while since I have baked.

After breakfast, a few mimosas, and cookie making, we went out to our friends house. This year was her first year to cook Thanksgiving for her family and her husbands family. Might I say, she did a fantastic job! The house was decorated for Fall, it looked beautiful. The food was delicious and I certainly ate too much of it. We had a great time. It was a perfect substitute because my parents and grandparents are in Santa Fe so, we did not do anything this year as a family. My mom called me to tell me that it was snowing in Santa Fe. Oh, I am so jealous.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and I hope many happy memories are made!

Cheers!

He Did It!

Those are the feet of my hairstylist, Ale. Next to his feet are Jeff's dreads. After a solid 8 years, Jeff finally decided to cut his hair. So, I guess I have to share Ale now :-) Might I say he did a fabulous job.

O.K., This Is It...

I know, I know. I have already posted 2 blogs today but, I just had one more thing to say. Isn't this magazine fabulous?!?!?!

The end! Cheers!

Ah, The Smell Of Pinon

On Friday, Jeff and I had a party on the patio. We got the chimnea crankin' and threw a few steaks on the barbie. I also threw on the barbie rosemary and red pepper sweet potato wedges and a mix of onions and green bell peppers seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin. The cumin was a nice touch. It was mighty chilly out Friday night but, that chimnea kept us awfully warm. It was fun to sit by the fire outside. Oh, and that wonderful smell of pinon. I am a bit jealous to be quite frank, my parents are in Santa Fe right now. Maybe on Friday I was channeling the Santa Fe Gods. Who knows. But boy, do I wish I were there. Oh, the beauty and calmness of it all. Someday, I will be snuggled up all cozy in my adobe house, next to my pinon burning fire. One can dream right?

I realized today that I forgot the mention the cutest Christmas accessory ever! I purchased it over here a few weeks ago. I can't wait to wear it. I will probably wear it on Christmas Eve at work. I imagine it will brighten up the patients day. They always comment on my rings, so I think this one will be a hit.

I got alot done working on various projects today. I spent most of the day cutting fabric. I forgot how time consuming it is! But, since I prepped today, I can spend the next several days making my Christmas cookie ornaments.

I also worked on a a felt clutch for my Etsy site. I love the colors, I think it looks a bit Vintage, even though it is not. I used some 100% wool felt that I had and fabric from Anna Maria Horner's line.

I was busy but still did not get enough done! It is full speed ahead in order to get everything done by deadline!

Cheers!

Spotted!!

Oh, how I have been waiting for this moment. Caught in the act! My little plump furry Nemesis munching away on my pumpkin! This is the third pumpkin he has munched on in the past month. Here is the story of how it all unfolded. Today, I have been working on Christmas projects. My sewing table faces a window with a view of my front yard and porch. As I was working, I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye as he was carefully running up to my front porch. I quickly and quietly grabbed my camera and tip toed up to my front porch window to observe him. He must have dined on my front porch for at least 5 minutes if not longer. I now know his secret strategy!

He creeps up the stairs quietly and cautiously.

When all is safe, he runs up to pillage the mother load.

He grabs a bit of the pumpkin off.

He runs to the end of the porch with pumpkin in tow.

He savors the pumpkin at the end of the porch because it seems like a good quick getaway if need be.

That little bit is not enough so, he goes back for a bit more. He runs back to the end of the porch to eat what he has pillaged. He repeats this several times.

He becomes increasingly brave and greedy. He begins to linger on the pumpkin eating as much as he can.

He continues to gorge himself and periodically looks around for imminent danger.

Then, being the klutz I am, accidentally tapped the camera on the window, and he ran away.

Cheers!

Making The Heel Flap..What???

Well I have successfully knitted the sock leg, for both feet. Now, I come across this foreign talk about a heel flap and then after that there is some gibberish about knitting the heel. Knitting in the round is pretty easy, easier than I originally had thought but, knitting a heel flap? I can knit, I can semi crochet, I can even spin yarn, so surely I can knit a heel flap right? I need to pull out all knitting resources for this! Where is Vickie Howell when I need her? Wish me luck and I will certainly keep you posted! Oh, have I bragged yet that Vickie Howell taught me how to crochet? ;-) Awesome!

Sort Of Semi Re-Do

Do you ever get tired of looking at the same thing even though it is fine the way it is? I love my bathroom but it just needed a little something extra, a little sort of semi re-do. I have a white terry cloth stool at the vanity. I sit on it almost every day to get ready for work. Cedella likes to take long relaxing cat naps on it and my niece Violet is quite fond of it. She likes to use it to stand on to brush her teeth when she visits. Come to think of it, it is a pretty popular stool. So, needless to stay, it was getting a tiny bit dingy. So I recovered it with one of my turquoise towels. I have also been wanting a new shower curtain. During our shopping extravaganza yesterday, we went to World Market, and I got happened upon a new shower curtain for the bathroom. The re-do was very simple but jazzed things up a bit. The bathroom has been that way for 3 years now! It was certainly time for a little change.

Before:

After:

My parents also gave me their chimenea! Ah, how I love the smell of burning pinon wood. As part of our shopping extravaganza we stopped by Home Depot and I picked up some stepping stones to put the chimenea on. I have a bit more decorating and gardening to do around it but for now I am satisfied. Home Depot had the cutest little Rosemary Topiary that I have to go back and get. I already broke the bank on the shopping extravaganza so I have to draw the line somewhere and it was hard to do! I can't wait to go out on the patio on a chilly night, relax, and read a book next to the fire and the soothing smell of pinon. Who knows, I may even drag my spinning wheel out there!

I will leave you with this...when did dogs start driving cars??

Cheers!

Warning, An Official Geeking Out About to Occur, Proceed With Caution...

Boy, did I do some damage today! It was a lovely day. First, I got up bright and early and made some coffee, drank my coffee while enjoying the hilarious Joel McHale on the Soup. I did a bit of power house cleaning, made a yummy breakfast, got all gussied up (well as gussied up as I get for the weekend), and hit up a few garage sales with my family. Then, after the garage sale, we went a fantastic estate sale in the Ryan Place area. The house was lovely on the outside and inside. It almost looked like a castle. I love estate sales but to me they are very surreal. Most of the time they mean an end to a life or the drastic change of a life, sometimes both. You can tell alot about people by what is in their house. I think that is the most fascinating part of estate sales to me. I imagine the lady of the house to be an artist of some sort. She had soooo many wonderful things. There was a room full of sewing fabrics and notions, knitting needles, yarn, embroidery floss and supplies, sewing patterns, and knitting patterns. There was another room full of art supplies such as paint, water color paper, crayons, and scrap booking supplies. It was amazing. The kitchen was fabulous too! Everything about the house said that the people who once lived there were world travelers. They had a lot of artifacts from different countries. I think they were probably very interesting people and I almost felt like I was intruding by rummaging through their belongings. I even saw a flapper dress with the shoes, headdress, and everything!Now, I think she must have been one cool lady!

I was very fortunate to find some fantastic things! So, here is my geek out, prepare yourself.....

When I got to the sewing/knitting room I immediately saw this...and, of course, totally geeked out.

It is full of knitting needles! I think she must have made it herself out of some vintage fabric. I have always wanted a knitting needle roll and I have really been wanting to make one for myself too. I am not sparing anyone at this point and am showing more pictures of this fabulous knitting needle roll so...hang tight for a minute.

I even found 5 pair of double pointed needles for a buck 50! So, I stuck them in the roll too. Ok, major geek out now....just for the sake of it, this is how you roll it up...wow...I am such a dork. Is anyone reading this?? I think I may be embarrassed after I post it. Blushing now......

Okay...on to the next thing. I have always wanted a fondue pot and "lows and behold" as my grandma would say, my destiny was awaiting in the kitchen pantry!

I also picked up a bright red Krups coffee grinder, for a steal by the way. I think I will use it to grind my herbs in...that was my mom's idea.

There were also tables full of kitchen linens and I found a few vintage linens that I absolutely adore. They will be perfect for throwing parties. Come to think of it, the holidays are arriving, I have a fondue pot, and new linens. I need to have a fondue party!

I like to keep my oils, vinegars, and homemade dressings in old beer jars. So, needless to say I was thrilled when I saw this. I don't have one in green yet and can't believe I found it. Normally, I just find them in amber. So, it is a nice addition to my collection.

I swear this is the very last thing! Vintage spools of thread and measuring tapes!

Ok, the official geek out session has ended!

Cheers!

TGIF and whatnot....

I purchased the coolest necklace from Bionicunicorn a few days ago and it arrived in the mail today, happy Friday to me! It was a nice surprise to come home to, especially after another exhausting week at work (and not to mention that I have been on call which means no warm fuzzy wine buzz for 7 days and tomorrow it is going to get cold!!!).














I love the little owl. There is something magical about him and I find the bright green eyes captivating, like they can put people in a trance. Hmmm, it would be great if this was a magic little owl and I could get people to do whatever I asked. How wonderful it would be to have Jeff in a trance everyday doing household chores and cooking dinner. I could just kick my feet up, have that glass of wine I have been wanting for the past week, and watch the Food Network. But, anyhoo...back to this fabulous necklace. I think I need to go shopping to buy an outfit to match it :-). It really is a lovely and well made piece. I think I may see more jewelery from the Bionicunicorn arriving in my mailbox in my future, the little owl just told me so.

On another note, sister and niece are in town visiting. My brother-in-law even stayed the week but he had to leave today to head back down to TRF for the weekend, duty calls! His family has a fantastic sword business, the best in the world!

Tomorrow my sister, Violet, and I are going Estate sale shopping with my parents....yup, my dad is even going, which I find quite surprising. I am sure it is because he wants to hang out with "his girls". I am on a vintage hunt and hope to find a few goodies! There is also a Goodwill down the street from my house I have never been to so, I think I may pop in there as well.

Happy Friday and Cheers to all!

Getting In the Spirit

Well, it's November which means it is time for the holidays! I am getting excited but I just wish the weather here would go ahead and get cold and stay that way! I think we will be getting a cold front soon though. Today, to kick my holiday spirit in high gear, I watched The Holiday and worked on Christmas ornaments for my Etsy. I am such a cheese ball that I think I may go buy the soundtrack this week. Did I actually just admit that?? Well, anyhoo, I think the ornaments I made turned out well. I made about 16 of them, some for my tree and some for some one else. I made a few like this last year but I changed them up a bit this year with adding the buttons in the middle.

Of course, as I have mentioned before, I could watch The Holiday over and over. I think it must be something about Iris' lovely little cottage. As far as holiday crafting goes though, I have SO much left to do! So, on that note, back to crafting!

Cheers!

Election Day!

Today is a BIG day! A change is going to come and I am on the edge of my seat with my eyes glued to the T.V. I just may be late to work tomorrow because I am staying awake until I know what the verdict is! Good luck to everyone!!!!! Get excited! :-)

CHEERS!!!!

Update!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend! I know I did! There was lots of Halloween frolicking about on Friday. Good times were had.

I spent practically the whole day today drinking hazelnut coffee, surfing the net, and working on projects. I wish tomorrow were not Monday because that means back to the old grindstone but, I guess the old grindstone is not so bad. Can you believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just right around the corner? I know I have said this all along but I need to kick it into high gear! Now is the time for absolute non stop crafting!! I have been working on some Christmas ornaments for the Etsy shop. I am almost done, just gotta make a trip to the ol' Jo Anns for some additional supplies. Of course I made some extra ornaments for myself! I remember the popcorn chain I made last year, it took foooooooorrrrreverrrrr! If I am correct if took about 5 episodes of Dexter. I think I may start working on a new popcorn chain soon.

Today I did a little baking, with the assistance of my bread oven. Oh how I love the bread oven. Here is my bread oven in action!

As a matter of fact, I received this oven from my Uncle for Christmas a few years ago and it has sure served it's purpose!


Today I decided to make a whole wheat loaf. I added fresh green onions, rosemary, thyme, and feta cheese. It is all kneaded and ready to bake!

The finished project ready to eat!!!!

Cheers!