According to our calendar its Christmas!

I know I already posted this picture but I should have saved it for today. So guess what - I am posting it again. It makes me smile, I hope it makes you smile too. (there's nothing wrong with recycled cards, right Liv?)

Merry Christmas.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Well kind of.

This year we had a bumper crop of sour cherries, so while there may not be a Santa Claus, there is plenty of cherry liqueur to go around. I actually filled 30 bottles this week and I have about 15 bottles worth left. (and no bottles, so to all my kind relatives who read this blog I would love to get my bottles back this year.) I splurged on some imported Italian bottles that come with a rubber gasket......... they are pretty neat. And if you want to keep your bottle and use it to infuse some oil or vinegar I won't hold it against you.

Speaking of Santa Claus, I brought Aidan in to work with me this week and my co-workers were all asking him about Santa. When we got in the car he said, "Seriously mom, why is everyone asking me about Santa Claus? Do they really believe reindeer can fly all over the world?????"

My coffeepot came yesterday.

Things are looking up.

Christmas Tour ~ Final Chapter

I started showing you "Christmas around my house" a few weeks ago. I think I better wrap up the tour considering it is almost Christmas!

If you were a guest at my house this holiday season I think you would feel right at home in our little guest bedroom.

There is a vintage tinsel garland hanging on the mirror and a little golden bird nestled in the laurel topiary.

There is even a crazy quilt stocking in the room..... although you would probably find it to be empty.

My mom made it years ago and she made the matching pillow on the bed too. I am thinking someday it will be a family heirloom, right mom?

You would probably gather downstairs in our family room too. I usually decorate it quite heavily with lots of garland but this year I just used a few tinsel trees. I like it much better this way. And the clean-up will be much easier too.

Usually guests don't hang out in my room, but I will let you take a peek.......... I like to fill hurricane vases with white, gold and silver balls throughout the room.

Sometimes less is more, don't you think?

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  secondstreetdesignsNew Brighton
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Current

Yes, I did it. I am slowly adding some items back to my shop. I know I am too late to benefit from the annual Christmas rush, but when the stars align............. (that would be my mood, time, and products) I just had to go for it. So keep me in mind for next year, or for a spring birthday.... .or if you just need to treat yourself! (and I know I need to work on my banner, I just have no skills in that area and get frustrated with all the cropping and trying and so I just quit and go with the best of the bad. The screen shot of the shop also is cut in half here in blogworld. It is a good thing I know how to sew since my computer skills are somewhat lacking. )

yesterday

well, i vented a little. thanks for listening. but i know that i do have a lot to be thankful for as well. Sometimes it is hard to remember that when we get bogged down with the curve balls life throws at us.

So today I am focusing on being thankful. i am thankful for snowflakes. Yes - the kind which melt on your tongue.

the kind which provide hours of entertainment for the kids in the neighborhood.

(warming up with some hot cocoa)

the kind that are piled so high right now I don't think I can physically shovel them any higher!

I also love the kind that you cut out of white paper. I love the surprise when you unfold them. Aidan and I made a bunch last week and we hung them in the living room window. They make neat shadows on the wall in the morning sun.

recap

this is supposed to be the "most wonderful time of the year." Want to hear about my last week or so?

Here's a short recap.

Sick kid.

Snow storm.

Still sick kid.

Flat tire.

Broken coffee pot.

cracked french press. (i.e.back-up coffee pot)

Still sick kid.

Personal stuff. (Hardcore.)

Sick me.

Lost credit card. Yes, the only credit card that auto-pays Netflix, Yoga Today, Paypal, groceries, Amazon.com. Remember my previous post? Problem.

Lost ticket for Billy Elliot. (Don't worry, I still made it to the show, thanks to computer records.)

Sicker kid.

Snow storm.

Sick Me. Sick James. Who gets to shovel??????

But on a cheerier note, the endless sickness and snow have led to one of the longest Monopoly (or rather "Gopheropoly" games in history. Remember James is a U of M alumni and that is a freebie we acquired somewhere along the way.) I also have had time to work on updating my Etsy shop. It's been a long time but inventory is starting to take over my sewing room so I better move it. Maybe I will have to have a giveaway after the Holidays.................

Hope your December is going better than mine!

Merry Christmas!

Hopefully these will be in the mailbox soon. I tried Picnik for the first time. (Thanks Bethany for the good tip!) I am in love with the font. I also ordered my photos through them- the quality was decent- and I chose them because they weren't going to crop the photo the way a lot of photo labs do. (they actually added a white border that I thought I would lop off, but I think laziness will prevail here.)

writing itself

this post practically wrote itself.

quite a few people mentioned they liked the Paris gift tags and wondered where I bought them. so rather than keep the beauty to myself I will share.

A few weeks ago I blogged about Cavellini gift tags. I fell in love with some holiday bird ones they sold at Anthropologie the last few years, but this year they aren't carrying them. Bummer. I love them.

So, guess where I looked. Amazon.com. Sometimes I feel like my blog is a commercial for Amazon.com. Because almost everything I buy comes in the mail from Amazon. Seriously. You don't believe me?

The gift bags I used for the hot cocoa were from Amazon, as was the bakers twine I used to tie the bags, as were the tags i used to embellish the bags, as were the garbage bags that all my scraps went into, as was the Christmas music I listened to while making the hot cocoa, as was the coffee press that made the coffee I drank, as was the book I finished reading after I made the hot cocoa............. I could go on and on but I will spare you.

You see a while back I received an offer to upgrade my account to Amazon Prime which means fast, cheap shipping. So I can order it and have it to my home faster than I can get to the store.

I also order my groceries online and then drive-thru to pick them up......... as I mentioned last week I have even been having fresh fruit shipped to my home. This means I have more time to spend with my cute kid, and the time I do have for shopping I can go to fun places like this one or this one.

How do you save time? Any tricks you can share?

(and before you comment about my expensive garbage bags, let me tell you that they are worth every penny. I used to hold my breath and cringe every time we took out the garbage as we always managed to stuff our bags so full they would burst or drip through the house....... but not these bags. I have yet to see one leak. Really. And you can ask my mom, I have a horrible habit of over-stuffing garbage bags. Not to mention I would always run out, or I ended up double bagging. Problems solved, I just order them and they don't ever need double-bagging.) Maybe you should add a simple human trash can and bags to your Christmas list this year. )