The Best Gift in the WORLD that was Ever Given to me.

Exactly 5 years ago my husband and I got a phone call from his dad saying there was a little baby girl that had been born on Christmas day from their side of the family that was being adopted out. I instantly knew that this baby had to come be with our family. I pleaded...(ok and pouted) with my husband for days to please call and see if we could take this baby. I felt heart broke because there was another family lined up to take her but I just know in my heart that she needed to be with us. We got a call three days after she was born at night and was told that we could have her. I can't even explain the feeling I had. Tremendous gratitude, feelings of being so blessed, and ecstatic to have a little girl join our family.

Here are some pictures of her in the hospital with her mother and older sister.

Steve and I drove up to Idaho in a snow storm the minute we got the call and spent the night in a hotel. Stevi's older sister spent the night with us and we both stayed up ALL night playing and loving baby Stevi.

My deepest appreciation and admiration goes out to her mother with whom we stay in contact with. I know this had to be one of the most difficult decisions in her life to do this and I know that it came out of her with so much love for little Stevi. Stevi will always be hers but I am so honored that she has given me the opportunity to raise her. There is nothing I could ever do to repay her in my whole lifetime. I will always be in eternal debt for her giving me this special gift....(.I am bawling my whole way through this entire post! )

Three months later I got pregnant with another little girl that I just know was sent from Heaven to be best friends with Stevi and they love each other so much. They are 11 months apart. Double trouble!

and here was my Christmas gift from Stevi this year...a cute little picture of her that she drew

Stevi has turned out to be such a sweet kind little girl. She is a helper, a go-getter like her older sister Amanda. Spunky, fun and very social. She loves playing with her older brothers and playing dress up with her sister Caprese. She is also fluent in Spanish! I don't know what life would of ever been like without her. I love her so much. She makes our family complete. Happy 5th Birthday dear sweet daughter who I love more then life!!!!

and Thank you to her birth mother who I will always love for changing and blessing my life. :)

The Best Way to Open a Present

Wouldn't you agree???

Santa ended up finding our house despite a few kids being naughty for not listening. He must be a real softie.

The girls were so happy with their new dolls

but Caprese still reminded us that she had asked for a real horse and that it never did appear. We hear her Uncle Ronny has some ponies....so we might have to go pay him a visit. Hmmmm....I wonder if he would mind housing a few Alpacas?

Conner was happy with his basketball and Zelda game. He asked for Nothing this year but that Nothing was too hard to find.

and Jury got a rock collection that he loves...He takes after his Great Grandpa Rex who loves rocks also

 The girls with their Christmas pj's and their stuffed alpacas to remind them of Poo face and Casin who had to go with us to the movies today.

and the Dog and Cat loved playing with the zhu zhu pets all day and night. We laughed so hard just watching them try to figure them out.

We are enjoying our Christmas vacation with the kids. Watching them enjoy their toys and watching movies. No deadlines, no hurries and worries. I hope everyone is enjoying their time with their families or at least getting some rest and relaxation in before those New Year resolutions start. I am just so happy I have minimal decorations to take down! Whoo hoo! Looking forward to a great 2010 and sharing with you THE BEST Christmas Present I have Ever received!!!!! To be continued.........

Here Comes Santa Claus...Our Christmas Eve Preparations

I hope everyone is ready for Santa to come tonight! We have been tracking him with the Santa tracker. To check out his current location go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34211032/ns/today-today_holiday_guide/?GT1=43001 My kids are going crazy with excitement and anticipation!

Some presents have already arrived under our tree from Grandma and Grandpa and the kids are already begging to open them!

and Grandpa even brought his old Christmas albums we are playing, and we are going to read "Cobweb Christmas" really soon!

We spent the day getting manicures and pedicures with the girls and haircuts for the boys

Then lunch at my favorite place...Paradise Bakery

We then went to visit our FAVORITE friends.....

Casin and Poo face! The kids named them...Not sure if they are Alpacas, or llamas??? My girls make sure we drive by them all the time to visit. They are the cutest animals!

We are enjoying some of my recent holiday paintings.

Don't we all love snow angels? This is my version with snow villages below.

From all of us at the Warren's....We Wish You a Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Hurry Christmas...Hurry Fast!

Can Christmas just come tonight? Please????? I have a whole house full of hyper kids. It was clean...I promise! My 4 year old decided she needed a short haircut like Mommy's and so snuck in the bathroom and started cutting away. Time to find some major activities. Grandma?

Merry Vintage Christmas Monday 5

It's so hard to believe that this will be the last Vintage Christmas Monday before Christmas. Where does the time go? I never did find the time to pull out my fabulous pom pom vintage sparkler tree but I did find some other great things to show instead. I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do.

This first picture is of my dear sweet mother. She is on the left in her cream colored coat with her big beautiful smile. Not sure of how old she was in this picture? My aunt has this displayed in her home and it's hanging on the original sled that she was sitting on. So Vintage!

These next few pictures are of my husband and his family. This is him on the left with his brother Roger.

This year we made copies of all his old Christmas photos and put them on a silver tree with some cute jewelery adorned clothespins. It was such a wonderful way to display them and keep them near and to have some rememberence of his mother since she has passed on.

On the way home from a family Christmas party we snapped a few shots of some Vintage Christmas yard decor like these cute little Santa Clauses. I fondly remember my parents having one of these on our front porch growing up every year.

and of course a snowman was a fun thing to find

but my favorite was this nativity

We had a good laugh when we saw these reindeer inside of someones house behind the front windows. I guess that's one way to keep your decor safe.

and we had never seen a Christmas parrot before?

Thanks for stopping in. I hope everyone is having a glamorous holiday season. I have enjoyed Christmas Vintage Mondays so much. A Big Special Thanks to Joan at Anything Goes here for hosting this wonderful event! If you would like to see more Christmas Vintage then be sure to go Check out http://thepottingshed-anythinggoeshere.blogspot.com/  There is a whole list of great blogs that are participating and its the last week!

Giving is SO Much Better than Receiving!!!

What a wonderful day!!!Today we got to deliver all the presents that we have been collecting for the Bright Eyes Foundation Christmas project to the families. We had such a fun day playing Santa ! We had alot of volunteers and even brought along the kids for this sweet experience. Special thanks to the Cox family for all of your help with driving and packing bags and bags of toys in!

It was so fun for everyone to go in and place the presents under the tree.

Even funner because the parents were not expecting so much! I guess that's my problem because I always think too big, according to my mother. :)

Even little Caprese was happy to pitch in! Even though she had a hard time not eating all their Christmas candy!

It was a joyful moment to watch the eyes of both the recipients and the givers

and to know it's a life changing moment for everyone.

So many families that could use an extra hand this year

and we were so humbled and grateful to be able to provide some Christmas for them. All of these kids were so excited and hyper after seeing a tree full of presents and were searching for their names as fast as we were putting them down.

I felt that we found the perfect families to donate towards this year and they were so appreciative.

We did have some extra donations that we could not use after we filled our lists and so we donated them to The Toy drive for Hispanic Families in Need. Caprese saw this big pile of shoes when we walked in and immediately took off her purple polka- dotted boots and threw them in the pile. What a giver!

They had several rooms full of toys that were organized by age groups

and today  they were letting families come in to pick out a toy, a pair of shoes and a coat.

It's so nice to see what everyone is doing to help out each other in these times of need. I am so thankful for my friends, my health and  my husband and family for their support. Looking forward to making this a bigger event next year and brightening the eyes of more people!

Wrapping it Up!

We are filling Christmas lists for 33 kids this year through our Bright Eyes Foundation. Last night we had a wrapping party and I am so thankful for those who showed up to volunteer their time to help wrap presents. We have a big list to fill! The Hansen family from Farmington came up to help and share with their kids this life changing experience.

and Dash Cox who is an author and motivational speaker also volunteered his time.

along with Angie Bradshaw. Thanks guys!

We are still  in great need of donations for teenage boys. Deadline would be friday.(today) We want to get these delivered to the families this weekend. You can drop things off at my home or at Just a Bed of Roses in Farmington. We are so thankful for all the donations that have come in so far.

I got to call each family tonight and let them know we were coming and they all were so happy and grateful. That's the part that fills my heart and makes all the work worth it. I can't wait to deliver them. There will be some really excited and hyper kids! Whoo hoo! That's what Christmas is all about right?

So all in a week

I have conquered Santa visits, school programs, dental appointments for the kids, and filled these lists along with my own families. My husband thought it was funny when he snuck into my bedroom and snapped this picture of me, the kids and the cat crashing at 6pm the other night....I guess you can call it true Christmas exhaustion!!!

Hope all of your lists are getting filled this week. There are alot of kids that are in need of presents this year and donations are at their lowest. There are several places that could use your extra presents so go drop them off! If you would like more information about our foundation to see what we are all about then go to http://www.brighteyesfoundation.com/  We are a nonprofit approved 301(c) meaning tax write offs for you! :)

All I want for Christmas.....

All I want for Christmas is......A horse!

and All I want is...a Barbie

and I will take a Real Live.....Turtle!

and all I want is...Nothing??? What? Is this my child?

and all I would like to know is why this stuff never appears on their Christmas list?

Whiter Image To-Go

As you know I love my Whiter Image-To go whitening pen. Its teeth whitener you brush on your teeth for
30 seconds and it really works! It retails for $29.95. They have contacted me and are offering my readers a 25% discount + free shipping and and giveaways!!! Got to http://www.whiterimage.com/  and use code IMAGE5 to order. Thanks Whiter Image!!! What a great last minute Christmas gift or stocking stuffer!

Giveaways are based on if you leave a comment =1 entry

 follow them on twitter =2 entries

 or Facebook =3 entries

or link on your webstie to their blog= 4 entries

Happy Vintage Christmas Week 4

Vintage Christmas Mondays sure come fast! I can hardly believe Christmas is less then 2 weeks away. Scary. I don't like to think about it too much. Luckily it was a blizzard today in Utah so I got to accomplish some decorating with my Vintage decor so I would have something decent to show. :)

This picture is one of my mothers creations from Just a Bed of Roses. Old picture,old frame and a few vintage jewelry pieces put on that just makes it perfect for my style and for my home.

Another one of her ideas...I love the simplicity of just sticking a picture on a mirror and its ALL glittery too! I knew I felt inspired to stop in before closing the other night!

This little elf I have had around and he is from the 1940's. His name is jump jump. I think he looks really evil and so I keep him contained in this glass dome at all times...He scares the kids too! haha.

Here's another fab creation from Just a bed of roses: a Christmas tree stuck in a old lamp base. I just added a few vintage ornaments to fit the style of the room and Voila! I'm in love!

Also I am a huge sucker for snow villages, I REALLY want to start making my own some day. They make me so happy to look at. So if you really want to be my friend just bring me a snow village :) haha.

and in my spare time I also like to dream I am Snow White.... Someday I dream of building a cottage in my backyard that is a replica of hers. For me to play in..... not the kids. :) Do we really ever have to grow up?

Thanks for stopping in and checking out my Vintage Christmas! I hope you enjoyed the things that I love. I am always so excited to get around to all of your blogs too and see your wonderful things. Maybe I will start tonight! Have a wonderful week! Here is the link to see other blogs Vintage Christmas: http://thepottingshed-anythinggoeshere.blogspot.com/

While it Snowed Today....

Wow, isn't it amazing how much you can accomplish on a snowed in day? We absolutely must have more of them. This is one of my favorite trees in the yard drenched in glistening snow.

I am glad I was at home in my warm and cozy house, my husband even managed to get the driveway snowblowed. We had a blizzard!

We Celebrated my 2 sweet girls December birthdays today with a Princess Party. Grandpa and Grandma could'nt make it up the hill to our house so we had to go pick them up at the bottom of the hill

Good thing they made it because presents are soooo hard to open now days. As you can see they were working very hard. They even stayed to help wrap presents for our Christmas project this year. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

I did get some decorating done...yes I am still decorating even though I don't really know why? Isn't Christmas like almost over with? Lol

and I even managed to drop and break a few ornaments today. Dangit! This was one of my favorites too!

and here is one of my new Just a Bed of Roses treasures, if you want to see my other ones you will have to check out my Vintage Monday post. Fun things. I love all of her creations.

and I am sure Mr.Cat was enjoying his day too. He thinks the bottom of my trees are beds, he's either sleeping in them or digging them up. He also love climbing the Christmas tree, I don't mind though, I think its quite hysterical. Im just glad I tied all the ornaments on tight!

I hope everyone is staying warm and cozy in their homes and that your holiday is going well, filled with good family and friends! Don't forget tomorrow is Vintage Christmas Monday!!!

Vintage Christmas Monday Week 3

Yay! I love Vintage Christmas Monday!!! Here are my vintage treasures for show and tell this week. I have an addiction for old Christmas ornaments and am trying to come up with some creative ways to use them. I made this garland to hang on my headboard  in my bedroom and put some vintage postcards inbetween that have the original writing on the back of them. I love the end result. What do you think?

My other addiction.... Angel pictures like this one with little girls decorating a tree in the snow

and this picture I adore, It just takes me in and makes me want to be that angel walking through a snowy forest with a deer.

Here are some old ornaments I will need to find good use for...although I do just love looking at them in the old boxes, they are all such pieces of art. I can't get over the price--98 cents a box back then? Wow!

So here is what I did with them...I made another wild chandelier. This is hanging in my Shabby Chic bedroom.

It has a little bit of everything from jingle bells to mirrored stars, and a few birds with a bird cage. It's just so fun to let your imagination go for it! I find the more tired I get the better it becomes. Less thinking sometimes equals better results. Christmas has to be ALL about FUN for me!

Thanks for stopping in, and to check out all the other Vintage Christmas items people have posted then go to http://thepottingshed-anythinggoeshere.blogspot.com/  and browse her blog list. There are some fun things to look at, I spent hours looking last week! 

I will try to post more towards the end of this week...I have been slacking. I have finals this week and once they are done I'm going to celebrate, get my house back in order, catch up on sleep and blog alot more!

Dear Mom.....

dear mom

I have loved you for as long as I can remember you are my favorite mom in the whole wide world but for Christmas would you get me a new program that's named Terrapain logo and I love you very much dad to he is a awesome dad for his age and is very nice  I love my parents really much your radiant delights

love, Jury very much p.s. when can me and sebastian have another play date no maybes just yes or no.

This letter was written by my 7 year old son last night and delivered to me :)

Vintage Christmas Monday!!!

Here are a few things I have posted for todays Celebration of Vintage Christmas.....Being an artist I would have to say that I love old artwork of mostly anykind. This first one is actually a quilt piece thats been framed and I love that someone took the time to add some glitter to a few spots here and there.

This next painting is also one of my favorites. It's very small but I love the quaintness it reflects. It even has a little glitter around the edges of the frame. So Cozy!!

Also be sure to check out my Shabby Meditation room I just finished. Its taking Vintage items and decking them out with Christmas. I still can consider that Vintage Christmas right? :) Thanks for stopping in, I can't wait to come and visit all of your posts today too!

If you would like to see more Vintage Christmas items today go to http://thepottingshed-anythinggoeshere.blogspot.com/ and go look at all the other fabulous treasures people own. Have a wonderful day!

Simply Shabby Meditation

This is a small room that sits just off my bedroom through a door that I built for peace and quiet. After having kids, I"m starting to wonder if there is such a thing? We call it the meditation room. The kids have been using it as a fort for a year or two and so I finally kicked them out and put it all back together. Whew! That was a job! It's usually decorated in all white. This year I decided to dress it up for the holidays and add some colors to it and so here are the results.....

I found this adorable little prayer bench on ebay that came out of a catholic church. I love that it is so worn.

My old blue door,table and mirror that I drug home from Antique Texas weekend...

and this old stained glass window was another great find that we just built right in.

I also like to collect religious figurenes of all sorts, I like to believe that there is truth in all Religions. This little Buddha is one of my favorites.

Here is a Taoism saying that I love....

“Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

Thanks for stopping in and remember tomorrow is Vintage Christmas Monday!!!

Christmas Lights

My brother Jeff came up to my house today and put lights on the 24 trees going up the road to my house. Don't they look great? We enjoy looking at them every year and they make me so happy. I love the reflection each one of them gives off. Thanks Jeff, you are going to definitely be put on my Nice list this year!!

Thanksgiving

I hope your Thanksgiving was full of good food, family and fun. We went bowling then came back to my house for a wonderful dinner. After we watched Olivia Newton John on Tv. She did a Thanksgiving special on Cancer Survival with famous ice skaters called Kaleidescope. It was very touching. Here are my favorite pictures from yesterday.... This is Jury stuffing his cute little face :)

and my brother and his friend doing the famous Pass out on the couch move after eating turkey. Classic!

I enjoyed every part of the day. I am so lucky to have a close family that I truly enjoy spending time with. My kids were dancing and singing all night.

A few of my Favorite things...

Yes, just as Oprah has her favorite things every year for Christmas...so do I. Here are a few things that I have found this year that I absolutely love! So maybe if your one of the brave ones out shopping this Black Friday you can be on the lookout for them.

Everyone should own a pair of these boots, they are so comfortable and the perfect thing for you to tromp around in the snow with. I couldn't decide on which pair I liked more so I bought both! Problem solved right?

My next favorite indulgence is Olivia Newton Johns skin care line called "LLuvia" which means rain in Spanish. This is extra special because she sent it to me personally. It's made with all natural and pure ingredients. I use this every day and I love it. For more information go to http://www.amazonherb.net/Lluvia_1_1_Overview.aspx 

This Mango Mandarin body scrub is amazing. I kept washing myself over and over because it smelled and felt so good. You can find it at Bath and Bodyworks for $15

and I can't live without my Whiter Image-To go whitening pen. Its teeth whitener you brush on your teeth for

30 seconds and it really works! It retails for $29.95. Got to http://www.whiterimageblog.com/ to check it out. Also they are giving my readers 25% off + free shipping since they are running a Black Friday special right now. Use code IMAGE5. They are also doing some giveaways based on if you leave a comment on their page, follow them on twitter Face book Etc.

        

Love these "Francie Pants" for my little girls. They are at the age where they love to lift their skirts over their heads no matter how loud I yell at them! What is that fascination? Now they can lift all they want and show off their fancy pants as we call them. Check out http://www.franciepants.com/ for more info.

I am always looking for yummy things to make the house smell good too. I found these delicious scents at Bath and body works and in so many flavors. I stash them in the car too. They are only $3 a bottle.

My Jessica Simpson flat ballerina shoes have been a life saver....I can't wear high heels all the time although I do wish it was possible.

and if you want your eyshadow to stay put where you placed it the first time and I'm talking not moving a smidge ALL day then you must get some Painters Pot by M.A.C. This stuff is magic! You put it on before you apply your shadow.

and my favorite green purse from Just a Bed of Roses in Farmington....

So what are some of your favorite finds of this year? I would love to know!!

Vintage Christmas Monday Blog Party

From now unitil Christmas on Every Monday there will be a vintage Christmas blog party going on. You can click on the link (provided soon) and look at everyone's vintage items that are participating. I am so happy to be a part of this! It's going to be fun. The party is hosted by ANything Goes on the right hand side under my blog list. Check it out if you want to be a part of it too! :)

Brrrrrrr!!! Baby it's Cold Outside!!!

Brrrr! I just opened the door to a cold wind and a bunch of snow flurrying down. I guess it's time to make friends again with Mr. Winter.....Hmmmmmm...I think I will go run a tub and think about it.....

Christmas Magic Elf

Our family is starting a new tradition this year with the Elf on the Shelf. It comes with a cute storybook about the Elf and you even get to name it. Every night it reports back to Santa on your childrens behavior and then magically appears in a different place each time so the kids get to look for it every morning. Meet: Doofinschmirtz!!

My boys aren't too convinced of the magical powers of this little elf, but my girls are all over it!  They keep their eyes open all day looking for him and he's a better threat than Santa. Ahhhh...to be a child again and live the magic! :)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree...

Where the heck are you? We are digging through all of this today to find a piece to one particular tree we want to put up in the entry way. No luck so far. Better get back in the storage shed and dig deeper. Dangit!

Hope your tree experience is more organized than mine! :)

Tah-Daaaa!! Yay we found it!!!! Now if I can just get the girls to stop bugging me to decorate it...

They think its Christmas right now and the excitement has already begun...{Sigh}

Daybreaks Soda Row...Have you been?

Can I say Wow! I am totally impressed with Daybreaks new Soda Row! After attending the Sweet Sadie boutique this morning.....(Isn't this coat oh so cute?, these are my Sweet Sadie finds for my girls :)

My cousin and I ventured across the street to the new childrens boutique store called "Oopsie Daisy." This store carries everything! I thought it was well put together and had a great selection of merchandise, toys, books, clothes, bedding, furniture. You can tell every detail was carefully thought out. Very Classy. We even got to meet the owner when we walked in and she was just as sweet as ever. Her name is Tiffany Avery.

We both purchased the Elf on the shelf book  to start our Christmas traditions this year.

 

They are having 2 -$200 shopping spree giveaways and you can also bring your child in Nov. 19-21 for pictures with Santa by appointment!

After shopping to our hearts content we ventured next door to the San Gelato Cafe which is owned and worked in by her husband who happened to be working away today. We had lunch which was delicious and the gelato is to die for! Atmosphere was perfect. You can sit by their fire and enjoy your gelato and just take it all in.

The one thing we did forget was our cameras and we both regretted it, so make sure you don't forget yours. This was such a fun little getaway for us today, wish it was everyday. You will definitely have to put this on your list of things to visit. It was so charming we had a hard time leaving.

Oh Sweet Sadie! Art and Gift Show

When?
Pre Sale, Tuesday, November 17th! from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Live music and yummy refreshments. Don't miss your chance to be the first in line to snag your Oh Sweet Sadie goodness!
Show Schedule:
Wednesday, November 18th through Saturday, November 21st from 9:30 am until 8:00 pm. Live music Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
Where?
SoDa Row, Daybreak's New Retail Shopping District, in South Jordan(map)
What?
Featuring over 80 talented local artisans; beautiful clothing for adults & children, original home décor, everything for baby, retro toys, neck ties for your man, crocheted flowers, pettiskirts, cards & gift tags, mineral makeup, jewelry galore, funky hair accessories, vintage cake plates, useful notepads, designer jeans, original art work & photography, beautiful handmade quilts, dress ups, adorable fabric & ribbons, wrapping paper, car litter bags, Christmas goodies for your home, gumballs, scrumptious baked goods, homemade candy, games & toys for girls & boys, and oh so much more!

Who? My cousin Christa and I are attending this morning....Can't wait!!!!

To Do List....

Ever  feel like your "to-do" list is a mile long?

I am feeling that way today. I guess I could make a creative art statement like the picture above with mine. haha. There are so many things I have to get done for deadlines and so many things I want to get done that my mind is coming up with. I guess this is where prioritizing comes in handy. I must not let the overwhelming feeling of it all take over. I decided to put a little time into each thing I want to do a little every day, I figure its better than nothing. Any suggestions on what you do to help prioritize your life? I feel buried!

I am thankful for....

My kids' messy hair in the morning......Isn't it great? This little girl is full of spunk to match her hair too. Every morning when she comes up to me I get to enjoy her wild hair and I just love it! What are the little things you love about yours? I would love to hear....

Giving Back in Utah...Don't be a Grinch!!!

Just wanted to remind people to be aware and on the lookout for anyone who might could use a little help this holiday season. There are so many families in need especially with the economy and job lay offs. If you are looking for a charitable project to do this year for Christmas then come join us! We are going to help locally this year through my foundation (Bright Eyes Foundation) with a goal to help 20-30 families with Christmas. If You or someone you know is interested in being a part of this great project then please contact me. I'm going to need help wrapping and delivering also. We will be accepting new items to deliver to the families or cash donations which will be tax deductible. I will have an age and gender list soon that I will post.

We need to be thankful everyday for how blessed we really are and reach out and help others.

For more information about my foundation go to http://www.brighteyesfoundation.com/

also you can email me at swarren2@msn.com

 P.S. Thanks to Cindy @ http://cindy-stitches-n-stuff.blogspot.com/ for offering to donate some quilts already! You are the best! :) 

Pin- Up Girl Pictures!!!! Oooh La la!

Here is a sneak peek at some of the Pin-up girl photos I just got done. These are the most PG ones I had to show. If you want to see more then you will have to go get your own! They were sooooo much fun to do and my husband got to peek at a few and melted! I was so happy with how artistic they all turned out! These were all done in my home too.

If you would like to schedule a photo shoot click on KP Originals Photography or go to http://www.kristieprescott.blogspot.com/  on the right hand side of my blog and make your appointment now, she is getting busy with Christmas just around the corner. I am going to put all of them in a photo album for my hubby for a present, won't he be surprised?

Early Christmas Shopping at Just a Bed of Roses....

Here are a few of my recent treasures I came across at Just a Bed of Roses that I absolutely love. It's so fun to have a mom thats got a store full of fun stuff. Im already gathering for Christmas....the holiday I said I wasn't really decorating much for this year :) I love these folded book pedestals that she made and  look at the one with the tiny snow village on top. Even neater is that its from Japan and from the early 1900's!

I can never have enough of old Christmas ornaments either. My mother actually hides them from me. I have to talk her into selling them to me. I loved this glass bowel that was full of them in an array of blues. Lucky me!

I told her I would be back next week, I was only supposed to go in and pick up a purse. I'm already dreaming of all of the fun things she has. Lots of Christmas and her famous Christmas trees stuck in lamp bases are flying out the door! Better get in and see what she has before its gone. She also has some cute Twighlight necklaces that would be fun to wear to the New Moon premiere coming up!

Dreaming of a Shabby Christmas....

One of my favorite things to do is decorate my bedroom for Christmas. If anything gets put up at all this year it will be put up in here first! I love the colors and the softness that it renders and I think my kids do too, they spend alot of time in my room. This was the sunroom a couple of years ago...

The tree was done with fairies, old vintage teacups and white snowballs.

A beautiful garland wrapping around one side of the tub...

Here is another fun idea, I stuck pastel marshmellows on the ends of these sticks for a whimsical look

and the deer went from painted gold to pink!

I am dreaming of getting out my Shabby snow villages and snowmen right now. I didn't remove my Christmas ornaments from my chandelier in the bathroom until October of this year, can you believe that?

Who else has started getting Christmas ready? I feel so behind!

Sock Monkeys, Teacups and Shoes?

Thats right! All of the above is true....I have been totally consumed with painting these still lifes all day and I think they are off to a great start. I have 4 that are due by the second week of December. I had to pick random objects that I love, throw them all together and paint them. I think the hardest part is choosing the items and picking the right composition. So random I know, but so fun. :)

These paintings are huge! 28"x 36"

So what do you think, Do I like weird things? This one might be fun hanging in my closet.

I will post the final results when they are completed. There is still alot to be done.

I need to come up with some more compositions soon, I'm thinking Shabby Christmas. :)

Your a Mean One Mr. Grinch....

My family loves to do a themed Christmas Party every year and since the economy was so icky-yucky last year we thought the Grinch would just be appropriate!

Everyone who came had to dress like a Who-Ville character...

Here is Cindy Lou-Who getting her hair done...

and here is Cindy Lou Who 2!

The Grinch handing out presents...and the presents were stingy. Everyone had to be creative and buy something they thought you would get from a grinch....like a broken toy with a note saying batteries not included or outdated books or cassette tapes. We had some good laughs with the creativity of everyone.

It was one of the funnest parties we have had. I just hope they didn't leave my neighbors their "grinch" gifts on the way out of town. Maybe thats why some of my neighbors don't come around anymore. Hmmmm....

I will have to find more pictures of the party. Mrs. Just a Bed of Roses made a marshmellow jello salad big enough to feed the whole Who-Ville Community, It was quite the site!

50's Christmas Party

How about a fun 50's themed party? We had decorated tables with Vintage looking menus that I found on ebay and old games and toys borrowed from my dads General store.

In the kitchen we served hot dogs, hamburgers and made our own french fries with fry sauce. Yummy!

Some fun Oldies books and old skates made a great centerpiece for a side table

and this was the tree skirt under the silver pom-pom sparkler tree..  I am still searching for that picture of the tree, color wheel and everything!

and yes, we even went all out and dressed up! Who says costumes are just for Halloween :) We actually had another themed party (old Hollywood) to go to and so this costume worked great for both!

Christmas Tree Ideas

I have been going through old photos of Christmas trees I had done in the past and decided to post a few for some ideas. Pictures were taken before I had a good camera so some might be hard to see....I also just got a new photo shop program so I have been playing around with edges as you can tell. :)
This is one of my favorites, its a Peacock Tree.. Done in Teals, Purples, Blues, Greens, with accents of Rusty Orange.

My boys were really into Nutcrackers last year so that was our theme for downstairs

              

and these beautiful arrangements were quite the challange to make! I wrapped the stair post in lighted greenery, glued in a ton of roses and ribbon then Steve drilled holes in all these nuts as I strung them! Isn't it hard to believe I couldn't find any fake ones last year anywhere. That's a job I never want to do again! Although I do love the results.

This tree was also done on the staircase landing in miniature nutcrackers

This tree is ancient but fun. I took the book 'The 12 dogs of Christmas" and made a tree about it. I put 12 assorted stuffed dogs throughout the tree with a stuffed cat at the top. Doggy treats throughout with our dogs friends names on them. This was our dogs first Christmas with us and this is how we celebrated it.

Fall Wedding

Wow! This is probably the fastest thing I've ever had to pull off in my life. My sister in law is getting re-married tonight at my home and is having a Fall Wedding. I just barely got Halloween taken down and I have absolutely NOTHING for Fall except these humble litte offerings I put up. Fresh Flowers seem to always save the day!

and I was thinking lighted candles might help set the mood...

and the planters got leftover pumpkins put in them with some sticks and leaves

I will have to post more pictures after the wedding. Busy day, Busy night, Now I'm off to a 3 hour class I need to attend. Hey,at least I will get a break from all this worrying and cleaning! :)