2 days in a row. Not too shabby. ;)
Wanted to post about the Christmas fever that has set in. While we haven't done any decorating or anything, the kiddos seem to know that the season of giving is here and they have started making and wrapping gifts for us.
I have been told that mine is very "delicate although it is not made of glass".
I have no idea what's in there! It could be anything! LOL :)
I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday! We are getting ready for the week...need to iron some school uniforms and clean the kitchen so it's nice and tidy for lunch-making in the morning. :)
(((HUGS))) Talk at ya later!
daily reading
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November 2008
November 30, 2008
November 29, 2008
so long, november
Wow, I am really bad at blogging lately.
So, let's see...what did we miss?
On the 15th, our sweet little Mia turned 6. Can you believe it? It was our little secret all day long that she could now count on BOTH hands. It was really sweet how her face lit up every time we did it. Mia chose to have a Hello Kitty party keeping true to her feline nature. She had a few of her friends over for a princess tea party and they had such a fun time making crowns and whacking a Hello Kitty pinata. Good times.
Love this one of Mia looking up at Colin. Such a dadd'y girl!
Oh! And of course I forgot to post about Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful meal. Colin cooked with me in the kitchen all day and the meal was scrumptious. We tried a 3 bird roast this year from Forman & Field here in England. We liked it, but we were craving my dad's amazing Cajun deep-fried turkey at the end of the day. Since we usually celebrate the holidays by ourselves, we take the liberty of trying out all kinds of new things that our families may not approve of or even want to eat. It was good, just not as good as my dad's turkey. ;)
However, we did make Martha's amazing green bean casserole and that was enough reward for me. I swear, if Thanksgiving consisted of just this casserole, I would be happy. It's that good. I have made it 5 years in a row now and it just keeps getting better and it never disappoints. I make about 5 times as many fried shallots to go on top, though. I promise that if you make this casserole, you will never go back to the standard "green bean-cream of mushroom soup-canned fried onion" casserole ever again. :)
We've had 2 craft shows since I last blogged and we have 4 more coming up. They've been alright...lots of opportunities for learning experiences! ;)
Here are some better images of what we've been creating. This is just a few of the items we have. :)
We're going to have to start designing the spring and summer products soon, too. Busy. busy around here! :)
That's about all I have for today. I am going to try and be better about blogging. I ordered Ali Edwards' December Daily Album from Cocoa Daisy and I'm hoping to be able to finish it. It's the kind of project that is a mini documentary of a small bit of our lives. Since we usually have so much going on in December, school plays, craft shows, gifting, cooking, etc., I thought it would be the perfect project to try and accomplish. Even if the album doesn't arrive in time, I can still take the photos and add them later. I really do love the idea of this project and I am going to try and be good and stick to it!
I hope everyone has a wonderful day!
Oh! I almost forgot! I have some new-ish products up at 2ps. I say new-ish because they are probably not new to anyone who reads this blog...they're just new to the 2ps community. :) So, in addition to the Bare Branches kit, you can also get these now in my 2ps store.
Ok, I guess I lied. These are new. LOL But the rest are oldies! (Each image is clickable!)
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! :)
November 13, 2008
November 11, 2008
tuesday's not so schmuesday anymore
That's because of a wonderful turn of events! And I finally get to spill the beans!
BUT not quite yet.
hahahahaha
I know. I'm evil.
FIRST, it's my wedding anniversary today! Yay! 8 years! Colin and I went out to lunch today while our wonderful friend, Maria, watched Norah for us. It was heavenly. Who knew pub food could be so good? If you are ever in the area, you must stop at The Bell Inn in Stilton, England. Superb food and an amazing atmosphere. We were seated in a timber-roofed, club chair-filled, fireplacey room filled with fresh Stargazer lilies and a view of main street to enjoy our wine (for me) and beer (for Colin) while we perused the menu. In the meantime, our little table was being set up. The fireplace was heavenly. It's just the kind of room Colin and I would want in our house for our library...very Holmes-esque. Lovely.
When we were seated at our table, we were greeted with bread so fresh it was still warm and butter that would make you hug a cow. The meal was absolutely delicious and we sat for 2 hours, talking and dreaming and reminiscing. Plum filled roast pork, butternut squash soup, risotto, Gewurztraminer... It was a lovely afternoon. A great way to spend our anniversary. So glad Colin took today off! :)
He also royally surprised me with a totally unexpected gift. I'll have to photograph it tomorrow in proper daylight and show you all!
SECOND, today is my first day at my new store! I am now selling at Two Peas In a Bucket! You can see my first kit for 2ps HERE.
And look at all of the amazing layouts my wonderful creative team has done! Wow!
Thanks for stopping by! That's all I've got for today! Been waiting to spill the beans for 2 weeks! Every Tuesday I will debut new products at 2ps (some oldies but goodies, too). Have a wonderful day! Ciao!
November 05, 2008
November 03, 2008
last day of half term
This past week the kidlets have been on half term (American equivalent would be a fall break I guess) and I have to say that I am soooo ready for them to go back to school. My kids need a routine or they start clawing at my face and raiding the pantry. Every day since Halloween, I have been startled out of my skin by absolutely HORRIFIC screams and howls over lollipops. Someone will pinch a lolly from someone else's treat bag and it inevitably sounds like the sky is falling on top of us. And last night I was sitting on the couch reading (Eleanor of Aquitaine) and when I got up, my bum stuck to the couch. Apparently I sat down in a wonderfully sticky lolly spot. Yum, huh?
So, today I am going to get a bunch of packaging done and then I have to iron all their uniforms. Yay! If ironing was a sport, I would win, hands down. But that wouldn't actually happen because I loathe ironing. The only thing that makes it tolerable is the lavender scented linen spray I use on everything that gets ironed. Somehow it just makes it pleasant. Do I want to iron now? No, not really, but at least it's bearable and that's what counts!
Right now, though, we're taking it easy. My partner in (card) crime won't be here til later so in the meantime I am trying to get some digi stuff done and prepare for my EXCITING NEWS. Which, of course, I still can't tell you about, BUT is still exciting. :) I know. I'm a jerk.
To make up for it, I'm inviting you into my home so you can see what we're doing right.this.second.
Noodle is chilling out in front of the TV watching Cinderella.
Norah... Hey Norah... Look at Mommy...
Helloooooo....Noodle. Whatcha doin'?
Well, hello there. So nice to see you. Note the backwards couch cushion...need to fix that. Actually, I need to wash that. I think that's the one that stuck to me last night. Yum.
Let's go see what the big girls are doing.
Oh, they're on noggin.com, playing games. Looks all calm and peaceful.
Oh, wait. Oh, here comes the Monster Wiggle!
So, that's it for us right now. Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday! Ciao, all!
November 02, 2008
september, __________, november...
I have no idea where it went, but it's gone-zo! So sorry about the lack of blogging. Things have been crazy busy around here lately and I just haven't been able to keep up with the blog.
So, wanna know what's up!?!? Ok, let's dish!
In between all the work, there has been furious playing of Rock Band II. We are big fans and our band is pretty rad!
Now, what's that work, you say? Well, in my infinite wisdom, I have started, along with a wonderful woman, a little card company. Little, as in, it's just the two of us and there are not enough hours in the day for us to actually get everything done that we want done. Well, that sentence was a mouthful.
In between my own designing, Songbird Avenue, and my family I am trying to squeeze in a newborn company. The great thing? I LOVE IT. ABSOLUTELY. LOVE. IT. It's a lot of hard work but we're getting to the fun part now of packaging and selling our wares. Our most popular item is the cute little characters we came up with for mini Christmas cards. Children here, in England, exchange holiday cards like we do Valentine's Day cards in the States. It's a big deal here. The kids practice their wonky little handwriting and then they all exchange cards. So, we decided to make our own range. This is just two of the designs...
Well, 3 actually because you can see Frosty on the left. The only one missing is the elf. He's been working really hard lately. He might be taking 5.
So, needless to say our house has been a storm of creativity and cutting and stapling and packaging and designing. We are in full swing and as soon as I have better photos of all the other stuff we've created, I'll post those and I'll also introduce you to our website when it goes live. :)
Colin has been wonderful through all of this. He's been so supportive and helpful that sometimes he just needs a catnap....with a Noodle.
The rest of the fam is doing well, too. Lara has shown an interest in yoga so she has been doing her thang. Noodle tries to get involved, but what Noodle is actually doing is called Choga. Chubby yoga...it's hard work.
Norah moved to a big girl bed this month as well. We took an hour drive and headed to IKEA. It had been about a year since we'd been to one and I just wasn't feelin' it. I love the kids thing they have and I wanted to buy way more than we needed, but as for the rest of the stuff...eh. I think I am losing my life-long love of all things IKEA. GASP! What could it mean?!?!
We also got her some new bedding. These hearts just screamed "Take me home!!!" All in all, it was actually a really smooth transition. Noodle had been climbing out her crib for weeks and it just started to feel like a cage (as much for us and it did for her). So, Noodle is officially a big girl now. Next up: POTTY TRAINING.
We somehow managed to squeeze in Halloween this year. I didn't think we were going to have an extra minute to carve pumpkins and have a party, but somehow we squeezed it in. I Martha'd my pumpkin while the rest of my family made adorable little faces in theirs.
Mia was quite the wuss this year and almost gave up on her pumpkin do to the high goo factor, but she perservered and ending up enjoying the process.
Friday night we went trick-or-treating around our village. There was trick-or-treating on base, but we decided to try something new this year. We went with a bunch of little friends and we had a wonderful time.
Lara has this thing for "Japanese princesses" as she likes to call them. She wore a similar costume last year that was a bit more toned down, but as soon as she saw this pink number she had to have it. Mia, in keeping with her dream world, fairy tale lifestyle, decided to go as Little Red Riding Hood this year. She looked adorable. And since we've moved to England, everyone and their uncle has called Noodle a "cheeky monkey". So, naturally, that set the tone for her costume.
I wish I had had time to make their costumes this year, but it just wasn't going to happen. At least I planned ahead and ordered their costumes in September because I totally forgot about Halloween until it was right on us. We had just enough time to slap the costumes on and run out the door!
After we got back, we turned on the fireplace and had some drinks (some warm, some chilled) and snacked and talked while the sugar-high mini tornadoes tore up the house around us. Good times were had by all.
I tried out a few new recipes and wanted to share them with you. They actually turned out really well. Wish I had taken photos, though! Dag!
MONSTER FINGERS
HOT ARTICHOKE AND RED PEPPER DIP
(For this one, next time, I would actually squeeze all the artichokes til they were bone-dry to avoid any juice in the dip and I would quadruple the cheese probably. Me likey cheesy.
This is a great source for Halloween recipes. Wish I'd had time to do more of them. Love the "Adam's ribs". Creepy fun!
We called it a night right at the witching hour. Next year I am definitely going to go all out for a super swingin' Halloween party. I just love them!
I hope everyone has been well and happy this past month. Even though things have been crazy for me, I have still been having a wonderful time.
And I also have another announcement...but not quite sure I can spill the beans yet. It's a BIG 'UN.
Happy fall, y'all!
Oh! And dont' forget to check out the November Songbird kit. It's scrummy-licious!
Ok, I really am going now. Ciao, all! :)
