Happy 2010 Everyone!

Pantry Makeover

A few weeks ago, Serena, from Farm Chicks, featured a photo of her pantry.  I immediately became enamored with it, and thought "what if I could turn my mess of a pantry into something like this?"
Well, I got a little bored last Saturday night, (yes folks, that's a wild Saturday night at our house!) and gave it a try.  I forgot to take a before photo, but trust me, it was a mess.  Here's the finished product:

After looking at these photos, a few things become apparent:

1.  I need to go grocery shopping.  Man cannot live on EasyMac and cupcake sprinkles alone.  But for the record, my daughter would like to give this a try. 

2.  There is still WAY too much Christmas candy in the house.  If I eat it all, it won't be there for tempatation anymore, right?

3.  Yes, there is a can of SPAM in the lower left corner.  It has been there forever and will be there forever because it almost never expires.  My husband just likes to have it around so he can say "hey, in case of an extreme emergency, we always have the SPAM....it never expires!"

4.  My husband won't go in the pantry now.  This level of organization makes him slightly uneasy.  I kind of like that a little. 

5.  Even though my pantry isn't as colorful as Serena's, and I don't actually use all the ingredients in mine, like I'm sure she does....I still love it.  I go in there now and just gaze at the shelves.  But don't tell anyone....that's a little weird. 

Enjoying the Season

Now that all my rushing around is done, I'm really enjoying the season.  My daughter and I baked Christmas cookies today (the kind you just do for the experience with your child - they didn't really look good enough to photograph! )   Here's a glimpse of our tree...

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And, on a totally unrealated subject, since I just got around to looking at our pictures from the beach (Thanksgiving week)....here are a couple from that week....

This was a cute little nook I liked on the 3rd floor of the house we rented....

I thought this was interesting (????)

Anyway, back to the present.  I am so enjoying spending time with my family at Christmas.  Tomorrow, we take our daughter to the "North Pole Express."  The kids get to wear their P.J's, drink hot cocca and see Santa.  My daughter is a little concerned, and keeps asking "we aren't really going to the North Pole, are we?"  She's remembering a few of the scarier moments from Polar Express and wants to make sure that's not in store for her!

Hope you are enjoying the Holidays!

Buckeye Day

Whew! What a busy weekend!  Ten dozen Buckeyes made, cards addressed and mailed, gifts wrapped, and packages packed and ready to go to the post office. 

Now, I can sit back and enjoy the next two weeks of Christmas fun.  We've got a fun week of ballet recitals and a trip on the "Polar Express" for Olivia. 

Here are a couple of little decorations from our house.  I will post more soon...now that my work is done!  AHHH!

Thank you!

I would like to thank my friends at The Creative Party Place for featuring my daughter's Pinkalicious birthday party...and for all the kind words! 

Brown Paper Packages

I thought I would try my hand at being a little crafty this year for Christmas.

These little brown paper packages are for the gifts I'm giving the girls I work with.  I decided to make my own tags and personalize each one with their initial.  I got them each a charm necklace from Beth Quinn Designs....so, we will have a little girl power get together so they can open their "she" necklaces at the same time!

Time to get out the Christmas movies and drive my family nuts!

I'm a Christmas movie nut.  It doesn't even have to be a Christmas movie even, it might just have a small part about Christmas, and I still feel compelled to watch it this time of year!  Here are a few of my favorites....

Elf (Smiling is my favorite)

Christmas Vacation

 Serendipity

The Christmas Story

 

While you were Sleeping

You've got Mail

(Yes, there's only a small part about Christmas in this...but any excuse to watch it!)

The Grinch (NOT the Jim Carrey one...)

The Year without a Santa Claus

Maybe I'll go easy on my family and only watch these on the weekends....we'll see....

Back from the Beach

Well, we're back from the Beach.  We had a good time, but it's great to be home and get into the Christmas Spirit.  As vacations go, it was okay....you know, typical for us....let's see...Olivia jumped off he bed and accidently landed on my toe...thought it was fractured for awhile there...hobbled around for about a day.   Then, I fell down the stairs (there were ALOT of stairs in this house) and now have a bruise the size of Texas on my thigh.  Then, I bent down to put a pair of shoes on the stairs and hit my head on the sharp end of the stair rail...Yes...most of this was physical injury to me...which is typical.  Then, Shawn, who drove the entire way and back, came down with a pretty bad cold. 

Needless to say....we were thankful to be together on Thanksgiving even though everything was going the way it usually does on vacation!  What can I say?  We are homebodies...we love being home!

Now I'm ready to start decorating, shopping and baking.  Note to self:  if you go away for the week of Thanksgiving....You will be the ONLY one that does not have your Christmas lights up in your neigborhood when you get home! 

(photos:  Southern Living)

She is

my girl.  my punky doodle. 

She is, at 4 years,3 months (because months are important, you're when you're "almost 5")

fiercly independent, opinionated, and spunky.  She's everything I was not when I was a child. 

I hope all her dreams come true.  I hope she holds on to them and never lets anyone tell her they are foolish...

Love you, Punky!

Yum

I finally made these Red Velvet Cake Balls that were featured on
Bakerella's site.  I took them to work and everyone raved!  They were so easy to make!  
Now we are all thinking about all the different combinations we can make.....yum!  This could be dangerous!

(photo from Bakerella.com)

two more weeks......

In just a couple of weeks, we will be having a peaceful Thanksgiving week in this little beauty near Seaside, Florida...

Planning on ordering Thanksgiving dinner in, but what a cute kitchen....I will definitely be baking some Pumpkin bread!

Then, we'll just do some relaxing......

Some reading on the porch.....

Lots of walking on the beach...

and enjoying Seaside in the Fall....

I don't even care if the temperatures get a little chilly....this is just what we need right about now!

Is it weird that I want to listen to Christmas music already?

Dreaming about getting my house ready....

Hanging the stockings....

Enjoying the Season.....

Oh....wait.....Thanksgiving is still three weeks away....

And my house only looks like this in my dreams anyway!

(photos:  Country Living)

Happy Halloween!

This is our front porch, all ready for Trick or Treat!

Here's Batgirl, inpatiently waiting on Daddy to take her Trick or Treating

Can we go now??

"This is my Superhero look"

Loving this Look from JCrew

It would be WAY cute with these boots from Sundance.

I shouldn't.....but, I wanna!

What happened to the Princess phase?

Where's my little Princess?  She's been replaced by a crime fighting Superhero....

One of my Fav Dining Rooms EVER!

This Dining Room is from one of my favorite movies, "Something's Gotta Give."  I found out from Hooked on Houses  (really fun site if you get infatuated with houses in movies, like I do!) that the house in this movie was just a Set, which really is hard to believe. 

I also LOVE her Bedroom / Study.  Ahhhhhhhh.....I'm just imaging the ocean view out those windows (even though it's not real!!)

Loving Twilight Woods

I have to admit, I've been on a Bath and Bodyworks hiatus for quite some time.  But.....have you smelled Twilight Woods yet?  I am loving it right now.  It's perfect for Autumn and Winter.....very warm and almost Christmas-y, I must say.