Monarch Post

Spring chickie tutorial

Oh, hello there! Aren't we the cutest chicks you've ever seen...?  ;) 

We are so happy that it's finally spring, we've been chirping, "hooray for spring!" all day long while sitting on the sunny kitchen windowsill.

  Hee hee ;)

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So I made it back on Monday...like, barely. It was a kid-ful kind of day.

Here's that quick little Easter/spring craft I mentioned for you...

1. Cut out six green fabric scraps (about 6"x6"), and three pieces of double-sided iron on interfacing the same size as the fabric scraps.
2. Sandwich the interacing between two pieces of matching fabric with right sides both facing out.
3. Iron the fabric/interfacing sandwich pieces together and cut out lots of little one-inch leaves.

I didn't use a  pattern for the leaves and cut them out un-exactly, because un-exact is part of the charm.

Next, I hot glued the little crocheted primroses I made awhile ago for the chick's hats, but you could use silk flowers, or cut out felt flowers.

Or whatever you want to use for hats- it's your creation :)

I strung little red beads with a needle and thread, and then tied a knot. Dabbed the tiniest dot of hot glue where the knot was tied and hung the glued part at the back of the chicks neck (do chicks have necks...?)

Then I made little scarves for the rest of the chickies. I cut fabric triangles measuring about three inches in both directions, but adding long ties on one edge to tie under the chicks chin (do chicks have chins... well, you know what I mean ;).

Again, add just a teeny dab of hot glue to the top underside of the scarf to secure to the chicks head.

Glued the chicks on a branch from the back yard. Added the leaves and more red flowers...

And voila! Chicks on a stick chirping their little hearts out : )

Easy enough with a little help from an adult for older kids or grandkids to make too.

They made me  happy sitting there on the windowsill, watching me do dishes. 

I made five sets to sell at the shop. Each birdie/set seemed to have  it's own personality... how does that happen anyway...?

So there ya go.

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Did you have a good weekend?

I did... the house was a happy, crazy place with all the kids here working on projects. Ainsley and Jeff bought a 1960's teardrop camper last summer for $200 (!) to refurbish. (They completedly gutted it and started redoing it last summer, but couldn't get it and a wedding done at the same time). The cabinets are done and Ainsley is making upholstered cushions for it... burnt orange and avocado green for the decor. I'll show you someday when it's finished.

Sophey made April Fool's Day "egg cupcakes" for Sunday dinner.

 I almost finished a new design for appliqued tea towels.

 

Corbyn and his band worked on recording their first music CD.

 Jesse didn't sprain anything! 

And friends we haven't seen for way too long stopped by and surprised Mike and I with  a Sunday evening visit ... it was all good... really good, in fact : )

See you next Monday, after the holiday...

Happy Easter to you!

XOK!

 

 

 

 

thrifting, stitching... and staring contests

Last week while I was at the thrift store hunting for fabric and wools I found these four little charmers.

Mini dutch ovens.

Aren't they the cutest things ever?

75 cents each and RED!

Score : )

And here they are topless. Ha.

So I washed them up and made dinner for four with them.

Shrimp, crab and broccoli alfredo.

It was a hit.

I think it was part recipe and part novelty with the kids.

I boiled the noodles and fresh, chopped broccoli together.

I used cooked, tail-on, medium sized shrimp that I broke in half after removing the tails.

And a can of crab meat.

Two chopped green onions.

I used a packet of dry alfredo sauce mix and followed the directions- (the cheapie mix packet.)

Mixed everything together, sprayed the dutch ovens, filled them and then sprinkled the tops with a three cheese blend of  Italian cheeses, Parmesan cheese, and paprika... in that order.

Baked them at 350 for twenty five minutes.

And while they were baking I chopped up a few avocados and a mango.

This is what happens when you go to San Diego on vacation...

still craving the seafood, avocados, and mangos.

I had never tried diced avocados with mangos before our trip, but they are wonderful!

And if you've never put them together, well, you just should.

The flavors are so complementary together... I swear I heard them telling each other how much they liked each other before I ate them.  Ha.

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Anyway,  there's my fancy schmancy dinner recipe of  the week for you.

(Call Paula and Martha and tell them to move over ; D )

The breakfst scene goes like this every morning at our house.

Jesse likes to eat breakfast in the recliner while he watches Sportscenter... and I let him.

Winston sits in front of him and gives him the big staredown for some of his breakfast.

He never takes his eyes off of him the whole time Jesse is eating.

It's too funny to watch.

Sometimes Winston has success with his puppy dog eyes...

and sometimes he doesn't.

This wasn't his morning for leftover success.

Bummer.

I worked all Wednesday on Etsy items ( yes, I'm still stockpiling for a re-opening someday...)

I started crocheting teensy little primroses and then couldn't stop, because that's what happens when I crochet. My brain apparently likes endless repetition when it comes to winding thread around a tiny needle. (Too bad it doesn't like endless laundry repetition-wouldn't that be awesomeness?)

But they'll all eventually get used... they'll get used as decorations for different crafting projects- baby balls, children's totes, barrettes, and stuff.

I also designed a nd crocheted patterns for a little girl's drawstring purse and a sock monkey purse in red. They are finished except for some trimmings, so no photos yet.

I have so many things almost finished- I seem to work better that way... jumping from one project to the next gives me more ideas and energy than working on one thing at a time...

Aren't they sweet and springy?

I stumbled on my first real sight of spring last week... I saw swiss snowdrops peeking out from under brown dead grass while driving through town the other day... what a sight for winter-weary eyes. I blurred up a little and  I think I even exhaled when I spotted them.

The first signs of spring always surprise me...  it's surprise, delight, and relief for me to see that just when I've decided that maybe God forgot to do spring this year, God has decided to prove me wrong- again.

And I am really okay with being perennially proved wrong :D

I felt that same surprised-by-snowdrop-happiness-thing this morning when Sophey pulled this artwork out of her bookbag...

Isn't that just the sweetest piece of construction paper art?!

Love it.

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Okay, I'm off to finish the last  Christmas, er, birthday shopping trip of the Henderson March Madness birthday season.

Three birthdays in one month feels like like a mini-Christmas season around here... crazy.

(And I say that every year here. Sorry.)

Saturday is Jesse's birthday and he's having a party with friends at Boondock's- the local fun center, followed by pizza and a sleepover at our house.

We also have two Cinderella ballet recitals for Sophey this weekend- one tonight and one on Saturday.

Corbyn's band is on the radio tonight with an interview and a live sperformance.

(90.0 KRCL if you are in Utah...)

Oh, and a wedding reception to go to on Saturday. Whew.

I gotta run...

See you next week and have a great weekend everyone!

XOK

 

 

 

 

 

the DIY party planner

Saturday we had a birthday party for Sophey's eleventh birthday.

It was the easiest bday party ever... she did almost all of  the work!

She wanted to throw it herself and she wanted an art party.

So art birthday party it was...  I took orders and shopped for it.and the week before we shopped together for party favors, plates and cups.

She likes polka dots too... except in pink, of course.

The cute party treat buckets are from Hobby Lobby.

The ceramic cupcakes were ordered online... I need to ask her the website and I'll add it to the post later- I've lost the address.

She had five girlfriends over- two others couldn't make it... but a half-dozen eleven year olds is a perfect size for an art party.

The girls painted away for over an hour... with lots of talking and giggling.

The cupcakes were already kiln fired... I sprayed them after they were painted with a gloss sealer, so they would be ready to take home after the party.

Painting butterfly suncatchers was the gathering activity.

Hobby Lobby 2/1.00 specials!

Sophey spotted a cupcake art palet on Pinterest somewhere, drew up a pattern and asked her Dad to cut it out of wood for her... so he did :)

She baked the cupcakes and iced them for the decoration and dessert.... and made up the games to play- Bingo and a treasure hunt through the house.

I just sort of hung out and blog surfed... tried to look like a cool hands-off Mom and helped when I was asked to help... very different for me... but it was so easy and nice for a change.

It was the best three hour birthday party I never threw... can't wait to see how she throws her own bridal shower someday- ha! ; )

What was your weekend like?

XOK!

almost there

Monday I finished up twenty stockings for a family shopping night at church.

The local food pantry teamed up with our church to provide low income families a shopping night for their kids.

Stuff at the church has been hopping this week...

The place was filled with toys,

stuffed animals,

goodies, hats, blankets...

you name it.

Really well-organized and the volunteers even served the shoppers cookies and cocoa.

HAPPINESS :)

DOG HAPPINESS at home...

Winston discovered the bag of stuffed animals I'd left in the kitchen,

they were his, Greta's, and Frank's Christmas presents.

He went CRAZY for the bunny.

I gave in and gave it to him.

I bought more stuffed animals yesterday....

He ran around the house with it

non-stop for twenty minutes...

and then he played with it on his back

for another ten minutes...

And this is how you look after all that exercise- haha!

I wish I could make everyone that happy

for one whole $1.00!

Sophey made a kiln-fired clay candle holder at school.

She gave it to us.

That was happy too...

And the kids are now out of school till after New Year's.

Happy X's three people.

I helped Sophey make some melted crayon hearts.

They are fun to make... (if you're not the one peeling the crayons :0)

Just put the crayon pieces in the oven at 350 for about fifteen minutes,

and then you have new psychedelic crayons when they've cooled.

I seem to keep decorating (and shopping ) right up to Christmas.

Santa cups make good candle holders too.

I added glass votive candles to them this year...

and again to the glasses.

All thrift store specials last year.

Score!

I found this pair of old windows at an estate sale a year ago

for fifteen dollars.

(I KNOW ?!)

They are hung on a wall going into the living room.

 

I decided to hang the Xmas cards on it this year.

Added a sign to the mirror

 

and few more ornaments

 

stars

art : )

bows.

 

The poinsettias are not looking too good though...

they may barely make it to Christmas.

 

I am a trained professional poinsettia killer ;)

You didn't know that about me did you?

(But the poinsettias do).

 

 

Well, that's it for me.

Today I'm cooking and baking.

Tomorrow we're skiing in the afternoon.

Not any snow in the valley

but enough in the mountains.

I think I'll stop here until New Year's.

 

SO:

***** MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!*****

               XOXOXOXOXOX!!!   

 

 

 

 

leaves and pumpkins

Sunday afternoon Sophey asked if she could take my old point and shoot camera to the ravine behind our house and take some photos.

I've blogged about the ravine before; it's the prettiest bit of green space around our town, (I think, anyway).

(No one but our neighboorhood knows it even exists). (Sshhhh... don't tell!)

It feels a little bit enchanted.

If there really are fairies I think they'd live here...

I love the photos she took.

Pretty great compositions for a ten year old, huh?

And how about the "artsy" shadow photos.

They're a little creepy somehow, now that I'm looking at them closer.

Perfect for Halloween.

(And perfect for getting me to my next photo).

Saturday night we went to a church Halloween pumpkin carving/decorating party.

I brought the mini pumpkins and craft decorations for the kids.

They made the funniest pumpkins.

One big hodge-podge of craft supplies and the kids stayed busy for at least an hour.

Eighteen cute ittle pumpkin people went home after the party.

 
Not the best photos, it was kind of dark in the church.

I found snazzy striped pipe cleaners at the craft store.

I highly recommend snazzy striped pipe cleaners for pumpkin smiles :)

So cute!

Our pumpkins found a home on the kitchen windowsill.

Our big carved pumpkins won "Happiest" and "Most Creepy" for the contest.

Sort of like the kids who carved them...

Halloween night Sophey went trick or treating as a butterfly and Jesse went as "The Unexpected".

Boys are weird....

And Corbyn went as a redneck with a mighty fine Billy Rae Cyrus mullet.

Definately the scariest thing I saw on Halloween.

His pants were so tight I had to tie his shoes for him.

And tape on his mustache.

Too funny.

 

So, what did you do for Halloween?

XOK

P.S. still working away on the crafting... will have something to show for myself pretty soon!

Sun*day on a Friday

 
I'm backtracking for a post today... last weekend we threw a wedding shower for Ainsley and her girlfriends at our home. It was a craaazy busy week and I want to do a post on it, but the cool craft/wedding idea went home with the-bride-to-be without a photo; I'll have to retrive it and photograph it before another post.

But before the kids went back to school, I helped organize a fieldtrip with our church kids to Salt Lake City. We went on a hunt to find God in places other than our own church.

 
 

It was a gorgeous sun-dappled August day and Salt Lake city was wearing its finest dark aqua-blue sky for us.

 
The Cathedral of the Madeline is a stunning old grand dame with wonderful bones; she's painted so beautifully too. Feels like I've stepped back into time and Europe when I walk through her doors. It smells really old, spicey and just polished... with Lemon Pledge.

 
Loved the baptismal font.

 

 
 
Sunlight streaming through stained glass takes my breath away.

 

 
The kids were so attentive and well-behaved.

 

 
After the tour at the Cathedral of the Madeline, we went to a sister church, St. Paul's Episcopal in SLC. The kids were given snacks prepared by St. Paul's.  After the snacks we toured this lovely old church and the grounds too.

 

 
Each child was given a disposable camera with the instructions to take pictures of where you find God today. Lots of photos of flowers and other children were taken... the kids always get it.

 
 

 

 
Oh, those doors with all the kids charging out... such joy to watch.

 

 

 
After our tour at St. Paul's, we went to The Salt Lake Peace Gardens. Various ethnic communities in the Salt Lake valley have each planted their own gardens, all of the gardens then make up the entire Peace Gardens.

 
 

 

 
We had a sack lunch picnic at the Peace Gardens (we packed sack lunches the night before for all the kids). After lunch, the kids climbed trees (more fun apparently, than the swing sets) and played freeze tag to burn off energy... the parents watched and wondered how the kids had so much energy in ninety degree weather. I said "youth is wasted on the young". We all agreed.

We made one last stop at a funky place called Gilgal Gardens. Lots of stone and scripture creations there, but this on the side of a trash can made everyone laugh

After the Peace Gardens and Gilgal Gardens, we headed back to our church for music, communion bread-making, scrapbook-making, pizza, annnnd a sleepover.

We were gluttons for punishment :)

 

 
 

 
 
The cameras were rounded up and taken in for one hour development. Scrapbook supplies were spread out and the kids snipped, glued, and colored away.

 
 

The kids were fascinated with the film negatives-- they had never seen photo negatives and wanted to know what they were for?! (Ya, really).

They asked if the negatives could go on their srapbook pages.

I told them they could do whatever they wanted to-- it's art!

And the adults felt old.

 
 

 
We finished the day with a short, lovely outdoor communion service. 

The kids each held a small lit (!) candle; there was only one slightly singed head of hair-- whew.

In the morning we were served breakfast by members of the parish; the kids rolled up their sleeping bags and got their rides home.

And the adults tried to unroll various muscles after spending the night on the floor...

I went home and slept on the couch for four hours.

 

It really was a beautiful day... all in all.

 

 

 

neglected, but better now

 
 
Very neglected. This poor old blog and that poor old flower garden... Life did not go quite as I had planned this summer. Shortly after my last post, our basement was flooded by one of the many torrential downpours Utah experienced all spring, and right into the beginning of summer. We were fortunate though, so many farmers lost their crops, and lots of homes were hit much worse than ours by the flooding.

 

And just when the crews of flood workers dwindled down, a routine Dr. visit turned into news that I would have surgery on July 1st... (I'm fine now) and there went July... it took about 
a month to get fully back on my feet. So such an exciting summer (not)- no great vacation photos here today! Now it's already back-to-school shopping time this week and it's definately wedding planning time... all the little details for Ainsley's big day Sept. 17 are on my mind and needing to be made soon.

 

I've wondered through my blue summer if I should even keep blogging... I feel as though I've come full circle blogging and now it needs to be something new, but what I'm not sure yet, maybe it just needs to evolve, or sit on the back burner a little while longer and cook itself into a new thing... we'll see...

 

 Just now feeling like I have some creative energy back in my blood and I'm sure it will one day come pouring back out again. At least I understand now why I hardly had any creative energy this year- I've had multiple health problems, sheesh! And I know for me, health problem do not mix with having abundant creative energy!!

 

 

But the gardens did eventually get weeded, and they are doing their best to put on a bright, ruffly fashion show after struggling all through the rains this spring.

 

 

 

 

(I'm thinking those containers would make a great kid's craft caddy... see, an actual creative idea. Apparently, I do still have a pulse!)

The upside of garden neglecting is finding half-price flowers at the end of July to fill in the bare spots.

 

 

 

 

And as perennial as the flowers around our house, baseball season happened in between all those stormy nights, rainouts, and cancelled games. Jesse's team, (the soggy but happy) the New York Yankees even managed to finish up with a second-place trophy for the town teams in his age bracket. 

 

I realized walking away from the field after his last game, that that really was the last game on our little "Mayberry" baseball field.

Next year, he plays on the older boys field across town.

I got teary-eyed. 

 

 

We've probably spent thousands of hours at this ballpark, watching our boys grow from tiny boy T-ball players (drawing in the sand at second base) to athletic little men.

 

Chewing our nails at slides and strikes, cheering them on, and consoling them when over the bad and lost games...

 

I will miss this ballfield and all those cricket-chirping, starry summer nights, and even the spring game nights; the ones where parents stand around freezing, wrapped up burrito-style in blankets while tag team complaining and cheering each other and the kids on...

 

 

 

Our kids are grown and growing up.

 

Who do they think they are anyway... whaaaaa!!

 

 

This summer two house martins built a nest under the eaves of our front porch. I watched the  four babies grow up in a blink. And one day I watched as they all stretched out their wings and made their first test flights away from the nest.

 

 

I so get how those parents must have felt- (since I like to think all animals think like me :)

 

I stood there hearing the momma bird say,  

"Now don't fly too fast.

Watch where you are going!

Don't be out too late,.

Just because all the other birds are doing it, doesn't mean you need to follow them."

 

And then I heard the Dad say,

"It seemed like they just hatched yesterday,

and now look at them.

I wish they were still little, at home in the nest with us."

****

WHHAAAA!!

 

 
And then they really learn to fly, and go soaring and stretching their wings in directions (with their old baseball buddies) you would never ever expect.

 

At the other end of the "Mayberry" ballfield was a concert for our town's festival days and Corbyn and his folksy band, The Mountain Hymns, were invited to play for the afternoon.

 

He is an awesome African drum drummer.

Who knew?

I was hoping for a baseball scholarship one day, but maybe he can still put us in a really nice retirement home with his rock star earnings.

Not a music lesson ever in this boys' life- go figure!

 
Picnics and your own personal rock band are preeetty cool together.

 

 

 
And so is a new craft book from Amazon when the August heat and boredom start to make us all go a little crazy is super awesome too.

 
 

 

 

This is the CUTEST sewing book for children I've ever seen. Great photos and instructions too.

 
Sophia finished three projects this week with almost no help from me.

 
A button jar.

 
A pencil case for the new school year, made from an old chenille sweater.

 
And a sewing box made from an old round cookie tin.

 

Already stocked... of course!

 

I highly recommend this book, Sewing for Children by Emma Hardy, for anyone who has ever had a bored daughter or granddaughter, (or an unbored child for that matter!)- it has been a life saver this past week, and there are lots of projects to go still. 

 

 

I still have the cutest wedding invitations to show you of Ainsley and her fiance' Jeff, but my computer is running so slow at the moment, I think I'll wait and do a separate blog post for them soon- pinkie promise!

 

 

Anyway, life is finding it's way back to some sense of order and I've started making a few things myself. Mostly for the house right now, knowing company is coming (for the wedding) always does wonders for me in the "hurry and spruce up the house department"!

Mike too, he just painted the garage-- floors and all. Seriously?! We need to schedule more company soon. We could have the whole yard finished landscaping in no time at all- :)

Hope you're squeezing all the last goodness from these beautiful summer days.

Love,

Kelly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lots of flowers and words... catching up.

 
Anybody still out there? It's the long lost blogger here again. After the last long ago post, Jesse and I caught the flu. Influenza B and two weeks of everyday feeling just like the previous pitiful day. It was awful. Poor Jess has never been so sick, and I haven't had the flu since high school. Kinda like the movie Groundhog Day-- where everything is the same eveeerry day.

Having taken it's cue from us, our computer decided a serious virus would be just the thing to catch so it could laze about the house and complain. It was in the shop for nearly two weeks getting de-bugged.... I think I finally feel caught up now. Wow. My advice is don't catch anything for two weeks-- unless it's a wave in Maui :)

So I've been flower-making here for the last while. I just finished up making piles and piles of flowers for two very charmingly designed children's room. (It was  good to at least see spring somewhere, even if only in fabric flowers on the table, because apparently, Utah doesn't know how to do a nice spring anymore. It snowed most of the days I worked on flowers.) The photo above shows a few of the hundred or so (I'm serious!) flowers I made. Kanzashi flowers are my current new love affair-- otherwise known as Asian flower folding. (If you really dig folding fabric napkins; making these babies will just send you over the moon. I weirdly happen to like folding fabric napkins: It brings back memories of my high school and college waitressing days. I'm pretty sure that even stranger than liking to fold fabric napkins is liking waitressing. Who knew? It must have been the big bucks, and the thrill of the odd five-dollar tip ;) I wonder how many fabric napkins I've folded in a lifetime.... I'll bet thousands. Wow, this is an interesting post... hey, it's what happens when you haven't written forever and you think you need to compensate. If you've got something better to do right now, I totally understand :) 

One last item: Amazon has a great book I've been using: Kanzashi in Bloom.

Moving on...

I think I made around fifty flowers for garlands for the second little girls's room.

 
Here's one of the finished garlands.

 

 

I took my flower cues from the amazing wool rug.
 

How darling is this room-- pretty chic for a three-year old. Love love love it.

 
Here's the wall just above the chair in the previous picture. (Isn't this cool?!) Noelle Wright of Noelle Wirght Interiors is the designer of the rooms, and as you can she, she is incredibly talented... And such a joy to work with... It was great. You shoulda seen the rest of the house-- Utah Homes magazine material for sure.

 
Fun stuff. I don't have photos of the nursery room yet, but I'm hoping I'll have some soon to pass along. It was quite different from this room, but reall equally fabulous.

 

 

In other crafting news...

    Last week I finished loads of pink and white Easter baskets again this year for All Tucked In. A few zillion more flowers cut, stitched, glued... if only our real garden outside looked so good.

 
Sweet though, huh?

 
And aren't these butterlies the sweetest things? I found laser-cut wood butterflies at Michaels in the spring decor aisle. Tied with ribbons and hung ornament-style from budding branches (also Michaels) made for a quick new Easter decoration this year. (I try and usually resist the ready-made from China stuff, but I just couldn't pass up the those lacey butterflies!)

 

And last but not least in the long catch up post... The kids. I love it when they slip upstairs to my studio for a couple of  hours.

 It's great to see the smiles and creations that come out of the studio.

 
Here's the shoebox diarama book report Jesse made for the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Trojans are in the red helmets... this kills me. Sculpey clay, you are awesome.

And lately when Sophey has a girlfriend over, she's giving them a sewing class. Her girlfriends think my studio is awesome :)

 
Dance class tote bag classes were what the instructor offered last time.

 
It's great to see all my ex bits and pieces of cast-off projects put to new use.

 

The kid craft projects reminded me of a new Somerset magazine coming out this summer. A friend of mine told me it's a complete magazine devoted to crafting with kids, Create With Me. Can't wait to see it.

And on that note, I'll love you and leave you. Thanks for hanging through all my show and tells ;)

Do you have special plans for Easter weekend?

XOKelly

 

 

snowfolks

 
Last night we made snowpeople for our grandparent gifts. I spotted this adorable idea at my friend, Traci's beautiful blog. She found the bottle snowmen in a gift shop in Illinois where she lives, but Illinois is a little too far away for my Christmas shopping, so we decided to make our own versions of bottle snowmen.

 
I found the ornament snowman heads in a craft store. Everything else we used was from the old craft stash, button tin, and scrap basket.

 
I know I won't be able to talk this guy into making things with his mom and little sister for much longer... sooo enjoying it while it lasts.

We filled the bottles half full of fake snow and then got busy with the decorating.

 
Aren't they the cutest things ever?! It was dark by the time we finished, so I took another  photo in the morning.

 

 

That's a snowflake hat and earwarmers with earrings on the lady-- very stylish, I'd say :)

 
The kids were having so much fun and the snowfolks were turning out so cute, I decided to join in. No extra tall bottles, but I rummaged around in the kitchen cupboard and found some old thrifted parfait glasses. I turned them upside down and started making a snow lady, and then I couldn't stop.... the kids went to bed and I stayed up too late, playing away in the craft supply pile on the kitchen table. We had three leftover snowman heads, so a threesome it was!

  

 
It was so fun to make them, sitting and playing with all the old craft supplies and kids. I forgot I was a grownup for awhile. 

Thanks for the great inspiration, Trac!

Are you making anything fun for Christmas?

XOKelly

 

 

 

 

rambling birthday and holiday post

 
 
It was my birthday yesterday and I had such a sweet day. General goofing off all morning, a stop at the coffee shop in the afternoon where Corbyn works, followed by dinner out with my family and my Dad.

And then we came home and squished into the living room and opened gifts. I got spoiled this year, reeeally spoiled: Mike bought me a new camera. A heavy-duty serious grown-up Canon with all the bells and whistles-- and Photoshop! Feels kinda like bringing the new baby home... scary wonderfulness :) I don't know how much I'll manage to use it until after Christmas is over, but during the Christmas break I'm planning on getting started with it and hoping to have better blog photos for you! I'm sooo excited to start playing around with it all.

My kids gave me great gifts too. A hair cut and color from Ainsley and Corbyn for tomorrow at the coolest new salon in town, Sophey bought me a lotion and body spray set in "Midnight Pomegranate" from Bath and Bodyworks. (How cute is that?) And Jesse bought me a pair of red fleece jammies with the feet in them (like Carter's kids jammies.) And here's the real kicker-- the feet are sock monkeys... I died laughing. All I could think of when I saw those jammies was the movie, "A Christmas Story" and Ralphie with his pink bunny jammies. 

My sock monkey jammies deserve a post of their own, but I'll spare you the photos of me in them ;)

 
It's busy, busy here and I'm whittling away at Christmas. The trees are up (one kids tree in the family room and this one in the living room) and all the decorating is done, except for a new garland I want to make. Mike put outside lights up on Saturday. The internet shopping is finished and I just need to store shop for a couple of days. 

I love the way the house  looks and feels this time of year, so magical.

 
Remember those vintage doves from the estate sale I was trying to figure out what to do with? Well, they went in the tree. The lady at the estate sale said her Mom always decorated their Christmas tree every year with those doves and it seemed like the place they needed to be now was on someone else's tree. (I hope she's able to peek down from heaven and see her doves are in a happy new home.)

 
As soon as the tree was finished and the lights were turned on last week, Winston was here, sitting and staring. I made sure to put the doves up high enough so he couldn't swipe one...

 
because last year Joseph and baby Jesus (the kids made them about five years ago) were kidnapped by Winston from an end table.

Joseph was discovered last spring in the backyard in a melting pile of dirty snow, but we still don't know what ever became of baby Jesus. How bad is that?  We really need to make a new baby Jesus this week. I'm hoping they'll all be safe on a tall bookcase this year :)

Happy Monday to you! XOXOKelly

( P.S. The beautiful Christmas bouquet is from my in-laws John and Jo.)