thoughts for the new year

My religion is very simple. My religion is humanity.
- Dalai Lama

be good. do good. think good.
- my mom


** wishing you peace in the new year and always! **

belated thanksgiving dinner

my youngest sister and my new brother in law were enroute to india on thanksgiving day so they never got a *real* first thanksgiving as a married couple. so i thought i would make them a belated thanksgiving turkey dinner when they came for christmas. i made just the very basics - turkey breast, stuffing, smashed potatoes, mac & cheese, & green beans - and it *still* took me all day!

my holiday cards

these were the holiday cards that i made - the snowflakes were flat & glittery ornaments, so i attached them to the card as a little gift for the recipient's holiday decorating.

gifting myself some more art

i just bought another limited edition print from 20x200. this one is by linzie hunter, a really gifted illustrator doing a series about email spam. she draws the the one liners and they become interesting -- and mostly funny -- thoughts about life. i'm sure my explanation is not doing the woman any justice so check out her website or her flickr set.

i love the 20x200 concept - limited edition, original, affordable art.

i am just kicking myself for not buying this beautiful print when i first saw it - i love that sky, the expanse of scene, and i can feel the cold, hear the trudging through the snow, and feel the ominous approach of another snowstorm -

more favorites

i saw these rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer ornaments at walmart - they were the last ones - and just had to have them. a serious wave of nostalgia washed over me when i saw them -- i actually teared up right there remembering how much fun the holidays were when i was a kid. the older i get the more i realize the effort, time, and love my parents gave to make sure we had some great holidays.

it couldn't have been easy - thanks mom & dad.

---------------------------

PS. this is my 101st post! in alot of eastern countries the 1st of anything is considered a lucky thing - we love numbers like 11, 21, 51, 101 - so i think its kind of a cool coincidence that my 101 post mentioned the 2 people i have loved most in my life - mom & dad. something about that feels good to me.

:)

another one

i decorated this mini tree for my bathroom - i knew the circle punches were going to come in handy!

happy holidays!

have a very happy & healthy holiday and see u on the 26th!

last minute gift ideas

how about a *life improving* gift for under $10?

snacktime!

an intense couple of hours of holiday decorating and crafting calls for a nice snack - something like hot chai & a heart shaped mini turkey sandwich with mango chutney, dijon, and mayo.

i was getting kinda frazzled and this hit the spot -- and mr. snowman was great company.

wow

these leaves were raked the day after thanksgiving - and i still haven't put them out to be picked up -- friday is yard waste day -- and i know my neighbors are just trying to keep hope alive...

sometimes i amaze even myself with my capacity for laziness.

-- update 1.03.08 --

i took these to the county dump today b/c when i looked at the collection schedule it said there won't be anymore yard waste collection until the spring! it was so messy b/c the bags collected rain and when i put them in my truck they leaked all over the place. all this b/c i couldn't put them out at the proper time like a normal human being.

movies

i watched 3 movies while i was doing my holiday prep. i'm not a movie person -- i'm more of an "episode" person. i can watch 2 hours of will & grace or the office back to back but not a 2 hour movie. i think its the gemini thing - issues with commitment. anyways, i had moved my stereo to the basement to clear some room upstairs, so i couldn't listen to npr, and my ipod had old stuff on it, so i just picked up whatever movies they had at my local rental place for a $1 a night and i ended up liking all 3. how often does that happen?!

• walking & talking - 30-ish singles looking for love
• the other side of the bed - foreign film about fidelity & love
• the dog problem - a guy and his new dog love

holiday cards

holiday cards *finally* on their way to family & friends!



sneak peek!

gee, your air smells terrific

want your house/ bedroom/ sheets to smell great without all the chemicals? u could try making a simple home fragrance spray.

here's a *really* old recipe of mine for something lemon-y:

- 4 tbsp distilled water
- 4 tbsp vodka
- 30 drops lemon* essential oil

add everything to a small spray bottle. shake and spray!

*u don't have to use lemon - any essential oil would be fine.

cocktails, anyone?

was talking to a friend this weekend, about a holiday party she is having next weekend, and the topic of what drinks to serve came up. there's lots of suggestions out there i'm sure - but cost is also a consideration -- and wouldn't it be nice to maybe use some of the things you already have at home as part of your cocktail menu?

webtender is a great resource for all kinds of drinks (nonalcoholic too!) and they have a great tool - where you enter what you have in your bar pantry and it tells you what drinks you can make with what you have on hand.

modern *white* holiday

images from better homes and gardens.

office holiday

round adhesive labels sandwiching a string makes a garland

























type up wish lists, fold, and place in boughs of a tree
























shredded paper as tinsel -- i would go nuts with this one -- typing all kinds of cute messages

























pushpins stuck into styrofoam balls - very neat!

images from better homes and gardens

still running around

in circles...

circling the issue

this weekend i saw these at michaels and thought they might be good to have around as a simple way to make circles. cuz you never know when ur gonna need a circle. anyways - the girl told me its better to stand up so you can get some power behind the punching -- and boy was she right! they are kind of tough to punch through -- i couldn't do it sitting down -- but they work pretty well -- so if u ever need a circle, i'm ur girl.

best ornament ever

i am in *love* with this papermache box ornament - the happy cute penguin, the blues and greens with the touch of orange, the snowflakes, and then the tiny polka dots to top it all off -- it's all just too cute...

fetch a pail

i keep way more than pencils in my pencil holders - stuff like tape, highlighters, scissors, stamps, glue sticks, return address labels, coupons, "i love you" and "hello kitty" pencils that my mom buys me, lighters for my candles, and oh yeah - pens too.

























so i was in home depot admiring the $4 metal pails in the paint dept. and i thought they might be perfect for all of my desk stuff -- plus the little handle is useful if i need to tote supplies to another room. i'm thinking this just might work.

signs of life

i am just plodding along with the holiday prep this year - i have lots of ideas - just feeling a bit lazy - hopefully it'll all be done by next week - getting 2 trees decorated with decorations i want to make and then getting my gift list straight and some sewing/ crafting accomplished...



and in the midst of all that - planning some holiday events with a teensy bit o' family drama -- but like my mom says "be thankful u have a family to have drama with." when i think of it like that - i know she's right.

am i wrong, or did they used to be called "speed bumps?"

simply festive

i love this holiday kitchen and dining room from my latest issue of style at home. the neutral basics with the pops of red and green are simple, modern, bright, and festive.

first snow

sparkle and light

just put up my bedroom xmas tree -- it's so sparkly and pretty with the white lights -- i may leave it just like this - but probably not :)

poor santa

a search for "holiday bath rugs" on ebay resulted in this oddity - a santa toilet tank cover and rug set. any takers?

gift ideas

there are 30 great -- and personalized -- gift ideas over at zen habits -- one of my favorite blogs.

here are a few ideas i really liked:

1. Frame a picture of you with them.
2. Photo album or scrapbook, with memories already included.
3. A burned CD with all the person’s favorite songs.
4. A letter, hand-written on nice paper, from you. Make it heart-felt, with all the reasons you appreciate the person.
5. An “I appreciate you because” jar. Fill a nice jar with slips of different colored paper, each with a reason you appreciate (or love) someone.
6. Create your own art (and put it on nice stationery or in a frame). By “art”, I mean a sketch, painting, poem, short story, whatever.

works as promised

i've been coloring my hair since i was 15 and i've done all of them - permanent, semi permanent, lighteners, lemon juice, henna, straight bleach, peroxide, shimmers, brighteners - truly all of them. i used to color my hair just for fun, but now it's also about covering gray. so what do u do to touch up gray in between colorings?

use this.

























it's called clairol root touch up. i used it a few nights ago and it was too easy! a small portion of color to mix, an ingeniously easy to use brush, and *less* than 10 minutes later - no gray! they have 16 shades and it's won 4 of the big beauty awards.