Giving Thanks

I have so much to be Thankful for.. another year of Life, Love, Health and Laughter.

I know I have a few friends that read this blog daily, and I thank you! You truly make me feel that I do this with a purpose! From me to you - Happy Thanksgiving!!

Are you brave enough for Black Friday?

Are you crazy enough to shop on Black Friday or would you rather eat dirt than brave the crowds and those long lines? I have never been afraid to shop and I have to admit that I actually love shopping on BF. I really don't find that it's true when they say the lines are crazy long, there is mass chaos, or that the people are all missing the holiday cheer. I have found it to be the opposite (for the most part). People are nice, they are cheerful and although yes, the lines are long, they really are not that bad. Plus you get to hear all that wonderful holiday music piping through the stores. How can you not be festive with all that? Oh and the sales? The sales are so worth it! I put together a list of a few keys things to remember when you plan out your shopping ahead of time. Yes, you really must plan it all out ahead of time.

1. Have a list of what you would like to accomplish at each store. Check out all the sites that offer a sneak peek into their Black Friday sales. You can just google Black Friday 2009 and you will get a ton of sites.

2. Dress comfortable. No jackets, maybe just a light sweater. You will get hot, trust me. Leave the layers at home.

3. Wear comfortable shoes. If you are shoe shopping for yourself, wear a slip on shoe so you don't have to lace and re-lace over and over.

4. Bring a good friend!! It's much for fun to have someone that will make you laugh while waiting in those lines.

5. Leave the hubby and kids home! Kids really don't need to be out that early or for that long.

6. It's just plain torture for you and them.

7. Oh yeah and to make the day start off right.. pick up a latte. Starbucks is opened EARLY on Black Friday!

8. And for Pete's sake have fun!!!

My memo board - Revamped

This summer while at the beach with friends, I found the most gorgeous fabric to recover my dining room chairs, at a flea market of all places. It instantly reminded me of something I would see in Pottery Barn catalog. Needless to say I feel in love. After I recovered the chairs, I had about 3/4 of a yard left and no idea what to do with it. That was until I saw an old memo board I had in office closet. How perfect! I knew the fabric would go great with my basil green kitchen walls. I love how this projected turned out.

Recovering the memo board was easy. I just removed the existing hardware and stapled the fabric right over the old fabric.

After it was all stapled - Plain, but still pretty!

Then came the decision on what to use as an accent material to hold the "memos". I went a little unconventional and used twine. Yup Twine.

Notice the small buttons in the picture above? Those were removed from the old memo board. I decided to "twirl" the twine as an accent for the buttons. I love this little detail.

With the chairs that were recovered.

Here is the finished product on my kitchen wall. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Eddie Ross Wreath

This wreath from Eddie Ross is spreading around blogland - like a virus. Well I got the bug now too. It's one of my next projects to do for the holidays. I'm actually heading to the dollar store TODAY to get the ornaments!!! Don't you just LOVE Eddie Ross? Never heard of him? Gasp.. check out his blog.

Do you do "themes"?

What kind of Christmas decorator are you? Do you do "themes"? I'm talking about themes were you use only certain colors or style? Do you decorate with an old world style? Are you into bringing the outdoors in? How about a total contemporary holiday look? This year I decided to do lots of glass, silvers with hints of teals and magenta. I am planning to start decorating THIS weekend!! Can you believe it's here already? Christmas Decorating time! Yeah!

I love the use of these Holiday color combos on BHG. It's all so festive.

Red and green Jewel tones

Black, White & Green

and lastly, my look for this year. Silver, teal and magenta

Lampshade makeover

Have you ever seen something and thought "I can do or make that"? Well I do it ALL the time. So when I would keep seeing blogs that showed lampshade makeovers, I thought "I can so do that, it looks so easy". And well, it WAS! Super easy. Maybe it's was because I used burlap to recover the lampshde? Maybe because I didn't use a patterned material, so there was no "lining up" to make sure it was on straight? Or maybe cause I had a fun time doing it and didn't care if it wasn't perfect? All I know is I really love how it turned out and isn't that all that matters! I hope you like it too.

Before ..loved the base, hated the shade for this room Materials - Shade, burlap, grosgrain ribbon and a glue gun

Final Product. What do you think?

Oh you better believe it!

Sexiest man alive <3

A little peek at Fall around my house..

I thought I'd share a few pictures of what "Fall" looks like around my house. I don't go crazy, but I do love the little details in what I do. I hope you enjoy!

My kitchen table "centerpiece"

The side table as you enter my home.

Do you see the lamp shade? Check back tomorrow to see the changes I made to it!

A cornucopia "bookend"

Adding a little Orange

It's no secret that orange is my favorite color. The color just makes me happy. That doesn't mean I have orange walls (I wrestle with this one) , orange rugs (nada) orange curtains (nope) Do you get where I am going with this? What I do have are orange candles, orange pillows, blankets, decorative bowls, candle holders and other "different" orange elements in my house. Hmm I smell a "what is orange in my house"post coming soon. HGTV has an article on using the color orange in your decorating and well, I just HAD to share!

4 more days...

For New Moon. Are you going? I have my tickets - 12:10 AM

Slow cooker Saturday - UPDATED

This was de-freakin-licious!!
Busy Sunday, so Slow Cooker day will be on Saturday. Oh how I am looking forward to this one! Slow cooker Burgundy Stew with Herbed Dumplings. I am making a few changes to this recipe. I do not eat canned veggies (except tomatoes), so the canned mushrooms will be be replaced with fresh. Also I am adding potatoes to the stew. Yum! Have a great weekend!!!

I'm Roasted Root Veggies - how about you?

I took Martha's "Which Thanksgiving side dish are you"? It's cute.. Give it a try.
My results - Roasted Root Veggies. It may be the season of indulgence, but you keep things in check. Your health is important to you, and you strive to make sure you can have your cake and not eat too much.

Add a little something to your candles..

Simple, creative and oh so clever ideas to add a little something to your Fall candles displays.

See more on BHG. These 3 are my favorites.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce

I'm going to try and make a healthier version of this for dinner tonight. Recipe here..
Update - it was delicious! The family loved it!!!

I <3 this outfit

I love this WHOLE outfit! It's just perfect for Thanksgiving dinner with the In-Laws.
from here

Love of all things white

Some of you know me very well, so this may not come as a surprise, I love all things that are white ceramics. I mean lurve!! So far my collection contains ceramic white candles holders (lots), a turtle, various birds, vases, a key tray and decorative white ceramic flowers. But you should see the amount that I have marked as "to buy"! Oh so many things. I found this site Z Gallerie, and man does it make me want to add even MORE to my collection! I especially love white ceramic animals. It's just a thing I have. What? It's adorable. Seriously aren't they CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!! The Rhino and the owl are my faves. I will have those!! And couldn't you picture the crab as a paperweight or sitting on a stack of design books on a desk?

Cougar Town

Do you watch Cougar town? I really like this show. It just cracks me up. I love the cast, especially the ex-husband Bobby and the neighbor who idolizes him Andy (Javier from Felicity). Grayson ain't too shabby either. Any woman can relate to the issues Jules goes through. Whether it's finding hairs on your chin or (gasp) trying to date after a divorce.. Seriously, check out the show. It's that funny! Wednesday's @9:30 (est) ABC.

On my treat list - it's still UGG's

Question? Do you do all the shopping for Christmas and secretly hate buying all those gifts and not being able to shop for yourself? Well I'm not gonna lie, I do. I have been lusting after these UGG's for about a year now. Every time I have the money, I feel guilty over spending the money on myself. Well not this year, this year I am treating myself. I deserve it! Plus I gave it a year and I still WANT them. That's a sign in itself. Yes I am talking myself into this purchase.

So are you going to treat yourself this Holiday? Do you think its wrong to spend a large amount on yourself at this time of the year?

Etsy Love - The Paisley Palette

I just have to give a shout out to this store on Etsy. It's called The Paisley Palette (how cute is that?) and it's filled with the most beautiful original and prints of her artwork. You really must see her work. I actually happen to know this gorgeous talented lady, and I can tell you that I have seen her work and it is outstanding (and apparently well priced)! With the holidays around the corner, wouldn't you just be the bee knee's to give someone an original piece of artwork as gift? :-)

Here is one of my favorites.

New Moon hotness

Are you a fan?? Hell I am. Nov. 20th can't get here soon enough! Harper's Bazaar has the hot couple on it's December issue cover. Here is just one picture from the magazine spread, ok so 2.. I can't help myself, he is just so yummy. Here are a few more.