Lovely Cruise

December IT kit

I didn't post my IT kit projects on the 15th because one of them was a gift, but the recipient has now received it so I'm safe to post.  As always this is a beautiful kit.  The patterned paper is just gorgeous. 

In other news I'm feverishly (literally, I'm sick) working on getting ready for this weekend's Holiday Open House at Hot Shops.  I'll be in Studio 222 with the other killer artists in the Omaha Craft Mafia.  This is an extremely talented group, and I'm excited to see everyone's wares.  I'd share what I've been working on, but I haven't taken any photos yet.  Maybe today. 

Happy Birthday Cake

to you!!!! 

you say potato...

An amazing photographer by the name of Jenifer Altman has made me stop and think about the beauty in everyday life.  Her photography is incredibly inspiring.  Jen is also one of the founding members of the Omaha Craft Mafia.  She recently opened an Etsy shop to sell her prints.  You can find her here:  Fieryeyed Photography.  Her blog is also wonderful:  Athena Says. 

I love when someone makes me look at things differently and inspires me to create.   And speaking of etsy and inspiring and creating, here are some etsy shops that I've recently marked as favorites.  Buy homemade, you know... 
pretty in paper
En route
Pink Bathtub
Keys and Memories

gobble, gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Hope your day is filled with food and fun. 

border war

make like a tree...

Yesterday's record breaking high temperature motivated me to rake some leaves.   I usually prefer it to be frigid and windy, but I decided to change it up this year.  I haven't done a very good job keeping up with the leaves.  I filled nine yard waste bags and two large trash cans and I barely made a dent.  Ugh.  And now I don't have bunion boy to help me, and next week is the last yard waste pick-up, so I'm in big trouble.  And on top of it my semi-retired neighbor is smack talkin' about the leaves this year.  Two weeks ago he came over and started teasing me because I was just getting started and last week he stopped mowing when I walked by to say, "I'm going to win this year."  Good thing he's such a sweet guy.  I'm hoping for a big ol' wind to come up from the west, so all of my leaves can land in his yard since he has so much time on his hands.   And I'm also hoping that in between all of the giving of thanks this week I can fill a couple more bags.  I better because this morning my yard looks like I didn't do a thing yesterday. 

weekend round-up

Our weekend started with David having surgery on his foot.  He only had a bunion removed, but the recovery has not been easy.  I guess having your foot cut open, bones shaved and screws put in said bones isn't that easy.  Yikes.  On top of it he's has a bad chest cold/nasty cough.  Fun times.  He was planning on going to work tomorrow, but I just told him that's not going to happen and he actually agreed with me.  He's got a laptop, so I'm sure he'll get plenty of work done from the couch.  The one really sweet thing in all of this is the time he's spent with Ella.  She cozies up to him on the couch, eats most of her meals sitting right next to him (on the couch) and has been very sweet.  David rarely spends time just sitting, so she's taking advantage of the Daddy time.  It's been very cute to watch.  "I see Daddy!" is said multiple times a day.  And she wasn't too happy when Daddy was on conference calls from basically 3:00 to 7:00 on Friday.  I wasn't either... 

Speaking of Miss Ella, she turns two on the 27th.  I can't believe my baby is almost two.  My dad had a birthday on Friday.  Ella said "Happy Birthday Cake" to him on the phone.  November is a big month for birthdays around here.  ;) 

Today we had our first Thanksgiving at David's aunt's house.  It was a good, but kind of crazy time.  She served ham, which was nice since we're having three Thanksgiving dinners this year and I'm not real fond of the bird.  There was a big glass of red wine spilled on the light colored carpet, right before we were about to eat.  I'm happy to report that I had nothing to do with it and neither did any of my children.  Thank goodness.  It was a stress-free start to the meal...  We actually had a nice time, even with the spills. 

And now I need to really get myself organized for the coming week.  I did some cleaning this weekend and will just need to do the basics before Thursday.  And finish my menu planning and go shopping.  I can do it.  I will survive.  And I decided that instead of being stressed that I have so much to do this week, I'm going to be grateful that my life is so full. 

fabric love

My mom told me last night that I needed to check out a fabric designer that was on Martha Stewart yesterday.  Her name is Anna Maria Horner.  I was just going to check it out on the internet, but then I remembered I tivo MSL on the tv in our bedroom.  The project she demonstrated was so cute and her fabrics are amazing.  I'd never heard of her, but I can't wait to get my hands on her stuff.  And I want to make these silhouettes for Ella's room.  Oh, and check out her blog too.  Inspiring stuff.

Happy Friday

Sammytguy

I had Sam's parent-teacher conference tonight. He's doing really well and is talking more than I thought he would be.  He's so quiet and shy at school, I was afraid he wasn't speaking at all in their sharing times, etc.  But he is and I am glad. 
This boy is challenging me right now.  It's like he has ants in his pants, all the time.  He's always moving, always into something, always, always, always.  I need to be more patient.  I need to not try to get so much done in the afternoons.  I mean really, there's more to life than clean socks and a warm meal, right?  And next year he'll be in Kindergarten...