whew!

That month long gift-a-day marathon nearly did me in! There were days when I woke up and seriously didn't know what that day's gift would be. Now that the month long event is over, I'll still add new things regularly, and at times, daily.

One thing I am working on making more of are the little village houses. I've gotten so many emails about them and they sold so quickly.

Another thing I'm working on is a collaboration with my friend Mo Jackson. She's been making things for weeks and weeks, all by hand. She sent a batch of them earlier this week and they are all so wonderful. I can't wait for you to see. She's so talented.

I'm off to bed. Boy, oh boy am I ever tired. My friend said that her grandmother used to say after a long hard day "that dark feels good on my eyes". Tonight, I know what she means. I'm going to sleep well.

Hey, do you ever crave that feeling of being tucked in? It's something you can't really do for yourself and don't you feel so loved afterwards? Fresh sheets, high thread count, tucked in tight with the cool side of the pillow against your face.

today's gift...

Is there a princess on your list? Are YOU a princess?


Click here to order.

wednesday's gift...

My friend Yvonne made these pretty button pins for us.

Click here to order.

tuesday's gift...

This sweetest little cupcake necklace will be like icing on the cake!

Cupcake pendant (approximately .5" tall), handmade by me, on a 19.5" fine gauge sterling silver chain, spendidly packaged and ready to stuff a stocking with style.

Limited edition.


Click here to order.

i wish i may, i wish i might...

Lots of people complain that I'm terribly hard to shop for. I can't imagine why this is; I love so many things!

Starting a few years ago, I make a wish list of things that I'd like. At first it was a little book, bound and illustrated with clipped images from catalogs, magazines, and print outs. And then last year I published the list on my blog. That worked so well that I decided to do the same this year. See it along the right side of this post?

Rich is the keeper of the list. Everyone knows to check with him and claim this or that. I purposefully make the list long so that I don't know exactly what I'm getting. And I do get some nice surprises.

Here are some highlights from this year's list:



I'll add more things as I spot them. Making the list is almost as much fun as opening the gifts. I hope my list inspires you to make one for yourself. Did your parents ever tell you in response to your begging for this or that, "You're old enough for your wants not to hurt"? It's just the opposite now. I love wanting as much as I love getting.

monday's gift...

These make such a great gift, whether it's a full name or an initial...or perhaps an inspiring word. Customized to your preferences!

Click here to order.

friday's gift...

Learn how to make these wonderful bon bon ornaments! This is a fun, fast and easy craft that would be a terrific afternoon project with children. There are enough supplies to make 10 bon bon ornaments.

Click here to order.

happy thanksgiving...

A very happy thanksgiving to all of you. Gratitude is the soul's food. As you are enjoying the bounty of food around you this Thanksgiving day, remember the abundance of good around you. Be thankful, truly and deeply, for it all.

Today I am thankful for my husband, my true love. I don't know how I found him, or him me. He makes me want to be a better person.

I'm thankful too for my wonderful family. We're missing one person this year...Rich's brother Tommy. We'll feel his absence as anyone who loses a loved one surely does through the holidays. But he is here with us in spirit. I know it.

I'm so grateful for my business and for all of my readers. Maya Angelou says that when your spirit and your personality are working together, that's when you can do great things. I'm coming to trust being myself, completely and wholly, with all of my quirks. And that in being authentically me, I can offer more than I ever could otherwise. Thank you for helping me along this journey.

I'm grateful for this breath I take, and this one, and this one. Air so abundant and so freely given that breaths are taken one after another without notation.

I'm thankful that when Rich fell from the roof that he didn't break more than his heel. It could have surely happened. My neighbor across the street, the one who lost her husband and the father to her small children in a tragic car accident this time last year, cautioned Rich just a little while before the fall, telling him to be careful.

I'm thankful for this sweet life with all of its regularities and rhythms and cycles. And for the continuation of this life, seamless and normal.

I'm thankful for all of the delights that I enjoy. Thank You for giving me the eyes to see the smallest of wonders and for seeing You in them.

Thank you for all of the children in our life. For all of our nieces and nephews and littlest friends. I know that our time will come, soon I hope. Thank you for keeping our hearts soft and ready.

For all of this and more, I am truly thankful.

happy birthday, Seth!

Today is Seth's fifth birthday. I can hardly believe that it's been five years since the day I met and fell in love with this sweet little boy.

He loves the Slurpee machine (it's hard to put together but if you do every step just right, there are no problems. It works fine) and I'm sure that we'll be making more tomorrow if we can find any elbow room in the kitchen. We might have to get all of our supplies and go under a table somewhere to make it. You think I'm joking but my family knows that I'm probably not.

Happy Birthday, Seth! I love you.

wednesday's gift...

My friend Ann Vaughan made us some more scarves...and oh my! These are terrific.

Click here to order.

tuesday's gift...

Oh my word, but is this the cutest thing ever?! Made for us by the ever so talented Betz White.

Click here to claim yours.

thanksgiving

Last year this time I was thick in the planning of a Thanksgiving feast. We hosted it for Rich's entire family. This is no small feat since he's one of eleven children and almost all of his brothers and sisters have little families of their own. I think there were 25 people...maybe more.

The very best thing I did was to brine the turkey. It was a lot of work, especially since the bird was so huge (27 lbs). I awoke at 4 am because I was so afraid I wouldn't get everything done. I'm very good at cooking for the two of us but, when you're cooking for a crowd, everything changes. Rich's mother still cooks almost every meal as if it were feeding a crowd. She makes so much mashed potatoes that it looks like a joke. In fact, she was worried last year at Thanksgiving that I would have trouble peeling all the potatoes so she stayed over the night before.

This year we're having Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. Both my mother and my father cook equal amounts for Thanksgiving and every meal. My mother follows recipes to a t while my father tends to improvise. I'm definitely more in the camp with my father. When I was little I thought all parents cooked together. There's a nice yin-yang about it. And every meal is cooked with love. After we ate, we always said "I enjoyed my dinner. May I please be excused?"

And doesn't every cook want to know that you enjoyed your dinner? In detail? I know I do.

My family's Thanksgiving standards are:
Turkey with gravy and dressing made into patties
Baked Ham
Potatoes Au Gratin
Broccoli Casserole
Sweet Potato Pudding
Green Beans
Corn Pudding
Homemade Rolls
Cranberry Sauce
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie

Maybe I'm forgetting something. Boy, I'm getting hungry just thinking of it. Just a couple of days away...

monday's gift...

I fixed up some Christmas village houses with new paint, sparkly glass glitter, and pedestals. 9 designs...only one of each!

Click here to order yours.


p.s. Sorry to keep you waiting so long today. It's just one of those days...

friday's gift...

Winter NeSts are here!

Click here to order.

p.s. This is the only batch of Holiday NeSts Deb will be able to make for the holidays.

thursday's gift...

Isn't this the sweetest stocking stuffer idea? It also makes a terrific teacher's gift!

Click here to order.

advent calendar...

Did you see this wonderful advent calendar that Teresa McFayden made?!! I am just nuts for it.

She gives instructions at her blog. It looks like such a fun project. I think it would be a fun thing to do after you're full of turkey next Thursday with the family.


I also love this advent gingerbread house from Sur La Table. Look at all of the little doors and windows to open! Oh such fun!

wednesday's gift....

Limited Edition Holiday Lucky Charm Bracelets!

Click here to claim yours! Quick!

sweet tooth ache

My free copy of Kraft's Food & Family arrived by post today and just look at the wonderful surprises inside...



The last two pictured are a part of an article called "Box-to-Beautiful Desserts" which has as its description "Work smart, not hard. We're here to prove that gorgeous desserts can start with a chocolate cake mix. Repeat after us: 'No one needs to know.'"

I love it!

Get your own free copy of Kraft's Food & Family here.

tara road?

When I saw the preview for the upcoming movie "The Holiday", I got a little excited. It sounded exactly like Maeve Binchy's Tara Road, one of my very favorite books.



But, even though the premise is exactly the same, Maeve Binchy isn't given any writing credits. After doing a little bit of research I found out that there actually was a movie made of Tara Road with the same name released last year starring Andie MacDowell! How in the world did I miss that?



And isn't it crazy/interesting/weird that Hollywood is releasing two movies that seem to be exactly the same movie in such close proximity of each other?

I will rent Tara Road soon. It will be like visiting old friends to see that wonderful book come to life on screen, even if it is my small screen. I think, too, I will see The Holiday in the theatre. I'm a sucker for movie theatre popcorn and movies like this on a chilly autumn night.

tuesday's gift...

Need an idea for a quick and easy, ready-to-give present? This beautiful beaded snowflake, handmade by Rita Pace, is your answer. Unique? pretty? nicely packaged? and affordable? Yes, yes, yes, and yes!

Click here to order.













Special thanks to my friend Deb for the great idea to package these snowflakes in cd cases!

monday's gift...

Add style and a bit of ease to your gift packaging this holiday season.

Click here to order your own personalized folded gift tags.

6-eleven

Seth's birthday is coming up soon. When I was talking with him on the phone the other day, he asked me if I had already gotten a gift for him. I haven't.

He said that he would look through the "toy magazine" and find something for me to get him. After much wooing and ahhhing, and ruling out some very expensive or very inappropriate options, he found the one.

He said he wanted a Slurpee machine because he wants to open his own 6-Eleven.

the quick brown fox...

I do not have pretty handwriting. If I'm very careful in forming my letters, I can manage to write something that can be deciphered by others (with the help of the Rosetta Stone). Still, I'm thinking of doing this...

With Fontifier.com, you can turn your handwriting into a font. It costs $9. All you do is download a template and then fill it out like this:


You then scan the filled-out template in and send that file back to them. They convert your letters into characters. Here are some examples of others results:







I have to get busy putting your orders together. I'll meet you back here this afternoon for today's gift.

Oh, and expect some really wonderful things this week...things I know you love and that always go in a flash. Do you need a better hint?

friday's gift

Charming boxes like these were sold at five-and-dimes and filled with candy and surprises. About the size of an index card, you'll have to think small when pondering a gift to include inside.

Click here to order.

thursday's gift...

You'll have fun coming up with tons of creative uses for these fun ballerinas.

To grab yours, click here

wednesday's gift...

I think the comfort and rhythm of special family traditions is very important for a child's development. And the very best family traditions come with a whole host of accoutrements, don't they?

This special day plate will easily become one of your family's tradition. It can be used for birthdays, for sure. But how about a good grade on a report card? Or getting the lead in the school play? Or kicking the winning goal in a soccer match? A potty training success? You'll find all sorts of reasons for taking this plate down for a special dinner. Perhaps even a job promotion? One can never be too old to have a special day.

This makes the most wonderful gift to give a family.

Click here to order.