Got Energy?

Santa Juju has it right...this is just how I feel today! We
had family over yesterday from Kentucky and Tennessee. It was
a wonderful afternoon full of fellowship and lots of food.


"The Cousins". I used to take this photo of the cousins
with my Grandmother. We have now had 2 Christmas holidays
without her. Some traditions are hard to break.


This is Kenson, Kyle and Macy. Kenson is my brother's son.


Aunt Pat and I always enjoy each other's company, whether on
the phone or face to face. I always hope to see more of my
family than I actually get to do. Maybe in 2010, we will all
do better. Happy and restful Sunday to all.

Merry Christmas to All.....

A small glimpse of my tree with a favorite photo
of my dad and aunt.

This beauty was rescued from an antique store in Omaha and
she looks lovely atop my little white tree.


This happy fella was a $4 purchase from the Nashville Flea Market.


I can never have too many snowmen around at Christmas time.
He looks nice in front of my altered frames from Karla.


I have a small collection of putz houses and churches....this
one is my favorite!


Here's Alpha modeling her pretty Christmas attire. The vintage
apron was given to me from Jenni.
The pocket is adorned with an old earring.


Even Juju gets a Christmas stocking. And least anyone thinks her
not too bright....she went right to this stocking due to the wonderful
smell of bones awaiting her.


A Christmas tradition....sleeping together on Christmas Eve. Of course,
now that they are older, they stay awake later, talking and texting. I
had to tell them to go to sleep around 1:00 am. Santa needed her sleep!


Juju loves her new resting pillow and enjoyed the tasty bacon
flavored bone that Santa left for her. She is ready for a nap with
all of this Christmas fun and fluffing. The Santa suit was easy, but
the bow took about 5 attempts. Wishing everyone a restful Christmas,
spent with family and friends!

JuJu gets a Christmas do.....

Even a sweet little puppy needs some Christmas fluffing. She
was way overdue for her first haircut. Unfortunately, she was
afraid of the shaver, so she only received a little trim.


Luckily, they were able to cut some hair around her eyes and put
a cute Christmas bow on top and around her neck. Least you think
she keep it in for long.....here's proof of her destroying it!!
Maybe, I can put it back in for Christmas day. Ha

Vintage Fest....

with the lovely Jenni Bowlin. This beautiful, and I might
add delicious cupcake was waiting for me. Such a sight to
my eyes and every bite of it was an almondy taste to my
tongue. I sure wanted another one.


We started the day off shopping with so many lovelies to
see. This piece had me at hello and I am happy to say, it
now resides in my house....of course, minus all of the goods.
I am quite taken with it and will decorate it for the holidays!


Jenni sure knows how to make glitter look tempting!


All of her displays just ooze with vintage goodness.


I especially like this unique crown display piece.


Jenni and me, now at her booth in a local antique mall. She has
such a way with displaying her vintage items, that all of the
girls walked away with a purchase or two!


Some Christmas temptations.


Love the use of an old scale to hold the candle and Christmas
greenery.

Dont you just love Jenni's boots?? She is too cute. I enjoyed
a wonderful day with about 20 ladies, Jenni and her most delightful
husband Jared. Some folks journeyed from Louisiana, Ohio and Texas.
I will share photos later of the pretties that I made
in the 2 classes. Off now to decorate the house!

Silver Bella...before and after & my family reunion

My first day was spent with Jessi and a bus load of Bellas.
We left the hotel at 9:00 and spent a full filled day with
our wonderful Omaha hostess. Here's a group shot that I
borrowed from my roomie Sharon,
snapped by the lovely Tiffany.


Our first stop was the Brass Armadillo, a large antique
mall. It was great and we shopped for 3 hours.


Sharon captured a beautiful photo of vintage Christmas
ornaments. The mall was a feast for the eyes. Both
photos courtesy of Sharon.


Jeanne and I stopped by this pretty store front on
main street in Omaha. This was Saturday night after
we had completed all of our classes.


Sharon and me playing in an old red phone booth!


We ate at Upstream and enjoyed a nice post Silver
Bella dinner. My new buddies, Megan, Jeanne, Jana,
me and Sharon.



The Saturday after Thanksgiving always brings my family
reunion. We have been doing this for many, many years and
I really look forward to the special time spent with
extended family! My cousin captured this family photo,
including the cute Juju.


I also took several shots of my children with Juju, in
hopes of getting that just right photo for the Christmas
card.

And saving the best for last....the 2 patriarchs of my dad's
family. My Uncle Jay, who is 88 and my uncle Hall, who is 87.
Both of them are always in attendance and I realize that at
their age, every year may be the last. So, I wanted to remember
them happy and laughing and that is just what I got!

Counting my many Blessings..

Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!
I plan to enjoy a relaxing day with my family and
eat a few of my favorite Thanksgiving treats. Also
planning on counting my many blessings and being
thankful!

Silver Bella...issue 1

Finally, I am getting around to posting about Silver Bella. I will
plan to do it in a few different "issues". There is so much to share!
First off, I attended the Glitter Lounge, hosted by Karla and Carol from
Raised in Cotton.


The decorations were very pretty and done up in Karla's lovely
"sugared" style! We got to meet Bellas and enjoy some
snacks prior to the opening night dinner.


Here's Karla toasting all of us. It was so nice to finally meet
her face to face. She is truly a wonderful and creative gal!!


Here I am with my most wonderful roomie, Sharon. We emailed back
and forth for several months and finally met up in the Denver airport
and talked nonstop on our flight to Omaha. We had a great weekend
shopping, eating, talking and creating!


Now for a few swap photos for you. This is one of my swaps, all
packaged and ready to trade. Thanks to Sharon for the lovely wrap.
She traced and cut out the envelopes for me!!


Several of the swap hostesses made pretty bags for us to hold
the swaps. I am bag rich now and loving all of them! Heather
made this pretty hanky bag.


Here's a little peak of the holiday fabric fatbook swap, hosted
by Michelle. This book is really pretty and I will share more detailed photos soon.


Check out my loot! The bag on the left was the Silver Bella bag
that was full of lots of goodies from several different sponsers.


This is my favorite photo of the swaps. I love that the swaps are
pouring out of the top of the bag. Isn't this altered bag just
wonderful? Lonnie is the hostess and seamstress for this one!


I leave you with a dreamy photo of my hostess gifts. Instead of making
a gift, I decided to buy boxes of yummy chocolate covered toffee
from Nashville. I hope they enjoyed it! To be continued....