one year ago...

one year ago today i made my very first blog post... so much can happen over the course of time and i'm happy to have this space so that i can look back and remember the little moments that have made up our days... i'll be back next week with a little something, something to celebrate my one year anniversary... sound fun? i think so, too!

 

in the meantime... i would like to

wish each and every one of you a very happy thanksgiving...

enjoy your day!

this weekend...

i felt productive... my office clean up was finally completed... i started it on the 7th and have been plugging away at it... such disorganization... i went through everything... tossed... filed... and now the space looks great... and i feel content...

it's been fun gathering things that i think the girls who are coming to the creative make and take will love to work with... hopefully these tiny deer and bottle brush trees will make them smile, too...

fabrics in different patterns are being cut for buntings... this is just a little peek... see that yarn up there... it's really cute... can't wait to see it incorporated it into something...

 

the sample of the canvas project that we're making is done... i originally wanted to use burlap as the background... ugh! not such a wise idea... it stretches and was scratchy and full of that burlap-y smell that tickles your nose... i decided to go the felt route instead and i'm so glad i did... it turned out super cute and i can't wait to show you all...

 

i finally put these yo-yo's together into a fun, little garland... i think i'm going to try some with christmas colors, too...  

 

today i'm heading up to the third floor... that's where the majority of my craft supplies are... it's the catch all... the space that gets overlooked the most and only i can change the status of that... there's a lot going on up there... some organization needs to happen before i can even think of getting our christmas decorations out... so off i go... wish me luck...

 

how about you... do you have big plans today?

loss...

i woke up this morning, did the whole breakfast thing, did the helping the girls with their clothes thing, did the packing of the lunches thing... dropped the littlest off at school thing... and came back home...

 

i soon realized after trying to get a few things done around here that i'm in a funk today... and it wasn't until i went for a ride to clear my thoughts that my thoughts became all too clear to me...

 

the tears began to stream... stinging my cheeks... as they are right now as i type...

 

i miss my sweet gram...

 on august 12th, she passed away...

 i haven't really talked about it... it's hard... as many of you know who've lost loved ones... things are different... you can't just call them up or stop by... time moves on... memories are there... we cling to them in hopes that they never fade away... 

 

i have so many... church on sunday mornings... donut oven afterwards... spaghetti dinners... holiday traditions... talking... shopping... the best balush... making haystacks together... i'll forever be reminded of her in the springtime as i plant my flower baskets and as i make her stuffing on thanksgiving... i'll think of her when i see ribbon candy at christmas time {she bought it for me every year because i once mentioned to her that i thought it was pretty}...

visiting my grandpa now at their home is different... i'm ok as long as i'm in the kitchen... when i walk into the living room it just doesn't feel right because she's not there like she's always been... 

and i worry about my grandpa because he's alone... the holidays are fast approaching and it's weighing on me... knowing that we'll be spending them together is reassuring... but i know as our first holidays without her come and go, it's going to be sad for all of us...

what i can't forget is that

she blessed me with many happy memories for 39 1/2 years and for that i'm so very thankful...

 

sometimes you think you're ok... just going day to day pushing things to the back of your mind... not dealing with them head on... sometimes it feels better to just let your words flow... not to hold them in... my subconscious reminded me of that today...



11~12~13...

my wheels are spinning today... i'm in the planning stages of a fun night of creating with a great group of girls...

 

there's lots to do before November 30th... making up sample projects, deciding on yummy treats, decorations to hang...

 

i'm so looking forward to it!

i've been pulling together supplies & gathering trims...

 

 

 

it should be fun... we're making three different projects that i can't wait to share...

 

****************

 

and... totally unrelated... we woke up to our first snowfall so i thought i'd share our morning view with you...

the girls were excited... but i'm not really ready for it...

 

today you'll find me inside... nice and warm...

 

what are you your plans for 11~12~13?

 

have a happy day~

angie



ten on 11-10-13...

ten on ten

it's a fun little photo project that i saw over at a bit of sunshine... ... you take 10 photos throughout the day on the tenth of each month... it helps you to remember the little things... the moments that make up our days and our lives... i love the idea...

this month there was a prompt from rebekah and i decided to participate...

a full harvest...

 

 

 

 

scenes from mill creek park:  
lanterman's mill
 leaves
tree with berries
parapet bridge
the road i traveled
fellows riverside gardens
scarf weather
my favorite tree
from where i stand

when i got home, i snapped this of our backyard... so many colors...

have a happy day~
angie

linking up

a little art on a saturday...

the day started off gung-ho... marina was off to a play date by 10:30... i was trying to finish up in our office... and maizie was in search of something to do... none of her plans panned out... she was bored... so she decided she wanted to paint...

 

 

not a problem... i pulled out some watercolor paper, oil pastels and watercolors... and she started... her inspiration came from a kleenex box of all places... we love owls around here and my friend keri brought me the cutest box of kleenex a while back that had a different owl on each side... i saved the box because i thought the owls had the potential to be an art project...

 

here's her process in photos...

 pencil drawing...

 sharpie outlining...

 oil pastel detailing...

 watercolor painting...

 she was doing a bit of color mixing/blending around the perimeter of her paper... i really liked the effect of it... but she wanted to cut out the owl and place it on a textured background... once she rubbed the oil pastels over the corrugated cardboard i really liked the interest that it added...

i love how it turned out...

 

 

a few hours of quality time spent with my girl... and a really cute piece of new artwork for our wall :)

 

couldn't ask for much more on this saturday...

 

 

have a happy day~

angie

good morning...

yesterday morning was a doozy... right off the bat, there were tears from the littlest over tests that she had to take...

and clothing issues from the oldest...

 neither wanted anything i had to offer for breakfast... peanut butter toast, chocolatey delight, pop tarts, waffles, pancakes... NADA... they FINALLY decided on a bowl of cereal... buses were missed and i was in "hurry up, hurry up, we're gonna be late" mode...

{photos are not from yesterday morning... those would have looked quite different... instead i'll share these from a great day that i spent with the girls at the ford nature center in mill creek park}

 

i'm not a fan of mornings like that... i don't like to be frazzled... it's not a peaceful way to start the day... i hate sending them off when they're rushing and i'm in a tizzy... {and that happens more often than not...}

 

this morning was lovely... no tears, getting dressed happened without incidence... no complaints over breakfast...

both girls got on the bus... which is a miracle because that RARELY happens around here...

 

they were happy and i feel at ease... a much better start for all of us!

 

on deck for me today is to clean my office... it's in total disarray... i'm a bit of a paper stacker... and there's overflow from art piling up in there... it's time to get it under control...

 

but first... i think a trip to starbucks just might be in order :) {a salted caramel frapp might just make the office organizing a little more bearable...}

 

how about you... what do you have planned for today?

 

have a happy day~

angie

holiday happy mail...

if there's one thing i love, it's happy mail...

once you become an adult/homeowner, heading to the mailbox is not that thrilling... it's typically filled with bills and junk mail...

with the overload of technology that we have access to on a daily basis, it's rare to get a good, old fashioned card or letter in the mail...

but when i do, it makes me smile... recently friends from florida, colorado, delaware, california, and texas have blessed our little mailbox...

the other day i saw this on instagram...

hilari from be sweet blog and thuy from my paper pinwheel are hosting a holiday happy mail swap...

i signed up right away... sounds so fun! you can click on the links above to read more about it... all of the information is right there so that you can join in the fun and sign up, too...

have a happy day~
angie

yesterday...

yesterday it was chilly... like, not want to get out of bed chilly...

 

after i took marina to school i came home, cozied back in and did a little pinning...

 

this tortellini soup caught my eye... it looked easy enough... and the key ingredient for me... cream cheese... ummmm... yes, please!

 

another bonus... it's a crockpot recipe... i'll be honest...i used to be leery of leaving the crock plugged in for fear of an electrical mishap... i try not to think about that too much anymore because it sure is nice to have dinner doing it's thing in there while i'm getting other things accomplished...

 

 i headed to the grocery store to grab the ingredients...

came home and situated it all in the crock pot...

and served it up for dinner...

my girls voted for noodle soup... they aren't the most adventurous eaters... but john and i really enjoyed it... it was tasty... i just had a slice of buttered italian bread with mine... as for john, i made him a toasted roast beef and baby swiss sandwich...

 

i'd say it's a keeper... i'm thankful for another recipe to add into the rotation...

 

have a happy day~

angie

 



halloween...

halloween...

it was a good one... 

 

as always, it sneaks up... here and gone in the blink of an eye...

 there's the mad dash of costume making... i do it to myself every year... scrambling to finish their costumes in time... maizie had a costume party to go to so luckily hers was done a week in advance... that was a first for me...

marina's, on the other hand, was started and finished on wednesday... just in the nick of time...
 

 this year we had a minion...

and a peacock...

the weather could have been better... but we braved the rain... and as our feet got soaked and the wind picked up... i couldn't help but think about how fun this holiday is for the kids... they couldn't care less about the downpour... marina's group flitted from house to house, huddled under umbrellas, laughing and having a good old time...
 
 it was the first year that maizie went trick or treating at a friends house... i missed having her with us... but she had fun hanging out with her friends and came home with lots of full size candy bars in her bag... she was happy... and that's what's most important...

now... onto november and the goodness it has to offer...

have a happy day~
angie