#3

Happy Black Friday! Are you shopping today? I hope to do a little.

Do you have a favorite number? Mine is 3. No concrete reason, really. Do numbers correlate to colors for you? 3 is a little green to me. It's probably just the double e's. Since green is my favorite color, it seems only natural. 3 is good, because no one can eat just one, right? And it's less than a handful... any more would just seem greedy. Then there is the holy trinity thing, which is cool. And triangles... oooh. See, no special reason.

survey

I've filled out 4 surveys in the past 24 hours. Kind of weird, huh? Giant Eagle sent one in the mail, Pioneer Woman had one on her blog, Hampton Inn sent theirs by email, and Sears had one on the bottom of my receipt today. So in honor of surveys... I've posted a poll over at the left. Check it out.

And in case you're wondering... Giant Eagle's prices are ridiculous, but selection is superb. I also whined about the most basic things being out of stock by Sunday evening when I get there. The Hampton Inn we stayed at last weekend was fabulous. The coffee was always ready and delicious. Since we were scrapping around the clock, that was important. Seriously, it was SUCH a nice hotel. And Sears is practically giving away kids clothes at the door. My mom did better in Chillicothe than I did here, but still good deals at 80% off.

The subject of my poll is inspired by the 8 inches of snow we may get by Saturday. Yikes! And by the way, I still like snow. Freezing rain can kiss my butt, but bring on the snow. My philosophy is that if it has to be cold, there may as well be pretty white stuff around. Those grey-brown, constantly below freezing winters are just awful.

Don't forget to let us know what we should do on Saturday... :-)

buying handmade

Now that Christmas has passed, I can tell about my handmade purchases. I photographed a few of the packages as I received them. I got some notecards from annacote. There is some beautiful stationery on Etsy... definitely check it out. I ordered scrapbooking what-nots from elles and maythird. A few lucky ladies got a handbag and a wristlet/wallet from lulaballou. In the delicious department, I gave a little and pampered myself with some aspenspa. Yum, yum. Go for the juicy pear lip balm!

All the packages were shipped speedily (even if the post office was a little nutty in delivering on time this past holiday season). Every single package was neatly packed. Items were well-protected by plastic wrap and tissue paper. And I think every single seller included a hand-written thank you note. It's a beautiful shopping experience... I love it!

I'll be giving more handmade stuff in 2008. And maybe next year I will be a little more prepared for Christmas with some gifts I hand make myself.

We took the Christmas stuff down tonight. I just couldn't bear the thought of doing anything but relaxing on New Year's day. I got a little caught up on laundry the past few days. But of course, JT got a TON of new clothes for Christmas, so I'll have to pre-wash all those things... so more laundry.

I love his little clothes... they are so cute and I love the thought behind what people pick out for him. My 4-wheeler ridin' aunt and uncle got him a 4-wheelin' outfit with camo sleeves - too cute. My other aunt got him a Pooh outfit in an outdoor explorer theme... it's totally us. I just wish he didn't have to outgrow everything so quickly. Can you believe I have already filled a storage tote with the 0-3 months clothes he outgrew?!

Ok, I'm sleepy... off to bed. N-night.

I can't get enough of these photos. This one is totally "my parents are so weird". lol...

Ok, I'm committing. I signed the pledge to buy handmade this holiday season. Etsy is the place! Recently I bought this print which I framed and hung in my bedroom. And I love this quilt I got for JT just before he was born. Otherwise I have held back. But if you're on my Christmas gift list this year... watch out, it's gonna be a Crafty Christmas. muhaha.

i.am.so.full.

I just put my little guy in bed for the night. I am so full of love for him right now! His daddy has been gone most of the week, so it was just the two of us. Uh yeah, I should be ashamed to admit it was the first time I was ever alone with my own child for more than one day. I'm lucky - John loves taking care of JT, so we share him pretty equally.

The house is a disaster... I think I picked up two piles today and created 12 more. AND THEN, we were upstairs playing today and a shelf full of picture frames fell down!! So my house went ahead and undecorated itself. Ugh. I got that mess about half cleaned up. Oh well.

Adrienne and I went shopping on Thursday evening. I started my shopping for Thanksgiving stuff. I decided to not be cheap this year. Haha. I figured if we are always hosting, I should invest in some decor items that will make it special. I gave myself a budget of $100. So I found this platter at Crate and Barrel. I love it. I know, it's nothing fancy, but it's cool.
Today I found some other stuff at Kohl's for $50. I'm talking matching tablecloths for the two tables, some candles, a big pumpkin centerpiece, and some festive towels. (My kitchen towels are DISGUSTING - been doing a lot of dish washing since July!) So that leaves me $15 to finish up with some garlands and crafty stuff... hmm, hope that's enough!


As evidence, here is decorating scheme from the last two years. It features mismatched vintage tablecloths and a vase I made in a pottery class that leaks. I still like that vase... pretty sure it will make the cut this year also. I rig it up with a plastic cup so it will hold water. I'm creative that way. hehehe.

Sooo, I'm having company for coffee in the morning bright and early, so I should really think of going to bed now. Night all....