Collecting Crafty Ideas for Christmas

Veering from our Christmas List - here some things I'm hoping to craft-up for Christmas!!

Cabled Hats

Homemade Christmas Ideas from Blissfully Domestic

How to: Sew an arm rest organizer from napkins

How to: Reusable Swiffer Covers


Dry-Erase Glass Calendar

Flower Fridgies

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Ruffled Messenger Bag

Candied Nuts

Chocolate-Espresso Snow Caps



10-minute Santa Ornament

Welcome to the World!

Been quietly working on a special project lately for a little man who decided to surprise us all and meet us a little early! A whole month early! I need to crochet at lightning speed now!! :)

Welcome to the world little Nolan Paul! Born 11/28/2009 6lbs 13.5 oz! Congrats to mum and dad - you have an absolutely gorgeous baby boy! :)

Dear Santa: Our Christmas Wish List 2009

Every year my husband and I, being the dorks children at heart that we are, make a list of items that we'd love to receive for Christmas. Being that our family lives a little far from us they often express not knowing what we want or need. And kinda helping each other out with ideas of what floats our boat. Not that we need or want anything really - but it is fun to do none-the-less.

So, without further ado - our Christmas List!

STACY'S LIST:



Glass Jars (2 gallon, 1 gallon and 1/2 gallon)
I use these all the time! I fill them with ice, lemonade and lemon slices or other beverages or even food for parties, put them on my counter and fill with cereal, flour, sugar and that sort of thing and have even started using one of my 2 gallon jars to fill with our seashell collection - it is full! So, I am always needing more as I find new ways to use these jars! Currently I am in need of each size. These jars do not come in a set - you can buy them separately and they do not have a seal or anything - they are my favorite!! They can be kinda hard to find in the stores - in Target they are grouped in the one odd aisle of items kinda away from the kitchen section...usually there is a makeup aisle, then rows of counter top appliances like griddles etc - they are normally one the very last row of aisles in this section - not actually with the other kitchen stuffs. Same with Walmart, they are usually in same row where you would find the kitchen utensils around where they have the canning jars, etc.



6-12 Quart Stock Pot - we love to make soups, etc in large quantities!!

Teapot with Loose Leaf Defuser - the one above is from Target




Spool Holder - for my crafty endeavors :) Right now they are all rattling around in a drawer.

Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorater - so I can finally get my cupcakes iced perfectly!! I've tried putting icing in a ziploc baggie and squeezing it out, tried icing with a knife - nothing is working! I've seen this puppy in action though!


Flour/Sugar Shaker - for our cooking/baking endeavors - lately I keep thinking - huh, one of these would be useful! Especially I as I try to "lightly coat" a pan with flour and end up just creating a snowstorm of flour all over my kitchen. LOL!


Blankets - Honestly can never have enough! We're a snuggly bunch! :)


Same with socks! - Both for Matt and I - though Matt's preference is for the standard black work stock - my tastes are a little less traditional! Though standard white anklets are always a welcome I also love colorful knee highs! I can always use more of the more conventional tans, grays and blacks for too. :)


And gloves! Who ever has too many gloves?!



Sweaters, Etc: Love this style - but really any sweater/turtle neck/long-sleeved thing -- I'm always cold!


Kitchen Towels - Not sure what happens with kitchen towels but ours are in much need of a purging. The ones we have must be a good 5-6 years old (ones we got when we were first married) and goodness kitchen towels just do not hold up! It's just something you use everyday so they get a lot of wear and tear I guess.


Bath & Body Works: aka a girl's best friend! Love their antibacterial handsoaps, their Lavender Vanilla Aromatherapy Line and their Mandarin-Lime Aromatherapy lines! P.S. I am almost out of bubble bath, lotions and shower gels in these two scents. ;)


Table cloths - any color, I just love table cloths! Our table size is:

Cooling Rack (for baking)

Mini muffin/cupcake pan

Angelfood Cake pan - surprising that being my favorite type of cake I don't actually have a proper cake pan for it.



MATT'S LIST: only partial from what I know he's been talking about or that I know he needs :)


Stone Molcajete (for making salsa and guacamole!) - can be found at Target and specialty stores like Le Gourmet Chef

Salsas, BBQ sauces or rubs, grilling spices etc

Nintendo DS Games - especially football/sport games

Shaving Gels

Beer Assortments

Apron Inspiration

My blog and real life friend, Sarah, gifted me with this amazing handmade cupcake themed apron! Isn't is just charming?!



It inspired me to make one for my aunt's birthday - she loves to cook and I've never seen her wear one. So, of course, inspiration hit! I also had this cute little cat patterned fabric just waiting to be used and, seeing as she also loves cats - it was perfect!



And she loved it!! :)

Giveaway Sneak Peak!

Just giving you a head's up that I'll be having a great giveaway on my design blog "Confessions of a Design Junkie" here soon!

Check out the preview post here!

Giving Thanks

Looking at this photo just makes me smile! We all stood there like that for a good 20 minutes as each person's camera was switched out so everyone could take the picture! Thank goodness I remembered to bring the tripod this year - it helped! Though we need 5 more so we could use all the cameras at once!

My Dad's side gathered together this past weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving and my aunt's birthday a little early this year - it worked out in most everyone's schedule to do so. Was able to enjoy turkey and all the fixings plus a lot of good family time - all un-rushed! The holidays are more hectic for us as we always have multiple functions to attend in one day. Having one Thanksgiving ahead of time definitely helps!



If the first pic made me smile, then this one makes me beam! As per tradition, my Grandpa knocks out cold after a hearty meal - hehe!

Droid Does - Yes, yes It Does!!

I am sure by now that you've all heard the hype about one of the latest phone on the market - the Motorola Droid. Well, I've had the opportunity to test one out and let me tell you - it's not just hype. The excitement that has built up around this phone is justified and maybe even a little underplayed! This phone is A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

What sets the Droid apart from your standard smart phone is the OS (operating system) - the Droid runs on an open platform - so much like the iPhone you have various apps you can download and install. Some apps you can buy but I am not sure why you would with the thousands of free apps that are available. (Want to browse the apps? Visit the Android Market or Droid Apps)

A few of my favorite Droid apps include:

Google Sky Map - Because it’s just cool! - http://www.google.com/sky/skymap.html

Shopsavvy – Scan an items bar code and it will tell you where to find it online or locally (mapping it as well) with the best pricing. Way cool!

Foursquare

Bubble - Basically turns your phone in a level - very cool!

I love the integration with Gmail, Facebook and Twitter Apps on the Droid. Once you're set up - you are officially untethered from the computer! Checking you email, updating your Facebook and checking Twitter is all seamless!


And with such time-saving and useful apps that help you save on shopping, groceries and just plain have fun - how could you go wrong?! Honestly, there wasn't one thing I didn't like about this phone - even begged to keep it "just a little longer!"

If my rave review didn't convince you - here's even more documentation that the Droid is hands-down amazing!

50 Apps for New Droid Owners

Droid Review of Engadget

Boy Genius Report - Motorola Droid Hands On

A Walk In the Park

Taking our dogs for a good long walk through the park is one of our favorite pastimes. It gets us out of the house and always leaves us with such great memories! Fall is a fun time to bring our pups on these adventures as there's plenty of leaves to sniff through and roll in.



Not to mention plenty of people to watch and to perchance bark at! :)



And lots of photo ops for me! It's Fall in Indiana!

Bringing In Bits of the Garden

Let me start out by saying that I am a collector of things. If I go to the beach I pick up seashells and stones, if I walk through a field I look for arrowheads, walking through the woods you'll find me snatching up pine cones and flowers.

So it may come as no big surprise that I bring in bits from my garden. I planted and gorgeous allium a year or two (didn't come back - bummer!) but did save the seed head! Now I have a daily reminder of that gorgeous flower - along with some rose hips that I collected from a nearby fence row.



One of my prized plants in my garden is my lavender. Bought it at the Indianapolis Farmers Market two years ago. Lavender is one of my favorite scents (love, love, love Lavender dish soap, laundry detergent, Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Lavender Vanilla line of products!). Anywho, I've been tempted before to take cuttings of my lavender but could never really bring myself to do it. Well, this year it helped me out a little - some of the tips were already dry and breaking off in the wind, so I snipped a few ends off and made a little lovely, lavender scented bouquet.



And of course, put it on display on our living room bookshelf!

Just recently we had some hyssop become trampled by the utility workers doing something with a bright orange cord that wrap around the back and plugs into the side of our neighbors house (??) - I do admit we planted it close to the utility box -but come on! The thing is hideous and huge and right smack dab in my front yard! At least it was just a perennial that they stomped - it will come back next year! But, of course, I went out there and snipped off all the dried seed heads and have them drying upstairs as we speak! :)

So tell me, do you bring bits from you garden? Or collect random things?

Rhizomes and Corms Oh My!

Boy am I glad I took that gardening class this past spring that taught me all about bulbs, corms and rhizomes! It was a free class at a local library taught by Master Gardeners - here's the link to the post I did about it - http://squirrelchatter.blogspot.com/2009/03/bulbs.html.

Anywho, one of my lovely blog friends was so kind to gift me with some wonderful plants this summer including some cannas. And my amazing husband surprised with me pink glads to plant in our yard for my birthday! These plants were show stoppers all summer long!



Of course I want them to come back next year so I dutifully dug them up this past weekend while we were basking in unusually warm 70 degree weather (crazy for mid-November in Indiana!). The whole digging them up in the fall idea seems easy enough and I admit I grossly underestimated the amount of effort it actually takes. Sigh.

My stash of canna rhizomes and glad bulbs are happily drying out in my dark laundry room as we speak!

Here's a peek at my unearthed glad corms - aren't they lovely? When I first planted them this spring they were so tiny and now many are a good two inches across! I'm betting on an even greater glad show next summer!


And here's my mess of cannas! They tripled in quantity! I planted maybe 4 tubers and dug up this! Wow!


Now I can rest easy the rest of the fall/winter season. I even planted 50 daffodils and 6 narcissi! So much gardening to do so little time! I was going to move some daffs that I have planted to close to my rhubarb but I hate blind digging because I always end up butchering a bulb - so I think I will wait until the spring after they've flower and move them when I can still see their leaves, etc so I know where they're at.

New Fall Header: Help Me Pick!

Been itching for a lovely new fall header - but I can't decide which one! Help me pick!

1. (the one I have up currently) Goes with my traditional feet pics I had going for awhile there but got out of the habit of taking.



2. A lovely blurry shot of the one above - not photo-shopped! The pic actually came out like that on accident - I moved on accident as I was clicking the shutter.


3. Leave and Lola


4.Water's Edge & Leaves


5. Leafy Pathway


EDITED: Per Matt's Request

6. Fence Shadow Pic


7. Grassy Shadow Pic + Lola :)

Garden Update: Nov. 14, 2009

Yup! A November garden update, isn't that crazy?! We are down to one producing garden box instead of two. A few of the winter hardy vegetables I planted in one of the garden boxes are still growing and happy even in this mid-November! I worked a little today to clear out the old cherry tomato plants and was pleased to see my lettuce, broccoli and a few carrots and onions still going strong.



There's even some baby broccoli florets even growing! See it?? :)



Here's an aerial shot of the thriving lettuce and broccoli - they seem to be doing better now than they have all summer! Huh. Thinking about planting a few more little winter hardy things and rigging up a sheet of plastic to make a cold-frame of sorts.

I'll leave out broccoli a little longer to see if I can get any bigger than the tiny florets on it now - may pull up the lettuce here soon. Pulled up 4 sizable carrots and found but left some little onions that were still growing and popping since the larger ones had been pulled up weeks ago.

Web Finds Wednesday!

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Smores Icebox Candy Bars

The World's Best Pancake Recipe

Sewn Lunch Bag

Indiana's Top 50 Blogs: Only a Few Days Left to Vote!

Only 5 more days according to the countdown clock to vote for my blog as one of Indiana 's Top 50! Very honored and humbled to be included! Thank you to everyone who has voted so far!

I have had a few requests to have instructions on how to vote. So, here it goes.

Click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser http://top50indianablogs.com/?p=498

This link will take you to a page that just has my blog listing on it - you should see an image that looks like the one I pasted below:



Note the #17 - I took this snapshot early on - so now the number may be something like 52. Anyways, under the # is the blue word "Vote" - this is the link you click on to vote. Just hover your mouse over the blue word "Vote" - click and you've voted!

If you don't see the blue word "Vote" this may mean that you've already voted from that IP Address - you can only vote once!

To see the entire rankings of all the blogs visit this link http://top50indianablogs.com/ - I am currently around #31.

But with your vote I could climb higher! :)

Web Finds Wednesday!

Make Your Own: All Natural Homemade Cleaners

Something to Sew: Soft Cake Tutorial

Free Quilt Patterns

Honey Ginger Chicken Breasts

Mango Strawberry Snow Cones

Best Chewy Chocolate Cookies Ever (Low Fat, too!)

Pumpkin Cobbler

Easy, Creamy Potato Soup

Bad News & Good News

(Our most recent purchases at A Certain Charm)

Let's get the bad news over first, shall we? Well, this past weekend, my hubby and I ventured out to one of our favorite lazy weekend locales for a little browsing - A Certain Charm in historic downtown Franklin. We were stunned into silence when upon walking up to the shop we were greeted by a huge sign with red letters proclaiming the worst news ever - "Going Out of Business."

We eventually were able to get more info by chatting it up with a few of the employees - the owner's husband is being relocated - hence the closing of the shop. Such sad news to hear. We've spent many hours browsing the hundreds of ever - changing antiques and sales items. I've come home more than once with bags full of goodies - vintage bowls, books and more.

This news put quite a damper on our Saturday though it did provoke us to walk out with bags in hand instead of "waiting till next time" which is what we always say, but thankfully we stopped off at another favorite just down the road, Thanks For Your Thyme, and as we walked up we noticed a new nearby antique shop. Of course we had to stop in and thank goodness we did - because now we know that the same vendors that were at A Certain Charm have relocated to this new store - can't remember the name - but phew! Our weekend antiquing has been saved!

A Certain Charm will continue to be open through November for those of you who want to stop by before they shutter their doors.

Indecisive and a Review! LG enV Touch

When shopping for a new phone I am such a bundle of nerves and it all be summed up as "indecisive." What phone do I want to use for the new two years (Verizon's New Every Two)? What phone will best fit my needs and work best for what I use it for - home or business. Most times it seems like nothing on the market matches what I want with what I can afford.

Luckily there is a finally a pretty snazzy phone is out that hits all the marks for me. The LG enV Touch (lovely touch screen phone that flips open to a full QWERTY keyboard). The keyboard is by far my favorite feature, right up there with the touch screen. I also enjoy the pleasant ring tones that come on the phone - lovely nature sounds, a fun "good morning" tone that can be set as your alarm clock if you wake to your phone (which I do).



The thing about having a gorgeous phone like the enV Touch is that, if you're on a budget, and trying to keep you bill to as close to minimum as possible, you can't possibly use the phone to it's full functionality.

So, even with a snazzy new phone - I have to restrain myself - le sigh. Well, yay for me, because a new, wonderful opportunity has knocked on my door here in the recent week! I've been honored with the opportunity to review new phones from Verizon - HOW COOL IS THAT?!

So, now I can get (for 30 days at a time) to explore the full capabilities of Verizon's newest phones! Granted, I don't keep the phone, nor does it use my number or contacts, etc - but it is fully functional! For my first phone to review I chose the LG enV Touch - yup the exact phone I just bought so I could try out all it had to offer.

And the verdict? GREAT phone pretty much all around! I instantly customized and personalized it down to the images on the two screens (pics from our recent vacation) and changed the display mode from the preset vintage stamp look to a more sleek modern look - the only other display mode option.

I tried out the internet and was a little disappointed. At least I know I am not missing out on much by not having a data plan on our phones. The browser was hard to navigate and though it was a large screen - it just didn't display web well. And really that could be with any phone.

So, if you're in the market for a new phone and want to venture out into the world of touch screens - the LG enV Touch is definitely a good phone to check out. Especially if you enjoy texting, taking pictures, sending SMS texts to your Facebook, Twitter, etc. Now, if you want to use the internet on your phone to browse your tweets, Facebook, Google Reader, etc - eh...may not be the phone for you. Just depends on what your needs are. Me? I really don't need to spend anymore time on the internet than I already do - it is nice to know that this phone can access the net if I need to on the whim, but I am not too tempted to do that regularly.

To get out more about this phone visit: www.verizonwireless.com