NumberNineteen

New Year's Eve---Ho Hum

That's how I *wish* I was spending my New Year's Eve...dressed up, some dinner, some dancing, so on...but no, here I am at home.  We were invited to a friend's house for a party, but we couldn't find a sitter. So, its me, my hunny, a roaring fire, and The Thin Man on DVD.  Now there is a sophisticated movie....Nick & Nora Charles, living the high life in the 1930's, and solving a few mysteries on the side.  And, as Glenn pointed out, it really is a holiday movie, since the story takes place the week of Christmas & New Years.

I'm SO proud of my accomplishments today.  I've been so inspired by my favorite blogs to totally freshen up our decor.  I realize that I've been trying to be very safe in my decorating & that while it looks fine, it doesn't neccessarily reflect who I really am.  I'd really like to display more of my vintage finds and lighten up the feeling in the family room/kitchen area. 

But, first of all, I need to get to those projects that have been nagging in the back of my head forever.  So, I did two projects today that have literally been in progress for years.  The first is this chair:



This is the "after" picture, I neglected to take a "before".  I found the chair, if you can believe this, by the garbage cans behind my bachelorette apartment.  It didn't have a seat and the finish isn't perfect, but who would throw it out?  I snatched it immediately (yippee!) and it has been sitting around waiting first for my husband to cut out a wooden base for the seat & now, for me to cover the base.  Today, I covered the base and rubbed the entire chair with Old English dark scratch cover.  It made a huge difference & I'm so pleased with the result.

I also (I had an unusual burst of energy, probably fueled by the Grande Latte that I drank!) painted the new doors to our bathroom cabinet & also painted all of trim to match.  We just have to wait for the paint to dry & then Glenn will attach the doors.  We have been working on some bit of that bathroom or another since we moved in.  First, I tore down the wallpaper & painted it what I hoped was a "cheerful" yellow.  I soon realised that it was actually a headache-inducing yellow and repainted it a much softer shade, which I love.   Then, we replaced the light fixture & meant to get a new faucet right afterwards, but that somehow didn't happen until a few months ago.  Then, we  finally got the replacement doors  about the same time & we are FINALLY getting the room finished.  The sad thing is, its not like we did major work in this room.  Its all pretty much cosmetic.  In light of how long it has taken us to get this far, I knew that I needed to seize my burst of energy & get as much done as possible today!  I'll post photos of the bathroom once we get the doors up.  Hopefully, that will be in the next few days, but I'd better not promise anything!

I have to give a call-out to one of the blogs that has been a huge inspiration to me this week, Daisy Cottage.  As I posted in her comments today, I am head over heels in love with her style!  Her place looks like it was done by a professional stylist, but it looks very cosy & livable.  If you like the cottage/vintage style, I urge you to check it out.

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve everyone!  Here is to a fabulous 2007!!!

Red Eggs & Ginger

 

Tonight we were so lucky to be included in a very special event--a Red Eggs & Ginger Banquet honoring the birth of our friend's child.  Until he invited us, I had never heard of this celebration.  Apparently, it is Chinese tradition (the father of the baby is of Chinese descent) to hold a banquet to introduce a baby to family & close friends a month after its birth.  Our friend told us that eggs symbolize fertility/birth and red is a sign of good luck, hence "Red Eggs".  He said he had no idea why ginger was included! 

You would not believe the food!  12 courses!  I'm not exaggerating.  The red eggs pictured above were on the table when we arrived, on a large, rotating base.  Soon, bowl after bowl of food was brought to us.


I only took a small amount of each dish, because I knew that I'd never make it through otherwise!  The food was good, but very unlike most Chinese food that I've had in restaurants.  I'm assuming that this was "authentic" Chinese.  One interesting thing is that the dishes were not served with rice or noodles.  When I asked about that, my friend said that the thought is that the food at a banquet like this is so good that you don't need fillers like rice or noodles.

And, here is a picture of the darling little girl for whom the dinner was in honor:



Glenn & I often talk about how lucky we are to know such an interesting variety of people & be included in such events.  We not only love to share these special times with our friends, but also to have the unique experience.

This One's For You, Terri

You claim that you work at home, doing so-called "editing" and now it appears that you are actually brewing "premium malted beverage"!  I found you out at Aldi today.  It's not a bad imitation of Mike's Hard Lemonade. :)

For those of you who have no idea what I'm going on about, my brother in law's nickname for my sister is "T. Dub", after her initials, TW.  When I saw this at the store, I couldn't resist.

Don'cha Love a Bargain?

OK, so I got nothing done as far as cleaning up the house today, but darn it, I had fun at the after Christmas sales! :)  We decided to browse around an area near our house that we haven't really explored.  I had noticed a nice gift shop & used bookstore that I thought that Glenn might enjoy.  And, it was across the street from Sears, where Glenn wanted to spend a gift card.  So, we bundled up Hope & off we went on a family shopping expedition.  I just love after Christmas sales.  Prices immediately slashed on all kinds of goodies, the second that its the 26th. When else does that happen?  Doesn't it seem like coats finally go 50% off just about the time you start looking for shorts? Look at some of the things that I found:



That little bowl is actually a very pretty soft pink, but it isn't showing up well.  I like to collect all kinds of bowls like that in different colors to serve veggies, snacks & so on.  That was from Tuesday Morning.  I love that place!  Its such an adventure.  The ornament is from that gift shop that I mentioned.  I wish that I could remember the store's name, because it is really a find.  And, I was so excited to find that Jane Green book for $4 at the used bookstore.  I've gotten a bit tired of most "chicklit" type of books, but I love every single thing that Jane Green has written.  I think that I love her characters.

Since life is about more than shopping (sigh), I must go do some things around the house!

Getting Back on Track

Whew!  Coming back from vacation &  to lots to do!  Unpacking, laundry, cleaning up, going through the mail & papers, figuring out what to do with the new stuff & so on.  I don't know about you, but when I come back from a trip, I feel compelled to organize and de-clutter.  Especially coming back from Christmas vacation.  For some people, its Spring Cleaning, for me, its the week between Christmas & New Years.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking this precious holiday time to clean the house.  I've been going through closets & drawers, getting rid of what we don't need, organizing what remains, deciding what I need to keep everything organized.  Anyone else out there like that?  I've got a feeling that I'm not the only one, because organization supplies always go on sale the first week of January!  Ever notice that?

Speaking of, does anyone know of where I can find an affordable, good cubby system for my daughter's toys?  I've looked at Target & Michaels & didn't find anything.  I'll be stopping by IKEA  in the next few days.  We'd like to turn a corner of our basement rec room into a play space for her, but I don't want her stuff to get out of control.

Even with all that there is to do, I'm really enjoying my holiday week. Glenn has the week off of work, so we've been able to spend some time together, which is so great.  His work load has increased in the past year, so sometimes we don't get as much time together as we'd like.  Tonight, we are going to sit in front of the fire & watch either It's a Wonderful Life (haven't seen it yet this year, which is a crime) or Mrs. Henderson Presents.

I'll leave you with two photos, one which shows the mess that I'm dealing with (the laundry pile that I've yet to fold-embarrassing!):



As well as the holiday spirit that is still in our house!:

   

I Meant to Show You This!

I forgot--I wanted to share a photo of another of my favorite gifts!  It is the one & only vintage item that I received & I love it!:


Its a cake plate from my sister (thank you, Terri, for taking the time to find such a unique gift).  I'd hate to hide it away & only use it for serving.  Any ideas of where/how I could display it?  I have a lot of plates on the wall already, so I probably don't want to do that.  Maybe I'll peruse some blogs to get some display ideas....

I have a blog!

I'm so excited to finally have my very own blog!  After a year of avidly reading other's blogs and getting so much out of them, I've felt like it was time to contribute to the blogging community.  I'm hoping that my blog will be like my favorite ones.  The ones that you read & feel like you could be sitting beside the author, having a cup of tea or a glass of wine & chatting.  I'm love decorating, crafts, and discovering new sources for ideas on both, so I'll try to share my efforts & discoveries.  As well as the daily-ness of my life...family, friends, fun & work that make up my year.

I wasn't going to start my blog until January 1st, but I couldn't resist sharing my Christmas!  I *love* Christmas!  If you asked me my favorite season, I'd reply "the holiday season!"  The house is really getting to look how I want it to.  The first couple of years that we lived here, I'd think "It would be really pretty to put beaded fruit on the garland" or "I'd love to start a Santa collection".  But, of course, I couldn't buy all of those things at once, so it has slowly come together over time.  Here are some pics of my favorite ornaments:

And, here is our mantle:

My incredibly talented sister designed & hand knit those stockings.  Aren't they gorgeous?

A close up of the beaded fruit on the garland:

We just returned today from my parent's place, where we spend every Christmas.  As always, Santa treated us with such bounty!  We must have been pretty good somewhere along the way. :)  Among my favorite gifts were this Boden sweater from my husband, though mine is in blue:

This was really a special surprise, as Glenn & I had a lower-key gift exchange than some other years in the past.  Being an at-home mom for the past year has had its perks, but lots of extra spending money hasn't been one of them!  So, while I told him that I loved this sweater, I didn't expect to get it.  He is such a sweetie.

Another favorite was this Stevie Wonder CD, which has already been played several times :):

And, isn't this is cutest thing?:

Its a fabric covered metal strip & the bows have magnets on the back.  Its from a really adorable site called Rose Lane Cottage.  I'm so excited to put this in my new cube when I return to work in January.  I may be going back to the  corporate world, but its going to be my cottage corner of the office!

Those are just a few of the gorgeous things that I received.  I'm such a lucky girl!

I have to admit, as I've been writing and inserting all of these photos, I've started to get a bit insecure--"Will anyone really be interested in this?" "Who am I to think that people will want to know about little old me?"  I guess that I can just share who I am & hopefully, some of you will come to feel as I feel about the blogs I love--that they are my friends on the internet!