friday favorites.

How is it Friday again?  It's been a slow/hangover week. We're still in vacation mode. It's so hard to do school when the holidays hit, but with another student being added in April we'd better buckle down and get some school done...who knows how much we'll be able to do after April.

 

 

So....favorites:

 

 

 

 

I started feeling those first flutters this week. It's so weird. I barely remember anything from my other pregancies and it all seems new. I'm starting to remember how cool this really is.

 



 

I showed Sophie how a Moby Wrap worked (love those things) and she was so intrigued. She was trying to tie her baby on to her so I made her a mini Moby with a sweater of mine. She walked around forever. It's so crazy to think of her as a BIG sister...she's always been the baby. But I think she's gonna be just fine.

 

I was at the P.O. twice this week shipping out goodies from my shop. It's so much fun. I am sewing up a couple more Christmas planners this weekend and I'll be listing those soon. Don't forget there's a couple of coupon codes out there so you can get 20% off! Yeah, you!! Click here or here for those codes.

 

Sister is reading. Reading!! I can't hardly believe it and yes,  I teared up. I can't handle this growing thing. It's amazing watching these kids learn. She is so proud. I picked her up a new workbook at Target today because she's so into it and wants more to do! Love a willing learner.

 

Tuesday was the boys' Boy Scout awards night for this semester. They are new to scouting this year and they both earned their Bobcat badge. Jack's little badge slip said "Jack Nicholson." We had just watched "A Few Good Men" so of course the first thing I think of is Jack Nicholson's famous line....."You can't HANDLE the truth." And then of course Jarrod has to actually say it out loud. Something struck me and I snort-laughed to myself mid-awards ceremony. Dang. So inappropriate.

 

We're going to go get our tree this weekend. The thought is kind of making me tired. I can DO this! I can!

 

OH! And don't forget about the coupon code for Amy's shop. She just added some SUPER cute vintage Christmas things! Go see!! Use the code LUCKY13 for 20% off.

Around My House Right Now {Plaid Obsessed}

I love the seasons. They inspire me. Even winter I love. Winter to me means plaid. And I do love me some plaid! A couple weeks ago I switched out all my living room throw pillows with plaid slipcovers I sewed.  Immediate coziness! We don't have any Christmas out yet...unless a spruce eucalyptus candle counts and a little tree in a bucket...but even just adding the plaid makes it feel more holiday-ish. Like, "holiday in the mountains" more than "glitzy glittery holiday" but still, it's holiday.



 

I ordered a large canvas from The Canvas People (I caught them on a great day with a huge sale!!) and blew up one of my favorites from our photo shoot with Joy.  Right now I think The Canvas People are doing 60% off PLUS free shipping! You might want to check them out.  The quality is great and I love the size. I need to get some more prints, but my walls are filling up!!

 

This week, I switched the boys' regular cotton sheets for snuggly flannel Christmas ones. Right now they have these duvet covers from Pottery Barn on their beds, but I'm thinking of switching them out with these! Is it bad if I say I like Ikea's duvet covers better than Pottery Barn's? They just seem to lay nicer. I think I might go grab a pair of these to switch out for winter. What do you think?

 

On our lower level I did a little sprucing up with plaid as well. I had to do something with the pictures from this photo shoot.  I used a few frames I had and bought a few new ones and covered some with leftover plaid fabric from Sherlock's cape. Just hot glue and fabric. I love them. I added a few old books and other things and I have a nice little vignette...I think I'll just leave it for Christmas.  It's Christmassy enough ;)

 

We aren't getting our tree until Saturday. I don't put a whole bunch of things out because it's just kind of hard right now. Our garage is full to the brim with stuff and a lot of our Christmas things are in boxes and I just don't care enough to go dig through them. Our ornaments and a few other things are ready and waiting at the bottom of the stairs for our trees (the kids have one too).  And that'll just be good for this year (and last). :)

 

Today I'm working on some YUM napkins and an advent calendar that I really hope turns out because I really think it'll be cute!! I'll share when I'm done!  I should probably fold the two loads of laundry on top of the dryer too. We'll see.

 

Happy Wednesday to y'all!

 



 

No Rest for the Weary

 

What a sight this is, huh?

 

 

Thanksgiving Monday should be as big of a deal as Black Friday. I am seriously in vacation mode, but there's no rest for the weary, and really? Really I should be ok since Saturday and Sunday I had a two-hour naps...oh sweet heavenly naps. Does not happen often enough.

 

Back up a few days to Thanksgiving though, ummmmm....feast-i-lious!

Did y'all brine your turks? I loved reading your emails and questions. I hope they all turned out!!

Our turk was really good.

 

It really was gooood!!

 

I am usually not the best gravy maker, but this year I kicked gravy's you-know-what, if I can even say that. I mean, ya...gravy train.

 

Becky's Scalloped Corn is seriously to die for!! I have eaten way too much but I don't feel one bit bad. My pregnancy senses are through the roof right now. All my senses are heightened...especially my sense of smell!! I can smell everything and sometimes that's bad, but this time of year it's very very good.

 

We feasted and relaxed on Thanksgiving, then headed out for a hike. It felt really good to get off our bums after that big meal. We watched Elf that night all snuggled together in our little living room.

 

Friday morning, we headed out bright and early with our honey's while the kids slept. We got almost everything off our lists and it was not that busy at all. I am kinda starting to really like Black Friday. Three years ago, I would have gasped at myself.

 

Friday afternoon Becky and I went junking for some treasures. I wasn't really looking for anything but we both found some great treasures. Friday night was leftovers....again.  :)

 

Saturday morning we got up bright and early again so we could get to the Biltmore Estate. The Strahle's had never been and we'd never seen it all decked out for Christmas. The Biltmore is always a sight to see. There's so much history I can barely contain myself. I love it so much. I learn something new everytime.

 

So after two full days of cooking then getting up really early three days in a row and staying up late, I am tirrrred! 

 

But when Monday comes, there's no breaks...it's still go-time. Today was super busy. After school I filled a bunch of orders for my shop.  There's a couple coupon codes out there right now and my last packages will go out on December 15th, so if there was something you were eyeing, you best do it now :) Links for the codes are below....

 

I cleaned dirty windows, assembled an egg bake for the morning, did a ton of laundry, changed the boys' sheets to snuggly flannel ones, and put a whole pile of clothes away. Busy.

 

Tomorrow is grocery-getting, baking a dessert for the Boy Scout banquet tomorrow night, and sewing some custom orders.  More busy.

 

It's good though. All good stuff.

 

I hope your holidays were wonderful; yummy and warm and wonderful. We are tired but full to the brim. Blessed.

 

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

 

 

My Christmas makes are going fast right now (God is so good!) and here are a couple of sweet bloggers that featured my shop and are sharing coupons codes for anyone interested.

 

Amy

 

Becky

 

Head on over to my shop to see the full Christmas line and don't forget...I'm only shipping till December 15th!  Thanks for shopping!!

 

 

 

well, lucky you...

Are you totally turkey'd out today? Are you doing any shopping today? Well, if you have turkey hangover and you're doing a little online shopping, I have something to tell ya...


If you've never heard of Amy @ Lucky Number 13, today's your lucky day.  She is an adorable blogger and has recently opened a shop where she sells her vintage finds and vintage-y handmade goods. She has to be the thrifting queen! (and she taught me how to make the best homeade lattes ever...go read her blog!)

 

 

 

Here's a few things from her shop. She has lots of things like these Bingo cards that could be used for tons of things...I'm thinking a banner, tags, scrapbooking. She also has a ton of ephemera for parties and holidays.

 

 

Then these bangles. I love them!

 

She has a terrific variety and her inventory is changing all the time. I love these little enamel cups. 

 

The best part is she's offering y'all a 20% discount when you shop before December 5th. Just enter the code: LUCKY13 when you check out. Go check it out...I promise you're going to find something you love!

 

Happy shopping!!

why Thanksgiving's my favorite

 

Thanksgiving is awesome for so many reasons. I think it's probably one of my top three. But here's why I love it so much:

 

It's all about food.  The smells.

 

Little sous chefs that are willing to help and chop for a loooong time.

 

Sidenote: egg slicers can slice so much more than eggs. Olives and mushrooms got  the slice yesterday with this little gadget. Perfect for littles too.

 

I love the preparations. The gathering of recipes. The shopping. The talking to my turkey, convincing him to not let me down. He's thawing out beautifully.

 

I love planning my table. This is my favorite part. I love making it all pretty.

 

I love getting ready for friends to come feast with us.

I love the turkey in all it's juicy goldenness,

the mashed potatoes, Becky's corn pudding, and my mama's marinated veggie salad.

 

I love the leftovers.

 

I love the warm colors; mustard, green, and earth tones. I love planning the menu. It's pretty much the same every year. It's simple, but it's so good.

 

I love that we eat out two nights prior because I've been cooking all day, but not dinner. I love buying the sparkling cider and little decorations.

If you like the name tags on my table, you can find them here.

 

I love the shopping the day after. I never used to, but I've changed. I just go to Target. It's fun.

 

And I love pie.

 

Hope you have a fabulous and super yummy Turkey Day.

Be thankful.

 

xo,
{alicia}

Mom-Bit Monday: I Can Change (most) Things

I want to tell you something.

I want to tell you how I feel.

I feel like a pretty sub-par mom a lot.

As in, I lose my temper often...often. I yell too much. I have very little patience even at 8am. I'm crabby a lot.

I did decide though, that that type of thinking...that I'm a sub-par mom, is not a good way to think. It's an ugly thought I shouldn't be having, so I had another thought.  Since I feel like this all too often maybe I could play reverse psychology on myself.  Maybe if on some Mondays I share with you something that worked for me or share something good that I read about being a good mama, I could focus on the goods instead of the inadequacies.

I think a lot of us mama-folk feel inadequate. We're tired and frazzled and overworked and underpaid...is anyone giving me an "Amen" out there??

Thank you.

We need to be better to ourselves. Kinder. Gentler. Yes, to ourselves.

So here's my Mom-Bit today: I realized on Friday why it was such a great day....I made it one. *Gasp!*  Ya, like I really did. Something happened to me that morning and I just decided.

Those little things weren't going to piss me off, because really spilt milk is just sucky and that's the end of it. No use making your wee one feel like a big, fat loser over that, you know?

I've talked about this before, but really this message bears repeating: we set the tone in our homes, mamas. Yes, as scary as that is, we do. If we are short and crabby and ugly, chances are our kids will be that way too. Friday was such a productive day and quiet and lovely and I think it was (mostly) because I set the tone from the get-go like that.

Let's chill today and build our babies up.

Cheers,
{alicia}

Open for business

 

After a long hiatus from my shop, I'm back just in time to start Christmas shopping! I didn't go crazy, but I brought back some goodies from last year and created some new little makes too.

 

I love the look of chalkboard art, so I created this handpainted sign to look like that but last a whole lot longer. I think this would look great on a mantle with tons of white candles and tons and tons of fresh greenery around it. Can you say simplistic perfection??

 

I made this rustic guy because I love fresh cut trees at Christmas time.  I mean, what is Christmas without that smell?? It's a sad one, that's what it is. So if you can't get a real tree, you totally need this sign with a pine scented candle lit next to it.

 

And of course chalkboards. I'm pretty sure my life revolves around them. They are the best creation ever. So if you need one...or two in your life, I can totally hook you up.

For these and more, check out my shop here, for the whole line up. Thanks for looking!! 

today.

Today was my favorite day in a long time.

Super productive and quiet. Everyone was busy doing their own thing.

We ate a hot brekky while doing a little school. Critical thinking, math, language...done.

 

We ran a few errands. I had to get my turkey man. I also got some lovely roping...I seriously love that smell.

 

 

 

We went to Micheal's and I got some stuff for the table...it's gonna be fun!

 

When we run to Target or Micheal's there's a little road that I always take and it has the wackiest farm ever on it. I mean, we're like 1 minute from Target and there's a goat. Perfectly acceptable in the south. This interesting piece of property also has chickens (some of the most pretty chickens I've seen), two dogs, and the fattest hog in the history of hogs. Ever. We always slow down to see what we can see.

 

Today it was just the goat.

 

We got home and the boys went out to the forest to play. Sophie helped me for a while and then played Barbies for a long time. That never happens...she needs other people. Does not play well alone.

 

 

 

So I....planned my menu, wrote out my grocery list, and my Target list and printed out a ton of coupons. I also organized them and clipped them all together. Yeah!! I'm doing some Black Friday shopping, so I printed out some coupons for that and made my list. I'm hoping to get alllll my Christmas shopping done with ONE trip to Target (ok, maybe two), ONE Amazon order, ONE trip to Barnes and Noble, and ONE order to Shutterfly. 

 

 

I've been working away at a few Etsy Christmas things. I got them all photographed today and will hopefully get them listed tonight and/or tomorrow. Chalkboards, signs, and tags for now...some banners coming soon too.

 

Here's one sign.

 

 

 

This week I ordered prints to frame of this photo shoot and I ordered a big canvas from this photo shoot. I covered some old frames with plaid fabric and gathered some new frames to make a little gallery wall of Sherlock Holmes prints...kinda excited about that. As soon as the prints get here, I'll be sharing.

 

I cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom today. Scrubbed out my fridge and cleaned out the old stuff to make room for all the goodies that will be filling it up soon! Mr. Turk is in there now thawing out. It looks so empty and fabulous. I am really going to be missing  my extra fridge on Thursday though.

 

I scrubbed the countertops and cleared off the unnecessary stuff to get ready for a ton of cooking next week.

 

Now it's 5pm and I'm done for the day. I decided I'm not cooking dinner. Just don't really wanna. I'm eating carrots with ranch. That should be good for a while. The boys just came and told me Sophie fell asleep on the couch downstairs. This day just keeps on giving!!

 

This weekend I'm listing my new Etsy Christmas things!!, ordering Christmas cards and gifts from Shutterfly so I can get the 40% off before Monday, and taking a nap...and drinking lattes...I get two per day and most of the time they get cold before I finish, but it's nice while it lasts.

 

Happy Weekend to ya! Have a great one!