thinking out loud... for all to see...

If I didn't already think it...

I certainly would now. I'm married to the coolest guy. Seriously. He's been talking about his "surprise" that he's been working on for Christmas for several weeks now and he was SO excited for me to open his gift this evening. What was inside was amazing. If you've seen the movie "Up", you'll recognize the inspiration for this perfect gift. Scott and I both LOVED "Up". It was such a touching love story. When the movie was over we talked all the way home (and for several days afterwards) about the adventure that our life has been and he was so concerned that I was happy with my life. I kept assuring him that I was. When I opened his gift to me this evening. I cried. The thought of him hiding out in the basement working his "stealth scrapbooking magic" is probably the sweetest thing I can think of. What a sweet, romantic and absolutely perfect gift for the girl who has an incurable soft spot for memories and scrapbooking. The story he told on those pages is just so fun and absolutely perfect. I might have to show it to you. I'm not sure yet. But you can at least enjoy the cover and know that I married the PERFECT guy for me. In every single way, I am blessed to have this man as my husband. I love this album more than anything he could've thought to buy for me. (yes, even a condo downtown... That's for those of you who know me really well!) Merry Christmas to you and yours... mine's been perfect.

Just a couple more days...

till it all comes unwrapped and all undone. :) I've got just a couple of things left on the list. I did my shopping for Christmas dinner today since the weather's looking "if-y" and I didn't want to have to make do with what I'd be able to get to in our little tiny town. But I forgot a couple of "needful" things (sweet potato casserole stuff and cool whip) so I think I'll have to venture back to the grocery store tomorrow. I'll do all my wrapping tomorrow which will put me way ahead of my normal schedule. I usually end up in a wrapping marathon on Christmas Eve afternoon which is the very latest I can do it since we open up presents on Christmas Eve night and then let Santa fill the stockings. I love this time of the year. I just wish I could do all that I dream of getting done. One day. Maybe? Probably not. But that's ok. We'll have everything we need and a lot of what we want and it'll be a perfectly imperfect holiday with the people I love. And when it's all said and done that's enough. Isn't it?

I'm not sure we'll talk again before the big day so from our house to yours- MeRrY ChRiStMaS! :) We hope you enjoy celebrating the greatest gift of all- Jesus.

Hold on! Slow down! Wait for me!

Remember when you were a kid and the month of December came around and suddenly time stood completely still? Remember how you thought Christmas would NEVER get here? Me too. I'd like to experience that again, please. Every year I promise myself that "next year" I'll have it all done early and then I can relax and really enjoy the season. And every year it seems that about this time, I realize how very much I still have to do. It's not that I mind doing it. It's all pretty much the "happy stuff". It's just that it seems to expand beyond the reasonable bounds of a 24 hour day. And so I find myself wondering if I really "need" or "want" to do all that I thought I wanted to. Or maybe I just want to keep the promise of a simple Christmas this year and focus on the really important things. Something to ponder as I endeavor to keep Christ in my Christmas. Talk about the ultimate Christmas gift... ;)

p.s. yes, I know that the above picture is blurry. It's artistic. I like it that way. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

Yep. I like it there...

we went to St. Louis for a couple of days to visit some friends we've made over the last few years on our insurance trip convention. Their agency was having a big party for the holidays and since Scott and I have a little agency, they invited us to crash their party. What a fun night. Great food. Great music. Great friends. It was just what I needed to relax a bit and enjoy the coming of the season. We actually went in on Thursday and stopped in KC on our way to shop a bit. Of course, any truly good trip through KC always involves Nell Hills and this trip was no exception. Oh, if only money were no object... *sigh*. Unfortunately, or luckily for Scott, a lot of the beautiful things at Nell Hills are really more suited to a house like our old house so although I adore it all I don't feel the need to "have it all". It seems like less fun to have to hunt for a perfect piece but in reality, I kind of enjoy it more. When everything will work there's no challenge to it. But when your home is a bit more contemporary and not so traditional, it takes a bit more effort to find the vintage and funky pieces that will work in that setting and not look out of place. We left Nell Hills without buying anything BUT I did take a great big dose of "possibilities" with me and that's good enough for this trip. 

When we got to St. Louis, we went to Joe's Crab Shack for Scott's birthday dinner. The food wasn't very good this time. I guess I've gotten spoiled by being able to get the best crab legs I've ever had right here in my tiny little Nebraska hometown. But they did sing to Scott while he was wearing a green wig and blowing kisses to the other diners. Good times. :)

We stayed at the Seven Gables Inn and really enjoyed the smaller boutique style hotel atmosphere. We were on the 3rd floor and it was quiet and quaint and just really a nice space to come back to at the end of our busy couple of days. I think we'll definitely stay there again when we get back to St Louis. 

Friday flew by as we made a trip to the home office of the primary insurer that Scott writes business for. It was neat to see everyone and check out things there. Then off to lunch with Sherri and Bob and lots of business talk and laughing. We really enjoy them. It's nice to be able to sick and talk shop with other people who "get" what our work lives entail. Friday afternoon we spent at the St Louis Galleria and made sure that the economy was left a little better then we found it (just doing my part, people!) Friday night was party time and we SO enjoyed getting to hang out for a few hours with Bob and Sherri's agents and wives.

We came back through KC yesterday afternoon and made a quick stop at the Country Club Plaza for lunch and a bit more shopping and then popped down to Curious Sofa where we scored a cute vintage sled that will make a great centerpiece on my dining room table for the winter months. All in all, a totally great trip. It's always nice to spend a few days with the boy reconnecting and enjoying a bit of time away from the daily-ness that seems to consume life sometimes...

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

but very pretty if you don't have to go out in it... Happy Snow Day. Tomorrow we sew.

 

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

My kind of day...

spent the day at Create today with some of my very favorite people and we "got crafty" as Miley kept proclaiming while we each worked on a different things. There's just something about sitting with a project and talking that I find totally satisfying. It was a terrific way to spend the day. I worked on my blocks for the It's Just Sew Quilting Bee that we're doing and I'm proud of the two blocks I managed to get finished- especially since I had to sit down and actually sketch out one of them from a picture I'd added to my favorites in Flickr. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. And the other one that I experimented on turned out to be a fun one too. It didn't quite match up to my plan in my head but I managed to "save it" with the addition of the yoyos in the center of the blocks. I love it when it all works out, don't you?

 

Tonight I played with my pompom makers while we watched Nebraska get their hearts broken by a literal last second field goal by Texas. I wish the offense had played better and they'd have walked away with an upset but there's always next year and they did SO much better than the "experts" expected so I guess I'll take that. My pompoms though? Totally fun. I hope to make a little project with them soon. This coming week I've got a list full of things to accomplish and hopefully enough time to get at least a good chunk of them checked off. I'm even going to schedule a bit of "down time" and plan to catch up on Glee. I've only watched the first episode but I've got them all saved and Miley keeps telling me that I absolutely have to watch. So I will. She's usually pretty spot on about what I'll like. Happy Sunday to you. Hopefully you'll get to relax and get ready for the upcoming week. I know that's what's on my schedule after church.

Have I Told You Lately?

that I have the most amazingly talented friends? Seriously people. How I ever got in with this bunch is beyond me. I'm constantly amazed at their ability to make and do and just be. A while back, I asked Denise to do a canvas with my favoritest dog in the whole world as the subject. I gave her a quick idea of what I had in mind and let her run with it. And run with it she did. It is perfection. When she brought it to me at bagels today it seriously took my breath away. I know the picture is cute (isn't it?!?!?) but when you see it in person? Stunning. And the words on the background of the canvas? A little story in French all about the amazing Roscoe. :) LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I brought it home and quickly put it in a place of honor in my studio where I can see it perfectly from my desk. :) I still say whoever says money can't buy happiness doesn't know where to shop. You can find little bits of happiness for sale right here, my friends! I think there's still time for a custom order or two before the holiday madness sets in...

No, it wasn't that dirty...

Goodbye, Nigel. Hello, Ivan. A few years younger with a few more options and a lot less miles at about the same cost. Nigel was my very favorite car, ever. And when you've had as many cars as we have, that's saying something. It seemed perfectly logical to look at the newer version of the car I adored so we did. I'm excited to get to know this one. It's very much the same with a few new twists. Fun. It was a quick trip to KC without a stop at Nell Hills (seriously? Why did they close at 6pm? Didn't they know I was coming to town? UGH!) We did stop at On the Border for guacamole live. YUM. Perfect ending to a very quick trip. Countdown to Christmas starts tomorrow! Can you believe it's the end of November already? Dang. It sure does go fast...

Top of the list...

These people. My people. My family. The only thing I can think of that I can never imagine regretting spending hard earned money on in terms of "things" would be the pictures that I have of our family. I moved a few things around today and hung a couple of canvases that I had originally planned to hang in the entry way. They speak to me. They remind me of what I value most. Forever. For Always. And no matter what...

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from me and mine!!! :)

p.s. this picture? An "out-take" of sorts. Roscoe's all laying on his back and twisted weird and we're all trying to be "serious" in spite of it... and it's perfect. SO us. Thanks Becky. :) In case I haven't told you lately...my photographer RoCkS!!!

I like to make things...

always have and I hope I always will. I've been trying to think of something to add to my "daily" routine for next year. I know I'll keep up with my photo a day but I think I'm going to commit to doing something creative every day. In my mind, I pretty much do that already but saying it out loud and tracking it will make it easier to "make sure" that I'm taking care of that part of me. Creating makes me happy. I love the thrill of seeing a project go from pieces and parts to completion. But maybe EVERY day is too much pressure? It doesn't have to mean I complete a project every day though- just that I did something creative that day even if it's part of a larger scale thing. Hmmmmmm... must continue to think on that one. 

 
The other day, I made a little "loyalty wallet" for some giftcards for a friend. I have a hard time giving "just" a giftcard. I don't want them to seem like I didn't want to take the time to search for the perfect gift. I know that a lot of times they're a preferred gift because it gives you the freedom to choose something you really love and I have to admit that I love "free money" and the ability to splurge on something I might not have otherwise treated myself to. Anyway, this is a  super quick and easy tutorial and a perfect way to dress up a giftcard with a little extra "just for you" touch. I think I'll be making a bunch of these for the holidays- I seriously did this one in about 20 minutes. Like I said, super quick and easy with a fun little result. :) 

I did manage to get the longarm completely up and running today and I'm about 1/3 of the way through my first "real" quilt on it. So far so good. It's got a steep learning curve but one that I'm beginning to think I will be able to master if I take my time and really develop my skills. It certainly isn't just pushing a button and watching it sew like Scott seems to think it is... :) Gotta love a boy who's all about the immediate gratification. Some things are worth spending the time on to get good at them and I'm pretty sure this is one of them. I'll show you the quilt when I get it all done. Maybe later today? Or maybe that's just wishful thinking...

p.s. here's the link for the tutorial... LOYALTY WALLET since I can't get the one above to work! Ugh! Technology can be SO frustrating sometimes!