The Wonder's of Technology

I was on Facebook Saturday morning around 5:30 a.m. As I was scrolling through the updates, my chat box popped open. It was my nephew who is currently in the USMC. He is stationed in Afghanistan and I haven't heard from him in months. 

I was beyond thrilled to have that quiet time in the early hours to just sit and chat with him. He was able to be on and off with me for close to an hour and a half. He was such an adorable little boy. 

Why do they grow up so fast? He has grown into a fine young man that the whole family is very proud of. 

At one point, I was able to get my Mom on the phone and she was able to tell me what to say to him from her. He would give me answers back to let her know. 

(Jake at Mom's house one Christmas. He's on the left)

It is beyond my comprehension that through the marvels of modern technology we are able to hear from our loved ones who are continents away as if they are just in the next room.

It was an awesome experience and just totally made my day. Mom was over the moon to get to "hear" from him. I asked if he needed anything and in true family tradition he wants some Doritos and Funyuns. Guess I'll be putting together a care package this week. 

How Pinteresting

I can't remember the last time I was on Pinterest. I am looking for some new ideas to do for decorations. I found this and thought it would be cute for my pink and blue bathroom. It is a Christmas tree made from a bottle brush and put in a teacup.

I wish I had a steady enough hand to do this myself. How cute would this be for Christmas parties. 

I am doing my kitchen in aqua and red this year. I have a lot of aqua but need to find a good tablecloth to try to incorporate some red. I really love this one I saw on Pinterest. It is from Kohl's which is where I buy all my tablecloths.



I am on the hunt for some vintage reindeer for some decor ideas this year. I have seen them at yard sales all year and now that yard sales are over I decide I should have bought them.



This one may be a little tacky looking but I absolutely love it, especially with the aqua and red in it.



I wish I had decided on this vintage Christmas earlier in the year. One yard sale had the Christmas carol book like I had when I was little. I should have bought it.



I need to find me a blackboard so I can do something like this for Thanksgiving.



Talk about easy decor for your Thanksgiving table. I love the bowl with the pinecones.



This would be easy to do and it would smell awesome.



The problem with Pinterest is one thing leads to another and you can't seem to stop yourself. I'm going to quit for now. Lots to do today. The major item on my list is to go to Kohls to look for a new Christmas tablecloth. And to stop by a little antique store that might have some of the vintage deer. Hope everyone has a great day.

Running late today...

I normally write my posts first thing in the mornings. I have been so busy today that I'm just now getting a chance to post. I've been on here looking at some of the deals at Kohl's and Target. Going to head that way tomorrow. One thing on my list is a new candy thermometer. Mine broke and I use it when I make my fudge at Christmas. This is a must to replace. 

I need to buy a new 9 x 13 cake pan. Mine is just about worn out. I don't want a Teflon one anymore. They wear out too fast and get too many gouges from knife marks of cutting cakes while they are in the pan. I'd love to have one like this. 

I need to start stocking up on cookie tins to give as gifts to the ones who appreciate my home baked goods.

I need to make a list for my Thanksgiving menu and find out what desserts everybody wants for Thanksgiving.

Of course, hubby and I are in the middle of our annual "which brand ham do we want to get" debate. I always let him pick the turkey (usually Butterball) because I don't eat turkey. But I am very opinionated when it comes to my ham. My favorite is Virginia Tavern Ham if we can find one.

Lots of planning for the holidays coming up. I just love this time of year.

Shedding a little light...

These past couple of years, I have become obsessed with lamps. I like them in all sizes and place them all over the house. Right now I have 9 lamps I use and one that is a vintage milk glass lamp that needs a shade so I'm not using it anywhere yet. For the past several weeks, I've been working at hubby's desk in the living room during the evening. For some reason, I just do not like sitting at that desk.

Last night, I wondered if a lamp would help out any. So I moved some things around and got a basket for all our coupons and mail instead of the wire tray. I also dug out a little basket to hold our keys instead of just tossing them on the desk like we do now. I am very pleased with the results and ended up sitting at that desk till well after midnight last night.

What a difference a lamp and a couple of baskets makes. 

In the mood to sew...

In my new effort to come out of my comfort zone with coordinating fabrics, I am going to try to do some pillows for Christmas. Thinking about pairing this pretty cardinal with the material that says Red Cardinal on it. This will be for my bed during the Christmas season. 

I love this neutral ornament material and I think I will pair it with the gold/green swirl for a throw pillow for the living room. 

And I think I will pair the reindeer with the red and white stripe.

Stay tuned for updates.

Going out of my comfort zone....

Do you ever get in a rut and do things the same way over and over because that was the traditional way? I am like that with decorating. I never mixed patterns and I never mixed colors that weren't normally together. A perfect example is Christmas. I either do my kitchen in red and green or I change it up and do it in blue and white snowflakes. 

This year is going to be different. I am stepping outside the box and doing it in red and blue. It all started with a Pyrex bowl.....

And a dish towel....

I received the Pyrex snowflake Garland bowl in a trade. I loved it so much that I thought I would do my kitchen in snowflakes this year...thus insuring a blue and white kitchen for Christmas. THEN my friend Stevie Marie, posted these cute dish towels she did in red and green and I fell in love with the hot chocolate cups because I drink it all winter long. So I went to see Stevie and requested a dish towel in blue and white. She didn't have snow flakes but she is very created and I love the way she matches things I would never thing to match. With the help of her and her mama, they convinced me Christmas doesn't have to be red and green or blue and white. You can combine both. So I gave the okay and the did me a dish towel and I fell in love.

I draped it over my Pyrex snowflake pieces to see what I thought.  

I was beginning to like this blue and red in the kitchen together for Christmas. Then I went onto Pinterest to look for Thanksgiving decor and this popped up on the home screen.

And this morning as I was looking at blogs, I saw this. 

And this was on another site I went to.

I am now convinced I am onto something with this new theme for my kitchen. I found these Santa cups by Pyrex on Ebay and I'm thinking about getting them. 

And I didn't know that Pyrex did Christmas ornaments. I must have these for a little tree in my kitchen.

My sister bought this set of dishes for her Christmas table a couple of years ago when she visited me. The antique store that carried them still has tons of them so I want to go back and get a set for my Christmas table. 

I am so happy that I have my Christmas theme now. I can't wait until after Thanksgiving so I can start decorating. 

Some Christmas thoughts...

I know it's not Christmas, but it is time to start planning on Christmas crafts I want to make and on decor. Hubby and I were discussing yesterday that we weren't going to fool with putting lights up on the house this year for Christmas. With his legs, it is hard for him to climb up and down a ladder. So we decided we are just going to look for a little tree we can tie bows on and put on the porch.

 

We also decided to put a wreath up on the front door.


Maybe something cute like this for the table on the porch. It would be so easy to make.



I saw some cute ideas on Pinterest as well for some things I would like to make this year. I would prefer to use a thin Christmas ribbon instead.




I would want a Santa key to put on it.



I would like to make these if we ever had enough cold temp for them to survive. You fill a balloon with color water, freeze it then pop the balloon and remove it.



I want to make myself one of these t-shirts or sweatshirts. I think they are so cute.



I guess I need to get busy and plan what all I want to make.