Just a slice, please

Friday Furnishings..

For those of you who know me, you know that I am totally in love with Interior Design.  If my pocket book allowed, I would have a home full of quirky antiques mixed with modern Anthropologie finds with a little Pottery Barn (just because, seriously, they do it sooo well!) thrown in for good measure.  The last time I walked through Anthrolopogie I left with a tear in my eye.  True story.  They just "Get me".  I save Pottery Barn catalogs like others save books...as things retire and I haven't been able to buy them I feel a wistful longing...like a little piece of me has died...I may sound dramatic, but I take this furnishings thing seriously.  Sadly, my budget hasn't allowed for several years, the feathering of my nest.  So I've made do with some old favorites.  This time of year especially, when I actually "decorate" things is bit more fun for me as I can switch things up...make new stuff here and there...but here are a few old favorites that made the cut this year for the Thanksgiving decor..

 

I've had the garland behind the "give thanks" banner for about 15 years.  I love it...the pumpkins, the leaves...it's like no other garland I've ever seen...the "give thanks" banner I made last year for my Little Red Scrapbook DT.

 

The ceramic pumpkins here (and on my other mantle) have been part of the fall rotation for about 10 years now.  I'm so happy they've survived all our moves and have gone on to live with these cute pilgrims I grabbed on sale about 3 years ago at Home Goods.

 

The felt applique pillow here (and it's friend on the other side of the couch) have lived with us for about 7 years now.  I added the cute orange cordoury pillows this year as a quick little find at Walmart.

 

The little pilgrims on this mantle have been with us for about 12 years and the beautiful turkey platter, a last minute score off ebay years ago, complete my dining room mantle.  

And while I *could* be shopping and adding to my collections, I do love these old friends so very dearly.  I love that the kids will now know the story of where they came from, too, now that I've taken the time to write it all down.  I hope that someday, the girls will find joy in decorating like I do.  I feel like it's a really special way to really be present, to change up the environment in my home.  If my home were static, it would be boring...and we can't have boring, now can we?

Do you have anything special that you bring out for the fall holiday?  Am I the only one who decorates for Thanksgiving?

16 loads of laundry later..

I am feeling quite accomplished!  Never mind that it was my neglect that led to the massive laundry fest in the first place.  Never mind that I *had* to start the laundry because I couldn't even walk into my laundry room without tripping over piles of towels or having some rouge pair of panties attach themselves to me...I put "Do Laundry" on the list as if it was just some normal occurance instead of the monumentous task it really was...and the sad thing is, I still have about 6 more loads to go...

at least the piles are now folded and mostly put away...an even greater sense of acccomplishment!  Which all leads to the ultimate goal of not feeling guilty scrapping today!  I have a date with one of these..

Wish me luck!  I'll be sure to share the outcome when I'm done!

Today I'm inspired by: 4 on the 4th...

This amazing Family Tree by Gennifer...I sooo want one!!!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33689112

These fabric pinwheels...OMG.

http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/portabellopixie/

This fabric garland...I totally need to make one.

http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/2009/10/vintage-recycled-whatnot-holiday.html

The clocks at Pottery Barn, especially these...  I totally <3 clocks!!!

Leave me a note and let me know what you think about my inspiration post!

Have a great day!!

A new way of thinking...

I decided last night, in bed, on my iphone, to sign up for Shimelle's "Blogging for Scrapbookers" online class.  I did it on a whim, after reading someone else's blog, but mostly because I've been sort of getting bored with my blogging.  Finding interesting things to say without saying too much has been an issue...lately, I've been feeling like I have too much information about me and my family here on the blog that I've been keeping since 2005..but at this time I can't bring myself to take it down, either.  So I've been really making a conscious effort to watch what I say and what I post...Shimelle's blog prompt today really hit home.  Soo...I am going to be approaching this blog a little differently from now on, and I hope I like doing it this way...but as I sit here trying to find a picture to post for the prompt, I am already stumped..how do I keep anonymity for my family but still talk about them?  What do I do with all the old posts?   

I'm a little unsure of things now...but here's the "real" post..

This picture was taken three years ago during a trip up the coast I took with my oldest friend.  We were on Pebble Beach, doing the 16 Mile Drive and had gotten out to snap some photos.  We were feeling the need to leave our mark on the world...

The interesting back story was how we got on this trip in the first place...It was our 40th birthday present to ourselves...and we were coming out of the fog of having babies, her divorce, my move away, and various other life issues and we needed to reconnect as only girlfriends can.  Sitting in the car for hours on end, just solving the world's problems and laughing at the lazy cows was just what we needed to rejunvinate our souls.  To be women, girlfriends, best friends on a journey...not someone's mommy, chauffeur, housekeeper, nose wiper, wife, ex wife, scout leader, employee, room mom, basically, anyone of the MANY hats we wear for others.  This trip was for US.  We had very little money to take the trip, and budgeted very carefully so that we could enjoy ourselves to the fullest.  We ate fancy food and completed conversations at the same time, we went wine tasting, wine drinking, site seeing and had massages and pedicures.  We shopped and laughed and cried and laughed some more.  But the best part, was the realization that we are still writing our story together.  Kirs had brought along our old journal for the trip.  It was a little notebook we used to pass back and forth and write to each other in when we were 15 and 16 years old.  In it, we pondered boys, cheer squad, which party to go to on Friday night and how to get around curfew.  What outfit to wear, who kissed who and how much we drank...and we pondered if 25 years from then, if we'd still be taking on the world together.  And on this day, on the beach...we sure were!  What a celebration of friendship...there are no vows we take to be BFF's, unlike in marriage.  Your BFF is just someone who is there with you to conquer the WORLD together...to write our names in the sand, the dust, for all times.  Yes, Thelma and Louise were here...together!

Pumpkin Patch!

Well, we finally got to the pumpkin patch today!  It almost didn't happen though.  The kids were totally bickering and fighting right before we were set to leave.  Eric and I were both so annoyed that they were acting up right as we were about to go do something as a family that we almost didn't go.  But the kids hadn't seen my parents in over a month, so we didn't want to punish them, however, they did get lectured the whole half an hour drive out there...anyway...the rest of the day was lovely!  We started meeting Grammy and Papa at Eggs and Things (our favorite breakfast restaurant!) for brunch, then headed to the patch right down the road from there...it was a *real* pumpkin patch!

 

It's been a long time since we've been to a proper patch where the pumpkins actually grow in the ground, lol.  It was totally fun to run around and find the perfect pumpkin!

 

 

Soo much fun...and one shot together...never mind Eric's funny the sun is in my face smile, lol!  It goes in the scrapbook anyway. HA!  

 

I love days that include stuff like this...it was worth it...so worth it...the kids loved the patch and begged to go back there again next year!  And we sooo will!  Hope your weekend is going well, too. :-)

We have a winner! (well, all of you are winners in my book ;)

I put all the names in a bowl, and let Cammy pick one...the name she chose is...

 

Lorry, my Little Red Scrapbooking friend, please email me at wespiegels@aol.com with your land addy so I can get your stamps in the mail!  Thank you to everyone who posted what you are grateful for...it has been a rough year for so many people, and I am thankful that you took the time to share your gratitude here...and that I can count each of you as friends!  Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

I'm celebrating and the present is for one of you!

While I tend to be a very positive person and try to find something good in every day, today is just a special day!  So I'm celebrating!!  Tomorrow is the 4th anniversary of me being a member on the LittleRedScrapbook.com  member board!  The group of ladies over there are just the most supportive, loving and positive women I've ever encountered on the web.  We have all shared life's ups and downs and are there for each other.  (I've met several of the ladies IRL, too, which is amazing and hope to see more of everyone in the not so distant future! )  I've been on the DT there for a little more than 2 years now and I just love, love, love being a part of the LRS family.   :-)

The other reason I have to celebrate is that I have two layouts in this magazine this month!

 And not just *any* layouts...Hanukkah layouts!  You Jewish Scrapper friends of mine know this is a BIG deal!  I am so proud of Scrapbooks etc. and the effort they made this year to include Hanukkah projects in their holiday issue...KUDOS to everyone over there...especially to Candi Gershon who I worked with on my two layouts!  Scrapbooks etc. YOU ROCK!!!

Soo....to celebrate all the goodness in my life I'm having a RAK!  All you have to do is post a comment here and tell me what you are thankful for this year and you could win this...

 Two sets of stamps to help you document the days that you celebrate, too!  I'll randomly pick a winner from the comments on Friday...

Thanks for stopping by today...and have a great day!

Maddie's new venture...

Maddie made these two necklaces for me today... Aren't they cute??? She's taking custom orders.... Email me for more info!

Thai Coconut Soup-YUM!

So, I was craving Tom Ka Khai soup tonight and went on a mission to find the ingredients after finding a recipe on Stephenie's Blog...I made some adaptations to it...Mine are in bold...
--4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
--1 can coconut milk (if you opt for the lite, you many want to add a drop of coconut extract to boost the flavor) I added an extra half a can later...
--4 limes (3 juiced, 1 for garnish) I used 4 TBS of lime juice
--1/2 tsp lime zest I left this out.
--1 red bell pepper, sliced in strips I left this out.
--4 oz sliced shitake mushrooms, cut in quarters I sliced 8 shitake
--1/2 pound extra firm tofu, cubed I've tried tofu many times and it never agrees with me, so I substituted chicken. It was frozen when I put it in and it cooked up nicely.
--2 garlic cloves, minced
--3 T fish sauce I used soy sauce
--1/2 tsp to 2 tsp red chili paste, to taste (you can use red chili flakes, too)
--1 tsp sugar 
--1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated I added 1 tsp ground ginger

I simmered it for about 1/2 hour, and it was DELICIOUS!

 

I served it over rice and had three bowls!  I highly recommend it!

October Little Red Scrapbook sneaks...

 

October's Little Red Scrapbook kit featured the very pretty Webster's Pages papers. Always a member favorite, the papers, to me, are so pretty I am always afraid to cut into them.  They look like they belong in a frame, not a scrapbook...so I was a little intimidated by this kit.  However, once I dug into it, the layouts I created are literally my favorites for MONTHS...I am so happy with the way this kit (Sara picks amazing embellishments) came together for my pages!!! It would be hard to pick only one favorite part of the kit, but I'll say that the Story tellers alpha is a favorite for sure! I'll share the sneaks of my layouts...can't wait to see what the other girls create, too...the kit was so jam packed I have a lot left over and I am sure there will be lots in the gallery I'll want to use as inspiration just to finish up the kit.