HOLIDAY SPICE is now on Kindle

So if you want a HOT holiday, you might want to pick up this anthology on your kindle and curl up on the couch with a cup of cocoa then just wait for that warm holiday spirit to hit ;D.

HOLIDAY SPICE is only .99 cents this month. But remember this ISN'T a kids' book.

Other e-tailers will probably carry the book later in the month. http://www.amazon.com/Holiday-Spice-ebook/dp/B00GLEY2OY/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1384212470&sr=1-2&keywords=holiday+spice

My story is THE MESSENGER. 

DIY Wreath - Changing with the Seasons - Halloween to Christmas

It's so simple to live cheap and green. All you have to do is think "reuse", "repurpose" and "recycle". And I grew up doing that because in a house with nine kids, hand-me-downs was my way of life. New meant a new pair of shoes at the beginning of the school year--yep, one pair a year and I think I wore the same "gym" shoes for six years. I kept hoping my feet would grow so I could get a new pair. But anyway, back to this post about wreaths and refitting one thing to fit the next season.

Here's how this Christmas Wreath started out as a Halloween Wreath.

All I had to do to make the transformation was pull off the spiders and add large white pearl beads and a few rhinestones and rhinestone ribbon. It was that easy.

Oh and one floral pick with glittered apples and berries and a little holly to Christmasify the wreath.

Then I hung it back on the door and for about $2.00 I had an entirely different look to welcome visitors into my house for the holidays. See how simple it is to go from this:

to this:

So, if you've got access to a glue gun, load her up and morph that season into the next for very little cash but it will still be oh so cute.

Wishing you all, a Happy Holiday Season.

Button Wreath - DIY Ornaments

I grew up in a family with nine kids so Mom was always recycling, reusing and repurposing...before it was cool. One of the things I remember is Mom's button tin. When we wore things out - and I mean threadbare, holey, ripped and torn beyond recognition - then Mom would cut off the buttons and save them for later use.

I used to love to sit at the kitchen table and go through her buttons. It was like looking for buried treasure, searching for something beautiful in a pile of "usual" and "ordinary".

Today I still have a love for buttons. So when I was sitting home with a cold, I pulled out the pipe cleaners and started stringing buttons. Nothing special, just simple, ordinary buttons but I thought they looked pretty enough to hang on a tree. So I twisted the pipe cleaner and tied a ribbon on the top. . .

Now, I'm just waiting for Christmas so I'll have someplace to put this :D

"Sew" simple and yet it brings back old memories.

Three - Day Holiday Weekend Rolling In - Veteran's Day

It's not just a weekend to go shopping in the malls. There's some real history behind having Monday off from work. It's the 11th day of the 11th month...

History of Veterans Day

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

I hope you all have a happy holiday weekend and that you get time to spend it with family and friends and take a moment to remember the heroes. 

Nail Addiction - Thanksgiving Nails

So, I'm trying different styles until I come up with the look that I really like for the holidays. And it's not easy because I've always been a bit of a Tomboy.  My husband laughs when I try different things and thinks I go a little far off the realm of average for style...maybe because I don't really have one...a sense of style that is. But it doesn't matter because I have fun playing around with the polish, paint and ...yep, glitter.

Today I took out the glitter pots and started painting. The first coat was a simple orange color that would be perfect for the Thanksgiving Holiday all on its own but, as is my motto, I always say why leave a good thing alone...?

Just ask my kids. They always say I work hard to come up with a good recipe and then when I do, I ruin it, by trying to make it "better". But, believe me, when I do make a recipe better...it is the BEST. So, I keep at it...playing around and trying to improve upon good enough. Things won't always work, not everything is going to be better, but nothing risked is nothing gained...right? And this is one easy way to make the holidays sparkle ;D

More Holiday Nails - Thanksgiving

I wanted to try some new nail designs so this is how I did it.

First I painted a topcoat on my nails.

And then I started painting them white.

Then I tried a couple different applications. One I used tape-strips to create a striped effect.

The others I painted each nail a different color and then I did my little turkey.

Of course the googly eyes make it :D

And my daughter thought it looked like a penguin...so it helps if you have better art skills - but I thought it was fun.

Tuesday Thanksgiving Nails

So I guess I jumped a season ahead and went straight to Christmas without giving Thanksgiving its due. That's the reason I started searching the internet for ideas about Thanksgiving Nails.

Here's what I came up with:

Aren't these little turkeys cute? If you want to read more about them, click here

Or here's another idea:

Or yet still another:

Now, I want to come up with my own... I'm thinking....

Christmas Countdown has Begun - Holiday Nails

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat...won't you please put a penny in the old man's hat?
If you haven't got a penny, a half-penny will do, if you haven't got a half-penny God Bless You!

That's an old poem I remember from my childhood. I still love to celebrate every holiday and even more I love to decorate. So, I begin with my fingernails. Red and white...candy cane nails is easy to do.

First I paint my nails red.

Then using French manicure white polish, I paint a little line at the top.

Then, if one line is a little too thick, I touch it up with a little more red...it's fun, it's easy and it reminds me of the upcoming holiday.

The Morning After

Halloween has come and gone again . . . I always feel a little depressed the day after.

It's not just taking down the decorations and putting away the costumes, it's also having a bit of a stomach ache from eating some of the leftover treats...what am I talking about...? There weren't any leftovers, I just ate them before anyone got to them.

And now, we start into the real holiday season...or the gift giving frenzified time of the year. I'm going to try to make some of my gifts. So, knitting, baking, and sewing here I come...

How bout you? How do you feel after Halloween?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This is my favorite Halloween image of all time.

I hope you all get a chance to watch a good Halloween movie, eat some treats and have a Happy Halloween.

...What's Behind the Curtain

Have you ever wanted to bake a cake or cook a special homemade pan of macaroni and cheese...from scratch? Well, if you've ever tried to surprise someone when you're cooking, you know it isn't easy. The wafting aromas bring people into the kitchen and what's the first thing they do...? Yep, they peek in the oven. But...if you have a pretty linen, you can hang it on the door and have it act like a curtain. Then you can tell them, "NO PEEKING!"

The aromas might still give away the surprise but you'll still have the fun of saying, "Pay no attention to the man...I mean, what's behind the curtain." And, if you've ever watched The Wizard of Oz, you'll know what an important line that is ;D

And of course it helps if the linen is an antique hand-stitched beauty.

Each one of these stitches is a small work of art. Women used to make these linens for everyday use. I guess it was before T.V. and the internet . . . but still I find it awe...mazing. And, I look for special purposes for these old beauties.

So, the next time you're baking and want to add a little extra-special anticipation, try an oven curtain.

Popcorn Balls

It's easy and inexpensive to make popcorn balls. And if you add orange food coloring and a few candy decorations, you can make fun food for Halloween. (I don't mean you should give these out to trick-or-treaters - but you can give it to your family and friends)

Here's the recipe from Paula Deen's website:

2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon white vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar - because that's what I had on hand)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
18 cups popped corn

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, syrup, vinegar, and salt. Cook over high heat until mixture reaches 255 degrees F (hard-ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Stir in vanilla. Pour over popped corn, tossing gently to coat. When mixture is cool enough to handle (and be careful because HOT sugar can burn badly), press popcorn into 3-inch balls with lightly greased hands. Cool completely on waxed paper.

(My candy thermometer was missing - think my daughter 'borrowed' it - so I tested the syrup by dropping a bit in a cup of cold water - to see if it was at the hard-ball stage).

Vintage Linens Repurposed

I love vintage linens but a person can only have so many table runners. So what can you do with a beautiful hand-crafted linen with beautiful French knots? Super simple...sew it and give it a new life as a pillow.

I took the fabric and laid it out to look it over.

Then I positioned the stuffing on top to make sure I had enough to make a pillow.

Then I turned the fabric inside out.

The edges were fairly frayed but that's okay. I simple sewed it around the edges - with the outside on the inside.

Then I stuffed the pillow and sewed up the edge.

Isn't it pretty on the front room chair?

Scary Nails

I love Halloween and I love silly decorations. Here's how I made these scary nails.

I took some French manicure white fingernail polish and painted it on thick. Then when the policy was nearly dried I stuck little wiggly eyes into the polish to hold the eyes in place. If the eyes aren't sticking, simply use a clear top coat of polish to hold them in place.

An Apple A Day

In the fall, I love caramel and apples and of course they go so well together. But after a long day at work, I don't like standing over a hot stove cooking so this is how I make quick caramel apples.

I wash off a couple of apples and stick some wooden sticks down in the core.

Then I take a bag of caramels and put them in a wide mouth coffee mug and melt them in the microwave (but first I add a few tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk). When the two components are well blended I dip the apples into the caramel and set them on waxed paper to harden as they cool.

But of course I can't just leave it like that. I have to use cookie sprinkles to dress the apples for Halloween.

And I only feel a little bad about eating these apples because doesn't the old saying tell us, "Eat an apple a day and keep the doctor away..."

So these treats are half good, in my opinion ;D

Zombie Run at Blue Lake

Zombie Run at Blue Lake on October 26, 2013. This is an untimed 5k fun run...well, if you can call being chased by zombies fun.

I'm thinking of doing this run but I'm afraid...and not of zombies but of being slow, too slow to get away from zombies (and remember zombies are supposed to be slow).

See, I'm not a fast runner...I'm a long-distance runner. So, maybe I'd make a better zombie than a "human". I'm still thinking about it because it looks like fun.

If a person is a "human", they get three flags and they have to try to avoid the zombies who will be trying to snag the flag. But, if a person signs up to be a zombie, they get a make over and I'm not talking a beauty makeover, this isn't a good makeover - it's a zombie transformation. That all sounds like fun...doesn't it?

Seattle

We spent a few days in Seattle. It was beautiful...especially at night.

And another angle

Making Monsters

My daughter, Fatina and I went to a pottery place to celebrate Fatina's birthday. We each picked out a piece of pottery and then we sat and painted them.

I picked a monster...mwha-ha-ha

My daughter picked a mug and so did Fatina

Then Pottery Fun fired the pieces and the glaze turned glossy

I filled my monster's mouth with suckers--perfect for Halloween :D

Run Like Hell Portland, Oregon October 20, 2013

Today was the perfect day for a run. Not to hot. Not to cold (except at the start when we were waiting around for the emcee to say "Run Like Hell!")

I thought I'd just share some of the photos I took from the race. Now, remember some of these people were running by me so fast that they are only a blur... ;D

The Book Fairy was waving her wand before the start to give us all a little wisdom on how to run the race.

Then we all had to wait around for the start. So we were checking our phones to see what time it was and how much longer until the start.

And then it was nearly time to Run Like Hell. There were normal looking folk and super heroes, fairies, and even gnomes running around.

I saw all sorts of get-ups. I even saw Mario

Lots of people running together and plenty running on their own.

Tons of tutus and some that I didn't even know what they were.

Capes and masks of all sorts.

Little devils and even some angels

People were having fun on this Halloween-themed run.

 Love the high-five at the finish line :D !

All in all, it was a great way to spend a day.