Tags.....

My Christmas show at Piecemakers Quilt shop is this weekend and I needed some tags for my dolls...something I could perforate and tear off the bottom and still have a cute tag left for the customer....so I bought a box of shipping tags....5 bucks for like 100 of them..CHEAP....sewed a line along the bottom and then added the candy canes and bakers twine...

Perfect...I can tear off the price and still there is a cute tag left and I didnt have to break the bank.....
Now what to do with the rest of those tags. I had seen this idea on pinterest so I went outside and gathered up some stuff and went to town...and now I will have tags for all my presents...

The possibilties are really endless...you can use whatever you can gather or have laying around..and just use whatever ribbon or twine...I used a lot of bakers twine but use what you have.

I think they are really cute and really frugal....and who doesnt like frugal????

A first..............

This is the first time I have ever got my tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving......it will probably be the last...but it feels GREAT!!!!!!

When it rains it pours.......

This is what my youngest passed out at Thanksgiving Dinner...........so now BOTH my girls are pregnant at the same time. Tracey is due April 15th and Chelsey is due June 14th.........could I be any more blessed?

Sad.......

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday...bar none....what Im sad about is that the day after Thanksgiving its all about Christmas and I have to take down all my fall....I love my house best in fall, the colors, its warm...inviting, I love everything about fall and Thanksgiving. I DO NOT want to put away fall!!!!!!!

I will be having right about 16 for dinner Thursday....normally its more but my sister and her family are going to her husbands familys....but there are always last minute straglers too, there is always an open door here!!!!

I made this runner last spring but the colors remind me off fall....

I found this precious picture at an antique store up in Washington when I was visiting a dear friend years ago....I LOVE it!!!! and the little acorn candle holder compliments it I think.

This is my dining room....very simple...

This bowl is really a covered cake plate,you just turn it upside down.. they sell them at Crate and Barrel, you can use it also as a punch bowl, or in this case, I put pine cones in it. I will leaves pinecones in it for Christmas and just change out the wreath around the base to Christmas....

My table is very simple.....I love Ina Garten and I take her advice, some flowers, some seasonal fruit...some votive candles and you are set. I also sprinkled some candy corn around the pumpkins for fun....

So today hubby and I took a drive up to our local mountains, Big Bear Lake. Its about an hours drive from here and its beautiful. There was snow on the ground but it must have been about 75 degrees, the sun was warm!!!! We had a great time....

This is a home made marshmellow we got at a darling shop where we had it...along with cinnamon apple pie lattes, which was one of the best lattes I have ever had!!!! Kris blogged about this place and we had to stop...she also blogged about the best burger on the mountain at Pierre and Blancas, and she didnt lie, it was amazing!!!!

Well....tomorrow the whirlwind will start, the baking will commence...the turkey will get stuffed and the potatos mashed.....families will gather around the table and share good times. I will miss my oldest, but she will be sharing Thanksgiving with my best friend and her family 3,000 miles away, but she, and they, will be right here in my heart....

I found out that my oldest daughter will be having a girl...I could not be happier for them. Her husband wants to name her Ravi...which means sun...because their whole world will revolve around her....that made me tear up!!! Im sure the name will change a million times, but for them...life is about to take on a whole new meaning.

Im so thankful for this bloggy world...I have made so many friends..to all of you, have a perfectly wonderful Thanksgiving!!!! Im sure it will be a 3 ring circus here, and that just the way I like it....

Blessings to all of you my friends, you make life rich!!!!!

a little too much fun.....

Playing with dolls over here.....lol...and having a little too much fun!!!!

I love the way this one turned out....going to be hard to part with her....

I made a Santa...but its not as much fun so I think I will stick to Annies..

My show is in a couple of weeks....luckily Im sharing the booth so it wont matter that Ive been slacking in the doll dept....Im just having too much fun right now and not sewing enough!!!!

I have been challenged to do the 30 things Im grateful for....so heres my version...
now let me start by saying Im not going to include all the normal things like God, hubby, family, friends, etc...that all goes without saying and would take up my whole list...truly Im blessed beyond measure in those depts. and I know it....but Im going to list the things that Im grateful for on an every day basis..THIS YEAR..this might give you a better glimpse into my life:)
These are in no particular order:
1. wheat chex....I start my day with these EVERY day for 20 years....wouldnt change!
2. my BFF.....if only we lived closer....
3. leggings
4. Mel...my hairdresser...without whom I would be lost
5. starbucks...skinny cinnamon dolce latte please..no foam
6. the sun
7. bare minerals...to take away the sun spots
8. my cutco scissors...I use them everyday from trimmimg roses to cutting chicken
9. my french vanilla coffee creamer
10. my Iphone
11. that I get to see my granddaughter whenever I want to
12. my new calcium pills that are like gummy bears...I never forget to take them!
13. Uggs
14. that my dog is healthy and thriving as a diabetic
15. my keurig
16. my donut maker
17. that my husband makes my tea every morning and brings it to me in bed, as he has for 28 years...
18. indoor laundry room
19. teavana
20. that both my daughters call me every day and say that Iam their best friend.
21. Marie Callenders corn bread mix
22. that I still hang with my high school girls and we still have just as much fun
23. that I can hike in the preserve and still make it to the top
24. clairol root touch up.....omg so thank ful!!!
25. not having to make 3 of everything!!!!!! lol
26. that Im going to be a grandma again!!!
27. that I still have all my teeth...lol
28. facebook.....what a gift
29. that I feel like a kid again when I play with my granddaughter
30. that in this season of my life...right now...Im happy. I know that seasons change, and stuff happens, but right now....right here....is exactly where I want to be!!!

there are SO many more things I could add...but this is just a fun list of things that make me happy right now!!!

whats on YOUR list???????

My fav month!!!

Out with Halloween...in with my favorite month!!!!!

I dont have nearly the decor for Thanksgiving as I do for Halloween but the simplicity is welcomed after the clutter.....

I have so much to be thankful for this year....the last couple of years were not good at all...aside from the light of my life...Stella...we had some rough spots. We lost my husbands father...in the process it was a year of trying to figure out how to take care of him when he was 4 hours away....disagreements with family members over his care...and finally the worse kinds of betrayals. BUT in the end....at the moment of his death...there was victory because we know in all certainty where he is. and those family members.......no longer even occupy a space in our heads....which took awhile...but there is victory there too!! It has been a year now....and we are so at peace! Sometimes you have to let go of toxic people...and it feels so good!
Last year was also a year of letting go of some toxic relationships...(I hesitate to say friendships)...you know what Im talking about...drama..competition...back biting...jealousy..all these things that do not belong in true friendship. At my age I know what true friendship is...and I cherish it. Im so thankful for my BFF (with whom I have NEVER had a fight....well...one almost...lololol) and all my dear friends, old and new that I depend on and love. my group of high school friends that still hang together after all these years and still act like teenagers....friends from my 20s, 30s, 40s, and now 50s...that have always been there for me thru good and bad and ugly. New bloggy friends that are so much fun...and drama free!!!!!

Now dont get me wrong....this release of the toxic has not been easy..and theres still some days when I think about how my husbands brother betrayed him and I want to lash out.....or I think of how a friend betrayed me and I want revenge...but these days have turned into fleeting moments, and I reconize them and release them before they take a foothold again.

I dont usually get so personal on my blog....forgive me, but Im so full of Thanksgiving for how far I have come and how free I feel with all this behind me. This time of year seems to always invoke these feelings of Thanksgiving...and I plan to celebrate everyday the gifts I have been given!

My oldest daughter has been living on the east coast and working in New York for the last 5 or 6 years. She has never been interested in having children (shes 37) and her career has always been her priority. When she flew out here 18 months ago, and held her new little baby niece in her arms for the first time...she felt a stirring....an awakening so to speak....and now she is 4 months pregnant with her first baby. This was as much as a surprise to her as it was to all her family..that she would ever want a baby...but miracles do happen and as happy as I was...I ws also sad to have her so far away. Well...here comes the second miracle....she was offered a position at the corporate headquarters in Seattle....BACK ON THE WEST COAST!!!! yes its still a flight to see her...but a much shorter one....to have her back on the west coast, Im so thankful.

So for this season in my life....life is awesome! I know these seasons can change, but I will enjoy everything this one has to offer!

and speaking of bloggy friends...lol...I just happened to be chatting with one and she mentioned to me how COLD those annies in the basket must be without any cloths....did she have to come here and take care of it??? LOLOLOL..well...heres the first of them all dressed, just for you girlfriend....the others will soon follow...thank you for your concern...and thank you for your friendship!!!

SO friends...what are YOU thankful for this Thanksgiving season???????

When you need a little inspiration....

You go to your LQS...which in my case is Stars and Scraps....the best shop around!!!!
I needed some fabric.....and some fun....so thats where I headed. The owner there is the sweetest gal...always ready to help...or just chat..
lots of local bloggers frequent this store...its just always different and always lots of little kits which I like!!!! OH and did I mention how friendly they all are????? So check it out if you are in the area! who knows who you may run into!!!

As always there are darling little kits.....

and now that I have some holiday fabric....

I can dress these naked gals....its getting cold here in So Cal...we even got snow in our mountains!!!

So after Stars....hubby and I headed up to Riverside....this is the Mission Inn...starting to get dressed for the holidays.

CANNOT miss eating at Simple Simons, simply the BEST sandwiches around...they bake their own bread and its to die for!!!

I always get the same one....BLATT...bacon, lettuce, avacado, tomato and turkey!!!!

OK so I had a little party for about 25 of my friends....and as soon as the door bell rang I got so busy these were the only pictures I got!!!!!

I got the idea for these from marthas new book...individual crudite...dont have to worry about double dippers!!!!

Like I said...I got NO pictures and at the very end I at least got ONE....these 2 are gals that I went to high school with...Im so sad I didnt get more...but it was a loud raucous party and just way too much fun to think about taking pics!!!

So now I need to get busy...I have a show in 3 short weeks and no dollys made yet....except a few naked ones....so up to my sewing room I go!!!!

Stay warm friends!!!!!

LOL.....

BEFORE trick or treating....

AFTER trick or treating.....lolololol

Stella...........and her entourage....lololol

Im having a party tonight for all my friends...so Im busy making yummy goodies for them, but I wanted to show you a picture of Stella before her photo shoot. She got called to model a new line for Gwen Stefani's Harajuku clothes for kids by Target....she is surrounded by gals doing her hair and primping her....and loving it...lololol....its not a good picture but you get the idea. I gotta say these clothes are adorable too!!!!

More tomorrow after my party.....