Help! I need a bucket.

I have had my Christmas tree since 2007 and every year I search for a tree skirt that is to my taste and affordable. The two somehow do not seem to go hand in hand. So last year I decided that I want to put my tree in a bucket instead. I looooooove that idea so much better than a tree skirt. I have a galvanized bucket that would be perfect, but it is a tad too small. This IS the year though! I will find my bucket. For now here are some 'trees in a bucket that I love.'

 

        

    

This is cute too....a tree in a basket...

Hopefully I will find something suitable soon because the tree is already up! Yay!

Happy Birthday Heather

Today we celebrate the birth of one of the most beautiful people I know. I have many pictures of my sister Heather, but I feel this one represents who she is.

Not only is she always the most beautiful person in any room she enters, but she has the kindest heart of anyone you'll meet. And chances are you WILL meet her! She is one of those people who makes a new friend anywhere she goes...literally. We were just out for dinner and drinks to celebrate her big day, and at both restaurants she came back from the restroom with new acquaintances! I don't know about you, but my goal in a public restroom is to get my business done and leave having touched the least amount of surfaces possible ( I have become a major germ-a-fob since having children.) And this girl is making friends in the bathroom! She can't help it...I'm pretty sure she gets this gift from my mom, she is pretty much the same way. I'm sure if you see her she will be wearing her beautiful smile...LIGHTING up the room. Even on a bad day, Heather is rarely seen without a smile. Oh yea, and she is one of those annoying people who has NO idea how AMAZING and GORGEOUS she is (another trait she must have learned from our mother.) Even as a child, Heather has always loved to get gifts (I think mostly because she loves the unwrapping process.) I can remember little Heather at Christmas time asking my grandparents if SHE could unwrap the gifts we gave them! haha But nothing makes Heather more excited than to give to others. She never pays a visit to my house without bringing something for me or my girls. On her birthday I left with a bag full of goodies for myself and my daughter, including a beautiful infinity scarf (something I had recently mentioned to her that I love.) Now that I'm thinking about it...she probably gets this from mom too! Geez Heather I never realized how much you are your mothers daughter...definitely a good thing.  My sister is a truly genuine, smart, beautiful, classy gal. And anyone would be honored to know her.

This is a picture that I love...Heather finally getting the coveted 'afternoon snuggle' with my daughter Maddie.


So Happy ??th Birthday (who's counting anyway) Heather! Thank you for being my wonderful sister.

Ladies and Gentlemen...I am ready to embrace the Christmas Spirit.

Blame it on the radio stations already playing Christmas music...blame it on my visit with the girls to my mom's house (which is already decorated for Christmas)...blame it on the fact that the last leaf on Claudia's tree is long gone...but it has actually happened. I am ready and excited to embrace the Christmas season. I am no longer in holiday purgatory. It has been a busy weekend so I haven't decorated yet, but I have been brainstorming and working on some small projects. Last April for my birthday, my brother got me this decorating book that I just never get sick of looking through. I felt kind of guilty looking through it in April so I tucked it away for a while. Now it is out and I find myself paging through it several times a day.

Matt figured it would be a good read but it would also make a pretty decoration...so smart! I am getting lots of good tips and inspiration from this book, more of which I will share in another (several) post.

Happy Decorating!

Last fall day?

When I looked out at my backyard first thing this morning I came to the realization that fall is really on it's way out. As some of you know,I have been really struggling with this season this year! As much as I look forward to fall and Halloween, I am usually so ready to start getting into the Christmas festivities by now! I believe this time last year I was fully decorated for Christmas already! This year has felt off to me and I feel like I am in holiday purgatory! I'm not feeling Halloween but I am not yet fully ready for Christmas...and you all know how I feel about Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure most people do not put this much thought into these things. But when I looked out and saw the gray sky and bare trees I realized that it is really time. I decided to leave it up to nature this year to settle my inner struggle with this season and so it is official... I will start decorating for Christmas when the very last leaf on Claudia's tree drops!

Almost all of the trees in my yard are bare and the ground is covered in leaves. When this last stubborn leaf joins the rest of them I will be fully ready to embrace the Christmas spirit. Who knows when that will be...could be tomorrow...could be next week. But when it happens I will be ready for it.  (I did sneak a visit to my FAVORITE antique store which is where I generally get all of my Christmas inspiration and have come up with some ideas for this season...more on that later.)

But for now I will just enjoy this dreary fall afternoon with a dreary fall afternoon must have....the perfect cappuccino.

Simple Shish-ka-Bobs

If I am being honest...there are not a lot of things I am good at cooking. My mom has always been an awesome cook and baker, unfortunately I did not spend enough time helping out in the kitchen growing up (something I definitely regret.) When I moved in with my husband the one thing that I knew I had to learn was my mother's spaghetti sauce. Although I closely followed her recipe my sauce tastes nothing like hers! How could that be? It turns out I have grown to really love my sauce...and so do some other people (luckily my husband is a fan..phew.) There are also some people who do not like it at all, namely my parents. Oh well, at least they're honest. For those of us who enjoy it, I am always searching for different ways to use my sauce other than the usual spaghetti, ravioli, stuffed shells, lasagna....etc. I found a recipe for shish-ka-bobs in Better Homes and Gardens that looked fairly simple....simple enough even for an amateur like myself. I tweeked it a little bit and used my meat sauce instead of  they're version which used a paste and some Italian seasonings. I simply used a frozen pack of Italian meatballs and warmed them up in a pot of my sauce. Then I  put the meatballs on the skewers, alternating them with cherry tomatoes and chopped zucchini. It was raining so we couldn't use the grill which would have been better, but instead I baked them in the oven and brushed some of my sauce over top of the shish-ka-bobs for the last five minutes they were cooking. So easy, right?!

And they look pretty too!