Glendale Glitters

A few days ago while my dad was here from Michigan we went to an annual festival in Glendale called Glendale Glitters. They close off a small section of the area and deck the trees with beautiful twinkling lights, vendors offer deliciously greasy fair food, and there are little activities for the kiddos. And with all this to do, what did my mom and I do? Shop of course!
I love this shot


Arizona Christmas trees!



I'd like to think Sam is saying "my mom's number one" :)


Our little family

My parents and me!


My mom and I got matching moonstone rings from a crystal shop


Jealous of Sam's cozy seat!


Cutest burrito I've ever seen!

One Year Ago...

We moved in to our first home!
It was a terrifyingly fabulous experience. The process of buying a home is a stressful one, but oh so worth it.


I love this cutout in the living room wall


Scoping it out

The first night we spent in our new home was an eventful one. Sam, Danny and I slept on an air mattress in the living room and the smoke detectors kept going off all night! Finally at 4 o'clock in the morning we called my dad in Michigan (it was 7 am there) and he told us to take the main one down that was tripping all the others to go off. Seems simple- but we were newbie homeowners! Now we can laugh about that story.

Click here, here and here to see what we've done with the place so far!

I can't believe it's already been a year. Our second Christmas in this house. Here's to many more :)

Taps Boutique Photos & Vendors!

Today was the Taps Lunchtime Boutique and I gotta say, margaritas and shopping is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Luckily my little booth was inside because it was cold outside (okay- Arizona cold- about 65 degrees but still...) My little set up was modest and small but I got some great feedback on what to make more of, and I sold a covered notebook before I was even done setting up!



There were some really great vendors too. I got a journal for my mom from Sanity Journals, an adorable line of all things journaling. I encourage you to check out her site, Carla is adorable and so sweet and her stuff is great for any writer or those who aspire to be. Her stuff will get you started!


And I can't wait to send out the Christmas cards I got from MaDnOtEs by Marsha! Marsha hand makes all of her cards which cover nearly every occasion, and if you can't find yours, she'll make it for you!

Beth from Boutique Solie was there too. she owns a cute little shop in Scottsdale offering both adorable and earth-friendly products. Check out those amazing feather earrings! She was wearing some and they almost looked like colored extensions from afar. Very cute and affordable stuff.




Robyne, the owner of Attitude Bath & Body Collection was there too with all her great stuff which is all wholesome, natural ingredient products like sugar scrubs, body butters and bath bombs. If you want to know what a bath bomb is, check out her site. You can even host a Girls Night In spa party with her. It's all seriously yummy stuff.

My dad leaves to go back to Michigan on Tuesday :( and then it will be back to work for me in my little after hours sweatshop! I revamped it by the way- let's just say I got that desk I wanted- pictures soon!

Living room Redo Part 1

Our house has a very open floorplan and our living room is a big open space that flows into the kitchen with a half wall you can see here.
We love this floor plan but big walls mean big things need to fill up the space!

At first we had this tiny little table for our TV that looked downright silly against that huge wall...

...And now with our new entertainment center, the wall is more proportional. What's not proportional is our 32" TV so now Danny has to get a new, bigger one. Poor guy!

We still have lots of work ahead filling the shelves and making curtains. If anyone has fabric suggestions, I'm open!
These glass bingo balls are the ones I got at Pier 1. I got letters that spell specific things, like ASHBY3.
Some of my less-embarrassing, grown up books :)
A view looking at the couches.

Remember The Nester's quote I put here? I was so over these clown pillows and ready to lighten the room with fresh, airy whites.
Subtle differences. the table that used to hold the Tv is now under the mirror at left, and the pillows have been taken off the couches. I'm thinking of making some new ones once I find the perfect fabric. Megan has a great tutorial over at Honey We're Home.

Our first home is coming along! Next up: My craft room/office/Danny's music room then the guest room. Any color suggestions for the guest room? What color room would you want to stay in on your vacation? Bright and fun or muted and serene?

Happy Thanksgiving!

..a day late.
We hosted our first Thanksgiving this year at our house which meant I took care of all the preparations and decor and my parents did the cooking. Trust me when I say everybody's probably thankful I didn't cook, and I figured Thanksgiving dinner wasn't exactly the time for learning!
The twine draped under the counter have 5 tags on it where I wrote things we are thankful for. When Sam's older I'll have him write them :)
We had two tables to fit everyone. One day I'll have my big 6-seater!


I made the poofs from the tissue paper Pier 1 Imports had wrapped my glassware in. I wanted orange and brown tissue paper but I could not find them anywhere. The tutorial for the glittered candlesticks can be found here.


Danny brought me this orchid... just because :)


Some of the fam. So thankful my dad (at right in purple) could be here from Michigan!


How cute are these print-outs I found online for FREE?! I can't remember which blog I found them on though :(


Thankful for having a hubby who's also my best friend!


Danny, his mom Millie, and our little Samster (notice his cute little Thanksgiving tee from Old Navy)


"Okay nana, enough kisses!"


Action shot of Danny carving the turkey. I just really liked my hair in this one ;)

This year has brought me so many blessings, that I will be working hard in 2011 to be deserving of them. I have the best parents whose selflessness and love have given me the best support system anyone could ask for, a husband so great I don't have to fake loving him so much, and a son who amazes me more & more each day. I'm thankful for our first home that we've been so cozy in almost one year now, and for our jobs that allow us to pay for it.
I hope everyone had a fabulous Turkey Day and that we were all reminded just how lucky we are! God bless!

A tiny bit festive...

One of my neighbors really needs to get in the holiday spirit.
I mean, c'mon decorate your yard already! ;)


Actually, this neighbor's yard has been in the news lately when they did the same thing for Halloween. It said in the article that their electric bills for the holiday months are around $800 a month! You can read the article here.

As for me, I can't even think about Christmas until Thanksgiving is over!

Adventures at Ikea!

Today we took a trek down to Ikea which is on the other side of Phoenix and that meant a looooong day for Sam. But when he wasn't throwing tantrums in the crazy carts that move horizontally as well as vertically (talk about a work out), I actually got a couple cute shots.

Mesmerized by color in the kids' area


Ahhhh... is it nap time yet?

Tomorrow we're painting! Tomorrow may be Monday, but it's a short week! Yay!

Quick Napkin Ring Tutorial

I found myself at a few different stores looking for napkin rings, and the ones I found were either the wrong color or way too expensive. (It's not like these are something I use in my daily life!)
So I took an empty paper towel roll laying on the counter, and went with it.

What you need:
Empty paper towel roll (toilet paper rolls would work too)
Fabric
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Interfacing
Ribbon (optional)
Cut the roll into the widths you want
Cover with interfacing. This makes the fabric seem thicker. I just taped mine on.
I put a line of hot glue on the roll and stuck the fabric to it, then rolled. Cut the fabric so it completely covers the roll.
Tuck the sides in. I reinforced with hot glue. Here is where you could put ribbon along the inside seams to make it look cleaner. I didn't do this because it was a quick and easy project, and you wont see the insides when the napkins are in it.
Voila! Handmade napkin rings! It might be cute to make them each with a different fabric too.

A little too much fun...

...at Pier 1 Imports today.
Like 4 bags worth of fun.
But I can't resist that place in the wintertime because they have the best festive stuff and being there just makes me feel all cozy inside! The Frank Sinatra holiday mix tape will always remind me of shopping there with my mom when I was little.
I ♥ their crazy pillows


How cute would these bell ornaments be displayed in a bowl?!


My average Joe camera doesn't do these justice, but their colors were amazing, especially the mirrored ones. They looked like mini disco balls.


These candy canes were so cute- if only I could think of what to do with them...


♥


I lovelovelove these glass bingo balls. I bought enough to spell out ASHBY3 and I have them in a glass cylinder, awaiting their new home on my soon-to-be-coveted entertainment center :)


I also bought these glass bottles from Spain to go on my kitchen island. They have a slight greenish tinge to them the way some glass does. They look so pretty next to a matching glass bowl full of scented pine combs.

My dad comes in from Michigan tomorrow and he'll be here for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited! Hope everyone has a great (and productive) weekend- the holidays are right around the corner Eek!