Pre-Weekend Update

Hello, lovelies!

Here's a short and sweet update as we make our way towards the weekend.

The weather is cuckoo.  The last couple days have topped 60 degrees and we've yet to see a single snowflake this winter.  I'd wonder what Mother Nature has up her sleeve, but it's so warm she's probably NOT WEARING ANY.

If the weather isn't consistent, the cuteness of these two guys sure is:

My brother's little guy

My little guy

I don't have an artistic bone in my body, so when I was feeling crafty the other weekend I needed a project that left little room for error and required minimal creativity.

Valentine's Day yarn balls

Paint and tape - I can handle that.

I found a recipe for Blackberry Crumb Bars by Martha Stewart and made these yummy bites with mixed fruit:

I resisted Words With Friends for the first 9 months of my iPhone's life.  Alas, I have come over to the fun side - I'm freckleonthenose if you want to play!  You will probably win if I keep getting tiles like this:

(PS - the blur tool wouldn't drag down far enough -

I promise I'm not trying to highlight "dickie."

And finally, there was a card from my grandma waiting for me in my mailbox yesterday.  The front of the card was a picture of me and my dad that I had not seen before, which was such a welcome surprise.

It is hard to believe that next week will be four years since he died.  There are so many things I wish I could talk to him about, and I think it will always be that way.

In other news, Keith will likely be home in a matter of WEEKS.  Yes, you heard that right.  I have a ton of things to get done before he gets home, but I am really excited because I need more of this in my life:

Have a lovely weekend!

Valentine's Day Pinspiration

Happy Wednesday! Today I'm linking up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting!




Love is in the air!  Here is some Valentine's day decor that caught my eye this week:

Source: bhg.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: thecraftingchicks.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: countryliving.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

January 2, 2012

Happy 2012!

Happy birthday eve to me!

2011 ended with either a cold or allergies (does anyone else have a hard time telling the difference?).  Fortunately I felt much better Sunday, though Kleenex and I maintain a close relationship.  I've been reading, napping, relaxing with the kitties and spending a ridiculous amount of time with this guy:

[Source]

I am several years behind in basically everything that is awesome... I only just read The Help and Water for Elephants, and I am just now starting to watch Sons of Anarchy.  What a glorious time suck.  Why does Jax have such pretty blond hair?  This show is amazing.  Thanks to a free Netflix trial, I have been streaming it basically nonstop - much to my sleep cycle's dismay.

In other news, I turn 28 tomorrow!!!!

(I hope I never stop being excited about birthdays)

In some ways it's a ripoff having a birthday so close to Christmas, but I always feel lucky to start out the year with a fresh start and a fresh age.

I talked to my grandma on the phone for a good while tonight.  I love her so much.  She lost her son (my dad) in 2008, her husband of 60 years last August, but she is one of the steadiest, sturdiest, most loving women I have ever known.  Just sharing DNA with her makes me feel like a better person.  She called to wish me a happy new year and said she hopes almost all of my dreams come true in 2012 - she suggested I save some for future years, haha.

In case you don't have a Grandma Mabel of your own, let me tell you that I hope almost all of your dreams come true this year as well.

Unwrapping Christmas

I’ve mentioned before that a couple of years ago I chopped down a Christmas tree and later discovered it was covered in spider mites, which took over my small apartment.

My fear of bugs still threatens to override my love of Christmas, so I’m sticking with fake trees until I have more square footage to share with those tiny home invaders.

This year I borrowed my mom’s fake tree. She has a destructive mischievous new cat who cannot be trusted with trees, lights or ornaments. One of my favorite things about putting up the tree is unwrapping my ornaments. I am such a cornball sucker for trips down memory lane.

I came across ornaments that make me miss friends with whom I’ve lost touch.

And ornaments that make me miss family members who now enjoy the same role as the winged woman atop the tree.

The old newspapers in which the ornaments are wrapped hold almost as much sentimental value as the ornaments themselves.  I unwrapped one from a sheet of newspaper dated late 2005. I was a senior in college, mourning the fact that four years of education disguised as ridiculous fun were nearly over.

I then unpacked a small glass ornament wrapped in newspaper dated December 26th, 1997. I was 13. It was the last year my parents lived under the same roof. My dad was nowhere near as sick as would later become.

I wonder if my dad held that newspaper from 14 Christmases ago. I wonder if he read it with coffee that morning. I bet my mom stepped outside in her slippers to get the paper with our two dogs. It was our puppy Molly’s first Christmas.  She stayed with us for 12 more.

I love those times.  I love where I am and the relationships I have today, but man, what I wouldn’t give for another glimpse at life the morning of December 26, 1997.

I hope that years from now I will unwrap ornaments from newspapers imprinted with a date of December 26, 2011 and feel as blessed as I do today.

Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Christmas Songs

I try to make myself wait until mid-to-late October before I bust out the Christmas music, but I need at least two months' worth of musical festivities.  It makes me really happy to think that I listen to Christmas music for a minimum of 1/6 of every year.  I wish it was 6/6, let me tell you.

That said, I do have some favorites.  Some songs that I can't get enough of.  And here are my top 10 favorites, in alphabetical order because I can't pick a favorite.  That would be like picking a favorite cat (Ollie and Josie are both my favorite).

1) Breath of Heaven
(Amy Grant)

2) A Christmas Song
(Dave Matthews Band)

3) Do They Know it's Christmas?
(Band Aid)

4) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
(Frank Sinatra)

5) Here We Come A-Wassailing
(this is one of my favorites to sing in the shower)

6) I Will Lead You Home
(Amy Grant)

7) Joy to the World
(Nat King Cole)

8) Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
(the only song for which I'd jump on the mid-90s N'Sync bandwagon)

9) Somewhere In My Memory
(you know... the instrumental/light vocals song from Home Alone
that puts a real lump in your throat)

10) Wintersong
(Sarah McLachlan... that line above about putting a lump in your
throat x1,000)


What song(s) put you in the holiday spirit?

I caved & joined Pinterest!

It is SO MUCH FUN.

Can we please just have National Pinterest Day
and do nothing but pin, because how am I ever
supposed to get anything accomplished now?

I have no idea how to find people (help?)
and because I waited 327 years to join,
every relevant name is taken.

So I ended up with: http://pinterest.com/blogger/,
which is ironic considering my blogging
frequency these days.

In any case, come see the home decor, jewelry,
colors and designs I've fallen in love with and
impart upon me your Pinterest wisdom and
show me what you've pinned!

Ho Ho Ho!

Hello!

I have missed you, friends.  How are you?  I'm going to bypass my excuses and get right to the update.  In chronological order, of course.

• The weekend after my last post I visited Keith's family in Arizona (I'm sort of in love with that state - if only it had snow, sigh).  His family is wonderful.  Hanging out with the bf's parents without the bf?  Could have been weird.  Fortunately, is was lovely.  It was important to Keith for us to spend time together and I'm so glad we did!

• Thanksgiving was lovely - my mom hosted a nice, low-key day.  I really don't know how we did holidays before my niece and nephew were in the picture!  It's so fun to have little ones around, especially little ones who go home at the end of the night.

• My mom and I did our third annual Black Friday shopping and while we were not the crazies who went straight from Thanksgiving dinner to the stores, we did begin at 3am.  No pushing or shoving, just pure adrenaline and Christmas cheer, y'all.

• That weekend was my nephew's second birthday.  Here's their Christmas pic.  The niece is as gorgeous as ever and I am crossing my fingers that the nephew really truly is becoming a redhead.  Also?  I think someone's slipping him growth hormones, because WHAT:

• The following weekend was my friend Zoe's wedding in Philadelphia and it was amazing.  It was at the Franklin Institute and they got married in a planetarium.  The reception was in a beautiful foyer with hugemongous ceilings and marble and pillars and just so much prettiness.  It was my first Jewish wedding and somewhere between the chuppah and Hava Nagila, I decided we should all convert because it was just so much fun, so rich in tradition and just so lovely.  The bride was stunning and oh man, can I please go back in time?  I can't believe how much I love (and miss!) these college gems:

• "My" navy one-shoulder dress was amazing.  Thanks to the other redhead in the photo above, I learned about Rent the Runway.  Since it was a black tie wedding and I have not worn a long dress since prom, I needed a nice dress but not one that would break the bank (my bank is already broken, haaaa).  I rented this dress for a fraction of the price, felt super glamorous for the night and then shipped it back a couple days later.  Although I clearly 1) do not get dressed up often enough, 2) am not girly enough, 3) am not fancy enough because someone asked who made my dress and I had no idea.  But now I know!  It was him!

• My Christmas package for Keith made it to Afghanistan in ONE WEEK, which is amazing.  Some fabulous friends and family (even people he's never met) have sent him holiday mail, which is so kind.  Keith should be home in +/- 4 months and that is great because I am about over this deployment business.  It is much, much harder on him - I can't imagine being so far from home during the holidays - away from all things merry and bright, not to mention friends and family and oh hey there, combat zone.  That said... I don't know how to say this without sounding selfish, annoying and complainy: this is harder than I thought it would be.  I'm not in Afghanistan, but this is still hard.  Is that terrible of me?  I'm so grateful for all the support I've received over the past 4+ months.

• I love this time of year so much - it makes my heart feel full and grateful and happy.  I miss Christmas music already and there's still plenty of time to listen to it!  The Amy Grant Christmas station on Pandora is amazing, which means my taste is pretty much in line with most 40-60 year old women.

• Speaking of middle-aged people... I will be 28 in last than 3 weeks.  WHAT.

I hope you are enjoying the holidays, my friends!!  Are you feeling the Christmas cheer??

Love,

Jen