Mr. Bailey's Christmas Photo

So my puppy ALWAYS SMILES until you put a scarf on him I found out. Anyway, we are gearing up for the annual Christmas letter, which Bailey authors and he needed a new pic this year.
I can't seem to get the "red eye" off of his naturally reddish/brown eye without making the whole eye turn black...
Ange? Thoughts? :)

A Thanksgiving Update

I am so sad to report that I did not get my camera out for the 1st OFFICIAL HOLIDAY in our new home! We had a total of 20 people for Thanksgiving Dinner and it all came off with no hitches at all. I had never cooked a turkey before, so Sheldon and I decided to do a trial run on Wednesday in preparation for Thursday. (AND, we got a rip-roaring good deal on turkey number 2 only after we thought we'd gotten the best deal possible on turkey number one!) Someone should have mentioned to me that the turkey would only be about 2.5% of the actual Thanksgiving dinner budget.
I was responsible for the turkey(s), stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, 2 salads and 1 dessert as well as the fun pre and post treats. Turkey number 2, which became Wednesday's trial turkey which we chose to BBQ turned out SO GREAT! Thursday's turkey was brined (is that word able to be used as a verb?) for 16 hours before going into the oven. It came out juicy and oh-so-good. I used my friend Alicia Finch's Mom's rub which she sells along with brown sugar and smokey paprika. We also went down to Sage to get the best croutons for the stuffing we could find.
Sheldon's entire family came down from Spokane and my gang plus some extras came from around the valley.
Entertainment included 2 little darlings!
I also had little questions placed under each plate to start conversations after the plates were loaded. The questions were mostly about holiday memories. Each person also got a raffle ticket with and we did drawings throughout the day for giveaways (mostly leftovers from the craft fairs plus some food things for the guys). I also found these super cute plastic wishbones that looked incredibly real at the $1 store and tied a poem to them semi-written by me and a cute bow that matched the bow on the back of their chairs.
The garage was transformed and heated to be our Thanksgiving dining room. We borrowed 6 foot tables from Faith Tab and chairs, too, and I already owned a number of twin size sheets that I had purchased on sale that were used for the table linens. The color theme was sage, rust and tan and the center pieces were little wood crates with a plaid cloth napkin, indian corn, baby pumpkins and little candles in sage green votives.
Everyone had a grand time. After the dinner, some watched football, some watched the girls, others played card games and still others took naps.
Everyone was full in their tummies and their hearts. A good time was had by all, but boy, Sheldon and I were wiped out when the last of the gang left! As Sheldon's M.O. would suggest, we had to have it all cleaned up prior to heading to bed. :) Gotta love a CLEAN(ing) husband!

I hope all of you had a wonderful day spent with family and friends and remembering how much we all have to be thankful for! We are a blessed group for sure!

Here are a few of my favorite things...

Okay, okay, I know, I should be thinking of OTHERS during this - the beginning of the holiday season! Instead I offer you a "favorites" list. These are all things that have been tested and have been found to be TRUE special treats for yours truly. Some are spendy and some are cheap and virtually all can be found on sale somewhere on the web! But, these are probably things I won't be indulging in these much anymore since the tax bracket change occurred with my recent departure from higher education. :)

None of this stuff is "must haves" but all are great treats and if you are needing some ideas for your Christmas list, I offer you some of Polly's favorite things.

White hobnail milk glass containers and vases - My Gram gave me all of hers and now and again my Mom will find me something really special at an antique store or off of ebay and I love the versatility of it - white is always in style!

Woodwick Candles -this is actually Sheldon's favorite household thing and I really love them, too. We have quite a few stocked up from ebay finds.

Vera Bradley notepads and bags

Silk ribbon from Bella Lucia - amazingly soft and incredibly spendy, but I made 1 yard of a couple of my favorites last forever!

Bath & Body Works Kitchen Spice Scent (which has sadly been discontinued!) - If you see this scent offered during one of the BIG sales, CALL ME!

Schwan Man's Peppermint Ice Cream (among other delightful things!) - ONLY offered during the holiday season! If you don't have a Schwan man visiting you, please contact me and I'll hook you up with our friend Dean. We LOVE our 3rd Monday of the month with him!

Kate Spade Pencil Set - Truly a waste of money unless you just really like name brands and then it's just kind of a fun thing to have.

Baekgaard leather wallet/business card holder/picture holder - Got my first wallet from the Diamond Shop and then have found a couple of other fun and bright colored goodies on ebay. This brand is owned by Vera Bradley's cousin.

Paula Prass for Michael Miller and Amy Butler fabrics - favorites for sure, especially when making special little diddies for my favorite two girls!

Bass Instant Shine Sponge - For $5 you can make every shoe look new! Eddie Bauer may have this, too!

Biscoff Cookies - THEY NOW HAVE THEM AT SAFEWAY! I used to have to talk the flight attendant into giving me extras when I knew I wouldn't be flying for a week or so! - That's how good they are!

**I promise my next blog will be a bit more meaningful. **

m & j InspIrEd dEsIgns

Mom and I have been having a great time making as many cute things as we can fit into our free evenings. We were inspired by our darlings (above pic) to make little girl and mama cuteness. We have done 2 holiday sales and have been incredibly thrilled to have a perfectly wonderful neighbor next to us (Becky with Josie Girl Bowtique) both times. It makes for fun Saturdays for sure, but it is alot of work. If you live in the valley and are in need of a baby shower gift, please let us know - we can help! I also have lots of cute little signs, too! It's been funny to confuse everyone since our little pseudo-business is m & j inspired designs and Becky's is Josie Girl - people think it's rude that we've left Maddie out of the picture. BUT, as most of you know, Becky has her own Josie and we have our Maddie and Josie.