My Current Obsessions

I just wouldn't be me without being obsessed with things that I will most likely not be in few months. Oh well, that's what makes life exciting : )

Currently, these are the things I love:

DownEast Outfitters......the new things they have coming out are making me drool. I know where I will be spending my birthday money!

Another obsession......Noodles and Company. Mmmmmm. Way too expensive, but if I have a coupon or it's just me eating, it's worth it. Of course, I always order something from the Asian menu.

This ones a bit odd for me. I have never in my life wanted a doll....even when I was a little girl. But check these out. It's a Blythe Neo doll from Japan and they cost a TON of money (I will never own one of these). They totally remind me of the marionettes in The Sound of Music! Their eyes turn and everything. And you should see the little outfits and things that you can get. Sooooooo cute!

Yet another obsession.....Sweet Nothings shapewear from WalMart. Yes, WalMart. I purchased other shapewear at Kohl's that was total crap compared to these. And I love that they are cut like a cami, so I can layer it under my low cut shirts and it makes me look skinnier while doing the same thing as my Shade camis. Love them. I want one for every day of the week! I think this model needs to wear a different color panties.....almost looks like she doesn't have any on. Eeeeek!

I've also been obsessed with Ugly Betty. My friend Kari has been checking out the seasons at the book mobile and kindly sharing them with me. I love finding a good show that you have never watched before because it is so nice to watch as many episodes as you want, whenever you want!

My last obsession, at least the only one I can think of right now, is quilting. I feel myself coming to the end of this one for a bit, but here is what I've been up to in that arena for the past two or three weeks. This is the first quilt I ever took in to the quilter's. I met them at the local quilt shop and picked the pattern I wanted it quilted in. They took it home to their fancy-shmancy machine and returned it to me ready to be bound.

I picked up some fabric today to re-cover some feather pillows I picked up at IKEA a while back. We needed some good living room pillows for stretching out on the floor to watch TV.

This one is currently at the quilter's. I can't wait to get it back....it's my favorite!

I already know what I want to work on next if I can make myself stay with the sewing a bit longer. Love these.

On a Felt Kick

My friend Shari posted a pic on Facebook of the most gorgeous Valentine's wreath she made from felt. The idea originally came from The Idea Room. I could hardly wait to try it. So I ran up to Material Girls quilt shop and bought some felt to match my living room decor and went to work. My husband thinks this looks Christmas-y, which was not my intent at all--I just happen to have a green and brown living room. Anyway, I love it!

Then I decided that the same technique would make a really cute topiary. I think I like this even more than the wreath:

While I was at it, I finally finished a project that I should have done ages ago. About a year and a half ago I got some curtains at IKEA to cover our sliding glass doors. They were way too long, so I cut them shorter and intended to use the scraps to make a matching valance for our living room window. The scraps had been sitting in the closet for a very long time. I finally got some coordinating fabric and put them together.

And here is a cute picture for no good reason. Our cat is not the most affectionate, but for some reason she lets our youngest do things like this to her:

And finally, our little gymnast. She has been taking gymnastics for about a month and loves it. She is so persistent....I really admire the way she will practice something for hours until she masters it. Here is her latest accomplishment (the video is way too dark, I'll have to redo this at some point!):

Winter Boredom Busters

Once Christmas is over, I'm ready for spring. Those long winter months at the beginning of the new year without any holidays to look forward to can be a little boring. So, we've had to get a little creative.

I'm lucky to have a husband who comes up with such fun ideas. We have FHE on Sunday nights, and the kids love to do things like this together. Lately we've been watching old family videos and playing games like Clue, charades, and statue.

We got Raving Rabbids for the Wii. It was our New Years Eve entertainment. It's been a big hit, even H3 can play it. I love this picture of her brother teaching her how to play. Awwww.

Our kitty, Tink, got "the fix" last week. She did really well, and the kids enjoyed nursing her back to health. H2 was an especially good nurse. She put this sign on the kennel. It says "Welcome to the kitty motel." So cute.

Happy Holidays

DH and I got an exciting new job as models for romance novel covers. Can you believe it? Don't we look great?
Just kidding, of course (DH photoshopped our heads onto these pictures)! These were part of our white elephant gift this year. We covered some old kids' paperbacks with these covers. The titles were awesome. The first one was "Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel" the second one was "The Care and Taming of a Rogue". They were hilarious!

Christmas was super fun. I always have so much fun watching my kids open their gifts.

Some new cozy digs:

Some new "pets" to add to the family:


This cute little guy is actually a CD holder. H3 got some new computer games to play:One of H1's friends taught him how to play chess. Impressive!


Santa knew this was H3's favorite library book, so he got her her very own copy to keep. She can sing me the whole thing.....it's pretty cute : )

Everything's cuter when it's tiny!

One of the things I made to give as Christmas gifts this year was mini-pies. I decided to post it because trying to describe it to my mom over the phone didn't do it justice, and some of my friends wanted the links for the project. I love how they turned out....I'm thinking of doing these together as a family sometime and having them for FHE treat.

I found the idea on Our Best Bites. I have found so many great recipes there. The tags for the top of the jars were designed by Lolly of Lollychops (check out all of her free download and print things on her sidebar!)

I gave H3 a bit of dough to play with while I was working. I love her little creation. It's a kitty! (Can'tcha tell?)

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

One of my favorite holiday traditions is setting up this little (literally!) town of Bethlehem that my mom bought us at Costco about 8 years ago. I love it and I love letting the kids play with it (although a few of our little people have died tragic deaths in the hands of my children). It lights up and everything. As long as the Holy Family stays intact, I'll be happy because that's the most improtant part.

The girls built a snowman outside with Daddy yesterday while I shoveled (which, by the way, is my favorite form of excercise!). They named him Kyle. We took bets on how long it would take him to fall over. He looks like he's doing yoga after a bit of melting, but he's still standing!
Backing up to Halloween, I wanted to post our creepy little apple faces. Each of us carved one and then let them dry up. It was fun checking on them each day to see how different they looked as they dried ( and by the way, that's not mold, it's just the core):

Thanksgiving,Two Haircuts, a Tree, and a Naughty Kitty

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We sure did! It was my first time hosting it here at my house and I loved it. We had a ginormous 20 lb. turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes, berry-pretzel salad, stuffing (with BACON in it!), sweet potatoes, and lots of pie. Mmmmmmm......... The turkey is almost gone now, I've been eating it with a little gravy everytime I feel hungry. Love it.

We had Grandma and Grandpa, Chris, and the Newhouses over. When we had cleaned up all the mess, the kids decided to put together the gingerbread house. They're getting better and better at it every year.

The next day we put up the tree and went to see The Christmas Carol. I re-did the tree a bit this year with a new color combo and a collection of birdies. I love it!

This little bird is my favorite (the brown one with all the feathers):

Unfortunately, we have a very naughty kitty that thinks our tree is her personal playground!

So now the bottom 1/3 of my beautiful tree looks like this:Lovely, huh? I'm off to Petsmart tomorrow to buy a can of Ssssscat, which is pressurized air with a motion sensor. I'll put it near the tree so that whenever she comes near it, she'll get the crap scared out of her. Wish me luck!

On the other hand, she sure is cute!The girls wanted their hair cut so I did that yesterday. It ended up pretty short, but so cute.Every year the kids look forward to playing with our City of Bethlehem. We got it out tonight and the girls set it up for me. They love all the little tiny people and animals that they can pretend with.