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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone enjoyed a warm and cozy Christmas like ours!

Countdown: 1 DAY

I guess that Santa guy is packing up his sleigh and checking his oil today. I can't believe that tomorrow is Christmas. This year surely sped by. Having family around is great - I only wish that Jared could be here with us. I am counting down the days to his return and it is quickly approaching. Just a few more weeks!

I am celebrating today by eating the cookies I baked the other day. Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal cookies. YUMMY. They are GOOD.
And for a dose of Christmas decorating, enjoy the Christmas Tree sampler that I did last year.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

The house is decorated and Christmas is just around the corner. I can breathe easier because I have finished all of my homemade Christmas gifts and my shopping is finished. I was feeling a little pressure in trying to finish up my projects and had to make a few adaptations, but I think everything worked out well. I felt so good about my progress that I even did a little wrapping today! After the presents are handed out I will be posting pictures on here!

Last night I made this fancy star/snowflake thing that I found here:
I love Christmas decorations (well, unless they are out of control, tacky and cheap looking, which apparently some people like). The good stuff I am talking about is elegant and warm. I also enjoy having family around for the holidays. The house is bustling and busy like it used to be. Stacy has been here for a week. Ben and Jen got in last night. They had a very long drive - I don't envy them - and an even longer one coming up next week. No thanks. I've had enough long drives for this year.

the traveler returns

I am finally back home after what feels like my tour of the eastern U.S. Before Thanksgiving I was in Myrtle Beach, Thanksgiving was spent in Pensacola, Florida. Just after Thanksgiving I went to New York City for a few days, followed by a few days in Washington D.C. where I saw the first snow of the year.
This past weekend I ventured back to the south to play with the Knoxville Wind Symphony in Tennessee. There I met up with old friends and got to play a holiday concert (which also reimbursed me for all of the traveling I have been doing - whew).

I had decided that I would spend today at home, working on Christmas gifts like the Santa's elf I am becoming! Everything was rolling right along: itunes pumping out some tunes to keep me happy, sewing machine speeding over the fabric, iron steaming up a storm; things were looking good until....

SNAP!!!

Well, there's not much I can do with a needle that looks like this: and my expert sewing helper is not home, so I guess it's time to move on to something else for the afternoon....

Winter Welcome

Look what happened yesterday!

First snow of the year!!!

Tannenbaum

I am in New York City this week!!! I have been here since Tuesday and am having a great time. I've done lots of shopping, sightseeing, and even a little relaxing.
Tonight we went to Rockefeller Center and saw the Christmas tree! It is so HUGE! And very beautiful. Crowds of people were fighting to get their own pictures of the decorations - not only on the tree, but in the windows of the large department stores in the city. Such amazing displays- some coming to life to tell a Christmas story while other feature the most exquisite clothing and gifts of the season.
I must say - I am really getting into the Christmas spirit this year!

Let the Christmas Season begin!

My latest finished project: the felt "joy" wreath. Time for some holiday cheer!

myrtle beach II

Here's one more for the road - because I really like it.
Happy sunrise to all as we head down to Florida for Thanksgiving.

myrtle beach

I spent last week at Myrtle Beach with a group from church and what a relaxing time I had! Since we went in the fall instead of during the summer, everything was much less crowded than it normally would be - which I found very enjoyable. Kind of strange, seeing those tacky beach giftshops looking like they are part of a ghost-town, but I didn't mind! And being able to slip into a hot tub or the lazy river without being run over by a million kids - I got used to that pretty quickly.

I have so many beautiful pictures that I can hardly decide which ones to put up here. Our hotel was wonderful and our room had a fabulous view of the ocean. As much as I love to sleep in, I couldn't stay in bed and miss one of those beautiful sunrises. What an amazing thing to watch as the colors in the sky transform before my eyes up to the moment when dawn cracks and the sun peaks over the horizon (or through the fog, as it did one morning).

The first day began with this sun welcoming us to a new day in South Carolina:
Afterwards we enjoyed a day of shopping and finished off the evening with a delicious seafood buffet, where I stuffed myself with all sorts of good food - including quite a few crab legs. Then we ventured over to a show, The Grand Cirque - where we were fascinated by people who can do UNBELIEVABLE things with their bodies. I had a hard time believing those contortionists were real people - I still wonder if they had surgery to remove the tendons and joints so they could move like that. Wow.
Day 2 had another great sunrise - this one a little hazier than the previous, but still nice. Again, followed up by a good breakfast, great shopping (outlet mall day- my favorite!), and another show! This time we went to the Dixie Stampede Christmas show. What seemed like about 10,000 calories were put down in front of me, with no utensils to assist with this feast. Roll up the sleeves and dig in!

Thursday also began with, you guessed it, a nice sunrise followed by breakfast, shopping, more food, and another show! We are creatures of habit, aren't we? Our third and final show was the Carolina Opry's Christmas Show. It was the perfect way to end the trip and get us all in the holiday spirit!

All in all, I must say we had an excellent trip. Good food, good shopping, good company, good weather, good shows... what more could we ask for???

projects

I haven't been sewing a whole lot lately. I have been working on my felt Christmas wreath and it is almost finished. Finally! I haven't actually been working on it that long, but I bought the kit several years ago. Once I get going on something I am in good shape, but it's hard to get started sometimes! I'll get some pictures on here of that later.

I have a pattern for a dress I want to make. I want to make the "B" version. I am excited to get started on it, but I also see Christmas lurking around the corner and I have several sewing/craft ideas that I want to do for Christmas presents. I should probably get those done sooner than later. Otherwise you will see me "burning the midnight oil" the week before Christmas trying to get things finished. Oh well, it wouldn't be the first time and surely won't be the last. Last year I had to give a WIP slip for a Christmas gift. Ooops! Sometimes things take a little longer than expected. I'm new at all this - cut me a break!
Well, back on topic of my dress! I already have the material and everything! The print is for the main part and the navy solid is for the trims and midsection. Sorry the picture is a little dark, but the print has a shine to it that just doesn't work with a flash. I think the dress will go well into spring since it is lightweight, but I need to get it finished before it goes out of style! Oh, fashion!

colors of fall