Withdrawal......

I love the holidays and buying gifts for others, but right now, like in years past, I am going through a bit of withdrawal as I've been staying away from my favorite antique shops until I get all my Christmas shopping done...

Seems like it's been forever since I've allowed myself the pleasure of wondering through the antique shops looking for some new pretties to bring home with me. Christmas shopping is almost done though thank goodness, so in a week or two, once the bank account as had a chance to recover a wee bit, I'll be rushing to my favorite shops to see what can be found.

Until then, I'll just sit back, relax and enjoy some of the beautiful treasures I already have.

Hope you are all having a great post Thanksgiving weekend and that you're getting some things checked off your Christmas lists too.

See you soon !!

My Early Christmas Gift..........

Well, I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon or as quickly as it did, but sometimes, life circumstances force a person into making a pretty serious decision rather quickly or risk being left stranded, with no means of transportation.

This happened to me just two short weeks ago when my old car began acting up again and needed to be taken to the auto shop for service and where I unfortunately found out that the cost of the mechanical work needed plus the new tires I also needed to get before winter set in were going to end up costing me more than my vehicle was even worth in dollar value so after nine years, it was time to say goodbye to the old and hello to the new..

So.......... six days ago I became the very happy and giddy new owner of a brand spankin' new Ford Escape mid-size SUV in a lovely "Sangria Red" color. Ain't she pretty ????

It actually stayed clean for 3 whole days before Minnesota was hit with some ice and snow storms which of course turned the roads into a sloppy salty mess leaving my new car coated with a thin layer of gritty white salt residue. Oh the joys of living in Minnesota !!! A trip to the car wash will be in order once the temps warm up a bit..

I can already tell in just the few short days I've been driving it that it's going to handle the snow and ice much better than my old vehicle did which will be a HUGE relief as I was always terrified of having to drive on the dangerous roads in my old vehicle which never really felt very safe to me and never seemed to have very good traction, even when the tires were first brand new.

I have much to be grateful for during this holiday season, this being just one of them.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you have much to be grateful for too during this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving.......

Several of the things I am thankful for during this holiday season ...

My good health

My job

Having a home to call my own

My wonderful family

My wonderful friends

The wonderful friends I have made here in Blogland who inspire me with their kindness, creativity and talent and for the encouragement they have given me along the way.

That with a sigh of relief I can start the cold, snowy and icy Minnesota winter off with a brand new reliable vehicle that won't end up in the auto shop every few months costing me lots of money for repairs.

I could go on forever, but I'll stop there and wish all of you a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving.

Have a great day celebrating with all your family and friends.

Just A Bit Of Tweaking .........

I've done a bit of tweaking on my little work space vignette that sits atop the small bookcase under the window next to me here in my home office.

I brought in a cute little pink shelf that has three drawers and rearranged the vignette from this ...................

To this.........................

When my eyes get tired from staring at the computer for hours on end, all I need to do is glance to the right to see this soothing and pretty view instead.

The predominant colors being my favorites of pink and pale blue ....

With just a bit of pale sage green too ....

Sure makes it hard having to glance back at the computer to continue working after having caught a glimpse of some of my favorite things..

What do you surround yourself with in your home office/work space ???

Snow Day Tags ..................

Happy Monday ladies...

And how are you on this lovely day?

Well, if you saw my post on Saturday, you know I had a bit of snow fall at my house overnight overnight Friday night and when I awoke in the morning, the view out my door and windows showed that of a white, almost winter wonderland with the snow continuing to fall.

As the day went on, the white stuff kept falling and falling and falling and by the time the day was over, a total of around eight inches of wet, heavy snow had fallen in my neighborhood while other cities surrounding Minneapolis had even more, some close to a foot of the white stuff.

Needless to say, the roads on Saturday were a very dangerous place to be with the State Patrol reporting over 500 accidents in the state of Minnesota over a 24 hour period, so I did the smart thing and just stayed at home where I knew I'd be safe.

A day inside, snug and warm and safe from the dangers of the road gave me a bit of time for creating a few more of my embellished tags that I've had so much fun making.

I created these tags using different images I've found on the Internet along will my stash of beautiful cardstock papers and embellishments.

I love being able to color coordinate my tags using papers and embellishments that match the colors in the images I've chosen to use..

I have a feeling that by winters end, I'm going to have quite a large pile of pretty embellished tags. I'm sure a few of these will end up tucked in gift packages at Christmas time..

How did you pass the time over the weekend?

Urrgggggggggggg ................

View out my front door this morning

Eeew, Eeew, Eeewwwwwwwwwwww.

Definitely not something I've been looking forward to.

Well, at least it decided to wait until the weekend so I don't have to be out driving in it. Guess I'll be staying indoors today. Time for some more tag making I think !!

What are your plans for the weekend ??

Happy Wednesday .....

Just a little eye candy to help put a smile on your face today ......

Hope you're all having a fabulous week so far ....

Have a great day !!!

Tags for Thursday.....

Hey there girls.....

Happy Thursday to you all. Hope you've all been having a wonderful week. It's almost over and the weekend will soon be upon us once again.

I'm a bit lazy and slow in getting these posted, but I wanted to share with you two more tags that I created last weekend. I sure am enjoying this and getting to use all the little embellishments I've acquired over time and the wonderful images I've been able to find on the Internet.

Tag #1 .........

The sheet music I've been using to give my tags a layered look are from pages from an old hymnal that I picked up for just a few dollars at the Goodwill store over the summer. The pages were yellowed just enough to give them a vintage antique appearance so I knew they would be perfect to use in my projects. And of course, we can forget to mention to cute little floral embellishments either. Aren't these cute ?? I found a pack of them at Michael's near the aisle where all the wedding and bridal shower items were located.

Tag #2 .....................

Using more buttons and some lace trims from my stash.....

So how are you liking my artistic endeavors ??? I have to brag a little bit and say I'm quite proud of how my tags have turned out and I'm looking forward to making even more.

Hope you enjoyed your visit today and seeing the new tags I've made. Now it's time for me to visit some other blogs myself and see if I can find some new ideas that will inspire my creativity even more.

See you soon!!

Have You Ever.........

Have you ever decided on a rooms color and style of decor based on the find of one simple, yet lovely object?

Well I have. After nearly three years of living in my house with an undecorated and very drab little room, I knew it was time to get off my lazy duff and give this space a little make over and make it a bit more "Me" if you know what I mean.

The inspiration for the makeover of this dingy little room came after a trip to Target, back in the day when the Rachel Ashwell Simply Shabby Chic line was still fairly new and when the line sometimes included home decor items and not just the bedding and bath items we see in the stores now days.

Upon entering the aisle which displayed the Simply Shabby Chic home decor items, my eyes instantly feel upon this fabulously gorgeous glass dome covering a bouquet of flowers inside a very pale, robins egg blue vase. Instantly I knew that this same color of blue would turn my drab little room into something more shabby and chic.

Along with that dome was found a beautiful wall clock..........

And a bulletin board.......

Those initial three pieces are what started the transformation of that dingy little room into what is now my home office. A place I love to spend time in and which is now a much more cheerful, pretty and inviting little room.

And just in case you're wondering, YES, my desk usually does look that cluttered most of the times.

Over time, I've added a few more Simply Shabby chic items including a small bookcase that fits perfectly under my window which is now covered in some pretty white curtains instead of those ugly browns one that were hanging on the window when I moved into my house.....

And another Simply Shabby Chic bouquet of roses in a gorgeous pale blue vase along with some of my favorite pink and pale blue antique store finds ....

No matter how gloomy the weather may be outside, here in my pretty little Shabby Chic office, it's always cheerful and pretty. Just the way I like it !!

Hope you are all having a fabulous Halloween weekend. Thanks for stopping by..

See you soon !!