Secret Santa

I participated in a Secret Santa exchange that was hosted by Nicole of Lillyella.  I've never done an online Secret Santa but it was a lot of fun-and challenging too trying to come up with a gift for someone that I don't know! I hope my person likes my gifts as much as I love what I received.

So my Secret Santa is Sandrine of La Boite a Bijoux. She makes awesome vintage style jewelry. I received the cutest pair of earrings and a handmade print and card. Sandrine is super talented. :)  

Ooh, I wonder what's wrapped inside of that velvety tissue paper!

What a lovely print, or it can also be a post card. The colors are just fabulous. I'm going to frame it and put it in my bedroom.

Love this pair of earrings!

Thank you Sandrine! Be sure to check out her shop on Etsy.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

I hope your Christmas has been as fabulous as mine was! Here in my part of North Carolina we got around 6 inches of snow. This is a lot for us at any time of year! It was just one of the nice surprises that awaited me on Christmas day (more on the second later).

Here are some pics of our winter wonderland...

Ooh, pretty!

In my opinion, the city did an awesome job of clearing the roads (unlike our friends up north!) 

Me and the Mister went trekking thru the 'hood. Can you tell that the Mister doesn't like the cold?!

Is it just me or is this snowman giving us the bird?? Or maybe it's a peace sign??

I hope your holidays are awesome!

...Is your Blogger super slow uploading pics???

Christmas Party

Each year my work has two Christmas parties: one for the adults, the second for the kids. The latter is usually more fun. :) Here are some pics from the annual NB Children's party. Oh, forgot to mention that I took my sister, niece, and nephew.  Our party was at the North Pole. Such a winter wonderland!
We saw:

Santa's sleigh filled with presents. I tried not to peek!

Polar bears and presents, oh my!

We visited the local sweet shop and those that were brave enough could even get a tattoo!

Of course my niece got a snowflake...on her face! I hope that doesn't foretell of what's to come when she's older! :)

We even saw Santa and put in some last minute requests with the big guy. :)

And there was so much to do!

Lee and Lorali boxing on Wii. My niece kicks a$$...no, really, she does!

There was Nascar racing. Lee and his new friend talking strategy, although I 'm not sure Lee was going for it.

A classic favorite-Skeeball! Lorali has quite an arm on her. Watchout innocent bystanders!

Look at that angelic face on my nephew-and there's even a halo! :)

And there was plenty to eat. Anything a child might desire: nachos, hotdogs, tacos, chicken nuggets (my personal favorite), spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese, chololate milk, a candy bar buffet....

...And last but not least: ICE CREAM!!!!

What a sight it was to see all those kids with sugar highs running to and fro! All this talk of food is making me hungry...is it lunchtime yet? Wait, it is! See ya later. Happy Holidays everyone.

Decorating for Christmas

On Saturday where I live in North Carolina we got snow. Yes, snow, actual snow! Not sleet, or ice, or freezing rain but snow! Huge white flakes and they were gorgeous. It's very exciting because we don't usually get snow this time of year.

Well, the snow event also coincided with my annual cookie party. Some of the girls come over, we play reindeer games, munch on goodies, play a little dirty santa, and then pack our tins full 'o cookies to snack on for the week. Since my house was clean for the cookie party I took some pics of my decorations to share with you. I just love this time of year, and snowmen are my absolute favorite!

Dining room with Christmas tree. I love a LOT of ornaments on the tree!

Mantel. Complete with everyone's stockings; mine, Buffy & ChiChi's, and Lizzy, the cat.

My snowman centerpiece that I made for less than $7. I LOVE it! Isn't he a cutie? :)

My townhouse isn't very big so that's about it. C-ya next time!

Oh Bother!...And Other Random Thoughts

*Sigh*...As Pooh would say, "Oh bother!".  Me and pity are having a party. I just feel so invisible on Etsy. And ArtFire is a joke-ha! I feel like I do all the things that successful sellers say they do to pimp their shops, but mine is just not catching on...What did you do before your shop really caught on? I mean, there has to be a day, a moment when you realized that your shop had made it...right?...

Enough of that, pity party is over. Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Oh I did. Did you get out in the Black Friday madness? I did NOT. I stayed in all day on Friday decorating for Christmas. I put up my tree with my new ornaments that I got from Sam's. This year I put a whole bunch of decorations on my tree just like the trees that I saw at Cracker Barrel. I love it!

Well, I didn't get out in the Black Friday madness but I did go out on Saturday. I've had my eye on a Cricut or Slice for some time. I was able to snag a Slice from Ollie's Bargain Basement on Saturday but now I'm having second thoughts thinking that maybe I should've gotten a Cricut. I'm always second guessing my decisions...Any thoughts on Slice vs. Cricut?

While I was out I also stopped by Kohl's and got this cutie. Isn't he adorable? I put him in my room.

I also got some much needed clothes for me to wear to work. Why does it seem like I always need clothes? I wish I could be super smart like my girl Sally Ann. Check out her blog here. This whole year she has shopped only at thrift stores for her wardrobe, making things super cute by adding her own personal flair. She is an awesome seamstress and can make anything look good! I sew envy her. :>)

I did get a little crazy at work today and order my Christmas present to myself-a new camera! I hope it's really good. I actually saw it on QVC and it was just super awesome. Whew, those hosts on QVC sure can sell you anything, now can't they? But I actually ordered my camera from Walmart.com. It was the same exact camera but cheaper at Walmart. I justified it as a business expense that will allow me to take better pics thus improving sales. :) I'm crossing my fingers!