2014 ....A Fresh Start.....Living for Right Now....cha cha cha

Each time you fall into the past or jump into the future you miss what is going on right now. Right now you have the opportunity to create a fresh new start. Release the past! Receive your good now.

 

 

After all the Christmas decorations were down and our New Years company cancelled on us due to illness I decided to give work on some little projects I had planned to give myself - and the house -  a fresh start for 2014.....

 

I had this old gold croque frame from the 1960's....in the '60's everything was painted gold...now days everything is painted white....weird how trends change....(in the 70's The Rolling Stones wanted us to paint it Black!)

 

 

 I put a white wash base coat on it....forgot to take a picture of it being spray painted....

 ....and hung it on the moss green wall in the guest room.....now, I need something for the left of it....hmmmmmm....am I ever content with my projects?....working on that!

 The Addie got me this French Drying Rack for Christmas....I have wanted one for so long!  I thought many times about what to put on it for the day to day....have some great ideas for dinner parties and other themes, however want to enjoy it every day!  I could not come up with just the right thing....

 Until I walked into our local Tuesday Morning (which by the way is closing due to the raise of rent - hate it when that happens!) and found these incredible jewel colored set of glasses...exactly the colors in my stained glass piece over my kitchen window and the glass in the apothecary jars!  Bonus:  20% off....

 They looked nice, but a little lost with only 6 of them...I tried, really tried to live with the simplistic look....just could not do it....my OCDC tendencies kick in huh?

.....so back to Tuesday Morning I went (this time 30% off) and bought another box....Thank goodness they had more!  And now I can be at peace with it....I love how the sunlight comes in through the garden window and lights up the glasses......meanwhile due to my personal struggle with project obsessions I said a prayer for the wild of heart kept in cages  ;)

 After I packed away my snow scene (but not my Horeb!) my living room display cabinet looks so blah...

 I thought about doing some bird canvas prints and shopped around a bit for some which I could never find; then I thought of bird cards or calendars and that came up -0- then I found this great fabric at Joanns and thought it would work well....I am trying to bring more light blue/aqua into my living room....a potential clash with the green (scary!)....baby steps....

 I recovered the panels I had cut and covered in the burlap....

 They looked so fresh and bright....

 I did not want anything too bold or too 'in your face'....

 It's soft, not too overbearing and hints of flowers and birds, enough green to compliment but not shout out a clash....

 Kristen loaned me this bird nest which is one of her photography props and I had just the right bird and liner to put in it....I think it turned out pretty cute.  On the couch is the Vintage French Bird postcard print pillow that was my inspiration....another gift from The Addie

 I hold off until after Christmas to hit the Christmas design shop....they have the greatest theme trees and living close to the beach they always have incredible beach themed ornaments...I had my eye on these hand blown glass pieces, a blowfish and an angel fish....I didn't think they looked to 'Christmasey' and at 70 percent off...they came home with me!

 I nestled the blowfish in my huge coral piece.....and the angel fish on the star fish from Bermuda....

 Just tiny touches of blue/aqua that brighten up the monochromatic look.....

 I am every so happy and humbled to receive this cuckoo clock that belonged to my Grandmother and Grandfather - a Christmas present from him to her in the 1950's.  A few remaining pieces are being sent....(clock top and weights)

Once those arrive and it takes a little trip to the clock shop this will be it's new permanent home!  It feels good to look at it and think about how much that meant to them!

 And all this work could not be done alone by me!  Lucky for me Brody had enough room in his pockets for all his tools to assist his GiGi in the little makeover!

A quick stop at the Thrift Store scored me this Fisher Price GeoTrax Christmas Train (these are 90.00 at Toys R Us) for $10.00!  Rocky was very interested in the lights and moving actions....all the pieces were there - it is adorable!

 And Brody approved....how funny does it look for a little boy in shorts to play with a icy snow Christmas train....So Cal living!  The boys share my passion for trains....I have my Lionel Train I got when I was 5 (didn't every little girl want a Lionel Train for Christmas?), The Addie's Mickey Mouse Train I got him when he was 5, another FP train I got the boys and now this one....can one have enough trains....I think not....

My boys were so busy I did not see much of this this week.....however, lucky for Dylan, GiGi's vaulted ceilings proved to be the best place for him fly his remote control helicopter....

I would not want it any other way!

Wrapping up 2013.....best of the week.....

Another year is wrapping up....to recap 2013...some wonderful times; and some very challenging times.  I would have to say it was a year of unresolved matters....which comes hard to a person that thrives on resolve.  I am not going to list all the unresolved that I am carrying into the New Year all as I don't want to get depressed; instead I am going to just focus on wrapping the year up with the 'Best of...' from the last week and move forward....

 

Best of Best was all being together for Christmas....so thankful that The Addie and Ms. Shannie made the trip over...it meant the world to me to have all my family together.  We maybe a small group but we are a fun loving group, loving all my little Penguins!

 

 

Best gift we got the boys....Air Hockey table.  I know they liked the other things, but this one they really enjoyed.....

 Lots of laughter and stratergery....

 And contagious too....everyone took a turn to play

 Dylan goes in for the kill against Uncle Adam.....

 Best laugh of the week:  When The Addie and Ms. Shannie tried to explain to the rest of us what a Dutch Oven is....and I am not talking the cast iron kind....

Best project completed for the week was going through every room, closet, drawer and cabinet and decrapifying my house.  Even tho I do this every year it seems to grown organically when I am not watching.....I would like to think my trash is someone else's treasure, however, all of it together did not amount to any value I could see!

Best tradition kept this week....our annual Christmas Day visit to the beach....for the past 26 years only missed 1 Christmas and that was when we were in Idaho.....no beach there!

Best decision of the week was to cave in and put away all the Christmas decorations.....I try so hard every year to last to New Years day however I can't stand it once Christmas Day is over they have to be put away!  Once I put these up....everything else had to come down

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  MAY 2014 BE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER!

Getting Ready for Santa!

We are having fun getting ready for Santa!  Our plans changed a bit, last minute, The Adie and Ms. Shannie decided to drive over for Christmas :)   Mom, sadly decided to stay home for Christmas :(     She will come in the New Year :)

We have had lots of :) and :( this week!

 

A fun start to the week was a holiday party with some of the nicest ladies ever.....we made our own perfume, toasted the names with champagne and indulged in yummy desserts and gift openings!!!  Don't we look like scientist's in our white jackets?

 

I needed a carved frame to use for our annual Christmas theme dinner....luckily my fave of fave thrift stores had just what I wanted....plus a few other things....it was half price day!  This great frame, plant holder, handmade Halloween witch signs and a pilgrim S&P, well, I just just S since the Mrs. is missing was a grand total of:  $5.19!

 I put a white wash base coat on the frame....easy peasy....

 Then I noticed I was running out of white paint so I added a bit of water and ssssstttttrrrrreeeecccchhhheeedddd it.....whew

 Gave it a quick spray with some glossy white and it turned out perfect!

 This year's theme is Penguins (my kids love our theme dinners, complete with hats) .  I changed out my regular tablescape and put the frame in the middle on a black tablecloth, put my little fresh poinsettia plant in the thrifted plant holder and used fake snow to fill in within the frame and nested in three glass penguin ornaments....each couple will take an ornament to remind them of the annual theme.

 I added some silver placemats and found some penguin peanut butter chocolate candy to use on the place settings....bummer I could not find penguin napkins anywhere and trust me when I say I looked!  We will eat when The Addie and Ms. Shannie arrive tonight....cowboy caviar with tortilla chips, holiday home made tamales with home made chili to pour over them, cheese tacos, Trader Joe jo jo ice cream made into a peppermint ice cream pie, apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream....and then PRESENTS!!!!!

 I volunteered Steve to be Santa at the local school that sponsors a preschool with a mix of disabled and challenged kids and mainstream kids.  I made sure my little red sleigh was ready to go!

 Santa and I arrive on the scene.....

 Although he needed lots of cushions and sat on one side of his bottom and was exhausted for days, he made the best of it with these wonderful and beautiful children....I cried and cried....good tears tho!

 Santa's parting words....be good to each other, good for your mommies and daddies and the teachers too!  The kids were mesmerized....

 And a parting shot of my Santa Claus and Santa Paws!

Merry Christmas everyone!

The First 15.....

 

The first 15 days of December have been a wild ride!!!!  Steve was scheduled for his second surgery of the year, a brief 30 minute tail bone removal.  Piece of cake after his major back surgery in July.  The odyssey of this has been long...I am talking years he has had tailbone pain and been miserable.  Not only does it limit what he is able to do, what he can do is always with pain and that makes him unhappy and grumpy and who can blame him.....it is not easy on the wife either.  We have been to numerous neuro's and had over 2 million dollars worth of tests, MRI, treatments such as epidurals, etc., and all kinds of trial treatments, all to no avail 

 

After a very long search we finally found the most wonderful Neurosurgeon who agreed after Steve's successful back surgery that he would just remove the tailbone as it appeared mobile when he examined him, however test after test revealed there was no abnormalities.....well, with his tailbone anyway :)

 

Dr. said that we would only need outpatient and would be in the center about 1 hour max.  I planned accordingly.  Dr. also said it was not a 'home run' as this type of surgery has a lower success rate; however, he felt this was a last resort option since we have exercised every other viable one.

 

Surgery day was upon us....I tried to keep things lighthearted and upbeat and even had him laughing as they wheeled him away.

 

I waited with the other families in the waiting room for over an hour and expected to see the surgeon at any minute....after 1.5 hrs I checked in at the desk and they called back and said he was still in OR.  So I waited another hour....now 2.5 hrs into a 30 min procedure.  They offered to go back to the OR and check for me.  She returned and only said 'Dr. will be out to see you'...my heart sunk.  It seemed like hours until he appeared, but it was just about another 45 minutes.  He called me into the private waiting area and I braced myself....he had about 10 pictures in his hand and was showing me all kinds of things that made no sense to me but he was so excited and gave me a huge hug.  The net net is that Steve had an undetected FRACTURE and when he opened him up the bone was just 'flapping around'....Good news, this will for sure cure his pain; bad news a much more involved surgery and recovery.....and recovery has been hard, believe me.  He can't sit AT ALL....he can only lay in bed and get up for a few minutes every few hours.....I am exhausted running and doing but it all has to be done. He can't even ride in a car, sit in his chair, nada!   Of course we had trouble with our rentals, trouble with a real estate contract, etc., etc., etc.  The days go fast but they also drag by....it's difficult, however, will be worth it once his surgery pain is healed.  What a journey!

 

 

Before his surgery we decided we were not going to full on decorate; only half of what we usually do.  He was able to bring in these tubs with 'half' of our stuff so this was a good project for me to do while being a housebound care giver.

 I love how my snow scene turned out in the living room.....the soft lights are nice soothing....my little Horeb is magical....

 It's just as pretty in the natural light of the day as well.....

 I put only part of my Tropical Beach Santa stuff in the bathroom....usually all decked out....

 I put my nativity and crèche on the dining room table this year....the glass box I kept it in for years cracked and broke, but I like this crèche I found at the Antique Store just as well.....

 Steve wanted the Snowman Collection out this year so I put it in an area I thought he could enjoy; unfortunately he has been upstairs in bed most of the time.  We only put up our Travel Tree (that contains ornaments from our travels) and not our big tree.  It is plenty and I love that Brody calls it our 'Moving Tree'....it is bright and pretty when lit up.

 I put some random things on the mantle, no major theme this year, and used one of my vintage tablecloths on the family dining area with the boys Santa Dishes on the lazy susan...

 I  only venture out an hour a day at max and was able to shop for and make some holiday gifts for a party I am going to tomorrow....it was a fun project.

 I wanted to make a Vintage Christmas Wreath with my vintage ornaments, however, they were not in the boxes that came down and I did not want to go digging....I did find my vintage package decorations though and sorted through them.....

 

 I made two wreaths, but only got a picture on one....it was fun to play around with these things and find a permanent home for them after them being tucked away since I was a little girl....yes even then I could not throw anything away!

 

We were delighted to hear that my mom will be coming for the holidays so I put this little tree up for her in the guest room and around the tree skirt I put the little ceramic bell figurines that were ours when I was little that she gave me when she moved years ago....

 Brody loved rediscovering the Christmas set of Playschool Little People.....I don't want to think about the day he will out grow those!

 On a quick drive to La Costa to take care of something I came across and Estate Sale.  I only had 15 minutes and had to park way down the street...but this place was a McMansion and had room after room of treasure.  In a way I am happy I was pressed for time as I am sure I would have brought home way too much.  I am more than pleased that I scored on this vintage globe made of leather and hand drawn continents....it is priceless to me.

 Then another day I made a quick trip to Escondido to deliver some Christmas Cheer and stopped by one of my favorite Thrift Stores and scored all this for $5.00!!!!!  Vintage blow mold Halloween decoration, wonderful folk art turkey (don't judge) and this vintage silverware chest.

 This chest needed some love.....Steve was able to help a bit and it was a good project for him to work on....not too big and not too much work needed.  I removed the hardware....

 He gave it a quick sand.....

 Then we stained it dark cherry to match our master bathroom cabinets.....

 It turned out really really nice!

 It is just perfect to hold all my earrings, bracelets and headbands that I use often....it was a happy day!

The next day was an unhappy day.....these arrived on my doorstep...18 years of my professional life in these boxes...still can't tell the tale of this...too many lawyers involved...maybe soon....cold I tell ya, cold.

 And then later that day my day got a whole lot better when this BEAUTIFUL arrangement arrived from two very special and important people in my life!!!!  It makes our house smell like Christmas and is as fresh now as it was the day it arrived!

 I can only imagine what the next 15 days have in store.....hopefully a bit slower than the first 15 and that involves more healing!