Merry Christmas!

The whole family is coming over for Christmas dinner tonight, so I'll be posting on that later, But I just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, and just incase anyone has any last minute gift wrapping you need to do (I do!) here's something to help you out!

'tis the Season....

..For forgiveness.

I'm starting to think that I recommitted to this blogging thing at exactly the wrong time. I'm finding it a bit difficult to blog on a regular basis when I have no internet.

That's right. NO INTERNET!

Some of you may be asking, "how do you survive?"

I'm actually finding it kind of nice. Instead of spending my time on facebook, and watching stupid pointless (*cough* adorable) kitty cat videos, I've been working on my house, doing some crafts here and there, catching up on my reading, and actually making food for myself...even if it's a simple as a breakfast sandwich.

This one's got egg, pepper turkey, and mild cheddar, toasted on rosemary and olive oil bread with a slather of honey mustard. Yum!

So here is an update of my past week..

It snowed... A LOT.

This picture was taken after the first snowfall...since then we've had more than 10 inches, and I'm miserable about it.















However, I have crossed a couple of things off of my "Things to do before Christmas" list.

Invitations to Christmas dinner sent out- Check

These where actually sent out a while ago (when I still had my Thanksgiving nails) Shaped like a house due to the fact that this will be the first Christmas in the Old House in forever..and not very many people have seen it all re-done and being lived in.

Christmas tree up and decorated- Check

Last week I went to pick out Christmas trees with my lovely friend Jen, and her family. I always get a real tree, but this was my first time actually going to the tree farm to pick it out. There where so many to choose from!

I think I picked a good one though. It turned out to be a little tall for my living room. But we got it all cut down to an appropriate size, and Brandon came over to help me decorate it. It's a little bare in a couple of places, but I still have a few ornaments to put on it.

It makes my living room feel so cheery and festive. I love it!

This year I've also been a bit obsessed with sparkly things, glitter and such..so I just got a big pack of super cheap dollar store Christmas bulbs and then added my own sparkle to them. I love the results.

For some of them I glued on little fake diamonds (left) and others I just coated in white and silver glitter (right)

  I want to add on a couple more of the diamond coated ornaments. They look so pretty near the Christmas lights.

Panic..

So I've just realized..it's DECEMBER! Christmas is at the end of the month!
There's so much I still need to do. Christmas is at my house this year, so I still need to send out invitations, and there are A LOT of things that still need to be done on my house. Mostly painting...but a lot of painting.
I'm going to go tomorrow and get my tree, so that'll be one thing down...and the gas guy came and hooked up my kitchen stove for me yesterday, so at least now I have cooking capabilities (even if the rest of my kitchen is still non-existent.) So..let's just hope I can get everything done in time.

On a side note, if I have any extra time, does anyone want to have a cookie exchange with me??

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday! My family doesn't really do anything for Thanksgiving anymore since some of us live pretty far away, so instead of celebrating with my family, I have dinner with Brandon's family, and a group of their friends. It's always a lot of fun, with tons of good food, and competitive board games.
This year I decided that I wanted to contribute to the meal, but I didn't have a lot of time between work, so I decided to make a very simple (yet delicious) broccoli salad.

Yum! I used this recipe from Jam Hands, which includes broccoli, cheese, onion, dried cranberries, and bacon mixed together in a dressing. Instead of cooking my own bacon (since I don't currently have a stove) I just used Oscar Meyers Real Bacon Bits, and I also added sliced almonds to the mixture. Gotta say, it was a big hit. I didn't come home with any left overs. 

As proof once again that I have too much free time, I also painted my nails for Thanksgiving using a white base coat, and about 6 other colors. I didn't have a toothpick at the time, so I used a hair pin to make the zigzags. I finished it off with a matte top coat, just because I love how the matte makes the colors look.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!

Cats are taking over the world..

So I think there's something that needs to be addressed. Over the last year, there are a few trends that have become quite popular, and I think it's time to talk about them. If you know my sense of humor at all, you won't be the least bit surprised at this one...

yep. You guessed it.

Weird cat trends.




The first to appear was the Inbread Cat. This fad is a little confusing, but admittedly a clever pun.

 

 

Next, came the Cat Beard. A little bit funnier, still just as strange.

 

 

 

And that brings us to the most current Weird Cat Trend. Cats in Tights. I have to admit. This one made me laugh...a lot. Like a crazy person.

 

 

 

Seriously, who thinks up these things? Clearly these people have way too much time on their hands, and for that, I thank them.

 

 

City of Brotherly Love

So it's been a few days since I've posted, and here's why... I went on a little mini-vacation with my boyfriend's family to Philadelphia! It was an awesome weekend. We stayed Monday and Tuesday nights with his brother in Binghamton, and while we where there we celebrated his nephew's 1st birthday. (So adorable) Then on Tuesday, we drove into Philadelphia, did some brief sight-seeing to the Liberty Bell, and then went over to the Wells Fargo Center for a Flyers game! It was so much fun. They killed it, by the way. Flyers beat Ottawa 5-2 (yay!) So anyway, it was a very nice getaway (even though we spent a collective 16 hours in the car) Here are some little snippets of the trip.

One Crafty Lady

A while back, a family friend of mine made a gift for me, and I've decided that it is absolutely far too stunning not to share. Now I have to be honest, this woman is the craftiest, most creative lady I know, not to mention, incredibly talented. I've known her my whole life, and even though we're not really related, my brother and I grew up calling her Aunt Kathy.

So, this lovely lady took a completely ordinary box, and turned it into a gorgeous, personalized chest.

On the front, she used a wood burner to carve in my name, birth date, and a phrase that represents my life (look familiar? lol)

Notice all of the floral designs on the bottom and between the text. All of this was done freehand-no stencils, because she's just that amazing. Also note the edges of the box, which she also burned. Don't the little details just make it that much more beautiful?

In order to make it more personal, on one side she carved both of my parents' names and their wedding date, along with my full name. On the other side she put a quote:

"Learn to Love

Learn to be Patient

Learn to be Disciplined

Learn to Forgive,

And to Love Again"

I'm so in love with this gift, and I can't wait to put it in the Old House. I just think it'll look so perfect in that house.

Very long couple of days...

In addition to my full-time job, and my classes...and my part-time job..I've been working out at the Old House a bit the last couple of days. I'm not going to go into it a lot right now because, as I've said, it's been a very long day and my bed is calling my name, but I promise you will have a much more detailed update very soon!

So to summarize..

We've mostly been doing a lot of painting this week..

Staying at the house long after the sun has decided to sleep

But I really think it's coming together, don't you?

You may have also noticed that my blog got a bit of a makeover as well. Nothing has changed really, except the look. You can still follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter using the icons on the right hand side >

Or if you would prefer, you can get email updates when I post (also on the right > over there >>)

And now...

Goodnight :)

Just one quick thing..

I can't even begin to pretend like I deserve your trust, as I have said this a million times before, and then clearly failed.

But as of today, I am re-committing myself to blogging on a regular basis. There are quite a few things being put into motion soon that I would love to share with you guys..but in the meantime, here are just a couple of things that speak to me, and remind me that a completely beautiful life takes time...but we should enjoy each day along the way.

 

And finally, something I'm sure we all need to remember at times.

Have a good night!

Something you haven't heard of yet, but you need to..

So here is my "Welcome to Facebook!" post for a brand new page called Rooted in Dust
This is a musical project that's just been started by a very talented, and aspiring young musician named Jordan Nickerson (age 19)
Jordan writes his own songs (music and lyrics) and has just started sharing his work with the online community.
Seriously. You need to check out his page. Now this page has just been started, so give him some time to get his feet on the ground, and in the meantime make sure you listen to his song Worth which has recently been posted.

Psst..click on this link here for his page> Rooted in Dust or this one for a direct link to his song > Worth

I talked briefly with Jordan about his goals for his music. He explained how he wanted his music to not only be original, but to convey a thought-provoking message. He wants to get people thinking about their own lives, and the role that God plays in each and every part of them. It's his goal through his music to get people thinking about how "Man is small, and God is big. Without Him we are just foolish children wandering around blindly."
Jordan stated to me "I want my music to convey something deep, relevant, and important."

So you should all go "like" his Facebook page. Show him some encouragement, and feel free to share his page with your friends as well.
I think it's safe to say that we can be expecting some pretty awesome music from this kid. I can definitely see him going somewhere with this amazing gift he has.

Possibly the Dumbest Hummingbird in the World

We've never had a problem like this before. Every year, we hang up a hummingbird feeder by our front door. We also tend to leave our front door open in the summer, as our house is not air conditioned so it's nice to have the fresh air flowing in. We've never before had any problem with this.
This year however, on four or five separate occasions, one specific hummingbird has flown right past the feeder and into the house! That's a problem. He just zooms around our cathedral ceiling with absolutely no chance of reaching him. A couple of times he's flown out of the window in the loft, but this bird really isn't the brightest thing.

So the other day, he flew in and after flying around for a while he got tired (and probably exhausted from heat) and landed. We caught him and brought him outside, but he refused to fly away.

My mom held him to the sugar water so that he could get some hydration.

He drank for a while...and then he died. Very sad.

Or so we thought...

We put him on a wood box outside just on the off chance that he was still alive..and when we came back to check on him, he was gone.

Then the next day my mom found this blog post sharing a story of a similar incident. Apparently this is a thing?

So we decided that that's probably what happened to our hummingbird friend. Our suspicions were confirmed when a few days later the EXACT SAME BIRD was stuck in our house again. Clearly not the brightest animal.

Father's Day Post

So I'm going to get a little personal for a second...

This is my daddy..

Harold Charles Larkin. He was born in 1924, and lived a long and happy life to the age of 86. He was in World War 2, raised two families, built the house that I grew up in, and never stopped enjoying life.

When people find out how old my dad was, they're almost always surprised. Growing up, people always thought I was his granddaughter. When I was little, my dad would take me places, and people would say "oh, how cute..is this your granddaughter?" and he would always start laughing, and correct them "Nope. She's my daughter." *cue awkward glances* I didn't realize it was weird. Once the neighbor boy told everyone in school that I didn't have a father. I yelled at him for saying it, but thinking back on it, I guess it was just an honest mistake. 

Growing up with a much older father was definitely a unique experience, and while I probably missed out on certain aspects of a typical father-child relationship, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Everyone who met my daddy loved him. He was such a young soul, that you almost forgot his real age...and he seriously knew everyone. We couldn't go anywhere without him running into someone he knew.

I'm an old soul, and for that I blame him. We used to listen to old records, and watch The Lawrence Welk Show. Because of him I'm familiar with old comedians like Red Skelton,  and all of Bob Hope's "Road to.." movies. Not to mention the fact that my dad's idea of a bedtime lullaby was this Irish drinking song which he would sing to me every night when I was little.

He was definitely a unique person, and I miss him more and more every day. It definitely makes me sad to think about the fact that my children will never get to meet him. But let me tell you..he was a great dad...and he raised his kids to be great people, and great parents themselves.

Me, and all my brothers

Even though I know that my brothers all miss him more than anything today, they all have reason to celebrate on this day. They're all either fathers themselves, or they will be fathers someday. Some of them are even grandfathers. So no matter what, this will be their day. As the only girl, it's hard for me to enjoy this day. I don't have my father with me anymore, nor will I ever be a father. So no matter how much I celebrate the other fathers in my life (brothers, uncles etc,) Father's Day will always be more of a burden than anything for me. 

But with that thought aside, I really do want to wish the sincerest Happy Father's Day to my brothers. They really are great dads, just like our daddy was, and they deserve to be celebrated today.

A few things that I love..

1. I love reconnecting with old friends. I got a message today from someone that I was really close with in college, but haven't been in touch with in a couple of years...and it really kind of made my day.

2. I love making other people happy.

Back Story:
There's an older couple who stay at our hotel quite frequently. They called a couple of days ago to let us know that they were coming this evening, and while I was on the phone with them, they mentioned to me that they were actually getting married today. Now they're really the nicest people, so I figured we should probably do something special for them since it's their wedding day and all.

So I made them a little gift basket to give them at check in. (Note: this act was slightly selfish, as I am constantly trying to find excuses to do anything wedding related)

(ignore all the stuff on the counter behind it)

(In case you're wondering why there's a dog bone, it's because they have an adorable little, extremely well behaved dog that just follows them everywhere they go)

But whether the act was selfish or not, it made them smile. So mission accomplished.

3, 4, and 5.

THIS

hahahaha my new phone case. Let me explain.

I've already mentioned my weird obsession with phone cases...and considering the number of cats I have, I'm sure you can figure out that I love them too...but the third thing that I have a secret love for...animal puns. hahah I literally laugh every time..no matter how stupid..I just can't help it. I mean seriously now..try not to laugh.

aaahahahaha it never gets old!

And now something I don't love: Slicing open my baby toe. yeah. That just happened. I was going to post a picture, but it's far too gruesome

P.S. Shout out to my cyber stalkers. You know who you are ;)

Mother-daughter Day

Today was definitely a no-makeup kind of day.

(Check out those raccoon eyes haha)

I woke up at noon. I blame the rainy weather.

But today was actually a really lovely day. I spent the day with my mom. We had a really nice lunch at a local pizza place (Avanti's)
Check out this hot delicious, cheesy, saucy Country Sweet Calzone.

YUM.

We stopped for a quick shop at the grocery store, and then we went around to a couple of little greenhouses at the side of the road. Between my me and my mom, we have a very serious plant buying problem. We just can't get enough of them! There's always another and another and another that catch our eye, and clearly we must have them all. So in the end, we came home with quite a few plants

Most of them are being planted in the gardens either at my mom's house, or at the Old House, but with some of the smaller ones, and a couple of rocks as well, I made a little mini garden, of which I am very fond.

Cute right?

And then we did a little scrap-booking with some old-timey family photos.

So..pretty decent day, considering how short it has been for me. (I've only been awake a little over 7 hours)

But now I'm going to curl up and watch a movie with miss Riley.