Girl's Got Guts

Are you kidding me?!  Gwyneth? Really?

I was prepared to hate her and feel sorry for her for embarrassing herself on the CMA's. Well, I have nothing to say, except she was AMAZING!



Before tonight, I would see her on various things, but never really paid much attention.  I was kind of neutral, but now I am impressed.  This took guts, and she did a great job.  There's something just not right about someone being so talented in multiple areas and pretty and skinny and stylish and smart (at least she seems to be).  Good for her!

Did you see it?  Were you as surprised as I was?

Christmas Decor 2009

To get everyone in the spirit and start those creative juices flowing, Beth at The Stories of A2Z is hosting a linky party of last year's Christmas mantle.  I'll be linking up.  Check it out - lots of great inspiration.

Here are some of my terrible pictures from last year. It's my goal to do much better with the decorations and the photo taking this year!  I'm hoping that Chicken Little will help me get everything decorated while she is home for Thanksgiving. 

Here's the tree, the beast, and the mantle in the background.  Our mantle is only about 6" wide, so I'm somewhat limited on what I can put up there.  I'd like to figure out a way to expand it a bit.  I also made that big letter "C" last year - it could stand for Christmas, but really it stands for "Cash" our last name.

And another view of the tree, taken from the catwalk upstairs.  Yes, that is a big pink peacock on the top of my tree.  It's not traditional, but I like it.  It's showy just like my tree.  I know you're jealous of it's fabulosity.  ;-) I've got quite the collection of ornaments - and I use EVERY single one!  More is more! 

This is the little silver tree I set up in the dining room.  I wish I could find the other pictures of the table.  It was all in silver and gold - really pretty and sparkly!

The kitchen sideboard - this was my "other" favorite.  :-)  I also had a little tree in the kitchen and we decorated it with sugar cookies.  I kept having to redecorate that one. 

And, finally we had the hall tree in the entryway last year.  I decided to hang the stockings here since the mantle is so skinny. 

I have been dreading decorating for Christmas, but now I'm starting to get excited about it.  We have to get a new tree since I threw our old one out last year - very happy about that!  How about you?  Are you planning to decorate the same way you always have, or are you planning to change things up a bit this year?

Kindness of Strangers?

Last Friday, as I waited to take the train downtown to the Christmas Market, I was feeling nervous and out of my element.  I was taking the train because I didn't want to deal with traffic, and I didn't want to pay $15 for parking.  I ended up leaving work later than planned, and because it was more convenient, I drove to a park and ride station that is closer to downtown. 

Most of the people waiting at that station did not look like me.  I was uncomfortable, anxious, in a hurry and a little on edge.  There was a group of teenagers five feet away acting loud and stupid - doing what teenagers do.  I was annoyed.

I stood there waiting, being irritated.  A woman came up to me and politely asked if this train would stop at her destination.  I am embarrassed to say that my annoyance became obvious.  I turned around and snapped, "I don't know." 

I saw the surprise on her face and realized what I had done. I tried to fix it.  I tried to laugh and tell her that I wasn't sure because it had been a long time since I'd been on the train.  I looked around for a map of the route, but didn't see one.  I told her that the train stopped at all of the stations downtown (which it did), so it would probably stop at hers.  I looked for the map, but I did not move from the spot where I was standing.  Most likely, if I had taken the time to walk three steps in either direction, I would have seen a map and we could have looked at it together and figured out the route she needed to take.  I couldn't be bothered.  The train came and I got on a different car - away from her and the obnoxious teenagers.

It's scary to get on a train when you don't know exactly where it's going.  I know that because I was in exactly the same position.  I had a good idea of where I was going, but I was not 100% sure - I had never been to my destination stop before.  That woman needed my help, was brave enough to ask for it, and I was so absorbed in my situation and my judgement of those around me that I couldn't be bothered to help her.  I am not proud.

20 minutes later, I got off the train at my stop.  It was a rather dimly lit, deserted underpass.  The building where I was going was a couple of blocks away.  I had to walk, and I was not positive which direction to go.  I was nervous and a little scared, but I started walking in what I hoped was the right direction.  There were very few people at the station.  I did not make eye contact with those I passed, and I tried to walk with purpose. 

I passed a group of 3 -4  hoodlums and heard some "hey, baby..." type of comment.  I walked faster.

As I rounded the corner, I saw two women who looked like me.  They were carrying bags that had the Christmas Market logo.  I felt certain I was heading in the right direction, but still wasn't sure which way to turn at the end of the block.  I spoke up and asked those two women, "Excuse me, are y'all coming from the Christmas Market?"  They both quit talking, looked down, and kept walking.

I said it again, louder, "Excuse me, are you coming from the Market?"  One of them glared at me and said, "I don't know. We're not from around here."  She obviously hadn't heard me.  I stopped walking and said, looking at their bags, "You're coming from the Christmas Market.  Which way is it?"  The woman did not stop walking, sighed and said vaguely waving her hand, "Go that way and take a right," and she turned away, dismissing me. 

I walked on and did find the building, but getting to that market was no longer my the focus of my journey that day.

Within 10 seconds of that encounter, I was no longer scared or anxious.  I was angry.  I felt somehow diminished - somehow less than - unworthy of kindness or acknowledgement. 

Within 30 seconds, I was humbled and embarrassed. I looked in the mirror and what I saw was not pretty. Not only had those women looked like me, they had behaved like me.

I wonder have we become so wary of strangers that we cannot lend a hand to those in need?  Are we so afraid of being taken advantage of that we have completely closed ourselves off and we're unwilling to show compassion to those brave enough to reach out and show their vulnerability?

Not being in the situation, it's easy to judge and say you would have responded kindly to that first woman.  But within the span of less than one hour, two women (one of them me) had responded in the same exceedingly ungracious manner.  What would you have done?

I've thought about these two scenarios quite a bit over the last several days.  I understood and was grateful for the lesson almost immediately, but I am still wondering if I have learned it.  Would I behave any differently now?  I hope that I would.

Funky Finds

This weekend I went to two different Holiday Markets.  The first one I went to on Friday evening right after work.  Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but I have to say I wasn't really impressed.  There were a few cute booths, but not much that was "special" - lots of leopard print, pink tulle, and freeze dried dip mixes.  Next...

On Saturday, I drove to Ft. Worth for The Experience by Funky Finds.  Let's start with a little background info -  Ft. Worth is a city - it has a cowboy heritage, but it is not a small, country town - it's a CITY.  This show was located at the convention center in the museum district - probably less than 5 miles from the downtown high-rises.  I turned the corner into the parking lot, and this is what I saw...

What the heck?!  Then my next thought was "Oh no!"  I'm incredibly allergic to horses - swell up, turn blue and die kind of allergic.  I decided to be brave and check it out a little further.  Apparently, in addition to art, it was a big horse weekend in the city.

The horse show was in the building next door to the building where I was going - thank goodness!  As I pulled around to the front door, I saw the sign telling me I was in the right place... I think.

Alrighty then, this should be interesting.  Guns and art, hmmmm...  

"Well thank goodness for that!" I thought, "What kind of art is this?"  I knew I had to be in the wrong place.  The people milling about did NOT seem to be the crafty type I was expecting to see.  But, as I BRAVELY and QUICKLY walked past this area, I saw the sign I'd been looking for - woo hoo!!

It was A-MA-ZING!! Too much fun! Lots of local artists with some wonderful treasures. I limited myself to cash only, but I got lots of business cards so I can hunt people down on etsy. YEA!  I got so excited that I didn't take any pictures once I got inside.  Anyway, here are some of the things I ended up buying.

  

I wanted about 100 of these tiles and jewelry dishes, but I restrained myself.  Rachel Bates is the artist, and she was so friendly.  She's going to be participating in another show on Dec. 3 - 4 at The Firehouse Gallery in Ft. Worth.  You can also check out her stuff here and here. 

I walked by this booth about 28 times before I finally convinced myself that it was ok to fight through the crowd and buy these FAB-U-LOUS earrings!  My favorite colors!  I'll be adding a matching necklace to my Christmas list.  :-)  Check out Heidy's other jewelry (it was all so gorgeous) here.

Finally, the other table that I was stalking was of Yvonne Wilson.  I love! love! loved! her work.  It was charming and clever and wonderful - just like Yvonne - very sweet lady.  I bought these two turkey prints, but I know I will be going back to her website and etsy shop for other pieces.  I had to stop at the Goodwill on the way home for some frames which I painted that night!  My photo doesn't do these justice, but they will have a prominent place in my Thanksgiving decor.

I may have purchased a few other things that I cannot show because Christmas is coming!  But some other folks I'll be adding to my favorites are:

• Sher Chappell at Essa
• Rachel Davidson at 3 Bears Studio
• Robbie Jenkins here and here
• Sarah Zamora here

I finally managed to drag myself away, and on the way back to the car I noticed the parking garage....

 

 CUTE!!  Then, as I reached for the car door, I noticed this not so cute...

Ewwwww!!  Well that brought me right back to reality.  I guess I should have parked in that garage.  :-/

Has anyone else been to a fun and fabulous market lately or discovered something/someone new and clever?

Gratitude Friday

 

 

Today I'm grateful for:

1. Books on "tape" (I can "read" and do something else at the same time - unless the book is REALLY good and if that's the case, I just sit and listen) - downloaded from the public library website (FOR FREE!) directly onto my ipod.
2. The Help - truly a just-sit-and-listen or read-it-in-a-day kinda book - LOVED it!
3. E-Mags - who'da thunk it?!  As you know, I'm new 'round these parts, so I've just learned about this awesomeness.  Check out this one and this one.  I will be doing some serious perusing this weekend!
4. Craft Show Season - also on the agenda for this weekend, visiting here and here.
5. Flannel sheets (most of the time)  & cool cotton pillow cases when the hot is flashin'.

Have a cozy weekend.

Finally!

Brrr!  It's gotten chilly here in the last few days.  It really feels like Fall, and... FINALLY it's starting to look like Fall.

The mums are finally on all out GO!  They've just fully exploded this week.  I'm going to have to take it all in quickly because they don't last very long.  They are so flashy - love all the color!

Yea!!  I LOVE pretty!

Refrigerator Chalkboard

This weekend I made this...

I loved this idea! I got the idea from Melissa at The Inspired Room blog.  During October, I was an avid follower of her 31 Days of Autumn Bliss, where she showed off her Refrigerator Chalkboard here. 

Here's how to do it:

1. Get an old frame, or find one at Goodwill.  I found mine (measuring 9" x 12") at Goodwill for $2.99.  If necessary,  you can paint the frame to match your kitchen.  I lucked up on this one and didn't really feel like I needed to paint it.
2. For the chalkboard part, you can attack this one of two ways:  cut a thin board to fit your frame and paint it with chalkboard paint, OR buy adhesive chalkboard sheets here, and cut it to fit your frame.  I'm ALL about instant gratification, so I bought the sheets.  You don't have to wait for them to cure like you do the chalkboard paint.
3. Take the glass out of the frame, put the chalkboard in, and mount it on the fridge.
4. My frame had a picture hanger on the back - you can remove this, but I already had a 3M removable hook that I put on the fridge and the hanger slid over that perfectly.  Melissa used the removable Command Strips to hang hers. 

The other great idea from Melissa's post is using chalk pens instead of chalk.  They are so much easier to handle and much cuter colors than regular chalk.  I found them at Michael's for $11.99 and with my 40% off coupon, they were only $7.20.

This project was extremely satisfying and took me all of 10 minutes to put it together.  Of course, if you paint the frame and use chalkboard paint it will take a little longer.

I'm thinking these may make great Christmas gifts!

I'm linking up here: