pretty presents

2009 is coming to an end!! How do you feel about that? It seemed to go by so quickly, but it was a happy year... so many changes! I lived in 3 different cities this year, but I think we've finally found the one where we're going to settle down for a while. All is well.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite gifts that I received for Christmas this year. Don't worry, this'll be the only present post. Gifts this year seemed to be mostly tea-party themed, or "let's help Rebecca stay warm since she doesn't have any winter clothes" themed. Both good causes, I feel.

A little owl! I think this is a cream pitcher.

Gorgeous little hand-bound book! Not sure what I'll put in it.

Cup and saucer!

This exciting set it something Robert's mom found in their backyard years ago. They dug it up!!

I think it's neat!

Jacket from Robert's grandparents - It allows me to look like a turtle, and I'm down with anything turtle-y.

For all of you who received Christmas presents: what was your favorite? I've got to run off now and get busy making things pretty around here -- a couple of friends from Texas are driving up to spend New Year's Eve with us! I probably won't have much time to post here in the next couple of days, so HAPPY NEW YEAR! See you again in 2010!

scenes from christmas

I'm back! We got home Saturday evening, but we've been busy unpacking and settling back in (and playing Plants vs Zombies, which my sister gave Robert for Christmas, and which we both quickly got addicted to). We had a nice Christmas in Memphis! I hope all of you had a good week as well. Here are some pictures from the last few days!

I really like this snow person.

This is Luna. She's a nice dog.

We made snowmen (/robots?) with marshmallows and pretzel sticks and chocolate chips!

This masterpiece is by Justin, by bro-in-law.

That's pretty much all I've got. There are pictures of everyone opening presents in pajamas, but they were taken on a different camera and they'll probably never show up here - so sorry, everyone! There were some really neat gifts that I'll get around to sharing later; right now everything is strewn across the living room floor and I really need to get organized. Happy Monday!

christmas break

Happy Wednesday! Or Friday-Wednesday, as I'm thinking of it. Every day this week feels like a Friday. Tomorrow morning Robert and I will drive to Memphis, where we're spending Christmas! It's going to be my first Christmas with his family, and I'm pretty excited about it.

Fancy wrapping paper selection.

Gingerbread man scissors, which I use year-round.

To be honest and cheesy with you, this time of year reminds me of a couple of Christmases ago, just after Robert had moved to Texas. [Quick note for the uninitiated: I'm from Houston, Robert is from Memphis, and we dated long-distance for a while.] We were getting accustomed to having each other around ALL the time, and then he went back home for Christmas. It was the saddest Christmas EVER. We had an okay time with our families, but we missed each other terribly-- I was "house sitting" his apartment and I would just go there to hang out and read his Daniel Pinkwater books and think about how much I liked him [Robert, that is. But I like Daniel Pinkwater too!]. He was only gone for a few days, but the way we talked on the phone, you would think we would never see each other again. And that is when we knew that we had to marry each other and be together forever-ever. Sounds silly, but we began planning as soon as he got back, and we were married less than half a year later. Now we're on our second Christmas together! It's a good time.

But enough of that! I will be away from here for a few days. I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season (or whatever you want to call it). Tell me if you have any exciting plans!

cookies and such

Happy Monday, everyone! Can you believe that Christmas is this week? I can't, but I'm excited about it anyway. And in just a week and a few days, it will be 2010! It was odd enough entering the 2000s, but we're now going into the 2010s - isn't it crazy? I suppose that's how time works (it just keeps happening), but it still surprises me.

I've been keeping busy with the upcoming holidays, but I have a couple of things to share!


A VERY thoughtful couple ordered a box of cookies for us from Dozen. I've mentioned Dozen before: the bakery that uses local ingredients and sells at our farmer's market. This past Saturday when we walked up to buy some stuff (for other people, of course...) we were handed this box and told that someone called it in for us. Robert and I were completely bewildered. To be honest-- and this will tell you just how dorky we are-- we thought maybe that was a joke. But it was real and when we figured that out we were very happy.

Cookie Party!

YUM!

So: thank you Meaghan and William!! This was a perfect gift for us. And thanks to Claire for being an amazing baker!

Also, if anyone can tell the difference, I got a haircut this weekend! Kept the length, but got more layers. I'm actually happy with it, though it looked questionable and slightly frightening right after being cut: hair stylists have a way of making my hair very big. I don't think they know how to deal with it. But it's all good as far as maintenance on my end, though I do look like someone from an 80s glam metal music video when I wake up in the morning.

Hope everyone is having a nice week so far!

hello there

hippo!

My digital camera just arrived back home from being repaired!! I've tested it out and everything is in perfect working order. It had been freezing up and generally being annoying, so this is very nice! I'm so glad that my family purchased a warranty when they bought this camera for me a couple of years ago for Christmas. And luckily the whole repair process went really smoothly and quickly. I would totally recommend getting a SquareTrade warranty if you're in the market for something to cover an expensive electronic purchase!

That is all for now. I'm just excited about having my camera back. Still haven't finished up that roll of film I started, though I'm getting near the end! A couple of times the shutter seemed to get stuck while I was taking photos, so I'm crossing my fingers that my SLR camera is still in good shape and that the photos come out okay!

One last note: I recently spent a couple of days doing a really neat embroidery project as a gift for someone, but I didn't photograph it before wrapping it up and sending it away in the mail! Can't say what it is yet, but I'll have to force the recipient to take photos of it for me! (Isn't that sweet?)

help-portrait

Since I'm without any pictures to share this week, I thought it might be nice to share something else. A Nashville photographer started a project called Help-Portrait that has gone worldwide. The mission is for photographers to share their skills and give back to the community by taking portraits of needy families for free. It may not sound so significant, but when you think of how many of us take cameras for granted and how many people there are who have never had their photo taken... It's one way to make people feel special and beautiful! I will let this video speak for itself. This was actually a test run they did in October -- the real project started a couple of days ago (Dec. 12th), and I'm not sure if it's going to be a yearly event, but it's definitely worth watching! Be sure to visit their website if it's something that interests you - it made me a little teary eyed!

recent projects

Happy Friday, everyone! Do you realize that Christmas is exactly 2 weeks from today? I just noticed. There are so many things I need to do: self-imposed assignments like finishing up little creative projects and sending out cards! I still haven't finished those stockings that I mentioned making... but here's a peek:


Yeah, those are green strawberries. I like doing crafts with whatever I have on hand, and this seemed to be the only white-ish material that looked festive enough for the top of the stockings! It's an old feedsack print, so it gets historical points as well. Boy, I guess it's lucky that I also happened to have normal fabric for the rest of the project, or these might look particularly silly.

Hello, real camera.

In the sad news department, I sent my digital camera off to be repaired this week. I had a hard time boxing it up- I had to stop and take a few last pictures with it and then take pictures of it with my other camera... all sorts of parental things like that! Hopefully it will come back soon working better than ever.

The upside to all this is that I finally pulled out my regular old 35mm camera! I was slow to start taking pictures with it; all of the manual settings made me quite nervous. A few years ago I had the f/stops memorized and knew exactly what settings to use for certain lighting conditions, but I've had to relearn a lot of that this week. I've also had to relearn how to use the giant, external flash. It's so much fun to play with! I think with digital photography the main satisfaction is being able to automatically see your pictures and retake them if you're not happy. You can't do that with film, but you get the satisfaction of learning and understanding exactly what each component of the camera does*. It's a neat feeling!

*Not that you can't do that with a digital camera.. but digital makes it easier to go all-automatic and not worry about apertures and shutter speeds!

ebay'd

I really despise Ebay from a seller's point of view. However, there is some appeal to an auction that ends in a few days. I got an email from Ebay this morning about half price seller's fees and decided to list some things! These are all items which have expired from my Etsy shop that I've had trouble letting go of (attachment issues). I decided to start everything at $5 and see what happens! Please visit the listings if you're interested in anything. Each listing only has one picture because there's NO WAY I was going to pay 15 cents per extra picture! [Again: I do not like you, Ebay.] But I'll gladly provide extra pictures if anyone asks! Sorry for the lack of excitement in the item descriptions - these are just sort of quick and dirty listings! I have too much stuff laying around that needs to find a new home!

Handmade Vintage Dress - Size Small

Pussybow Blouse - Size 6

Plaid Shorts - Size 9/10

Handmade Vintage Checkerboard Skirt

Bert Yelin Bed Jacket

Chainlink Sweater - Size Medium

Striped Drop Waist Dress - Size 12

Again, if you're interested in anything here and need more details, just let me know! If you're not interested, just move along.

I have a few projects going on right now, and I suppose I better start taking some pictures (though it's rainy and gray here and the lighting is terrible): I'm sending my camera in to be repaired! I've been having problems with the zoom on my digital camera and it's still under warranty so I'm getting that taken care of. I really hope it will be fixed and back in my hands by Christmas. If not, I've got a backup plan! I bought a bunch of film yesterday and got out my Minolta XG-1. Hopefully I'll get a chance to start playing with that soon.

some facts and things

Thank you all for the sweet comments on the pictures from my last post! Everyone seems to be smitten with Zazie the hedgehog. She's cute, but she's also a grumpy little thing - I just enjoy taking pictures of her and rubbing her stomach when she's not curled up in a spiny ball. Hedgehogs can be found at exotic pet stores: my sister bought Zazie at S&S Exotic Animals in Houston. [They also sell two-toed sloths .. for $2000! Eep. Oh, wouldn't it be great to wake up December 25th to find a baby sloth climbing around on your Christmas tree? Hint hint.]

Hanging around. I hope you enjoy those shadows to the left!

How does everyone like December so far? I think it's spectacular! We put up our tiny, fake Christmas tree yesterday and I wrapped the first present... I'm excited about this month.

On another fun note, Emma Wallace from Emma's Music passed this Beautiful Blogger Award on to me. Thank you so much, Emma! For anyone who hasn't visited her blog, Emma is a musician with a fantastic voice. Her blog is full of good stuff, and each week she puts up a new song sketch. Check it out!

Here are the rules that came with the award:

1) Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2) Copy the award & place it on my blog.
3) Link to the person who nominated me for this award.
4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.
5) Nominate 7 bloggers.
6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate.

So, 7 interesting things about myself? Hmm. Many of you probably know more about me than you should, so I will stay off any previously-discussed topics and just go with whatever pops into my head first.

1. Yesterday Robert and I watched The Straight Story: a G-rated Disney movie directed by David Lynch (?!) about an old man driving his tractor across Iowa. Then we worked on a jigsaw puzzle and listened to Beatles records. We almost died from wholesomeness.

2. A couple of weeks ago I said I was going to get a haircut, but I never got around to it! That's pretty boring, actually.

3. I have lost the motivation / inspiration needed to update my Etsy shop. :( Has that happened to anyone else? I was going to take pictures of some stuff yesterday, but I just dread the entire process, and have been dreading it for months now. I think I'm bored with it, and I really need to come to terms with that + figure out what I want to do next.

4. I'm also coming to terms with the fact that I dress myself like a 5-year old, and that's funny. I can't make myself care about fashion. Boring! I have not shopped for clothes in a few months, and I'm okay with that. This may be related to the previous fact - even vintage isn't exciting me right now.

5. Did I just blow your mind with those last 2 facts? I hope not! I've had some blogging issues as well lately: I'm just not sure what to put here and who is in my audience and what is entertaining anymore. I often feel that I yammer on about insignificant things, and I do not enjoy the finished product when I do that! If I had more self-control, this would be a pictures only blog, but I feel the need to narrate.

6. Sticking to this candid trend, I can't seem to figure out what to do with my life right now. It's not a bad thing, it's just a weird spot to be in. I'm done with school (and not interested in going back), I have no job (but can't decide if I want one), and I'm just unsure about what comes next! I also feel this is a good thing - obviously if my circumstances were different I'd be forced to find a job and stick with it. So this is an exploratory phase! I'm just not sure where it's going...

7. It's hard to follow those last 3! I will just say that it feels nice to get all of that out there. I'm usually quite reserved on this blog, trying to keep everything upbeat and neutral, but I'm not really like that most of the time.

Well, that was enlightening! Now, onto the 7 bloggers I want to pass the award to. Some of these are newer finds for me, while others are blogs I've been reading for some time now (and have probably awarded before.. but they're just that good).

Oranges and Apples

dailee dose

Ambiguous Alliterative Abomination

our.city.lights

Much Love

(Into) the Fray

*Felinofelice

All of these blogs are written by multi-talented people who are just lovely! (Feel free to take the award and pass it along, or ignore it if you don't feel like digging up 7 interesting facts.. haha).

This afternoon I'm planning to make Christmas stockings! I'm going to use this template. They'll be small but that's okay because a) we have nowhere to hang them and b) who likes to put a lot of stuff in stockings? Not I. I just want to make some pretty badly. I'll let you know if they come out well! If not, we shall pretend I never mentioned them.