Gingerbread House Plans

Each year, around Christmas time, the kids in my family all get together and decorate gingerbread houses.  Mom cuts out brown foam core board and glues it together on wooden disks covered in aluminum foil.  We all bring candy to decorate with which always ends up with a huge assortment of building supplies.  The day of, Mom makes Royal icing that is just stiff enough to hold the candy in place.  We all have a blast. 

Last year, instead of finding a Saturday during December that we are all free, we decided to make them on Thanksgiving and fore go the nap after tearing into the bird.  So while all the guys are napping the gals and kids venture into the basement for gingerbread shop class! 

Generally, I like to plan what my house is going to look like or a theme that I would like to stick to.  This year I want to go a little more down to earth and natural.  I want to make a sort of "house in the woods" which won't be that easy to do considering I don't have any edible moss or tree branches.  Did I mention our decorated houses must be edible... the decorations anyway.  So we have simple guidelines to follow which means I will be carousing the candy aisle this week and pulling out the brown cereal.  My main items to work with this year will be Golden Grahams for the roof, sticks of gum for walk ways, and chow mien noodles of which I have no clue how I am going to use yet. 

So here are inspiring houses that I found.  Notice that not many of them are actual candy houses.  But still inspiring.  I am going to have to find lots of green candy and take a lot of patience with me!  Pictures will follow.

Just Beachy

Well, well, well.  Welcome to my 250th blog post.  It's about a Christmas tree!  In November!  I know... too soon... blah blah, but if you don't get a least a couple of suggestions for Christmas trees you may wind up putting up the same old boring Christmas tree you put up every year.  Which is Ok, but sometimes it's good to explore other options and get down right crafty.

I visited my sister's house today.  She is the Shell Lady.  And the Sand Lady.  She loves the beach and looking for shells and beautifully incorporates her beach inspiration into her home.  This year she had an idea and just couldn't wait to use it and it worked out wonderfully.

Here are a few shots of her beach inspired Christmas tree located in her master bedroom.  She and I alike put up a few different trees each year.  So she will have other trees that I may show you too after Thanksgiving when they go up. 

Just brill!  She made the twine balls by using simple plain ball ornaments and gluing twine all the way around.  Twine can be purchased at the dollar store for just one dollar so realistically you could make up a dozen of these for under five dollars.  I love all the shells and she also used the twine again glued on for the hangers.  Isn't she a smartie?!  Great job!

In Admiration

In admiration of the author's chosen words.  Words that stick out and slap me as relative.  Relating to my life and way of thinking.  Isn't it refreshing to be knee deep in a novel and discover a piece of yourself right there amongst the pages.  And only for a brief moment in two or three sentences that I read and reread several times.  Then search for a pencil on my nightstand and jot the page number down on my book mark so I will remember where to look for the passage that will find it's way to my journal penning.  I finished the third in a series of books (I am starting the second one now) by author Alan Bradley. 

Quote 1:  Whenever I'm with other people, part of me shrinks a little.  Only when I am alone can I fully enjoy my own company.

Quote 2:  It always surprises me after a family row ti find that the world outdoors has remained the same.  While the passions and feelings that accumulate like noxious gases inside a house seem to condense like old smoke, the out of doors is different.  The landscape seems incapable of accumulating human radiation.  Perhaps the wind blows anger away.

Quote 3:  I think there must be a kind of courage that comes from not being able to make up your mind.

Quote 4:  We always want to love the recipients of our charity, but it is not necessary.  Indeed, it is sometimes not possible.

here goes the dirty dirty - part 1

this post is the first of a few posts on getting organized.  it also involves letting you see how un-organized i can be. i think it's a "libra thing".  at least that's what i am blaming it on.  some of my posts on this subject are down right embarrassing.  but the good thing is... i am not the only one who lives this way.  and no... i don't mean forcing my husband to see my clutter.  i mean YOU.  the un-organized.  admit it... there is an area of you home that you ignore.  where the crap just falls.  an area that houses lids to tupperware bowls you no longer have.  it's time to do something.  some of my make-overs took only 15 minutes.  one of them took an entire day and then some.  here is the first of a few. (p.s. you are fixin to know way more about me than you need to know)

project numero uno:  under the vanity (my side, not his)

before... stuffed-o-rama

 plates?  for soap of course!  and all that cotton needs help!

 do i really need all this stuff?

 first step... pull it all out.  then separate in to three piles

use, don't use and belongs somewhere else.

 the "to-go" stuff... don't need, been in there too long... pile.

 things that belong in a pile elsewhere in the house

 carefully placing back.

 keeping only what i USE  (key word here)

after

less often stuff in the back, more often stuff in the front.

geez the under the vanity took 15 minutes and a trash can.  and wow does it feel better!