Thanksgiving nears!

Four days til the feast of the spice-rubbed turkey tradition....still so much to do!
But for today...it's all about getting some craft time in. Thanks. I needed that! (and in the meantime...I am IMpatiently waiting for the new Penny Black website!)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year.....

HOLIDAYS ARE NEAR!! TURKEY TIME!!!!!

COUNTDOWN TO CRUISE TIME!

THE 2006 COHEN/GILMAN ANNUAL VACATION-ORAMA IS ALMOST HERE!

CANNOT WAIT!

American Idol 6 - IN THE HOUSE!

Yes, my sister and I and 3 of my nieces were at the Wachovia Center last night rockin' it with the IDOLS. Yes I am a Teen Beat wannabe. Had a blast -- and per our annual tradition, we stalked the BUS until we got autographs!! (Thanks CHRIS, ACE AND TAYLOR! Whoo hoooo!! Thanks to my sister for being the leader of our stalking pack!) KELLY AND JAN: JACKIE KISSED CHRIS'S BALD HEAD!!!!!!!!!! WE MISSED YOU!!!

INSPIRATION BINDER...

My Inspiration Binder has a pretty pretty princess new cover! LOVE the Ali Edwards book...the top two papers used on this page are from the book (where can we get MORE???!?!?!) AND my latest SU! order (thanks, Maria!) included the WHITE PEN and the Stamp of Authenticity set (circle stamp, "genuine article") - love it all!! Happy me.

YUM YUM YUM

Once again....Bobbi Brown temps me with her luscious products. FALL STUFF ALREADY - and her palette is CHOCOLATE. Someone save me. I want it all.....

MY ALI BOOK ARRIVED AT LAST!

YIPPIE!! What a treat on my porch at the end of a LONG work week. YUM YUM YUM. Ali Edwards' "A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper." -- oh and did you hear she includes 8 sheets of paper at the back of the book that she designed??!?! I used a few pieces to create a cover for my inspiration binder....will post it when I get the energy to unpack the camera from our quickie trip to NC last weekend ..... and now to bed!

Lovin Circles

How badly do I need this? (and every other new item from 7 Gypsies????) Only $5.95 retail!! I WANT IT NOW NOW NOW!

NIKI AND MAX WERE HERE!

Sending out smiles and thanks to Niki for the secret messages left behind after your visit!! I noticed this on the fridge a week or so after you left - but keep forgetting to tell you!(no one ever leaves magnetic poetry anymore!! I always have to beg people to write!!) It makes me smile every time I see it : )
(I found your note in my "to do" tablet, too!! Another super smiley treat! Love you tons!! You and Max have to come visit again SOON!) xoxox

Pretty pretty princess notebooks!

Hey Gals - a few shots of the Donna Downey inspired notebooks I have been craftin'--"pretty homes for all your lists!" a big THANK YOU to Mikayla and her friend Curran for their help at our Premier Jewelry party last month...hope you enjoy your notebooks!

Circle Journal - Round 2!

Our Circle Journal has made its first full rotation!! My baby sister Niki and I decided to start a circle journal early this year---I sent it off to her in March...and it arrived back to me yesterday--round one and six pages each later....what fun!! What a treat to find in my mailbox....reread my pages (how could I have forgotten so much of it already?) then read each of hers several times....smiling and laughing the whole time. Lastly--I see her little inside joke to me on the back inside cover....har dee har har, Niki-La-La!! I will get you back!! THAT's RIGHT! Love ya, Sissy!!

Aimee and Jan--thanks for your notes...thank heavens for the holiday coming--I need a break from the crazy pace at work! Yippie! Jeans day at work tomorrow!!

TTFN!

Dreaming a little dream...

.....of a perfect STUDIO....

Read Ali Edwards blog entry today...LOVE that she shared pics of her SPACE...made me want to get my room in order ("no, honey, it isn't a 'crap room' - it's a CRAFT room!" Maybe I should start calling it my ART STUDIO! Sounds more official and then my hubby cannot bastardize the name, eh? oy...)

ANYWAY...was also leafing through the latest Pottery Barn catalog (why CAN'T I have one of each?!?!) and loved the idea of this counter height work space...would like to have different work stations for all my various tasks...a place to gift wrap packages (with all my curling ribbon on some sort of poles or dowels overhead....rather than the copy paper boxes they are currently in)....and a spot for embossing....and one for my large paper cutter....and for the SKOR IT I want to get (60 skeet! yikes! gotta save my pennies!)

I hate that no matter how I organize myself (or attempt to!) - I always end up with 8 square inches of work surface! What is that? I think I need to SIMPLIFY and purge...and oh I don't like that idea! I am so torn....I love all my STUFF but I'd really like a clearer, less cluttered space....

...the dilemma of all crafters, eh?

And so to bed....and more dreams of a Pottery Barn Room MakeOver!

A Shout Out to My New Scrappin Pals Aimee & Jess!

Hey girls!
I couldn't resist capturing our fun day with Donna D on a few pages...lovin the pink and peach colors for spring...and my Heidi Swapp flowers and handwriting attempts! (I am practicing faithfully in my "Learn to Love Your Handwriting" workbook!) These ladies are my HEROS....so prolific and CREATIVE and ORIGINAL....I wanna be just like them when I grow up! How can it be midnight already? I have tons I want to do and I don't have time to sleep!

Swirls!

Nothing Better Than...

....finding a good "new" restaurant close to home! Rob and I had dinner at Bamboo Restaurant (self billed as "House of Noodles") last Friday...good food and the best Jasmine tea I have ever tasted. And even better - the presentation in these pretty pretty princess teacups! Love it!

I tried to get the brand name of the tea...was told the owner brews it herself from leaves and of course it's a secret recipe. drat. Ah well - reason to go back often! (Tip- try a thinly sliced lime with your tea next time...very nice!)

Crocs Rock!

Let the record show that I fell in love with these LONG before I knew Diva Donna D had them!! My UGGS were my winter loves...my fabuloso LIME GREEN CROCS are taking over my heart now! And get this - I HAD TO BUY SIZE XS! EXTRA SMALL?? Oh yes--I will have to have these in every color (nothing else on my bod is or ever was extra small!) Expect to see me in a lot of green (at least til I get a pair in orange, or purple, or pink, or maybe blue....)

Objects of my desire.....

Can I ever get enough of
colors
new palettes
eyeshadows
brushes
glosses
glam?
Bobbi Brown emails me with such tempting treasures! and if I order this doozy by midnight Sunday I get a free Sandwash makeup case to carry it in. Sigh. So not in my budget! But it's pretty to look at, no?

Eye Candy!

Hippity hoppity - Easter's on it's way! And how yummy are these little ceramic bunnies?! Found them at Genardi's (of all places!) when I stopped in for a Starbucks...too cute to pass up -don't they look like CHOCOLATE??! They are the perfect ZERO CALORIE centerpiece!

Donna D Class Photos!

Last night I stopped at SAM's CLUB to get my LAST ROLL OF FILM EVER developed (I hope! gonna go DIGITAL!) I am always so eager to see my pics, then so disappointed that I never look as movie-star good as I expect. What is the deal with that?! ha ha

But these are too cool not to share! First, I give you my fellow scrapping queen gal pals at the MLPA class on Saturday - Aimee and Jessica! (Note the arm waving the pink book behind Aimee's head? That is Diva Donna Downey - scrapbooking queen of all queens teaching the class! Our heroine!)

And...it doesn't end there!! I showed Donna D the JLO 'n BO book I made for my dear friend Jan - and found out she TOO is a huge Bo Bice fan. She immediately plugged me in to her iPod - on which Bo's "THE REAL THING" was playing. How cool is THAT?

Alas--our class came to an end all too soon. But not before I got Donna D to autograph my books and, of course, Jan and Bo's book!! That's the real thing!

Hip Hobo Chick

That's what I wanna be! Getting my start with my latest obsession/possession - my Peach Suede Gap Hobo bag (happy birthday to me, from Rob. Thanks honey! I love it!)

Just a little peek at something that makes me smile and think of SPRING. I love peach/coral now! (and my attempt at uploading a PHOTO!)

I am in the market for CROCS next----but what COLOR?????? Purple? Orange? Lime? decisions decisions. (and NO--it isn't cause all the crafty ladies had them at the MLPA class!! I discovered them WEEKS ago!)

10 Questions

I am admittedly curious as a cat (someone once labeled me "violently curious!"). I always have lots of questions. This set of 10 is a particular favorite of mine...

10 questions

These 10 questions originally came from a French series, "Bouillon de Culture" hosted by Bernard Pivot. It is probably more familiar to many as the question James Lipton asks at the end of "Inside the Actor's Studio."
Here are my answers, as of March 2006
What are yours?

01. What is your favorite word? Serendipity
02. What is your least favorite word? Boundaries
03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Creatively: visual stimulation – new ideas, colors, textures, textiles
04. What turns you off? SMOKING IN PUBLIC
05. What is your favorite curse word? The F word and any version of it!
06. What sound or noise do you love? Children giggling
07. What sound or noise do you hate? Babies/Children crying REALLY HARD
08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Artist/Painter
09. What profession would you not like to do? Maid
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the
Pearly Gates? Come in! There are so many people who are waiting to see you!