holiday DIY of the day #1

Ready for a countdown to Christmas?

It's the last day of November, and there are twenty-five days until Christmas.  I'm going to find a fun DIY project for you every day until then, and perhaps (if the clouds would just clear and give me some photographably useful light) post the whatnot garland that will soon hang from the wall of our living room.

For today, I took a little adventure to Nice Package and came across these...

babalisme: Art Swap : Continued

{if the picture doesn't show, click on that little blue box with the question mark.  I'm having some technical difficulties at the moment}

I believe these darling little ziploc bags would be too fun to replicate as an easy and personalized way to deliver edible Christmas gifts.  I'll be trying my hand at one later, though I believe it may end up on my desk as a storage option. Most baked goods don't make past C. or me.

today on etsy's Storque...

Isn't this a lovely home?

Get the Look Decor: Modern Meets Rustic :: Etsy Blog.

 

The image of the trees through the window makes me want to travel back to Poland--the camp where we worked was a few hours from Lodz, with similar scenery.  I remember a lot of beautiful buildings, just all over lovely design, in the towns we drove through.  Some had been there hundreds (even a thousand) of years), some just a few, all in an interesting mix.

 

 

ventures into the blogosphere :: the whatnot banner

Now, any lover of vintage and handmade is liable to stumble across dottie angel

I do believe I would like to make this garland for a bit of Christmas decor.

I do already have the clustery not-quite-crochet garland already, I know, but I think that one will be wrapped around the little bitty tree we'll be setting up.  If you're interested, too, here is the how-to.

Happy weekend!

have a laugh

{source}

Today, we're having chicken, stuffing, and mashed potatoes before I head off to work.

Then we're enjoying some wonderful meals with our families and friends this weekend.

I hope you enjoy your holiday!

 

(expect more regular posting starting soon)

lately (november edition)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  I have to work on Thanksgiving day (:(), but I do get the weekend off, at least.  Then it's time for the absolute fun and chaos that is preparing for Christmas, graduation, and getting into grad school before January!

Meanwhile, I'm thinking about making this today...

(by Martha, who else?)

and I've pulled this good old friend out of storage...

Can you see me beneath the snuggie knock-off (that's much warmer and nicer looking, thank you very much)? I promise I'm in there!

Once I manage to get this whole paper written, I'll be in Christmas craft mode.  I plan to only give handmade gifts this year--made either by me or purchased.  I have ZERO desire to enter the fray of stores and malls until after Christmas.  There is no need to put myself through that.  I'd much rather turn to the wonderful Gifted magazine, by Ez of Creature Comforts, and use it as a guide to lovely and thoughtful gifts.

Perhaps I'll try my hand at a good-gift round up?  We'll see.

ventures into the blogosphere: the English Muse

I guarantee you will smile about this.  It's so very, very fun!

And Now Presenting: Jane Austen on Facebook | English Muse

 

 

 

Now, go visit her blog and enjoy delightful posts about all sorts of interesting things, including what your newsfeed would look like if Romeo and Juliet had facebook....

 

 

tasty slow cooker potato soup

it's soup-er (sorry! couldn't resist)!

-about five medium potatoes

-a third of a cup neufchatel (or other low-fat) cream cheese

-two cups of milk

-half cup each of at least two shredded cheeses (I used pepper jack, cheddar, and mozzarella)

-a tablespoon of butter

-seasoning to taste

Boil the potatoes until they are soft.  Put everything in the slow cooker and let it sit on low for four hours or high for a bit less.

word of advice: do not slice finger with vegetable peeler when removing potato skins.  It hurts a lot.

It's sooo tasty!

slow sunday.

-finished Snow Falling on Cedars

-started foundations of language paper

-wrote annotated bibliography for said paper

-cleaned up my virtual desktop (maybe I should take on the real one)

-thought about sewing (maybe I will)

(the background is from Oh, Hello Friend, available for download)

Do you ever pause and think of just how interesting language is?  It's this great big complex system through which we somehow communicate, full of meaning and purpose and depth and yet so arbitrary, for words, speech, and grammar are constructed.  We could decide, suddenly, to develop a whole new system.  I could begin blogging in a new set of symbols, signs, a new vocabulary, and still mean the same thing, even if you did not understand it.  Does that just strike anyone else as thoroughly incredible and moderately incomprehensible?

check this out:Color Me Katie: Music Video

Color Me Katie: Music Video.

It's so super fun!

 

fly away (a flickr field trip)

I'm tired.  It's been a busy week and my term paper is going to take up a lot of time this weekend, so here's an image to keep right in the mind's eye today.

 

 

have a happy and restful weekend-

Untitled62 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!