Focus On Life Week 5 ~ Get Outside

For the month of February our focus is Cabin Fever.  Sally says, "sometimes the perfect fix for temporary relief of cabin fever is simply to get outside, even if you just step out on the porch.  Get out of the house and focus on the change that cooler temps brings to your surroundings."

I have cabin fever for sure!  But I do prefer being warm rather than freezing, so it's my own fault for not getting out much.  However, an interesting thing happened while I was out in the sub-zero wind chills this week.  I found it exhilarating!  I felt alive and walked with a quicker step, getting the blood pumping.  Of course it only lasted a few minutes before I was frozen and came back inside to thaw out!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo

46.  getting outside

47.  feeling alive

48.  watching snow fall

Wordless Wednesday ~ Spinning

Happy Wednesday!

xo Annette xo

43.  Shylee's joyfulness

44.  warm clothes

45.  the electric blanket

Here They Are Again

I spent some time with my napkin ladies and wanted to show you how they turned out.  The blue lady is also a bell.  Her hat will even hold a candle or toothpicks.  She is much better at multi tasking than I am!  Isn't she pretty in her vintage hankie skirt?

When these ladies were popular in the 40's - 60's, they graced the table with napkins in their skirts.  And some were used as a dinner bell as well.  The white lady was not open on the bottom and it was very difficult to get the hankies in without reaching up inside.  So I bought some paper Valentine napkins for her skirt.  I think I'll change the napkins for each holiday to give my sewing room a festive touch.

Speaking of the sewing room...I will have the reveal next week!!!  I think!  I hope!

Have a great day!

xo Annette xo

40.  married for 35 years

41.  emerald surprise

42.  feeling good 

Focus On Life Week 4 ~ Word(s)

I just want to say thank you for all the kind and thoughtful comments left on last week's FOL blog post.  I so appreciated every one of them!

This week we are focusing on words.  Sally asks, what word speaks to you, makes you laugh, makes you feel good about your being and who you are in that moment.  Is there a word that stands out, you find interesting, you think is fun to say.

The words thankful and grateful keep popping up for me.  For the last several weeks, every time I turnaround, those words or variations of the words show up somewhere.  Quotes on Pinterest and Facebook, gratitude journals at the bookstore, noticing other people saying thank you more often than I did before.  It is all just affirmation for me that I'm on the right track of being more thankful and making a list of One thousand gifts.

What are you thankful for?

xo Annette xo

37.  light in the darkness

38.  a project completed

39.  new projects to start

Wordless Wednesday

Can't wait to get the sewing room finished!

Happy Wednesday!

xo Annette xo

35.  snow day

36.  playing Scrabble on Facebook

I Got Two

Remember this gorgeous lady?

Last fall I came across this napkin lady on Pinterest.  I fell in love and wanted one of my own.  Less than a week after my blog post about it, I went to my favorite antique mall with Erin and actually found this one.

I may have embarrassed Erin with my squeal and OMG's, but I was just so darn excited!  She wasn't as colorful or detailed as the one on Pinterest, but I snatched her up anyway.  I brought her home intending to show her when I did my sewing room reveal, but then the knee thing happened and everything came to a standstill.

Before I knew it, it was Christmas and look what Erin gave me.

I got a little teary.  Not so much because it was a napkin lady, but because Erin was thoughtful enough to find one for me.  I love that girl!  Anyway, I was filling her dress with vintage hankies and I was surprised it wasn't as easy to do as I thought it would be.  I played around and poked and pulled those hankies until I was blurry eyed.  So I'll have to show you in her 'ball gown' another day.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

xo Annette xo

32.  aha moments

33.  light under the kitchen cabinet

34.  Erin's thoughtfulness

Focus On Life Week 3 ~ Black and White Selfie

I was not happy when I saw this week's challenge from Sally!  I knew it was coming sooner or later, but I was really hoping it wouldn't come at all.  In Sally's words:

We are all beauty inside and out,  it is only our own eyes that are so critical of ourselves, at a drop of a hat we can name a half dozen features that we feel don't make the cut.  This week we will focus on what we feel so self conscious about, ourselves! 

Show that beautiful face! 

Last year for this prompt I took a photo in the mirror of me hiding behind the camera.  I decided not to hide this time.  I am determined to learn to love myself for who I am and not what I perceive myself to look like to others.  I have to tell you though, I'm glad there is a "soften" feature in Picmonkey!

Have a great weekend!

xo Annette xo

28.  dinner and a movie with Michael

29.  a picture perfect day

30.  a phone call from my mama

31. my  blue eyes

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!

xo Annette xo

25.  a visit from my girls

26.  my sister's new job less than two hours from me

27.  a pain free day

Where I Shopped For Handmade

As I said in a previous post, I wasn't able to make any of the gifts I wanted to make for Christmas and I also wasn't able to physically go shopping the way I wanted to.  All of my shopping was done online and I did some handmade shopping on Etsy.  I would highly recommend these shops and shopkeepers when you're looking for something special!

Memories For Life offers all kinds of engraved wood and etched glass items.   Everything from jewelry to wedding invitations to photo albums to glassware.  Edi takes such great care with her designs and her work is incredible.  My bicycle riding husband received this tie tack and was thrilled with it.  You can also follow Edi's blog, Memories For Life.

I also got these buttons for me, because I just couldn't resist!  They are gorgeous!

MSK Beads offers a variety of beautiful handmade and handwoven beaded jewelry.  I was looking specifically for something purple and this necklace was perfect.

From Libertine Tacoma, I chose this sampler of gourmet salts and salt blends for my son.

This shop offers over one hundred varieties of gourmet salts and salt blends as well as twenty three gourmet sugar blends.  They are all natural, vegan, and additive free.  The set came with a list of ideas and foods to use each blend with.  I'm going to order some for myself!

My daughter had these earrings on her wish list from Cathy Cortez Studio.  They were absolutely beautiful!

Cathy is having a clearance sale right now if you're looking for beautiful jewelry.

Have a marvelous Monday!

xo Annette xo

21.  watching daughter and granddaughter interact

22.  a nap on a rainy gray gloomy afternoon

23.  playing with the camera again

24.  being a Grandma

Focus On Life Week 2 ~ Silhouette

This week we're continuing the minimalist theme with capturing a silhouette.   A photograph with a subject(s) captured in a shadowy outline with little or no detail against a bright background.  It sounded pretty easy.  After all, I can't count how many times I've taken a picture into the light and then couldn't tell who or what I had taken a picture of.  Capturing a silhouette intentionally proved a little challenging.  Thankfully, Sally provided some tips which made it a little easier.

Besides learning how to take a silhouette photo, I also realized I need to wash windows come spring!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo

17.  belly laughs

18.  learning new skills

19.  warmer temperatures

20.  music you just can't help but dance to

Wordless Wednesday

Ice outside on the grill

Happy Wednesday!

xo Annette xo

14.  a toasty warm home

15.  soup in the crockpot

16.  sunshine on a cold day

Make Is The Word

Injuring my knee in October meant I couldn't finish the redo of the sewing room which meant I couldn't do any sewing for Christmas gifts.  I was really bummed about that.  I did all my shopping online but I needed a gift for someone that I don't know that well.  All I could think of was to make her a lavender sachet.

With a prayer and a pain pill, I went upstairs and went to work.  I had to move boxes and tote bins, clear off the cutting table and sewing table and then remember where I had put all my supplies.  Once I found everything I needed it didn't take long to make the sachet.

While I was choosing the hankie, buttons and lace, and coming up with a design, and then sewing it together, I felt like I was where I belonged.  My knees were killing me, but I was so happy to be in my room doing what I love to do.  I can't wait to be able to make again.  I have so missed it the last two years and that's why I've chosen "make" as my word for this year.  I have so many ideas for things to make and this is the time to make them.

What do you want to make this year?

Have a great day!

xo Annette xo

10.  sparkly icicles

11.  pops of red berries on a gray day

12.  lessons learned

13.  the desire to create

Focus On Life Week 1 ~ The Minimalist Photograph

I'm so happy and excited that Sally of The Studio Sublime is doing Focus on Life again this year.  I was sidetracked last year for various reasons, but I'm looking forward to getting back behind the camera.

We're focusing on minimalism this month and our first assignment was to take a photograph of a single subject.  As I thought about what to photograph, I knew I wanted the subject to be pretty minimalist too.  But what would that be?  Everything I thought of was quite detailed.  And then I opened the silverware drawer and spotted the sugar spoon.  I found my subject!

It's not to late to join in Focus on Life 2014.  Just click here to get all the details.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo

6.  just enough snow

7.  the first cup of tea in the morning

8.  a daughter's love

9.  warm clothes

Thankful Thursday ~ One Thousand Gifts

I've been doing Thankful Thursday for over 2 years and I'm thankful for all the positive feedback I've received from you during that time.  I'm ready to change it up a bit.  Well, more than a bit, actually.

I've been inspired and challenged by the book, One Thousand Gifts, by AnnVoskamp, to see, be thankful for, and chronicle the everyday gifts and blessings that are in our lives.  I feel this just takes being thankful to a whole new level.  I tend to be quite negative sometimes and this will help me stay more positive.

Instead of a weekly thankful post, I'll be including my numbered list at the end of each post.  They may or may not have anything to do with the blog post they're on.  I'm going all the way to one thousand but I'm not putting a time frame on it!

What are you thankful for today?

Have a fabulous day!

xo Annette xo

1.  people who can inspire and challenge me

2.  the new year and all the promise it holds

3.  tinkling bells on the Christmas tree when Annie goes running past and brushes against it

4.  seeing life through the eyes of a five year old

5.  comforting traditions

Hello 2014

I'm wishing you a year filled with love, laughter, joy, happiness, and good health.

May you be surrounded by the people you love and be encouraged by them.

I hope you are blessed beyond measure.

Happy New Year!!!

xo Annette xo