Happy New Year

Wishing everybody a 2010 filled with love, happiness and prosperity!

Santa's Goodies

This year Santa was very good to me and I am very appreciative of all the gifts I received. =)

One of my favorite smells ever is vanilla.  I love how it smells warm and sweet at the same time. Bath and Body works used to carry a Fresh Vanilla scent, which they now have discontinued. One time while visiting my sister, we stopped at a Bath and Body works store when they were having a sale. There I saw THREE bottles of my Fresh Vanilla scent which I love so much. I asked the sales lady again if it was really true that they were discontinuing this fragrance and she said "Yes". I bought all three bottles and have managed to make it last close to three years. Recently, I used up the last drop of my spray bottle. It was a sad day.

But this year, Santa got me a replacement =) My very own Vanilla Noir   body spray and body lotion.

I absolutely love this smell now. It's perfect. It is not as sweet as the Fresh Vanilla.  And hopefully Bath and Body works will continue this fragrance as long as they exist. I don't know how I will handle finding out another favorite fragrance was discontinued.

In addition, to my new favorite smell, Santa also gave me the 1995 version of... Pride and Prejudice.

:D YAY!!!

I LOVE Pride and Prejudice.  It is one of my favorite books. This version of the book is perfect because it follows the book much more closely than the newer version with Keira Knightly. In fact, this version pretty much follows the book word per word. =) It's wonderful! =) It's like I get to read the book all over again - no parts are skipped or combined.

I have watched the first DVD. That's right, there were TWO DVDs that came with it. =)

I plan on finishing the second one this week. 

I must have been a very good girl this year, because not only did I get a new body spray and body lotion, the Pride and Prejudice  DVDs, but Santa also got me a Mill Hill cross-stitch pattern of Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer.  =)

Yesterday I most of the embroidery floss I need for the pattern and started working on it straight away. I can't wait to finish it. And then next year during Christmas I will be able to take it out and have it as part of our Christmas decorations. 

I have discovered, Santa also pays lots of attention. A few weeks ago when walking around the mall, Jeremy and I came across this little kiosk selling little toy animals that did all kinds of tricks. They walked, made noises and flipped!! That's right, a full, 360 degrees flip. I was amazed and smitten by the cute little toy puppies they had at the kiosk. And guess what Santa also got me?  A flip-over puppy!! =D  I have it sitting on my night stand now. It's sooo cute.

Lastly, but not least, Santa visited us a little early. Two weeks ago we received a package from The Popcorn Factory with the most wonderful Christmas tin inside, filled with flavored popcorn!

The tin we received had a snowmen design. I love holiday popcorn tins! What a better gift then one that is yummy and useful at the same time? My favorite popcorn flavor: Jalapeno! Yummy.

I am very grateful for all the wonderful gifts I received this year. I certainly was not expecting this much generosity, but I feel very blessed for it.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everybody a Merry Christmas!!! =)

May we count our blessings and enjoy the company of family and friends.

 And here's to hoping Santa brings us all lots of gifts.

Christmas Tree

A picture of our Christmas Tree. =) No presents were there on the day we took this picture, but today we have a couple. Jeremy and I decided to do something very small, so we each just got each other a little something.

The picture is not of the best quality, but you can get an idea.

My plan for the Christmas Tree next year, is to build our little village, make a new  tree skirt, and maybe some do some ribbons around the tree?  I really love Shanty2Chic's idea of a tree skirt. I might try it out next year in white cloth.

I love coming home from work and having the tree lit up. It just makes the house feel so cozy and it helps with the holiday spirit. =)

Ornament Making Part II

Another idea I got from the wonderful Martha Stewart was to make Christmas ornaments out of old greeting cards. Every year, I save the greeting cards we receive during Christmas in a file folder I keep in our filing cabinet. So this was a perfect idea because I knew we had plenty of cards.

First, I selected the greeting cards I thought would make the best ornaments. I chose the ones with lots of color and glitter. Then, following Martha's directions I traced circles onto the back of the greeting cards (I improvised and used the top of a candle jar to trace the circles). After that, I drew a triangle onto cardboard, cut it out and traced the triangle inside the circle, centered as much as possible.

I cut out the circles and folded along the edges of the triangles. Once you are done cutting and folding, you simply glue the folded edges together making two halves of an ornament. It took me four circles to make each half. You then glue the bottom and top folded edges of halves together to make one ornament! =) I pierced a hole on the top and ran a piece of ribbon through and tied the edges in a knot.  In total, I traced 16 circles. Each ornament used 8 circle cutouts, so I had a total of 2 ornaments finished. Also, if you want your ornaments to look more round, use 5 circle cutouts for each half.

This was a super simple and easy project and I think the ornaments turned out great! It's personal and you get to use all those greeting cards you accumulate over the years.

Ornament Making Part I

I always grew up with "themed" Christmas trees. Each year, my mom would have a new theme: a white Christmas, a wild west Christmas, a pink Christmas, etc... While I think having a theme for Christmas decorations is great and very pretty, when Jeremy and I were getting ready for our first Christmas together we decided we wanted to just create a theme of our own memories.

We want to have ornaments that reflect our lives and our history and we want to build up our ornament collection so that one day each ornament we have has a personal meaning to us.  So this particular weekend, we got busy with ornament making! =)

My first project was making a ornament that reflected the fact that I play the piano. So I chose to make a Clave de Sol  - no idea how to say it in English, but that's what it looks like. I first practiced drawing it on cardboard to get the shape and size correctly and how I wanted it. I cut that up and transferred the profile onto a foamboard. The foamboard is much better than a corrugated cardboard. It is solid and much easier to cut.

After cutting around the profile, I covered one side at a time with glue and glued on a cutout of sheet music I had at the house. After it dried, I put glue around the edges and covered it with glitter. We then made a "1" the same way to represent our one year wedding anniversary, which Jeremy and I just celebrated this past weekend :)  We used our wedding dinner menu, and it turned out really great I think. You can even see our wedding date on the bottom of the "1" which was totally not planned, but I love that it came out that way.

Here you can see the ornaments hanging on our tree.

Let It Snow, Let it Snow!

A couple of weeks ago in Houston, we were blessed with some snow! =) The grass and roofs of houses were covered in white Too bad we were at work to take some pictures of what the house looked like during the day. But here are some pictures of what was left of it at night.

Too bad we don't get enough snow to have a white Christmas. Nevertheless, this was enough snow to put us all in they holiday spirit! :)

Dinner Table

The dinner table you see on the post below was originally a cherry-stained, drop-leaf table.

Jeremy and I bought it at an auction for $90.00! =) We thought it was great deal. Being a drop-leaf, the table was a little awkward for sitting. The legs came out at an angle so that they sat diagonally and you couldn't properly fit 6 chairs around it.

Our plan was always to remove the legs, and re-attach them straight. So with plans to have Thanksgiving at our home, we finally got around to work on it. I actually, Jeremy did all the work - I just picked out the colors!

Here it is, primed and with four legs reattached at right angles.

And here it is at our dining room the night before Thanksgiving. :)  Unfortunately, we didn't take a picture before we set the table, but you can kind of see the legs and top of the table. We chose to paint it two different colors. The legs are painted a shade of grayish brown, and the top ivory.

I love how the table turned out. =)

It's Been a While

Since I have updated the blog.  With school and work, I haven't found the time to sit down and write. But now with only two finals away from being free until next semester, I can finally catch up on all that's been happening.

First, Thanksgiving. Yeah, I know... It's almost Christmas but I will talk about it anyway :)

We spent Thanksgiving at our house. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law came over. My brother spent Thanksgiving with his girlfriend's family, so in all there were only four of us.

Jeremy was in charge of the turkey. We also had dressing, broccoli and parsnips, bread rolls and of course, sweet mashed potatoes with marshmallows on top.  Here's what our table looked like:

For desert, we were a bit untraditional and didn't make any pies. Instead I made a pavet. It's a Brazilian recipe I have. Jeremy swears it tastes just like tiramisu. One thing we agree on, it's really, really good. =)

I'm very proud of our first Thanksgiving at home. It was simple and we managed to have everything ready on time. But most importantly, it was delicious. :-)

Create Your Own Font!

The things you do when you're bored at work...

I found this really cook website: fontcapture.com that allows you to create your own font and download it to your computer.

It's super easy and fast, I think it only took me 10 minutes max to do it all and now I have my own font downloaded into my computer that mimics my own handwriting.

Isn't it neat? Now, I wish I knew how to make it available to write on the blog with it. It's pretty similar. If you're bored, you should definitely give it a try.

 

Anything BUT School

There are 6 weeks left until this semester is over. I can not wait!!! One more semester after that and I am finished with college. Oh the sweet relief when it's all over and I don't have to worry about exams, homework, quizzes or projects. A lot of people tell me "You will miss college. Once you are out into the "real world" you will want to be back in school." 

What does that mean anyway, the "real world"? As far as I'm concerned I've been living in the real work since I was 17, working and going to school. So yes, to be done with school will be a relief and I can not ever picture myself missing the tedious hours in the classrooms, or the awful professors and the endless busy work. Burnt out much?! Yes. 

So here I am 6 weeks from finishing my second to last semester in school and I can not concentrate. Two exams, a project, three homeworks and quiz due this week and all I want to do is crawl into bed and read a book. This one in particular:

I LOVE Jane Austen's novels. And Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. I started to read it again this weekend. :) It's wonderful and I just get lost in it. 

Now, I wish I hadn't started to read it again, because it is all I want to do.  

My project to do list is not getting any smaller, the list of things to do at the house just keep piling up AND I have exams to study for!!! Pride and Prejudice should be the last thing on my mind right now. Alas, all I can think about is Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth! 

Oh what do you do when you can't concentrate?!?! I was almost tempted to bring the book to work today but thought that would not be very professional and left it at home. Tonight I will have to study for my exam - I will have to set Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth aside again :(  In all actuality, that's what I should do until school is out.  So I will try my best! 

On a more productive note, I have to post pictures of my cross-stitch "project" I finished! :) Well, I should clarify. The cross-stitching part of it is finished but I'm not yet sure what to do with it... More on that later. 

Let Your Light Shine Through

"From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all."

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Update on Halloween Front Porch

So as promised here are some pictures of the front porch with the pumpkins I bought this week. 

We are only one week away from Halloween and the weather here in Houston has managed to cool off enough that I don't think the pumpkins will rot. I had previously planned on buying all black and white pumpkins/gourds for the front porch, but my husband insisted we have some orange pumpkins. According to him, it's not Halloween if you don't have any orange pumpkins! hehehe

So I compromised and got some orange pumpkins. 

Here are the pictures:

I really like how they turned out! =) I hope that the pumpkins last past Halloween. Maybe they will make it to Thanksgiving?! Here's to wishful thinking.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

Calu

Quilt Rack

I feel so relieved! This weekend my husband and I managed to finish the quilt rack. It's ONE item off of my projects list:

1) Refinish quilt rack
2) Refinish and re-upholster rocking chair
3) Finish a crochet scarf
4) Finish a cross-stitch pillow
5) Organize photo albums

YAY! Originally the quilt rack just had a stained wood finish. I love the shabby chic look so that's what we went for with it. We bought some ivory color spray paint and sprayed two coats all around it for a smooth finish. After the paint was completely dry, we lightly sanded the quilt rack to make it completely smooth and we also lightly distressed some parts of the quilt rack, mainly the edges.

I was a little hesitant with the distressed look. I like it a lot, but I'm not sure how to correctly distress a piece of furniture. So we were very careful with it. I think that if I later decide I want a more distressed look, I will go back and sand some more, but for now I am sooo happy with the results.

Here's how it looks.

I'm thinking that one day it will be a perfect addition to a baby's room ;-) But for now, I am happy with having it placed by the couch so it can hold the blanket we keep in the living room for those cool days.Now that I have the finished quilt rack, I should really start working on a quilt for it...

Also, I have started to work on my cross-stitch project again. :) I'm hoping to have it finished by Thanksgiving. I know, you all must be thinking, Thanksgiving?!?! That's still a long time away. But with school and work and everything else, a month actually doesn't seem like a long time to me.

xoxo

Calu

Cherubim Delights

This weekend I thought I'd try to make some meringue cookies. Meringue cookies are called suspiros or "sighs" in Portuguese. Reason is, supposedly you can not eat a meringue cookie without sighing with delight :)

The recipe itself is really easy. The main ingredients are egg whites and confectioner's sugar. You beat the egg whites and sugar until they peak. At the end you add a little lime zest for a little flavor. 

A nice tip I learned is to add a tablespoon of vinegar to every 3 egg whites used. This takes place of the tartar sauce some recipes ask. It helps the egg whites beat a little fluffier and lighter.

So, here's the end result of my Saturday night recipe adventure. 

They look good, don't they? 

My husband thinks they taste like marshmallows. I think they taste like yummy goodness =) 

One thing to keep in mind: Meringue cookies are NOT a fan of humidity!! They need to be really dry, so it's best to cook them on days that are not really humid. 

I left the meringue cookies out during the day, and low and behold, after a Houston day's humidity they felt sticky and gooey - sticky marshmallows... 

I think they still are delicious and would be a great addition to ice-cream or pie. 

Our next dessert adventure for the weekend was cooking muffins on Sunday morning. These were just muffins from the box - yet they taste really delicious.

I was never a really big fan of muffins.  But these were really good. Apparently, you eat them with butter! It was great to have some fresh muffins, with butter, in the morning for breakfast. 

So now the house is filled with sugary delights and it's wonderful. 

xoxo 

Calu

So Many Ideas

I'm at work and I can barely contain myself - I am bursting with ideas that I got from the quilt show last night. I had so much fun! Let me tell you all that even if you do not like quilts, but you enjoy arts and crafts, I highly recommend going to a quilt show. 

They had sooooo many booths with all kinds of goodies like antique laces and linens, cross-stitch, jewelry, and lots of quilt!  The best part of it all, most booths offered kits you could buy that had everything included you would need - fabric, needles, thread... Ahhh, it was heaven. 

The quilt show also had an antique section where they displayed antique quilts. That was probably my favorite part. We were not allowed to take pictures of these antique quilts. I wish I could have so I could show you how amazing they were. Some dated back to the early 1800s. Can you imagine doing all that work by hand?! I was in pure awe of it. 

There was also a section for the award winners. 

This quilt comes all the way from Japan!  It was made by Fusako Takido and it won the Founder's Award.  All I can say is it looks even more beautiful in person.

This quilt is called Inner Beauty, by Cathleen Miller. It won first place for the Merit-Quilting Hand award.  I love how it's a simple design, yet so intricate. The inner circle is designed after a Victorian ceiling medallion.

I'm not sure when I will have time to start working on a quilt, but I have added it to my "Projects To Do" list.  I decided, however, that when I do have time to make one, I will start with something much smaller and very simple. 

Other ideas I got from the quilt show are table runners made with appliqué. Here's just an example I found online.  I would love to this type of table runner for the major holidays, like Christmas and Thanksgiving. I think it would be a fun and cute way to decorate the house.

Also, there were these little hanging pillows made from Mill Hill designs and I am IN LOVE. They were so adorable. These were cross-stiched with a touch of sparkle, courtesy of beads added throughout the desing. Absolutely charming. I have every intention of doing these and they have also been added to the list. :)

If you want to find out more about the Quilt Show in Houston, here's a link. Like I said before, I highly recommend going. The show will be on until Sunday, so if you get the change stop by! 

And just as a last note, I would like to thank my mother-in-law for taking me. Debbie, I had so much fun! Thank you!!!  

xoxo

Calu