.bring me some more eggnog!.

Okay, so my attempts to be a good lil' blogger last week was pretty much lost in the midst of getting ready for the big C-Day.  We finally got our Christmas tree up (thank goodness!) and most of the holiday shopping is done.  The big focus this year was primarily on the wee ones.  I guess it would be a good time to bring out the wrapping paper!  Lastnight, Aisie had her first photo taken with Santa Claus. . . well. . . sorta.  Her Daddy and I had to sit on Santa's lap as well for she was in a crying fit.  I just wished the photo came out clearer.  It was dark and blurry.  Oh well.  At least we've got one.  Christmas. . . it's truly blown me away just how quickly it has gotten here!  I'm already starting to think up my list of "New Year's Resolutions."  I'll get to that at a later date.  Shall "lose weight" make its way up to the No. 1 slot again this year. . . ?  Ha!  

I truly hope everyone has a wonderful and Merry week ahead!

.go ahead and bite me!.

Dark, spicy, pearly white smile. . . who can resist such a treat!  Makes you want to bite a chunk of leg off!  Ha!  Well in celebration of the "countdown to Christmas," check out what the gals over at fiddlesticks & funnygirls have rounded up to for the "12th Day of Christmas."  Some neat ideas to help you prep for some wonderful holiday giving.  My personal fave are the rain boots used as stockings!  How clever is that?!  Hope they were new boots.  ;oP  I want to wish everyone a fantabulous week to come!  

.oh the weather outside!.

Lastnight, we encountered our first real snow here in Nashville.  Well, actually it first started off as sleet and rain, then turned into ice and snow.  Now it wasn't like we got 2 feet of snow (more like 2 inches), but still, it managed to cover the ground nicely.  Ice and all.  Ha!  The sun is coming out now.  The ice that has formed on the bare tree limbs outside are glistening like diamonds!  So pretty!!  What does a girl do when it's nice and chilly (and apparently sparkly) outside?  She makes hot chocolate.  Hey!  Why not top it off with some whipped cream and a candy cane!  Mmm. . . addicting. . . 

Well it looks like there are only 13 days left until Christmas arrives.  We have had "The Polar Express" playing on the DVD since Saturday as it has become Aisie's favorite movie.  There are gifts to be wrapped, more cards to send out, gingerbread cookies to bake, hot chocolate with peppermint sticks to consume. . . yes, I would say that it's definitely looking a lot like Christmas!!  Hope you and yours have a cozy weekend!

.17 days and counting.

Christmas cards are on their way out tomorrow.  Yeah, tomorrow.  I've got a few more to make.  

The ornaments are ALMOST on the tree. . . it would help if we actually put up our tree!  Ha!  

And cranberries are STILL available to purchase at the grocery stores!  I love cranberries!  It's this time of the year that I put homemade cranberry sauce on EVERYTHING!!  Okay, so maybe not everything, but close!  

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Monday and a fabulous week ahead!!  

.a charming new project.

Good Afternoon!  Well, I find myself, once again, in the midst of a new project, one that I know I will get addicted to!  I've decided to plunge myself into the craft of soldering charms.  It's something that I have wanted to do for some time, just wasn't brave enough to do it.  Well, I got with my grandfather, a true bona fide ornamental blacksmith, and worked with him in his shop yesterday.  I loved it!  It had been awhile since I've been in his shop.  The walls are dingy from smoke, the floor is covered in fine metal dust.  His work bench full of scrap metal.  There are copper creations propped carefully on the walls, from a new weather vane of an indian and his horse, to a sculpture of Sitting Bull.  I LOVED every bit of it!  It reminded me of times when I'd visit him at his old shop in Hawai'i.  Now that was a shop that made you feel like you stepped into a time warp, bringing you back a 100 years.  The air was filled with a mixture of coal and cherry cavendish tobacco smoke.  My uncle Vince had his bladesmithing shop right next door.  It is such a beautiful thing to have such awesome talent in our family!!

I made two charms.  I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be when I came into his shop.  I lacked assembled projects, partly due to the fact that Nashville lacks the supplies that I needed.  Thank God for the internet!  I took a photo I had taken and shrank it down to an inch.  I cut the glass just a little too big.  You can see the mistakes in this one.  Plus I think I needed more solder.  Hey!  I'm still learning.  Don't judge me.  Ha!  Practice will make perfect.  Despite the mistakes, I truly had fun making them.  I've got a ton of ideas in my head.  It's all going to be a matter of time before I get brave enough to open up shop.  Ha!  We'll see.  For now, I'm just having fun!  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!