Thanksgiving: Thanks for a good kick off to Advent

I love the holiday season. It’s by far my favorite time of year. I love decorating, shopping, baking and eating. Spent some time shopping on Black Friday and it wasn’t all that bad. I didn’t actually purchase any gifts, but I had fun 🙂

Can I just say that Mariah Carey has the best Christmas album of all time? It’s always a number one seller, and it’s amazing. I’ve burned my CD’s and am listening while I clean away this morning.

Here is a peek at what I’ve been up to this long Holiday weekend 🙂 (I’m a dumb dumb and forgot to take a picture of my delicious Chocolate Hazelnut Tart, it was amazing!)

This photo only looks crazy cause Adam took it, and it was terrible, so I made it purposely terrible.

Of course, I take amazing photos of him reading with his Godson.

Fire King Blue Jay mug available in my Etsy shop (click photo)

White Pyrex Bowls 401 & 402 available in my Etsy (click photo)

Cheap Thrills for ¢20

This might be a long and drawn out post, but I feel like I need to set the stage before I get to the closing credits.

So, my women’s group is doing a Tea Party in May. A real tea party, with fancy china and tea and crumpets, etc. So, I’m very excited for this. We ask ladies to volunteer to set up tables. They get to bring their own fine china and decorate the table. I am completely excited. I keep going over in my head, what china and what kind of theme I’ll want to go with. Did I mention that it isn’t until May? Well, I’m just very excited, and it’s almost solely because I love china and dinnerware and flatware and being a fancy girl for a day.

So, in all my excitement I forced Adam to endure an impromptu trip to Macy’s to look at fine china. It was glorious, because I love looking at china. The china we registered for is a modest white china, by Crate & Barrel. My flatware is very nice Reed & Barton flatware, that I still adore 100%. I love the weight, the feel, the classic lines. It will truely never go out of style. I do have a finer china set, with fancy teacups, a beverage pot and it might even be a service for 12. However, that china is from when I was about 15, not nearly grown up enough to pick out a china. I feel like sometime in my life, I am going to want a more traditional china than my plain white stuff. While we were there we wandered over to the flatware. Let me tell you, they had some fancy flatware. Some SUPER fancy silverware at $400 a setting too! Granted it was gorgeous, but I could never justify that much money on silverware. So, I thought, if I have fancy china, I would want fancier flatware to go with this fancier china.

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I have a new “thing”. Incase you are unware, Adam and I have put ourselves on a budget. It makes good sense, because realistically, we need to save for a house and pay down some debt. So, all-in-all, it’s a smart plan. Fact about myself: I like to shop. I think a nice eclectic set of fancier flatware would be perfect to compliment my china, and at ¢20 a piece in thrift stores, it’s a total score. I’ve already found 4 pieces that I adore. I love the thrill of the hunt 🙂

Total Fiesta Score!

I totally scored this Fiesta Salt & Pepper set at Goodwill today! Ignore those flecks in them, it’s the reflection from my chandelier. But guess how much I paid for these suckers? Six dollars people! I’m pretty thrilled because I’ve been looking long and hard for some salt and pepper shakers that I can keep at work. So, totally perfect.

I also scored this balloon bowl!! It’s a Pyrex 444 (4 quart cinderella bowl) Originally this came in a two piece set along with a matching 441 bowl as a Chip and Dip set in 1958. It also had an aparatus for you to kinda suspend the small bowl over the larger one.

Check out my shop, I’m posting my other finds in there tonight: Asia’s Etsy

I missed out on Flea Market Fancy

and it makes me sad, so I take every opportunity to try and win some 🙂

Inspired…get ready for a long one

I’ve been inspired lately by the great Ali Edwards. She’s was recently in the midst of sharing her December Daily Album with us again. Last year, I took her idea and created a Holiday ’08 album. I love the Christmas season, but really, I love all the great things that come with the Holiday season. I felt that Thanksgiving needed to be included, because there is a lot that’s done in November that adds to my overall enthusiasm and gratefulness for the season. That’s one of the great things about Ali, she’s always encouraging people to take her ideas and turn them into something that works for them. Here are some snippets of my Holiday ’08 Album. I really want to do a Hoilday ’09 album, but who knows right now.

Someone else who is inspiring me, Apron Thrift Girl. I too am an avid thrifter. My husband coined the term Relentless Thrifter, which I think suits quite well. In the past six months or so, I’ve been toying with the idea of reselling more hard core. As it is right now, I thrift every saturday, and LOVE it. It excites me to find my “steals” and it’s cheaper than a shoe fetish (I’m not saying I don’t have a shoe fetish). One of the best things about thrifting is that I get instant gratification, and I always come across things that thrill me, even if I’m not buying them. Like old luggage. I don’t know why I like it so much, but I do. I never buy it, I just look at it. I’m not afraid to get dirty, and search for something in a pile of mess. You can’t be sheepish about estate sales, or garages full of dark corners. You just go for it and hope for the best. So, right now, I pick up things that I have a passion for, like vintage kitchenwares and sell them on Etsy. Pyrex started this fascination. I LOVE Pyrex. All of it. It’s just such handy stuff and really fun to look at.

This weekend I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life. In order to move up in my company, I’d have to get my BA, and if I choose to do that, I’m committing to school, and if I move up, I’m also committing more of my time, because there would be a lot more overtime involved. That doesn’t seem like the best idea to me, because, realistically, I want to start a family in not too awefully long. I don’t think it’d be wise to sign up for all sorts of extra work if I’m planning kids. I want to be around them.

Ideally, I would have a stay at home job. I’d love to design stuff like Ali or Katie does, but I don’t know how to use the tools to even go there, plus there is the initial investment of the tools. So, I’m reading a book called Craft, Inc. right now. It’s about turning your creative hobby into a business. It sure does make you think. One of the things they say is to hone in on one thing at first, and just really concentrate on that. I’m having a hard time picking just one thing, because I like to do a million different crafts.

Personally, I think I’d like reselling as a home business. So, I’m just thinking more on it and surveying the possibilities, but I think it’s exciting to think about.

Shop Update

Bazaar didn’t go as well as I had hoped, so a lot of the items are listed in my Etsy Shop. You should go check it out!!

CRAFT BAZAAR

It’s coming!

If you’re visiting my site for the first time because of something you purchased at said Bazaar, then WELCOME!! I’ll be listing more rags and hair clips after the Bazaar is over in my Etsy shop!

I’ve worked diligentlyon these goodies that I prepared for my Grandma’s craft bazaar. I did these things I call Rags. I got the concept making burp rags for some friends who were having babies. I started using one of them for cleaning around the house, and presto, Rags was born. You can using them for anything from dusting, dishes, cleaning, burping, washing, whatever. So, I made those, and I made hair clips. Two small things. I priced the hair clips at $3 each and the rags are $6-$8 each. We’ll see how they do this weekend. If all goes well, then I’ve got something going here. What I don’t sell at the Bazaar, I’ll be listing on Etsy (and possibly giving some as Christmas gifts).

Get to know me…on a not so serious level.

Check em out in my shop, link on right 🙂

1. Where is your cell phone:

In its little holder on my desk.

2. Your hair:

Bunched in a messy hair-do

3. Your mother:

Lives in Texas, and is extremely outspoken.

4. Your father:

Is visiting from the PHILIPPINES right now!!

5. Your favorite food:

Seafood Alfredo, usually 🙂 yum yum eat em up.

6. Your dream from last night:

I don’t recall any from last night, I did do some day dreaming yesterday though, I always do some day dreaming

7. Your favorite drink:

Cherry Coke if I had to pick one, but I also love a good blended mocha

8. Your dream/goal:

Freedom from corporate America, ie self employed. To be a professional thrifter or crafter.

9. What room are you in:

My office

10. What is your hobby:

Ha, you’re funny. Sewing, baking, scrapbooking, eating, sleeping, reading, taking pictures, laughing at my own jokes, creating work-in-progress’, the list could go on forever. (you can throw golf in cause I’d really like to go, even though I haven’t)

11. What is your fear:

Winding up broke

12. Where were you last night:

Sitting in my living room, trying to find motivation but coming up short handed.

13. Something you are not:

lousy

14. Muffins:

There aren’t enough of them, I could use more muffin in my life.

15. Wish list items:

Ha, do you really want to know? I have a draft in my emails with impromptu ideas for gifts for myself.

16. Where did you grow up:

Tanza, Cavite, Philippines, then I moved to the beautiful Pacific Northwest

17. Last thing you did:

Swigged some coffee. Nobody uses the term swig enough. It’s a dying word.

18. What are you wearing:

Jeans, that I’m trying to figure out how to patch where my thighs rub, a blue sweater and an Adidas jacket.

19. Your TV:

Is at home, beautiful and huge.

20. Your pets:

Are the most adorable kitties you’ll EVER meet, and so snuggly too.

21. Your friends:

Are great, even when they aren’t. I’m glad I have them. They are always proud of me.

22. Your life:

Is blessed. I have a lot going for me, and sometimes I forget to take stock of all the great things.

23. Your mood:

Actually, I’m very angry, but I won’t bore you with the details of why (stupid idiot) – don’t worry Adam, you’re safe J

24. Missing someone:

My brother, he’s hilarious and so far away and lonely 😦

25. Vehicle:

Would love to sell it!! But nobody is buying right now, it really freaking sucks.

Convo me if you're interested 🙂 Let's make a deal!

26. Something you’re not wearing:

A girdle

27. Your favorite store:

I like random boutiques, craft stores, fabric stores and thrift stores.

28. Your favorite color:

Purple, duh, with teal a close second

29. When’s the last time you laughed:

Last night. I work at 6am, there is nothing to laugh at, at 6am.

30. When’s the last time you cried:

Oh man, yesterday. I finished Harvey Milk

31. Your best friend:

She’s great, and funny, and totally gets me, and is willing to take dumb pictures with/for me.

32. One place you go over and over:

Thriftstores. Every Saturday.

33. One person who emails me regularly:

That isn’t work related? Probably nobody, it ebbs and flows.

34. Favorite place to eat:

Visconti’s in a little Bavarian Village called Leavenworth, WA

35. Where do you want to be in 6 years:

Laying down on a well loved quilt in my back yard with a little kid running around. (oh, and the sun)

A Block Party

I’ve been a fan of quilting for awhile. I love fabric, but I feel like I have trouble branching outside of my confort zone. So, I’m following along with the Block Party! I’ve also joined the Flickr group! Go on over and check it out! It seems like the kind of low pressure scene I’m into and I can’t wait to see what inspiration I start to get, Of course, I’ll post my pics too 🙂