Happy Thanksgiving!!

I've had such a full morning already! 

Sausage balls and coffee to start the day; the bird is in the oven (fingers crossed! kinda nervous!). 

Kevin is on the roof putting up Christmas lights - it's cool and foggy outside and the cats are watching us from the window. 

When I go out to hand him a tool and come back in the house it smells WONDERFUL!! I've missed that turkey smell on Thanksgiving.

Have a great Thanksgiving day everyone!

One of the place setting with Fiestaweare and vintage linen napkins.

Centerpiece with some of the gorgeous roses from our backyard.

Sausage balls to fuel the morning

The glorious bird! Pictured after one hour of roasting.

The cats watching us from the window ...

The Cat and The Keyboard

Today I stayed home from work - yesterday night I started feeling crummy and woke this morning to the same sick-to-my-stomach feeling and (my personal favorite) the 'good morning' headache. Way to greet the day, huh?

I slept in a tiny bit (7:50am!) and got up to make some oatmeal - something plain but also nourishing - which I thought would feel OK in my tummy. It worked out fine thankfully. I pulled on some 'real' pants (apparently my long bermuda sleeping shorts don't really exist?) to keep from having that sleep-all-day feeling which sometimes makes you feel even worse when you are already not feeling your best.

Checked work e-mails and personal e-mails and facebook (ugh the addiction; knowing how completely unimportant and fleeting it is makes the guilt that much worse and yet I still am a facebooker) ... apparently my cat Smiley - confused by the fact that I was at home on a Monday mid-morning (yes, he is aware of all those details) kept coming into my room (a guest room/office) and swirling around my left ankle, looking up at me longingly then flopping emphatically on the floor in front of the closet, glancing at me and then blinking at the windows over the bed. Then getting up, going to the living room, and coming back just to repeat the entire cycle another time. I realize he is 'telling me' that he is out of food and I get up to refill their two bowls (one for each of them is the idea, but Carmen thinks 'her' bowl is whichever one Smiley is eating out of at that very moment and likes to push his face out of the bowl with her puffy cheeks). They both take a few bites and, content simply knowing there is still food there if and when they are hungry again, sit down and lick their paws.

Back in the office Smiley, still baffled and a little star struck having me at home with him (he is a mama's boy through and through) decides that nothing I have open on my computer is even close to important compared to him. The only way he knows to distract me - his previous efforts (swirling around my ankles, meowing, and leaping in quick succession on and then off my lap) had not been entirely successful - is to step from lap to desktop and then flop himself partially onto my laptop keyboard (after having successfully opened a new browser tab for me with his left elbow).

Here, he is being playful to try and disarm me ... the computer is chirping at us; he keeps holding down the space key, I think.

He keeps a watch out for Carmen - shared attention is simply not an option.

He's caught a sniff of something ... maybe a touch of perfume that's worn off over time; or maybe that shiny Windows XP sticker.

Those big, serene eyes ... I can't argue with them. ;) Look how nonchalant with his little arm draping over the desk.

Yep, he's definitely more important than facebook.

Good Things For your Closet! (plus one other thing)

I found out the other day (for at least the second time - apparently my memory is not what it used to be) that the caps on those Wallflowers from Bath and Body Works twist open the opposite way of any normal, American container. I had purchased some online while they were on sale (with a giftcard!) and we tried very hard to open them with no success. Huge amounts of torque; a pair of pliers; teeth: nothing. We decided to return them. The lady laughed and said we were twisting them the wrong way. We laughed, too. Now our house smells like Kitchen Spice, Caramel Apple and Lavender (in the bedroom to induce relaxing sleep, supposedly). All that to say, I really enjoy Wallflowers. I rarely have them in the house but when I do I find they are mild and pleasant, not overwhelming or cough-inducing (like that air freshener my mechanic hung in my car the other day ...)

While we were at the mall 'returning' the Wallflowers, we stopped at Payless - Kevin thought they might have some slippers. I have been on a mission for slippers for a while now since my old ones I've had for 4 years completely gave out. The soles are coming loose and the fabric is frazzled and permenantly stained from going outside ande scuffing around the house almost every night. He found the perfect pair of slippers for me! I wanted slippers that had a closed back (those backless 'scuffies' that slip on don't really keep my feet warm). I wanted slippers that were fluffy and cozy. I wanted slippers with a relatively durable sole. These have it all. I am so excited! I wear them all the time now! They sort of look like bigfoot feet, or like I'm wearing one of my cats on each foot. I guess that's what makes them so cozy -- cats DO make good footwarmers. I highly recommend these comfy slippers! They are very economical and very cozy ... perfect for cool winter nights on the couch when you're trying to save money on your heating bill. ;)

Next on my list of good things for the week is colorful tights.

I have wanted to get several pairs for a while but haven't been able to find them anywhere in colors other than black and gray (BO-ring); either that or they are like, $30 which I think is completely unacceptable for a very perishable accessory. At last, I found some at Target the other day and bought three pairs. I am still looking for a pretty golden color but I did score the bright hunter green and warm, plumy magenta I wanted. I also got a light, ashy-gray pair which is nice with more colorful shoes. Yesterday I wore them with a knee-length floral skirt (small print) and orange mid-heel lace-up pumps. I think tights are a fun way to accesorize and incorporate color. If you have a more classic, neutral wardrobe, they are great at punching up the color and changing your look. Even with colorful or patterned pieces, tights can bring out an accent color or just transition a knee skirt or shortsleeved dress from Summer into the cooler months.

Here are some great examples of how to wear colored tights. Photo from this website.

I also must recommend this great website I discovered on my quest for tights; it's called We Love Colors. They have TONS of tights and leggings in every possible color. Their classic opaque, footed tights are $12.50 and come in 51 color options (nuts!). I guess they really do love colors? They have a color called 'Gold' which is just what I'm looking for! I might have to give it a try, even though it's pricy compared to my $5 Merona tights at Target. American Apparel also has opaque tights in a wide range of colors for $14.

Another "I heart" is definitely colorful shoes. I'm working on gathering several different colors and styles for my closet. I'm sort of over tan and black and brown shoes. I want greens and reds and yellows and blues. Happy colors! Happy colors for my feet! Doesn't it make you happy having color on your body? It makes me happy. I am not completely abandoning all the neutral tones for bright colors; they can be friends. But I just like color in places that I am not used to having color ... I wasn't raised with colorful shoes or colorful tights (well, when I was 5 I had red tights I think) or colorful scarves. It was all about the neutrals so you could have a 'versitile' wardrobe. But I want the best of BOTH those worlds ... which is why colorful accessories are so darn great.

Like these red ruffly pumps I found hiding under my bed the other week ...

And these cheerful loafers (I got the green pair on sale) ...

And of course the 'famous' orange lace-up pumps ... one of my new favorites!

And here are two more yummy pairs as found at the mall a couple months ago ... both drastically on sale (can you tell I like finding things on sale?) and adorable ... on the left: Gap rhinestone flats (you can buy they here) and on the right: from Nordstrom, BP Shoes brand which I just don't think you can buy anymore ... maybe on eBay.

That's all. Please share your favorite closet staples or fashion trends. It's fun isn't it? So long as it doesn't get too expensive. ;)

Beading Revival

This morning I woke up to find my cats spooning, Smiley cleaning Carmen's little gray head. For some reason I always think it's the sweetest thing when they clean each other. They fight sometimes and bite each other, but I think they are good little cat friends nonetheless.

 

I had decided (yesterday) that breakfast this morning would be waffles; Kevin's request was to make them with blueberries, and I decided some chopped almond would be a nice addition. And so I whipped up some blueberry almond waffles while some warm coffee brewed. We have nothing to do today so it's been lovely having no pressure and going from room to room, task to task with no thought of time limits or being somewhere or doing something other than what I want to do in my own cozy house on a Sunday afternoon.

 

After a few mugs of coffee and a plate of waffles I decided completely randomly that I wanted to pull out all my beading supplies; I haven't crafted in months and thought it would be nice to make something. I get a hankering for it from time to time ... I suppose now is one of those times. Perhaps I was inspired by the several items I have been able to find on eBay for ridiculously low prices: Full, glimmering strands of semi-precious stone and glass beads, crystal bicone beads and some lovely silver findings; can’t wait to get them in the mail and create some new pieces.

I had put my boxes of supplies under my bed a while back so I went to pull them out and take stock of my inventory. In the process I found some lovely shoes I had forgotten about. I had it in my head that I had returned them since they didn't fit, but in actuality I had exchanged them. I like little surprises like that; sort of like finding money on the ground: completely unexpected and pleasant. Now I’m wishing I had a lovely colorful pair of tights – yellow or plum – to wear them with tomorrow.

I gathered all the beading supplies and took everything to the dining room; it’s nice and bright and our table makes a sturdy surface for spreading everything out in great heaps of tiny plastic baggies and compartment-ed plastic bins and little trinket-y boxes of assorted beads and charms. 

Today I’m making a pair of earrings with a mix of colorful glass beads. I have these lovely lemon yellow glass drop beads – they look like a huge vitamin E capsule and feel sleek and smooth in the palm of my hand. I decide they will look nice with some similarly cheerful colors, and set about partnering them with orange and pale mint beads on silver chain and hooks. I’m debating now whether or not to add beads all along the length of the chain or leave them as they are. I really don’t want to muddle the energy I get from the 3 beads but I don’t want them to look naked either.

I really need to do something with these delicious little amber briolettes - don't they look like sweet little honey drops? I'm super inspired by this use of amber briolette (love me some bees!). They are quite small, but I think they might look pretty clustered together as a charm on a necklace or dangling from a shiny earring? Hmmm … too many choices sometimes keeps me hung up just admiring all my goodies and not making anything out of them.

I realized I had finished these darliing little earrings and left them in my supply box ages ago. They are out now and definitely going to be worn - too cute to be stuck in a dusty box under a bed! 

And these, too? 

MAYBE I should start my own Etsy shop or something; that would force me to stick with this hobby and not tuck it away for months on end. What do you think?? I'm open to critique! Let me know what you think about my craft endeavors. For now, I'm headed back to my dining table and the sprawl of beads that are waiting for me.

The Weekend Update

This weekend has been so lazy. I have slept entirely TOO much, but enjoyed it in the moment. This evening I have a headache though; interesting how wonderful, luxurious sleep backfires when you indulge a bit too much. The last 2 days have gone quickly, too; I guess that's another side effect of sleeping 1/2 the day. ;)

Saturday I slept in and woke up to a late breakfast and coffee. Kevin and I spent some time in the yard in the afternoon then went on a couple errands including a stop at Garden Ridge where we found a curtain rod for the new curtains I got at Target last week. We still have the white curtains up that the previous owner used but I thought something colorful would be nice. The grommet top will be easy to push them open and closed. Now I just need to get some hold backs; I'm thinking something with beads - maybe something I can make myself. =) Saturday night, I pulled out the Christmas decorations and put the tree up. I usually don't decorate til after Thanksgiving but I think I was too excited about seeing the tree in our new house for the first time. I love it! As if our living room wasn't cozy already, it's now extra cozy. Plus I acquired a few new ornaments this year and I love admiring them on the glowing branches. Of course the soft and unbreakable ornaments are on the bottom branches so my curious cats can play with the tree without breaking any of my favorites.

Kevin informed me I am no good at fluffing branches, so he decided to help me out. ;)

One of my new owl collectibles - a sparkling gold owl ornament for my tree. Isn't he handsome?? I knew he would look wonderful glowing against the lights on the tree.

Sunday I slept even later. Not surprising since we stayed up til the wee hours playing games on Saturday night. I had some Cheerios with a banana and we spent the afternoon watching 'Avengers', napping (!), and playing games together. This evening I made a big pot of sausage and vegetable soup with homemade cornbread that was the perfect dinner on a cool(ish) evening. Kevin hasn't been feeling too well and he asked for soup: the perfect feel better food! I just threw the soup together with items I had in my kitchen; here is the recipe in case anyone is interested in replicating it.

Sausage and Vegetable Soup

12 c water on high heat

Add and bring to a boil:

1/2 white onion, diced

3 ribs celery, diced

3 medium/large red potatoes, diced small

4-5 sausages - I used bratwursts, prepackaged and cut in half (I cut them into bite-sized rings before serving)

Cook this for a while until the vegetables start to soften and add:

1/2 c corn (I used frozen)

1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes with liquid

5 cloves garlic, minced

Simmer everything til the vegetables are completely soft. Remove the sausages and cut into bite-sized pieces; return to the soup and turn off the heat. Leave the pot on the warm burner and add about 1/4 head of cabbage (green or red) and cover to let the cabbage wilt. I seasoned with generous pinches of Kosher salt; then added dried parsley, oregano and paprika.

Cornbread

Whisk together:

1 c cornmeal

1 c all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

Then add:

1 egg

1 c milk

1/3 c vegetable oil

Mix until smooth and pour into greased 8x8 pan. Bake in preheated oven (400 degrees) for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

What a beautiful day!!

It's been really cold (in Texan terms) for over a week now - wonderful, jacket-worthy weather. But today I went outside expecting the same and found that it is a perfect, mild day. I turned the heat off and opened my kitchen windows to the light breeze and the rustling leaves. Smiley was snuffling about in the ground cover and Kevin spotted Samantha again, but only for a minute. I went out to water all our plants and got my arm wet: it helps if the hose is connected to the spigot before turning it on full blast! I tried to take a picture of Kevin in the natural light but he decided instead I should be wrestled into the ground; I'd forgotten how fun it is to roll around in the leaves.

My plants are still doing really well, though I think my Morning Glories have bloomed their last for the year. They are yellow and wilty now. My Forget Me Nots are pretty, though still not a single bloom, and my Basil is, of course, still hearty. My jalapeno and avocado seeds have sprouted. I think it's almost time for them to come inside -- I think we're going to make a spot for all of them in the garage, though I'm worried about the lack of sunshine.

There is more and more color to all the trees and plants. I've noticed another bush at the side of the yard is yellow now - it was still green just last week. And of course the crepe myrtle is stunning. I can see the tops of the trees in our neighbor's yards and across the street and they have turned as well. Such a pretty array of Fall colors.

Kevin pruned one of our plants while I caught Smiley eying the yard through the glass door - I think he wants to come outside again.

They didn't come out after all. I think something startled them back inside.

My roses bloomed again, too. I think these are about the largest roses I've seen on this plant; flawless and fragrant. Something about flowers like this make me want to pick them and put them in a vase. Although my intention would be to enjoy their beauty while it lasted, it seems more shameful and selfish than anything.

Another week has passed ...

The weeks fly by faster this time of year. Not sure if it's the fact we are pulled in three times as many directions with the holidays and familial requirements; obscene amounts of gifting and baking and traveling; getting sick; going to parties; and generally trying to stay sane. Whatever combination of elements, the Fall and Winter months feel harried and short and they pass by with so much 'ado' over what turns out to be nothing and so quickly forgotten.

That new DVD player for $3 at Wal-Mart (starting at 5am, limited quantities of course; and mind you don't trample someone to death on the way to aisle 12!) quickly loses its shine and those new toys find a place in the pile of rarely touched items that accrue and accrue in playrooms and bedrooms, pushed aside for the newer model.

Just reminds me how important it is to not get caught up in the hubbub and the madness. Enjoy the wonderful foods and the good times with the people you care about; the bright Christmas tree and 'It's a Wonderful Life' and hot cocoa, a cat curled up in a frosty window. Enjoy them just as you would the first warm day of Spring and the first nip in the air that tells you Fall is on the way; just as you would any small but hugely significant thing that passes by quickly but with potentially great effect. Enjoy them, but don't get caught up in the insignificant parts.

Life is the small things. People say 'don't sweat the small stuff' but life is just that: a sequence of small things that make up who we are as individuals. So ... sweat the small stuff. Make the most of it. Savor the small things and the short moments and the turns of countenance; a kiss or a smile, a laugh with a friend, finding common ground, a piece of chocolate, or spending the evening with your favorite person.

I realize more the older I get that there are too many lovely things that pass us by if we are fixated on the negative things or the toxic people or the 'what if's'. Cross the bridge when you come to it and make the best of it. Try to remember what you did right and change what you think you can to make it better the next time around.

I see, too, that research and knowledge and observation are some of the more fulfilling practices in life. Read and learn - there is always something new to discover. I can feel myself changing and improving with all the articles I read and words I learn and new things I discover that I didn't even know existed before. How could anyone ever be bored?

Just a few of the small things from my week ... 

My curious cat, Smiley. I love the look in his apple green eyes.

A mystery herb that decided to sprout again after weeks of ... nothing. I brought it inside to the dining room window since it's getting a little too cold outside for herbs now.

Old-fashioned Scrabble in a pretty wooden box. Kevin and I sometimes play games together in the evenings.

Inspired by my friend, I have a 'thing' for collecting pretty napkins. They are so inexpensive but make a simple lunch or tea and cookies that much more pleasant ...

Breaking off a little piece of hazelnut milk chocolate.

A pot of rice pilaf simmering on the stove.

My warm, cozy house on a cool Fall night, my three favorite people (Kevin and the cats ;), a nice dinner and Friday night...

Happy weekend. =)

New Cat on the Block

This morning I was pouring another mug of coffee (brr!) and saw out my kitchen window a cat walking on the gardening ledge on our back patio. I'd seen her a couple times before walking on our back fence, but never IN the yard, right by the house. She (I discovered later she was a she) was very comfortable and relaxed. She sat down at the corner of the ledge, by the back door, and just watched Carmen as she hissed at her from behind the glass, tail fat and bristled and ready for a fight, tiny but vicious teeth bared.

Samantha just watched curiously and didn't hiss or growl even once. I decided she looked like a Samantha - Sam for short. I took a couple pictures of her from the house and thought she might be hungry so I filled an old feeder with some water and a bit of food and slowly opened the back door, watching for Smiley or Carmen to be hot on my heels. At this point Smiley was all worked up, too; he and Carmen had been stalking each other around the living room as though they each were a foreign invader cat and they were protecting their territory.

Are you coming out or not?

I shut the door behind me and Samantha walks right up and rubs against my legs, flopping herself on the ground and rubbing her little face into the patio, her soft white belly and brown ears covered in dirt and leaves. She has a short face, not as long a snout as Smiley and Carmen; she has a shorter tail, too, more like Carmen – Smiley’s is long like a monkey’s tail. She is very friendly and seems to be comfortable with humans but doesn’t have a collar. I wonder who she belongs to and who is missing her. Hopefully she has a home; I hate for animals to be stray or orphaned and not have a consistent place to stay.

Samantha is more interested in rubbing my knee - I'm sitting crossed-legged by the door now - than in her food which I've set down beside me. I snap a couple more photos and she sniffs my basil and jalapeno sproutlings. She finally takes a few bites after thoroughly sniffing the food and the tray and my hands a few more times.

After several minutes with her and lots of petting and cooing on my part I am rather cold and go back inside. Samantha peers up at me through the widow in the door, held tilted to the left, as if to ask why I'm leaving so soon. I think how nice it must be to have a fur coat. She walks around the grass some and uses our yard as a toilet (even scraping up some leaves and grass when she's done).

She walks over to the corner of the yard and hops effortlessly onto the middle fence rail and then onto the top of the fence. She takes a few steps onto our neighbor’s fence and jumps - gone into the alley for more stray cat adventures. I just hope she remembers our yard is a friendly one and I'll always have some food for her if she comes around again.