This New Years....

Many people look forward 

to the new year

 for a new start on old habits.  

~Author Unknown

~I am working this evening~

(boo)

but with this Resolution generator

I won't have to worry

about coming up with one

(via)

Getting Crafty

*I made this for my mom*

thanks boyfriend for modeling

You can't pick your family.....

Lucky for me

I have the best family ever

this Christmas involved:

                    1. Playing a Naughty Santa Ornament Game

                    2. Having a fabulous family dinner (not at the kids table)

                    3. Rice Krispie House contest

                          *complete with icing moustaches*

                    4. Pitchers of Red Rooster

                    5. Jersey Shore Hair Party

                    6. Sparklers!

"You don't choose your family.

They are Gods gift to you.

As you are to them. "

- Desmond Tutu

Lizard love

So our porch is home to many creatures

the cat who suns on my welcome mat

a large spider that is not welcome

and a very persistent lizard

he slips under the glass door

and the boyfriend has to escort him out

they have become kinda close

He is sorta cute

Microwave Caramels

Candy Making is no joke

thermometers and recrystallization fears

thats why I use the microwave

~it's a steady heat ~

and makes things so crazy easy

Microwave Caramels 

(this is not health food)

all I do to make these treats is:

1. Throw everything except vanilla in a bowl (heat safe)

2. Microwave until everything is combined - around 3 minutes

3. Don't be nervous as you watch the butter sink into the sugars

like the Titanic sank into the ocean

4. Give it a good stir  -  (use pot holders- it's hot)

5. Keep microwaving until it bubbles and deepens color (like 8 minutes)

you can also drip some of the resulting caramel

into a cup of cold water to see if it beads up

6. Stir in vanilla

7. Pour lovely rich caramel into a parchment lined 9x9 pan

8. Chill

9. Cut up and enjoy

I dip mine in Dark Chocolate and sprinkle with salt

*its good just as it is though*

You can use all white sugar

it takes a few minutes longer

~but the flavor is a bit deeper I think~

*recipe adapted from here*

2009 through the eyes of Facebook

So I love some Facebook

~sadly ~

It might be the first

and the last thing

I do in a day

So I was excited to find

"My Year in Status" application

here's what mine looks like

It's a great way to chronicle the year

Found.

I love Christmas treats

my kitchen currently has a fine layer

of powdered sugar all over it

~check out this savory treat~

*for a very lucky boy or girl*

(via)

This Bento Box

from Serious Eats

makes me want a sausage reindeer

~right now~

Guilty Pleasure

this is embarrassing...

but my guilty pleasure right now

is Jersey Shore

on MTV

I DVR it every Thursday

and watch it

with my coffee and breakfast

the next morning

Its so bad it's good

here is a snippet from last night

Looks like I'm not the only on entranced 

  there is a "Jersey Shore" nickname generator online

*Found Here*

I'm only answering to Hot Spot

until i finish my coffee

those boots are cute...

How fun is this commercial!

I really wanna tell someone to 

"talk to the moose"

no one in particular

I just think it would be funny

~hand motions included~

Count Down to Christmas

I love alot of things about the holidays

*too many things to mention*

~between~

Family

Food

Decorations

its just so much to look forward to

I really love Christmas Movies

I don't have a clear favorite

~I heart them All~

(via)

The Shop Around The Corner 

is in my top ten

(of all my favorite movies)

it has all the best elements

to a Great christmas movie

~romance~

*heart ache*

Comedy

and its been remade *twice*

so if you like

"You've got Mail"

i recommend this movie

Girlfriends

(found here)

These Ladies could be my friends and I

In a past life

or maybe

Its a glimpse of our future

The Amazon and her little friend

This past Sunday

Jordan & I joined Shanelle

for her companies Christmas Party

~thanks for inviting me~

The Mt. Pleasant Bowling Alley
 won't be the same

The troublesome trio

I am a dismal Bowler

except on the wii

Shanelle was pretty good

Jordan liked the shoes

the green did look pretty good

Shanelle's Co-Workers Dubbed me the "Amazon"

and Jordan my "little friend"

wonder why.....

new tricks

Lulu doing her new trick

~I love this~

*except for my funny laugh at the end*

Magic in the Air

*I Love the Muppets*

I remember seeing this movie in the theatre with my dad

 ~Watching this movie really puts me in the mood for the holidays~

~I may or may not know all the words~

Getting into the Spirit

2007

ode to Netflix

~I love getting mail~

So I really love opening the mailbox

and finding my new Netflix

there is just something about those red envelopes

and now by some internet magic

I can watch movies on my TV

(with a little help from the PS3)

*Cheers to impromptu 30 rock marathons*

Giving Thanks.

My Family is very lucky 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving

My cousin is expecting his first child

another is recently engaged

The Food was amazing

*my cheese plate was the bomb*

We made lots of memories

and had more than enough fun

Sadly we lost my grandpa that night too. 

82 years young

At his memorial service 

his "honey preacher" read the family this poem

I just know that it will stay with me forever

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below

With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars, reflecting on the snow

The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear

For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear

But the sounds of music can't compare with the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,

For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart

But I am not so far away, We really aren't apart.

So be happy for me, dear ones, You know I hold you dear.

And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.

I sent you each a memory of my undying love.

After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold.

It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do.

For I can't count the blessing or love he has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear

Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

(found here)

Smile.

Gotta love the Muppets

Mee Mee Mee

work

                                            (via)

      Is it possible to love what you do
                               but not love your job
                                          *sigh*

Etsy Love

True love is fleeting 

~but bacon stays in your arteries forever~

(via YeeHaw)

I think this card would look just fabulous

framed in my kitchen

*and its true~ my skillet is alway kept good & greasy*

Hello there

                               ~Look what I found in Fishermans Warf~

 

Queen of Hearts

(the start of my costume)

My sewing machine and I are ready for a break

after sewing on four decks of cards

to a little skirt I picked up at Goodwill

~ all the work was worth it ~

*Its tough to compete with Wheaties though*

Blorp.

This is my favorite sea lion photo from our  trip to Monterey

doesn't he look relaxed

dear Trader Joe's.

Dear Trader Joe's

I once promised to stop late night emailing you...

but after shopping in your lovely

amazing

beautifully stocked

wonderfully staffed store in California

I must beg of you again

*Please*

~Please~

with sugar on top

Come to Mount Pleasant!

I just know it would be a wild success 

We Had a "Hella" good time

(pebble beach 2009)

We're Back!

~Southern soil never felt so good~

I've got tons of great photos

stories

and new friends

Your gonna have to forgive me

I'm in Nevada and California this week~
i don't want to neglect my little blog
but the vacation demands it

homemade halloween

If I didn't already have my costume

halfway sewn together

 ~I would so be~

 a tasty basil roll

  (via)

I am not working this year!

 so I get to party~

Woo hoo*

The wonders of Facebook

Check out what I found on my Facebook

~this morning~

(yeppers thats my mom and I)

Its awesome

when old family friends tag baby pics they have of you

and your mom is 80's glasses

*how cute is this*

snuggle.

(via)

When the Boyfriend is away 

(darn furniture market)

Lulu and I snuggle up and watch netflix in bed

we may or may not be wearing snuggies

~its nice~

it would be better if he was here too though

boo

Boston terror

Boston terriers are seriously funny dogs

they are notoriously quirky

Universal Facts about the boston terriers i have known:

They love tennis balls

&

They hate Balloons

check out this seriously funny video

proof of fact #2

(via)

P.S. I love this blog

Check out P.S. I Made this

For some crazy awesome crafting 

Here is a fantastic example:

P.S. I'm so spray painting my glue gun Gold

rainy day.

Its a bit wet in the lowcountry today

thats okay though

I love a rainy day

It gives me the perfect excuse to snuggle up

read a book~I've got lots

(while the laundry is going hopefully)

a bit of earth

its kinda a secret that I was born in San Francisco

~I'm not ashamed by any means~

but it kinda knocks my southern status just a bit*

your not even really considered a local unless your born in the city I live in now

South Carolinians take their native status very seriously

the last time I visited California

I was a little girl

and my parents took me to the City Lights Bookstore

I picked out The Secret Garden

which I promptly devoured on the plane ride home

Check out this bite sized

Secret Garden 

a little Etsy love

for TheOakLeaves

~available here~