125 Years of Good Housekeeping

So while I was browsing on Amazon a few weeks ago, I came across the $5 magazine subscriptions and got a year long subscription for Good Housekeeping and Southern Living. Well my first GH came in the mail yesterday and I was so excited.

This year is the 125th birthday of GH and I loved reading the editor's letter in this addition. I love that when Clark W. Bryan published the first edition of GH, his mission was to have a family journal to "produce and perpetuate perfection as it may be obtained in the household." And today, the mission has changed a bit...now, GH strives to perpetuate a happy life, not a perfect one! I love that simply because it doesn't have to be perfect, to be wonderful.

In each addition, GH is taking a piece from the past 125 years, and reprinting it. I laugh because some things do seem to be a bit outdated, but some, are just a true today as they were back then. In 1885, GH printed a "Chapter of Household Don'ts"....it goes like this:

Don't stand when you can sit just as well.
Don't put off the mending from week to week.
Don't you know that vinegar will clean the isinglass in the stove doors?
Don't you know your floor oil clothes can be washed in buttermilk or kerosene?
Don't give little children two languages to learn, first baby-talk, then afterward true pronunciation.
Don't hesitate to place a piece of zinc on the live coals in the stove; it will clean out the stove pipe.
Don't throw away nice woolen stockings when the feet are worn out, but cut them down for the children.
Don't fail to clean and tidy in every nook and corner but Don't be a slave to a shining stove or carpet!
Don't do unnecessary work because your grandmother did. There was not half so much to be done in her day.

I hope that in this upcoming year, your life will be wonderful, not perfect; and that you don't become a slave to your shining stove and carpet!

Tickets for Tots

I saw this video this morning and LOVE this program - turning something bad into good.

Christmas Tour of Homes

The Nester is hosting the Christmas Tour of Homes today.

I LOVE this time of year - the sights, the smells, the memories, the SHOPPING! I love it all! I would be more than happy to have my house decorated for Christmas year round, if Brant would let me !

But here are a few of my favorite decorations.

My mantle...I made this garland last year (read about it here) with inspiration from Nester.

This is one of my absolute favorite decorations!

I love this bowl because I can change out the ribbons depending on the season!

Our tree!

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Thanksgiving

Well Brant's birthday was the day before Thanksgiving and all he wanted was the Beatles Rock Band....so that's exactly what he got! We had so much fun all day long pretending that we were the Beatles!!!! Here are a few pictures from our debut performance!

This is Brant's nephew, Aeson. He had quite a performance himself on the guitar!

Brant's sister Kristie and mom, Judy. I just love my in-laws!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I made my first turkey - IN THE CROCKPOT!!! I actually just did a turkey breast because there were only 5 adults, and it really turned out GREAT! It was so easy, and was DELICIOUS!

Here is a picture of our table - full of tasty food!

One of my favorite desserts is my mom's pumpkin roll, so she gave me the recipe and it turned out perfect!

A Christmas Poem

I received this today and just thought I would share it with you.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother...
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

I pray that this holiday season, we remember those who have fought for us, who have died for us, and who have given up everything that had so that we can have the freedom to celebrate the birth of our savior.

A Sleepless Night

Last night was NO fun!
This baby went missing!

We searched for HOURS! My sister and mom both came to help us look for him, as well as our dear friends the Bennetts! We drove up and down every street calling his name hoping he would come running out, but he never did. We walked through the golf course hoping that maybe he was playing with the ducks, but he wasn't. I went to the elementary and middle schools in our neighborhood thinking that he had gone to meet some new friends, but he hadn't. My cell phone number is on his tags, so we just knew the phone would ring, but it never did.

So last night I went to bed in tears because my baby Dax was missing. Brant and I prayed desperately that someone would find him.

Then this morning around 5:00, my phone rang. It was Caylan from across the street....Lloyd was leaving to go to work and guess who found his way back home and was asleep in my front yard......DAX!

He was soaking wet (because it was drizzling all night long), thirsty and exhausted, but he was home! So we dried him off, gave him some food and water, then all curled up together right here!

Holiday Wish List

I don't know about you, but the holidays fast approaching, I have been making my Christmas wish list! Along with gift cards to my favorite decorating stores like HomeGoods, Kirklands and Hobby Lobby, I want these!!!


We have a great outdoor table and chair set, but it is bar height, not great for simply outdoor enjoyment (unless you are eating and the table is high enough that Dax can't get your food!) So, I was thinking it would great to have some outdoor rockers! And when I get those rockers, it might get chilly in the evenings, so I think that this beautiful outdoor fire pit would be a GREAT addition to our outdoor space!Then, I was online at Wilson's leather and saw this beautiful coat!!!! I think it would enjoy having a space in my closet, don't you?




And maybe this one too!!!!!



Then, I have decided that I would really love a clock radio docking system for my Iphone. I use my Iphone as my alarm clock, but sometimes I forget to charge it. I think life would be much simpler with something like this!

So what's on your list??????

I'm ALIVE!

Yes, I am actually alive! Things in our world have happened in a whirlwind lately.

First, we had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Brant's family came to our house and we certainly had a blast. I cooked my first turkey IN THE CROCKPOT! I knew I wouldn't need a full turkey, so I got just the breast. It turned out WONDERFULLY! I would do it again in a heartbeat! My camera is being silly right now, so I promise to post pictures as soon as I can!

Now, for the fun stuff...I've been decorating!!!!

I finally finished the decorating project in my kitchen. My Aunt Laurie gave me the ides over a year ago, but I finally did it! Since I love coffee, I hung a few shelves on the big wall in the breakfast room and put books about coffee on them. Then I found this FABULOUS "Coffee" metal sign at Kirklands for only $30! It totally completed the look!

I was able to get all of these shelves at Hobby Lobby when they were half price, and bought almost all of the books at Half Price books, so this entire wall probably only cost around $60! That's a bargain if you ask me!

Next, Brant and I have wanted new living room furniture for awhile. We liked what we had, but it was a hand-me-down from Sister, and we really wanted something that we LOVED! So, Roome to GO was having a huge sale that included a free 40" HDTV with a full living room purchase, so we went for it!

What do you think? We went with a brown sofa and loveseat, but kept our black recliner and got black cocktail tables and a black coffee table. Granted, the big wall now looks huge and I need a bigger piece of art to hang on the wall...but don't worry, that is soon to come!

I found these FANTASTIC pillows to add some pizazz to the room. I found the rose pillow as Home Goods for only $15 for a set of 2, then the leopard print at Wal Mart for only $10 a piece! I Love them!!!

These are my new lamps. We never had lamps before because the piano was on the long wall, and we didn't want cords draped across the floor to the end tables. But now that the piano is gone and the sofa is on the wall, these add a great touch, don't you think?

Well I hope everyone is having a FABULOUS holiday seasons! I have about half of my shopping done, so I'm off to Canton tomorrow with Jessica to finish up! And yes, we ARE going to Canton, even when the high is only 37!!!!!

By the way, Great Grabbie Designs is going to be offering Holiday blog designs for only $20!!!!!