Christmas Decor: Stalking Stuffer

Best Santa ever, Mr. Holder!

It's been two years so I may as well update my blog. I've noticed some VERY lovely Christmas decoration post from some of my Facebook friends, so I thought I would steal a few and show them off. I'll go ahead and feed my ego first by showing off my Holiday salt and pepper shaker collections. This collection was NOT intentional and DO NOT buy me another set (Although I must say thank you to my Mom, Rosie for gifting me with the cutest turkey salt and pepper shakers ever)

Next up is a lovely capture of my mother Rosie's dinning room Christmas arrangement. Check out the cute Santa hat chair covers. Darling isn't it? Mom has tons of Christmas decoration goodies and I am sure she could open a shop to sell all of the cute items she has discovered over the years. But that ain't happening! She also has three really cute little doormen waiting to greet you when you walk up to her front door. This lady get's into the season, ok? 

Look familiar? This is my sister's very traditional dining room, the decor is simple yet warm and inviting and very reminiscent of my mother's even though they are thousands of miles of apart. Great minds think alike!

This beautiful tree belongs to 
my friend Lori…according to her hubs, this tree has about a thousand or so lights on it and has been carefully twined through each branch. I love the glow!




I saw this little guy “Chewie” on my friend Veronica’s FB page and could not resist! Who wouldn't want a  hug from this fella under the mistletoe?

Keep it simple and elegant says it all for jazz vocalist and dear friend Breggett...

Oh my gosh look at this little trio of penguins! My friend Al has truly captured the whimsical side of the holidays with these cutie pie penguins!

A Mom’s dedication shows through her creative holiday gifts for her daughter’s class. Beautiful Brandy!

My sister from another Mister, writer, actor, director, teacher, Stephen holds a nice glass of holiday cheer in his hand! 

 

How can you not love Christmas in Honolulu? Butterbean’s god-mother Carol Ann shows us the true meaning of a Hawaiian Christmas. Mahalo!

I’m just gonna put this out there…is that a Dallas Cowboy's themed tree, Stewart Family?

Magical Mikki and Angelo, just magical. This spectacular vision of Christmas spirit illuminates the boisterous and loving household of two wonderful co-workers and their awesome 5, yup, count’em five outstanding and precious children.

That's it for this year. Thank you to all of my friends and family who allowed me to share their creativity in celebrating the season! 
Happy Birthday Jesus,Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Family fun on single budget in the Dallas metro area

http://www.examiner.com/x-22364-DeSoto-Single-Moms-Examiner~y2009m9d19-Family-Fun-on-a-Single-Budget

Dallas Fair Park Ferris Wheel
Single mom equals single budget, right? Entertaining kids on a budget, especially these days, can be a serious challenge. However, low cost and even free family enterainment is out there if you know just where to look.
Around Town
The Desoto Public Library offers free movie downloads with library membership. Its pretty simple just download the "download manager", pop the popcorn and sit back and enjoy a great list of movies. If you are just looking for a reason to get out of the house, again a quick trip to the Desoto, Lancaster, or even Cedar Hill community libraries offer a wide range of family entertaining videos available for check out. Plus while you're there you can peruse the shelves for the latest bestseller in print or audio version.
Down the Road
Kids getting a bad case of cabin fever? Head outdoors! Take a stroll around Sunny South Dallas's Fair Park. During the off season, the park is still open and the spacious and well manicured walkways are a great place for the kids to swivel their heelies and for mom to get a great walk around the park. For a few dollars extra mom and the kiddos can enjoy the history and culture of the African American Museum as well as the Women's Museum. Each location is not only aesthetically pleasing to the eye but creates a lasting learning moment for the whole family.

Classic Christmas Videos for the Kiddy-o's!

Hey Moms,

Looking for a distraction for my son while I work on my grad school homework, I stumbled upon a few classic full version videos on youtube!

Check'em out and Happy Holidays!

Frosty the Snowman

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2977584602602848279

Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7226220443648270051&ei=fVNESanmCZL6-gHVr-SxDA&q=Rudolf+the+red+nose+reindeer

The Little Drummer Boy

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4799169573024183633&ei=KlZEScLTM4_u-gHY34mQDQ&q=the+little+drummer+boy

Ok, ok I'm just throwing this one in because I think its just cute!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGnYw-OuCnI

16 Helpful Household Hints

Hey Mom's out there...I don't know who came up with this list but I received it in an email from my sister and just had to share!

1. Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove , set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
2. Easy Deviled Eggs Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal , mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients , reseal , keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly , cut the tip of the baggy , squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
3. Expanding Frosting When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store , whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes w ith the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
4. Reheating refrigerated bread To warm biscuits , pancakes , or muffins that were refrigerated , place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
5. Newspaper weeds away Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers aroun d the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
6. Broken Glass Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.
7. No More Mosquitoes Place a dry er sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
8. Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
9. Flexible vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
10. Reducing Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone.
11. Measuring Cups Be fore you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
12. Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
13. Reopening envelope If you seal an envelope and then realize you for got to include something inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily. 14. Conditioner Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...
15. Goodbye Fruit Flies To get rid of pesky fruit flies , take a small glass fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid , mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
16. Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it , take it 'home', can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains , but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Bootleg on a Budget Presents: Bath Improvement

Ok, so maybe I have been watching a little too much HGTV but, I've gotten some great ideas from watching show after show, especially "Designed to Sell" and "ColorSplash" check it out....

BOOTLEG DESIGN ON A BUDGET by Me

• Dilemma #1: Dark, dank blue bathroom decor. Oh sure the sun, moon and star thing was all the rage...three years ago. I also had a bit of a clutter problem too.
  
  

• Dilemma #2: My Mom bought me the cutest little bathroom decorations and I decided to build my bathroom theme around them. Aren't they just darling? She gave these to me over a year ago and as you can see from the mauve-ish color and black polka-dots, this is not an easy scheme to pull together.


• During my prolong stay in my home town, I finally found by pure accident a set of rugs that would compliment my little pinkish potty and crew so my loving step-mother purchased them for me.

Finally, back in town, while looking for a pair of shoes for my college bound nephew in Target, I decided to try my luck at finding the right color shower curtain for my bathroom make over. To my dismay, most of the curtains held not even a stitch of the color I was looking for or they were outrageously expensive (I am a CHEAP SKATE-I admit it). Anyway, coming out of the shower curtain aisle I looked down and there it was..my shower curtain hidden among the place mats.

• Ok lemme explain: I found the cutest polka dot plastic place mats and suddenly the light bulb popped on and started to singe my dreads. My nephew thought I had lost my mind, especially when I went back to the show curtain aisle and picked up a white shower curtain liner. (design similar but not exact)



• Back at home, armed with a hot glue gun and lots of patience, I begin cutting the place mats into long strips. After that task I start hot gluing them in random formation on the white shower liner. To make it "pop" I outlined the pieces with black fabric paint. I had a few glitches along the way, like the cat and the three year old adding their own artistic touches but I still think it turned out pretty cool.

• My final touch on my bathroom was to add the cute little pieces which I did by mounting a simple black cube I got from Target (12.99) on the wall and placing the pieces on top and inside. I secured the pieces with gum putty to make sure they don't some how fall off and smash to pieces.

• Opposite of the black cube is a left over box which held 'thank you" cards. Because the design on the box is three dimensional and the colors totally matched my new bath, I mounted it as well.

• I also purchases a plastic container to place all of my beauty aid stuff like lotion and hair care products under the sink and I utilized the little drawers on either side of my vanity to clear the clutter from my sink.

• That was awful! Now its clutter free!

Join me next time when we make over my little monster's mess (of a room)!!!!!