Merry Pants

I own some fleece pants. They are warm and festive and have the word 'Merry' written all over them in red and green. I love my merry pants. I AM merry pants when I wear them. If it were socially accepted, I would wear them everywhere. Poor Cody. With Christmas coming up, my merry pants will be showcased like mad. Baking! Decorating! Wrapping! Poor Cody.

I am so giddy for Christmas I can hardly stand it. It's going to be a blast having our first Christmas in this house. However, I face the same obstacles with my Christmas decorations as I did with my Halloween stuff - I have no idea where to put it all or where it will fit, but I'm convinced it's a happy problem. We even set up our village for the first time in 3 years! My boys are drawn to it like moths to a flame, so it's a constant battle to keep the small train on the tracks and the elves glued to their bases.

It's not even December 1st, but I'm filled with festive merriment. Time for hot chocolate and cookies! And I better put on my merry pants.

Thankful

It's been non-stop over here lately...that always seems to be the case. But we're not going to talk about the craziness! No, no. We are going to touch on the things I am so grateful for.

How I adore my family. My darling sons who are so patient with me because they clearly know that I have no clue what I'm doing. They are hilarious and witty and smart and they totally dress better than I do. I love spending my days with them and this afternoon they both nuzzled next to me and fell asleep on the couch. Their warm, little bodies were so tender. I gave them lots of light hugs because I knew if I had squeezed them as tight as I wanted to, they would have woken up. Or suffered some broken ribs.

Then there is the Captain. Cody is a rare gem and my goodness, I am always so aware that I don't deserve that golden man. He is so supportive and understanding, even when I am upset for no reason or irrational (that doesn't happen very often, btw. Ahem.). I have been at the computer every spare second I have to create new items for RSVP and he allows me the freedom to do that. He cooks for me and loves me...and I am completely smitten with him.

We are so blessed to have this beautiful, warm home that looks phenomenal with Christmas lights (Oh yeah, the lights are up. Well, 'Phase 1' of the lighting, anyway...). We are thankful for the knowledge of the Gospel and the comfort it brings to our lives. The Lord is so aware of us and it becomes more apparent to me every day.

Finally, I'm grateful for you. My dear friends who are the bees knees. I hope you all have a marvelous Thanksgiving filled with big meals and naps! After picking up Cache from Pre-School the other day, he insisted on wearing his Pilgrim garb all day. He also insisted that I call him "Pilgrim" which allowed me to feel like John Wayne for most of the afternoon. At one point I asked him, "Cache, how cute are you in your Pilgrim get-up?" And he answered,

"Um...really cute?"

New Cards!

Just added to RSVP today...

Here's What I Know...

* New card and invite designs are in production for RSVP!

* I am about to throw my computer out the window because I can't fix the background on RSVP. I'm sure it's the computers fault.

* I have about 300 projects to create in a week. I don't necessarily have to do them, but I really want to do them, which means I have to do them.

* I'm super excited for Thanksgiving.

* I have at least 4 blog posts that should have taken precedence over this one.

Introducing RSVP

Here it is! My big reveal! For the past few months I have been thinking of creating a site for my cards and invitations. Voila! RSVP has arrived! I started designing weeks ago and am thrilled to finally have it up and running. There may be a few kinks to work out, so hopefully you'll be patient with me. The products shown are just the beginning, more brilliant designs are on the horizon!

So go take a look at www.rsvp-invitations.blogspot.com! I also accept custom orders, so if you want me to design something specifically for you - don't hesitate to ask!

Deep breath, here we go!

*the cool background I designed for RSVP isn't showing up! Hmmm, I'll look into that...and hopefully get it fixed toute suite!

Not Well

I'm under the weather. Not well, I'm afraid. Yesterday I was hoping to reveal something I've been working on for a few weeks...but I just couldn't get it ready in time before the sickness hit! Blast. So irritating. I'm hoping to reveal my project tomorrow or Thursday, you'll come back and see, right?

Until then, however, I must mend. I'm taking it easy. I'll work on my project here and there...until the medicine kicks in. Who knows what I'll create hopped up on that stuff.

Stay tuned! Cough, cough...

Friday Full

Yesterday was the Patch Family Lunch. This is a weekly occurrence that was started by my Grandparents a few years ago. Every Friday we gather at Chuck-a-Rama and visit with Aunts and Uncles and cousins and parents. My Granddad passed away a year ago, but the lunch appointment stands and we all make an effort to be there.

My Uncle's Birthday was yesterday and my Grandmother's is today, so we had a table full of family at lunch! It was so great to catch up with those I haven't seen in a while, and my dear Grandmother looks radiant at 88. She mentioned how sad she is that she hasn't been able to watch any Jazz games (she's a huge fan) and we promised to come over and spend the day making caramel. I love my sweet family, and I love that we still get together each week...even if it is at Chuck's.

After lunch I met up with Mindi and we drove to Gardner Village for some crafty overload. It was a perfect Fall day, it's so pretty up there. It was Mindi's first time and we had a total blast going in all the shops and perusing their wares. I think these ducks were pretty upset that we didn't feed them anything.

We bought treasure maps and fabric and tried on this fancy hat...perfect for fox hunting? No?

We both flipped over this Chandelier. A pirate ship?? Yarr! So cool, if it wasn't $598 I would have taken that home.

I have no idea where I would put this Carousel, but I'm officially in love with it. It's huge and it plays music and it spins...it reminds me of the carousel Tiny Tim receives from a repentant Ebenezer in 'Scrooge'. (The best Christmas movie ever, we'll talk about that later).

Recently these paper village houses have captured my special attention. They are selling some at Target and my sister called me last week as she was looking at them. They are SO cute and not a bit too pricey. I'm sure I could make some...of course, buying them would be easier.

All in all, a very busy/successful day. And with the SNOW on the ground this morning, it's time to keep the wood burning stove stocked and my mug full of hot chocolate. Stay tuned, dear BC readers, I have a creative reveal coming on Monday. Oh, yes...it's going to be epic.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What am I loving?

Penguin Classics.

How great are these covers? The colors and patterns are tres cool. My sis-in-law Randi brought these to my attention a few weeks ago and I instantly fell in love. There are a few available here and me wanty! I envision them in a pretty little row in my bookcase.

"Dear Santa..."

Our Weekend

This weekend was jam-packed with goodness, just like Cole was jam-packed in the bathroom closet. Turns out that when you hear your kids laughing, it's not always a good thing.

My sister flew up for the weekend to attend some art classes and luckily I got to see her for a quick spell! Friday night our family got together for dinner up in Salt Lake. We were laughing so hard, my family is rad. After dessert we drove over to Marty and Jessica's new house! It's dated and needs a lot of work, but it's got great bones and I was envious more than once of the amazing detail that house has.

Marty, Jess and my Mom discussing remodeling ideas.

How I love old, exposed radiators.

and those coffered ceilings?? Gorgeous.

Built-in buffet in the dining room. The house is full of retro chandeliers.

Do I love the wood paneling? Not so much, but the doors in this house are so cool. Super tall, dark and glossy. Those doorknobs are pretty fantastic, too.

Marty and Jess have been working on this house every spare second in hopes to make it their dream home. It will take some time, but I'm so excited for them!

On Saturday I had the monthly workshop for Thrillionaires and those are always so much fun. We try different things and work on new ideas...and there's a lot of laughing. I love all those people, sometimes the only time we get to see each other is at the workshop so I always look forward to it. We all went to dinner and then a few of us performed in the show. My friend Chris, his new fiance' Amy and Chris' little brother came to see it! I haven't seen Chris is ages and it was so fun to catch up.

Yesterday was relaxing. After Church we started roasting some turkey and built a fire in the stove. Sunday evenings are the best. I was feeling so grateful for so many things - my husband, my boys, this wonderful home. That time together is priceless. Dinner was SO delish, I don't know why we don't eat turkey every day. Well, we will this week....leftovers.

The weather has been so fabulous and we need to take advantage of some things before it changes! We have lots of projects lined up for this week, but first things first; I need to buy a rake. Turns out when you have lots of trees, you have lots of leaves.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What am I loving?

Japanese Masking Tape.

Tape. Yes. Simple as it sounds, I'm loving this tape. How could you not? With those patterns?? This stuff is available online - so easy to find. And on the cheap! Tons of patterns, different widths...so great. I must find something to seal up with this gorgeous stickery!

Little Monsters

Halloween did not disappoint - it was a smash hit! Earlier this month I sent out invites for a Kids Party on Halloween and Cache was really looking forward to it. After breakfast I started to bake cupcakes and get things ready for the party...my children? Well, they were getting into the spirit of things.

I was getting something out of the pantry and I kept hearing the boys saying, "ooooOOOoooo, OOoooOOOO!"

Once everyone arrived we took a quick shot of all the kids in their costumes. Cole, Stella, Morgan, Reagan, Jude and Cache!

That was the best shot of Cole almost all afternoon - he wasn't a big fan of his dragon attire, he was being a little Halloweenie.

Luckily the weather was gorgeous and we got to eat outside and the kids ran around the yard.

Afterwards we decorated cupcakes and it was so fun! The kids had a blast covering them with frosting and sprinkles.

Cache was very serious about decorating, but I think Cole was more interested in eating the cupcakes...so was I.

Everyone got to take their cupcakes and their own little favor home. I'm so glad everyone was able to make it and I know we'll be doing this again next year! Thanks for coming, little spooks...

That night I got the boys all dressed in their costumes and Cody took them trick-or-treating. It was so cute hearing them practicing their 'Trick or Treat!'.

Such little cuties. Cole was more of a sport so I snapped as many pics as I could of him in his little costume!

Yesterday we were all in recovery mode. It's been a crazy-busy month and I've been fighting off some sickness. I think I'm about over it and I'm looking forward to a laid-back week. I'm going to start taking down Halloween (sad) and may or may not be hauling out some pine cones and holly berries...