Pretties - DIY Garland

I just came across this gorgeous cupcake liner + fabric garland - precious!! get instructions on how to make your own HERE

I will attempt to make this later today and post pictures but ONLY if you promise not to laugh :o) you can make yours too and I will post it here

xoxo

Salvation Army - Ring a Bell

Christmas time is always such a joyous season, I can honestly say it's the most wonderful time of the year for me, I find people are a lot nicer, more giving, and all around in just a better mood (except the ones in queue at the mall) However this is also the time of year when the weather gets extremely cold and harsh and the homeless are faced with a whole new dilema that some of us will never face and for that we must be thankful.


As I was driving home the other night after watching  The Blind Side (of all movies) I noticed a homeless old man standing with his little vet sign asking for money with no coat on!! I swear it must have been 35 degrees ....poor fella....well I gave him a few dollars and wished I had a coat or something I could give him and it left me feeling sad and depressed as I know there are millions of people around the world in similar or worst state. ...I know that some of these people are slackers but my view is this; regardless of what his/her reason may be for begging , it is still a tough thing to do when it's obvious they are hungry and cold and would rather be sleeping in a warm comfy bed at 12am.


Though I wear my heart on my sleeve and would love to help by going to out to fund drives for the needy and ring bells for the homeless I have a job and family that keeps me extremely busy but since I'm too caring to be deterred I looked online for ways that I can offer my help using my computer instead of just leaving it up to everyone else...this is afterall the spirit of sharing and giving and I am giving back with all my heart...


If you are wanting to ring a christmas bell that will be heard worldwide... this is a good place to start...feel free to visit them online at  The Salvation Army to make a donation or click on my widget below.

I am in the process of packing 2 boxes full of clothing that I will be donating to to Goodwill tomorrow, those in turn will be sold in their stores to help fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges.


If you feel like donating, use the goodwill locator to find the closest drop off location in your area, find a box or a bag fill it with gently used clothing you may have around the house and drop off your donation.


* Did you know that besides cleaning out your closet, garage, etc and helping someone in need; your donation can also lead to generous tax deductions. Take the following steps to ensure you get a proper tax deduction for your goodwill donations. You will be surprised at how it might add up! fist see this goodwill valuation guide  then visit their tax deduction page and be sure to get a receipt from goodwill to use for your taxes next year.

Happy Holidays!!

Herb Garden

I've had a pretty great Saturday, went to my favorite coffee house and had a *Huge*  Chai Latte - I'm craving another chai right now because it's so cooooold even through my extra wooly socks :o)... after my yummy chai tea I scooted to the nursery next door and bought some herbs, I bought  Cilantro, Spearmint, and Peppermint and the nursery was nice enough to give me free containers for the garlic I planted a week ago - I will post pics of those next week....I'm super excited that my herb garden is slowly growing.....

I spent the rest of the day doing "oddities" around the house...i.e cooking with said herbs :o)As always, it's been a pleasure...see y'all tomorrow - same place!

Green Lifestyle

While I was visiting my in-laws for the thanksgiving holidays I managed to pick up this lovely rosemary wreath plant that smells divine!! A great addition to my herb garden...I think I may need to repot it soon. I am in need of a herb garden book like this one at Amazon, may need to drop hints to "Santa"

Here are my other plants that wanted to say hello! My garden is my 2010 biggest project wait till you see what I do to it next year!! Below is my tabasco tree and the 2nd pic shows the peppers I picked today :o)

Then comes my showy kale...they love to display their pretty purple hue in the winter months to add color to my otherwise dead garden.

My Thanksgiving & DIY Treat

I had a wonderful thanksgiving and I hope you all did as well, I feasted, feasted and then feasted some more... I also  took down some serious red wine with my mother in-law and my sister in-law, I'm usually high strung (or so I'm told  :-p) so this helped to let my hair down so to speak.... and .....r.e.l.a.x.....

    

The countryside is so beautiful and peaceful...sometimes I wish I lived there .....sometimes.....then I mentally come back to reality!!

Since I was surrounded by such peace and tranquility I was tempted to catch up on some reading so picked up the book Precious and ended up reading it in one sitting, it was so moving and it's definately not for the faint of heart, (holy language!!!!) that's all I'm saying as I don't want to spoil it for you.  It's a MUST read.

.....  once I finished reading Precious I needed something a little uplifting as it left me feeling sad so, I picked up The Gorgeously Green book my mother in-law had on the kitchen counter and love it! Go GREEN! See their website at http://www.gorgeouslygreen.com/

I try to do my part in helping this world I live in by recycling and  incorporating earth friendly practices into my everyday life, recycling, buying organic, buying local etc (makes me warm inside) and some of the DIY projects in there are super cool not to mention very easy on the $$ I bought a used copy on Amazon (recycle when u can!) for $3.50 thats a savings of $13.45 - Score!!!! BTW this would be an awesome Christmas gift and you can buy it new at Amazon for about $4 - **highly recommended**

While I'm on the subject of DIY projects....
I came across this fabulous pumpkin pom pom tutorial and couldn't resist but to post it here for you, get step by step directions on how to make it here and flower pom poms here, the pdf is here and mini pom pom tutorial here