"I will give you rest...."

I wanted to give everybody a link to a free Pdf that I printed from Aimee at "It's Overflowing".  I thought it was so thoughtful of her and such a lovely message and picture I wanted to make sure that everyone who wants it has a chance to see it exists. We all have our weary days and this is just an uplifting image and verse.

It says "Come to me, all who are weary, and I will  give you rest. Matthew 11:23"

I printed mine at Walgreen's, where I go when I want something quick and I am so happy with it.

You can get it for yourself here. Enjoy! Thanks so much to Aimee for this gift!

Tonight Janae, Chantel, Chantel's friend Jessica, and I had so much fun going to "Breaking Dawn Part 1". I thought it was so good! I love all the Twilight movies and this was the best yet. The last one we went to the midnight showing, but we couldn't go last night because there was school to get up for this morning. This was really a treat for us because we never spend money to go to movies anymore. The twilight movies are so worth it to see in the theater. In case you are wondering..we are all team Jacob. But we wish Bella and Edward the best:)

And speaking of weary..I will end this post with this picture of Janae I just took. Janae worked all day and then went to the movie with us...obviously she is weary. She works a lot of long hours. Bella and Lacie wonder why Mommy is so tired, they are ready to play! They've been sleeping in their bedroom all day.

Have a great weekend!

Holiday Powder Room

The decorating continues...

Today I finished the hall bathroom. It sounds so much nicer to call it the powder room. I feel like it is one of the best places to decorate because lets face it..everyone goes in there. Friends, family, unexpected guests..everybody.

All the decor has been bought the last few years at my favorite place to shop, Goodwill. I got this Icy Blue Father Christmas last year for 2.99! Who knew that this year he would fit so perfectly into the color scheme of my powder room?! The angels also all from Goodwill not costing more than a couple dollars a piece. They looked beautiful last year too, but I think really shine in this room.

I hope you enjoyed the powder room decorating. I'm still excited to get my tree. I always get a real tree..I notice so many artificial trees on blogs and now that my daughter got one she says she likes it better. Is there anybody out there that still likes to get a real tree?

White Therapy

I came across a online article the other day through another blogger that I found so interesting. It is all about color therapy and healing with color. I have been so at  peace since I have moved to my new house and decorated with so much white, that I really believe what it says to be true. Trust me I have many many reasons to be completely stressed out, but I have such wonderful surroundings, I have learned to let things just roll off me and I am genuinely happy. I think I am experiencing white therapy!

The article says the color you pick is a form of self expression and personality. White it says has perfect balance and harmony, the color of the awaken spirit. Preference for white points at many things--the ones that struck me as so true for me are purity, cleanliness, freshness, simplicity, and truth. A new start in life for me in so many ways. I think white is a symbol of this.

Other colors I am drawn to and decorate with are blue (dreamy and magical, peace and rest) and Turquoise (relaxes sensations of stress). Silver (my favorite metal color) is female energy color, neutralizes negativity, heals hormone imbalances and is the color of psychic abilities.

No wonder I am doing so well--I think I have picked the right colors to surround myself in! You can check out this very interesting article here.

Blue Christmas

Well, a white, silver and blue Christmas that is...

I have been having so much fun decorating for Christmas. I have been stalking any blogs I can find that have beautiful white and silver decorating...and blue though that's harder to find.

About 3 or 4 years ago is when I changed my decorating for Christmas from pink and white to blue and white. That's when I started collecting Snow Buddies. I collect them all, the real ones and the fake ones. I have never paid retail for one..always have bought them second hand so many of mine are missing their noses. I think they are just as cute with missing noses.

I think they are so cute..my favorite one is this ice cream truck I got this summer at Goodwill. It play "My Favorite Things" which come to find out is Janae's favorite holiday time song making it even more special. I also love the one I keep on my vanity during the holiday season.

I am just itching to get our Christmas tree. Thing is I always get a live tree..seems like I should living in Oregon. The problem is they don't last longer than a month and I don't want to have to take the tree down before Christmas! So I decorated my little fake tree in hopes that it would cure some of my impatience in the wait to get the big tree. Not sure if it's working.

And this brings me to a question that has been on my mind for about a week...

What ever happened to Tinsel?

I am kind of freaked out about it..did it get banned or something?  I have looked in every store and can't find it anywhere. Thank goodness for Goodwill..as usual they saved the day and had some for me. Now I know that tinsel is very dangerous for animals, maybe that's why nobody uses it anymore? I am a huge animal lover so I am just going to put it on this small tree, that is up on a chest and our animals have no interest in it anyway. I just have to worry about Janae's puppies who visit often and will eat basically anything. So I guess no tinsel on my big tree. Maybe I'm the only one who still likes tinsel?

The other thing I can't find is flock in the cans. You know, big fluffy flock...not the window spray kind.  I was thinking I want to flock certain places in my tree and make it look snowed on. I used to ALWAYS flock my whole tree but it is so expensive to have it done.

But one thing I did find..or I should say my best friend Eileen found is...

You just don't even know how excited I am. She found them in Salem at Walmart and she wouldn't even let me pay her back for them she said they are a gift..she is the best!

 While picking up a prescription for Gage at Fred Meyer, I spotted this display of Christmas ornaments..I have to admit I wanted to load the display up in my car.

Some pictures from the weekend...

We like to roast hotdogs outside, even in the cold

Someone remembered to put on a coat and forgot something else!

Gage has had a cold this weekend but I think he is starting to feel better

 If you follow Janae you've seen these pictures but I had to post them so they'll be in my blog book.  Those are Janae and Chantel's stockings she hung by our front door so she could get this picture of the girls. Then there is the picture of Bunny FuFu--he is the most adorable bunny in the world.  He roams freely in Janae's house and is the most calm bunny I've ever seen. He is like a bunny model, he poses so well! What a cute boy. I think we should paint his sleigh white.

 

Have a great week!

Ravioli Lasagna

I am always looking for inexpensive, easy recipes to feed my ever hungry family. I have 1 teenage girl, 2 almost teenage boys and a husband with the appetite of a teenager! My Mom gave me her latest issue of Family Circle magazine and I found this recipe and decided to give it a try.

1 cup frozen loose cut leaf spinach

2 15 oz cans Chef Boyardees Beef Ravioli

1 can (14.5 oz) Hunts diced tomatoes, drained well

1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 375* Spray 8x8 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place spinach in microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 2 minutes-squeeze spinach dry. Combine Ravioli, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning in microwave safe bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and microwave on high 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture is hot. Combine cottage cheese, spinach and black pepper in another bowl. Place half of the ravioli mixture in bottom of baking dish. Top with half of the cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Okay--as you can probably tell from the picture I used a lot more cheese than they called for. I love cheese..especially in a lasagna type dish. I also upped the ingredients a bit to make a bit larger dish for my hungry family. I thought it was easy to make and really a great dinner for kids. My only complaint would be a sink full of bowls! It was really quite yummy. It took a short time to make and was devoured within minutes!

This kid approves!

Turkey Tablescape

I have one Thanksgiving decoration. It is a white ceramic turkey I found at Goodwill several years ago. Inspired by another person in blogland that also doesn't do fall colors, I decided to give it a try and created this November table setting.

I usually don't do faux plants but last night my son and I walked to Walmart and found this grapevine in the clearance for 25 cents and decided it would look nice around my turkey. What is it about Ball canning jars? I know I am not the only one, they just make me happy and I have no idea why. I have never canned in my life! The blue glasses that have the texture that remind me of ice I have been collecting at Goodwill for years. Does anyone know what they are called? Whatever they are, an icy drink served in them just seems to taste better!

This is the dinner that was served at this table setting..homemade turkey noodle soup and cornbread. I must admit I use the term "homemade" loosely...the noodles are actually Reames frozen home style noodles (they are delicious) and a turkey my husband smoked on our Traeger the other day. If I have to add a couple ingredients together I consider it homemade :).

The candlestick shown here were my Grandmothers, she got it as a wedding gift. There were 2 but Wyatt broke the other one when he was like 4 years old. I am glad I still have one!

The plates I got a couple years ago at HomeGoods. The bowls I got last year at HomeGoods.

I was hoping to be able to get more dishes in that lovely blue color but HomeGoods never got them in again. Now I am just hoping to find more at Goodwill someday.

Thanks for stopping by my very non-traditional (as far as color goes anyway) November table setting!

The stockings were hung...

I know some people don't believe in decorating so early..but I am not a fan of thanksgiving colors and so I prefer to make Christmas last as long as possible. I don't like getting all those Rubbermaid containers out of the attic for only a month of enjoyment!

At first I was really frustrated because I thought I had too many little things all cluttered on the mantle but as I layered and rearranged I ended up being very happy with my Christmas mantle! When the sun comes in it sparkles so much it reminds me of a jewelry store window.

I love decorating in white for Christmas because it kind of looks like everything has been snowed on!

This weekend when I was decorating the stockings weren't the only thing hanging...

 

When Janae hung Little Lacie on the doorknob I couldn't help but take a picture..she is so cute! (Don't worry we didn't leave here there for long:))

I am really excited for everyone to start posting their Christmas decorating. I am sure I am going to get so many new ideas. I love blogging!