Christmas 2011 in Pictures and Captions

 

I have to say I had a GREAT Christmas. It was at my house and we had a blast! Not to mention I got just about all that I really hoped to get!

 

On with the show!

They say pictures are worth 1,000 words but just in case you need some background info for the photo, I'll throw that in for you.

Family and friends at my house! My sister(in black) flew in from Chicago on Christmas Eve!

This is my mother in law. She took all of these lovely photos and YES I know she’s beautiful and doesn’t look a day over 25!

This is the mantle. You can’t really tell from here but our initials are SRAB which if rearranged ( and they ALWAYS are) they spell BRAS. The kids arrange them that way EVERY YEAR!

Reese wearing her Christmas tree shirt and as usual, in a bahumbug mood!

This is me, my sister Andrea (dre) and my mom. Oh and yes my bra strap. Sorry, I don’t have photoshop so what you see is what you get. And in case you’re wondering why I didn’t wear a black one, well now I’m asking myself the same darn question!

Ashley and her pumpkin roll… yes it was a Christmas present!

Brianna got a set of Copic Markers she’s had her eye on for a while. Oh and that’s my brother in the background. he currently lives in Phoenix AZ. He’s the yoyo champion of the world!! No kidding!

Brianna also has a HUGE sweet tooth so we thought it would be funny to wrap up this huge chocolate tootsie roll that has tootsie rolls inside. She loved it!

This picture is my favorite! My sister is a good cook and has been dying to get new Paula Deen pots and pans. She’s a single mom and it’s hard to splurge so we got them for her.This is her reaction! Priceless!!

And Yes I got my Purdy Brush Set…Two of them !! haha

Not to mention lots of gift Cards!

Me and Reese Snuggling!

2nd Annual “$5 Gift Card Exchange” which Sammy won!!

And last but certainly not least… The Christmas present KUNU brought in the house AGAIN!!  Another dead squirrel…on Christmas Eve…amongst friends… dead squirrel… that he placed…under the tree… ugh!

Sammy the Hero…disposing of the carcass while we all scream in horror!

HOPE YOU CHRISTMAS WAS WONDERFUL AND HOPEFULLY LESS ADVENTEROUS!!

Rita

Tossed and Turned Tuesday - Christi’s Treasures revealed!

First of all, let me tell you why December is ALWAYS busy for me.  I have Ashley’s birthday on the 14th (not including her party on the 17th), my anniversary on the 19th, my mom’s birthday on the 20th and finally Christmas! I’m already pooped!

Without further ado, here’s the Sewing Cabinet:

Her only request was that I make it look modern to go in her modern and clean lined home.  She has lots of white and the vintage look it had before was NOT going to work. Now she will use it as a side bar/liquor cabinet.

 

Reese’s Desk:

Remember this desk that belonged to Christi when she was a little girl?

Her request was to give this outdated desk a Z gallery feel to fit in her daughter's style.  The room is currently gray and orange with lots of stripes and symmetry.  I apologize for the photos but I haven’t been home while the sun is out so I just snapped a few shots in my dining room for you to get the jist of what it looks like. These were taken a few minutes ago on my phone.

I also kept the cushion the same.  She wanted that to stay since her father had reupholstered it himself.

I’ll see if she can snap better photos once it’s in Reese’s room.

Thanks for waiting so long to see my After shots!! 

Hope you have a great Christmas and if I don’t talk to you before then, have a safe and Happy New Year!!

Rita

My Christmas Story

This is my Christmas story which will be long but it’s a good one. It might also make my husband sound bad, but he’s not, I promise! This just happens to take place when we went through a rough spot (like anyone else). This story will also flip flop a lot so try to keep up!

A few years back Sammy and I separated. It was our first year apart and not a good one for sure. I learned a lot that year, but one thing I thought I forgot was the meaning of Christmas. That year Ashley (being the oldest) began to question if Santa was real. This was a big deal for me. She wrote her letter early so that Santa would get her what she wanted and she could test her theory in the mean time. I never saw the letter so I had no idea what she wanted. I was doomed!

That year I told my friend Cindy, who was in charge of the Yorkshire Terrier Rescue at the time, that I thought about getting a dog and she said she had the perfect one. His name was Rascal. This was rare because she always placed dogs in the right home and never felt mine was fitting for her little rescue dogs (rude I know but I totally get it now). He had a limp due to his previous owners breaking his leg in 4 parts. He was malnutritioned and looked like a dog you’d see in Whoville. Perfect!

I’ve been allergic to animals my entire life so I never really wanted a dog but thought he might help the girls with the absence of their father.

The second part of my story has to do with my gift. You see I had wanted an Ice tea maker BADLY that year so when I found out that Sammy had bought one for his family’s white elephant gift exchange, I was devastated and heart broken. I don’t think he ever really knew that it was what I secretly wanted, but it was $20, just the right amount for the gift limit. Regardless, I wanted that dang tea maker!!

CHRISTMAS EVE:
On Christmas Eve, I had my Cindy’s husband Rod deliver Rascal to my house. I gave him the key, a crate and a note from Santa (on Santa’s Stationary of course) that read something to the effect of:

Dear Ashley and Brianna,
I didn’t get you all the gifts you asked for because I hoped you would do me a favor. Rascal needs a loving home and I knew you girls would be just the right owners for him. When I told him, he was so excited that he jumped in the sled and hurt his leg so you might have to watch out for that.
As for your lists, I gave most of the toys to other children in Irving who really needed them. I know you won’t mind.

Take care of Rascal and I know he’ll take care of you.
See you next year!
Santa

P.S.
Ashley- you should never stop believing!

With that Ashley, yelled out “I do believe in Santa! I do believe in Santa!”

My babies were happy and we had a dog!

I don’t quite remember if it was just after Christmas that I was back at work when I went to my car and I saw that I had a white gift waiting for me inside. I didn’t remember locking the doors but still didn’t know how that package got there. Surely it wasn’t for me??? I opened the passenger door and read the note. It said “ Rita – you should never stop believing”. It was my tea maker!! I cried and finally got my friend Debbie to confess to the gift. I honestly thought it was from santa because that’s what it felt like or a Christmas angel…and it was!

I’ve never forgotten that gift and the feeling of how the world around me was falling apart but one friend(or angel) completely turn my world around. Debbie did that for me that year and I will always be grateful for her.

This year I was reminded of that story when I received a note from a blog follower in Alaska named Stephanie Gonzalez. She wrote me this sweet note and asked if she could send me a gift. She makes coffee cup koozies from vintage fabric and told me to choose the fabric and she’d ship it out. She read that there is a Starbucks in the building where I now work and wanted me to have one. I was truly moved to tears! I’m 37 years old and I feel like I’m getting a gift from the North Pole.

I hope you enjoyed reading my longwinded story and I hope I inspire you to do a random act of kindness this holiday because it really is the little things that mean the most!

Stephanie – Thank You, Thank You for being SO sweet!
And Debbie- I’ll never stop believing!!

Rita

Tossed and Turned Tuesday is postponed!!

Today is my 17 year anniversary and I just got home.  I’ll post tomorrow evening sometime!!  Oh and I also have an awesome Christmas story that I’m inspired to write about too. Not in the same post of course…

ok gotta go, I promised no computer…I lied!

Until tomorrow…sometime!

Rita

Thrown Away Thursday–Christi’s Treasures

I met Christi through a client of mine a month or so ago.  It just so happened she was looking to restore some old treasures she had but couldn’t find anyone to help her out.

I don’t know how I even came into the conversation, but it’s a good thing I did(good for me any way)! It turns out, my client told her co worker about me and my creations, who then passed it along to his wife! Man try saying that five times fast. Six degrees of separation.

Anyway a few days later she contacted me asking if I could help with these pieces.  I’ve worked on one so far and am still working on the desk. It should be ready by Tuesday (I’m hoping!) so I can show you what I have in store.

This is Christi’s old desk when she was little. It needs to be transformed to fit her daughters room.

I’ll also change up this old sewing cabinet she found.

Stay tuned for Thursday’s post to see if this beautiful aged desk will make the cut to to pass from mother to daughter?! And…what will this sewing cabinet now be used for??? You’ll have to come back to find out!

Until then, happy blogging!
Rita

Tossed and Turned Tuesday–Double Feature!

I’m in a particularly blue mood today which was fitting because today’s feature(s) are…well…blue.

This is what the side table looks like now:

Now I call it my Mor-rockin’ piece. Get it? It looks Moroccan…kind of.  Ok well I think it does anyway. 

I cracked up when someone asked me if this used to be one of those ugly brown tables you see at thrift stores but would never buy.  “Yes” that would be the one.  

BEFORE:

PART TWO OF THIS POST:

I took this Mor-rockin’ piece with me to the outdoor market last month and even though I sold NOTHING, I actually got approached by a girl when I was loading up.She said this piece caught her eye.  She loved the color and was in need of a desk sooooo… we talked about her needs and within a week or two, I had this for her. 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Never underestimate the power of Dollar Store shelf liner!!

Her one request was that she envisioned a desk with crystall knobs.  Well I found them at Hobby Lobby for half price!!  Woohoo!!

So those are my two blue pieces for today. I hope you enjoyed them!

Oh and my baby is going to be 18 years old in a couple of days so you may see an even bluer post then as I comb through all the baby photos and read her baby journal and stuff and get depressed that she’s aging and I’m never changing.  Funny how that happens.

Have a happy December folks and may all the creative Christmas crafts flow!!

Rita

Thrown Away Thursday–My Hunk’a Junk!

I don’t typically call my treasures Junk but the girl at the yard sale where I found this begged me to haul it off and she looked so relieved when I did! Ha Ha! Her loss! If only she knew who she was talking to.  I would have turned her frown upside down

(I love, love, love this knob!! It is the epitome of cool! )

I can’t wait to show you what a little paint will do to this hexagon hurdle!

See you later,

Rita

Tossed and Turned Tuesday–Love Birds

I realize this is late in the day, however I started my new job today and am a little behind schedule.

Side note: First day was good! Promising, and I can see myself fitting right in…and did I mention they have Starbucks in the building?  Yeah, like I said…promising!

On with it:

You remember my Shabby Chic Nightstand from last Thursday right? Well I took it in a totally different direction.  In fact I drew all over it! ha ha! Yeah I’ll let you judge for yourself.

The green in the interior of the drawer and cabinet are the same color of the birds and knobs. I know it’s hard to tell on the photo but they match.

I guess the moral is, if all else fails, draw on it!

Shall we see the before photos again? (of course we shall)

Thanks for coming back to see more!!

Love ya,
Rita

P.S.
Thanks to everyone for your well wishes for today! It really meant a lot to have so many rooting for me. I was nervous at first but all in all it was a very good day!  So thank you!