Party Time: Cake Stands & High Rise Snacking

This weekend we are having a little birthday party for Ralph's 30th, and when we started planning the food I immediately thought of these cupcake stands.  Not that we are serving thousands of cupcakes or anything, but taking food serving to the next level {pun!} is always helpful when you're running low on countertop real estate.  The bittersweet moment here, is that I already gave away about 5 of these that I had made before, but never used - so during the move I decided to ditch 'em.  And now I need them! That's always the way.  Luckily, they are so easy & affordable to make, that you could make them & gift them every single time you have a party and never really feel the effects in your wallet.  Look how simple these are, and if you're like me, you'll wonder "why didn't I think of this before?"

That's pretty much it.  Easy. The only trick is to make sure to use a strong epoxy or silicone that will bond glass to glass {I use E-6000} That's it. Really. Plus it's almost New Year's, serve up your snackers in style, right? It's so easy.

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Merry Christmas Santa Tracker...

Merry Christmas! It's already that time... between the move, the shopping, and the crazy rush of string art tablet orders (thank you all!) this month has been a whirlwind.  So I'm a little late with my holiday spirit! The presents are wrapped, the tree is up, and it looks - smells - and finally feels like the holidays.  Yesterday I came across the Google Santa tracker - just in time.  Jeez, Google went all out! This is way different than the typical tracker.... He's got a dashboard to see his status, games, I would have loved this as a kid! My favorite is a spot to chat with Santa, and you can send phone calls from him out to your friends and family. I'm about to send out quite a few...

So whether you have kids or not, this is fun & cute! They did a great job. Check it out here, Google's Santa Tracker, and have a very Merry Christmas with family & friends!

     -Jesse

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Backyard Adventure

I haven't had a chance to show much of the yard yet, mainly because it's huge and it gets dark around 4-5, so my picture taking window is pretty slim! Ah.. still adjusting to mountain life.  The other day however, we did decide to take a break from unpacking and just climb the hill behind our house.  We have no idea how far back the property line is, but we're pretty sure it's the whole hillside.  So Ralph and I threw on some boots, and set out to conquer the beast.. here was our first view, and we were only beginning the climb:

We were already higher than the house! This "hill" is deceptively steep... but we had a goal: the top!

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A Fresh Start

Good Morning! It's the final week before Christmas, can you believe that? I haven't done a thing, and that's fine.  We have our tree, which was surprising enough, but it has yet to be decorated.  It has lights, but the ornaments haven't made their way to the tree, yet.  And you know what? I like it.  Eh, we have a few days, right? Last week was so crazy, quite a few things didn't get done, and I didn't have time to write - sorry! 

Do you ever have those days or weeks where you just try to do everything and then some? Man, that was last week for me.  I felt like I had a million things I wanted to do, and I was running around trying to do them all - which leads to not much getting done, or at least not very well.  So this week I'm starting fresh, and taking the advice of one of the greatest fortune cookies ever: Live in the moment.  That couldn't have come at a more perfect time, what with the holidays, and our move.. I'm getting ahead of myself, & setting unrealistic expectations.  So this week will start with a deep breath, a fresh start, and a big cup of coffee. 

Ok - no more whining.  Even though we haven't decked our halls, doesn't mean I haven't thought about what we would be doing to bring in the holiday spirit.  In the past year or so, I've gradually fallen deeply in love with the whole midcentury style, so I pulled up a few ideas for a midcentury holiday, and found some really cool ideas..

Not sure if I could make the switch from a live tree to an aluminum one, but this one looks so interesting, it's worth a try some year.  Put a colorful spotlight on there...  Here's a fireplace that we have actually been scouring eBay to find, I would love one of these in our place:

I love paper, and I love projects, these mid-century style ornaments are easy, and so cute:

Of course, they are from Design*Sponge...head there for a full tutorial. 

So anyway, how are you all doing, ready for the holidays?  What are your mantras that get you through the busy times?  Enjoy the season, live in the moment, and Happy Holidays everyone!

      -Jesse

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How To: DIY Crystals for Winter Decor

OK - first & foremost, this new house & move has been keeping us extremely busy!  I apologize for my lack of posts, but you know what?  We have the internet again! That means I'm back to posting regularly.  After last weeks storm, with our fun floods & septic alarms, our lack of cell phone service and internet, seeing that Google logo pop up on the lappy was a huge breath of fresh air!  You don't realize how much you need the net til it's gone... I swear it's as essential as electricity.  Or I'm just dramatic... whatevs.

Since December seemed to sneak in while I wasn't looking,  I was reminded that I wanted to share this awesome winter decor DIY I spied over at Kara Paslay Designs - man, she is constantly coming up with amazing projects!

I love these! They are so different than your usual holiday and winter decorations.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some sleigh bells & Christmas trees, but these you could easily leave up until spring and it won't look weird.  They remind me of that Ice Princess from Candyland, I bet her place would be floor to ceiling in crystals like this.  I can't stand that game however, I had to play it daily for years when I worked in childcare - over it! Anyway, guess what these cuties are made of? Straws. Yep. Straws. She's done it again - hop over to Kara Paslay's blog for the full scoop.  Hey, wouldn't a little LED lighting look great under there? Hmm..

I have 3 million things to tend to today, but believe me when I say that my intentions were to fill you in on all the little repairs & improvements we've been doing in just the last few days. It's amazing how such little things can be so satisfying, I'll assemble a list & share soon, because if you haven't done them to your place -  you should.  Who knew a motion sensor light would bring us such joy?  For now though, check out these amazing yellow leaves off our deck:

Gorgeous, right? Only drawback - once those hit the driveway (which is sort of steep) & soak up the rain, you quickly get nature's version of a slip n' slide. Look out! Have a fantastic weekend everyone, fill it with soup, fireplaces & coziness... see ya Monday!

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Oh, the "Pin It" button is working again.... bonus points!

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The First Night....

We made a goal earlier last week, to be sleeping in the new house by this last Saturday.  Well we met that goal, and just in time too.  As we were unpacking the mattress, it started to sprinkle again - which was the beginning of the third, and largest storm we've been facing out here in the west.  Seems like Ben Lomond wanted to give us a wild welcome, and really let the rain pour down.  Record breaking rain, or so I hear.  We learned about the haunting sounds of a sump pump going off and on under the house, and what to do when your septic alarm starts going off. Yea - I know - septic alarm?!  For two people who have never dealt with a septic, this was exactly what a nightmare of mine sounds & looks like.  I was pretty stressed, but had to remember to stay calm, and that things could be worse.  A lot worse. Here's what we woke up to (I can't believe I even slept!)

Wild stuff! This is just one area too.  But you know, now that the rain has stopped, things have dried up a little, and the septic is being repaired - I have to reflect and think that it's your attitude that will get you through things.  So on that note, rather than feeling overwhelmed I'm going to be positive. For example, we learned:

• Our roof is not leaking into the house.
• Under the house is fairly dry. 
• The house did not float away.
• What to do when the septic alarm starts screaming at midnight.
• We have a lot of water to do some "fun" french drains with. 

Hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend, we are happy to be in the house, and ready to start tackling these projects. The internet is about to be transferred, so I may disappear for a minute, but I promise to be back soon with a more exciting post than water down a hill.  Have a good one!

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