The Little Red Book: A Journal of Childhood Memories

About 16 years ago, a friend gave me an invaluable piece of advice. If you have small children, medium children, large children, grandchildren, whatever ... you may want to pay attention.

She told me to keep a journal of all the funny things my kids say. Let me tell you, this little journal, now thread-bare and worn, has not only sealed memories, but also provided years of entertainment.

For example, Houston, my oldest (19), at three:

“Why does grass grow up? Why are peas green? Why do I always ask why?”

Nolan, my middle son (16), at three: “Mommy, I’m three, why don’t I have a three head? Why do I have a four (fore)head? And, what happened to my two head?”

Kellen, my youngest (10), at three:
“Do we need to use this potty soil (potting soil) so the plants can poop?”

These little phrases are so precious, so honest, and so hilarious! I know that I wouldn’t remember all of them if I didn’t write them down.

So, do me a favor (and really, do yourself a favor), go and get a little journal from the dollar store, decorate it (if so inclined) and then write down all those funny things. It’s the best present you’ll ever give yourself.

Happy New Year to all of you! I'll be back on Monday to anounce the winner of my 100 follower giveaway.

Woo Hoo! 100 Follower Giveaway!

Well, I finally made it to 100 followers (and beyond) ...it took a while. There were times I thought I was talking to myself (I think I was, well, myself and my loyal sis). For the whole of 2009 and most of 2010, I had no idea what linky parties were or how to actually network via the blog. Then, I began to explore and it opened up a whole new world. 


To thank you all for following me on this journey and to welcome all of you just joining me, I want to celebrate with a giveaway! All you have to do is follow my blog! That's it! That's all!

The giveaway: this sweet little trinket box from my etsy shop, wherethegrassisgreener. 


It's painted a pale winter blue and embellished with sparkling snowflakes and a gorgeous vintage jewelry piece. It measures 3 1/4" square and 2" tall. 


*Inside, there will be another special gift made just for the winner!!!


And on Monday, January 3rd, I will draw a random winner via random.org. It will be based on your number as a follower (and I'm excluding immediate family members - they already have enough of my stuff anyway)!


Thank you all for following me and all your wonderful encouraging comments.

Transformations by Candlelight and a Giveaway

See this lovely candelabra? It was a very lively yellow and embellished with plastic lemons(see pic to the right) ...kind of cool, kinda retro, but not really me. However, after seeing its potential, I smacked down the $3 for it (at a tag sale) and took it home.

I was planning to offer it for sale in one of my etsy shops, however, after two coats of spray paint, I fell in love.

It did need something else, though.

"Crystals," I thought, "would be perfect." So, I scoured thrift shops, garage sales and flea markets, but, alas, no crystals. I had to go to the lighting store and plunk down some real bucks for them. However, the nice man at the lighting store (after seeing my huge frown when he told me the price of eight crystals), actually gave me a discount (why? I don't know. I guess he liked me), but I happily bought them and added them to my small creation. I love it! It's still looking for a permanent home in my house (right now it's in the master bath).








BTW, check out my friend Cassie's blog, Primitive & Proper for a giveaway today from my etsy shop - two vintage jewelry magnets (see pics to left and right)! She's doing a week's worth of giveaways and today is my day. If you want to enter, just follow the instructions and don't forget to leave a comment about it on her blog!

Speaking of giveaways ... when I reach 100 followers, I will be doing a great giveaway of my very own.

Sit Back and Relax (sort of)

I had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you and yours did, too. Highlights included playing games with the family, seeing the kids open their presents, eating tons of cookies, hearing a great sermon at church, hanging out with friends, getting lots of gift cards (even one to my favorite antique store) and just, plain relaxing. 

I did manage to sneak in about 30 minutes of reading through all my magazines  (my husband selects magazines he thinks I’ll like plus a Barnes & Noble gift card every Christmas). It’s one of my favorite little gift traditions.

However, if you know me at all, I can’t really relax. 

So, on to a small project, which doesn’t take long at all. If you have one of these:

Just grab your stack of Christmas cards, money holders, interesting cookie boxes, whatever. And, make these: 

Tuck them into an envelop and pack them away with ribbons or gift bags for next year and you’re all set to go! It's just a little tip, you know, in case you're like me and can’t actually relax.

See you soon! It's snowing here ... yea!

By the way, I made the Top Ten at the CSI Project for my holiday decor! Yipee!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I just wanted to wish all of you a Merry and blessed Christmas! Enjoy this special time with family and friends.

And, don't forget, I will be hosting a fabulous giveaway when I reach 100 followers! It's been a slow and steady climb, but I'm almost there (once I figured out this whole blogging network thing - thanks Cassie). So, check back for some great tips, a future linky party and a whole lot of fun!

Now, go and celebrate the season! And smile.

I'm Decking the Halls

Well, just about finished decking my halls....and there are boughs of holly! So, fa, la, la!

Anyway, welcome to my holiday home tour...front hall:

Next, the living room (I changed some of my vignettes since my last post). See below ... my girl tree! Being the only gal in the family, I just had to have my own little tree filled with WHITE lights, pearls, crystals...

little angels, and flowers, and pink things!

 

And, the rest of the living room:

Entering the dining room:

Kitchen ... the heart of the home!

I like adding to my chandeliers ... anything goes.

Now, the family room, the very HUGE Christmas tree (first year that I actually used all my ornaments - I have a lot) 

and my rather large snowman collection...


 Aren't they cute?

And, finally ... my office, with a message for everyone in blogland ....

I'm linking to:

Baker Man, Baker Man, Bake Me a Plate (Full of Cookies)

Today, we (me and my son Kellen) spent the day baking. I love to bake. And Christmas cookies are my favorite things to bake. I made rum balls, thumbprints (everyone’s favorite – see pics) sugar cookies and snowballs.

Next week, we’ll decorate the sugar cookies, but for now I am ready to go to my annual book club cookie exchange!

Stay tuned for my holiday home … working on it now ... so much energy, so little time.

Oh Christmas Tree

Things are moving slow here at the Zemanski's...well, Christmas is anyway. We are crazy busy with sports, work, refinancing, shopping. We still didn't get our Christmas tree! Maybe tonight.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you two sweet little trees I created. I think my sister gave me these two unfinished wood trees -- well, I got them somewhere other than a store -- so, I decided to finish them. They just happened to be sitting beside me when I was painting my side table and I had some leftover Benjamin Moore Fernwood Green paint. So, they each got a coat of Fernwood Green. I set them aside, for a while. Then came the craft show and I decided that I needed to finish them.
Out came the box of vintage buttons and bottle of Gorilla Glue. I created one with all white buttons and then one with white and gray buttons. They looked unfinished and I knew I needed to add presents or something to the base, but what?

I actually wrapped these tiny presents and they ended up looking tacky, so I began my search through my stashes of vintage findings ... what about more buttons and bobbins? Perfect! And there you have it folks -- little trees -- perfect for a seamstress or anyone! I sold the all-white one at my craft show to someone who really appreciated it ... I could tell. She held it up and was so excited to see the bobbin with the green thread still on it (my kind of gal). So glad she bought it.I'm linking to: