Happy New Year and Vacation Photos, Volume 4

I hope you all have a wonderful year! My year wasn't too great, but I have faith that next year will be better! :)

In wrapping up my vacation photos, I am showcasing some of my favorite houses in Leavenworth, KS. It is a very old town, with many old and beautiful mansions. Many of these were on the city's holiday home tour that we did not get to go to. Enjoy!

Vacation Photos, Volume 3

These photos are mostly taken on our drive from Lincoln, NE to Leavenworth, KS after the big ice storm that hit the midwest in mid-December. It was so beautiful - like a crystal fantasy land - until you looked closer to see the trees broken. I tried to catch both the beauty and devastation in my photos...

Oh, the story on the big icicle... It was on my parent's neighbor's house, and it took out their gutter while we were there...

Is money really the root of all evil...?

I don't know if all Michael's have such interesting customers, but the one just a block away from me seems to have it's fair share...

I was at Michael's yesterday to see what damage I could do with a half off coupon. As I was leaving, the cashier in the next line was frantically trying to give this woman her $5 and some odd change. The woman rushed out of the store with her full cart, saying she didn't care about the money. When the cashier tried to give it to her in the parking lot, the woman raced away like the devil was after her shrieking that she didn't want the money! I have never seen anything like it!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I seem to have caught a cold, and the laptop we purchased with Christmas money doesn't have Microsoft Office, so we now have to figure out something to get around the $500 price tag of the software! We could probably download our old version, and then upgrade. I'll leave that tech stuff up to my hubby!

Vacation Photos, Volume 2

Another place we visited was the Victorian Trading Company Store in Prairie Village, Kansas. It is one of my favorite places to shop when I go back, and it's also close to one of my favorite Chinese restaurants! Anyway, back to shopping... there is always so much there, and prices are lower than online or catalog... They also have a wonderful tea room with complimentary tea. I took some pictures of the shop and many of the tea room. Enjoy!

Vacation Photos, Volume 1

Well, we're back in California - I have so much to do before Christmas! And today my husband and son are vomiting all over the place; I hope I don't catch whatever they have!

On a brighter note, I mentioned in an earlier post that we visited the Bingham-Waggoner Estate in Independence, MO, where we were married. I'm going to share some of the photos of the house with you... We did the twilight holiday tour, and every room was decorated for Christmas! It was so beautiful! Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

(by the way, Michelle and Jessi, I'll get your items made and to you as soon as my boys are better... thanks for your patience!)

Announcing...

the winner of my birthday giveaway! I will be making custom earrings for... drum roll please... Jessi! Congratulations! Jessi - let me know what color you prefer, and I'll get them made up for you! Thanks to everyone who left birthday wishes for me! It was not the best birthday I've had, and your comments cheered me up!

It's Giveaway Time!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and if you would like to win a pair of cultured pearl earrings in your choice of color, leave a comment today or tomorrow, and I will pick a winner on Sunday! Color ranges available are pinks, blues, greens, purples, silver, white or ivory.

Birthday Giveaway and Sale!

So, Saturday I turn 41. I still don't think of myself as being old - I just wish I had more energy sometimes for my almost 4 year old...

I want everyone to celebrate with me this year! I am having a 50% off sale in my Etsy shop - just type "41" in notes to seller, and either wait for revised invoice or I can do a refund. Remember, Saturday only!

I am also giving away a pair of earrings here on Saturday. I'll be posting more info soon...

So how is my vacation going, you ask? Well, we are in Lincoln, NE at the moment with my parents. We have a 1/2" of ice on the ground, on top of snow, with more snow coming down... We will not leave the house today, except to go play outside. We are going to be baking Christmas cookies and bread today. My poor hubby is out trying to get the ice off of the car... Colin is watching his icicle melt here in the house... {insert nothing to do in Nebraska but watch the icicles melt here} :)

Hopefully all this fun weather will be going away by the weekend - Sunday we're heading back to Kansas City to visit friends and then Tuesday we're heading home!

5 Random Things...

about myself...

1. I love big, old houses! (Coming soon to this blog - some awesome house pictures from KS, MO, NE...)
2. I love to spend time with my husband and son
3. In California, I need a jacket when it's in the 60's... In Kansas, I can wear short sleeves and no coat when it's in the low 40's
4. I love to cook and bake from scratch, but HATE to do dishes!! (I don't have a dishwasher other than myself...)
5. My maiden name is Napier

Ok, now I'm tagging 7 others: Kecia of Lemoncholy's Flight of Fancy, Sue of Signature Sterling, Sarah of Simply Said, Nita of Red Tin Heart, Marianne of Memories Couture, PhonyArt Custom Design , and, Andee of Celtic Goddess Jewelry.

Have fun!

SNOW!!!

We just got in from playing in the snow! It started out so pretty, like white feathers floating to the ground... Colin had a blast! Now it's hot cocoa time! :)

Fun Day!

We are in the Kansas City area today, and we had a great day! First of all, we were driving around Leavenworth, KS, and decided to go to the carousel museum. They were having something called "small mall", where for an extremely small amount of money ($1 - 5) kids could go shopping with an elf to pick out gifts for friends and family. They also got a free carousel ride. Colin had a blast, and picked out extra gift for grandparents!

This evening we went to Independence, MO, and visited the Bingham-Waggoner Estate, where Chris and I got married on Valentine's Day almost 10 years ago! Every room, from the main hall to the walk-in icebox, were decorated for Christmas! They also had carolers, a harpist, and a pianist for entertainment. We took lots of pictures, and will be posting some of them when we get back. It brought back lots of memories, and it was fun trying to figure out what rooms we used for what back in 1998.

Upcoming this week: a trip to the Country Club Plaza to see the lights, a trip to the Victorian Trading Company outlet, and a few other places to be determined. I'd really like to go visit one of my past haunts, the Nelson-Atkins Museum. They've added on since I lived here, and would like to see it.

I'll post more of my adventures when I have time!

CCCOE November Challenge Voting!

I entered this challenge - the theme was birds. Please vote for your favorite! (And don't feel you need to vote for me!)