Pink Saturday with the Jolly 'Ol Good Fellow!

Happy Pink Saturday, Friends! Well, I am enjoying our little switch of just pink this month, aren't you?! Thanks as usual to our lovely host Beverly at How Sweet the Sound!
There are all kinds of decorations that represent Christmas in our childhood memories and into our adulthood and one of the most famous is this fellow...


We love him animated...

We love how he's willing to squeeze himself down a tight chimney just to bring us goodies!

We love Santa even if he's wearing white instead of red!

After all, Santa works hard to read all the letters he receives and even answers a few too!

Santa is willing to go high up in the sky to ride on his sleigh to bring toys to the children of the world...

and it's a lot of work for him on Christmas Eve!
So I have always had Santa as part of my decorations! And several years ago I found this at a flea market...

My favorite kind of Santa, a VINTAGE Santa, still in wonderful shape!
He's about 6 feet tall and I usually deck the frame with some vintage style lights, but Suzie Button is behind on decorations this year!
It adds to the season's merriment for me and Santa said HO, HO, HO, Merry Christmas!

Weight Loss.... Carbonara!

Hi, Friends! It's been a few weeks since I've participated in Weight Loss Wednesday
but there is, surprisingly, good news on the weight loss homefront, I lost 3.5 pounds since I last posted on the topic! Whew! And this is with having made it through Thanksgiving! I have a "cute" story on my Weight Watcher weigh in after missing three weeks of meetings (truly, I had to work and couldn't go, not MY fault!) in a bit, but, first, I wanted to share a recipe story first.
I bought this cookbook at my Weight Watchers meeting...

I was drawn in by the "comfort" word! Don't we all love those favorite comfort foods, especially as winter starts to head our way!
Last night I saw this recipe and made it...

Let's say it together, YUMMY! Yes, it was delish and EASY and FAST! I made a couple substitutions, instead of fresh chicken cooked up, I used frozen grilled chicken strips I had in the freezer and instead of white fettucine, I bought whole wheat, which, btw, will lower points due to the fiber in the product and it tastes better, yes, less calories and tastes better than white flour pasta! Weird!
Then I was flipping through this magazine I picked up at Half Price books...

and, lo and behold (NO! Not the star over Bethlehem, silly!) there's a "regular" recipe for...

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA!!

Ok, there's NO chicken in the higher calorie/fat recipe AND one serving is 21 points!!! 888 calories verus 311! 55 grams of Fat versus 7!!
That's more than most people's WHOLE day's worth of points! This is what Weight Watchers teaches you, is that it's really the small things that can really make a difference! Wow! Try the lower fat version, you'll LOVE it!
Now to the funny Weight Watchers story. Well, over Thanksgiving, my daughter brings a pumpkin pie to my house that she had because SHE didn't want to eat it, and Pumpkin Pie is one of my FAVORITES! So BAD news for me!
So I go to the meeting the week after Thanksgiving with my daughter who has been exercising like a crazy woman (me, well, (embarassingly admit) not at all) and she goes first. She lost .8 lbs, and complains when she gets off the scale and we all reassure her it's muscle she's gaining, which IS true! So I get on the scale and the WW lady says well, you've lost what she wanted to, 3.5 pounds! Which then Megan says REALLY LOUDLY in front of the WW leader, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! She ate a WHOLE pumpkin pie by HERSELF! Ha,ha! Which makes it sound like I sat down with a fork and the pie pan and just ATE it in one swoop! Well, that was the laugh of the meeting. She's so funny!
Ok, that's all, hope your week was a loss for you too!

A Tiny Treasure!

Hi, Friends! I thought I'd show you one of the goodies I found, not for a present for someone else, but a present for ME! It wasn't very expensive, so I had no need to feel guilty!
It's these pretty little girls...

They are 2.5 inches tall and SO Sweet!!
Plus the gorgeous set of pink/creme bottleneck trees sprinkled with glitter! I have a few crafts ongoing with the little girls and the trees and a few other goodies, when I finish crafting I'll post it!
I love sweet little treasures, don't you?!

Thanks Laura!

I just wanted to show you a little preview of the wonderful surprises I received in my swap from Laura Ingalls Gunn as part of a Christmas Swap!

Goodies all over, candles, chocolate, ephemera, corsages, chocolate and a silk stocking! Simply Thank You, Laura!

Christmas Memories, Old-Fashioned and Pink!

Welcome to another glorious Pink Saturday with our lovely host Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

My Christmas memories as a child were based on...

These included lots of old-fashioned Christmas music, such a strong memory of mine!
Music mainly by my favorite...

My sisters and Mom baked cookies in the kitchen and I was the baby of the family, so I'd eat the cookies and then sit on the couch dreaming of seeing Santa sneak into our living room to leave me presents like dolls and Barbies and rollerskates!

It was wonderful!
Yesterday (Friday) I braved the cold 40 degree temperatures here in Dallas, TX (What?!!) and went with my daughter to First Monday Trade Days in Canton...

Please ignore the red nose and multicolor layers I have on! I didn't have gloves with me and a booth sold these for $4.00, so there you go, blue gloves! And do you notice the lovely pink Christmas corsage I have on? It's part of my lovely package in my Christmas Swap that I recieved from Laura Ingalls Gunn
Come back tomorrow and I'll show you more of what I received, ok?! So cute!
Finally, I had to share this display in one of the booths at the Trade Days, a shirt for Pink Christmas, and oh, my gosh, what's up with that head?!! Too funny!

I HEART Moda!

Good day, Friends! I LOVE Moda products, don't you? They remind me of a time that really I'm too young to remember ( I was born in 1962) and they're reminiscent of that time frame but I really don't remember the 60's. Anyhow, I'm rambling here, but the images of a simpler time with family and home as the centerpiece of lives comes to mind when I see their items.
Santa isn't jollier anywhere than on this tablecloth pattern...

Load up all my presents in these beautiful Moda Holiday bags, please!

I want to bake Christmas cookies in this old-fashioned apron...

And maybe eat those cookies cuddled in this beautiful classic throw!

Poinsettias never looked so pretty as they do on these kitchen towels..

I LOVE these children craft kits for kids!

You could send the kiddos off to Grandma's house with their craft kit in this monkey bag, every kid should have one!

Hopefully Grandma will have this chenille beauty for the visit...

And, hey, maybe Mom could get away at some point too with this cute polka dot beauty!

I have to add in Moda's sewing room goodies, because every time I see them in quilt shops and such my eye draws me right over to the display, I can't resist!
When you see jelly rolls of fabric like these, your imagination starts to bloom!

And though I know already how to sew, I still want this kit...

And cute needle cases and pincushions are ALWAYS on my want list!


OK, might as well throw in this great little bag here...

And we'll put it all in this ADORABLE sewing box, oh, please, Santa!

Wrap it all up in Moda's nostalgic wrapping paper...

And, AHHHH.... I'm dreamin' of Home...and Moda!

Color Inspiration!

Hi, Friends! Are you set on your Christmas color scheme for 2009? I thought I'd show a little inspiration for nontraditional color pairings to get your creativity brewing!
Green and Maroon, anyone?

Who doesn't just L-O-V-E blue and chocolate pairings?!

This is BOLD! Cobalt and Orange! Wow, that would have impact!

NOT just blue and green, but PEACOCK Blue and KELLY Green!

Now an EXPLOSION of color...
Red + Orange + Gold + Green + Blue + Purple!
Woo! That was exhausting!

Now this pink and green hits my heart strings!

Now Teal and Cranberry would be GORGEOUS in a craft room too, wouldn't it?!

We're continuing BOLD (and Beautiful!)

And to end our color party, a more traditional but never boring Red + White!

I hope you're inspired as I have been by these beautiful colors to brighten our Holiday season! Thanks to Better Homes and Gardens for this inspiration and all their beautiful ideas!