mmmm.... just some ideas for you....

yes, it is that wonderful magical time of year where the snow is beginning to fall, the fire is warming the room and the smells from the kitchen are drifting and calling us to dinner....

it is the time when i attempt to find the most wonderful gift for my family and friends.... it takes a lot of thought, i'm not one to just go out and look and buy, i come up with an idea of something that i think they would love and that touches a personal part of their heart.... what is their favorite thing, where is their favorite place, what is their hobby and hearts content....are they fun, serious or a romantic...and so i search and search....

i wanted to share two of the artists that are carried with jen at earth angels (please see link to the left under places to shop)... all of her artists are just wonderful, but these are the two that i collect myself and share as gifts.... be sure to go over to her site and browse her other artists, i think you may find the perfect gift to give...

jennifer lanne.... whether it's her florals, landscapes, farm life, or my favorite new pieces, the prize pieces (above)... her paintings line my home and each and every time i see them, they make me feel... whether it's peace, a pick me up....or a smile...from tiny to wall claiming sizes, there is always a place to put jennifer's work...

kitty babendreier.... what can i say about her pieces? they are fun! kitty takes the smallest collected object and turns it into a story piece.... whether romantic, funny, hobby, or girlie.... her pieces throughout my home make me smile... i just cannot surround myself enough with these little story pieces finished with an old frame....

ahhhh.... december is finally here....

a most wonderful time of year.... magical.... i love december.... there are so many wonderful things that i love... family gatherings, parties with friends, playing in the snow, cutting of the christmas tree, decorating with the sweet smell of pine... and glitter, lots and lots of glitter...

and so it began... we took a carriage ride to see the lights around the lake and to visit with santa....as you see, my youngest is still not real comfortable with the knee sitting... he said he was trembling because he had never met someone that had lived forever before... and as you can see eli is a character in his own right...

by tradition, the first saturday of december is the day the 'men' set out to find the perfect christmas tree.... it is a time for me to spend in the kitchen drinking eggnog, calling my family and creating new foods for our tree decorating party later that night... it is a time where being outnumbered by men, i can carefully decorate the table, place the china and make a centerpiece... it is a time where i can use my heirlooms that were passed to me from many generations and think about the love i feel for those people now gone... a time to show the 'men' that there is another side of life, a time for beauty, manners and grace... a time that isn't a part of everyday, sadly, that it once was...

and while i'm lingering in the world of timeless beauty they are climbing the mountain looking for the perfect tree to bring home...

it's always fun to see what tree they drag home and to hear of the ordeal that they went through.... we are the christmas tree capital of the world so you can imagine the number of people that come up the mountain to begin their tradition of cutting their own tree....

a friend of ours has a tree farm on a mountain, the best tree farm, so off they went... and here are some pictures of their day.... and yes, there was a donkey walking around, along with too many goats to count up and down the mountain....

hayrides and dogs rolling on their backs beggin' for some lovin.... and finally the perfect tree....

so it ended to be a beautiful day and a beautiful night... the tree was trimmed, and of course, it took several more hours than anticipated.... the usual in this household, ran out of lights, dashing to the store... etc... just like thanksgiving, when the turkey was still frozen and ran 3 hours late... but we are in no hurry here, things are done when they are done....

oh, how can it be?

i cannot believe it has been nearly a month since my last update... time sure does fly, and goes so much quicker the older that i get!

just to give you a quick update of the past month... i went to the wonderful wilton, ct., art show. it was just amazing to see all the talented artists work that i had seen on sites, stores or in magazines... i met quite a few new artists, trading our goods... and sweet goodbye's promising to stay in touch.

it was a long long trip to ct., especially for sara and i. we were excited knowing that the husbands weren't going (we do love them so.... but)... we wanted to be able to stop along the way... it seems that when "our" men are driving they are racing with time... who made the best time! so as we left home, before we were even out of town, our first stop was to the coffee shop, mocha's and muffins to go... we giggled at how wonderful it is to be able to stop.... well, to give you a heads up... it took us at least an extra 4 hours just to get out of nc., (which it is not a long way to va. from here....), but we stopped at the places that our husbands always said 'next time' too, and gobbled it all up...

it was a beautiful drive, full of fall colors still changing in areas, our were long gone by now... and the farms, dairy farms, were the largest that i had ever seen... and being an iowa girl, i have seen some wonderful farms... i always just want to go and knock on the door and ask them if i can stay for the day and watch....

first stop was to mayberry.... perfect time for lunch and to head over to floyd's barber shop... we ate at the local diner that is famed for it's pork sandwich....hmmmm.... my stomach was beginning to hurt...then over to the infamous blue bird cafe for sundaes of homemade ice cream.... my stomach was really hurting... so after just leaving in two hours we had eaten and eaten and were both feeling not so great....

then we headed over to floyds barbership and found it was closed that day but we ran into him walking down the street and he was happy to unlock the door and take us in anyway.... and boy, what a flirt he is! he has over 150,000 photos in his shop and sara and i will now become part of the legacy... so i've added pictures of mayberry, the road trip, my booth, and the hershey factory... where for the first time with me, chocolate actually won and i swore it off forever.... forever lasted almost a week.... and then down to my wood cutters shop in va, valerie and john who have helped me for nearly 10 years now... off to pick up more wood for painting.... always on the job! so enjoy the pictures.... and now i can move on to this magical december... and home with my terrific family...