We have a winner!

Congratulations EverydayMe!  I'll be putting the teabag cards in the mail to you on Tuesday. Thank you to all who entered my little giveaway and thank you for being a follower. I wish you all a very happy new year...see you in 2012!  xo Joan

Happy Christmas and a giveaway!

Well here it is Christmas Eve.  I'm going to take a little break and be back on the 31st. In the meantime I'd like to giveaway a set of five of my teabag cards to one of my blog followers (so if you're not already a follower click on the "join this site" button on the left). Leave a comment by midnight on the 30th and I'll announce the winner on the 31st.  I wish everyone a holiday filled with love, peace and joy!  xo Joan

The view from here.

This is my view from the morning bus to work...not bad.
That's Mt. Rainier that you can just about make out in the distance.

 Happy Friday of a long weekend everyone! Enjoy!

Enjoying the season.

Just a couple of things to share this morning...I'm loving this beautiful button garland that I purchased from the Ballard Designs catalog and a gorgeous centerpiece delivered by my friend Tina yesterday. I can finally relax after work today. Yes, I still have a few Christmas things to get done, but I'll be done with work until Tuesday. I avoided the to-do list completely last night and went to see "Girl with the Dragon Tatoo." I couldn't watch parts of it, but otherwise very good!

Happy Hanukkah! Happy Winter!

Blessings to all of my Jewish friends and blessings to all of us for a safe, warm and short winter!

image found via this blog

New library book.

This book is definitely going on my wish list! I'm not sure where I heard about it, but I'd requested it from the library and picked it up yesterday.  Hand Made Home, Living with Art and Craft by Mark and Sally Bailey is a must-have, gorgeous book.

 I can see my own home in this book...with a little less clutter. 

Finally!

With less than a week 'til Christmas I'm just starting to hand-print my cards! This is so un-Virgo-like of me, but I have been working so much that I really could not find the time.

'Tis the Season!

It's only one week until Christmas day and I haven't sent out my cards. I haven't even made them! I don't think everyone is getting handmade this year. I'm only working two days this week, so I plan to get a lot done...starting today. Hope yours is jolly!

Recycling.

Stools made from egg cartons. Article and photo from the NYTimes. Blogger is still missing a bunch of buttons. Any other bloggers having this problem? Here's the link for you to cut and paste into your browser.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/garden/turning-egg-cartons-into-stools-what-you-make-of-it.html?_r=2&ref=garden

Happy Friday!

Golden Globe Nominations.

The Golden Globe nominations are being announced this morning. I'm so glad "Moneyball" made it into the best picture category. I loved this movie and I'm not so much a Brad Pitt fan, but he was really great in it!

10 days 'til Christmas!

Uppercase Magazine has free downloadable gift tags! Right now I don't have all my editing options on blogger, not sure what's up so click on UPPERCASE to the left on my blogroll and you'll get there.

Books as gifts.

I love giving books as gifts. I gave these two to my co-workers. DISH was the perfect choice for my boss who collects old dishes. It's almost like a dish encyclopedia. My only worry was that he get 10 more copies from people that really know him. Renate, the cook and cookbook writer, got PLENTY. I already want my own copy of this one...great recipes. (I gave them these last Friday at our staff day, so I'm not spilling the beans here.)

jovial.

My daughter has developed a gluten sensitivity so we're trying to cut it out as much as possible. It's a lot easier than I thought it would be....there are so many options at our local grocery store and we have two bakeries on the island that make a gluten-free loaf. How could you not like a pasta called "jovial?" We tried it last night and it was delicious!

Museum day.

Lucky me! Yesterday we had a staff day (all three of us) in Seattle. We started with a delicious breakfast at Renate's house. Then we went to the Bellevue Arts Museum and saw a fabulous George Nelson exhibit including these beautiful mid-century clocks. After that we headed off to the Frye Art Museum for lunch and a tour. I didn't love the current exhibit, but I do like their permanent collection and lunch was really, really yummy. Also, I'm a tea snob and they made a perfect cup of tea....I recommend the assam.

Man hole.

We're finally nearing the end of the construction on Winslow Way. I snapped this pic as I was walking to get some lunch yesterday. Made me laugh!

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

on my mind.

photo via this blog

Deck the Hall Ball.

Remember when the kids were young and you went to see The Nutcracker at Christmastime?
Well, now that they're teenagers....it's a concert! Deck the Hall Ball tonight....I can't wait to see Mumford and Sons, and Death Cab for Cutie (pictured), and a few of the bands I as a 50+ year old have not heard of (until now)...Cage the Elephant and Foster the People. It's going to be a late night on a school night, and work night for me. We're taking pillows and blankets in the car for the ferry home.

Teabag cards.

More recycling!

Teabag garland.

Starting to decorate. Yesterday I made four teabag (wrapper) garlands for my big living room windows. Couldn't quite capture how cute they are with my little point-n-shoot camera, but hopefully you'll get the idea. I, of course, save all my teabag packaging (I'll share the cards with you tomorrow) so I had plenty of just green and red to sew together. I love the way it turned out!

Curly Girl.

...and man have I been busy...can't say it was all fun, but it was a little bit fun. I worked 12-hour days Wed/Thurs/Fri this week and I have to be there tomorrow for half a day. I'm really looking forward to Christmas just for the break!

Just turned my calendar to December. I'm sad to be on the last month of my Leigh Standley "Curly Girl" calendar. I can't find a new one in my local shops, but I did just see that I can get one online...smiling!

Marimekko.

Marimekko, the Finnish design company just opened a new store in NYC. I so wish I could go! Maybe next spring....I have two friends moving there and I'll have a place to stay. Below is their ad from the NYTimes magazine....it's pinned up on my inspiration board. Happy Friday!

The First of December.

I always think of this James Taylor song on the 1st of December just because of the one line. The clip is a very old performance from 1970 on BBC. Lyrics below....

Well, there is a young cowboy he lives on the range
His horse and his cattle are his only companions
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons
Just waiting for Summer, his pastures to change

And as the moon rises he sits by his fire
Thinking about women and glasses of beer
And closing his eyes as the dogies retire
He sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
As if maybe someone could hear

(Chorus)
Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rockabye sweet baby James
Deep greens and blues are the colours I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rockabye sweet baby James

Now the first of December was covered with snow
And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Though the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go

There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway
A song that they sing when they take to the sea
A song that they sing of their home in the sky
Maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep
But singing works just fine for me