fourth painting EVER

it all started with a key

a key to a real castle

a castle in Scotland

a friend gave it to my 10yo son

he LOVES castles

inspiration hit one day and I started painting the key

over and over

on a large canvas

it sat on the table for a long time

before anything else happened

then this happened

and this

then this

my 10 yo would like this painting to hang in his
new rearranged castle bedroom

thanks for stopping by!

Insecurities

At times, I feel insecure,

until,

I

am

needed.

Then, on a dime, my whole philosophical, genetic make up shifts.

And I become who I really am.

Courageous

Capable

Worthy

Suitable

Happy

Giving

Purposeful

Focused

What I feel is NOT who I am.  

Is it when we are needed, a space is then created for us to step in to
who we are
and
will become?

  

love you gals so much!

Happy Mother's Day - a little early

Love you gals,

Our Hanukkah, Advent, Christmas Story

 Some of you were scratching your heads.

Hanukkah

Advent

Christmas

I know.

I understand completely.

I can't figure myself out,

would I expect any of you to be able to?

Here's the story:

Christmas

When EC and I had our boys, we decided to begin some family traditions.  They didn't start out based on anyone else's traditions.  You know, handed down traditions? Those are phenomenal and I am always in awe of families who take the time to do these special things for those they love.  So we really longed for something special for our boys.  And ourselves.

Christmas, of course, we celebrate.  Altho, no one knows when Jesus was actually born.  And the holiday is based on pagan beliefs & commercialism.  We are not cynical.  We just value the truth about stuff.  However, the warmth of the giving season allows us to express what we feel towards others.  I wish there were several times during the year that that warmth was a common, all over the world expression, like at Christmas time.

So, we don't celebrate it because of Jesus...so much as an expression of love and value towards those around us.

We try to live our lives as that Christ expression

every day

because we know Him.

Hope that didn't sound confusing.

Hanukkah

The Festival of Lights.

Have you ever read the story?

It is one of hope in God, the provider of all things.

EC and I are not religiously Jewish.  We are, however, Jews.  Because Jesus is one of many brethren and we are

His brother and sister.

We are Jews.

I know.

I may have lost some of you here.

Did the numbers just go down?

ah, well.

But that's not why we celebrate Hanukkah.

Before EC and I met and fell in love we both had grown up lives.  We shared much of our time with Jewish folks.  With great fondness and love we participated in the Jewish traditions and high holidays of our Jewish friends/family.

When thinking of creating family traditions for our sons, we thought of celebrating Hanukkah.

It is a beautiful tradition for our boys.

We light the menorah each night, share in the Jewish delicacies of latkes, lox and bagels, matzo ball soup.  It's an absolute blast searching out recipes.  We play dreidel and read the story of how God provided enough oil to keep the lamps burning.

EC reads the book and we all cry.

God's goodness is so beautiful.

Advent

This one is the most Kolein-esque.

I was shopping at Target a few years back and saw this box with the little doors.

fell completely in love  

It was $20.  I put some other stuff back on the shelves so that I could rationalize buying the 

"cutest earthy red box with little doors I'd ever seen!"

I don't even know what Advent is.

I didn't grow up in any religion, so no clue here.

I just had to Google it to find out what it means.

I know that it leads up to Christmas.  And small gifts are given. That was good for me and the boys.

So.

We created our own version.

Each night before the boys go off to bed they open a door.  There's a clue inside that leads them to guess what their gift is.

Small treasures laying inside and around the Christmas tree adds to the sweetness of the season.

Every small token has special meaning to each of the boys. On Christmas Eve, we sit next to the tree and read the little book,

Twas the Night Before Christmas

It's magical.

Because of our traditions, the season has a warm glow for the entire month of December here in our home.

I am blessed beyond measure to be able to create traditions for our little family.

And I am so enjoying reading all about your Christmas season and your expressions of giving with your families and friends. 

It has been a lovely Christmastime here in blog land.

~~~~~~~~~~

I will leave you with this photo taken

December 1st in our backyard.

Snow covered every branch.

I had taken several of the yard blanketed in white

and then I decided to look up.

Look up

In your spirit

in your soul

with your heart

with your mind

look up

and see what you will find

Happy New Year to all of you absolutely phenomenal creative special loving women from all over the world.

You have blessed me beyond measure!

If you've got a Christmas Story to share, join us over here!

Funky Junk Interiors

Christmas Decor Part Deux

 Here are some pictures of our Christmas.

It was a beautiful Christmas.

For many reasons.

These are just some of the decorations and a little of what we did here at our house.

I thought about all of you periodically throughout

the passed few days.

For many reasons.

Hope you enjoy the photos.  There are thousands.

Well, pretty close.

nature's decor could NOT be beat

our front door

and entry way

simple

quick candle make over

remember my FREE Lowes boughs & wooden "coasters"?

stuck them inside an SA wreath

don't have a proper cloche?

grab a cheese board cover, add some pine cones

instant decoration

then add one of the very first home decor items

I ever purchased 

an

ampersam

"LL Bean, you've been so good to EC.

But he's saying goodbye to this shirt that has seen the mountains, the rivers, the back country on and off for close to 20 years.

Thank you."

Momma has other ideas for you.

Our stockings this year!

Guess whose are whose??

then I made these cute stocking hanger covers after seeing

Kendra's

at

CREATIVE AMBITIONS

Thanks Kendra!!!

this is our classroom/family room/music room

It has lots of personality

NOT much style

I pushed the classroom cupboards together

(the boys were very happy to see that their school was being closed for a couple of weeks!  *wink*)

My sweet crafty neighbor gave me the IKEA leaf cloth.

So I draped it over the cupboard.

These "ugly" gourds were part of my fall decor outdoors,

still in good condition.

I gave them new life.

-little black eyes with a Sharpie-

Bitty Birds having a chat!!!

birds were sort of a theme

sort of

here's the BIG Craig's List tree

I think it was $25 a few years ago

Worth every single cent

even decorated the pulled pork for Christmas Eve

But the next photos are my favorite

EC lounging in the family room after the boys went to bed and I finished putting out all the gifts underneath the tree.

Oh and that's the boys tree back there

with their home made ornaments.

Christmas Day going out like Santa's elves to deliver

home made goodies to the neighbors.

 

This was one of my absolute favoritist things to do EVER!

Happiest of holi-days

and EVERY days!

Love,

Christmas Decor Part One

seems kinda old talking about Christmas right now

like it should be over

I freaked out for the last two weeks

and because I did

I'm pretty calm right now

what with all the shopping done

the baking started and the zillions of other little things that take hours and added extra minutes to every plan I have for just checking things off the list

but still I am calm

Christmas will be here in 3 days whether I am ready or not

For those of you who are expecting your gifts in the mail,

well just say they may be late

that does not change their gift status, however,

or my adoration for you

or my love

It's out there

my admission to tardiness, laziness, craziness

way back up there in the photo before I started rambling

I added a Santa to my "hurricane chic" toppled over chair "mantle" on top of our computer armoire

I've had him for a l-o-n-g time

this is what I did with the dried orange peels

made a twine and pine cone garland

it's aroma is - sweet as an orange

after the peels were dried and hardened I hot glued them with the pine cones to the twine

then I noticed the mesh sack the oranges had been in and thought, why not?

so I cut it into strips and there it hangs

daytime or evening it looks really neat

here's the table

(minus a chair - EC has it downstairs - gluing it)

outdoor fabric wrapped around the backs,

tied with tulle like ribbon

yes, I covered our large print in wrapping paper

everything in the DR/LR area is in the red/white/aqua colors

with a little twig thrown in

I'm hoping to do another part

there's a huge family room loaded with decorations

my calm may stay

or

it may go

so either part two will come

or

I will be posting about all the new storage ideas

I have planned for January

Can anyone say, "Large Dumpster Tote?"

Happy Christmas

Are we supposed to blog about our birthdays

 Ok, this is very ambiguous.

Do we blog about our birthdays?

Today is mine.

I'm 47 years old.

I share today's birthday with one of  my favorite authors.

Jane Austen.

Yep.

She's 235.

47 doesn't seem so daunting after typing that.

Thought I'd share some of my day with you.

Seeing as we do that for each other.

I really LOVE having people say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me.

It makes me feel like a Queen.

Queen of the universe.

Or a small island.

Here's my day:

Woke up to maple sausage and eggs. 

EC loves to cook.

Then EC took the boys out all morning to the mall.

Mall.

Mall.

Christmas time.

Mall.

Did you read what I said?

Mall.

To buy me some presents.

He attempted this feat yesterday too.

The mall.

The mall.

Sweaty with people.

Mall.

Do you remember that show with Angela Lansbury?

Dial M for Murder?

actually I just googled it.

she was in a different show.

keep reading, you'll get the point.

Mall.

They came home with nothin'.

I never go to the mall.

EVER.

It's like dialing that letter for me.

I'm more of a boutique,

small shop,

talk with the owner,

kinda gal.

He was doing this with the boys while I was DECORATING,

LISTENING TO CHRISTMAS MUSIC

SINGING

PRAYING

LAUGHING

CUZ

I 

WAS 

IN

COMPLETE

HEAVEN.

While he was at the mall.

Poor guy.

Then.

The boys came home.

The two young ones got to their school work,

after having a show down

one in which I nearly threw one young son across the family room.

not kidding.

EC took a nap.

I did laundry.

Made lunch.

Tried to get back into the HEAVEN that I was just experiencing.

Couldn't find it.

Anywhere.

Then I started tickling the boys.

One was crying over having to do his math.

I slithered over to him, look down at his weepy face and tickled the bajeebers out of him.

I mean, honestly.

This is my birthday.

There's gotta be some fun.

Right?

Then the other son refused to do his school work.

I sent him to his room.

Then went in after a few minutes,

still looking for heaven

and told him that if he keeps up "the grumps" I'll do to him what I just did to his brother out in the other room.

"Please, MOM!!!!  Please!!!!  Tickle me!"

Alright.

You asked for it.

Once school was underway I felt like ROSE

at Confessions of a Curb Shopaholic.

All scattered and couldn't focus on anything

and since I was still searching for heaven, which by now,

is in lower case

and slightly slanted,

I 

wandered around the cluttered house

hating dog hair.

Then came the cake.

EC ordered it and went to pick it up.

It's sweet.

 LOVE it when men do these kinds of things.

I don't why.

But it gives me that sweet smile kinda feeling.

We didn't eat dinner.

Nope.

Just had cake.

How 'bout that?

Living on the edge in our house these days.

Then came the presents.

Socks.

Just what I needed.

There is a purple pair.

A pair with polka dots.

A pair with navy and turquoise stripes.

Another pair that looks like snowflakes, but the jazzy kind of snow flakes.

And orange wool hikers.

My feet have found HEAVEN!