pride in wrapping.

i LOVE wrapping presents for people. i love to try and coordinate the colors of the tissue, bow and wrapping/bag with whatever gift i'm giving. this present is for my sister's birthday tomorrow so i can't tell you what i got her yet, but i just wanted to give you a little taste of my passionate gift wrapping skills. :)

my (hopeful) thanksgiving ideas.

we've been waiting to hear about whether or not our offer has been accepted on our dream home since april, (APRIL!?!) and we now hear that we may be getting a call any day now with the news. (humpf, scoff scoff) i had planned to host a halloween party with friends, caramel apples and costumes, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen this year. :(

so instead, i'm going to focus all my creative thoughts on thanksgiving. :) with my grandparents, in-laws and brother and sister (with respective spouses!) planning on coming over, i have a few ideas to make it our first thanksgiving in the new house memorable.



okay, technically my thanksgiving ideas are actually martha stewart's ideas, but oh how i love to drool over her magazines. hehe. so far my menu ideas include green bean casserole, fresh cranberry sauce (my specialty), my grandma's delicious mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin and dutch apple pies, stuffing, and of course, turkey. a fairly traditional fare actually, but i'm not sure what my mom-in-love might have in mind. i'm sure i'll have some more dishes to add later. mmmm!


i love this idea of carving notches out of the tops of apples and putting tea lights inside. i think it would be very cute to line them down the table, or set one at each place setting. it's very easy, all you need is a melon-baller.










these pumpkin yarn balls are adorable, and easy! i love that you can use them all season long and store them away for next year.



are there special traditions or dishes that anyone wants to share?

;)

moo! cluck! oink! baa!

i'm not a political person by nature, but i felt i should say that i'm voting yes on prop 2 this november. some people may question laws surrounding protection of animals used for food and if they are necessary. yes i understand that the animals are doomed to die and end up in my carne asada burrito, but there is a humane way of keeping the animals until then. there are two ways i look at this: #1 God placed man in charge of the animals, with that i believe comes some respondsibility for them, #2 are you sure you really want to eat that carne asada burrito? i mean, do you know where that animal has been??

here's a fun video for you all. :) i hope that those of you who live in california will visit the website and learn a little something about proposition 2.


http://www.yesonprop2.com

chickens dig it too!

"i'm uncomfortable..."

joey has a "hot" spot which is dog-owner lingo for "uncontrollably itchy" spot. he's hates wearing his cone-collar but his hot spot is in the most uncomfortable spot ever, err uh, in between his legs. (let's just say it's a good thing he's neutered.) he doesn't want to walk around because it's just too itchy and it's just gotten too sensitive. i've bought him new cookie treats and given him lots of love but he still fills the apartment with drama. hopefully the evil cone-collar will help speed recovery.

san diego...

(well, coronado island actually.) with santa barbara, big bear and san diego all within a short couple hour's drive away, heat and traffic aside, living in riverside isn't too bad.