Big slacker.....

I have been a huge slacker with the little ole' blog lately.  I apologize.  I had so many fun ideas to share for Thanksgiving, but it just snuck up on me this year.  I did complete my banner that I had mentioned HERE.

Here is a picture of the finished product.

I was so happy with how it turned out that I've decided to make one for Christmas too.  Here are a few I love that I might use for inspiration...

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I generally decorate my mantle for Christmas but don't add my stocking until the week prior so I thought this could be a fun addition this year to the mantle.

Here are few other Christmas decorations that I love and want to incorporate this year. 

Homemade trees...

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I love so many of them that I cannot decide which one to do this year.  You'll just have to wait and see which one we end up with on our mantle.

And the last exciting new addition this year is an advent calendar.  I have had the candy ones and the paper ones for years, but I've always wanted a real one that I can use year after year.  So....I decided to make one this year.   Crazy I know, but I am excited.  I am under the gun to finish it by the 1st, but I'm close.  I have only 8 more of the ornaments for the tree to make and then I need to assemble it.  Here are a few of my inspiration photos...

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I have a LOT of crafting to do plus a zillion stocking orders to fill, but I love this time of year so I'm going to try to enjoy every moment of the crafting while it lasts!!!

Stay tuned as the projects are completed I will share them!

Poshed Up

Sprucing up for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays.  I love that it is truly just about being together with family.  There is no stress of gift-giving or specific requirements other than food and family.    Of course, we all have our Thanksgiving favorite menu items that we can't live without, but other than that....it's just a day to be together with great smells in the kitchen.

I am hosting Thanksgiving this year at my house for 6 adults and 4 children so I am starting to decorate a bit and add some minor touches to my Fall decor that I shared HERE.    I saw this great burlap banner that I wanted to make earlier, but with the storm that hit our area, I was a bit behind.  So now it is going to be a "Thankful" banner instead of "Welcome Fall" banner.

Here is my inspiration...

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I love the antique-y (new word) look of this one too...

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The other thing I love to do this time of year, actually any time of year, is add candles.  I know they don't really add tons of warmth, but they do add the other kind of warmth to your home.  I went through quite a few candles during our 6 day power outage with Sandy so I invested in a few new ones this year.  

I love all of the fall smelling candles, but usually only get one small one so the smell doesn't overpower our home.  I generally just buy the cheaper colored, plain candles and then spruce them up with some decorations.   Here a few that I loved...and if you notice, they all use basic items.

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Here is a closeup of my hurricane right now without a candle, but I intend to swap out the Indian corn for a candle and add that to a different candle similar to the idea below.

New idea for Indian corn...

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Another thing I love is all of the subway art that is out there and FREE for Thanksgiving.  If you are not much for decorating, but want a small touch, how about adding one of these to a simple frame?

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For those of you who want easy peasy....here are some great free printables that you can simply print, cut and use.  

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I have more ideas to share this week...stay tuned!

Poshed Up

Getting back to normal...

Life has forever changed where I live.   I live about a mile from the ocean on the Jersey Shore.  Several times this week our little area has been on national news stations and spoken about because of the horrific conditions that Sandy left us with.   My little square mile town was even part of a story on the news tonight as we prepare to house several hundred evacuees left with no home in what was a former US military base in our town.

While all of this has changed my town, my friends and myself....I am trying with every ounce of myself to try to resume some sense of normalcy for my own family.  It's hard.  I have guilt that I am able to have a warm bed, clothes and my most treasured possessions and family close to me while so many cannot say that.    I have grieved for my own losses (while they are small in comparison to some others) and for the difficult and extremely stressful things we have witnessed and experienced.  But...with all that said, it is not good for anyone to continue to do so.  So, I am choosing to try my best to gain some normalcy.

By the grace of God, my business is busier than ever and for that I am so grateful.  I got tons of Christmas stocking orders throughout the storm and was taking pictures of fabric and emailing on my phone after I had cell service back after 4 long days with no outside communication.   (I sure did take it for granted before the storm).    Here are some pictures of what I have been up to...

Lots of FUN new fabrics this year and I am working on about 10-15 more this week alone.  Yikes!!!

I have also been busy with lots of other Christmas gifts including bags, superhero capes, kitchen towel sets...you name it.

You can check out all of the items currently in the shop by clicking HERE....

I have tons of fun Thanksgiving ideas to share with all of you and the holiday has really come too quickly since so many of us in this area have lost a full 2 weeks of our lives.    I am excited to have a day to enjoy family and celebrate the many things I have to be thankful for.

I will start sharing some great ideas tomorrow.  Until then!

Poshed Up

The Aftermath of Sandy....

The last two weeks have been unlike anything I have EVER experienced in my life.  I live in New Jersey in a small square mile town situated only 1 mile from the Atlantic Ocean and across the street from the river.  We were hit VERY hard by Sandy and to say my quiet little area is forever changed is an understatement.   I have seen so much in the last 2 weeks.

The bad...


Unthinkable destruction and loss around me
People losing everything they own
A shelter in my daughter's middle school to help feed, house and warm the less fortunate
A FEMA tent-city in my town in a giant parking lot
Garbage everywhere
A second round of bad weather dumping snow on top of already damaged homes, trees and garbage lined streets
Thousands without power for over 10 days
Families damaged by arguing, anger and frustration as a result of stress
Children with sorrow in their eyes after losing so much
Children with confusion in their eyes who cannot understand where Halloween went and what comes next

The good...

People giving of themselves before, during and after the storm to help neighbors and people in our town and surrounding areas
Families opening their own homes to house others, do laundry, feed or entertain those without such amenities
A shelter in my daughter's middle school to help feed, house and warm the less fortunate (yes, this one falls on the good and the bad list)
Thousands of donated clothes for those who have lost everything
Acquaintances becoming new friends after such loss and tragedy
Children making new friends and smiling like children should be doing
Utility crews from around the United States and Canada flooding into our area to help therefore necessitating the "tent-city" shelter in our town
Schools and teachers giving of their time, wallets and hearts to help the children of our school systems recover what they need to get back to school
Friends from out of town giving of themselves to help my little area

It is incredible.  This event has FOREVER changed me for the good and of course scarred all of us too.    We consider ourselves very fortunate to have only lost our garage, basement and hot water heater amongst all of the other loss.   We have each other, our home and health and we are extremely thankful for that.   

For those of you who are not local, here are some photos from just my house and street.  

Here are some pictures of my street BEFORE the storm truly hit.  

My home after the storm surge came through.   This is our basement with everything we could possibly raise up and in bins.  We consider ourselves VERY lucky.

And here is the morning and following days after.  People's belongings scattered all over the streets.

Insulation from crawl spaces and walls of lower levels removed to avoid mold.

Our town soccer fields now a garbage dump.

Our town racetrack has become a FEMA shelter with tents.

Utility trucks from all over the U.S. and Canada living in the parking lot of our race track.  Thank god for these people!

My neighbors remnant of a down tree.  Look at the size of those roots.

The neighbor down the street....her water line is to the middle of her downstair's windows.  Heartbreaking.

More garbage in the other direction.

This is our little town.   Just when we thought we had it bad, I saw this heartbreaking video.  This town of Sea Bright is about a mile from my home along the shore.  Just devastating.  The children of this town are part of our school district and most have lost EVERYTHING.

Mother Nature is unbelievable!

Be Safe and thank you to each and every person who gave to our area in a time of need and devastation.  Please keep these people, the people of all of the barrier islands of New Jersey, Staten Island, Long Island and other hard hit areas in your prayers as they try to find a new "normal" for their families and deal with rebuilding!

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