Thanksgiving

I'm so sorry that it has been so long since posting, I have been getting a lot complaints.  The past few weeks have been SOOOO busy, I haven't had time to even begin to think of things to post.  But now that the holidays are over, I can finally relax and sit at my computer.

Our thanksgiving was amazing even though the usual family wasn't all there. But Alex and Melanie were here as well as my grandparents, and even my roommate Chelsea came by for the delicious meal. I made mini pies and message cookies, both of which I've posted about in the past, and they were a  HUGE hit! Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving (sorry for the quality, I took them on my phone):

New Winnie the Pooh coming Summer 2011

6 year old me is sooo excited to see this movie.  The trailer looks amazing.

Little boy's family sells his monster drawings to pay for his Chemotherapy.. WOW!

I saw this on www.thelodown.com and did a little digging. Please see the article below from the Huffington Post about this incredible family!

"Every day, Aidan Reed, a five-year-old with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, finds time between his chemotherapy treatments, painful spinal taps and oncologist checkups for his favorite hobby: drawing pictures of monsters.

"Drawing monsters was his second favorite hobby before he got sick," Aidan's dad, Wylie Reed, told Huffpost. "His first hobby was dressing up in costumes and acting out whatever character he was dressed as. But he's a little more lethargic now from the chemo and all the treatments, so he just keeps up with the drawings."

Aidan's aunt Mandi, 26, was frustrated by the fact that she couldn't be with her nephew's family in their hometown of Clearwater, Kansas, to offer comfort when the leukemia was diagnosed, so she came up with an idea to help from afar: She would turn Aidan's colorful monster drawings into frameable prints, sell them on Etsy, and donate the proceeds to Aidan's parents for help with his treatments.

On Sept.17, nearly a week after Aidan found out he had leukemia, Mandi sold his first print on Etsy, and the business quickly took off. In less than a week, Mandi had sold about 2,000 of Aidan's prints.

"My lucky number was 60. I just wanted to sell 60 prints," she told MSNBC. "And now here we are at 2,460. ... I have two printers constantly going in my dining room. In between taking care of my baby, I've been trying to fill orders."

At $12 apiece, minus taxes and the cost of materials, Wylie Reed estimates that Aidan's paintings have earned about $50,000 for the family so far, although they haven't collected any of the money yet because they aren't sure how the proceeds will be taxed. The money will be crucial toward helping them keep up with Aidan's treatments, because even though the Reeds are covered through Wylie's insurance plan, the cost of co-pays, wage losses from taking time off work, and the the expenses of Aidan's new-born baby brother are difficult to keep up with on a single income.

Aidan's mother, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when Aidan was diagnosed with leukemia in September, had recently quit her job waiting tables at a bowling alley so that she could stay at home with Aidan and the new baby. Wylie said the family saved, budgeted and planned all year to have enough money to survive on his single income as an on-the-job trainer for Cessna, but Aidan's sickness quickly drained all their savings and threw off the plan."

So I immediately jumped on their etsy site and found the perfect little monster drawing to buy.  I can't wait to put it up on my wall and think about little Aidan every day! You all should do the same!

This is the little monster that I bought:

To visit Aidan's Etsy site, click here: AidansMonsters.  They are only $12!

the little things

I just got the cutest email for Anthropologie! Click on the link to watch the video. They really know how to get you in the holiday spirit. I love this time of year!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Things I love this week...

Once again, I've taken a look through the new items on FredFlare.com and here's what I'm obsessed with
this week...

Around the Fireplace Nightlight: 

"You've always dreamed of having your own cozy fireplace so here you go. Same warm fuzzy feeling on a cold night but this nightlight version has the added benefit of lighting your way!"

(Link)

Jonathan Adler Pipe Match Striker 

"Strike it up with this handsomest of handsome mantlepiece treasure. White porcelain bisque Magritte pipe match holder features a frictional surfaced base that ignites strike-anywhere matches."

(Link)

Floppy Disc Sticky Notes

"The last time we used a floppy disk was probably when our screensaver had flying toasters, but, truth is, we kind miss those lil' guys... These sticky notes look like the genuine article but are waaayy more practical!"

(Link)

Menorah Cork (*my personal favorite)

"Have a blast celebrating the festival of lights all while keeping your wine nice and fresh for the party later! Menorah acts as a cork and fits secure into an sturdy bottle."

(Link)

Desperately Sequin Susan Dress

"Walk out in this dress and you'll feel like you've entered the Studio 54 party scene."

(Link)

Curl up with a good book in this "sweater chair"

If this doesn't make you wanna drink some hot cocoa and curl up in front of a fire on a winters day, I don't know what does (especially in syracuse *cough*). This amazing artist Biscuit Scout  makes these great knitted covers for your furniture. Thanks to Parlour for putting this up!

(link)

(link)

Real Housewives of SNL

Some things are too cute to exist

Sooo, everybody knows that I love PIXAR and the movie UP. If you've seen it, you will absolutely melt when you see the photos below. Thanks to facebook, and weddingchicks blog, I found the little gem. Please enjoy these amazing engagement photos inspired by the movie UP.

This is a letter that the fiance wrote to his bride to be:

“Lynnette… I have a confession, I am in love with you.  It is not the ‘usual’ love, but the love that makes me remember the little things, the ‘boring’ things.  It is the boring things in life that I will remember the most.  The memories of jumping over sidewalk cracks to how the clouds talk to us.  You make me remember the moments.  It is that love that makes me believe.  Belief that I was there when you were a toothless kid.  Dancing through life, only stopping to hold my hand. Letting me know that anything is possible.  I am in love with you, ‘my greatest adventure’. – James”

SO freaking cute!

Anna's hair feather as promised

Sorry for the lengthy break

Sorry that it has been a little while since I have actually blogged some creative substance. I have been busy as a bee and when I'm not, I'm too tired to think of something to write about. I usually sit at my computer, staring at an empty post trying to think of something creative and inspirational to write about.  But worry no more, I have a feeling that tonight, I will be finding a fun new DIY project to blog about!

On a separate matter, my grandma sent me some money to buy something pretty for my apartment.  That is a lot of pressure!! Especially now that I have a specific purpose, I want it to be just right. Our kitchen cabinets are getting quite full, so more dishes, even though there are tons that I love at anthropologie, would be sort of a waste.  If you have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

Side note, my halloween party was a great success and very fun! We played games, ate carmel apples and "mummie dogs" and had a jolly old time. Then on Sunday, I got to see my cousin who was home from college for the weekend, which was really nice. She told me that she was going to help me pick out something to get for my apartment, because she loves anthropologie as much as I do. She also had this really cool feather in her hair (I was told it was an "Oregon" thing) and the more I looked at it, the more I wanted one. She told me that I had to wait until springtime to go up and get one for myself, because the saturday market is closed until then.  So if anyone knows anyone who does this type of thing in San Diego, please let me know! ( I will post a picture as soon as I get one)

Alright, until tonight...

Special Early Movie Screening

It is officially November and that means just 18 days until our big early movie screening!! It is going to be soo much fun, not only to get to see this particular movie early, but also for the costume contest, tons of delicious food and good times. If you're going to be in the San Diego area for this awesome event, please come! You can buy tickets online at http://www.theseanyfoundation.org/movie/ or contact me for physical copies. You won't want to miss out on this awesome event to battle pediatric cancer.

Carmel Apple Making with Mom

I'm having a little Halloween Party at my apartment tonight, so my mom and I got to work in the kitchen last night and made some delicious carmel apples.  It was actually her idea, cause I had never done it before, but they came out really great.  Here are some pictures from our fun project!!

my mom being helpful!

Pictures of the Halloween Party to come tomorrow! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Some of my favorite things this week...

I love FredFlare and usually spend hours on their site adding things to my shopping cart and then closing out quickly before I get too attached.  Here are some of my favorite things this week!

Giant Gummi Bear on a Stick

Jonathan Adler Peacock Lollipop Holder

Lavender Scented Eye Mask

Handlebar Mustache Corkscrew

Play with your Food Dinner Plate

Wordly Wise

via savingimages and onesydneyroad

Modern Chic Home..Yes Indeed

So I was looking through the Blogs that I follow and came across Parlour's  blog about Modern Chic's Wall art.  Well, this immediately made me wanna look and I fell in love! Here are some of my favorites!

link modernchichome.com

Craft Night

So last night, I was feeling extra crafty (Probably because I was procrastinating all of the important things that I had to do like laundry and cleaning my bathroom) so I stopped by Michaels and Beverly's on my way home from the gym.  I decided I was going to do the DIY article that I wrote about previously Fun and Easy Ways to Customize your Space... and create some memo boards for my new apartment.  I also had the bright idea that I could put fabric behind a picture frame, and then use the picture frame as a whiteboard using dry erase markers. I wanted make one for my room, so I bought a beautiful frame that was 40% at Michaels (I love sales) and a smaller one for my kitchen so that my roommate and I could leave each other notes haha. I also bought little pearl brads and some flat pins, and glued them together to make some really cute push pins for the boards.

So after an hour of blood, sweat and tears (minus the sweat and the tears) I finished all of my projects.  My roommate helped me hang up the bulletin board in our living room (which is still a work in progress, so please don't judge) and they look adorable. Here are some pictures of the finished products.  I took the pictures with my iphone today, so they aren't the best quality, but I wanted to share with all of you right away!