November Winners

This month's mix winners:

#12 - Jodi M.
#10 - M&E
#3 - Karen W.
#21 - Kim W.
#1 - Amy C.

Congrats Ladies!

Good Things:

Some things on my mind today...

Danyelle and Molly are hosting a calendar swap over at My Favorite Things and I've signed up... you should too... and if you get my name in the swap, well, here's a little hint... I love this one...oh, and this one.

I always dread planning and executing birthday parties, but my recently renewed creative mojo is making Lily's upcoming 8th birthday bash much more enjoyable to plan. The ideas are a'flowin! The pic above is a little sneak peek at her invites.

My talented sister in law Nancie has started her own cleaning business and isn't her advertisement adorable? If you know her, then you know this fits her to a "T." Need help cleaning for the holidays? Moving in or out? Call Nan! She's really good. And my brother Mitch's photo shop skills are sweet, huh?

On my mind constantly is what our family will be wearing in some upcoming family pictures. Trying not to be too matchy-matchy, but still coordinated. Here's the color scheme I've come up with. Check out the talented photographer
we'll be using.

Oh and finally, don't forget to enter this months giveaway before tomorrow morning!

Trifecta.

A winning trio this morning:

+ a beautiful, foggy morning
+ Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song"
+ piping hot candy cane tea

++ are you craving some Christmas tunes?
listen here.

Good Things

Can't even begin to tell you how much I love this brilliant idea.
Filing it away in my steel trap...

[via]

November Mix

My top-10 faves from this mix:

1. Made for Glory - Landon Pigg. Obviously, this song inspired the mix and the lyrics just got me the moment I heard them.
2. Dying Day - Brandi Carlile. Another song that I've replayed over and over.
3. Spilt Milk - Kristina Train. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous.
4. Beautiful Day - Miranda Lee Richards. This song is from the film "Adam." I am counting down the days to see this movie.
5. Satellites - Matthew Perrymore Jones. This song is my favorite release so far from Brite artist MPJ.
6. On the Stage - Kate Walsh. LOVE everything about this song.
7. Passenger - Daniel Ellsworth. Another Brite artist. I have been so pleased with my $4.99 a month membership to Brite Revolution because I've netted so many awesome tracks from so many incredible [lesser known] artists. Go check it out.
8. The Violet Hour - Sea Wolf. My favorite track from the New Moon soundtrack. It rocks.
9. Family Tree - Charlie Hardin. A Brite artist again, and such a great one too. I love this song.
10. Dreams-Come-True-Girl - Cass McCombs. "You're not my dream girl, you're not my reality girl, you're my dreams-come-true-girl." Such great lyrics.

Want to win this mix? Since it's November, comment once by Friday, Nov. 6th, 9am and tell me what you're grateful for. Winners will be announced Friday! Please don't forget to include your e-mail address.

Costumes.

Journaling note: Had to take many pictures because the sun was shining in Lily's face and she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, and Ethan objects to giving a toothy smile. In the end, my favorite picture is the top candid photo in which Ethan is showing wiggle-worm Lily where to look because she was having a very hard time focusing on the camera. Lovely little photo shoots.

Madeline and Jocelyn chose not to dress up this year...fine with me! Brandon and I were discussing that we only have about 4-5 more years of costumes.

I'm excited for November. Lots of fun stuff ahead.

Right now...

• I'm enjoying my all-time favorite snack: fresh apples from our orchard sprinkled with Truvia and cinnamon.

• I'm nursing three [almost] broken toes. I'm pretty sure they're not actually broken, but they feel like it... and I have a limp now.

• I'm listening to Ella Fitzgerald sing "All That You Are."

• I'm dreaming up my Christmas card idea, and it is lovely. I hope it translates well once it's on paper.

• I'm avoiding the dishes.

• My mind just keeps wandering to the upcoming vacation Brandon and I will be taking.
  

What are you doing?

"Oh, do anything to be happy" - Noah & the Whale

"this is a song for anyone
with a broken heart,
this is a song for anyone
who can't get out of bed,

oh, do anything to be happy.
oh, cause blue skies are coming
but I know that it's hard."

--------

today's gratefuls:

- teenage daughters old enough to figure out their costume
- the song at the top of this playlist
- lovely lin's grateful list, which inspired me today
- my "be happy" banner
- the plan of happiness and the gift of repentance
- my reading-loving Lily who reads three chapter books a week
- dates with my husband
- annual pumpkin carving FHE motivating me to CLEAN
- Alma 32, especially verse 27
- this book for making that chapter more fully understood
- the gorgeous fall colors I see each time I drive home

Mojo

My creative mojo, which was at one time thriving, has been on the decline for months. And I've missed it. But, after adding a few creative inspirations back to my blogroll, I can happily report that I have found my desire to create again.

This picture via Darling Dexter sparked something in me and inspired my November playlist artwork, to be revealed later... like... in November.

And then, last week, my sister in law called me and told me to check out these paper witch shoes and invited me to make some with her. So last Friday, after a long hiatus from the craft store, I returned and purchased the goods and we crafted all evening long, cutting and folding and manipulating paper products into adorable witch shoes, to be filled with candy for friends. I could feel my mojo seeping back in.

Sadly, Ethan's very best friend is moving about 3 hours away. Today will be their last play date and so in an attempt to ease the heartbreak I quickly whipped up a gift for each of them. A framed picture of them together and a keepsake card with their addresses, phone numbers, e-mail address and a reminder to "make new friends, but keep the old."

It was an easy-peasy project and felt so good to see the smile on their faces and the assurance that everything will be okay.

I've determined that creativity is essential to my sanity, and this talk is proof. I've also decided that a new camera would greatly boost my creative desire... I am growing tired of blurry closeups.

Santa baby, a new camera?? Please?

For Inspiration.

Over these [almost] three years that I've been blogging, I've gone back and forth on what kinds of blogs I love to read. Several months ago, I removed almost all of the "pretty" blogs from my google reader because sometimes it can get overwhelming when the number of new posts is hovering around 364. Those kinds of bloggers post a lot of pretty. And sometimes it's just too much.

But lately, I've been missing the inspiration, the beauty. So last week I set out to find some "pretty" blogs to start reading. Here's what I found:

You Are My Fave
Love.Obsess.Inspire
Oh, Hello Friend
Wren Handmade
Darling Dexter
Janet Hill Studio and her blog
Simple Blueprint
Hooray
Creature Comforts

Whether it's beautiful photography or interior design or fashion or paper, or the beautiful paintings of Janet Hill [I'd give my left arm to paint like her], I've concluded that I need this kind of inspiring beauty in my life.

My creative funk is gone, gone, gone... and I'll show you tomorrow what I've been up to.