True Rose

It's a gloomy day here and I'm buried in work, but I thought lighting a candle might make things a little more cozy and a little less dreary.  I got this candle on Black Friday when I was visiting my parents who happen to near outlets including a Yankee Candle outlet.  I was surprised by how much True Love really smells like roses and I had to have it.  

It has 2 wicks and when I lit it, I wondered if there was something wrong with it because the wicks burn strangely.  They sort of unravel and clump up in a way I found undesirable.  I looked up the candle because I wondered if I could buy another one or if it was a discontinued item since it was from an outlet store.  It turns out that the don't seem to sell this particular candle with the double wick, but they have others with the same scent - a larger double wick candle, and a few single wick candles.  I also discovered that the unraveling wick is intentional and makes the flame brighter.  I had no idea.  I think next time I'd opt for a regular wick since I am interested in the scent in the room and not so much the flame.  

Plan B

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up some roping to put outside around our front door. 

Then, the bitter, frigid cold arrived.

I couldn't wrap my mind around going outside and feeling the sting of the cold on my hands while I decorated the house.  I decided to just use it inside in the warm comfort my furnace provides.  Its not perfect, but with a week until Christmas, I couldn't afford to be picky.

My paperwhites have faded, so they've been replaced with an amaryllis.  This doesn't seem to grow nearly as quickly but it was fun watching the paperwhites grow every day and finally bloom so I'm hoping I have success with the amaryllis even if it takes a little longer.  Fingers crossed!

I was like a kid with a snow day yesterday excited by our first snowfall.  It doesn't make sense, but while I'm not a fan of the cold, I absolutely love snow.  It wasn't much, but it was enough to be pretty and almost enough to make the bitter cold worthwhile.

This weekend, I'll be busy making lots and lots of cookies! 

Any baking in your future?

Blizzard in Progress

I posted the red I added to my dining room for Valentine's Day and thought I'd share my living room. I wish I could do more but we're snowed in and shopping isn't an option.

My "nook" with a bit of red ...

I don't think I've ever shown a full picture of my Ikea Ektorp so here it is in its full glory. I LOVE my couch. The wooden train was a recent Ikea purchase for my little one's birthday. I love wooden toys and was happy to find them at Ikea.

One more shot of red with the blanket on the chair. I have 3 of those Indian-style blankets and my kids love them. They're very warm.

The view from my front window. See the snow plastered to the window? Its pretty much been snowing sideways here.

I love snow, but I could do without the wind. I'm starting to get cabin fever and I'm running out of things to do that don't require going out. I'm starting to gain weight from just sitting around and eating. I think I'll go bake some brownies now ...

Snowed in Saturday

Having a snack ...

... and gazing out at the snow.


We shoveled out our driveway but we aren't going anywhere. Its treacherous out there and everything is closed. My poor husband has been out there for hours helping the neighbors and is just finishing up the driveway of an elderly neighbor. I'm exhausted and I only did a fraction of the shoveling that Mr. T has done. We're still getting heavy snow but I think the next round of shoveling will have to wait until tomorrow.

I'm almost done painting the laundry room (floor included). Hallelujah. Break time over. Back to work ...

20" and Counting ...

Here's my yard this morning ...

They say we've gotten 21" where I am, but I'm not so sure. I can't reach this little table through the snow drifts to measure. We're expecting another 5".

Here's the little tree in my front yard ...

Same tree after the last storm ...

Lots more snow this time around. I love it!

I live just outside D.C. in Virginia. The city is pretty much crippled and the roads impassible. Too bad because I really want to go to Target! It doesn't take long for me to get cabin fever. Hopefully, I can escape tomorrow.

The Calm Before the Storm ...

The sun is just starting to come up here this morning and we're bracing for a huge storm. 18-24" expected. That's a lot no matter where you live but its a huge deal here. People cleaned out the stores here yesterday. You could not get parking spots or shopping carts at the supermarkets. I love the snow, but its much nicer when you live in an area that doesn't fly into a full-fledged panic. This is one reason I wish I could move north where snow doesn't mean the world has to stop.


As much as I love snow and I'm thrilled to see the snow-covered trees again, I wish it did not happen this weekend. My little one turns 2 on Sunday and its going to put a little damper on our celebration. We'll be having cake today because we'll never be able to get it on Sunday on the unplowed roads. The last time we had a storm of this magnitude (18") it was left to mother nature to take care of the snow instead of a plow. Thank goodness for all-wheel-drive.

Anyone else expecting snow? Do they handle it any better where you are?

More laundry room progress pictures coming this weekend ...

Snow Day

We got a little snow overnight. This has been the snowiest winter that I remember since I've lived in the area and I'm in heaven. If only it would snow like this every year. It wasn't much and sadly, by the time I got out with my camera all the snow had melted from the trees.

Schools were closed so that gave me an opportunity to file my taxes and research preschools this morning.

Back to laundry room painting ...

Snowing Outside/Sunny Inside

Its been snowing here all day and its been beautiful. It was a nice surprise to get 3-5" since we were expecting an inch or so. My little ones had a blast outside with Daddy sledding down the hill in our yard.

I stayed inside working on the laundry room with yellow paint and flooring to lay. Huge difference already. Progress pictures to come ...

More Snow!

We got just enough overnight to look pretty but not be awful to drive on. This evergreen was given to be by my dad who transplanted it from his 9 acres in VT. I put boxwoods around it and hope to add more to create a parterre. For now, I'll just enjoy the snow.


I'll be belly dancing most of the weekend away. I imagine I'll have some tired hips by Sunday night. Have a good weekend!

Flowers and a Sewing Machine

Years ago my dad (the retired sanitation worker) found one of those old Singer sewing machines you see everywhere but the mechanism was missing so he just added a piece of wood to the top. He gave it to me at some point. When I moved to my house, I painted the top black and have used it as an entry table ever since. Its rusted over the years so it needs a new coat of paint this spring.

I placed a milk glass lamp that was a Christmas gift on top. I love the switch on the lamp of all things. Reminds me of a skeleton key and is so easy to turn compared to the boring turning knob-type switches on some lamps.

I was in the grocery store today and planned to pick up bunches of white carnations to replace the red carnations I've had since before Christmas that are only now fading. As I stood there looking at the case of flowers, I picked up spray roses instead. I did my own flowers for my wedding and made some enormous arrangements with white spray roses that had hints of green. I ordered way too many flowers so that's why the arrangements were so large, but they were beautiful.

So, there you have it. A little reminder of my spring wedding on this frigid January day.

Winter Centerpiece

The holidays are over and all the holiday decor was packed up yesterday, except for a few items. Its been so cold here and I wanted to have something wintery but not Christmasy. So here's what I ended up with ...

I have this vase filled with pinecones and branches that I've had forever and generally use in fall. I replaced the natural pinecones with those that I painted white for my Christmas Tree. (I tried to hide the ribbons but that proved to be easier said than done!)

I put the branches back in and added the snowflakes that were also on my tree.

Why not get a little extra use out of things I already have? This will be perfect until I change my mind and start thinking about Valentine's Day. Its quiet in my house and I'm just listening to the wind blow outside. Seems like the perfect time for tea and a book I'm reading.

A trip to Ice!

I meantioned that I'd be making a trip to Ice! at the Gaylord National Convention Center just outside Washington D.C. It is only 9 degrees inside so parkas are given out to everyone. This was pretty hilarious as you can see below - a 22 month old in a very oversized parka ...


The poor thing walked around like a lost penguin. At least we know she wasn't cold. So, just why is it called Ice!? Well, Everything is made of ice. LOTS of ice. I fell in love with this breathtaking angel. She was my favorite sculpture.




Honest Abe ...


The Capitol ...



Just a fraction of an enormous manger scene.


Polar Bears ...

A horse pulling an equally impressive carriage ...

The clear sculptures were my favorites but the colored ice was pretty amazing as well. Here's a soldier ...

And, Santa!

Last but not least, an evergreen wreath adorned with poinsettia ...

I wish I could have gotten a decent shot of the parade of penguins, but the crowd there was pretty heavy. There was also a huge slide castle that people were going down, but we zipped through that area. I was pretty warm in the parka, but I was losing feeling in my feet!

If you're in the D.C. area, I recommend this attraction. Its open into January. There is also another Ice! in Kissimmee, Florida as I discovered when I ordered tickets from the wrong location. Oops!

Let it Snow!

Here's the scene in my yard taken just a little while ago - 13" of snow and still coming down.

This is really unsual for where I live in Northern Virginia. I grew up in NY and I love snow so its exciting to have snow like this. The unfortunate part is that officials seem less equipped to clear the roads so I'm not sure how long I'll be house-bound. I'd planned to take my Wild One to her first movie today, but the roads are just impassible. I'll probably take her Christmas Day instead. On a positive note, my house is clean, I made mint chocolate covered cookies, dinner is ready for the oven, I've watched all my DVR shows, laundry is well under way and I'm hoping to finish gift wrapping tonight. Nothing like a blizzard to help one catch up!

For contrast, here's the same spot in my yard back in May ...

Have a good weekend and if you're in the path of the storm, stay safe!

Now you see me ...

Remember my giant pinecone? I did my version of this pine cone/ribbon door display that I always see floating around. I realized that this only really looks good if the pinecones are enormous and I only had a couple of those. I decided to just do 4 pinecones to represent the 4 inhabitants.

And, I finally added a picture of myself in the sidebar. I'm a little camera shy and prefer to stay behind the camera, but I figured, why not? Taking this picture made me realize how short my hair is compared to how it used to be. Below is a picture of me 8 months pregnant with my second little one with very long hair (and a slightly swollen face). I really miss my super long hair and am now considering hiding from the scissors for a while.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I expect that I'll be looking like the picture above after all the eating I plan to do.

Pine Cones and Planning

Like my new header? I know Thanksgiving isn't here yet, but that's precisely why I have already changed my header. I will be extremely busy for the next week and I'll be celebrating with my family. I have a LONG list of things to do.

My big bag of pine cones is all painted and ready to find a home on a tree we havn't purchased yet ...

I have cleaning to do (who wants to come home to a dirty house?), bills to pay, clutter to organize, a ton of work to do, pies to bake and a million other little things before Thursday.

I'm just now getting ready to start decorating my sea-inspired tree and to search for my shell wreath. I put the wreath away thinking I wouldn't use it again until next summer and now I have no idea where I put it!

I also just listed a snowflake necklace in my shop to match my header! I'd love to make one for myself if I ever find the time.