An Eviction Notice to Clutter

Dear Kitchen Junk Drawer,

I am writing to inform you that you will not be welcome in this house. This is unfortunate {for you}.
This is your official eviction notice.

We are organized individuals trying to sort out the clutter of life.

You make the clutter double and in some cases triple. All of those paperclips, twist ties, pens without tops, expired coupons and dried out markers need to go.

The saddest wall known to man

My ABC Wall is gone.

All of the letters are sadly sitting on the guest room bed...waiting patiently impatiently to be rehung. 

And now. Now there is a wall.

It is empty, but full of hope.  

And yet I look at it, as I walk by, and all I can think is...

Just Say No to Resolutions... Say Yes to Goals

"Whose woods these are I think I now

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow."

The woods are lovely dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

                             ~Robert Frost

That is part of one of my all time favorite poems.

It reminds me to slow down a little and enjoy my surroundings, but to also keep focused on my goals.

How {Not} to Make a Gallery Wall

Gallery Walls make me swoon.

I could peruse Pinterest  for gallery walls all day. No joke...I really could.

But there is one gallery wall that just isn't doing it for me.

I think this one needs to go.

Or at least it should be moved to a smaller wall. Or put the letters closer together? Or maybe every letter should be the same color?

It just doesn't feel right anymore. It is so 2011...yes, that is how far behind I am.

What do you think? 

Plans are brewing. Percolating even. And I don't even like coffee.

This weekend those plans will get done. Well, maybe get started?

Come back and see what I do...pretty please.

{Trina}

It's all Fun and Games Until...

{How to Make a Game Themed Mantel for $8.00}

...you poke your eye out!

...somebody starts crying.

...mom makes a few Miner adjustments to the fireplace mantel.

...there's a hole in the wall.

Top 12 of 2012

auld lang syne

/ˈôld laNG ˈzīn/

noun:

times long past.

My Christmas Wish

The gifts are under the tree.

The cookies are on the plate.

The children are nestled all snug in their beds.

The only thing missing is some snow.

The weather man, albeit a nice guy, says we are getting snow tonight. 

I will believe it when I see it.

Snowflakes on the tree seem to be the only way to get my wish.

The only way {sigh}.

Chalkboard paint, glitter paint (on other side, not pictured) and a couple fancy fonts can always fill the void.

A white Christmas is the wish I have for myself.

For you though, my dear readers, I wish...peace, love, laughter, healing, memories, batteries that last longer than 5 minutes, fun stocking stuffers, no cookie belly aches and friendship.

Happy Christmas! Merry Everything!

{Trina}

Fonts Used {from top to bottom}

bearerFond

fontleroy Brown

Pottery Barn

Bellefine    

Peachtree Sundress ~

Mission: Bloggy Secret Santa     

How to make Chalkboard Gift Tags

As kids, my brother and I used to look for our presents at Christmastime.

When my parents left to go for groceries we ran up to my dad's closet to peak.

There we would find the stacks of boxes, usually wrapped without tags.

We searched the boxes for any clue that told who the gift was for.

My mom, in her cleverness, wrote a T or a J somewhere on the box. I don't know why she just didn't put a tag on it.  Maybe she thought we would look. See? Told ya she is clever.

That didn't slow us down though. I figured out how to unwrap said gifts without ripping the paper or tape.
Shh, don't tell my mom, OK? Pinky swear?

Christmas day would come and I knew almost all of my presents.  It never deterred my excitement.  I only worried that my reaction wouldn't be good enough to hide my secret.

To this day, I can't stand waiting to see what I am getting for Christmas.  It's just too much suspense, for me. I will even go out and buy my presents and hand them to the hubs to wrap.  It's all good. I get what I want and I am still excited to open the gift.

So when Julie from redheadcandecorate suggested we do a bloggy secret Santa, I hesitated. For sure I would not know what I was getting this time. But I only hesitated for a second. Then I thought, "While I do not like to be surprised. I sure do love surprising other people. Let's do this!"

Supplies

Wooden Tags (from Hobby Lobby)

Chalkboard Paint

Chalk

Thin jewelry wire (from Joann's Fabrics)

Step 1: Lightly sand all the tags.

Step 2: Paint with chalkboard paint, two coats both sides.  I put two tooth picks wrapped with a twist tie through the hole to hold it in place.

Step 3: Thread jewelry wire through hole.

Step 4: Wrap them beautiful.

Voila...chalkboard gift tags.  And I got to send them to Kimberly over at Serendipity Refined. Can I say, she is a doll. We have so much in common. This was a fabulous way to get to know someone new!

Want to see what I got from my secret Santa, Cheri? Head on over to It's So Very Cheri. I love it! It was one surprise that I couldn't wait to open!


Happy Gifting!

{Trina}

PS...I made a few Miner adjustments to this project. I kept a few tags for myself.  Don't worry. It's not a secret. I already told Kimberly. Wait until you see what I did with them!

The Wicked Elf of the North

The Wizard of OZ. What is not to love?

Yellow Brick Road...love
Glinda the Good Witch...love
Dorothy's ruby red slippers...where can I get me a pair?

To this day, my mom can't understand why the monkeys didn't scare me to tears.

I don't know either.They just didn't.

That witch though. I did not care for her.

via

Our elf, Cookie Crumb McDoodle, thinks he is so clever or creepy.

"I'll get you my pretty. And your little dog too."

Do you see the resemblance?

I don't think that is creepy. Not one bit.

How about you?

{Trina}

A Hand Chalked Christmas Mantel and a Joke

Ellen stole my joke.  

Yep, that Ellen. The one and only.

Back when Hilary Clinton was trying to get a Presidential nomination (circa 2007), I made a joke to my family that maybe it would be good to have women run the world because then there wouldn't be any war. 

We would all just hold grudges and not speak to one another.