This post is looooong overdue.  A few months ago, I received huge box of goodies from Elmer’s and X-acto as a part of the Elmer’s Craft & Tell campaign.  It was an awesome project to be a part of, because it was all about bringing people together to make something by hand.  It’s sort of the old idea of the quilting circle.  I gathered together some girls from our youth group to make Christmas cards (I told you this was long over due!)  Elmer’s and X-acto provided all of the markers, glue, cutting mats, scissors, glue spots, etc. and I brought paint, glitter, scrap book paper and other embellishments to make the cards pretty.   …and we crafted, made a big mess and had a great time.     (Most of the girls were camera shy, so I just have pictures of them working on their projects.)     Each of

A couple of months ago, I shared about a great contest, the Ikea Rescue Remodel. Ikea is partnering with The Family Handyman to give a $25,000 kitchen renovation to a deserving firehouse.  The nominees are in and now it’s time to vote! The nominated firehouses are Redondo Beach Fire Station #1, Palos Fire Protection District #1, Sheridan Fire District, Yonkers Engine Co. 306 and FDNY Squad 61.  Please take a minute to visit here and vote! Disclaimer: I have been paid to post about this event, but I think it’s an excellent contest and a small way we can say thanks to the men and women who serve our communities.  All opinions are my own.

A few days ago, I was asked by my publisher to make a promotional video about my book, so I got all gussied up with my red lipstick again yesterday and put something on film.  I thought it would be fun to share some of my “bloopers” with you.  I warn you, there is a lot of hair-tossing. I love the thumbnail for this video. You can totally see my “Doh!” expression.  I hope you have a good giggle. I’ve been painting a beast of a china cabinet today for the book and I love how it’s turning out.  I’ll show you some sneak peeks over the next couple of days.

First of all, thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments yesterday.  I knew I wasn’t alone in the constant struggle for contentment. Last week I went to Lucketts to have some pictures taken of myself for the book, my blog and promotional purposes.  It’s pretty funny that I didn’t post my picture for the first year of blogging, but I finally got over the fear of having my picture on the Internet.  There are times when you just need to take the plunge.  So, here are a few of my favorites… All of these pictures were taken by the amazing Jody McKitrick.         My two main requests of Jody were to capture my personality and to bring out my eyes and she did both amazingly well.  Posing was a little awkward at first, but I was soon tossing my hair and batting my eyes like a

Today I was working on a chapter in my book about contentment and it was a bit of a wake up call for me.   I always felt like writing a book, a for-real published and sold in bookstores book, wasn’t really an attainable goal, but here I am doing it.  It’s something God brought to me as a tremendous blessing and a way for me to share His love with others through my love of all things home.  It’s an honor and a dream come true.  As I’ve been working intensely on the writing, though, I’ve had to neglect my blog.  As I’ve watched my numbers slip and my ranking fall, I found myself a little down about it.  I’m now realizing that those numbers have been way too important to me.  My worth isn’t found in my blog ranking or the number of hits I get.  Worrying about those things is only going to rob me of the

We had a perfect snow fall this afternoon here in Pennsylvania.   Mini took my youngest son out to make a snowman he named “Dog.”  I guess kind of like the bounty hunter.  Although he’s never seen that show.  Neither have I.  Anyway, I was able to snap a picture of the slightly camera shy Mini…     Isn’t she just adorable? I spent most of the day writing, but I did get a big pile together to take to Lucketts tomorrow.  I have to say that it was kind of nice to price some pieces and pile them in my van again.  It’s been quite a while.     I’ll be bringing a few seltzer bottles…     …some things from around my home and some odds and ends from photo shoots.     Aside from putting a few new things in my space at Lucketts, I’m going to do