Gift ideas for under $30.

I just purchased this great big book full of all sorts of goodies. It has a lot of wonderful recipes to make or to give as gifts in the unmade form. It has crafts andholiday decor instructions and templates. It even has quotes from famous and not so famous authors. It is a feast for the eyes. I have been looking at it for a month trying to justify buying it. It was $26.95, so not chump change by any means. Well I broke down and bought it and got 10% off. It's something right? Yeah, that's what I kept telling myself, anyway.
I sat down and paged through it yesterday for over an hour. I need to go through it again with a post-it note pad in hand to tag each page I want to use a recipe from or a gift idea.
Okay now for the gifts under $30.So I sat here a few weeks ago trying to comprise a gift list to help with ideas for those on your list. I came up with 3 categories. $10. and under, $20. and under, $30. and under. I figure if you have more than that to spend on one gift, you probably already have something in mind. So here's the list:

Handmade gifts
scarves
childrens dress up trunk/box
baked goods
ornaments
decoupaged glass plate
jewelry
pottery


Gifts under $10
throws (TJ Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, Ollies,etc.)
candles
ornaments
manicure set
slippers
tea towels
stationary set
mug with cocoa and marshmallows
keepsake box
compact mirror
paperback book
recipe box
photo frame
photo album
earphones
purse sized perfume
tea and teacup
socks
poinsetta
locker items
address book
house plant
business card holder
address book
a canvas
travel clock
luggage tags
book light
deck of cards
tally sheets
puzzle
crossword puzzle book
sudoku book
eye glass case
recipe cards
recipe box
body spray
scented lotion
movie ticket booklet
fast food booklet

Gifts under $20
wallet
scarf
gloves
serving dishes
fashion jewelry
pjs
belt
books
DVD
CD
clock
desk set
digital camera bag
bottle of wine
table runner
teapot
gift card
towel sets
tool sets
apron
barbecue utensils
recipe book
phone
cell phone cover
gardening tools
hair clippers
blow dryer
curling iron
hair straightener
pen/pencil set
easel
art supplies
universal remote
mixing bowls
desk lamp
board game
volleyball/badminton set
camping supplies
cooking utensils
pot or pan

Gifts under $30
perfume/cologne (TJ Maxx)
sheet sets
glassware sets
pot or pan
wine rack
gift card
tool sets
toolbox
clippers
laptop case
day planner
sports/gym bag
coffee maker
toaster
crock pot
bocce ball set
These are just ideas to get you going on a train of thought. I can think of great gift basket ideas too but I'll save that for tomorrows post.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Yes, I created some place cards even though there were only 5 of us.
I cut the cards our of cardstock and folded them in half, the I stamped the corners with one of my favorite ink pads.

I wrote the name of the person on each one and on the inside I jotted a note of why I was thankful for them. I enjoyed doing that very much and they enjoyed reading them.
I was up at 7am to prep the Roasted Turkey Marsala. It was in the oven at 7:35a.

Mmm... Look at that beauty. It was delicious!
Our table.
My daughter and Dudley, one of my mom's pups. He was kissing her goodbye.
and Moi after a successful Thanksgiving dinner with family. What could be better?! We are blessed.

Christmas Classics

One of these movies is sure to put you in the mood for Christmas. These are some of the classics that we really enjoy watching with the family. Do you know of any other good ones that I may have missed? Please do share. I like to have one on while I write out my Christmas cards. That is if I am not listening to a holiday cd.

Thank You!

Thank you dear blog friends for reading my blog. Thank you for leaving me blog love through your comments. I truly appreciate you taking the time to do that. Thank you for inspiring me through your own blogs and artwork. I am so glad to have met so many wonderful ladies whom are kindred spirits. What a wonderful way to be able to express ourselves and connect with others.
I am thankful for the internet and being able to make friends from all over the US and other countries. How fantastic! I am thankful for modern technology even though I am not as adept as my kids are.
I am thankful for YOU. I am thankful for your time.
I will be having a giveaway next week so be sure to check back.

Peparing your Thanksgiving table

If you want a fun new way to fold your napkins to make them look oh so chic, then you need to click on this awesome link here with complete instructions and photos for 27 different folding options. Who knew there were that many! This is the one I use most frequently but it is so cimple and not super impressive.

Below is the formal American Table Setting.Europeans serve salad after themain course and therefore the salad fork would be at position 4.1. Napkin, 2. Fish Fork, 3. Salad Fork, 4. Dinner/Main Course Fork, 5. Soup Bowl & Plate, 6.Dinner Plate, 7. Dinner Knife, 8. Fish Knife, 9.Soup Spoon, 10. Bread & Butter Plate, 11. Butter Knife, 12. Dessert Spoon and Cake Fork, 13. Water Goblet, 14. Red Wine Goblet, 15. White Wine Goblet
Place cards are very nice when having more than your immediate family for dinner. A tiny pumpkin with a slit cut into it would be cute. Just place a pice of Cardstock cut with fun scrapbooking scissors and hand write the name on the card with a caligraphy pen or simply a gel pen or sharpie. Or another idea wuld be to cut a rectangular pce of cardtock out and fold in half then cut the bottoms with scrapbooking scissors and then embellish with embossing or hand writing te names or stamping them and a design.

I like to tie a small sheaf of wheat or small fall wreaths with a bow that hangs from the back of each chair. I usually tie it with either a thick fancy ribbon, raffia or gold colored tulle.

So that is enough for one post. Have you dozed off yet?

After Thanksgiving Day Madness, I Mean Shopping

Maybe you're looking for a new camcorder...

or a new tv

or maybe the latest digital camera

Well after you have indulged yourself in all of the Thanksgiving goodness and being rolled away from the table, you might start your gameplan and map for the day after Thanksgiving Sales. Here is a link I found that lists the latest ads for Black Friday: http://www.theblackfriday.com/

Do you know where that term Black Firday originated? I am told it is the first day of the year to put retailers in the black. Can you imagine? Wow, the end of November? Shwew. So, there you have it. Can't say I never taught ya' nothin'. ;D

I always have to be to work at 7 am on that day and never get to take advantage of those great sales. Not sure that I could stand in line for hours anyway unless they were practically giving away say a new car or something of that nature.

If you, like me, are not into all of the craziness and you are looking for something other than electronics, try etsy. It is a wonderful website featuring a gazillion sellers of handmade and vintage items, from all over the world. Seriously, you can find everything from vintage kitch to lamps made out of toasters. They have categories for everything but the kitchen sink. Check it out. I bet you get addicted and lose 2 hours of your day or night in the blink of an eye. I know I get sucked in all the time. It's a great place to get handmade, one-of-a-kind items, especially for those hard to shop for people on your lists. ayiyiyi...we all have at least one of them.

Happy hunting!

Spreading Cheer

Suzanne, better known as Colorado Lady is spreading Christmas Cheer. She is giving away a boat load of goodies over the next 5 weeks. She has a posting with all of the goodies for week one listed. I'm sharing this with you all in hopes that it brings me extra good luck/karma or wahtever I need to be the winner.. lol Go see for yourself. It looks like this first giveaway is the perfect winter evening. Good Luck!

The Luna Award

I am thankful for all of my blogging friends and the ones I have yet to meet. It is so wonderful to be able to converse with other kndred spirits from all over.

Ah, sweet sweet Sharon over at Mana Moon Studios has blessed me with this kind Luna Award for spreading hope & inspiration. Thank you, Sharon! She is an inspiration herself. You have to check out her gorgeous jewelry! As a matter of fact she has submitted a piece to the Stringing Magazine and could use your help getting votes to be featured in one of the upcoming issues. If you go to this page and click the right arrow to the last page you will see her piece which is #42. Just click vote now, put that #42 in and enter your email. They will only use it to email you who won. I'm telling you her work is amazing!

The essence of the award is that it is passed on to seven people whose blogs fill you with Hope and Inspiration. Each of these ladies have inspired me in one way or another, whether through their strength of character , posts, artwork or all three. My selections are in no particular order.

Grams or better known as Janis Zettel
Lindsay-Ann of Cross-Stitch House
Elizabeth of EBogie
Alice of Romantic Thoughts
Sherry of Esprit D'Art
Firfly of Firefly Hill Style
Brandy of Brandywine Boutique

I've been tagged twice this evening...Here goes

I have been tagged by the lovely Rita so here are the rules. Mention and link to the person that tagged you. List 8 things about yourself. Leave a comment when you're done posting and tag 8 others. OK. Here goes!!

1. I can flare my nostrils. lol Mom used to tell me that I should've joined the circus.
2. I wear a size 9-1/2 or 10 shoe. Mom used to tell me I could ski on these feet of mine.
3. I played soccer and softball in elementary school.
4. I went to 16 different schools before I graduated from high school.
5. I would love to write a book one day but I cannot stay focused on one thing for that length of time.
6. I cannot wait until our daughter graduates next year so we can move to a nicer climate.
7. I can pick up things with my toes. Mom said I was part monkey. It's no wonder I had an inferiority complex as a kid,between her and the nuns, sheesh.
8. I doodle whenever I am on the phone.

Well that's it. Here are the 8 people that I'm tagging. Now I know that we are all extremely busy so I won't be offended if you aren't able to participate at the moment. Check out their great blogs too!!

Jackie of Fat Jak Originals
Sherry of Esprit d'Art
Joy of Joy to the Blog
Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist
Twyla and Lindsey of Two Crazy Crafters
Jennifer of Red Books and Chairs
Niki of Nostalgia at the Stonehouse
Sandy of Sandy's Creations

Okay, the second tagging rules are:

1. Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird BOOK facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The sweet Lindsay-Ann tagged me tonight, for this one, so here goes.

Here are my 7 book facts:

1. When I was 11 and 12 I spent my babysitting money on Harlequin Romances for teens.

2. I love visiting the children's book section in Barnes and Noble to look at the illustrations of the new books. I like to see what types of books are being written now.

3. I loved the Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher so much that I then read everything she had written.

4. Every Christmas as a child I loved reading Twas the Night before Christmas.

5. The book store is like a candy store to me. I would love to have a library in my home.

6. I am saving some special childrens books fom my children in hopes of sharing them with my grandchildren, one day. I hope to spark their interest in reading at an early age, as I did with my children.

7. I loved going to the library in elementary school and listening to the librarian read to us and show us the black and white pictures. I'll never forget in 3rd grade that the librarian read "How to eat Fried Worms" by Thomas Rockwell and being so grossed out but anticipating the next page.

Shwew, hope you are still with me. Here are the 7 people I am choosing to tag:
Jennifer of The Old Painted Cottage
Heather of The Speckled Egg
Susie of Susie Harris
Jessi of Scrappy Jessi
Susan of Ilka's Attic
Rhonda of Scooterblu's Whimsy
Elizabeth of Bluebirds and Bubbles

Okay, now I am off to comment on all of these 15 blogs. I can't wait to read them.


The images in this post were brought to you via The Graphics Fairy. Thank you!

I am thankful...for...

Meandering paths. The pathways in life that keep us guessing and wandering forward.

Color...The colors of nature and all that surrounds us. Color creates a mood.

Magazines... that inspire the best in all of us.

Books... for the escape they provide and the knowledge that they hold.

Freedom...for the freedom we have in this country. The freedom to learn, the freedom to worship, the freedom to speak, and the brave men and women keeping our country safe.

Friendships, because without them life would be lonely.

Friends are the sunshine of life." -- John Hay (1871

My husband & my mother, their love for me is unconditional & their support is great .

"Love me without fear.

Trust me without wondering.

Love me without restrictions.

Want me without demand.

Accept me how I am.

A love like that, will be eternal!"

~Author Unknown

Palm trees and their wonderful fronds that protect you from the sun and sway in the breeze.

The beach and the solitude it brings. The sounds of the waves, seagulls and the laughter of children.

My goofy kids as seen here on the left and middle with their uncle on the right. I love the joy they bring to my heart.

Flowers whether they be wild or not. Flowers = happiness

Herbs like this gorgeous onion planted in my garden. It's fruit may be smelly but yummy and it's flower lovely.

ART and birds. Birds = freedom and soaring/Art= freedom to express ourselves

Sunrises because with each sunrise comes a day of new beginnings.

Rainbows, because it means there is one after every storm. “Life is like a rainbow: You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.”

"If I could catch a rainbow I would do it just for you and share with you its beauty on the days you're feeling blue." Sandra Lewis Pringle, from If I Could Catch A Rainbow

These were not listed in any particular order. I hope you have lots to be thankful for, too.