Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights

Thanksgiving was a lovely day. After eating dinner, McHubby and I took our youngest son and his girlfriend to Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights. Meadowlark is a botanical garden and the light show winds through the trails. Even thought the night was a chilly one, we enjoyed the show. A huge fire pit greeted us at the end.

Here are some of our highlights (photographing lights at night is challenging):

 

What are you doing to experience some holiday magic?

Amy

 

A Little Christmas at Rust Manor House

McHubby enjoys keeping busy. I enjoy him being happy. Sometimes his projects allow me to charge up my creative juices and experience some joy of my own. Hopefully, we are working on one of those projects now.

This fall, McHubby has been working to develop an events business for his old employer. Rust Manor House is a beautiful old house that has hosted weddings in the past, but has been primarily an office and education location for the Audubon Naturalist Society. McHubby’s old employer is negotiating with Audubon to reinvigorate the events business.

Lucky me, McHubby asked me to guide him in sprucing up the interiors. I’ll get to try on interior decorating for a client as a potential career direction. I’m looking forward to the work and have lots of plans. Until the legal work is finalized, we are on hold. Although I did decorate for the November Board Meeting with buffet dinner.

Here are a few pictures from the foyer/buffet space:

A nature inspired winter decoration.

Lighted branches with greenery and white floral accessories.

A few greenery picks from Michael’s up the stair railing.

The bird house centerpiece was created with pine branches and a cherry tree limb that were toppled during Superstorm Sandy. I bought an unfinished birdhouse at Michael’s painting it and adorning it with faux snow, glitter and pine cone pieces. The berry vine and the bird with the nest were from Michael’s. I made the sign hanging from the branch using scrap wood, white paint and black vinyl cut with my Silhouette Cameo.

I hope you like the few touches I added for the festivities. I’ll show more decor when we are able to get up and running.

How are your holidays going so far?

Amy

 

 

Gold/Silver Friends

As the old Girl Scout song goes, friends are treasure with some new and some old. Recently, I got to spend an evening with one of my gold friends. Liz and I became friends back in high school. She was one of my bridesmaids and has always made an effort to maintain our friendship over the past 30 plus years. She is definitely a golden treasure.

We met in Leesburg, had a bite at Donner Bistro and finished with a beer at MacDowell Brew Kitchen. While facebook and e-mail are a great way to stay in touch, talking face to face is no comparison. Catching up was fun and relaxing.

Amy and Liz today

McHubby, Liz and I almost 30 years ago

 

Thanks Liz for being a good (gold) friend. To my dear readers, may I suggest connecting with some of your old friends this week? Let me know how it went.

Amy

Thursday’s Thought #1

 

A thought for all those who share my perfectionist tendencies.

Amy

Tasty Tuesday: Rachel Ray with Sunny Anderson

On today’s episode of the Rachel Ray show, Sunny Anderson demonstrated five dessert recipes that take no time to make and serve two people. Each recipe is assembled in a mug and cooked in the microwave. Fun and tasty! She made NOLA Bread Pudding, Pineapple Right Side Up Cake, Apple and Raisin Crisp, Funky Chunky Monkey Stack, and Chocolate Molten Surprise Cake.

 

Molten Chocolate Surprise Cake (on plates with raspberries)

Funky Chunky Monkey Stacks

Pineapple Right Side Up Cake

NOLA Bread Pudding (second from the left)

Apple Raisin Crisp (in mugs)

Click on the picture to go to the Rachel Ray Show page with the recipe.

Amy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fashion Focus Monday: The All White Trend

One of the trends this fall is an all white outfit finally putting to rest the old rule that white is taboo after Labor Day.

Here is an outfit that I put together from White House Black Market.

Quilted Sweater Jacket $108

White Scoop Neck Tee $30

White Cords $78

White Desert Boot

 

OR

Pair the Quilted Sweater Jacket with this dress:

Ponte Sheath Dress $150

White Boots $55

 

 

Equestrian Link Necklace Michael Kors $125

Winter White works really well with the Type 4 guidelines from Dressing Your Truth. Although every type has its color white.

So, do you think you could wear an all white outfit this fall?

By the way, today is the last day for the Dressing Your Truth Spread the Love deal: $99 and $20 gift certificate. Here is the coupon link: Spread the Love

Amy

Tasty Tuesday: Corn Muffins

Around the woods near Skyline Drive, the weather has been cooler and much, much wetter. Tonight’s tasty dinner was warm, cozy Chili and Cornbread Muffins for Two.

Corn muffins for two, a perfect compliment to Chili

Corn Muffins for Two

1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 cup flour

1/8 cup sugar or stevia

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

1/8 cup corn

1/8 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Mix oil, egg, and milk together. Add dry ingredients, corn and cheese. Mix until well combined. Scoop batter into greased or lined  regular-sized muffin tin. Bake for 15 minutes. Makes 5 muffins.

Corn muffin

What are your fall comfort foods?

Amy

Fashion Focus Monday: Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

Can a girl ever have too many shoes? Probably, however, I don’t see anything wrong with having  a lot of shoes. Plus, I’m not talking about Manolo Blahniks. I usually buy my shoes at Ross, Kohls, Target and Marshall’s preferably clearance priced. Well, not all my shoes fit into the guidelines for a Type 4- Bold, Striking Woman in the Dressing Your Truth system. Those guidelines include pointed or squares toes, zebra prints and saturated hues including black, white and navy.

My choices…buy all new shoes or refashion the old ones. I chose to refashion the ones that I could. I used spray paint for some and acrylic paint for others.

Before

After

Before

After

The following don’t have before pictures.

Shiny Black shoes started as dull yellowy silver.

Shiny black booties started out grayish brown.

Brown ballet flats became red with spray paint.

The new collection:

Refashioned shoes

I’m pretty happy with the way these turned out. Granted, I can’t change the toe shape, but you do the best you can. Have you ever refashioned your shoes? I’m wondering if duct/duck tape might work.

Amy

Linked to:

Finding Home: Spray Paint Link Party

It All Started With Paint: Spray Paint Link Party

Thistlewood Farm: Spray Paint Link Party

Top This Top That: Spray Paint Link Party

Fashion Focus Monday: A little late, but still time to change

Before DYT, but dressing more as a Type 1

As I mentioned last Monday, I signed up for the Dressing Your Truth (DYT) program back in August. When you make your purchase, you immediately gain entrance to the member’s area where you find the DYT video course, online store and a multitude of video resources. You also receive the Dressing Your Truth book by download and in the mail.

I went through all the course work and decided that I was Type 1- the bright, animated woman. I based this on my tendency to have lots of ideas especially to the point of overwhelm. I also thought that my facial features showed more circles, such as my checks and eyes. See last Monday’s post (here) for more information.

At the end of the 30 day program, I saw an invitation on Facebook from Carol Tuttle, the developer of Dressing Your Truth. She said that she was in Washington, D.C. and would be holding a Meet and Greet at her hotel. I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass. So the next day McHubby and I took the trek into the city.

Carol Tuttle Meet and Greet

Chatting with Carol Tuttle

Six other women were at the Meet and Greet. Each was in various stages of learning about the DYT principles from beginner to one year in to it. Carol was a warm and wonderful as she is in her videos. I jumped up right away and gave her a big hug. I was really trying to let my more extroverted side shine along with the clothing and jewelry. Right off the bat, Carol asked if I was willing to receive feedback. “Heck, yes!” I said.

Well, I had my type all wrong. I am actually a Type 4- the bold, striking woman. More accurately, my dominant type is 4 while my secondary is Type 1. While we have all four types within us; one is usually expressed more strongly. My mind was reeling. I had spent an entire month studying as hard as I could to understand being a Type 1, but now I had to unlearn that information and learn all about being a Type 4.

I went from wearing tints and lots of shiny gold jewelry, honoring my curly hair and light colored makeup to wearing hues and little jewelry which was now shiny silver or icy looking. My hair color needed to be a deep saturated color in a sleek shiny style. My neutrals now became black and white. (All other types get rid of black.) Thank goodness I was able to pull all the black clothing out of the bag before they were donated.

I’m starting to get the hang of dressing for my type now a week and a half into the type change. I am actually grateful to have had the opportunity to learn about my secondary type first. I think I probably would have ignored my secondary type needs. This way I can incorporate some of the Type 1 into my dressing and my day. At least this is the way I decided to handle it after several days of stress over being put back into the serious box (my term). I really was enjoying giving myself the chance to be happy, goofy and light-hearted.

Dressing my Type 4/1 truth new hair color and all

Definitely, this is an interesting journey. The biggest point of the program is that when your inner self matches your outer self then your beauty shines. In addition, everyone you come in contact with gets a clear picture of who you are without any confusion. In other words, you are one harmonious package.

I will note that wearing the bolder makeup does help my features looking softer. When I catch my reflection in a mirror or window, I don’t look like I’m scowling. Before my strong eyebrows and cheekbones stood out more and really did give me a harsh look. I had no idea a change in makeup could make this difference.

I’ve been working on making my shoes Type 4 appropriate and will showcase them next week.

Amy

Wednesday Crafts-day: Glass Pedestal

Have you ever bought something thinking it would work perfectly, but the reality just didn’t live up to the promise. Okay…I’m not talking politics. I want to talk  in particular bathroom organization. When we built our house, I thought our bathroom was huge. It is a nice size, don’t get me wrong, but the builder grade cabinetry is challenging to create usable storage for makeup, jewelry and hair necessities. I’d seen some bathroom organizers on blogs, but couldn’t find anything in the stores that would work in my bathroom.

Then, I had a brainstorm. I could make something out of plates and candlesticks from the Dollar Store. Even better, I spied a glass lazy Susan in my pantry that I hadn’t used in a while. After a trip to the Dollar Store and my china cabinet, I had all my pieces.

Glass plate which I previously bought for $1 at Walmart

Lazy Susan found in pantry 

Votive holder from Dollar Store

Bud vase from china cabinet

Candlesticks from the Dollar Store

5 Minute Epoxy from Home Depot

1. After gathering all supplies, clean with glass cleaner.
2. Stack pieces with the largest on the bottom and the smallest at the top. Arrange candlesticks in pleasing manner.
3. Once you like the composition, mix the 5 Minute Epoxy.
4. Apply epoxy to the bottom of the candlestick.
5. Place on Lazy Susan in the center.
6. Apply epoxy to the top of candlestick.
7. Place  plate centered on top of candlestick.
8. Repeat with next candlestick on plate and votive holder.
9. Apply epoxy to bottom of bud vase and place on middle of votive holder.
10. Allow to epoxy to set.

Finished glass organizer pedestal

I’m still in the process of finding some small glass bowls to corral makeup brushes and other small assorted items. I’ll post a picture of the pedestal in action once I’ve got it organized.

What solutions have you developed for your bathrooms?

Amy

Linking Up with:

Tuesday’s Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Tweak It Tuesday at The Cozy Little House

SNS 153 at Funky Junk Interiors