I've always been a "writer" but I never write anything down. I figured why not keep track of all of my ramblings here since I am electronically connected almost twenty-four hours a day. And believe me there are a lot of ramblings! I have been feeling pretty good lately. It's been a tough year personal wise. We lost a close friend of our family and a dear friend to our daughter to cancer- gawd, I hate that word! Several of our friends have also lost loved ones this year. We've had family move away, became the parents of a teenager (where does time go) and have even discussed moving to another state. All major life changes. Business is good- I work a lot. But happy to be working when so many people aren't. I am thankful every day I get to do a job I love and be in charge of my own destiny. Not to mention wearing my pajamas to work is a bonus. Rue the day if I ever have to go to a "real" office again. So for some reason, even with all of that work I am having some weird nesting instinct. I want to take up crocheting again as I have made it my personal mission to save vintage afghans from thrift stores (because I need something else to collect). I started some home decorating projects I have put off and actually went into my craft room for the first time in years and made a card. Weird, I know.

Here is what last week looked like- besides lots of work, Brian being away in Texas and me holding down the zoo at home. And when I say zoo- I mean zoo. Three cats and three dogs- yikes!
I had house guests for dinner- not once but twice, which for anyone who knows me is truly out of my character! I busted out some of my vintage dish collection including these amazing Jello-O molds.

I had to call my mom for a Jell-O recipe I remembered her making in the '70's because you can't have vintage Jell-O molds without a vintage recipe. She replied, "You don't know how to make Jell-O". Well, of course not- Jell-O and pudding comes made in little plastic cups- you just peel back the foil lid- why would I make Jello-O? And she didn't remember the recipe- weird the stuff you remember from being a kid. She made it every time she had a dinner party. So I figured out the recipe pretty easily.
1 Package of Orange Jell-O (or more depending on your molds)
1 Can of Pineapple Chunks
2 Oranges Cut into Chunks
Make the Jell-O according to the box.Line your dish (this can be made in any glass pan) with the pineapple and oranges. Make sure you drain the juice from the pineapple.

Then pour the Jell-O into your molds and chill.

Even people who normally don't like Jell-O loved it!

I have also been working on some home decor projects. I finally washed all of the quilts I received from our friend who passed and got them displayed where I can see them every day. I should probably take a class on how to fold things properly but this makes me happy!

Then I got all crafty and busted out this card for our friend's parents who are having a tough time. It took ten minutes and who doesn't love a handmade card!

So this weekend I am going to tackle a couple of projects I have been putting off- getting all of my Starburst collection into this vintage modern hutch we found on Craigslist for $100!

And hanging some artwork that we received from our friend's estate. They are the most amazing vintage paint by numbers that were done by her mother. I can't wait to get those up! I'm sure Brian will love his "honey do" list when he gets back from Texas!
I also need to make another card- two in one year, you ask? I know- gasp! And go by and pick out some artwork from our friend who passed away. She was an artist, a quilter, a knitter, you name it- she could do it all! I wish I was half that talented.
We are also getting ready for D's baptism and reception next weekend. She wanted the color scheme to be lavender-not an easy task with all of the bright summer colors out there. Of course she started with bright purple to match the Haunted Mansion but I had to talk her out of that as it didn't seem very baptism-y. Did I mention she dyed purple streaks in her hair?

And of course in the photo she is wearing a Haunted Mansion t-shirt. I love this girl! She is truly my mini-me but smarter, and artsier, and well honestly, does just about everything better than I could ever do!

So I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! I will post pics of all my projects when they are completed. Let's see if I get it all done!