Good Book - The Neighbors are Watching

I just finished The Neighbors are Watching by Debra Ginsberg and, whew, was it interesting.  It is the story of a suburban neighborhood that gets turned upside down after a pregnant seventeen year old moves in with the dad she never knew and his wife who can't handle this surprise.  The chapters jump from household to household and each of them has quite a few skeletons in their closets which really make for some shocking revelations.  Eventually the book turns into a murder mystery and so much is revealed.  It was definitely worth the read, especially if you enjoy drama, mystery and reading about people's little hidden secrets.

Giving Thanks

After Thanksgiving ended, we started a gratitude jar in preparation for the Christmas holiday.  My daughter who is nine sometimes forgets how lucky we are when she compares our lives to friends' at school.  So, I put out one of my canning jars that I use as a vase for flowers in the summer and tied a green ribbon around it and placed it on our breakfast bar.  I cut some of her green and red construction paper into strips that are sitting on the counter right by the jar.  We then started individually writing down things we're thankful for and the three of us will read them on Christmas morning after we open our presents from Santa and each other.  I hope that this becomes a tradtion for us and that we all realize how blessed we are even though things aren't perfect in our family. 

I've put big things on my slips of paper but little things as well--those little things are what make up the sweet moments of our lives.  One of the things I put that I am thankful for is "watching Isabella playing outside in the snow for the first time this year."  Even though she was all alone out there, she looked thrilled to be enjoying our first snowfall of the season.  My heart felt so full just watching her explore and play.  I'm looking forward to all three of us reading the slips of paper on Christmas morning. 

New Painting and One Sold

I just posted a new painting on etsy.  It's an inspirational canvas that says "You are Loved."  At my recent art shows people really seemed to be drawn to paintings with sayings on them, so I've been doing more since I love quotes too.   I also sold a painting called "Kaleidoscope" this weekend.  That one was a vase of  deep, textured roses. 

 It really is exciting to get that e-mail from etsy confirming a sale! 

New Painting - Let it Snow

Here's another small holiday/winter painting called "Let it Snow" of some whimsical, glittery snowflakes.  I'm really looking forward to our first snowfall of the year.  Hopefully it will be a white Christmas.  I know, we've still got time till that day comes, but the holidays seem much cozier with a good amount of snow on the ground.  Houses with their outside lights look so much sweeter with snow too.  Let it snow!

New Painting

I just posted my new painting,
"Follow Your Heart" on etsy.  I've been doing a lot smaller paintings than usual and I've been trying to incorporate more words and/or inspiratinal sayings in my work.

Brave Girls

I found this new website called the Brave Girls Club that's quite inspiring and I like this artsy quote one of the bloggers Melody created.  These ladies are positive and have lots of great ideas, so check out their site for some inspiration. 

Christmas is Coming

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and brought with it the stomach flu in our house.  Usually we start our decorating but we're not feeling quite up to it yet physically.  However, as soon as we come alive again, the house will start to be transformed with lots of candles and sparkle.  I love this cozy room and its wooden beams.  Though I love lots of sparkle for Christmas I also love rustic and cozy rooms as well like this one from HGTV.