Ralph Lauren Christmas

So sorry I haven't had any words to share. Losing our sweet furbaby has put me at a lost. We had such joy with the return of our cat only to loose our dog a couple of days later.

We are trying to get ready for Christmas. The joy of Christmas is knowing that no matter what, it comes with all the glory and joy of our savior. Christmas IS sooo much more!

So back to my post...

When I was in NYC I got the chance to visit the Ralph Lauren Flagship stores.  I wanted to share this with you.

This is the beautiful scroll work in the entrance.

The gorgeous windows are like no others. Love this mirror!

When I entered the store I was greeted by a salesman that was so helpful. He brought me some water with ice in a glass. I wanted to take pictures but no pictures allowed in the stores. He did give me these beautiful books to show you.

One of the things I loved in the Women's store was the staircase. I took some pictures of the book pages so you can get a glimpse.

There were so many floors to shop on. My favorite was the home floor.

He had the women's store, the men's store across the street and the children's store next to the womens.

This was the women's store.

The men's store inside

The childrens store

I had a blast shopping there! Love Madison Avenue!

Hated the walk though! I think I walked 52 blocks that day UGH!

Hope you enjoyed the glimpse in the world of Ralph Lauren. I did! No one I have ever met can design and decorate as classy as he.

Merry Christmas to all my followers and visitors! May the New Year bring joy and peace///1

A Christmas Surprise

It has been a hard week around here.  Sometimes it is hard to find joy in things when there is such sadness.

But today we got a little joy.....

Several months ago my daughter moved in with my son when she started working closer to his house. The travel to and from work was easier. When she moved there she brought her cat Zoe to live with them.

Zoe was a cat she saved when she was a little girl. She found the stray in the back of the sign shop where I worked. She was a flea infested kitten that wanted love. We took her to the vet and they gave her her shots, got rid of the fleas, and spayed her. With her father's approval, the cat became hers.

Zoe lived with us for 10 years before she moved to the other side of town. One day in July, my daughter left for work and when she came home the cat was gone. The door was left open and she got out and ran away. My daughter was crushed. She cried for weeks. To make it worse it was my daughter's birthday.

Funny even when they are older a mother still wants to comfort their child. I told her, after several weeks, that maybe someone found her and took her in. I couldn't imagine the worse.

Since then, my daughter moved back home.

Today my son called to say he wanted to bring over her Christmas gift early. She was excited because she had been home sick for a couple of days. I was suspicious. I was hoping it wasn't anything with fur. I told him I was done with getting more animals. Remember I still have the doggies.

So he came in and sat us both down on the couch. Then proceeded to bring in a cat carrier.

Turn it around for her to see......

       I sat thinking .....I guess I am going to have to smack my son.  lol

She let out a gasp and broke into tears....she was sooo surprised. My son stood there so proud of himself.

I was soo happy to see her happy.

Then she said it........ZOE!!!!! WHAT!!! I said, Oh My God! I started to cry! The cat came back to my son's house after 6 months! Her girlfriend grabbed her up and they drove to the house to deliver it.

A very Merry Christmas for us all!!! 

Here is hoping you find some joy in this week and always!

A beautiful Tribute

twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38

when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.

their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.

they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."

when what to their wondering eyes did appear,

but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring

those children all flew into the arms of their King

and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

and as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."

then He looked down on earth, the world far below

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe

then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"

"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"

"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"

then He and the children stood up without a sound.

"come now my children, let me show you around."

excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.

all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

12 Things to do in NYC at Christmas

Going to New York City at Christmas? Well, you are in for a treat! I just recently enjoyed a visit there, I have been many times before at different times of the year, but Christmas time is always the best because the city is dressed in lights and holiday spirit.

There are so many things to do in NYC. You will never get bored. I tried to narrow down some things you would enjoy while you are there.

1. I think one of the best things to see are the magnificent stores that are covered in lights and decorations. The stores are literally wrapped in lights inside and out. It is like being in a winter wonderland.

Shooting in Connecticut

I sit here with my heart breaking as I watch yet another shooting in a school. This horrific act unfolded this morning leaving me saddened with this world I live in. I keep asking myself how something this evil can be around lurking. Killing innocent children. Killing anyone is horrible, but young children, make me sick!

We really need to get a handle on such evil and violence happening in our backyard. When are people going to see that we need to evaluate all of this? I pray. I pray for all these people.

It was just announced that he also killed his mother. Dear God. His mother was a teacher apparently at this school and these children were some of her students.

As I sit in tears, the only thing I can do is pray and ask all of you to hug your children, pray for this world and see what you can do to help change the circumstances we are in to make this world a better place to live in.

 It is a grim day. These children should be celebrating Christmas not going to their friend's funerals.

Please please PRAY! We all need to stick together and pray for this world.

Sorry but this is all I can write today....

Burlap Pillow

Christmas is around the corner! Are you ready? I am not and I have a feeling I won't be as on top of it as I usually am.  I am still trying to keep it simple but when you have a blog you want to keep things fresh too and have projects to show.

Last Christmas I got some great Chocolate covered pretzels from Crate and Barrel. The box was a beautiful laser cut bunch of snowflakes. I loved the box so much I kept it.

Yes, once again I prove I can be a junk collector or in this case trash!

But look at it.... wouldn't you?  Ok don't answer that.

I loved the pretzels....this was a gift that kept on giving. I could reuse it over and over.
I had some leftover burlap and I made a pillowslip. Filled it with a feather insert but it was very plain. It needed a design.

Since I decided on a simple Christmas palette I thought this worked well.

I got some white paint and stenciled the pattern on the pillow and used some letter stencils to write some words.

I love it on the chair near the tree. It is great to find something you can use to create with. I am keeping the pretzel box top. You never know what else will come up in my head. I always said I think outside the box or in this case WITH the box!

Ready for some hot cocoa and....pretzels!

How to make Angel Wings

"Angels we have heard on high"

I love angel wings! They are so popular this year. I have seen them all over trees , walls and dangling from chairs. In an attempt to get rid of some things hanging around, I came up with an out of the box idea.

I have used the ruffle shade for lots of decorating ideas. I had one that got squished from being in bag with other things. Since it hardly cost anything to make I wasn't too upset.

You know how I am! I like being different and doing different.

When I saw the crushed shade, I thought it looked like feathers.
That is how this project started from another one.

Remember my Ruffled Drum Shade?

This is where it all started.

I used the same concept.

I got a mat at the Dollar Store.

and lots of coffee filters....

This time I cut the mat in a shape of wings. The shapes are unlimited though. Think of all the neat things you can do!!

Start filling those holes with your filters. When complete press all the filters down. This is what will give it a feather look.

Just add ribbon to hang on a chair. You can use any color. I like white.
Dangle something in the center and add color or interest.

I think these would look good just hanging on a wall too.

I would add more definition to my wings next time to give them different looks.

What do you think? Angel wings DIY! Would you do it?