Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn 2010

		Festival of Lights 2010 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

As 2010 comes to an end, I want to share with you a few pictures DH took a couple weeks ago when we visited the Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA.  This was our first time ever at this famous event, although we’ve lived in Riverside County for 14 years!

I think DH took some great pictures, but you really need to be there to really experience the excitement and joy of this spectacular event.

With more than three and a half million twinkling lights, the Riverside Festival of Lights presented by the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa is the most dazzling outdoor holiday light spectacle south of the North Pole.

We spent several hours just walking around and marveling at all the wonderful holiday decorations and thousands of lights, not to mention the carriage rides and even reindeers! 

The event began the Friday after Thanksgiving and ends Sunday, January 2; and if you missed it, not to worry … there’s always next year!  For more info, click here.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year’s eve as we say farewell to the first decade of the millennium …

MERRY CHRISTMAS … From Our Family to Yours

A Sunny Christmas

Every year at Christmas time
There's not a sign of snow.
Instead we spend our yuletide days
In the sun's warm cheery glow.

We have the best of Christmas things,
The lights, the gifts, the bells,
(And "snowbirds" who arrive en masse
To fill our beach hotels.)

The glorious weather fits right in
With our happy Christmas mood,
And we can also walk and run
Without having to be snowshoed.

So don't feel bad for your California friends
Who have no snow or ice.
We think our sunny Christmas here
Is a holiday paradise!

By Joanna Fuchs

Fall Colors and A Nature Walk

I just love the colors of fall!  The reds, browns, and greens are my favorite.  This picture was taken in front of my house looking down the street.  Who says we don’t have seasons in So. California?

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DH bought himself a new toy, a Canon Rebel; and ever since, he has been taking pictures galore!  He’s still learning how to use it, but I think he’s doing pretty good so far.  What do you think?

Forest Falls VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Click on the picture collage to view all pictures

This past Sunday we went to Forest Falls and Big Bear in San Bernardino County.  It was so beautiful and peaceful, and a welcome change from the hustle & bustle of the holidays. I’d like to share some pictures and short video with you.  Please relax and enjoy!

Forest Falls 2010

Shutterfly FREE Photo Cards … Ends Today!

Have you ever used Shutterfly?  I have heard wonderful things about them, but haven’t had a chance to try them out yet.   Well, today is my lucky day because they are giving bloggers 50 FREE photo cards just for sharing about their site!  But HURRY because promotion ends TODAY 12/10!

Here are some of the Christmas photo cards that are available (out of 382 options!)

Love the collage prints they have!  These are perfect for families with growing kids to capture shots from throughout the year in one card!

I also love the full photo cards they have.  Perfect for the recipient to leave on their fridge year round!

Some of their cards are so unique!  You are not going to find a photo card at Wal-mart that looks like this!

These are great for outdoor scenes.  Hubby and I are going to the mountains this weekend; and if we get any great pics, I would use this card!  It’d be perfect!

They also have beautiful calendars …

and great birthday invitations … Isn’t this one adorable!

Looking for an awesome personalized gift for your child?  Check out the customizable Center Stage books – you take a picture of your child and they plug it in throughout the book! 

So check them out today!  You might just find a great card idea or a calendar you can make for someone on your list.

Thanks, Shutterfly, for the great promotion!

Marbleous Ornaments with Acrylic Paints

Is it true that Christmas is just about 2 weeks away? Yikes!  Now that my kids are older and in college, I decided everyone is getting gift cards.  The grandkids are out of state and it’s easier for me to send them gift cards than to try to figure out their sizes or current passion.  That means not much shopping to do, so I continue to work on my decorating projects.  I’ve accepted the fact that this will be on-going until the end of the month! 

Here’s a project I just finished.  Although it’s not quilt related, it was fun and easy to make so I thought I’d share it with you.

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It’s hard to believe that these beautiful ornaments are so very easy to create … and inexpensive!  A few years ago, I made several to give as gifts to co-workers and everyone loved them!

Just pour acrylic paints into clear ornaments and swirl away.  Once you pour the paints into the bulb, you can shake it for quick coverage.  But I like how the paints blend and marbleize over time, so I rotate the ornament every few hours over a day.   The color combinations are endless and every ornament is unique.

Just add ribbon and … voila!  A beautiful gift that won’t break the budget.

My book club is having its annual holiday party this Saturday, and these are perfect for our gift exchange. 

I kept the packaging simple and I already had most of the items on hand, so my 2010 costs for 10 gifts were minimal … $4.00!  Can’t beat that!  For a free tutorial, click here.

Merry Christmas … Happy Holidays to all!

Holiday Decorations … Christmas Tree & Mantel Work-In-Progress

Now that the Thanksgiving Holiday is over, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas … I know some folks started their holiday shopping and decorating before Thanksgiving.

We put up our Christmas tree this past Tuesday, and I can’t believe I had it up before December … a first for me!  Over the past several years, I have accumulated so many Christmas decorations; and I have tons of bins and boxes.  When I was working, I never bothered to go through each container.  I grabbed what was at hand and just bought what I needed. 

Now that I’m retired, I decided to take ALL the boxes down and go through each and every one of them!  I’m keeping things simpler this year and have decided to downsize my collection of decorations. 

The family room is where I started and you can see that my tree is up and I may still add some finishing touches.  My mantel is also a work-in-progress, but I do want to share my most recent Christmas décor thrifty finds.

I found this pair of hurricane candle holders at the GW at $5.99 for the pair.  I just added a $1 candle to each … voila!  I also found the pair of moss-covered reindeer at the GW …  I just love them!  The brass stocking hangers were a GW find several years ago.

I took a picture with the lights out because I love how the tree looks with all the pretty lights and now I have the two lighted candles.  I wish it would get COLD so I can light the fireplace … how pretty would that be?

The good, the bad … and now the ugly!  I was working on the mantel and just about to put my collection of Santa's on the hearth, when I discovered a very dirty fireplace.   Grrrr!  Now I have to clean that out before I can continue …  I’ll post more pictures once I’m finished.

Here’s a picture of the tree in my family room.  It’s very simple with all red glass ornaments, but it is decorated with many special trims that the kids made and my collection of Hallmark ornaments.  That’s a media niche where I’ll eventually put my Nativity scene.

A parade of some of my favorite ornaments ~ BTW, most all of my Hallmark ornaments are from either the thrift store or garage sales:

Animated Bambi Musical Ornament

Patriotic World Peace Ornament

Raggedy Ann and Andy

Mr. Monopoly ~ We love to play!

I love Maxine!  Push the cash register drawer and you’ll hear one of several Maxine-isms

I Love Lucy ~  Yes, we do!  We watch reruns everyday!

I love coffee!  My daughter and I have shared special moments over cups of Starbucks.  She gifted me this Starbucks ornament.

A Jim Shore Santa from BFF Brenda

The Lion King is one of my all-time favorites

Coca Cola Santa ~ 1 of 3

A trio of Santas

The lovable Mickey Mouse

I’ve started working on the Christmas tree in the living room, and I’ll also be putting up a small tabletop tree in the upstairs family room. I haven’t even started with the outside!  It’ll be Christmas by the time I finish!  Did I say I was keeping things simpler this year?

Be sure to come back because I’ll be posting about the quilty treasures I found at the Salvation Army yesterday at unbelievable prices!

A Furry Visitor and Overnight Guest

A couple days ago we had an unexpected guest ~ meet “Cat Doe #1” …

Last Tuesday evening, I was in my driveway taking in the groceries from my car when I spotted an “animal” in the middle of street; it appeared to be eating something.  At this point I have to say that I have very bad vision and my eyeglasses need to be updated – which means I couldn’t tell what it was.

“It” was not a dog and “it” appeared to be too big for a household cat.  I continued taking in my groceries, but with a wary eye toward this animal.  At some point, a passing car startled “it” and “it” ran onto the sidewalk two houses away.  This animal looked a little too big, and I started thinking “it” might be a bobcat.  I really began panicking when “it” started sauntering towards me and my little Chihuahua Mimi … I’m thinking its hungry and Mimi looks like a delicious little morsel!  As I was tripping over my bags in a rush to get Mimi, “it” got closer and started meowing.  What a relief when I realized it was just a big tom cat!

He came right up to me and when he let me pick him up, I could tell he was (or had been) someone’s pet.  My suspicions were confirmed when he followed me into my house and quickly made himself at home.  He also did not appear to be malnourished and was not interested in the cat food we offered him.

My three dogs came right away to meet this new guest, and after a few sniffs here and there, quickly lost interest.  On the other hand, my cat Checkers was not very happy at all!!  “Cat Doe” was not fazed by any of it and decided to take the grand tour, visiting every nook and cranny.

I was too busy with dinner and too tired to deal with all of this, so DS#2 and I decided that he would stay until the following morning.  Then we would canvas the neighborhood looking for his owner/s.  As it turns out, we had a busy schedule the following day and didn’t really have the time, so we let him outside and we left to do some shopping.

When we returned a few hours later, “Cat Doe” was nowhere to be found.  We hope he’s returned to his home and anxious family, but part of us keeps hoping he’ll come back.  And, if he does, we’ll be here waiting … for this sweet and lovable guy!