Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 6

Clearly.....watching me work was exhausting...

Lush...

Instagram: #adventuresofCharlietheElf

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 5

Charlie has decided to be vaguely helpful and hung out (quite literally, hang...) in my study, which is currently moonlighting as momma's sewing workshop as I try and whip up side gifts for Isabel's teachers

Instagram: #adventuresofCharlietheElf

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 4

Sorry -- a little hiatus --- Isabel was away, so Charlie did not come -- probably off throwing snowballs at reindeer and other fun things like that. 

But Isabel's back, so Charlie's back.

And she roped in the Winx fairies for an elf vs. fairy tournament of air hockey

 

I suppose the fact that they have wings makes it easier to flit from end to end to protect their goal...or perhaps because Charlie is a tad challenged vertically, it makes it a bit hard for her to reach...Whichever it is, the fairies are winning, 7:3, the last I checked

Poor Charlie

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 3

Once again, she left her previous post without cleaning up her mess...

 

Seriously...

And appeared in the kitchen this morning, with sparkler in hand. Guess she is ready for the long holiday weekend? 

I feel the same way, Charlie.

 

Birthday, Part One

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that to kick my butt into high gear to finally tackle the half finished projects in the house, there needs to be a very definite deadline to get things done.

So I threw a party.

Isabel is turning five this year.

(HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??)

 

And since the big party will be in Malaysia this year, I had a small one earlier at the house.

And invited some of her closest friends from her daycare whom she has not seen much of since starting kindergarten this fall

It makes the heart warm to see all of them together again

And something to note, almost 5 years olds are VERY noisy when they reunite.

Especially when they are all girls.

All in all, it was fun.

The guest list was small enough for me to have time to pay attention to the presentation details and DIY crafts and decorations that I have seen on the web and thought, "Oh, that is such a fantastic idea!"

The study/library worked exactly as I envisioned it when I was planned the room -- it was perfect for hosting a sit-down meal. 

 

2014 resolution: If my friends and family lived close by, I am sure that it would be a frequent occurrence, but I need to break out of my comfort zone and invite people over for meals (although I may want to leave the actual food cooking to the experts!)

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 2

Isabel has a tendency to sneak into my bedroom in the middle of the night.

Last night, she crept in and said, "Momma...Charlie is GONE!" (from the bathroom)

Indeed...she was... (without cleaning up her lipstick scribble first, the little rascal)

We found her the next morning, settled into the doll trailer after her first exhausting night going to and from the North Pole...

Catching up on her favorite Christmas books after having what I assume was a bowl of hearty stew...it was licked clean, so I can only guess.

Isabel, checking out her hidey-hole

Instagram: #adventuresofCharlietheElf

Going Batty

I've never decorated for Halloween before...Figured this was a good year as ever to start after an impulse purchase of $2 cobwebby fiber thingamajig from Savers....and cut out 60 bats, essentially copy-catting MADE.

And drew out this little ghost family portrait as a filler for an empty frame in my project-gallery-wall

 A little $5 Halloween decor project that makes everyday life a little less mundane. Cheap, easy and fun.

On another note, my coat stand broke (grrr) so it was the perfect time to change things up and put up these coat hooks...

Thing 1 and Thing 2, as Isabel puts it.

 
 

5 Random, Mundane Things #1

1) Obsessed with this song:

The church I have been attending have had a turnover of their choir/singing group (with a fantastic new lead/guitar player) and they have been introducing a lot more contemporary songs -- this one was played with a strong drum beat (like the march of an army) and is sing-at-the-top-of-your-voice FANTASTIC

 2) Still awed by the fact that I am actually GROWING food. It is a humbling and amazing experience. And quite fool proof as I have basically been ignoring my plot, except for random watering and weeding.

3) Books I recently finished and loved

The One and Only Ivan

Tears fell, my heart ached, I wondered about the cruelty of humans and I don't want to go to a circus ever, EVER again

 It is a children's book, which I have a soft spot for. 

Edenbrooke

A historical romance, my favorite kind. I read a lot of these, but this is definitely one of my favorites, along with She Walks in Beauty  by Siri Mitchell.

I borrow my books from the library because if I bought all the books I wanted to read, I would go broke and will live in a cardboard box under a bridge.

But this is one I will be purchasing for my own library 

(that sends a thrill down my spine---"my OWN library")

 Some of my old friends and I are trying to form a book club where we will read and talk about books. We all live on different continents, with probably very different tastes in reading materials (I prefer to read those with a hopeful air, happy endings and basically something, that at the end of it, will make me have a new perspective on life and hope for the future. One of my friends prefer sad books -- She loves Wuthering Heights..I wanted to smack Heathcliff, and shake Catherine)...so it shall be interesting.

I am excited.

4) Since I love historical fiction, it is probably a given that I like period movies and shows as well. I don't watch much TV, but PBS has made available fantastic shows

Call the Midwife

via

Set after the war in the 1950s, it follows the life of midwives in London's East End.

The second season is still up for viewing here

Downton Abbey

via

Also made available via PBS, it is about lives of aristocrats (the Earl of Grantham and his family) in the post-Edwardian era

I have recently signed up for a trial of Amazon Prime and to my delight, they have made this series available for free (All THREE seasons)

Whereas Netflix has taken down Season 1 (the one and only season offered on streaming) from their online selections. 

Boo Netflix.

5) Trying to be super fantastic mom and make inspired lunches for Isabel as she starts her new school. Japanese containers rock.

Sunflower butter sandwich, hard-boiled egg, fish nuggets and a tomato FROM MY GARDEN

And I don't know how American kids can survive (and actually LIKE) having some form of a sandwich day after day after day for their lunch. 

Jill

I LOOOOVE last minute notes from the teachers asking to dress kids up as Mother Goose characters the next day.

Usually, I will burn the midnight oil making something. And I actually almost went down that path, looking up for inspirational images on Google (What did people do before Google?)

Then my laziness got the better of me that night, and I creatively figured out a way to have a costume in under 5 minutes.

With minimal effort...

Since I made Isabel do most of the work

She went as "Jill"

 

From Jack and Jill.

Who went up the hill. 

And in case there was any lingering doubt about it, that is a "Pail of Water" she is carrying.

(which led to an interesting conversation of "Why did they have to go up the hill to get water, momma?")

 

 Can you tell which is my handwriting and which is hers? 

I am not sure if I should be impressed that a 4 year old's handwriting can be so similar to a grownup, or if I should be embarrassed that my writing is really like a 4 year old's.

Happy Valentine's Day!

One of the activities that Isabel and I did over the past weekend when we were snowbound (besides lots of shoveling and long soaks in the tub) was crafting Valentine cards for her little friends at school

 

I decorated some, she decorated most.

The girls got lollipop butterflies (based on this) the boys got crappily made hearts (because it was Wednesday night when I finally got around to making those, and I was tired of churning up the same thing over and over again)

   

And the teachers got little bee cards with a Burt's Bee lip balm based on the idea found here 

Because my printer is broken, I did not have the option of just printing off those cards, but it was more fun to hand draw/decorate it anyway (albeit not quite as pretty)

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 Isabel with her V-day haul =)

 

It's The Holiday Season...

The Christmas tree is up...

The Christmas cards have been sent out

The "mass" gifts have been bought, customized, wrapped and distributed...

The festive gear has been donned...

 

And we have sweet treats to both make....

And gorge eat...

And new traditions were made...

 

Can't believe that Christmas is 4 days away

   

 

Bedroom Transformation

For the past week, I've been working on the master bedroom. MY master bedroom. Finally.

Sunday

Even though majority of my stuff were moved downstairs last year, there was still a healthy amount of crap that was lurking in hidden corners of the room

ARGHH!!

JUNK!!!

Closet was emptied out and repainted and by the end of the night (and I mean about 2.30am Monday morning), it was filled with my bag collection and dresses/long skirts....ahhhh...organization makes my heart skip a beat.

Monday

  Started painting - 1 1/2 walls done after 2 1/2 hours? So slow....

Tuesday

Ex-husband was willing to trek down to IKEA with me and help me haul the packages up the stairs. Spent the night assembling ---

A major FAIL! 1 1/3 hours later and I still have quite a bit to do...this is probably the most complicated IKEA furniture assembly I've had to date.

Wednesday

More fail points.... =(

Durn thing is too big for the intended spot...change of plans needed. Bah.

By the end of the night, wardrobe is in place and is started to be filled

And finished up my gallon of paint, only to still have a tiny bit left to paint....sigh. Back to the Home Depot tomorrow.

Thursday

Wall painting, DONE!!! 

Room clearing, almost done. 

Mattress, OUT!! Sustained a bruise (or more) but I managed to move it downstairs.

Curtain rod, ON!

Couldn't resist pretty-fying it a little. The candle is from Bath and Body Works and it's my favorite-st scent ever

We are getting there!!

Friday

Afternoon - Bed's here!!!! Holy crap, it is huge!

Night - bedding all washed and bed all made --

My dinky little 18 inch tv is set up too -- Look how tiny it is from the bed!

Just to show how big this bed is -- against Isabel as a yardstick:

Decked up the side table with some books that I want to reread --- yes, I read Twilight.

That night, I lit my candle, turn on the lamp and breathed a huge sigh of contentment.

It is still far from done (curtains, mirror, armchair, dresser..argh) but the big pieces are in and it is habitable. I would have to say that this is the first time where I've had a grownup bedroom with pieces that are actually going to last me for more than a few years, and for that I am grateful (Thank you, Yee!!)