Calling All Santas!

I am attempting to help Amber over at the Maddux monologues with a family that is needing some help in the DFW area, if you can find it in your heart to donate to this family please do!

I am a blessed individual, I have a great family, and Husband, this year other then the strike we have been very fortunate. It is sad that others out there havent been able to be so fortunate or keep up with the things they need. 

When I was a little girl my mom and dad often had hard times trying to provide Christmas, and Birthdays for us. My dad was a military man, and had 3 girls. I can tell you that i know my mom and dad stressed out night and day trying to make sure that we had everything we needed. I dont know that we ever really noticed this as kids, because we were quite happy with everything that was given to us. When it comes to times like Christmas, and kids birthdays my mom is very giving now. They are in a position financially that they are able to help others, and she doesn't want parents to feel the strain that she did with 3 girls years ago.

My Mom brought over a donation for these girls!

Each now have a coat, outfit, set of underwear, and set of socks. The older girl has 2 monster high dolls, and the little one is getting a baby alive doll as well as a couple of games! I can not tell you how blessed i am to have a mother like this! 

Here is another fantastic Donation from one of my friends for these girls! 

Here is the stack of stuff i have for them minus their jackets, there is a bag of food items for them, and some toiletries as well as some laundry detergent and fabric softener. Wrapping paper, gift bags. Hopefully enough to get them through 2 birthdays and christmas! 

Let me know if you are interested in helping out! We are meeting the mom this Saturday, and i can drive around and pickup donations before hand! Come on DFW! 

Calling DFW Friends, we need a Santa

My friend Amber Maddux over at the Maddux monologues is coordinating an effort for two little girls! 

http://www.madduxmonologues.com/2012/12/pay-it-forward.html 

If you are interested in helping out and being a secret Santa, or a birthday beneficiary please go over and tell her!

http://www.mamalaughlin.com/2012/12/pay-it-forward-stories-6-8.html?m=1

Needing Santa
Nominated by: Anonymous
Location: Arlington, Tx.

"I'm writing in about my sister and her family. My sister and brother in law have two beautiful children, two girls ages 4 and 8. A few months ago my sister came down with some health issues which have caused her to have to cut back on her work hours. Her family was already struggling financially, worrying about paying the mortgage and car payments, and then she had to cut her work hours down. She is now struggling to buy enough food, and called me crying the other day because she had run out of peanut butter and bread and her girls were still hungry and it was two days before payday. She is so stressed out that it worries me greatly. Both of her girls have birthdays in December. This is the first year that she has told the girls they cannot have a birthday party. She simply cannot afford to buy birthday gifts and decorations, much less pay for a party for school friends. And she has made peace with that, we are having a small family get-together for the girls birthdays. But what is really stressing her out is Christmas. She can explain to the girls that she doesn't have money for Christmas gifts - but how do you explain that SANTA doesn't have money to bring gifts? I wish I could help her, I am trying when I can to bring food, but my husband and I have 6 kids ourselves and are just making ends meet this Christmas.I would love if someone could help my sister by getting a few things for Santa to bring her girls. Nothing big or expensive, just stocking stuffers and maybe one or two toys or stuffed animals would make such a huge difference, allowing the girls to wake up Christmas morning to the magic of the crumbs on the cookie plate right next to a stocking of gifts. Any help would be greatly appreciated!"

Christmas Ornament Highlights

Hello friends! Hopefully everyone is getting right into the season with the Christmas holidays coming right around the corner. One of my favorite things about Christmas are my old ornaments. My mom has been collecting these ornaments for me for a while, I also have been searching for them high and low! Do you know how hard it is to find shiny brite ornaments from the 50's and 60's that didn't get broken?

 

One of my favorite things about these ornaments is that most of them are hand painted. They are not mass produced like most of the ornaments that you can buy in the stores! To me something that is handcrafted is worth so much more then anything I can buy at walmart! The fact that these ornaments are each unique and one of a kind also helps me with the love! 

The ornament on the left is probably the one i treasure the most on my tree! The reason is look at the unique shape of it! I only have one of these things, and to me it looks like a top. I have searched for other ones in this shape and have never been able to find them!

I hope you enjoyed a sneak peak at the tree, and enjoy the ornaments! 

Lets Talk about Fireplaces!

So my house is a older home, and it has a very awesome LARGE fireplace. I am pretty sure I could fit a 3 foot long un-split piece of wood in this thing its so big. 

Exhibit one, my living room....

First of all I also have a problem with the randomly placed stain glass window (All it does is go into my sun room). Secondly I also have a problem with the mirror that they couldn't have not put up in the house *rolls eyes*. Third seriously... whats up with the paneling? BUT MOST OF ALL!! THIS FIREPLACE KILLS ME!

Ok, sorry for the caps lock, but seriously.... the hearth extends the entire width of the room, the mantle is tiny, that gold box is hideous, and I am not too keen on the brick either. 

Onto inspirational pictures.... 

 

  

 

 Do you think I could get away with painting the bricks white and redoing the mantle to make one that goes the length of the fireplace itself? I mean it barely has enough room to hold all my fancy pretty junk up there... and i think it is going to fall half of the time. So vote, should I paint it white, or leave it alone? 

Janina's Bouquet at her wedding

You can read about Janinas bouquet in the original post, and all about it over here 

http://www.thevintagetexan.com/2012/05/janinas-bouquet.html

We focused on her school colors with the purples and golds, and her sorority mascot was elephants! 

This is a great lady and I am glad to have met her! 

 

I love that she prayed with her bouquet, makes me feel very special! So many of the trinkets in her bouquet were from family members! 

Trip To California

Recently my work has sent me on quite a few work trips, so I figured I would share my travels with you! They sent me to Bakersfield, CA in October for a week, 2 Days in Bakersfield for a job fair 2 Days in Palmdale CA for work, and 1 Day in LA to fly home! Oh boy did i have a great time, one of my coworkers decided to ride with me and explore all it had to offer!

Holy cow is that the ocean? Yeah I had to stick my feet in the water just to say I was in the Pacific Ocean, and YES it was VERY COLD! 

This is from driving down the pacific coast highway, isnt it so pretty?

 

 This awesome restraunt is located in Malibu California, along the Pacific Coast highway, they had really great food. Rachel Ray had been here before and said to try their clam chowder, which was pretty fantastic!

These are the fish tacos from Neptunes  Cove, it had this really awesome slaw on it! 

This is our rental car, i think we put some where around 1,000 miles on it while we were there, and HOURS of driving all over southern California! 

Beautiful Dam that is stuck in the mountains! Yes we stopped, like the typical tourist! 

Just driving through the mountains, the real mountains... Texas doesn't have REAL mountains....

Many people may not understand this, but I am a product of the 90's, and let me tell you I loved this band, and well Bakersfield is the home of this band. Needless to say I had to find the only monument in this town dedicated to Korn... 

This is an amazing hotel we had dinner at, it was built in the 20's. 

The premier of Cloud Atlas was going on at the Theatre, and we had to wait to be able to walk up to the Theatre. My coworker actually saw Keano Reeves, which was pretty awesome! 

Yes, that would be Marilyns hand prints for gentleman prefer blondes in front of Grunmans theatre... i had to.... 

This is my coworker and I, on our last night we drove to Long Beach to see the Queen Mary, which also happened to have a Haunted House going on at the same time! 

Yes, scary lady, and after Long Beach we went home... back to Texas with no Ocean and No Mountains.... :(

Hillary and Her Bouquet

Check out these awesome pictures that were taken of another one of my brides, and if you are looking for a photographer in the DFW area check out 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zach-Weber-Photography/184632284904910?fref=ts 

Her bouquet was a vintage styled bouquet, with browns, pinks and blues thrown in there :)

Ashtons Bouquet Revisted!

So Mrs. Ashton is my friend, and I had helped with her bouquet from her wedding... 

As the photographer puts up pictures I have been stealing them. 

So Here is Ashton's Bouquet Revisted