With Love

I was caught a bit off guard when I realized that my kids will be on track this year for Valentine's Day!  I'm so excited to finally be able to use this idea I had a few years back though!  I took these fun pictures of my kids, and did some very simple editing to them, so they can be printed as a 4X6 picture (for 6 cents each at Inkleys on Tuesday's and Thursday's), and we're going to insert suckers into their hands!  Cute, right???!?!!!  Maybe???  Please tell me I'm not a FREAK!  I just HATE those stupid Valentine cards you buy at the store.

My kids only request was that I not put the word LOVE anywhere on them!!  Especially Emmy.  She doesn't want any of the boys in her class to get the wrong idea! ;)  I would really rather do the pictures outside, but FREAK, it's COOOOOLD!!  You can't get a good picture when it's below zero! 

For The Carrington's

I was asked to take baptism pictures of this little angel.  Isn't she adorable? 

My Beauties!

OH.MY.GOSH!!! You have got to see these little beauties that I found at DI!!! I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I'm so excited to own them!! I LOOOOVE old stuff like this. Who knew I'd get so lucky to find such awesome deals on both of them! EEEEEK!!! I can hardly contain myself. =)

Silvertone RADIONET SELF-CONTAINED ARIEL SYSTEM

It was love at first sight.  Even before I knew what beautiful treasures were hidden inside this gorgeous little cabinet!  I could tell it was probably from the 40's or 50's.  I was right!!  This puppy was manufactured in 1947.  It's really in pretty great condition too!  I don't know that I'll repaint this.  There are just some things that you have to leave in their original condition!!  The wood is too beautiful to cover up with paint.  It's biggest flaw is the broken peice on the grate, down at the bottom.  But that doesn't bother me one bit!  SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!  Don't ya think?

Meister is going to fire this baby up and see if she still works!  I wouldn't be surprised if it did.  It's previous owner took really great care of it.  We even have some vinyl we can tryout on it.  YIPEE! 

I seriously shrieked with delight when I opened these doors!  I'm so glad Meister was with me when I found it and shared my enthusiasm for it.

One of those buttons is pre-programmed to KSL, so I know she's been in the SLC area her whole life.

We'll have to find a new needle for this, but I can't wait to hear it.

GENUINE MAHOGANY end table

I found this gorgeous little table at the Sandy DI a few months ago.  It was kind of hidden, so I wonder if someone was coming back for it.  TOO BAD, it's mine now!!  I've learned my lesson in that regard.  If you see and you like it, take it then and there because it won't be there when you get back.

I LOVE the detail on this piece.  The sticker on the bottom certifies it as genuine mahogany, so I'm sure the mustard yellow on top of it was someones attempt at repainting it....a looong time ago.  Nonetheless, I LOVE it in this condition and will not be refinishing this piece either.  The little bit I've been able to find on the internet about this is that was made in the early 1900's and that the mahogany most likely came from West Coast Africa.

What To Do?

Remember this room?  We repainted it when Chelsea came to live with us from Florida in September of 2009.  I told her the walls were her canvas and we could paint it to suit her personality.  And so we did!

Well, it was only utilized for a short 4 months (after it was finished) as her bedroom, when she decided she needed to go home.  So it sat, unused for several months, just like this.

As the months passed, Meister began to work from home a lot and the need arose for a home office.  The solution was a no brainer, so in October, we turned this room into that home office.  With a million other projects on hand, I decided I wasn't going to repaint AGAIN.  Too much time and money I didn't really feel like spending at the moment.  So, we just moved things in.  And now it looks like this:

Yes, these pieces of furniture are waiting their turn to be refinished, but at least I had a place to utilize them until that happens!

Now, here starts my dilemma.  Meister wants to put another PC for the kids to use on the table in the picture right above.  I'm saying "NO WAY!!, we don't need a second PC."  So we've got this debate going on about why he thinks we do and why I think we don't.  I mean, one is enough, right?  PLUS he's got his laptop.  I say if he feels that we absolutely need another computer, that we buy a laptop that can go anywhere in the house and not on my pretty little table where it will mess up my decor.  He thinks the decor is useless and wants to utilize the office as an office, not as, as he put it, "A Better Homes and Gardens magazine cover".  Which, by the way, it's faaaar from!!  I do, however LOVE the table and painting I found at DI!!!  Anyway, WHAT DO I DO???  Do I keep fighting to keep the decor, or do I give in and let him put a second PC there?  I'm not a right fighter, but I really don't see the sense in another PC when a laptop would be so much more versatile!!!!!  Honestly, people, what's your opinion?  I need some advice.  Do I need to back off and find a new home for my awesome junk? 

I forgot....

to post pictures of the festive, coordinating trees in the kids' bedrooms.  Shame on me.

Emmy's Tree

Todd, Dylan and Landon's Tree

December Coziness

Anyone who knows me, knows that I decorate for Christmas EARLY! Generally, my house is all decked out by mid November. So many people give me a hard time about it and about the fact that I completely skip Thanksgiving. But that's just not the case. Here, in the Morgan home, Thanksgiving is all wrapped up in and included in Christmas. It's like the kickoff celebration to the season! The fact that I'm all decorated for Christmas doesn't mean that I'm less grateful for all that I have been blessed with on Thanksgiving. I just find GREAT joy and happiness in having my home all cozied up and decorated for the holidays. And I (really, I'm speaking for my whole family, so I guess I should say WE) like to enjoy it for longer than a month. Everyone that enters my home comments on how cozy, happy and festive it is. You just can't help but be happy!  And you'll notice that we keep the lights low all the time so we can enjoy the glow of the lights and candles.  So, without further ado, here are the pictures.

The Living Room

 (or the Great Room, which ever you call it)

The Family Room

This is the view from the family room, looking down the hallway.  It also happens to be my favorite place in the house to read, relax, think, de-stress, whatever.  Especially because I can sit and stare at my Wall O' Mirrors, totally inspired by Mandi, who is a ROCKSTAR when it comes to making beautiful things out of junk!

This is standing on the flip side of the last picture, by the stockings.

The Buffet

Believe it or not, the kids really don't devour all this candy.  They've been very good to ask first.

I haven't cut the vinyl yet to finish my little candy sign.  Hopefully I'll get around to it before the end of the season.

I blinked...

...and November is gone.  WHAT.THE.HECK!!!!!

We had such a busy month that I just didn't have a whole lot of time to blog.  So here are the highlights of our month.


November 4:
Landon's Birthday!
We flew home from Florida on Landon's birthday this year. For some reason, this birthday of his has hit me really hard. I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that my BABY is 7, and not so much a baby anymore.

Landon's Favorites 2010

Color:  Green

Food:  Curry Chicken

Movie:  How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3

Treat: Crunch and Kit Kat

Toy:  All of his space toys and rockets

Subject:  Art 

Music/Album:  Apollo 13 Soundtrack

November 19:

Chris' Homecoming!

Holy cow, that was a FAST two years!!  We are so grateful to his mission president for allowing him to take a 4 day detour to Utah to see us before he flew home to Florida to be released as a missionary.  Words cannot express the emotion I felt as I watched and listened to how much this young man has grown.  He has definitely made his parents proud!  (for any of you who might not know, Chris is my stepson.  I also have a stepdaughter, Chelsea.  But I don't put those labels on either one of them.  I love them like they're my own. <3)

November 29:

Todd's Birthday!

Again, here I am, wondering how in the world my first born is 14 already!!  I can scarcely believe it.  It was just yesterday that we were living in Korea, expecting his arrival.  WHAT HAPPENED?  SERIOUSLY!!

Todd and I had a fun conversation in the car tonight as we ran errands together.  He started telling me about how when he was little, he thought the purpose of traffic lights was to give your car a rest.  And he was baffled at how your car knew when to stop and when to go.  He also told me about how, as a very young boy, he used to go out into the street, when no cars were coming, of course, to the manhole that's about 4 feet from our driveway.  He told me how it freaked him out as he thought, "WOW!  I'm so far away from the driveway.  I probably shouldn't be out this far."  And then one day he got brave enough to go to the smaller manhole that's about a foot or two away from the bigger one and really felt like he was out too far.  He was so afraid a car was going to come out of nowhere and hit him.  He just couldn't imagine crossing the street all the way.  It's probably a good thing I never saw him do that or he'd have been toast!  In the end, he realized that taking that risk was just too scary and that he felt safer in the driveway.  His experience gently reminded me of how important it is not to stray from that straight and narrow path that we've been given.  We might let go of that iron rod for a minute or two, but hopefully we grab ahold again and stay in the safety zone of what we have been taught.  Afterall, the things we teach our children are for their own safety and welfare.  And so it is with our Heavenly Father and us.

Todd's Favorites 2010

Color:  Blue

Food:  Curry Chicken

Movie:  Undecided

Book:  Hunger Games

Treat:  Fast Break

Toy:  Electric Guitar and Cello

Subject:  Orchestra

Song/Album:  Limelight by RUSH

  We had a great Thanksgiving this year, but for whatever reason, I wasn't in a picture taking mood that day.  I know I'll regret that someday.  I already do.  It's not like me not to take pictures.  I just wanted to enjoy the day with my family and my awesome in-laws!!  Hehehehehe..and then...I went to BLACK FRIDAY that night at midnight with my sister!!  That's ALWAYS a good time and has become a fun tradition for the 2 of us.