Thanks!

I've decided to keep it short and sweet today... so happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope your day is filled with friends, family, food and fun. Oh and in case you're wondering, the pics are from MG's "Thankful Party" at school. It was very cute and I was most thankful that McB didn't succeed in pulling the entire tablecloth along with all the pretty decorations off the table! Phew!
Lots of love & happiness, Michelle

Handmade Christmas!

Christmas is huge for me. I'm not kidding, I get giddy just thinking about it! So anyway, many jingle bells ago, my family decided to do handmade-only Christmases every other year. It was so much fun that nowadays most gifts are handmade regardless of which year it is. So, I've decided to run a short series featuring projects that can be given as gifts. Some will be easy like this one and others will be a tad more advanced (ex: scissors or hot ovens required). I hope you enjoy creating some of them and I'm sure they'll make happy gifts!

HC Project One - SOLO Bead Necklace

This little project is fast, fun and easy for a little one to create. It would be the perfect gift for a mom, grandma, sister, aunt, etc. Just customize with a bead that best suits the person. If you're feeling brave in the craft store, get your kiddie involved in picking one.

Ok, so how to? All you need is a single bead and a "necklace with open crimp end" kit. I found mine at here, but I'm sure you can find one at Michael's or JoAnn's. Open the kit, have the kiddie thread the bead onto the necklace, thread the raw end of the chain through the crimp, trim to desired length (I prefer 16 inches) and crimp closed. TA-DA, a pretty chic and very wearable gift - unlike a macaroni necklace! Though they are fun!

- HAPPY HANDMADE NECKLACE -

Yee-OUCH!

Well ladies and gents, it's been a doozy. Last week I finally had surgical steroid shots in the nerves in my back. Unfortunately the anesthesia didn't take and I felt the whole deal. Yee-ouch!!! I swore like a sailor while apologizing and explaining that I work for a church. Seriously! So with lots of medication I'm puttering along until the next round of shots Thanksgiving week.

Anyway, time for some happiness! I finally sent off a sweet little cardigan to my friend Feather Magoo for her new little one. It was knit using a pattern from the Debbie Bliss baby book. Once again, her patterns are easy, the construction is amazing and the end result actually looks like the picture. They're great for advanced beginner knitters!

Oh and I spied another slice of happy yesterday. Downtown Chattanooga has tons of public art, but this was an entire old building with every window covered. Such a cool visual statement - I almost crashed trying to spy what they all said!

Ok, I'm off to bed with meds. Hope all is happy on your end!

Grief, Relief & a Lovebug

Usually I like to keep this blog focused on the happy moments of life cause that's much more fun. But many of you may be wondering why I haven't called, replied to emails or sent thank you notes for the amazingly wonderful birthday gifts. Well, it's not cause I don't appreciate you or your thoughts, I've just been gritting my teeth to make it through each day. I've had crazy back issues for the past month (too many to name, including 2 pinched nerves). It's been very painful, lots of medicine, trips to the emergency room, many tears and endless frustration... So that's the grief.

Thankfully, I have an appointment on Tuesday for outpatient surgery. I'm getting targeted steroid/lidocaine shots in my spinal cord. Freaky, but I can't wait! Hopefully relief will follow. If not, I have another round 2 weeks later along with lots of physical therapy. I just want to live normally again... and be free to make things of course! I'm bursting with ideas!

On a happy note, MG was "Little Miss Lovebug" for Halloween. She had a blast, got way too much candy and I enjoyed raiding it afterwards. Hey, she's only 2 and I did it to save her teeth ;-) McB didn't get to wear his costume cause he slept through the whole thing, but MG decorated him the morning after. Poor guy! Hope you all had a happy one with loads of kit kats and reeses!!

Crafty Kids - Bounce!

Okay so this is a bit of cheat (according to my own rules), but I had to make this a Crafty Kid project just so that I could share the fun... A couple of days ago MG and I had a blast making a bouncy ball from a kit. Who knew these things existed?! Well not me. Auntie Lindsay sent it cause she's awesome and cause MG is lucky to have her!

So I had my doubts about whether it would work or not, but it was amazing. All you do is click the mold together, pour in the fun colored tidbits (I'm sure there's a more official name for them, I just don't know it), let it sit in water for 10 minutes and ta da! It was the perfect amount of involvement combined with wait-time for an almost 3 year old. And I got to feel like a mad scientist minus the crazy hair. Oh and bonus, it actually bounces just like those super high bounce balls we had when we were little! If you're looking for a fun party favor, birthday present or rainy day distraction (for young & old), this is definitely a happy solution. I think they could even pass for office party supplies, hmmm...

oops, I almost said "happy bouncy balls" but that doesn't quite work does it?! yikes. How about:
- BOUNCY HAPPINESS - Much better!

2 Words...

"Aretha Frankenstein's"!!! Whoa, seriously good food! We went for lunch yesterday and thank goodness we didn't have breakfast. Do me a favor - make a fist with both hands. Now put them together. That's the size of the homemade biscuits! And the "waffle of insane greatness" really is insanely good (you'll notice the pic is blurry cause I was so excited to try it). I wondered how they could possibly make a belgian waffle better, but they really do. Maybe it's magical powers?!
So anyone who's willing to make the trip southward, is in for a treat. I'm buying, it's that good!

Oh and one more thing - the trim is painted gold. Not cause it's fancy, just cause it's cool. Buzie, made me think happy thoughts of you!

- HAPPY, SCARY WAFFLES -

Goodie Boxes

One of the most exciting things in life is getting something fun in the mail. Knowing that someone thought enough to pack something up and haul it to the post office especially for you is pure happiness. So with our recent move you can imagine how thrilled I am every time something arrives from friends or family - it's like a little bit of home and loads of love. Thank you everyone!!

And now for a bit of history... But first a huge congrats... my best buddy from high school and fellow head cashier at the Village Market (we rocked that place) is the proud new mommy of baby boy #2! Auntie Magoo, I can't tell you how happy I am for you and I can't wait to meet your new little man!!

Ok, history time... Many moons ago, Magoo and I started a tradition. She was in Japan and I was in New York, so we began sending each other goodie boxes. They were filled with all kinds of trinkets collected from everywhere and nowhere. I think it may have been a birthday thing, but now it's random and that's so much more fun. Each box is like a mini time capsule for where we are in life - from shiny lipgloss to wedding stuff and now baby goodies. Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when a box arrived on Friday (given baby arrival and all). She's super mommy!

Thank you Magoo for sharing life, it's been a blast!! And for everyone else, I highly recommend sending a little something to someone far away. Even a note that's actually written on paper counts. The happiness it brings is totally worth the effort!!

PS - check out McB, he's determined to crawl... he just hasn't read the memo yet that says he's only 4 months old ;-)

- HAPPY BOXES OF LOVE -