Peek at My Week (Nov 24-30)

Did you finish November with a bang!? I feel like I might have. The hubs had the whole week off, and I spent it trying to balance work and fun. It worked out better than I had anticipated. 

First up, this week has been full of the leaves changing. Most dramatic has been my Japanese Maple. The leaves are falling now, and I expect it will be "bald" for the next few months. 

We worked on clearing some of the trails on Sunday before having lunch down by the bay. It was a slow afternoon, but we made the most of the Fall evening by trying to get our first fire of the season going.

Despite buying some firewood, the rest of the wood was slightly damp, so we had a hard time with it. But, it was nice to spend a little time outside.

After knocking out chores and working on my project for the SJ Honey Do List on Monday, Zoe and I took a walk through the newly cleared trails and checked out the ones that need to be cleared. I had spied quite a few of these ghost flowers the day before, but this bunch tucked into the mossy roots of a tree really got my attention.

Since I didn't want to stumble through the uncleared trails any longer, Zoe and I ventured down the street. Once again, my attention was drawn to something on the ground.

It's some sort of trash the neighbors had left out, and I believe it's the base to something. But, to me, it was a large button! I had to snap the picture. 

After a meatless dinner of fried rice and spicy peanut butter tofu, we went to the movies to see Doctor Sleep. Fun!

I started Tuesday well with a little solitude and sketching outside. 

Once again, I was drawn to the stunning color of the maple leaves.

I thought the day was going to go off without a hitch, and my list was thorough enough that it should have, but I was distracted. We had lunch out on the river then played some disc golf, so my plans fell to the wayside. Again, we he was on vacation. 

Wednesday was full of helping my mom prepare for our Thanksgiving feast. Most of my work was done then, so I had very little to do on Thursday.

It's always my job to open and slice the canned cranberry sauce - one of my grandmother's favorites. I also made some green beans but had few other responsibilities.

My niece's cat, Milo, was well-dressed for the occasion. 

Back at the house, we made another go at a bonfire.

Though it doesn't look it in this picture, we were much more successful with this one. 

On Friday, I looked forward to one of my favorite lunches: leftover turkey sandwiches! But, I kept myself busy with chores and began working on a project for a friend. 

I hope it comes together the way she's envisioning it. 

I worked on that project into Saturday, but my mind was elsewhere. 

Alabama's big rivalry football game was in the early afternoon. Alas, we lost by three points and our chance for the playoffs was lost with it. But, there's always next year. It wasn't the way I wanted the weekend to go. 

At least I have loads to hold my attention. A new month upon us means that there's all kind of new challenges. And, it's the last month of the year, meaning most of us want to finish the project with a bang. I'm probably attempting more than I should for this holiday season, but why the heck not!?

First, Kasia of Everything Art is offering up a Free Advent Calendar art journaling adventure. AND, it's time for #CarveDecember from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. But, I have a feeling I won't be participating in both of those challenges everyday. It is a busy month. 

Let's see the inspiration I found this month:

• Here are 30+ Upcycling Ideas for Alternative Christmas Trees at Sadie Seasongoods. 
• Several of the books on this list of 10 Art Books to Nourish Your Creative Soul have been added to my Christmas list 
• Rings & Things shared a simple tutorial for a pair of birthstone earrings. 
• Learn to use resin to make a variety of pendants. 
• I've got my own collection of wooden spools, so I loved finding this roundup of Creative Crafts to make with old Wooden Thread Spools. 

With Christmas coming, I'm sure I'll have all kinds of holiday fun to share with you. Since it's such a chaotic time of the year, I encourage you to stop, take a few deep breaths, and remember what's important. Now, please help me remember to take my own advice! Have a wonderful week. 

Peek at My Week (Nov 3-9)

It's been a full-spectrum of emotions kind of week. Let's start with last Sunday. I mentioned the extra hour in the day thanks to Daylight Savings. It made the day feel full of possibilities. 

I had taken a little of my birthday money and treated myself to these Stabilo Woody watercolor pencils that I've been wanting for a few years now. They come organized in a box with their own little compartments, but I found it hard to get them out, so I threw them into this old tin and just love how they look in it. 

Pat needed to take care of a few things up at the recording studio, so I went with him and worked on last week's post while he tidied up. 

From there, we jumped right into "Puppy Fun Day" and took Zoe with us as we went to explore a couple of new locations for disc-golf baskets.

The first 5-basket course was in a little park that has this creek running alongside it. Before we headed to the next course, I had to snap a picture. There were at least five families with photographers up there getting their family pictures done. It was a madhouse, but the beauty of the location is undeniable. The next course was a little less picturesque but also less crowded. It was nice to get out in the cooler weather. 

I realized a few hours later that the time change also meant that it got dark an hour earlier. Yeah, I'm not a fan. But, that also sent us to bed a little earlier and rising a little earlier. So, I decided to take advantage of that and spend some time outside with morning reflections while swinging on my new porch swing.

I've done a pretty good job of getting out there each morning to take in the new day, organize my head, and enjoy the outdoors. I hope I can keep it up. It definitely feels like it's helped me focus on what I want to accomplish each day.

I knocked out my errands and chores on Monday and tested out a new recipe that evening.

This One Pot Zoodles and Meatballs recipe was really simple. And, we FINALLY tried Zoodles (zucchini strips that mimic/replace noodles). I learned that this recipe made far too much for the three of us so I would probably half it and just use ground beef instead of the meatballs next time. But, there will likely be a "next time". So, there's that. 

I was up and out on the porch on Tuesday morning.

I do love that view! 

I finished up some projects and ran a few errands before I realized that I looked like this.

The outfit I thought looked so cute also looked like a Minion. If I hadn't mentioned it, I'm sure no one would have thought of it, but it cracked me up to no end, and I didn't bother changing clothes.

My grandmother had an appointment on Wednesday morning, but that didn't stop me from spending a few minutes outside in reflection and doodling first.

Usually, Wednesdays at my mom's house get away from me. But, I was determined (somewhat) to accomplish something. So, I worked on getting a few videos edited for YouTube.

On Thursday, I made a point of getting those videos uploaded to YouTube so I made a point of heading before lunch to get that done while I sipped a smoothie at a local coffee shop.

Back at home, I started the intimidating task of cleaning and organizing the craft room. 

My pile of tins to be broken down was out of control and made it difficult to get to other supplies. So, I took some time to stack them within each other with the lids off. Then, I stacked the lids within each other. There was something so satisfying about this stack of round lids.

Unfortunately, that was all the photos I took for the week. As I worked on the craft room more on Friday, we heard emergency vehicles heading down our dead-end street. While we still don't know what's happened, we're fairly positive that both of our elderly neighbors are no longer with us. I hope to get more information as the week progresses. 

I had lunch downtown Fairhope with a couple of girlfriends on Saturday before watching the Alabama vs. LSU football game. It was an emotional roller coaster of a game that Alabama ended up losing. I have to remind myself that we can't win them all. 

Today, I'm working on processing the events of the last couple of days and looking forward to a class I'm taking this afternoon. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it next week.

Despite the highs and lows of the week, I did find some inspiration to share:

• I'm kinda in love with these quirky animal Assemblages by Debra Broz. 
• This quote by Kurt Vonnegut shared by Austin Kleon touched me. 
• For a really simple jewelry project, check out this Chalk Painted Statement Necklace. 
• I've possibly shared this Rectangle Hoop Earring Tutorial before as it seems really familiar, but it's worth a look anyway.
• I have to admit that I LOVE wrapping paper. There's something so pleasurable about ripping into a package someone's given you as well as watching someone tear into what you've given them. And don't get me started on the endless pattern choices! But, that kind of wastefulness is wreaking havoc on our environment, and we need to start considering alternatives to paper wrapping and bags. Enter the Reusable Fabric Gift Bag! The tutorial I've linked up is only one option. But, think about the implications and possibilities. There are tons of fabric patterns too. And, you're not only gifting someone with the actual gift but the bag as well! Think about it. 
• Speaking of Christmas, it's time to get those Holiday crafts underway. I love every one of these Hand Embroidery Patterns! The problem is deciding which one to make. 
• This layered pendant tutorial on the Ice Resin blog combines the use of a few materials I would have never considered before. 
• There's science to back up the need to make art. It's scientifically proven!!
• ArtBeads has a tutorial on a Creamsicle Necklace that uses a variety of bead caps to add texture and interest. 

Wow, that's more than I thought I found this week! I hope this past week has treated you well and that the week ahead is full of magical moments. 

Feel Good Friday

Hello, hello everyone out there in the blogosphere. I am about to head out on a road trip, but I couldn't leave you hanging. No, not on "Feel Good Friday". I've got some other items that have been on hold for FGF, but yesterday I found a few things I couldn't wait to share.

• It turns out that beer IS good for you. And all this time, I was drinking it just because it got me drunk!
• And heck, if you're gonna drinks some beers, you might as well go on out to eat. Here are some tips on eating smart when dining out.
  
• Lastly, if you just want a laid-back, easy-going kind of weekend. Get started with some calming, meditation sounds of the forest. There you go, breathe deeply.

Alright, I need to hit the road to go see my good friend Graystar in Oxford. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with good friends and fun too!