Winter has finally arrived in Texas. We had our first snow today! And with some luck, I might even be able to squeak out a snow day tomorrow (our area is in the 3-6 inches range). Hooray for 60-degree weather one day and a winter snow advisory the next.... best of both worlds.
In an attempt to explore Dallas and get in the Christmas spirit, we went to the Heritage Village of Dallas on Saturday. Let me just say .... it was so cool! There were about a dozen or so old buildings that had been moved and reassembled on the site. Dressed fully in period-correct clothing, volunteers would greet visitors in each building and give the information about the previous owners and the time period. Some houses were actually working... for example, the Blum house had a working kitchen, in which a cook was making potato latkes on an old wood stove for the visitors walking through. And, we had an extra treat since it is Christmastime. Vendors were selling warm sugar-covered pecans, hot chocolate, kettle corn, etc. We also enjoyed sitting in the old church and listening to a folk group with an awesome banjo player. Every house was decorated for Christmas as it would have been celebrated at the time. The whole experience was just so fun. Here are some highlights....
It recently was brought to my attention that I haven't updated my blog in quite a while. Quite true. I sometimes have a difficult time finding topics to blog on when my life pretty much consists of work, eating, and sleeping.
However, with the holidays being a little different this year (this is the first year I'm not going home for Christmas to see see immediate family), I have a new project to blog about. Thanks to my sister's creative idea, I'm on the search for fun items to put in a Christmas present box. Instead of trading requested gifts for requested gifts, my sister thought it'd be fun for each of us to fill a box with items from our new homes. So, I'll be getting things from New Hampshire, and she'll get things from Texas. Fun!
This weekend, I'm attempting to find some of those little Texan treasures, so Randy and I will have to make it a point to go to fun places that represent Texas. While I wish I could send some good Mexican food or a Texas steak... it's not-a-gonna happen (rotten food/meat = not pleasant Christmas gift). Soooo.... I thought this place might have some fun treasures just waiting to be picked up....
You might have remembered from a previous post our painting adventure in the great room. Well, with visitors coming for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to kick it in to high gear and get our master bedroom painted. We used the "chocolate soft serve" color that looked so atrocious in the great room next to our "katydid" green. Come to find out, the color is quite nice when it's all by itself. With such a big bedroom, the color adds a little bit of warmth. Now, all we need is a few more furniture pieces (e.g. a TV stand, bookcase) that match our new bedroom furniture.
I know it's a bad habit. But she IS the alpha. And Randy's favorite. Often she's referred to as "the first one, and best one." (Don't feel bad for the other two... they have their own little loving names & references, too). But last night, at dinner time, Sophie hopped right up onto one of the empty chairs with a bone in her mouth. She set the bone on the table, as if she was saying, "Here I am. You can start now. What are we having to eat?" So funny, the personality on that one.
So, I just happened to have my camera. I love this girl.
We've almost entirely moved in.... with the exception of one room. And with guests coming in T minus 3 weeks, I really want to get most of the boxes unpacked and outta here. So, this past weekend, Randy and I put our heads together to try and come up with the most efficient way of organizing the (dreaded) craft/music room. You know, it's the room that harbors all of our hobbies and enjoyments... but all of its contents don't really fit with the neat, tidy look of the other rooms. Having a sewing machine is great... but it doesn't really look too pleasing to the eye sitting in our great room.
May I present to you our solution (and I'm super excited about it)...
