"Besties" Birthdays

"W" and I have the honor of having two of the most wonderful friends in the world.  Have you ever had friends that you know, absolutely deep in your heart, that they would go to the ends of the earth for you? Well, we are both lucky to have friends like that in our lives.  Lucky is not the word...Blessed is more like it.

One of these friends that I am lucky to call one of my "besties" had a "surprise" luncheon yesterday given by her sweet, darling daughter Isabella.

This is Elizabeth.  Beautiful, kind, generous, giving,,,,I could go on and on and on.

I'm just gonna show you some pics of our luncheon!

Surprise!!!!

 Her sweet, sweet mom (isn't she beautiful?)

 E hates to have her picture made, so I'll just show you her beautiful fingernails :)

 Let me just tell you folks.  yummy is the only word I can find to describe this cake. period.

 Like mother, like daughter.  Both precious to me

 one of her fabulous "handmade" gifts 

 What is wrong with me? I cried when I gave her my card!  I'm just an emotional wreck for some reason.

must be the age or maybe she's just that special to me.

 E loves to take photos (and is a pro at it btw) so Cindy and I gave her this doozy of a camera bag!

 I'm proud to call E one of my "besties"!

I love you E!

 Now on to the 2nd part of the day!

Lynn is proud to call this wonderful man one of his "besties"!

his home was perfectly decorated for a beautiful birthday celebration!

 I can honestly say that I've never seen Glenn so happy in the 20 something years we've known him!

 we got to see friends that we haven't seen in years!

 and got to meet a new special friend!!! (who is precious by the way!)

 being the simple person he is, he wanted pizza! (with a little Caymus)

 "W" told me I was dressed like an SEC ref.

 this was after he got a good jab or slap on the butt

Speaking of the SEC, Auburn whipped some booty

  Fudge was there!

 This is the best shot I could get of his original "Blue Dog"......be still my heart

 decided to do the best lasagna I've EVER put in my mouth

 oh and the bread....yum

 more old friends!

 and more who's wife was sick, but was there in spirit! (and by cell phone)

 starting the toasts!

 and then "W's" turn!

 can't really remember what he said...."why does my head hurt this morning?" but it was funny.

 A toast to you sweet Glenn.  You are the bestest!!!!

Have a wonderful Sunday y'all!

We are heading to NY!!!

(and of all things....I forgot my coat)

shopping?

Will the Real Martha Please Stand Up????

After I wrote my blog yesterday, I realized I needed a little help for some of my homemade Christmas gifts.  SO,,,enter

The Pro...
she said she'd help me out a bit. (after her workout)

Here we go!

www.marthastewart.com

These are just too, too, cute and I'm seriously making these.....
okay sidebar....the Boggs family has matching Christmas PJs every year....yep all
8 of us.  So this year I'm adding matching slippers.
(don't tell the fam) it's a surprise

these aren't for me but I bet someone out there would wear em.

yummers

I'm SO doin these.....

and these

easy breezy

I just loved the packaging on this one!

and this one!

and this one!!! (I bet Stienmart has a spoon like this)

Perfect for a guy gift

I didn't like her recipe for this so I'm gonna find my own.....I'll let you see it!

and finally,,,,this is something I'm definitely making!
Stole from a wonderful little blog that I follow!
www.blueprintbliss.blogspot.com

and, if you wanna look through my archives....(you'll have to look back to last year)

stuff I make!

The perfect size cosmetic bag...

 Egg Ornaments...fun to do with older kids

 John Derian knockoff paperweight....Actually very easy to make!
I don't know if I blogged about this so stay tuned

Go to Martha's website to see how to make all her stuff.  It's really fun to look at!
oh, btw...Michaels has all of Martha Stewart's products.  A huge selection of yumminess to gander.
Food packaging, scrapbooking, hole punches, tags, everything!
Happy Saturday y'all!
For me?????
I'm goin shoppin....yes, in the mall at Lenox.
Crazy huh?
I will be amongst a Sea of Orange and Blue.
Go Alabama (and I mean the state) so that means (oh am I REALLY saying this?)
Go Auburn....that was hard to even type.
Then?  On to New York for a fun lil getaway with wonderful friends!!! Oh yippee!

Martha, Martha, Martha....I'm Not!....I dumped all of this out!

Well....yesterday I decided to get really crafty.  I wanted to do something "homemade" for my neighbor girlfriends for Christmas.  SO, I found these adorable bottles at The Container Store
www.containerstore.com
(I found the ribbon and the foam coasters at Sam Flax)
both SOOOOOOO much fun to go to places
www.samflax.com

By now, if you've read my blog for a while, I'm sure you've concluded that I'm a little obsessive/compulsive.  At least I've concluded that.  Anyhoo, when I saw these bottles my mind was just a racin.  What could I do with these???? I knew that what ever I did would really be about the bottle and decorating the outside.  Not at all....well sorta, about what was in it.  So, I decided to try my hand at Bath Oils.  I looked up this recipe on line
(OH, btw I love this little notepad) (Anthropologie)
I have to have lines to write my notes....and I love the crown:)

BEWARE.....DO NOT USE CASTOR OIL!!!! I'm editing this today (December 13th) I bathed in what I made, and felt like I had bathed in crisco oil.  Seriously folks.....I was TACKY gettin outta the tub.  Use Almond Oil. (if you can find it) okay,,,,on to the rest of the blog.... So...Out where I live, there aren't many "options" for "essential" oils.  There IS a place out here however, that I thought I'd try.  So I popped in.  The "Harley" outside shoulda given me a clue.  Hey, no slam against Harley's I think they're the coolest of cool, I'm just sayin.  Anyway, I asked the lady man lady if they have any "essential oils".  By the way, she was precious.  I had a blast with this chick.  First of all, she didn't have a clue about anything in the store.  Not sure why she was working there but my guess is that her "friend" needed her to.  again...I'm just sayin. Don't go gettin all huffy on me,,,hey, she was a jock. That's okay though,,,but,,,,
She didn't know a thing about "Bath Oils"
she did however give me a bunch of stuff and swore that I could use Castor Oil as a bath oil product. (again....DON'T)!
She even suggested that I go to an adult "book store" and look for some "edible glitter" to make it more holiday looking.
okee, dokee moving right along

 I bought all this stuff.  I told you I was compulsive!
"W" called me and said "what cha doin"? and I told him, OMG what he has to live with.

Here's what I did...dumped the castor oil in a bowl
and mixed in all the ingredients.
Okay,,,now, boy was my house smelling like a massage parlor.  I actually didn't follow the directions at all because it was smelling too "aromatherapy" for me.  As a matter of fact, I felt guilty not putting on some soothing music and calling in the pool guy while I was making this. So...I added a lot more lavender and rose.
I really feel sorry for whomever gets this....

 I tested it though and my hands felt silky smooth afterwards.  No glitter though.
The vanilla however, gave it a glittery look!

 So, now I got to decorate the outside.  I found these darling little foam snowflakes that are actually coasters at Sam Flax.  And the ribbon also came from there.  But hey, you could probably find something you like just as well at the dollar store or Walmart. Walmart has some great crafty stuff by the way.

 so, I wrapped my "goodie" around the bottle

while I was working a little surprise was delivered to me from my friendy Cindy!!!  I'm addicted to Atomic Fireballs!!!  She loves to do crazy surprises!!! 

 Now, you get to melt some Gulf Wax to seal the cork.  Just  get a pan that you don't mind ruining and melt the wax

 then dip the top of the bottle.  I did mine twice and coulda done it three times

this is what a wax sealed cork looks like

and
 here they are!

 the verdict?
A+ for Effort
A for packaging
F for cost (they were really expensive to make)
F- for the product
I'd be careful gettin outta the bath tub....if you follow MY directions!!

Happy Friday y'all!
oh WAIT!!! don't leave me!


Two new paintings:
Golden Sky 
24 x 36 (framed)
Price upon request

"Waterfall"
36 x 24
Price upon request

How to Make a Magnolia Wreath

Well,,,,,as promised, I'm gonna show you how to make one of my favorite things for the holidays!

a magnolia wreath.

Oh, how I love magnolias!

the problem was.....finding them.

If you live where I live they are NO WHERE....except neighborhoods.  So,,,,I politely "borrowed" a few leaves off of a deserted yard.

hum....just don't tell.

Anyway, here's what cha do to get this look

First you start with this:

what I stole borrowed from a that yard

 cut the leaves off at the base.  See those little scissor/snippers back there behind the leaves?  Those are Fisker brand.  The best EVER!!! I mean, really folks, I was cutting freakin stalks off the trees with those things.  (I'm gonna try to prune my tree with them)

 I used a 24" green foam form.  I also used those wire pick thingys.  Both came from a wholesale floral supply company.

 start by poking the leaves in with the greenery picks

 layer them like so

 and more (be sure the leaves cover the sides)

 continuing around the entire circle, layering the leaves

I don't intend to leave (no pun intended) this on the fridge

 but here's the finished product!!!

I think mine are a little cheaper than buying them.....cost? about 20.00 (unless I get fined for stealing some one's magnolia leaves.....I'm just sayin)

have a fantabulous Wed. night!!!!

kb