New Years Resolution

For 2010, my one and only resolution is to find a cure for morning sickness....

Just a few more days...

and the clearance section will go away! Have a peek and treat yourself. You know you deserve it.

Clearance Section


Goody Bags - these are a STEAL! Pieces combined and prices slashed even lower that the sale price!

...

Gems, Shrimp and Dap

Saturday morning we hit the road for the gem show. But first, a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage, eggs and hashbrowns first at IHOP where we were waited on by a very talkative Saints fan.

After putting ourselves into an IHOP coma, we were back on the road. We pulled into the Gem Show about a half hour after it opened. To our surprise, the place was empty - we had it all to ourselves practically. I racked up on tons of new gems and treasures. One of the little treasures I grabbed was this cute zebra print stretch bracelet. I picked up one for Jen and a ton more to sell to my customers as a special treat. (I don't do stretch bracelets but have had many requests.)

After 2 1/2 hours my husband was fit to be tied. So I let him drag me through New Orleans to this great seafood restaurant called Deanie's for lunch. The Quarter was packed. It was 1:30 by the time we got to Deanies and we were starved, and I was of course was turning into a monster.... and then we find out its a one hour wait. Which is pretty much the standard in the Quarter before a football game, so we had to stick it out. We walk a block over to get a $5 beer - YES, I almost threw up at the cost - and with a little something in my system we were back to wait at Deanie's.

There were Saints fans everywhere with the occasional Cowboy fan. It was pretty rowdy, as expected, so we stood in the lobby and people-watched. At one point a couple of Cowboy fans walked in with a Saints fan. (Sounds like the start of a joke, huh?) They ask J how long of a wait it is, to which J responds "Its about an hour wait, but for you, three hours," and they laugh. The Saints guy that they're with walks up to J, without saying a word, and just lifts his hand to give him dap. And J instinctively raises his fist to meet the guy's fist. And I just stare, open mouthed, until J catches my eye. "Did you know him?" I ask. J says no and smiles at me. Random guy, just comes up and bumps fists with my husband out of sheer comraderie because of the funny J threw at his Cowboy fan friends. Cracks me up still today.

Okay so enough gab. A few photos from the meal. I didn't know we were going to New Orleans or I would have brought my camera. So many photos I could have taken. These are from the iPhone, which I have to say aren't that bad at all.

Photos are J's BBQ Shrimp, my Shrimp PoBoy, J's messy fingers and the biggest shrimp of the bunch. Which makes you wonder why people call small folks "shrimps".

Making Way for the New with a CLEARANCE SALE

Y'all know how much I love a sale. The one I'm having now doesn't get any better. Prices won't get any lower than this at Jillry. I have new designs to share but have to make room for them!

Check out the Sale Section by clicking here. I've posted everything I have in stock, so if you see something you like grab it now - it may not be there tomorrow!

A few of the MANY items on sale:

Recipes Around the World

Name: Jill Corkern (yes, that's me!)
State: Louisiana
Hometown: Central (a small town outside of Baton Rouge)
Three words to describe yourself: creative, playful, loving

Recipe: Red Beans & Rice, Jill's Way ;)

Ingredients:

1 1lb bag dried red beans
1 lb Manda's pork sausage, sliced
1 medium onion chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bell pepper chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp of Tony's Chacheres
Rice

Now before I start, let me just say that writing a recipe for this with measured ingredients was difficult. I don't measure. I go by taste and memory. If you are not big on spicy, add a little of the spices, stir and taste. Repeat until it suites your tastebuds.

I don't do any prepping of the dried beans, for example, soaking them like some people do. I like easy meals and I don't find a need for the extra step.

Dump the red beans in crock pot. Cover with water. Add all of the chopped veggies, stir, cover. Put on high. During the first two hours check on pot and add water as needed. Don't let the beans shrivel from lack of water.

After about 2 hours on high, add sliced sausage and all of seasons, including garlic. The red beans should be getting thicker by now and less soupy.

Let cook for another 5 hours on low, stirring every 30 minutes or so. Eventually the red beans will become thick, almost like a chili. If your red beans do not get thick simply leave the cover off and let simmer for another hour.

Cook rice on stovetop separately. We use about 3 heaping tablespoons of cooked rice per bowl, pouring the red beans over the rice.

Review: This is a staple in our home. Both the Baberhusband and I love this high protein, high fiber recipe. Sometimes I sneak in brown rice, but I've yet to find one J cannot detect. We usually eat on this for three nights, but on the rare occasion we finish the pot we just put in the freezer for later. It's even better the second time around!

Feel free to comment with questions. Enjoy!

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To submit your recipe for Recipes Around the World, email Jill at JillryLove@gmail.com.
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Image of red beans and rice from blue-kitchen.com.

One year down, 118 to go.

This weekend was nothing short of amazing.

We lounged. We snuggled. Drank champagne, ate delicious seafood. Played with the puppies. Played kissie face. A lot.

Saturday afternoon I put on my best sweater (it was cold out, yay!) and hopped in the car for dinner and a movie. Or in our case, movie and a dinner. See, we're old folk. We don't do 8 pm dinners and 10 pm movies. We'd be worthless the next day.

It was raining and we rushed from car to theater. I giggled like a school girl trying to catch up with J's long legged strides as I covered my freshly coiffed hair with my jacket. Fast walk, walk, walk, runnn to catch up, giggle, fast walk walk walk.... Baber and his long monkey legs.

The Blind Side was our movie of choice. I cannot express how much I loved this movie. My jaw was clenched through the entire film to keep myself from crying. What finally made me lose it was at the end of the movie. When the credits starting rolling there were photos of the family who's story this movie was created from: not a single person got up out of their seat to leave. The place was packed and still until the last photo disappeared.

We had buttery popcorn and monsterous drinks. Baber is a kid at heart and popcorn is a MUST at the theater. I always look forward to our dates because of this sort of thing. He doesn't leave out the details that make our evenings fun.

Bonefish Grill was our next destination, one of favorite restaurants. Mahi Mahi topped with lobster and crab in a sherry cream sauce on top of whipped garlic mashed potatoes. Did you just get chills? We did too.

Next, J's favorite: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. The last time we went there we ended up spending $30. What? Thirty dollars on CHOCOLATE? We had a heart attack that time, so we were a bit more careful in our selection this go-round. Seafoam, Tiger Butter, Oreo Bark and a slab of dark chocolate. Mmm.

Some window shopping, lots of hand-holding and opening doors. I hope it never fades.

Finally the Baberhusband started driving us toward downtown. I fought back the questions until I couldn't take it anymore.

"So, are you surprised at how long I held back on questioning where you're taking me?" He grins and says the festival of lights downtown. I'm giddy - we've been trying to start a tradition driving around to look at Christmas lights each year, but its seems we have a bunch of grinches living around us these days. People just don't put up lights like they used to.

So we get downtown and its.... dead. No one in sight. No lights. No cars. No people. Nothing. We laugh, maybe they cancelled it? We still don't know, but it didn't matter. Cozy in the car with the heater at my feet and my husband holding my hand, I didn't care where he took me. The gesture was all it took to remember why I fell in love with him. He knows I love surprises.


















Back at the house we enjoyed some bubbly that we've been hanging onto for this night and took a tiny slice off our cake topper from the wedding a whole year ago. I'm not a big cake person, so after feeding each other a tiny bite with arms looped I was done. He was too. One year old cake? Great tradition but icky concept. Its still sitting in the fridge with one tiny slice taken out of it. Seems like such a waste. Oh well.

Sunday I had my first annual Christmas Extravaganza at the house. Photos of that to come next. Babers helped rearrange the house to fit everyone and made sure I had everything I needed before he left. Have I mentioned how lucky I am that he's so supportive? I feel it every day.

Mid way through the event my sister moves to stand in front of the window while a friend starts incessantly talking to me about something random. I'm suspicious but let it go. I'm a sucker for surprises and I've learned when people act crazy like that to hide something, there's bound to be a great surprise after.

Knock knock, goes the flower delivery guy at our door. I squeal and melt all over my freshly mopped kitchen floor. My favorite, lilies. And roses, and a few other pretties too. Be still my heart. He knows how much I adore lilies. So much so that I've threatened to name our unborn child after them.


















How sneaky is he to have these delivered in the midst of the show? The girls ooo'd and ahhhh'd alright. PDA at its best. He's a glutten for praise and boy did he get a dose when he got home. (I guess technically he's getting another dose here, isn't he?)

All in all, a wonderful weekend. Perfect in every single way. This year just flew by... I hope the next 118 years go a little slower...

I love you Baberhusband!

Anniversary Eve

Today the Baberhusband and I are celebrating our first year anniversary. Tomorrow is the real date, but I'm crazy and decided to hold a home show at our place for last minute shoppers. (Hey, he's supporting me on it.)

Right now my heart is full, thinking about where we were one year ago today. Nervous, excited, busy. All in the middle of the holiday season.

We're bundled up on the couch, the puppy dogs at our feet, snoring away. Our new tree is decorated, lighting up the den with a warm glow. Last year we didn't have time to get a tree, we were preparing for a wedding.

Movie and dinner at our favorite place, Bonefish Grill a little later today. Bang Bang Shrimp, flirting and hand holding over a lit candle between us. I've been so busy with weekend shows, we rarely go out on real dates anymore. I miss them. However, the spaces in between makes our dates more exciting. I actually get giddy dressing up for my husband.

For now, I'm signing off for some snuggles before our date. I love this season. There's a reason we choose this time of year to be married... ;)

Holiday Bites - Appetizers Shared!

The sweet Sydney S., a Jillry supporter-turned-friend, was sweet enough to share this delicious sounding dip recipe that makes me want to run to the store right now and get the fixings for.

Hot Ham and Cheese Dip

1 one pound sourdough bread
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. shredded cheddar
4 oz. Budig ham, diced
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Dash of Tabasco
¼ teaspoon garlic powder


Pre-heat oven to 350˚

Slice top off bread and set aside. Hollow out bread leaving a shell. Cut the hollowed out bread into squares.

Mix remaining ingredients and fill the shell. Replace the top of bread and completely wrap in foil. Place on a cookie sheet and heat for 1 hour.


Sydney, I cannot wait to try this one with my family. I'm thinking this would be great for our Christmas Eve party. Thanks again for sharing!

If you have a party appetizer to share we'd all love to enjoy it. Please submit your recipe to JillryLove@gmail.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Contrast

I crave, I create, I SHARE.

A few new pieces added to my shop, plus more. Visit Jillry to see the rest of the newbies.

This beauty below is one of a kind.

Swimming up for air

Its been a few days since I've last blogged, so I thought I'd pop in and say hi.

Jillry has really taken off and I am swamped to say the least. Proud and anxious. Busy but beaming. Making lists. Lots of lists...

My Christmas cards are still sitting on the table, unaddressed. Just got stamps today. There are some things that you cannot procrastinate on... I also left a message just today on my nephew's answering machine from Nippy, Santa's favorite elf. I wonder if he'll figure out Nippy is really his Aunt Toot.

Had a great weekend of craft shows and home shows. Now I'm working like a mad woman to get my stock up for this weekend's show at my house. I'm hosting my very first Christmas Extravaganza and I am THRILLED. I love love love supporting my fellow artists and hope this becomes such a big thing that I'll have to rent space for it in the future.

There's another biggie this weekend for me. It will be me and Baber's first anniversary. I can't believe its already been a year! I think we're both a little baffled by the idea... Cancun sunrises and pinacoladas still seem so clear to me. Feels just yesterday I was shoving my face with picnic basket catering standing up in our new kitchen, in my big white dress while J smoked a celebratory cigar with the door wide open. We were so giddy and full of wine and beer, I wouldn't have cared less if he had smoked in bed.

*sigh* My life is full right now. Full of happiness, success, hope. Full of love, support and creativity. Full of inspiration. Full of want, yet full of satisfaction.

Before I sign out, let me announce another giveaway. Mint Green with Envy is hosting a giveaway for my Time Keeper's Necklace. Be sure to pop on over to her place and enter to win.

More later. Photos and stories and new jewelry. Oh my.

Wordless Wednesday: Sparkle

Crave, Create, SHARE.

New items at Jillry!



















Sahara Moon Earrings $12

Smokey Rose Drops $13

Fleur de Leaves $13
Only two pair available!

Recipes Around the World

Name: Jill Casavecchia
State: Northern Ireland at present (but a California native)
Hometown: San Francisco Bay Area
Three words to describe yourself: creative, unconventional, teacher

Recipe: Tutu's Finnish Pancake
(More of an eggy breakfast custard than a pancake, actually)

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup honey
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
4 Tb. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place a big baking dish (I use a wok because none of my baking dishes are tall enough) into the oven and heat oven to 425 degrees F. Leave dish in the oven for 10 mins to heat up. Meanwhile, beat eggs, honey, salt, vanilla extract and milk together in the blender to get them really frothy and airy. Add the flour and mix until smooth, with no lumps.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and put the butter in. Making sure to wear oven mitts, swirl the butter around until it melts and covers the bottom and sides of the dish. Give it a few minutes to cool so that the butter hardens slightly. You want the butter to coat the sides of the dish and not just all slide down and pool at the bottom. I usually put the dish/wok into the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down. Next, pour the egg mixture into the dish and bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.

While baking, the pancake will climb up the sides of the dish and puff up like a big parachute. A few minutes before it's done, I usually take it out and generously sprinkle brown sugar over the top, before returning it to the oven. The sugar will caramelize.

Be sure to have everyone seated around the table so when you take it out of the oven, they can see it all puffy and lovely. It will fall very quickly. This is nice served with butter & brown sugar, with maple syrup or with fresh fruit. I've heard of savory variations, but I've never tried it anyway but sweet.

If you're feeling adventurous, you might want to experiment with replacing the honey and vanilla with bacon, and sprinkling shredded cheese instead of brown sugar at the end.

Review: This was my grandma's family recipe going back generations to her origins in Finland. I'm sure they didn't use blenders or woks; those are my modern additions. As a kid, I *loved* when she used to make this! She had a glass door on the oven, with a light inside, and I used to get so excited watching it growing big and puffy. As a grown-up, it's still one of my favorites, and although filling, almost everyone who tries it wants seconds. :)

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To submit your recipe for Recipes Around the World, email Jill at JillryLove@gmail.com.

This time of year...

...opens my eyes. See? Look closer. Beauty, in the little things.

You know my husband? He's just a big ol' kid.

We made a mad dash to Walmart this morning for some last minute Christmas decorations. I head inside to finish up some weekend orders while the Baberhusband completes the lights outside the house from yesterday.

I go out to check on him...






















He wasn't in the front yard, so I head into the backyard. You should have seen his face when I rounded the corner and saw him in the clubhouse hanging lights. Very much a red-handed, you-know-what eating grin on his face!






















My husband is a big ol' kid at heart. Its one of the things I love most about him. His spontaneous, playful ways keep me balanced, make me take chances, keep me laughing until my face hurts.

This Christmas is extra exciting for us. Its not technically our first Christmas in the house... we were married only two weeks before Christmas last year, so the madness of the wedding, honeymoon and last minute Christmas shopping sort of left us with no time to decorate or celebrate. We headed into town the weekend after Christmas to purchase lots of lights and a tree at half price and vowed to make next year our official first Christmas in the house.

So far we're making the most of it. Literally, minute by minute.

And its not even December yet. :)

Thankful. Really.

So thankful that I forgot to post. Oops. (It was in my saved posts, ready for publishing, really!)

















Photo of sunrise from our honeymoon in Cancun. I remember being especially thankful for love on this morning.

This year I am thankful, for so many things.

• Family. And for their good health.


• Happiness. I've had more than my fair share lately, and believe me, I'm not taking it for granted.


• Slippers, pajama pants, and all comfy clothing in general.


• My husband, who keeps me grounded and yet laughing, constantly.


• Supportive moms and sisters - for without them helping me with my business, I would probably be checking into a nut house right about now.


• Being my own boss. Taking the day off when I want, or taking off for a long weekend without the stress of a paper-covered desk waiting for me is priceless.


• Etsy friends. My fans, my customers and other Etsy vendors. They are my kindred spirits and I love trading with them, both creations and stories.


• And last but not least, Mini Monster girls. My companion during the day. Without her, I would be talking to the walls.

What are you thankful for?

Gem Necklace Winner!

First I'd like thank all of you who entered into this giveaway. You are the women that keep me inspired and motivated to create!

And now for the winner...

Brooke, come on down! You are the winner of The Gem Necklace, one of my best sellers. :)
Winners of giveaways will be contacted about their win to avoid confusion.

Stay tuned for the next giveaway, which will be posted this week.

xo Jill

Wordless Wednesday: Melting from Happiness

iPhones: Good or bad for the married couple?

So. Baber and I got iPhones for our anniversary presents to one another. Cuz we're romantic like that.

The question is, will this keep us from spending quality time with each other? We're already on opposite ends of the sectional, one of us with a book, the other with the laptop, both looking up occasionally at the tv or each other to blow a kiss.

Do we really need the iPhones? Is it healthy for our relationship? I mean, technically we're still communicating... commenting on each other's Facebook statuses with smarty remarks, just a few feet away from each other. That counts, doesn't it?

We shall see.

Thanksgiving Drool

So, my husband and I have been dreaming of Thanksgiving dinner for a few weeks now. Fried turkey, stuffing, gravy... it got me thinking, could it get any better?

















Cajun Fried Turkey, photo courtesy of onthebayeaux.com.

How about a little sharing? How about I tell you what's usually on our Thanksgiving menu and you tell me what's on yours?

Fried Turkey
Gravy (usually with giblets)
Cornbread Stuffing
Rice Dressing
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cranberry Sauce
Rolls
and way too many dessert options!






















Cornbread Dressing, photo courtesy of countryliving.com

Some years we mix in potato salad and macaroni & cheese. Usually we have pecan pie, chocalote or lemon meringue pie, or some sort of ooey gooey squares.

This year we'll have our reunion on my Daddy's side. Imagine a room full of italians and you know we'll have a bunch of stinky food on the buffet table. So we'll likely have the menu above but throw in a huge italian salad loaded with olives, homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and a few other italian treats.

Now, what are YOU having?

Black Friday Sale Starts... well, yesterday.

Before I go rambling, let me remind you of The Gem Necklace Giveaway. You have until Friday to enter to win, and tons of ways to get multiple entries.

I played catch up yesterday on the blog, etsy shop and house. Still can't see a whole lot of change to the house, but its getting there.

I also had an open house at a new friend's home last night that turned my frown from Saturday upside down. I met some really fun ladies and did amazingly well, so well that the hostess ended up with a pretty little credit to my shop! What I once thought was a fat stock sure to keep me going through Christmas is now starting to make me wonder...

After a whirlwind of a weekend, I thought I'd start my Black Friday sale a little early. It goes a little something like this: 15% off EVERYTHING at Jillry. Yep, you heard right. 15% off your entire order. To receive, have a little fun shopping and type "Black Friday" in the message to seller at checkout. I'll then send you a revised invoice reflecting your discount.

A few newbies in the shop (click to bring you to my shop listing:

And there's tons more to take photos of and list, I'll put that on my to-do list somewhere...

Happy shopping my lovelies, you deserve the discount! I have the best, most loyal customers and for that I am extremely thankful.

xo Jill

Gravity

Still can't get enough of this song.



What song are you crushing on these days?

Brighten Up Your Walls

Though I've tried a few different color splashes on my wall, we've decided to stick with a neutral. Doesn't mean my rooms will lack color though.

A handful of pieces that are making me happy right now (click on photo for shop):

Today is the dreaded errand day. I'll be running the roads doing some much needed Christmas shopping, but must be home at a decent time for my trunk show this evening. Wish me luck!

Giveaway: Be sure to scroll down to the new post - I'm giving away The Gem Necklace so enter to win if you must have it!

Have a great Monday my lovelies!

xo Jill

Giveaway - The Gem Necklace

How about a little fun ladies? In celebration of the holidays, I'll be doing a few jewelry giveaways from my shop, Jillry. Let's start with The Gem Necklace.

This long necklace just radiates with fall color. Gorgeous faceted beads in shades of red, blue & amber on antique brass chain. Perfect for turtlenecks!

How can you win this necklace? You have several ways to enter. Each way listed below will get you additional entries. There's even a way to win an additional 10 entries!

The winner of this giveaway will be announced on Friday, November 27th. Be sure to leave your email address on your comments so that I can contact you.

1. Leave a comment noting two of your favorite items from my shop.
2. Follow my blog. (See sidebar.)
3. Blog about this giveaway. Send me the link please.
4. Place & link my button on your blog. (I'll gladly grab your button & link yours in return! Just leave your url.)
5. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JillrybyJill. (If you already follow me, you will receive this extra entry. Just comment that you already follow.)
6. Twitter about this giveaway.
7. Join the Jillry Facebook Fan Page. (If you are already a fan, you will receive this extra entry. Just comment that you are a fan.)
8. Announce this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post.
9. Email two or more friends about this giveaway. CC me at JillryLove@gmail.com.
10. For 10 additional entries, make a purchase at Jillry between now and Friday noon.

Please leave a comment with each entry. And again, please leave your email for winning notification.

Good luck everyone!

A weekend of disappointments

This weekend was a like a punch to the stomach. Disappointment after disappointment.

The craft show was awful. Friday night I did really well, cleared out a lot of my stock and gained some new fans. Yay! Saturday morning I woke up and the roof caved in...

Not only was it freezing all day, it rained constantly and left us with a river in front of my area of booths. We actually heard people say "We can't go in there, how are we going to get across that yuck?" My poor mother froze her tush off. I was running on only a breakfast of cold nachos, and if you know me at all you'll know I can be a monster if not fed properly. The staff was less than accomodating. While most of our neighbors were nice, we had a booth full of catty, super snobby girls on the side of us. I had a very loud conversation with my mother about how it was a shame that some of the vendors were so snobby, how fellow crafters should be supportive and friendly to one another... because you just never know who you're being snobby to.

I was miserable. I won't be going back.

The rest of today proved to be disappointing as well. People that expect you to be their shoulders, their ears, suddenly disappear when you need their support. People that love to make a quick jab at you when you're down but never say congrats when you've done well. I won't be expending my energy on those so-called "friends" any longer.

I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but there was much more disappointment that I'm just not comfortable sharing. I feel emotionally and physically drained by it.

Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be better. I have a trunk show on Monday that I'm really looking forward to. For now, I'm signing out. I'll be back when I have a more uplifting post to share.

Night friends.

Thursday Thirteen

This morning I'm curled up on the couch reading old posts (yes I'm lame) and I stumbled upon a Thursday Thirteen. I read and clicked on another. *gasp* I forgot how much I adore lists! When I lived at the apartment, I wrote lists constantly. Kept them all over the apartment. Drove Babers batty. Now the only list I have is our grocery list.

Lists are theraputic for the obsessive compulsive mind. Therefore starting TTs up again is only helping me..... right?

Thirteen reasons why I love this time of year

1. The Baber Furnace. J has an incredible amount of body heat at night which he insists on sharing with me, and at this time of year it really comes in handy. He has freakishly cold feet, but I can overlook that because his huggy wuggy arms keep the Baberwife warm at night.

2. Gumbo.













Kind of a weird choice mid-July in 100 degree weather. As soon as we get the first cold front, I'm going over in my head whether I want to make chicken and sausage gumbo or seafood gumbo.

3. Sweaters. The big soft snuggly kind. If J let me have a Snuggie, I'd wear it in public. I just love wearing fuzzy sweaters with sleeves are long enough to tuck my hands in, or cowl necks that cover your face from the nippy wind.

4. Camping.

Our usual camping group went last weekend and had a blast. Not so much fun in warm weather. We brought the camper and opened the windows... the only thing better would have been sleeping in a tent under the starry sky, but J prefers camping in the camper. *snort* (I am so getting a whipping over that one.) Click here to see our first camping trip.

5. Fires.

No, I'm not a pyro, but put me in front of a fire and I zone out. Zombie style. Don't try talking to me, I ain't listening. When I would visit J in Oberlin he would start the fire and let me spruce it up. There's something very theraputic about building a fire, and its comforting and makes you feel safe.

6. Pajama pants. Okay so I wear these year round, but I *need* them more in the winter. We keep the temp in the house at a ridiculously low number, so I stay in pj pants during this time of year. Especially heart the fuzzy flannel ones. Which I'm down to only one pair of. Hint hint. I wear mine to the point of them ripping and still walk around in them, tripping and almost busting my face. J literally has to make me throw them away.

7. Hot chocolate. With milk. Enough said.

8. Outdoor activities. The cool air of fall always gives me a new found energy. Summer is great and all, but it just zaps the life of me sometimes. Every time I take Mini into the back yard I eye the leaves all over the ground. Do you know how badly I want to run through them? And for some reason I feel like I need a soccer ball.

9. I get to ignore my toenails. You should see mine right now, the paint is so old I have a little moon cresent of color covering the very tip of them. I know, not attractive, but its the last thing on my to-do list right now and at least I can hid them in boots.

10. I don't feel guilty about my dirty car. I love her and all, but I wash her only like... never. During this time of year, well, its just too cold to and I can let go of one more thing to feel guilty about. Cuz we all know I have issues.

11. Thanksgiving! Yes, that deserves an exclamation mark. And I'm not just thinking about the food (though its definitely a front runner). In November we are reminded of how thankful we should be, and I relish in that. Its a shame we don't give thanks every month.

12. Christmas!!

Love it more than #11, therefore its gets two marks. (Shut it.) Family time. Good food. Showering my loved ones with presents. Watching the kiddos rip open their presents and squeal. The tree! Christmas morning! (Sorry, I'll try to keep the marks to a minimum from now on.)

13. And now, this time of year makes me think about our life as a married couple. December 13th will make one year for J and I. ONE YEAR. Already. Wow. I feel like I've waited for this all my life and now its just flying by, all the while me screaming "SLOW IT DOWN BUSTER, I need to remember this."

Click here to play along. Comment if you have a TT so I can come read yours! What are your reasons for loving this time of year?