Serenity Now: December 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Highlighted Weekend Links-- Share Your Best Post!

Happy Saturday! Are you enjoying your weekend? Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading party.

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, home remedies, room makeovers, crafts, fashion advice, book reviews, and more! The code for the button is near the end of this post.

There are a lot of fabulous posts this weekend! If you haven't yet, please be sure to visit some of the other links from the party and say a quick howdy to those who have taken the time to visit you. I'd also really appreciate it if you'd take the time to add a direct link back to me within your post(s)...I like to return the favor by Featuring the bloggers who follow through with good old fashioned blogging etiquette!

Keep reading to see just a few of the posts that caught my eye so far.

~Upholstered Bed Tutorial (Top Posts Link) via View Along the Way

~Cardboard Tube Snowmen and Children via Crafts by Amanda

~Sugar Mold Centerpiece via Hoot Designs

~Book Slings (Top Projects Link) via Domestic Imperfection

~Funfetti Cake Balls (Top Recipes Post)

~Board and Batten Entry (Top Projects Link) via Imperfectly Polished

~Blessed Sign (Top Projects Link) via lovely etc.

~S'Mores Cups (Top Projects Post) via Texas Cottage

So, what did you have up your sleeve this week? Come by and share it with us here! Be sure to check out some of the other bloggers' work too. Here's the button in case you'd rather use that than a link back.

I'm working at commenting as well as balancing my family and fun time this weekend...thanks for your patience!

If I've featured you, feel free to snag this button for your blog:

Friday, December 30, 2011

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to Weekend Bloggy Reading. I hope you'll link up your best post of the week today, and maybe leave me some comment love! Things have been slow around the blog--is anyone out there?? No, really--are you guys there?

All kinds of posts are welcome--recipes, crafts, funny stories, home decor, etc.; but please do not link to Etsy shops, businesses, items for sale, etc. (I have a Sponsors section, if you'd like to Advertise with me.)

Here are a few of my faves from this week:

sources listed below

~Before and Afters of 2011, via Ten June

~How to Critique Your Blog, via Crafterminds

~Button Monogram Craft, via The Pleated Poppy

~New Year's Oreo Clock Pops, via Craft-O-Maniac

~And Me? This week featured:

Time to link up your best post of the week. Please remember that this party is dedicated to showcasing your best post of the week--we've had some issues with people linking up 10 or more posts each week, and some of them for multiple weeks in a row.

Rules:

Please link back to me within your post. I will not feature your link if you don't link back to me.
No items for sale, shops, etc. and please don't link up the same post week after week.
Please visit some of the other links--that's how a good blog party works--participation!

Here's the button code if you'd prefer to use that rather than a text link-back:

Party is open until 10 pm (ET) on Sunday night.

What are you up to this weekend? I am going to attempt to return my home to some semblance of normalcy. The living room looks like FEMA turned it into a Barbie/American Girl refugee camp. No plans as of yet for New Year's Eve--but I know T wouldn't mind a quiet evening at home.

I hope to be back tomorrow with some highlights from Weekend Bloggy Reading!

(This Code is for blogs featured today!):

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Our Christmas Day Dog Rescue

Maybe you'll think I'm nuts after reading today's post. I looked back on it later and remembered tearing up after Christmas lunch when the TV at my inlaws' house ran that SPCA commercial with the mournful animals. I've always had a soft spot for strays, and have gone out of my way several times to bring an animal home: climbing over interstate guardrails or fences for kittens, and two Springs ago when we brought Penny home from the SPCA as my very unconventional Mother's Day gift.

Penny passed away over the summer, and I've been missing having a little furry thing to snuggle with. Our Pomeranian, Emma, is not much of a snuggler, though she'll make the effort if you have food. So when a family friend walked up my inlaws' drive on Christmas night, carrying a tiny bundle of fur that he found on the side of the highway, my heart skipped a beat.

Someone apparently dumped this tiny Yorkie on the side of the road. She was filthy, underfed, and freezing. T knew better than to argue much with me when I said we were bringing her home. After searching the papers, Craigslist, with neighbors, and having the vet do a microchip scan, it looks like her new owners are us! She's a full-grown Yorkshire Terrier (around 4 years old), and weighs in at just over 3 and 3/4 pounds.

We named her Annie (Little Orphan Annie), and she is slightly obsessed with me. I'm not sure if this is a Yorkie thing or an attention-deprived thing or what, but she has become my little shadow. We're working on house breaking her, and it is slow going. Little dogs are hard to train, and she isn't particularly interested...but I'm being as patient as I can. She's getting some good food, had a nice bath, and seems to enjoy wearing one of our old dachshund's sweaters.

We had such a wonderful Christmas that I never expected God to send a dog down my inlaws' driveway. To me, it seemed like an added little bonus to the day. T might say otherwise, but I catch him petting her when I'm not looking. The girls, of course, are thrilled.

Any Yorkie owners out there?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

My Top Projects and Posts of 2011!

I most always cave to peer pressure, so when I saw just about every other blogger out there sharing round-ups of their best 2011 posts and projects, I just knew I had to do the same. I chose these pretty much randomly...some have been passed back and forth on Pinterest, some were popular with readers, and some I just plain liked! I've included links for each post, and would love to know if you enjoyed any of them. Isn't it fun to look back and see what you have accomplished (and not think too much about what you didn't?) {wink}

Without further ado....

Crafts, Home, and Entertaining:
Keepsake Family Photo Collage Frame

Ruffled Flower Bag and Headband Tutorial

How to Hang a Wreath on a Metal Door

Ice Cream Cone Silhouette T-Shirt

DIY Monogram Garden Flag

Thrift Store Frame to Hair Bow Holder

DIY Decorative Chalkboard Tin

Back to School Crayon Wreath

Styling the Girls' Bunkbeds

How to Throw an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

Food:
How to Make the Perfect Cafe Mocha

Chocolate Picnic Cake

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Nutella Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread

Blogging Tips:
Commenting 101 series

Blogging Myths series

Staying Home:
A "Just Because" Day

Swagger Wagon

Looking back, I see that I had some really good recipes, some fun crafts, but not a whole lot of home decor posts. I think that needs to be a goal of mine for 2012!

Here's to a New Year of fun projects! What's on your to-do list?

Linking to Southern Hospitality, Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, Positively Splendid

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

New Year's Eve: Pins to Admire and Inspire

Okay, I know. I'm totally copping out so far this week with a lack of crafty, homey, or foodie posts, but please know that I'm spending the time with family that I would normally work on blog stuff. With another holiday just a few days away, I thought I'd share some New Year's Eve Inspiration Pins from my Pinterest Profile.

I'd love to tell you that I spend New Year's Eve in a glittery top, sipping a fancy drink and dancing the night away...but the reality is that we usually stick the kids in bed at 8, I put on comfy pants, eat leftover cookies, and watch a movie until I know the ball is about to drop. Then we let the dog out and go to bed. I know you are envying me right now.

So, in essence, these Pins are as much for my own inspiration as they are for yours. Enjoy!