Cheap Greenbeans.

I don't listen well enough.
I mean I listen...a little...but I strive to be completely in the moment.
My mind is always so preoccupied.
I am SUCH a multi-tasker. It kills me to do just one thing at a time.
I feel like I'm wasting time, if I do just one thing.
But I should focus.
This is a daily effort.

Expensive laundry detergent is one of my little luxuries.
Something I truly love, and don't mind spending the extra money on.
Lots of things I can do off-brand, but not laundry detergent.
or green beans.

Have poured my heart and soul into something that will get to be shared with the scrap world next month. I hope you love it just half as much as I do.

I was head over heels in love with all the advent calendars I've seen. Of course Ali's, This One by Martha and this one by Courtney. She was so genius to adhere them to a canvas, so that after the holidays she just puts the whole thing away.

I am totally in love with the whole do something each day, and adding little treats inside the boxes. I put some PEZ dispensers in, some hot wheels, and even a candy bracelet for Marley Jane. I so wanted to do this...but honestly and truly didn't have the funds $$$ to do it...and knowing that the boxes were almost 1.00 a piece and that I needed 24+ of them really discouraged me.
BUT
while we were out shopping, I had an idea...I thought I wonder if the jewelry department has any empty boxes. So I asked the lady, and she said know, because all of the items come in one big box...dreams of a groovy martha stewartish advent calendar were crushed UNTIL i passed the makeup isle and saw a big cart full of empty boxes from the makeup shelves being stocked.
HOORAY!!! Free boxes. I got 16 from there, and bought 8 jewlrey boxes in the gift wrap section for 4.00. I was so proud of myself!

It was so fun adding little things to do...
Just a few that I added were:

Drink eggnog out of wine glasses.

Have breakfast for dinner.

Make a bed on the livingroom floor, and watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas Jim Carrey version of course!) and eat popcorn.

Make reindeer our of our fingerprints.

Bake Gingerbread Men Cookies.

Doing all sorts of Christmas-ey things...taking the amazingly talented and beautiful Sarah Bowen's 12 days of Christmas workshop.

I just started that yesterday, and tonight we as a family are doing the first project...so will post pictures of that soon.



Also, since a sweet gem of a friend gave me the gift of Shimelle's Christmas Art Journal last year, I get to take it again! This year, my mantra is all about keeping things simple. Quality gifts not quantity gifts...breathing, relaxing, chilling...being mellow.










Its our first Christmas away from our family since we just moved to Knoxville. We had to be away from them while living in England...but that was 4 years ago.





I truly love this time of year :o)
and i want this for myself.