Christmas Decorations

So, the lights and garlands and bows have been up for a couple weeks. The tree has been trimmed and the presents wrapped. However, today, I found this lovely at Walmart for $20!!!! How could I not buy it! It is my signature color and goes very lovely in my kitchen.

This is my table scape for the formal dining room. I found at Thanksgiving that I really enjoy making these and they go right along with the fancy feel I try to achieve in that room. I think that they turned out fabulous!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I took this picture on our snowy journey home. We had a great time in Washington with Grammie and Grampy. We were very glad to get home to warmer weather though! November came to a close and now we are already well into December. I am looking forward to a break from school and from responsibilities. I still have so much to do though. This picture gets me in the Christmas mood, a little Holly Wreath candle from BBW, some Bing and I am set. This is the way for Az to do Christmas!

We're Back!!

I will have to upload my photos before you can see all of the snowy-ness that we dealt with for Thanksgiving. Since my Mom and Dad couldn't come to us, we decided last minute(or the Saturday before Turkey day) to drive to Washington to be with them. We left Saturday after the delicious baby shower that was at my house about 1pm. We reached snowy or rather slushy Ogden around midnight. Horrible!! It then took us an extra two hours on Sunday to get to Chewelah. UUGGGHHH! We had a nice trip and it was fun to enjoy the snow by looking out the window at it. Have I mentioned that I am completely acclimated to Arizona and officially am a weiney? Just thought you should know. Thursday, I made whole wheat rolls, a fantastic Pumpkin Chiffon cake, haricot verts(aka small green beans), salad, and I spatchcocked the turkey. "What?", I hear you cry! Spatchcocking is when you take the backbone out of the turkey and then smoosh it flat as a pancake. It makes the most hideous cracking sound, but is so worth it! For a 12-14 pound bird, it cooks in 70 minutes! Our 12.3 lb clucker only took 60 minutes. Last year my 24 lb baby took 2 hours and 10 minutes. Whew! By taking out the cavity you cut the cooking time in half and it is all golden brown on the outside and crunchy, but tender and moist on the inside! Go look here, Martha will show you how. It was fantastic! While I was cooking the turkey, my Mom had just enough time to do the mashed potatoes. She almost didn't make it! That's fast people!!!! Enough about food. The drive home was more atrocious than the drive up, if that is possible. We left at 7am and had to turn around because my parents found our laptop hiding by the couch. We left again at 7:20 and didn't make it to Panguitch, UT until 1am. That's right, 18 hours in the car to make a 14 hour trip. We hit every blizzard and storm between WA and UT. Pathetic! Then, Sunday morning it was more of the same...blah, blah, blah, snow, slick, scary, pee...I will leave it there. We did make it home though and boy were we all glad to see 60 degree weather. My tomatoes and peppers froze while I was gone, so I have nothing to show for all of the little neighbor boy's hard work! Crap!

Having a Great Time!

We are having a great time in Washington! It is so cold, I think I might die, but it is so worth it to be with Grammie and Grampy! It was a rough journey here for sure! We are safe and sound now and having a blast!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Here are my Christmas cards for this year. Didn't they turn out absolutely adorable? I was able to order 50 for free because I participated in the Shutterfly Blogging promo. You can scroll down to see that post and how you can enter. You have to enter before December 31st, so there is still plenty of time. I am so happy with how they turned out and can hardly wait for them to show up in the mail.

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Natalie's Sentiments Giveaway

Here is another great giveaway from Natalie at Natalie's Sentiments. She is offering up 50 flat cards from Minted. They have really great cards for all occasions. I found these cute menu cards, and this fantastic stationary. How cute are they? Head over to Natalie's Sentiments to enter to win.

Shutterfly for Bloggers

Shutterfly is a great online site that enables you to upload photos onto pre-designed cards for any occasion. I am so excited this year to be getting my Christmas cards from Shutterfly! Normally, I spend about a month cutting and gluing and embossing to make home-made Christmas cards. Since I started school a couple months ago, I really don't have the time this year. Shutterfly is going to take care of Christmas this year for me. It is going to cost the same amount for me to order cards as I would normally spend on supplies for making my own cards. I am so excited to have someone else take care of it for me this year. If you want Shutterfly to take care of your cards this busy Christmas season, I have the answer for you.
This link will enable you to receive 50 free prints from Shutterfly! How fantastic is that? You must be a blogger and you will need to post about Shutterfly. There is a small section to fill out, but it is so worth it! Here are some of my favorites.

"With Love, Chartreuse"

"Sweet and Retro"


These are just a few great Christmas cards, look at more here. They also have calendars that would make splendid gifts for Grandmas and Grandpas who live far away, or even for the Dad who has everything, check calendars out here. I have several family members who never quite get out their Christmas cards before it is New Year's; the New Year's cards would be perfect for them. They could say that they planned it that way, check out those cards here. I know that I am already planning to grab the "With Love Chartruese" cards for myself this year, head on over to Shutterfly and find yours! Good Luck!

The Big Reveal

Well friends, here it is. I know it doesn't look like much in the pictures, but in real life, I find it exquisite! One more 10-hour personal progress project (alliteration much?) done and done!

Let the Crafting Begin

Here are some pictures of all of the different components before and I will post some after soon!

Fantastic Giveaway

If you or anyone that you know loves video games, you have to enter to win here. You could win one of six fantastic new games. Head over to Natalie's Sentiments and check it out. Good Luck!