Greetings all, I hope you’re enjoying your time off with friends and family.  We’re coming down to the last few days of the year, and that means it’s roundup time!  Looking back, I narrowed it down to a list of fifteen of my favorite DIY projects from 2011.  Here they are in chronological order, follow the links for the full story.

#1:  Budget Bathroom Cabinet Makeover

#2  New Tile Backsplash (Installation)

#3  No Sew Cloth Napkin Pillow Covers

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Hello everyone and a very Merry Christmas to you!  Santa came a few days early for me bringing a new lens (Nikon 50 mm 1.8, thanks Santa!) and just in time to capture some holiday bokeh.  I’ve never been able to photograph those beautiful orbs that come from twinkle lights in the background until this week, so I’m very excited! 

All of the images below were taken with the subject about 8 to 10 feet away from the twinkle lights with the lens mentioned above. I opened up the aperture as wide as it could go in the afternoon and evening and slightly less in the morning due to the brighter daylight, resulting in some pretty bokeh shots!  Camera settings below.

Morning:

F-stop: 2.8       Shutter Speed: 1/160      ISO: 800

Afternoon: 

F-Stop: 1.8     Shutter Speed 1/25      ISO 800

Evening:

F-stop  1.8    Shutter Speed 1/15      ISO 1600  

So so pretty, I love me some twinkle light bokeh!!!

Here are three more sources for tips on taking great holiday bokeh shots before your tree comes down:

I Heart Faces

My Three Boybarians

Kevin and Amanda

Wishing all of you the best day filled with all the merriment and magic of Christmas! 

xo,

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Hello everyone and happy weekend!  My little munchkins are bouncing off the walls awaiting the arrival of you know who and on their best behavior since the man in the red suit is comin’ to town. Don’t you love tossing around the ol’ “Santa’s watching!” line this time of year whenever they get squirrely?  We say that a lot. “You know Santa’s watching you!”  Funny how quickly they make their beds and remember to get along with one another…

Our oldest is home from college, so we were finally able to get together and snap the annual family photo. I don’t hire a photographer, I just set up the Nikon on the tripod with the timer.  We got lucky this year (unlike in past years when one of the young ones is pouting or frowning or making a face) and we finally took a good picture! 

Oh I know what you’re thinking, yes, that oldest girl of ours in the middle, isn’t she a beauty? Smart too, great grades, and studying to be a nurse practitioner, I’m so very proud of my stepdaughter. And those little ones sure are cute too, we’re very blessed.  

We’re an expressive family, yes we are. We can’t sit still just for smiles, oh no, ho ho ho.  We like to have a little fun with our faces… here we’re pretending to be angry or annoyed I think.  Which only led to more antics . . .

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Oh hello. I was just browsing the links at the Holiday Craft Party from last week, and all I can say is Wow.  I mean seriously. There are some very creative, talented, and crafty people out there, who all happened to link up their creations last week.  And would you be shocked to hear there are 785 of them. Yeah. How crazy cool is that?  So I just couldn’t help but highlight a few. This post is kinda like a BOTB, but holiday crafty style, and here are twenty five creations you’ve just gotta see!      

Cake circles and red striped fabric come together to form these charming and inexpensive peppermint striped placemats by Heather at Commonplace Beauty.

Glittery string snowballs made by Kelly hang from elegant branches in a rattan vase over at View Along The Way. 

These mini yarn wreaths by Smile Like You Mean It had me at hello, and would you guess they’re made of shower curtain rings?  For realz.  And totally genius.

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Every year I make these stroganoff meatballs for our Christmas party, and I have to make two full trays for my large chaffing dish cause they disappear so darn fast.  My baby brother tells me his eyes roll back in his head with delight every time he savors the sauce (he can be a teensy bit dramatic…) and he begged me to post this recipe this week so he could recreate it at home. You got it bro. Here we go.

Crowd Pleasin’ Stroganoff Meatballs

For meatballs, you’ll need: 1 ½ lbs ground chuck; 1 tsp garlic salt; 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce; 1 cup bread crumbs; 1 egg; 3 tbsp ketchup. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, form 1” round meatballs, and broil in oven on low broil for 12-15 minutes or until brown and cooked all the way through. You could also cook meatballs in a skillet in olive oil as well.  Drain and set aside.

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