Back on the Market

We relisted the house! The past couple of weeks have been full of cleaning, painting, trips to Ikea, teaching the dog not to jump on people when they come in during the middle of the day, etc.

The house looks better than the last time we tried to sell (over the summer) and the market is speeding up: we had four showings yesterday and we'll have two more tomorrow. An agent was supposed to come for a preview yesterday but he turned around when Kiowa greeted him. She looks scary, but she's not!

Here's the link:  http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1080-S-Washington-St_Denver_CO_80209_M22840-32600?source=web

We're praying it goes quickly, but not too quickly since we have nowhere else to live yet!

Copper Mountain and the Edith Ann Chair

We went to Copper Mountain in between Christmas and New Year's, when the snow was so thin and icy that it seemed like they sprayed the mountain with a garden hose and let it sit over night. It was my first time going to Copper, and it didn't make a good first impression.  We didn't stay long, partially because of the mental images I had of me falling down the mountain and breaking bones, but we did get a few runs in and got to take pictures (the highlight of my day) in the big red chair that reminds me of the Edith Ann skits I used to watch on Sesame Street.

Long-Lost Family

My dad had told me over and over again that the next time we are in Iowa, we should stop to see his cousin Dick.  He said that Dick would love to see us and treat us like royalty.

Even though I had every intention of stopping in some day, my dad's passing made it seem like visiting his cousin was urgent. We drove to Iowa on Thursday and met Dick and his wife, Joan, for lunch on Friday.  They picked the fanciest restaurant in Ames and ordered like rock stars, telling the server that they knew the chef would meet their special requests: a spinach salad that wasn't on the menu, a half glass of wine, and a caramel macchiato that the chef had to Google to learn how to make.

They brought pictures to show us, including a Christmas card from 1987 in which I am making a terrible face at the camera, and pictures of my Grandma and Grandpa on trips to Iowa. I didn't hear too many stories about my dad, but it was fun to learn about his family.

I'm glad that we remembered to bring our camera!

Christmas Canvas

When I moved to Colorado, my (second) cousin Julia gave me a picture of the house that my grandpa and her grandma grew up in together. It's a shabby little house in Mississippi and the picture always generates questions from visitors, but I love it because it's where this man that meant (means) so much to me became a strong, God-fearing person.

That's why Nathan's Christmas gift was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift ever. He got the picture scanned in from my mom, and had it blown up on canvas.  We put it on the barn board in our bedroom. 

After we had hung it up and were admiring it, we both thought of the same saying: "You can't know where you're going until you know where you've come from."

Christmas Crafting

We got all decorated for Christmas a few weeks ago, and I realized that no one would see our festive house. I decided to invite my craftiest friends over for a Christmas craft party. Everyone brought enough supplies for the whole group and we painted, glued, and created for hours.


I love making centerpieces for our usually cluttered table. This one has lots of vases- my painted snowflake votives and other clear vases- that I filled with candles and epsom salt.

 I had to pretty-up these plastic wine glasses. Wine glass charms would have worked if I had had any, but different colors of ribbon were festive and helped everyone keep track of her glass.

 

I've always wanted to paint one of these glass blocks- the stick-on stencils were perfect!  

 

Glass ornaments with acrylic paint dripped inside makes for a cool affect. Mine is still drying and looks different every time I check on it!

I love these cute little bookmarks!  Popsicle stick, fancy ribbon, and 3D stickers to make these cute little bookmarks- so much better than the receipts I usually use.  I'm thinking this would be good for my class next year! 

We also made yo-yos with lots of fabric, gift tags out of paper bags and metallic paper, and snowflake vases. Now I have lots of projects to do over my break!

Blossoms of Light

Nate asked me if I wanted to be adventurous on Friday night, and my answer was unequivocally "no". When he told me this adventure involved walking around the Denver Botanic Gardens and looking at Christmas lights, I quickly changed my mind. I am pretty fortunate that this is his idea of an adventure.


We went to the Blossoms of Light  and bought the 3-D glasses that make every lightbulb look like a snowflake (I wore them all the way home- stop lights and tail lights were automatically festive).  Maybe it wasn't completely worth the $20 we spent, but it was fun to see the gardens at night and it was nice to do something Christmasy.

 

This picture was a long time in the making- when we were posing, a tiny toddler ran in front of us. Then he grabbed my hand. I thought it was because of the teacher-vibe I cast, but it turns out I was dressed exactly like his mom.  When he figured out I wasn't family, he screamed and ran away. At least we didn't have to Photoshop him out of the picture.

Being Resourceful- Snowflake Votives

I had about 15 vases leftover from our wedding that no one wanted to buy on Craigslist.  They're from the Dollar Store, so I can't blame them. I was sure that if I held onto them long enough, I'd come up with a use for them. I did.

Tomorrow, I'm turning those cheap little vases into snowflake votives with a few friends.  I practiced today on an old jar and this is what I came up with:

 I got foam snowflakes, metallic spray paint, self-adhesive beads, and a glittery sealant at Michael's. First, I stuck the snowflakes on the jar (that was cute in itself!) and did a light coat of the paint.  After it was dry, I did a layer of the sealant. When I was sure the paint was solid, I peeled the snowflakes off. I left one on for some texture but I haven't decided how I feel about that yet.  I added the beads as an afterthought but I like the way it turned out.

My first attempt was a fail- way too much spray paint and it ended up on the front walk (not sure how Nate is going to handle that when he gets home!) But going easy on the paint was the trick.


And my inspiration...the Yankee Candle votive that one of my sweet little students gave me yesterday.