keyword: 'hApPy'

It's been quite a

decade...

for me,

for you,

and for everyone in between us.

Shall we try something new? Let's.

Let's try a revolution... a

happiness revolution.

It won't take much effort...

no treadmills, no special diets,

no forfeiture of your favorite bad habits.

Nothing to throw out, nothing new to purchase.

No trips to the doctor, no new pills to take.

it will be quite simple really....

image from thebedlamofbeefy

it's on the fridge already, it's my plan for the next decade!

many, many, many new years' wishes for your happiness!!
¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

10 Things

How sweet is this?

Thrilled to have recieved this award from Tracey of 'imjustyouraveragemom'! Thanks Tracey!

It comes with a little job...post 10 interesting things about yourself...

huh? just 10??
ok... I'll try...
I'll start with the biggest one...

I'm somewhat of a miracle.

On Sept 15, 2007, at the tender age of 43 I survived a heart attack. It was quite a life changing event, as I learned that only 7% of women under the age of 45 actually survive a heart attack. Sitting at my painting desk I began to exprerience heart burn that just wouldn't quit and started traveling thru my uppper body, even into my jaw. I called myself an ambulance and sure enough...that was it. A very scary event as I was whisked from one hospital to another (via ambulance) and had an emergency cath operation, followed by a night in ICU and three nights in the hospital. Not something I like to talk about or think about but I can tell you that each and every day since then life has never been the same. Today my heart is quite strong, I'm happy to say...my cardio doc (who's name is Dr. Cinderella, how cute is that?) calls it "excellent". Life is a miracle I will never take for granted again. All done talking about that!

less serious but possibly interesting things about me....

Number two...

I'm quite a pack rat...no matter how hard I try, I just find one reason or another to keep things.

Drives my husband crazy! He should just consider himself lucky to be among those 'things' I like to keep!! lol...and speaking of keeping things...

Number three..

I realized not too long ago that I have been cooking with the same cookware that was given to us as a wedding gift, 23 years ago.

Farberware. It works, why change it?

and while I'm in the kitchen...

Number four...

My everyday silverware is sterling.

YUP, I'm that crazy....I polish it too! I just love it, it makes me feel like I'm at my grandmother's eating her wonderful tomato soup she always served us. On her stove was a crystal pitcher full of soup spoons, sterling soup spoons. I have that pitcher now on my stove, full of sterling soup spoons. It's one of my favorite things.

Number five...

I'm quite handy with power tools.

Ya, at one point in my life I was actually a member of Sears' "Craftsmen Club"...(well, you got a discount for being a member!!)

My favorite magazine, which I have quite a collection of in the attic, (remember the pack rat thing above?...) was 'Family Handyman'. I've built many things around this one hundred year old house we live in...my granite island, built in window seats, my little towel storage area in our tiny bathroom (which required cutting a hole in the wall, when my husband came home from work that day and saw it, he almost passed out! lol), new stairs on our back porch, all my window boxes, a new floor on my front porch...you get the idea. I guess I get this knack from my dad, who got it from his dad,

a skilled carpenter and house builder many years ago.

Number six...

I have a coat fetish. I don't know what that is all about, but I would hate to count how many coats I own... a number I never want to know. I think I may have unknowingly passed this along to my daughter. Sorry Hannah, but try to enjoy it honey, there are worse fetishes out there.

ummmm... am I boring you yet? sorry. I'll wrap it up.

let's just do one more...

Number seven...

I have this 'late in life' obsession with playing tennis. It is directly related to the first item on my list here and Dr. Cinderella thinks it's wonderful. But Dr. Cinderella doesn't see how obsessed I can get about winning, and how mad I get when I have a bad game!

ok... it's not ten but I've tortured you enough!

have a great week everyone!!
¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

Be Merry!

The Christmas Picture Photo Shoot

Every year we try to get a decent family photo to send to relatives in our Christmas cards. Usually it is a chore...lot's of 'hurry up Mom' ... 'that's good enough Mom'... 'I'm not changing my shirt or smiling again Mom' ... you know, like I was asking them to do the dishes or something??? geez... well this year it was different... for over an hour we tried to get all six of us, (4 humans and 2 pets) to get in one shot that everyone was happy with....the fun and amount of laughter we shared was simply priceless!! coaxing Jessie into position...

"I don't want to...just give me that treat in your pocket!!"

oh Hannah! so close!!

there! not bad... except dad didn't like it... more..let's try the couch...

how about just me and Mike mom???

no ....
stop wrestling and get into position!!

yuck.

yuckier.

no. geez jessie...stop staring at Piff and look at the camera!

maybe....

can't even remember what was so funny...

where'd Piff go????

ok... maybe?? except dad's not exactly smiling... ??? I give up!

we'll try a New Years Card. Merry Merry Christmas everyone!!!

paula:)

Number Ten..... come on down!!

Congrats to Sandy Michelle of Sandy's Creations!!!

Thanks to all for your sweet comments... I so enjoyed reading them, your 'beliefs' were very inspiring. Always needing reminders of how good life really is! I really love doing giveaways so this won't be my last!

Bless you all!

paula:)

Time to Believe and to pay it foward...

I spend alot of time 'believing' these days so it seemed a perfect fit to paint a 'Believe' sign for my next giveaway.

be·lieve ~ to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something

'Believe' measures 18"x12" ... a darling angel sits at the top with her eyes closed, her wings and ribbon are sprinkled with silver german glass glitter which as we all know will tarnish over time
adding a bronze patina for more vintage charm!

So sweet friends....my plan is this...
starting today and ending on Sunday eve at 7pm...

leave a comment on this post...
is there anything you have a firm conviction about? share it with us....we'd love to hear it....tis the season to believe...for me, I'm believing in miracles...they happen everyday.

and just like my last giveaway, I'd love for you to become a follower (if you aren't already), post about it on your blog then come back and leave another comment that you've posted it (adds you in for a second chance)

I'll be drawing the winner Sunday night (via random.org), then shipping to the winner on Monday morning, priority mail! (be sure to watch for my email or my comment on your blog...I'll need your addy pronto!)

(trying to beat Santa on this one!)

good luck!

***about my nephew...Kirby remains in the hospital, still waiting for him to get stronger and move to rehab. For too many reasons I haven't been able to make a trip up there but my heart remains with my sister and family...thankyou all so much for the emails, kind words left here on my blog and for your prayers...keep praying with me and keep believing.

lots of love,

paula:

your system has been infected!!

well girls, i've got a virus. been 2 days trying to repair it, no luck.
I'm posting from my husbands computer which is fine for online and email, but that's where it ends. no software...me without my photoshop and all the other gadgets and files on my computer, well....it's not good. not pretty at all. I'm a bear when my computer is down and it is really down.
wish me luck, wish those around me luck too.
paula:)

out of the woods, sort of...

feel like I'm still in the woods, a little lost.

Christmas is a season of

hope,

I'm finding myself hoping more and more each day.

After my last post here I recieved a phone call from my sister, my nephew had a serious car accident. His injuries have been severe, they've operated on his arm, he now has a plate and 2 screws. He is still in the hospital as I write, and probably will be for a few more days. They are now dealing with the complications from a severe concussion, he is not able to do many things...walk, talk, hold a cup and has difficulty staying awake. My heart is just broken to pieces for my sister and her husband, their worlds are turned upside down.

So every day I try to keep busy...painting and decorating for Christmas...

the season of

HOPE.

I did celebrate my birthday yesterday despite the mood I woke up in...

not quite in a birthday sort of mood but

my daughter took care of that...

let's go mom...out to breakfast, shopping at the beach, out to lunch...she kept me hopping and laughing. A sweet little girl I have, I love you lot's Hannah.

I'll be sharing more of my Christmas decor later this week and announcing my new giveaway!

¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

Update.. Friday, December 11th....

Kirby remains in the hospital and has undergone a second surgery on his arm. He shows very little improvement and they are afraid he has severe brain damage. When they feel he is stable enough, he'll be moved to a rehab center in Boston.

As each day goes by it is harder and harder for me to be so far away from them and more than likely, within the next week, I will be making a trip up there to be with my sister and family.

As difficult as it is, we remain hopeful...he's young and strong-willed...I'm constantly reminding myself of this.

Thankyou all so much for your kind words, thoughts and prayers...you'll never know how much it has meant. I plan to keep in touch...visiting blogs and chatting helps the soul alot!

bless you all,

paula

Let it begin...and Père Noël

I have to confess,

decorating

for Christmas is truly my favorite part of the whole event!

(this is news to you I'm sure!! )

Let the decorating begin!

For some unknown reason it begins at the mantle in the kitchen...

this year I made little pots of boxwood tied with grosgrain chartruese bows...all nestled among oodles of silver and gold beads....

simply divine me thinks!

It is such a beautiful Sunday here ~mild and pure sunshine~ that I'm off to the woods to gather some different pines to bundle and hang here and there!

Just a little shout out first for

Père Noël!

A new sign I've listed on ebay for a little French Country Christmas!

...you can see more of him here.

Au Revoir sweet bloggers!

¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

Never been much for

Black Friday, and I'm guessing if you're reading this you aren't too. I do have a childhood memory of one Black Friday my parents ventured out. But it wasn't to buy gifts, it was to purchase a new oven. That was the year Mom burnt the turkey, and the oven along with it.

We woke up to smoke alarms going off at like 6am..

that was a Thanksgiving to remember!

{we can laugh about it now}...

I guess there simply has never been anything I wanted, or I wanted to give so badly that it warranted getting up at the wee hours of the morning, getting into a cold vehicle and joining masses of strangers at a store. Nope, nothing, never!
Now if by chance this particular item was a Black Friday special ...

say...70% off....

"Magnificent stone built villa with small seaview on a closed
Alpes Maritimes 06, Provence-Cote-dAzur
€1,900,000"

...well...
THAT would be a horse of different color!!

happy bargain hunting to all!
¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

Today I am one!

It almost slipped by...I almost missed it.
Today is my One Year Blog Anniversary!
It has me contemplating how wonderful this little,
{ok..not so little} blogland is.
I now have 200 friends that I didn't have one year ago...200! That's alot by anyone's definition! Friends that stop by my place or I stop by theirs and send words of encouragement, words of laughter and words of praise...all so important in our human lives.
This morning PJ sent me an email to let me know about Cathe's (Just Something I Made) little blog "friendship graphic" she made for all to share...isn't it so cute!

and about EdieWadsworth’s post about blogging freinds... two very worthwhile reads!

Thankyou PJ!

Leaving you with two Thanksgiving funnies....I think they are for womens' enjoyment only!

A wonderful, family filled Thanksgiving to you all!
¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

46 years ago today...and, 2 weeks later

You may have noticed, or you may not have,

I'm a bit of a

'quotaholic'

(a word that is not even in the dictionary, yet.)

On this day in 1963 we lost a man who not only inspired a nation to
look foward,
but spoke so eloquently about it that we commit his words to memory.


I grew up with his portrait hanging on the wall of my parents home, often gazing at it in awe of his handsomeness, never knowing till many years later why my mother had so proudly hung this man's picture.

Every year, at many Thanksgiving gatherings around the country, his words are repeated as families and friends offer a toast or a prayer
before they share their meal.
They are as meaningful today as they were then.

So take this toast with you on Thursady, wherever you gather with those you love...

my Thanksgiving gift to you, so to speak.

Oh, and two weeks later? I was born.
¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

Lunch with Anthony Bourdain and .... being Thankful

Yesterday I had the most wonderful lunch..

(panera bread butternut squash soup!)

while watching my favorite bad boy

Anthony Bourdain

tour Venice, Italy.

(you thought I really had lunch with him didn't you?)

He lunched with artist Geoffrey Humphries after touring his studio.

Below is a photo of darling Georffrey in his studio...

how cute is he???

His studio overlooks the Giudecca Canal

(a well-known centre for music and the arts)

where he teaches courses on painting and life drawing.

He is also an accomplished blues guitarist, and spends part of every year painting and exhibiting in the Deep South of the United States - New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah.

well, I noticed that Geoffrey and I have one thing in common...

we have the same little black hat!

Just that I don't paint with mine on, it mostly hangs on the wall!

well anyways...back to my lunch on the couch...

naturally I start thinking about my studio and well, how small it is!!

This has been an issue for me for over a year now...

just take a look...here's where I paint...

then I roll my chair about 4 feet to the right and ...bam!...my computer....

This is when I start whining... I want a bigger studio!

Then I remember...

when I started painting, (how ever many moons ago that was),

I painted on the kitchen table.

It was easier to watch dinner on the stove but that was about it.

So... since it's Thanksgiving I thought...

maybe I should just be thankful I have a studio!

Yeah. That's it. I'm just going to be Thankful I have a studio.

(well...til New Years anyways...then all bets are off!)

wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!
¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

LuLu's Giveaway!

This girl does it all....

but I so love her jewelry!

Her latest giveaway is for these gorgeous earrings!

They are fine brass, Swarovski pearls and fine brass ear wires.

You have until Sunday, November 22nd at 7 pm to enter and she's giving you three chances! Hop over to her beautiful blog here to enter....coastalsistersnews

and be sure to go to her etsy shop coastal sisters and her gorgeous website Coastal Sisters.

Lulu's jewelry is so unique...she is an artisan with quite an eye for design!

Good Luck to you ... and me!! lol:)
¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

{knee deep}

There's bad 'knee deep'

and there's good 'knee deep'...

and I'm in the good kind!

Just posting to let you all know that I am here...

I'm just knee deep in signs

{and loving it!}

I don't always get a chance to respond but I am reading all of your

comments & so appreciate them!

ok...back to painting i go :)
¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

Time to Celebrate!

It's time...and what a celebration it is!
The winners...

RED... hands down,

most of you decorate for Christmas with traditional reds...

the runner up was whites...

and lot's of silver and gold...{definately}...

what fun it was to read all your comments and visit your blogs!

{this I'm still working on!}

But now the real winner......

Teresa from Life in my Nest!! (#27)!!!

congrats Teresa!

I'll be over to your blog to congratulate you personally!

Oh, and my favorite?

Greens!

I love lot's of fresh greenery all around the house!

I gather from the gardens or the woods starting on Thanksgiving day

(usually a family walk with the dog...it's a great cure for 'oooohhh I ate too much'!)

then a week or so of making my own wreaths and garlands.

I add lot's of white lights and silver and gold embellishments... love it:)

To all of you who entered, my sincere thanks!

I will be doing another giveaway in December so stay tuned,

it will be a Christmas present to keep!
´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´paula

{adoring Nordic style}

I am slowly falling in love with the French ~ Swedish Nordic style ...

Teresa from Dreaming in Pink with Roses shared this fabulous site,

Swedish Interior Design

where I fell in love with this sleigh...

I can see this in my front yard, filled with brown paper wrapped presents

and lush Christmas greenery...

and this simple and lovely tablecloth from Jeanne d'Arc Living...

This is simplicity at it's finest! You can win this,

along with other great French Nordic style goodies at Tracey's blog,

French Larkspur

This style of simple and all natural decorating was the inspiration for a sign I have on ebay now...

French Country Christmas Joyeux Noel Sign

and there's still time to get in on my giveaway!

Best wishes for a lucky weekend!
¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

{sometimes you just gotta twirl}

wow...
never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined!
When I thought of doing a blog giveaway my thoughts were...
'it will be fun, wouldn't it be nice to meet new bloggers?
have more followers...even 50? yes, that would be fun. '

but I never thought it would be this fun!!

Thankyou all for such wonderful comments,
each and every one of you!
I'll be visiting all of you in the coming days:) pinky swear!
you have me twirling!
(and it's not even over yet!)
so far... traditional red seems to be the Christmas color of choice & I am amazed!

Giveaway Time!

Dreaming of Christmas...{well, it's cold outside...really cold!}

...so I have Christmas decorating on my mind!

A perfect time for my first blog giveaway don't you think?

The winner will recieve a $40.00 gift certificate to my etsy shop!

You can keep this for yourself or give it as a gift...

I'll be mailing it or sending it via email,

winners choice!

Tell me your favorite Christmas decorating color...

is it shades of white?

traditional reds?

shabby pinks?

shades of green?

or seaside blues?

Two easy steps to be entered to win....

first, if your aren't already, become a follower of my blog,

{simply click "follow" on the right side bar}...

second, leave a comment on this post..

telling me your fave Christmas decorating color!

before Saturday, Nov 14th at noon {drawing day!}

Double your chances by posting about my giveaway on your blog!

Just come back here and leave a second comment to let me know.

Winner will be chosen via random.org.

and will be contacted via email or your blog:)

Good Luck!´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´paula