Walking in Circles

My life and my blogging have been random lately - odd bits of things I could write about, but not enough for a full post.

As I was walking around the house late last night (walking off a leg cramp), random thoughts danced around my fuzzy brain and I jotted things down on my phone.

I love our white walls

and am so happy that 2016 was the year the whole house went white.

Everything looks crisp and clean against the white backdrop.

I need someone living with us who will eat the mistakes when I'm baking for a party - I've eaten way too many smushed cookies this holiday season.

I would love to see 8 year old Sunny Pawar win the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Saroo Brierley in Lion -I cried from beginning to end of the movie.

Carmel is magical

any time of year

and especially at Christmas-

even in the rain.

The 17 Mile Drive is spectacular,

but I am content with my own home.

I would have been happy without any gifts for Christmas

 - being with our daughter and her boyfriend along with our son and his wife for a family vacation in Carmel was enough.

But, I really do love my new jadeite dishes,

 Fishes Eddy star plates

and colorful Moda towels my family gave me.

Holga arrived too late for Christmas, but I gave her a plant and a heart so I think she can hang out in the guest room through Valentines Day.

Not hosting a party on New Year's Eve made this week very relaxing-

just a little bit of decorating - the clocks are paper plates.

You're probably thinking, "she's really rambling now - we already saw that pic!", but I'm sure you didn't notice the ring on her left hand - KC is engaged!

With that, I'm done walking in circles and I wish you

a Happy New Year!

For the person who has everything . . .

This post has nothing to do with Christmas, but I did capture a few seasonal pics for an intro.

Steve and I recently had birthdays just 3 weeks apart and we are at the point in our lives when we neither need or want anything.

So, we were intrigued when our daughter-in-law texted to tell us to meet them in Woodland Hills last week and to wear clothes we didn't care about ruining - oh dear, were we doing a session of Paint Ball?

Truthfully, we didn't much care what we were doing because we were looking forward to a new experience and spending time with our son and his wife is always a treat!

I wonder if you have any idea yet what did?

First we met at a restaurant called Gasolina and I wish I had taken photos of some of the cool decor inside - we ate outside.

And then, we headed to a mall.

My daughter-in-law, Aylin, had planned an afternoon of throwing pots for the 4 of us.

The interior of Bitter Root Pottery is very cool -

this wall reminds me of something I would see in Anthropologie

and I'm in love with those lights.

I have wanted to throw pots since I was in college - I signed up for a class my senior year, but 23 units and a part time teaching job was just too much so I had to drop the class.

The whole process was far easier than I imagined.

and we were all such fast learners that we each had time to make 2 pieces.

These are my two pieces - the scuffed spots were caused when I used my fingers to make the scalloped edge and they were smoothed out right after the photo.

It was so fun to see what we each ended up with considering we all started with the same sized ball of clay.

We only had a 2 hour session so chose our colors (just a few color choices) - I chose white for the bowl and blue for the vase.

Someone from the studio will paint them once they are dry.

Aylin will head back to Bitter Root in a few weeks to retrieve our creations.

The entire afternoon was an unexpected adventure and I would totally recommend it as a gift for the person who has everything.

Lulu's Christmas

I have Jann of Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson to thank for my relaxing week.

She put me first on the schedule for the Creating Christmas Link Party

which meant I had to be finished decorating by Sunday.

That left me free to simply enjoy Christmas.

Lulu has been enjoying Christmas

 and she particularly likes my Maileg pixies.

This is Lulu last Christmas with Henry.

She and Olaf are great friends

and Lulu enjoys rearranging Olaf on the sofa.

All the decorating tires her out

and she needs to take frequent breaks.

My Maileg Santa sits on a bench in the guest room and Lulu has never shown any interest in him.

This is the scene that greeted me when I came home this afternoon -

Obviously Steve had replaced Santa in his spot hoping that I might not notice his beard.

I actually think the new look is kind of fun, but I did move Santa off the bench.

Lulu definitely loves this time of year and wishes you a Merry Christmas.