Thanksgiving and Art Fair!

    Well, winter has officially set in and quite a bit a of snow is flying around here.  It's getting colder and colder but I am okay with that as it means skate ski season is bearing down upon us rapidly! Although Fran is having a heck of a time getting around with all the ruts on the roads and apparently 30*F is too cold to start, she seems to be enjoying the winter so far.  My form of a pray for snow dance this year was to take my skis in to have them waxed and tuned and I made a test run with Charlie... I took his lack of squirming as a sign of approval for the sport and thought he rather enjoyed keeping his paws warm.  I got some funny looks and a few giggles but yes to all you big dog lovers out there, my dog DOES fit in a fanny-pack, and YES he is STILL a dog NOT a rodent! ;) 
        So by the time Thanksgiving rolled around on Thursday I was ready for some stuffing and pie! It's interesting because I have never been truely crazy about traditional Thanksgiving food. Turkey is whatever, I don't care a bit for mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce gives me a tummy ache, so I usually just end up with a huge plate of veggies and stuffing followed closely by a large slice of pie.  This year proved to be no different and of corse I had snacked so much throughout the day that by the time the feast was ready I wasn't even hungry! My Thanksgiving plate wasn't nearly as impressive as Neil's or John's but most of it was quite good....7.5 minutes later....  I had gone to a Turkey Blaster Areobics class Thursday morning so I didn't feel the least bit guilty eating a second slice of apple cranberry pie while admiring Moms clever table  decorations....so cute!
       The day was only dampened by the realization that I had a arts and crafts fair the two following days and I still had 20 pillows to had sew closed.  I ended up staying up way past my bedtime watching war movies with Charlie to keep me motivated by constantly trying to steal my spools of thread......little rascal!  Friday morning we loaded everything up and headed to the Shore Lodge to set up.
       For those of you who don't know, about three months ago I joined a group of local artists called the McCall Artist Connection.  As a whole we do everything from sewing (me!) to photography to oil painting to sculpting (here's the group website if you wanna check it out  http://www.mccallartistconnection.org/ ).  We put on two shows a year here in McCall and this was my very first and I enjoyed it to my very core!
       Anywho, the fair went wonderfully and we had a fabulous turn out.  Besides having a ton of fun chatting with shoppers and other vendors, I made some extra Christmas money and did some advantageous bartering with some of the other artists! I wasn't sure what were the best item to sell so I used things I had handy and this is what I came up with:
 pillows (pendleton wool and leather)
wallets (check book size and half size)
journals that I bound by hand with recycled paper and potholders from old jeans and scrap material...and aprons
 my cozy little booth!!!!
        I think I also need to give a shout out to Mom for helping me build my lattice backdrop and to Rhonda for helping me design my business cards! THANKS GUYS!!!!  The show environment was extremely positive and encouraging and I was actually sad Saturday night when I was time to clean up and go home.  I go a few local sewing orders and am looking forward to see where (if anywhere) this skill takes me!  The Christmas season in here and I cant wait to start decorating so be on the lookout for the pics!
And of corse to end.... a darling picture of Charlie Brow in his winter coat snuggling with big brother Nikko.

Happy Halloween!

       Ok so I have to admit, Halloween hasn't been even close to my favorite holiday for many years now....I suppose pretty much since it became sociably unacceptable for me to trick-or-treat.  Plus, although I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas, I am not a candy fan.  BUT, this year because it was my first Halloween out of college I was determined to make it a good one! I was dissapointed it fell on a Monday and that we live too far out of town for trick-or-treating kids, but it actually turned out really well!
       So here's how it all went down: We rounded up all the girls and went out to one of the two bars in McCall on Saturday night, and yes, the person next me in the pink is a man.....clearly....We had tons of fun dancing and watching the costume contest at the Foresters Club but being the early riser that I am, I was at home in bed with Charlie by midnight.  I wore my costume to work on Sunday but I got the feeling people just thought I was a weirdo because it wasn't actually Halloween yet.  I had to explain multiple times that Stacey Cakes is closed on Monday or I would've worn then....lame.
       On Monday we had a little Halloween Scary Movie Double Feature at my house.  Camille rented Joy Ride and The Fourth Kind and I made movie munchies.  I actually got a bit carried away in the snack department....we had
mummy english muffin pizzas,

ghost and pumpkin chocolate cupcakes,

candy corn cookies,

spiked apple cider with "shrunken heads" (carved apples), and more!Of coarse I was in heaven and beaming with pride when everyone arrived.  I mean really, good food and great company; it just doesn't get any better than that!  On the other hand, I think I am picking the movies next year because The Fourth Kind absolutely terrified me and I spent the rest of the night convinced that I was going to be abducted by aliens.... and yes, I'll admit it, I slept with the light on...all night....But regardless of my rampant irrational fear I would definitely say all in all this years Halloween was a win!  And to close out this entry, you know it, I have another darling picture of Mr. Charlie Pants...because I just can't resist! :)