Hello.

 

Thank you for all the Facebook and email love.

We are good.  

Our house is fine.  

And, despite skipping trick-or-treating for the time being, we all had a good night.  

Hanging out in our Halloween socks.

At a hotel, because we have not had power since sometime Monday afternoon.  

It has been a fun night actually.  

The hotel only had a suite left, so we have lots of room, two tv's, and a nice gym right below us.

Score:).  

If you have emailed me in the last three days-- well, really since Sunday-- I will respond aSaP!  This is the first time I have connected my laptop to the internet in the last few days and have a bunch of messages to read through still.  Thank you for understanding!!

We were fortunate.  

Our area was not hit that hard.  I think the eye of the storm pretty much went over us...or fairly close.  However, the Jersey shore, north Jersey, and NYC-- parts of those areas are just destroyed.  It breaks my heart to look at the photos and listen to the stories on the radio.  Our favorite beach was literally underwater yesterday.  Having no power kinda sucks.  And walking around in puddles in the basement, that sucks too.  But those little things pale in comparison to the devastation on the news.  

I am thankful to be in matchy socks tonight with my babies and boy. 

I am reminded that we are small people; and God is so big and powerful.

And I am in awe that the One who calms the winds and waves with a simple word 

loves me.  

Good night, friends!

Gonna make good use of this suite while we got it;).

xx

Apple.

 

 

 

 

Here is a sneak peek of a new digi named "Snow."

The next release will be princess-themed!  

I am so excited...All these pretty girls to share!:)

Mark November 8 on your calendars...

And I took these fun photos of Niamhy last week.  

They were for a fun photo challenge...But not sure I'll be able to post them later this week with the crazy storm coming...so figured I'd share them in the same post as "Snow"...since they kinda go together:).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those boots are Blowfish shoes for kids. 

So cute, huh!?

Hope you all have a lovely start to your week!

Hugs:)!

Monster Storm for Halloween

I received a couple Facebook messages asking whether we were in the path of Hurricane Sandy.

Thanks guys!  That was so thoughtful:)!!

Yes. 

We are nestled right in South Jersey, where she is suppose to make landfall sometime late tomorrow/ early Tuesday morning.

I thought we were free and clear this year- it being almost Halloween and all!  

But Sandy had to get all friendly and is really insisting on a visit...

So we made some preparations.

Like buying the staples for hurricane survival.

Ridiculous amounts of batteries and water. 

Lots of dog food. 

A ton of candles.  (As many as I could find in pine scent...so we may loose our house, but it will smell like Christmas while we do.)

PB and J.

Diet Coke. (I will not survive personally without it.)

And lots of other really, really important things...

 

Like Ice.  

And we got there a little late.  So I started sweating and freaking out.

Not because I thought we would die without it...but I didn't want to have to tell my mom I waited till the last minute and had to go iceless.  Especially when she told me to get some the night before!

Yup...all gone.

So that is when you tell your kids to get on the ground and see if they can get a glimpse of any in the back, hidden in reserve for the lucky employee families. 

And when they spot those hidden bags, push your youngest kid through the door onto the shelf...

Tell him to man up and go save his family from Sandy.

Luckily, the store employee saw Philly's ankles hanging out of the freezer and offered to go grab us three bags.

Lovely man.

Good thing I am super prepared and have my priorities in the right spot, because I did pick up the most important things before stopping for ice...

Like all the Home Alone movies.

 

And cheetah print slippers.

Which will be perfect if we get flooded.  

 

And a few extra flash lights. 

All of which will have run out of batteries before the storm even gets here because of being used like this for creepy story-telling.

 

I know. 

I know...

You thought I forgot the most important thing-- Smash supplies. 

Nope, got them too.

So now I can be smashing as our house floats away.

Told you I am prepared:).

 

On a more serious note, 

I hope that all of you in the path of Sandy stay safe and sound.  

Hope by the time she gets to you, that she is much less than a hurricane and simply moves out quick.  I know that a lot of my crafty friends are scattered up and down the eastern seaboard, so my thoughts and prayers are with you all.

We are just gonna hang out here for the next few days.

Philly and Niamh's school is already cancelled through Tuesday...

And Phineas and Ferb are keeping smiles on our faces!

I am scheduling a sneak peek post for tomorrow...so even if we lose power, there should be something fun for you guys to check out:).  I may not be able to publish comments or respond to emails, depending on the electric situation...

But I will get to them all eventually!

Have a great week, friends...wherever you are!

Hugs!

Coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, you wanna grab a coffee?

I'd tell you that I love fall, more and more as I get older.  I think it is the hardest time of year to eat clean.  Because Wawa puts Butternut Squash and Apple soup on its menu Monday and Thursday.  And that stuff is like amaze.  Not even amazing.  Yup, the 'ing' falls right off cuz you just veg out as it fills your tummy with warm goodness:).  

It is also filling my hips and thighs with warm goodness.  Although, my jeans are having a fit.  (no pun intended;)...

I'd tell you that I really love our new dog.  And now I want another.  What the heck is wrong with me? I already have the breed picked out.  I have a thing for massive, scary dogs:).  

Phil is changing shifts soon, so that he can go to church every Sunday, instead of every other...which is what he has to do now.  I'm so proud of him.  His heart is beautiful.  And he is cute on the outside too.  Double whammy, that guy. 

That Philly got his first sack this week.  And he told me the next day when I picked him up from school, "Guess what I thought about ALL DAY LONG, mom?"  Me:  school work??  "Nope.  MY SACK."  My little meat head:):).  

That Philly and Niamh come out of the bedroom every so often after I tuck them in and ask, "Can we each have a sweater to sleep with?"  They love to snuggle my sweaters.  I melt.

I'd tell you that Phil and I are part of a team working to plant a new church in our area.  And that our monthly meetings are a blessing.  That I've seen God answer our prayers already.  When you have a need-- like, God please help my heart change from this to this-- He WILL move.  He will change you.  Even if it is little by little. Be bold in your prayers, friends.  He is listening and working.  

That I tried to re-produce the Butternut Squash soup stuff this week in a crockpot. 

That was an epic FAIL.

That Niamh is so innocent and loving toward other girls.  She is so trusting and sweet.  Sometimes I worry.  Because little girls can be clicky... And I don't want her feelings hurt.  

That she asked me this week, "Will zombies ever happen?"  I told her, "No."  Then overheard her ask Phil in the other room the same thing.  He said, "I'm not sure."  Zombie geek.

I talked to my mom on the phone and told her about Niamh's zombie question.  She said that my dad and brother were already planning  to leave her as bait if there was a zombie apocalypse because she would pretty much just be useless during a zombie attack:).  

Okay.  My family has serious attachment issues to The Walking Dead.  

I'd tell you that my girl is getting straight A's at this moment.  We never push for it...because I never want my kids to feel stressed out about their grades.  But hey, if they want to get all A's here and there-- I'm all for it:).

That I have a sneaker-buying problem.  I do run a lot, so I think it is justified.  I think.

I'd tell you that I can't believe how many people leave me sweet comments and send me loving emails...just to say "hi."  I love you guys...Seriously, I really love this space and the people that let me share a little about myself and family on this blog.  You all make my heart so happy:).

So...

Now it is your turn:)...

Anything special to share?...Love reading your thoughts on my coffee posts!

Have a lovely Friday, friends!

Christmas Memories Mini Hop!

 

 

The snow may be chilly, but this snow angel can melt it.  That, I am sure of:).

If I had an alter ego, I'd want it to look like this chick.  

All sassy; like Donna Reed meets Jessica Rabbit.  

And do you love the papers?

Me too!!

You can find gorgeous digital papers in Mindy's Etsy shop.  

They print beautifully and are easy to re-size, too.

Perfect for all your Christmas creations!!!

Have you started Christmas cards yet??

I am officially two cards in.  

For me, that is totally ahead of the game!

Yay for hops that get my butt in gear:)!!!....

Next stop on the mini hop is Mindy's blog!

And if you'd like to circle around, check out Yani's lovely Christmas creation here. 

Short hop.

Lots of pretty.

And a kick in the pants to gettcha all Christmas crafty and all...

Perfect way to start a Friday!

Coupon for Evalicious!

 

 

 

 

 

Evalicious is a super chic, artsy-fartsy, really unique online shop.  I kinda stalk it. And buy super cute things.  And then stalk it some more:).

I have a whole Evalicious supplies drawer.  

Because any shop that ends with "licious" deserves its own drawer, people.

I used lots of her cute kit stuffs on my scrap page for Philly's birthday bowling party.  As you can see, her pieces work great with every other brand as well!!  

Eve is the shop owner...

Here is a little about her operation.

Shopevalicious.com is a small, indie, online shop specializing in art journals, badge buttons, paper tags, handmade pretties & other scrapbook goods. Most of the items you see in the shop are handmade and eco-friendly in some way or another.This little shop was established in 2008 by Eve Johnson, owner & designer, when she felt the great need to offer some handmade goodness to others in hopes that these items would bring a smile to their faces as they did to hers. And also to support her craft spending habits. But a hobby store turned into a part time endeavour and now she gets to work part time at her other “job” and run her shop the other days of the week.

Eve is offering my readers 15% off any order from now through November 4th using code: SC15.  If you are doing a December Daily, she has the perfect embellishment kit, holiday art journal, and even adorable Christmas buttons!  Woop. Woop.

Thanks for stopping over in your busy day!

Hugs:).

Sponsor in November.

 

We are all good apples over here.

We know, because we went all Snow White and tried everyone.

If you'd like to join the bunch for the month of November, please check out my advertising page and email me at krista7smith@yahoo.com to reserve a spot.  

We are growing fast and would love to help promote your blog/shop!:).

ODD...

 

So, I made a really fun video and wrote a post over HERE today. 

Check it out if you want:)...

Also, you can get 25% off all orders for the next 24 hours with code ODDCANARY.

Thanks for visiting:)...

Happy...what, is it Wednesday??...Okay, Wednesday then:).

mwah!!

Shape EZ Template Giveaway!!

 

How cute is the pumpkin shaped card?

Tammy sent me this pumpkin template to try out.  It is SO easy to use!  I sized it down, printed it out. Then sized it down a tad bit more and printed another, for the flowered layer on top.  It folds easily, and is the perfect card for the fall!

Tammy is giving away three templates:)...You can check out all her Shape EZ designs in the Whimsy Stamps shop.  Then, come back and leave a comment with which one you'd want to work with.

The giveaway is open to everyone and closes on Friday, October 26th.  

Please one comment each.

If you'd like to check out some pretty awesome creations, click over to Tammy's blog, Handmade by TLC.  I follow her, too.  It is a blog full of inspiration...definitely worth a spot on your blog role!!

Thanks for stopping by, lovelies.

Have a beautiful Tuesday.

PS...Mandi, Gretchen, and Mandy~ You girls won the Polymer Clay Box buttons giveaway!! Congrats, friends!! Please email me at krista7smith@yahoo.com to receive your gifts.

Hello [creepy] Pretty Girl

 

 

 

 

Here is another card with my FREEBIE image:).

(Grab the image here if you have not already!)

I really love Halloween cards done with non-Halloween images.  Regular, everyday images transformed into "creepy" with a little imagination and the right combo of colors.  

The year 1807?

Well, I thought an old sign with a year below the image might make the card look a little more eerie...and for some reason, 1807 just feels kinda scary:). I did google "1807 creepy tales" and nothing interesting came up.  Just incase you were wondering...

Thought it was fun to compare both cards, too.

She really does look so different. I like her a little creeped out, myself.

Hope you all have a nice, relaxing Sunday.

Huggles!