Christmas in July...

Hello Friends~

I had a finishing day today and thought I'd share my two recent finishes. I stitched the freebie from a long ago Prairie Schooler promotional card: The Nutcracker Santa for both of my boys. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

My friend, Diane...

gifted me with six ornaments that I stitched and finished for Little House Needleworks last year for the 2011 Monthly Ornaments. I have been stitching and finishing some of the 2012 ornaments this year and Diane generously gifted some of the ones from last year to make up for not stitching some for myself this year. Here they are, and I love each and every one of them. Thank you Diane :)

Speaking of friends...
some time ago a dear lady in the blogging community gifted me with a lovely little bluebird and quilted mat for him to sit on. I have neglected crowing about it here on the blog and I want to send a shout out to one great dame! Thank you Myra! My little bluebird of happiness sits here and always makes me smile real big!

So where do I stand...

we're mid-year now and how am I doing on my personal 2012 Ornament stitch off? Well, here's the results, 17 ornaments!!! Whoo HOO!! I think some of these will be entered into the fair, which ones...I don't know yet....

I've discovered...

a new to me author, who has written a book about Lucien, a fallen angel. It is fabulous, stunningly written, a real page turner and a great read! I finished it this past weekend and I loved it!

 Her second book, I'm currently reading is: Havah and it is the story of Eve and the fall of man. I'm about 10 chapters in and again, a fabulous read!

I'm really excited to read her third book, Iscariot, which (of course) is about Judas and his life story that is due out in February 2013. I would highly recommend these books to interested parties :)

(photos of the covers taken from Amazon, thank you Amazon)

I've recently...

become a real fan of Ree, the Pioneer Woman and today I made her calzones. Here are those incredibly delicious things:

partner these golden gems with a bit of marinara and you'll be smacking your face and calling me Mama! :)

Ok, well...

that does it for my little bit of the world. Until we see each other again, I'll be keeping my hands to work and my heart to God, just like always, join me!

Love in stitches,

Vonna 

The report...

A very hearty hello and howdy-doo, to all my blogging friends and stitching buddies!

I hope you all are doing well, time flies and once again we have been busy on all fronts.

On July 5....

I celebrated my 21st (X 2) birthday. We had a fabulous day and it was made perfect by the receipt of a box from my good, bestest buddy: Marie P. I adore Marie. She and I have enjoyed a friendship over the internet for some years now and I hope to one day meet her in person, where I will give her a big 'ol hug and kiss. She's a dear! Look what she stitched for me! A Santa for my someday Prairie Schooler Santa tree!

 

and I collect 1950's red handled kitchen utensils and sweet Marie found some for me in antique shops she has visited, I got a pastry cutter a pie crust fringe cutter and a can opener! I have a large crock filled with red handled kitchen items and I also use these babies in my cooking efforts. I love them! She also got me a gorgeous badge holder for work (located there in the box). Thank you sweet Marie!

 

The birthday girl...

treated herself to a set of Pink and White nails. I've had acrylic nails for about 3 years now and I have always admired the ladies that have the pink/white acrylics (not just the white tips or painted tips). Of course, as always with me, the Pink and White acrylics are more expensive for the full set and for the fill-ins because of the two colored powders used (pink and white). But I decided I would splurge and try to go longer in between fill-ins. (ha ha ha, right.....this was the excuse I gave the Mister). I love how they turned out and now I feel like I need to have my own reality show. (have you ever noticed that a lot of the women on reality shows have pink and whites? maybe its just me and my coveting problem...)

So that's a wrap for the birthday...

A lovely day!  A hearty thanks for all of you that wished me a Happy Birthday and sent me cards, e-mails and well wishes! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! You touch it in ways unknown and it always amazes me the many of you that remember. Thank you!

On to, our vacation in:

 We drank some of that sunshine in the form of orange juice:

 We made it to our condo where our view was:

 We were all vying to get ourselves out the door:



 And onto this:

While there we did a lot of:

 And some of:

and more of: 

 OK, a lot of:

 By the end of the day all we could do was drag ourselves to our balcony and stare at:

Then we took some artsy photos:

And after 8 days of bliss, arrived safely back home to return to the grind :)

I'm so thankful for my family, for my friends, for the many, many blessings the Lord bestows upon us and for you! Until next time, I'll be keeping my hands to work and my heart to God, just like always - join me!

Love in stitches,

Vonna