A perfect Thanksgiving gathering...note I didn't host-ha!

Okay, so if I didn't love my mother-in-law I might have to hate her. She and my father-in-law hosted the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. She had a boatload of people over and although most brought a dish to share a ton of cooking had already been done and the house was immaculate. Fast forward one week and she has jump-down-turn-around transformed the entire house to Christmas and prepared to have a party for 60+ people! Eat your heart out Martha--you have nothing on Susan!

Etsy Front Page 10/29/09 KimsCraftyApple

Okay...this list has me ready for fall. Crisp leaves under my feet and the smell of the wood burning stove in the air (hey...I live in the country) and sipping some warm cider. Yes, I am officially ready.

My parents are now at their beach cottage at OBX. So needless to say I am green with envy. As I trudge into work everyday I just get to dream of that lovely beach smell and sinking my toes in some sand. Oh summer…I already miss you so! I would be remiss without mentioning my favorite eatery Tortugas Lie. If you go--get the fish tacos and a Corona. Mmmmmm. Delicious!

**Okay, so the picture my seem a bit random but these beautiful little fuzzy buds were everywhere in North Carolina this summer. I just had to show them off. I have to figure how to work this bud into some earrings!

Etsy Front Page 10/9/09 moonovermaize

This is sad to admit but here goes nothing...(saying this in one big gulp of a giant breath) when I saw myself on front page I watched it for the entire hour it was up. "You're so vain--you probably think this song is about you..." I know! I feel so narcissistic. It is just such a rush to watch the clicks and heart go up. There. I said it.

Blonde Chocolate Chip Brownies

I have a delicious recipe to share from some fellow colleagues of mine. So yummy and so simple. Get ready to hit print cause you are going to want this recipe.



Blonde Chocolate Chip Brownies

You will need:
1/3 cup margarine, softened ( I use butter)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup chocolate chips (go ahead--you know you want to add more)

Preheat your oven to 350
Spray an 8x8 pan

Put the margarine in a mixer (medium) and mix well
Add sugar and mix well
Add egg and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix well
In a separate large bowl, mix flour, soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread mixture using a rubber scraper in the greased 8x8 square pan.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Yum--Trust me…you will love.
PS--I find it funny that I am posting this after writing about my dog and his weight problem. Oh the irony!

Okay…I have a confession to make. My dog is overweight. I know I know…bad pet owner. It has gotten to the point of being so bad that I dread going to the vet for his yearly shots. I don’t want to get yelled at. I already know we should walk more and I should feed him less but those big liquid brown eyes looking at me while I eat dinner…I just have to share. I know--for shame!
Things aren’t so bad that my dog looks like this

but then again he isn’t like this either.

But in my defense even if I don’t share-he garbage hunts. My dog has a nose! I know the situation is bad when our dear friends call him Porker instead of Parker--ouch. Well Jake and I had a moment of genius last night! Next time we have to take Parker to the vet (insert past due cause I fear them so much) we will suit him up in his doggy spanx. Yup. A girdle for my pup. It can be made to match his fur color etc--you know so it just blends in with his natural coat. Google! You let me down! I thought for sure someone else would have had this idea and you would have a nice little picture for me to insert. Alas no luck. So you will have to imagine the scenario.

Stage: In a room at the vet office

Me: Okay Parker…Hop up on the scale
Vet: I don’t understand--your dog has gained 8 pounds since last year…yet he looks so svelte.
Me: Turns to the camera and breaks the fourth wall like old school Fresh Prince episodes-- smiles, winks and whispers “Thanks Doggy Spanx!”
Me: Turns back to vet--Well you know muscle weighs more than fat so I am sure that is the reason…

My husband is the outdoorsy type. So in order for me to feel like a good wife I cave every once in awhile and we go canoeing or hiking. I always balk but in the end am so glad we went out and I got a chance to move my bones. The picture is from our “Old Rag” hike (I know…hateful name for a mountain) which is pretty much up hill for the first 4-5 miles. The beautiful view made it well worth the journey but then again I didn’t have a 42lb backpack otherwise known as the goose. If you travel out that way I would recommend visiting around the cute little town of Sperryville. There is a great place to have lunch and ice cream called the Abbey. I think I officially consumed any calories that were burned off during the hike.

Etsy Front Page 9/17/09 Admin

Woot Woot. Now if I can just break into etsy primetime...like Leno!

Well with my first week back to school it can suffice to say that summer as I know it is over and as always… it is terribly bitter sweet. I miss my lazy summer days of hanging out with my family, sipping coffee in the morning and the luxury of just putzing around the house. So I thought I would reminisce and share a photo or two of our trip to the Outer Banks.
***Note for crafters*** While at the beach I must have a project and I love to make handmade critters for my daughter. I thought I would share a project from a lovely book "Sock and Glove" --check it out if you get a chance.

Etsy Front Page 9/1/09 Magillie

Well I have had a blog post on hold for awhile now and I haven't been able to post due to photo upload glitches. So to heck with that topic and lets talk about something else.

I feel like the etsy stars aligned for me yesterday. I had a bracelet get selected for fp. Plus...drum roll please - - - - - - - - - - - A treasury I created went Front Page! This is a first for me! Sadly, I had to hear about this second hand and not see it in person (darn job) but it still made my day and I was so happy for the artists. I think at least 3 had sales from this and I know there were lots of clicks and hearts. This was a treat! Check out the lovely items and make your wish list. As for me...I am getting my next etsy collection together with the nifty poster sketch tool.

Front Page on 8/18/09- woot woot!

Okay so when you make front page on etsy you feel like the...shiznit! You jump around and holler and are king of the wooooooooooooooorld. Then you realize the front page treasury was at 6:00 am and you still have no sales. Oh pickles (saying I am forced to use in poor effort to curse less since there is a 3 year old in the house). Still it made my day (read week). ha ha ha. Thank you Moonovermaize!!!

Okay, so I am drawn to the quirky, unusual and funny…snark also has great appeal. I was tickled pink when etsy ran an article in the storque about just such a thing. So reassuring to know you are not alone in a train of thought. A few winters ago my husband and I sent out a Christmas card that ushered quite a reaction. In Virginia on route 29 there is a gun store (shocker) that has a bear on the roof. A bear you say? Yes. A bear. The best part about said bear is that in the winter he gets dressed up as Santa. So a few years back this was fodder for our card.

I still laugh about how funny I thought this was and imagining certain relatives or friends opening up this piece of mail. Well, at any rate I thought I would also include a few images of funny signs that I came across while at Palouse Falls.

Speaking of funny... a nearby house has set out an (errrrrrrrr) interesting statue.? I have to say that this image really bothers me. Not quite as much as Francis Bacon art but it still is bothersome. Most likely this is due to my overactive imagination. I can just picture him coming to life and running around the neighborhood. I would love to know what you all think. Feel free to post comments.

Walla Walla is the hometown of my lovely Grandma Eva and it will soon be invaded! In roughly a week my Grandma’s cozy house will be stuffed to the gills with family. In August she will be turning 91 (yes, you are correct…I don’t remember the date. I am a no-good granddaughter. The 21st ???). Jake, the goose and I went out west to see Grandma this past spring. I have included a photo of Palouse Falls and if you are planning a trip to this quaint town I highly recommend T.macaroni restaurant and L’Ecole No. 41 winery. Love you Grandma and Happy Birthday!!

How does one start a blog? I guess I will share the general purpose of this conglomeration of ideas.

• An outlet--I gotta have someplace to put the random thoughts in my head.
• A place to pimp my etsy shop…Magillie. That is http://magillie.etsy.com --I said http://magillie.etsy.com yup http://magillie.etsy.com. Eat your heart out Bill O’Reilly. I am going to push my shop as much as you do your book. Muwahhahahaha. Okay so really I could never be that bad.
• Yup..you guessed it! Finally a place where I can talk about my family! Oh cripes…not another mommy blog!!! If this doesn’t have you running from your computer (heh heh) I don’t know what will.

In all seriousness I have some health issues that I were unknown until November 4th, 2008. So instead of looking at Web Md. compulsively I fell into the lovely world of handmade goods and scrumptious blogs of living the handmade life. My two favorites are etsy (naturally) and the angry chicken. Please visit these two wonderful sites.

Wow I am nervous and it shows in this writing. Starting your online identity is a lot of pressure so I guess in the words of Seinfeld “I’m leaving on a good (high) note” eeerrr at least I hope that I am. Hope to see you lovely readers (Am I really gonna have people that read this? Besides my mother’s obligatory reading???) again soon.

PS
For all you grammarians I will attempt to correctly use my punctuation and spelling but most likely I will just say effit and write what I am going to write. I will try to contain my …s though. If I used them all up what would Kanye do? Oh snap.