Christmas Tree Tour and the Perfect Day!

Last week, I had this super awesome day. Actually it was a bit of a horrid day until I got home and then things started to look up. My mom does Grandma day every Thursday, with the grandchildren that aren't in school This year, that includes Carmie and Chaz. So when I got home Thursday, I found these on my stairs...
And the card that was included...
Is that the cutest thing ever?

So that was just the beginning of an amazing night...I set out to see all 3 of my sisters and take them a Christmas surprise. When I walked into Ally's house, I was met with this amazing splendor...

It's red! Her tree is red! And soooooo beautiful I took a few seconds to take it in. You might remember my post about Hillary's tree from 2007....when I saw Ally's tree, I knew what I needed to do....take a picture and share the beauty with the world.

On to Hill's, where this little gem was waiting to be photographed...
How she continues to top herself each year is beyond me...

And then it was on to Pop's....
I might be a little biased because we have the same tree so of course I love hers. :)

And on my way home, Jeff called to see if I still needed help painting my wall!!! So we ended the day w/a delicious meal at Denny's. :)

So there you have it....THE PERFECT DAY in which I saw all 4 of my siblings and all 5 of my sweeties. And then I snapped this when I got home to round out the tour...

What do you think of the new drapes?

Fancy Pillow

So I purchased this AMAZING new couch that I referred to in this post. And I finally got it upstairs (thanks Pop and Steve!) and am ready to accessorize! I've been looking for ideas for new couch pillows and I found this post on my new favorite blog: Oh So Crafty.

So I immediately rounded up 4 old shirts that would've ended up at goodwill sooner than later....

And I up-cycled them to make an amazing pillow!!!!
It turned out a little more stripey than I envisioned (gotta love my lack of ability to visualize)...but overall I LOVE IT! This was most definitely the funnest project I've done in a LONG time!

Are you thinking "Weird color scheme, Shannon, are you color blind?" Well here's how it fits in the room....and I'm painting a wall the Cool Caribbean color so stay tuned for that.....

But for now....what do you think of my new look?
The remotes are a nice touch....but if I give them the chop I also have to cut out the vintage resin grapes and my Granny's craft project from the 50s...so they got to stay in the photo. :)

Happy Holidays!!

The 13th

Yesterday I had the first normal Saturday that I've had in many months....it was good to be back!! So it was filled w/a Zoey sleepover on Friday night, stamping in the morning, Einstein's for lunch w/3 Roses and Pop, Hobby Lobby and about an hour of being a Maxxinista! Then Zoey and I stamped for a few more hours...the perfect day!

Zoey's latest thing is covering journals, which she writes in during ever spare moment. She did this one almost completely unguided....I only had to contribute my glitter Mod Podge. :)

It scares me how old she looks in this picture. :(

Also, to make the day even more fabulous, the 13th of every month is my unlimited Diet Coke day!! How is that different from every other day, you may be asking? Well it's not really, except I just don't feel guilty for damaging my kidneys. So after 32 oz. of the Dark Bubblie @ Einsteins, and a refill, I snagged this one on my way home...

Even after all that (roughly 96 ounces), I still spent less than $4 on Diet Coke today. :) mmmm!

November Art Class

I am so happy and lucky to be taking an art class!!! The kids have been taking art from this awesome lady who lives in my Rent's neighborhood....and so Hill and I decided to join up for the adult classes this year. In October, we learned to sketch. I even have my own sketch book now!!

This past Tuesday, we created amazing landscapes with oil pastels. OMG I seriously loved it so much and when I'm finished it is going to be an amazing work of art for my newly decorated house (no progress on the house yet....just dreaming).

So here is my initial sketch...on special paper for this medium (I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about)...

And then I snapped this one after the background/mountains & sky were complete....

And this was how I ended the evening...I'm about 75% finished.....

Awesome, right??? I'll post the finished one next month so stay tuned....you will just die when you see the fields in the foreground!!! :)

Hocus Pocus!

Halloween was awesome again this year at Stampin' Up! The training dept dressed up as witches...

Me, Donna & Carrie

Happy November, all ya'll! :)

Last 7 weeks

I've been on 6 business trips in the last 7 weeks. It's been amazing. But I am tired and ready to sleep. Oh yeah--I already have been pretty much since I stepped off the plane! Anyway here are a few pics from things, not just business trips, that have been going on in the last little bit....please ignore my stupid phone pictures--I hope you can click on them and make them bigger if you wanna...

Times Square....SO AMAZING!!

I took a few days off after the Book-a-thon and it was UEA so we all...sisters, kids and friends...went to McD's one day for lunch. Does this look like awesome fun or what?!?!
I am my father's daughter so I snapped a picture of the South Carolina Capitol building whilst we buzzed by it in the cab one day...
Annual trip to Lagoon (or "The Magoon) as Chaz is still calling it...it was Frightmares which was so awesome!!
We've been doing Paper, Pad & Marker at Regionals this fall....I love seeing all the colors like this....
Stamping SWAG!!! I went to an awesome event when in Canada and this is all the swag I took home with me.....so much fun!!!
Also got to go to Niagra Falls for the first time...
Beef anyone? Texans know how to BBQ right!
And I bought a new couch!!!!! Stay tuned (ok check back in a few months actually b/c it is going to take me awhile) for a complete makeover of my house!! :)

Unbelievable Autumn

And finally the weather is turning!!! Why is everything so much better in Autumn? Music sounds cooler. Food tastes better. Clothes are cuter. TV is unbelievable. I am happier.

NYC in Autumn is pretty much the best ever. And I was there this past Sunday and Monday. Sadly the leaves hadn't turned, but I assure you the weather was truly amazing!!!

And these are the crappy pics that I get w/my phone....must add camera to my Christmas list. :)

Book #7

You can probably already tell how much I liked this book by how quickly I read it. I was sucked into it literally from the first page. It's surprising, shocking, evil, naughty, devastating and sweet all rolled into one. There were so many surprising things throughout, I expected the ending to be a little more WOW in some way and it just fizzled out. Kind of a bummer for a book that I found 90% of to be so incredibly fascinating!

Would I recommend it? It is really different so I am not sure I could pinpoint would like it. However, if you decide to read too many reviews before reading the book, it may ruin all the twists and turns.

I finished it last night and I am already looking back on it with a "that was awesome" feeling.

7 down; 5 to go...

Book #6

I finished my 6th book of the year. And after 3 days of processing, I still hate it. I won't say that I regret reading it. Just that I hated it. I loved everything about this series in the first book....how did it go so wrong?

That's all I'm gonna say. I'm too tired, need to be packing, and don't want to waste another minute talking about this.

6 down; 6 to go...

For my sisters

This post is for my sisters and anyone else who has plans to visit St. George in the near future...

Last weekend I was whistlin' in Dixie...we had a regional seminar for about 300 people Friday and Saturday. Then Amanda and I stayed in town and had a couple very good and relaxing days.

Anyway we went to this cutest ever bakery that also serves breakfast lunch and dinner. It was soooooo good and sooooooo yummy. It is like a Flour Girls with good sandwiches! Plus they have cupcakes!

H, A and P--it is about 3 doors down from the Bear Paw. For everyone else, I believe the address must be 25 North or South Main. It's gotta be one or the other and they are only a half a block away, right? Enjoy!!

The best thing about being a hairdresser

Hands down, the best thing about being a hairdresser is cutting the hair of these precious sweeties. This is Chaz before...

And this one is after....

That's right....our 3-year-old is rockin' a sweet mullet!

Book #5

8 months have gone by....and I've only read 5 books!!! Good thing my travel season is coming up....lots of time to read on planes!

Anyway today I finished The Postmistress. I am still pretty mixed about this one and am not sure what to say. It was another WWII book and there were parts that were soooooo sad! There were definitely some really beautiful parts and overall I really liked the way the writer described things--gave me an amazing mental picture of what was going on. But the ending left me very unsatisfied. I'm not even sure how I wanted the book to end--I just know that it left me feeling sad and a little bit empty.

However, I don't regret reading it--I thought it was very interesting.

Summer Top 5

Did you know yesterday was 8-9-10?! That is awesome!! Turns out it was also a great day to cut my hair off! Will post a pic as soon as I can talk someone into taking one. :)

Anyway I just had to take a second for my SUMMER 2010 TOP 5....or in other words, 5 reasons that I'm glad it's summer (pretty much the only 5 reasons!).....

#5: So You Think You Can Dance!!!

I haven't cared for many of the contestants this year....who cares about them when so many of my favorites are back!!! Seriously I love the all stars!!

#4: Rescue Me

I actually gave this show up...but it turns out alcohol is not the only thing that can be an addiction. :)

#3: Drop Dead Diva

Oh my goodness I love this show sooooooo much!!!! A few weeks ago it was hands down my favorite....but that was before I rediscovered #2 and discovered #1....

#2: Mad Men

The picture pretty much says it all....my good heavens this show is so unvelievable!!!

Seriously this might be the best show of all time. OK it won't ever beat out ALIAS but every week it leaves me thinking "How is it possible to make a show this good??" At the end of season 3 I thought they should get out while the gettin' was good--I usually hate it when shows reinvent themselves. But HOLY COW I cannot believe how it is head and shoulders better than itself. AMAZING!

I struggled over putting this one at #1 or #2. In the end I gave it the #2 spot because after watching an episode of Covert Affairs, I feel happy. And at the end of a Mad Men epi I find myself wanting to jump off a buliding. haha

#1: Covert Affairs

I was a SERIOUS skeptic because I didn't want a show replacing my beloved ALIAS. But I am happy to report that my ALIAS void has really been filled!!!

Last week's epi was sooooo good I've watched it 3 times!!! Trust me and check it out....what the hell else do you have to do at 11pm on a Tuesday night? Even you summer lovers can't be out in the sun at that time of day! :)

U.S. Convention

Thank you to Tracey Roy who sent me & Donna this pic of our fun Flower Power party at Convention. It was seroiusly so much fun!!! But then I always love a good costume party!

And once again I must beg for pictures from Convention. I really have to get a new camera sooner than later!! But if you have some cute pictures that you think I might like or would look cute on my blog, please send them to me: shanwest@gmail.com.

In other news, my baby sis graduated from massage therapy school tonight. Not only does she give the best massage ever but she also graduated with a 4.0! Hello!!! So I whipped up this cute card for her special Congraduations.....WAY TO GO POP!

I swear I will never get enough of Artistic Expressions....it's definitely my new "desert island" stamp set....it better NEVER retire!!!

Sydney Convention pics finally!

Thank you thank you all my lovelies for sending me pics so I can finally do a recap of a very amazing week!!! I've waited so long now that it almost seems weird to post these pics. However, I maintain that my blog is as much my journal as anything and I simply cannot go without having these pictures here to look back on in the future. :)

And as much as I wanted to go in chronological order, this first picture is encrypted or something b/c not only can I not move it, but I can't delete it either.....I think it's a sign! So I will start off with an awards night photo....one of my favorite things about awards night is that everyone gets all gussied up......look at all these gorgeous girls!!!

Sophie, Emma, Amanda, me, Clare & Jeanette

So now I'm starting at the beginning of the event....which was Friday morning. Emma and I stopped for a quick beauty shot...

And at the end of the day Friday with two awesome Kiwi's--Diane and Paula...

Let's see....lots happened on Friday that I don't have in photos. It was an extremely awesome and long day (any day is long for me when I have to start it in the 6:00 am hour). Registration, stamping, break-out classes, and then I ended the evening with delish Thai food and chit chat w/some demonstrators....but of course don't have a picture of that (Jayne--if you read this and if you have a photo--will you send it to me? Wait did we even take any pictures that night....hmm I think not....such a shame!)

On to Saturday....more break-out classes in the morning and then stamping, etc. in the afternoon. Here's the fabulous Ngaire who's from all the way over in Perth....

And the lovely Deb who I think is from Melbourne but I'm drawing a bit of a blank...is that right Deb?

And two awesome WA gals: Nicola and Charmaine....thanks for coordinating your outfits girls so that the picture would look so good! :)

And the last part of the event is Awards Night....which started off w/Paparazzi and a red carpet so we stopped for a few photos...

So first off Bonnie, me and Amy....two of my coworkers that I actually see every day instead of once a year. :)

And then me and Amanda striking a pose....I seriously love this girl and hate that she's one of the ones that I only see once a year. :(

Me and the gorgeous Sharnee rockin' her faux fox fur....ok it's probably not fox but I just couldn't pass up using that phrase....she's from Tasmania...

And two more WA gals--Leonie and Jodene...who also dressed in red and black...even the background is playing along!

And the ever so delish awards night dinner...

Nicola, Charmaine, Lynda, Ngaire, Skip, Cherita, Shannon

This year I decided to stay a couple of days after--so that I could do some sightseeing and get a good feel for the amazing city of Sydney...so on Sunday a bunch of us rode a ferry to Manly. The scenery was just amazing....Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the distance...

Sunday was such a gorgeous day--there were hundreds of sailboats in the harbour and the weather was perfect!!! Here we are on the steps of Manly beach. Manly is a cool little town....sort of like the beach version of Park City...we are looking at the beach and the photographer is standing on sand...

And one of my favorite photos--the ferry ride on the way back...

Shauna, Ngaire, Cindy, Charmaine, Marianne, Cherita, me, Emma, Teresa & Skip

And then back on land with the bridge in the distance...me & Teresa

And now that I'm at the end of my post, I can think of a couple more pictures that I have misplaced that I wanted to post...so I might have to post more later. The 3 days that I stayed after were sooooooo fun....mostly all shopping and recuperating and just having a blast in general. I loved every minute of this trip!!! So amazing!!