Our Family "Holiday" Trip Part 1

Hello to you and Happy February!

A lovely month filled with thoughts and little reminders
that say I LOVE YOU and promises of spring. 

I hope this finds you well.

I am doing well. 

I'm very behind in my blogging because of some internet problems and a little discouragement combined. I'm going to work hard
at catching up. And I'm going to be working on the blog a little.

I'd like to change the name. Is that bad?
I want to change it to match my instagram 
account and the name of my business.
In case you don't know what that is, it's 
The Shabby Gypsy.
I would really appreciate your thoughts on that.

I have not had good experiences with posting lately.

I lost my last post that took me three hours to

complete.

But I'll not whine about it ;) I know everyone has

their issues with theses things from

time to time.

So... Here I am being brave..well not too.

It's taken me a week to feel like doing this again!

Haha.

I'm going to share about our Nutcracker trip and then 
there will another post about the For King and Country
Christmas concert that we adults attended.

How fun it was to surprise our grand 

daughters and our youngest daughter!
We made a mini-vacation out of it because Phoenix is 220
miles from our mountain home.

Not a very good picture but who doesn't love a giant peppermint cookie? 

It was delicious! The six of us shared it.... We were saving our 

dessert allowances for later.

Driving into Phoenix many times offers a lovely sunset.

The Saguaro cacti add such beauty to the landscape. 

A timeless desert treasure. They are actually protected by laws.

Our motel room was lovely. My husband always does a great job of choosing our accommodations. Thank you, Honey!  

I brought a long all kinds of food, Christmas books to read, cozy throws and decorations to celebrate the holiday experience. 

It made it much more like home.

I wanted to have a little something for the girls

and were the giggles excited to see gifts under the tree! 

This sweet threesome came from the holiday craft show that I went to.

They are on my list of favorite things.

Hungry munchkins enjoying a snack. Jeff had picked this little party

tray up and it was perfect!

This little peanut LOVES her hot cocoa! It's not just the lovely flavor but 

I'm sure, in her little heart, that she associates it with celebrating cozy, family times.

Don't most of us? I do for sure. She was so happy that we brought some along. 

Can you tell? It just makes me smile!

Jammied, snuggle bugs with their new stuffed friends. 

 Getting ready for the Nutcracker Ballet. Even that part was so special. Isn't there just a magical excitement in the air while getting all dressed up to attend a special event?

The little princesses. The tiaras were a bit of a challenge to

 keep on their heads but it was so worth it! Every little girl deserves to feel 

like a princess many times over.

The tree in the motel lobby. I always enjoy traveling during the holidays. The festive feeling seems to envelope everyone and transport us into a happy bubble of time. The lights..decorations and the anticipation of holiday gatherings, celebrations, special events,  food and the giving of gifts. I love it all!

I apologize for the quality of some of my photos. Sometimes you're 

feeling thankful and doing good just to capture the moment!

The excitement is building as we leave in the motel shuttle. Jeff was particularly thankful for this because our 15 passenger van does not fit in the parking garages! Also, finding a good spot in the downtown area during a big event,

 can be a real challenge.  

Those are some happy faces!

My daughter liked the bathroom mirrors. 

Oh.. what a gorgeous smile she has and those eyes just light up!

(hmm.. does she look a little mischievous?)

 Sorry... A proud, mama moment.

Here we are about to enter into another world. As the orchestra music begins

 and fills the room,  you hold your breath and wait for the magic to unfold. 

The following photos are property of the Ballet Arizona website gallery.
As I'm sure you know that cameras are not permitted during the performances.

Words cannot express the feelings I had while watching as these dancers took on their roles so perfectly and led us through this outstanding and most beautiful production.

The lighting, costumes and stage sets were so magnificently created and we were drawn into the drama, suspense and gloriousness of each scene!

The grace, poise and energy of every dancers flowed to every 

corner of that hall and left us in awe. 

The curtain call. 

What a triumphant accomplishment and unforgettable experience

 to be part of something so utterly perfect and divine.

What a wonderful time we had. 

It was a delight and such a privilege to be able to attend.

 I would love to see it again and again!

*************

Here are a few facts about the Nutcracker.

Ivan Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa adapted Hoffmann's story for the ballet. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the music. Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov designed the dances. The Nutcracker was first performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 December 1892.

(from simple Wikipedia)

While reading through the program, we learned that

 a pair of pointe shoes costs

about 75 dollars and they only last for one performance. The AZ Ballet budget for these special shoes, alone, is 200,000 a year!  

Our tickets were quite pricey and we learned that the cost 

of our tickets covers only a portion of the cost of the production.

The company is sustained mostly by donations.

This photo speaks for itself!

So sweet!

Thank you for being so patient. It was not my intention

 to be posting about Christmas on the first day of February!

But I hope you enjoyed it.

_____

Now to share just a tad about what's happening currently.

I've been deep cleaning and de-cluttering and doing some decorating. When I 

declutter my house, it also de-clutters my head. 

(Did you know that clutter has been named as one of the #1 stressors for women?)

It's been much needed and I'm enjoying the moving around 

of some of my vintage

suitcases and books. 

I'm putting the finishing touches on my winter canvas and enjoying the elk

in our fields. The heavy snow has driven them down to the lower country

to feed. They are so beautiful!

I'm also working hard at focusing on my work and making better use of my time

Puttering is such a robber.

What have you been doing?

 I hope you're staying warm and enjoying 

this last little bit of winter.

Thank you so much for coming by.

Peaceful wishes for your week.

Tamara XO

Another Year Has Begun...And Some Random Art

 Hello everyone!

How I've missed you.

What an amazing holiday it was..

It seems that we're still partying with family every chance we get.

Celebrating life every day is what I often talk about

and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.

Last evening, two of my daughters and myself stayed up late watching

Persuasion. It's a Jane Austen classic, period drama and one of our favorites!

If you're interested, you can watch the trailer here. 

(I have yet to get my pictures together for our December trip. The cord to the camera

was lost and though one has been ordered, it's coming from overseas and must be on a slow boat!

I still have a few more holiday pictures to share besides our Nutcracker holiday.)

***************

I hope your new year is off to a wonderful start with many promises

of good things! I find the HOPE that a new beginning offers is

 such a treasure. And the possibilities of 

achieving the dreams that sometimes lie obscured by cares and responsibilities,

seem to make themselves known as I reflect and search for deeper meaning.

Do new beginnings bring you to that place too?

Here is one of my favorite quotes by Mary Oliver.

 I wrote this out for our New Year's party.

  POM POMS!

 They are fun, easy to make and so festive for special occasions.

The white ones edges weren't trimmed. I forgot but I loved that it

 turned out like a beautiful rose! It was made of crepe paper while the others

  of tissue paper.

If you'd like to try them, there's a tutorial here on the 

beautiful blog White and Vintage. Christine is very sweet and

and very talented! 

The shy one... Burliose~

or.. SIR or Mr. Dainty Paws.

Have you been doing any baking in the New Year?

My granddaughters, AKA, the GIGGLES..

helped me make pizza dough last week.

There was a little leftover and so I made some

little cinnamon sugar monkey breads...

We all enjoyed those with some hot cocoa!

They are the hot cocoa princesses! Oh my..

Here we are working on phonics. It's 

one of the things that I do when my grand daughters come.

I help them with their school. 

We homeschooled our kiddoes and now our kids are 

doing the same. 

 I have mentioned my winter canvas that I'm working on.

Here's a small part of it.

It's my first attempt at drawing and painting, so I'm a bit timid.

Like my little mouse.

It's coming along though and I should be done in a couple of weeks.

It would be sooner but I'm going with my husband on his business trip 

to San Diego and I will leave my friends and all the glitter behind.

Do you ever have a word for the New Year?

I don't every year but sometimes a word just keeps coming to me. 

Right now it's CONTENTMENT. 

This is a page from my journal..

I had done this a few weeks back. Then after the new year, Fox shared the word flourish 

 for a good word. I liked it. A lot! I was envious and thought, Oh! I'll change my word.

But I told myself no.. That's cheating. Haha!

And then I read my journal and I had actually attached the

word FLOURISH to contentment.

I had forgotten. So I'm excited to see how the year will go and what

loveliness God will allow to flourish in my 

"one wild and precious life" 

as I seek to learn more about being content.

I do wish you Happiest of New Years, my friends.

(I'm sorry I am tardy.)

Filled with love peace happiness and fulfillment.

Thank you so very much for supporting me and being my friends.

You are all such jewels and I feel so blessed!

Hugs and blessings to you

Tamara~

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas.... And a Few Life in December Photos

Oh my!! Hello friends..

How are you doing?

Well I hope.. 

Christmas day is almost upon us.

Can you believe it?

My mind is swirling with so many thoughts as I'm resting a bit.

 Hanging onto all of the beauty and wonder of the lights,

the gatherings and special events.

Today, my daughter and I went bear hunting at the grocery store.

                  And we caught one and then we took it hostage and stuffed it into

the back of my husband's car!

HAHA... just plain fun.

AND...

our trip, of course.

Which was absolutely

perfect and amazing!

We had tickets to the Ballet Arizona

production of the Nutcracker.

It was spectacular beyond words.

And for our youngest daughter's

late 20th birthday present,

we went to see the 

For King and Country

Christmas Tour concert featuring Lauren Daigle.

I love to go on "holiday"in the winter. 

There's just something so exciting and special about it.

I will save that for another post.

I'm still gathering pictures from the phones and cameras.

There have been some really exciting times but much of the time I have 

 been enjoying everyday things. 

It was quieter and more simple for me. 

And it has been a Christmas to remember.

These past couple of weeks, we've played music with our friends to 

raise money for gifts for local children.

We were able to bring in $500.00 and we had s much fun doing it!

I enjoy such a mix of Christmas music.

Traditional O Holy Night ( one of my favorites ) by Nat King Cole to the

pumped up version of 

The Little Drummer Boy by 

For King and Country.

You can watch it here

Do you have a favorite Christmas carol or song?

I just want to share a few pictures of what I've been

busy at. I have enjoyed seeing others homes

and projects and hearing about their

families and friends. So I thought I'd share a bit also. 

Part of my Christmas village... it's a work in progress!

And I always enjoy making some cards to send some handmade love

to friends and family! 

 A little thrifting and a smoothie outing with my daughter

is always in order! 

I have found some beautiful

things this year. 

My middle daughter, Hannah, says that I'm a 

treasure magnet. 

Haha. 

(Maybe I just spend a lot of time in thrift stores ;)

Just today, I found the most adorable

little music box for my granddaughters.  The cutest

group of snowmen with halos and the music box 

played Joy to the World. 

It was perfect! 

I secretly wanted to keep it but I wanted them 

to have it more. They will love it!

Part of my HUGE pile of CHEX MIX that 

was atop my kitchen counter cooling!

 My Christmas wreath that I made.

 The December craft show.

 The following pictures are all of angel wing ornaments that I made.

This little tree has since been decorated with gleaming

silver, glass pinecones and a string of shiny silver beads.

The giggles had fun making it pretty!

And I am still decorating.. Shhhh!

Am I the only one?

Well tomorrow is Christmas eve.

And all is well.

What we've done is enough.

I am purposely practicing the

discipline of NOT doing that one more thing!

It has helped me to release that

temptation to make things perfect.

Well done ladies!

The baking and shopping and wrapping.

All that giving and doing. 

We might have a white christmas so in lieu of that,

 here's the classic and classy Bing Crosby

 singing one of our favorite songs of the season!

And here's a clip from Meet Me in St Louis with Judy Garland

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. 

So warm wishes to you and I hope that you do!

Enjoying family and friends..cozy fires, good food,

playing games, opening gifts... feeling the love that came down

and that is all around.

And always, always counting our blessings.

Thank you so much for coming by.

I always hope that you find a bit of peace,

happiness and inspiration here.

Love and hugs,

Tamara