it's Dana's special day!

Happy 7th birthday today to our niece, Dana! She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

We wish you a FUN day full of SMILES, Dana! :-)

Love,

Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

Christmas McCheer

Tonight it was time to enjoy our little family holiday tradition ... the 4 of us go for a drive looking at Christmas lights, Florida style -- with the sunroof open (don't hate me, but yes it's in the 70s here!). Buddy & Aruba get so excited, and Sal and I look forward to this every year! We play our favorite holiday music ... Mannheim Steamroller, John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together ... while sipping on McD's holiday drinks that have too many calories, LOL. ;-)

Aruba "donned her gay apparel" ... an adorable jingle bell collar. I love to hear her jingling all around the house, it's so precious!

Hope you're enjoying all the holiday festivities this week ... happy Hanukkah & Merry Christmas!

Susie snowflake

I've had the Silhouette Cameo electronic cutting tool on my wishlist for a while ... and on Black Friday, I found a totally irresistible deal and now one has a home in my scrapbooking studio! It's the latest & greatest version, enhanced with the capability to cut up to 12"-wide designs and to cut... FABRIC !!! :-)

I decided that my first Sil project would be for Sal. I programmed the Silhouette to cut an intricate, 3D snowflake that I thought would be perfect to hang in his office, especially for the holiday season. I'm still getting the hang of the blade depth settings, but it came out great I think! And of course, I coated it in glitter ... a snowflake must glisten!


I have a myriad of "white" glitters (LOL), so I let Sal choose the one he liked best ... he went with Martha Stewart crystal tinsel glitter. A perfect choice for the snowflake since the "tinsel" texture of the semi-opaque glitter mimics a frosty look. I added a festive red ribbon and it's ready for hanging ... enjoy, sweetheart !!

bling on the holidays!

This year, I felt inspired to make some Christmas cards! I had fun cranking them out while listening to Mannheim Steamroller ... love their Christmas music!

I handmade only "some" because I just didn't have time to make enough for everyone on our holiday card list. Sorry if you didn't get one, but I sent handmade cards mainly to my sb'ing peeps.

And thank you for your compliments of my cards! I've gotten some questions about the supplies/techniques I used, so here's a summary of how I made them:

Cut 8.5x11" ivory, untextured cardstock sheets into four equal pieces (4.25"x5.5" each); these will be the "front" of the card, the main design. I chose ivory paper because I thought white was too bright. Also, cut 8.5x11" Bazzill "Candy Apple" red textured cardstock in half (across the 8.5" dimension) and fold these pieces in half to create the card "base", creasing with a bone folder:

Next comes the tedious step:
Ink the Tim Holtz Season's Silhouettes words stamp with his distress inks (I used Peeled Paint for the green, and Festive Berries for the red):

[note: I didn't stamp the "25" because I glittered it (later step)]

At first, I was irritated that the colors would bleed together a little if I didn't apply the ink just right, but then I decided that it actually looks kinda cool: Align the stamped image in the coordinating embossing folder:

Note: as Tim has mentioned on his blog, I too found that to keep it aligned during the embossing process, the image needs to be shifted down a smidge (about 1/8") in the folder:

[I've since learned that it might be better to tape the stamped image to the embossing folder to keep it in place during embossing.]

Roll it through your embossing machine (I use a Cuttlebug): This creates a nice "raised" effect: Spray entire image with Marshmallow glimmer mist ... gotta have SPARKLE!

(note: the Marshmallow shade of glimmer mist has been discontinued, but is available a few places online --- grab some if you want it!)

I do my spraying in a box to protect the furniture, floor, etc from the mist:

And of course a Christmas card should have even more BLING! Apply Martha Stewart "white gold" glitter to the embossed "25" image. To do this, I used a small paint brush to precisely apply glue (I used Tombow Mono Multiple liquid glue; it goes on white but dries clear) to only the numbers: Remove stray glue with a toothpick. Liberally sprinkle glitter over the wet glue, shake off excess, and brush stray glitter away:

Adhere card design (front) to card base:

Done!

I've appreciated all the kind words about my holiday card design, thanks!

need a holiday gift idea?

How about adopting a manatee for that special someone?

It's a perfect gift for those who have "everything" ... for those who are difficult to shop for ... to introduce a child to animal welfare and environmental stewardship ... or for those who hate the clutter of physical gifts, LOL! And it's all for such a worthy cause ... helping support the welfare and habitat of these precious (and threatened) marine creatures. It costs only $25 and supports the wonderful work of the Save The Manatee Club (SMC). Your gift recipient will get an adoption certificate, color photo and biography of his/her manatee, and routine updates about the manatees. (Adopt at the $35 level and get a FREE 2012 manatee wall calendar too!)

My adopted manatee is Lily (that's her in the banner photo above). Sadly, most manatees are identified by their distinctive scars from gashes inflicted by boat propellers. I've been her adoptive "parent" for about 17 years! She spends winters here in Florida, at Blue Spring State Park. I feel a special bond with her ... my name Susan means "lily". You can choose from several manatees available for adoption, by name and location.

Sal and I have been longtime supporters of manatee protection. We're even featured on the SMC's website!! ... I was beyond thrilled when they contacted me a few years ago for my thoughts about, and a photo of, our day spent kayaking among the manatees (this eco-activity is not disruptive to manatees and is approved and sponsored by the SMC).

On behalf of Lily ... and all manatees, thank you!

it's Ruth's special day!

Happy birthday today to our sister-in-law, Ruth! She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

We wish you a FUN & FABULOUS day, Ruth! :-)

Love,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

XOXO

My "Salentine" and I already have {{romantic}} plans for Valentine's Day! awww....

Andrea Bocelli will be performing his mesmerizing Italian love songs RIGHT HERE in SoFla (of all places!) that night, and we've managed to score tickets! Our seats aren't exactly front-row (even the nosebleed tix are expen$ive, ouch!), but it'll still be such a special date night! Love you, Sal !!

I often have his Con Te Partiro cranked-up on my iPod. Good stuff!

minty & bright

bff = Black Friday fun !!

So who among you was brave enough to get up in the middle of the night to snag some Black Friday deals?? I'd love to hear all about the loot you scored !

It saddens me tho to see many stores now open on Thanksgiving day ... I wish the employees could have uninterrupted time with their families, to relax and enjoy the holiday.

I slept in today ... no 3:00 AM shopping jaunts for me, no way! I did take advantage of some cyber door-busters yesterday tho. But today I made the rounds to some of my FAVE stores ... at a reasonable hour. First stop ... my local scrapbook store, Everything Scrapbook & Stamps, of course! The timing was perfect ... they just stocked a new collection that I've been waiting for: Tropical Travelogue by Graphic 45. The colors and designs are absolutely stunning (and have me craving a trip to Tahiti, LOL)!

Then I met my sweetheart Sal for lunch al fresco at The Olive Garden (yum!) before heading off to Joann Fabric & Crafts. My next stop was Pier 1 Imports to pick up this fun holiday candle that caught my eye in their BF ad (soon I'll post a pic of how I "candlescape" it --- I have what I *think* will be a cute idea!). Wow oh wow is their store filled with holiday SPARKLE ... I saw glitter & bling at every turn !! I swear I could just move into that store! And I love Pier 1's clever slogan for this year's holiday season:

The final place on my BF itinerary was Barnes & Noble ... I joined Sal there to cap-off a fun day, relaxing with a chai latte and book browsing.

Hmm, where to next? I hope to stop in another 2 of my fave stores -- Michaels and Crate & Barrel -- sometime during the weekend. Let the fun continue! :-)

Happy shopping,

so very THANKFUL for .....

My sweet & precious little family!

Celebrating Thanksgiving, Florida style ... at the beach!

Ginormous newspapers overflowing with Black Friday ads!

Sal and I couldn't schedule in a trip to be with family this holiday ... too many big research proposal deadlines next week. {sigh} But, we're making the best of a working weekend .... and took today OFF to relax (toes in sand!), and to be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

it's Theresa's special day!

Happy birthday today to my sister, Theresa! She lives in Clearwater, Florida.

Enjoy your day, Terry! :-)

Love,
Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

that other "Where In The World?"

UPDATED*:
*click destination name for more info & video clips

Day 1 = Namibia, Africa
Day 2 = Madrid, Spain
Day 3 = Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Day 4 = Jungfraujoch, Switzerland
Day 5 = Barbados


Finally ... it's back!

It's time once again for the Where In The World is Matt Lauer? annual travel adventure on The Today Show. Love the series, and the name! {wink} It was on hiatus for a while because of the sour economy. The producers felt that no one was in the mood to see him globe-trotting from one exotic destination to another. I was disappointed tho, because we can still dream, right?

Anyway... he'll visit 5 places, all kept secret until they're individually revealed on the day of the show. The day prior to each live episode from a new locale, Matt gives a clue about where he'll be the next day, and they're usually doozies ... so difficult! As a travel connoisseur, I consider myself fairly good at geography, but his clues are cryptic, obscure. I can figure only some of them out!

This morning Matt gave the first clue since the series starts on Monday, 11/7. It's the 10th anniversary of WITW, so I bet he has some special surprises for us. Can't wait!

So ... Where In The World? would YOU like to go? Sorry, I'm not Oprah and I'm not giving away a trip. Just thought it would be fun for us to dream BIG !! Let me know ... leave a comment on this post (remember, no account or sign-in is required to comment! just choose the "name/URL" option and input your name, initials, or whatever... the URL is optional). Or, I know that some of my readers don't like to leave comments, and prefer to e-mail me instead ... and that's OK! Would love to hear what your dream destinations are!

Some of the places on my travel wishlist? The Galapagos Islands, Africa (safari), Tahiti, Easter Island, Spain, Peru, India, Bermuda, Japan, Iceland, Morocco ... OK, I can't stop! Soon I'll be revealing Where In The World? Sal and I will be exploring in 2012 !! {the planning (and budgeting) is in progress!} Maybe I'll post some cryptic clues before the reveal, LOL !!

Enjoy the weekend (and that extra hour!),

have fun today!

penguins with close-knit friends

There was recently an oil spill off the coast of New Zealand and, as usual, the wildlife really suffered. Including penguins ... the oil not only makes their body temperature too cold, but they ingest the toxic oil when they preen themselves.

So, in an effort to help them, a NZ yarn store put out a call for their customers to knit sweaters (or "jumpers", as the Kiwis call them) to protect the penguins.And what a response they received! Word spread and more than enough sweaters poured in to their shop from around the world. What a gesture! So now the oil-soaked penguins will have the warmth they need until they can be painstakingly cleaned of the crude. And after they're clean, they still need to wear the sweaters for a bit until their natural oils re-coat their feathers.

If you're a knitter and would like to help these precious birds, the sweater pattern and mailing address are posted HERE (although they have received enough for now, they're saving all the surplus sweaters for future disasters).

And aren't they just so ADORABLE sporting those little sweaters ?!?!?

Hope you're enjoying the weekend,

now boarding! a great new TV show!

As I wind down from the weekend every Sunday evening, I'm usually disappointed by what's on TV. Nothing particularly entertaining.... until now! About a month ago, a new show took off on Sunday nights: Pan Am. And I love it! Have you seen it?
It has the intrigue of travel, fairly good dialogue and plot, and a vintage vibe with culture/fashion/music throwbacks to the '60s Jet Age when getting from Point A to Point B was something passengers dressed-up for.
And then I saw the online Pan Am store. What?!? A Pan Am ... store? Must. Check. It. Out.

I heard angels sing when I caught a glimpse of great travel accessories emblazoned with the iconic Pan Am globe logo. And when I saw the Orion, "the bag that started it all", one of them somehow fell into my shopping cart, LOL. It's so popular that it's on back-order until December, but that's OK. I'm willing to go on stand-by for this cool bag! (OK, I'll stow the flight puns, LOL)
The Orion is a facsimile of the bag that the stewardesses were issued with their uniforms ... I chose the traditional "Pan Am blue" color, and it even has a fabric lining with a fun print of little airplanes, the Pan Am logo, people carrying suitcases, etc. Lots of nifty details, even down to the zipper pulls!
Simply irresistible I tell you! And the airline gave these bags as gifts to first-class passengers flying to Europe. Really??

I'll admit that I had mixed feelings about the show when it premiered ... after all, the way stewardesses ('60s vernacular for "flight attendants") were treated was disturbingly sexist ... they had to have a certain "look", submit to pre-flight weigh-ins, and weren't allowed to get married. Why would I want to watch that? I mean, forget that, women can be PILOTS now! But I gave the show a chance and found that it doesn't focus too much on that aspect, instead dwelling on the glamour of the Jet Age, and great destinations.

Although flying has changed a lot in 50 years, with intense security checks, airline fees galore, flight delays, pretzels instead of 3-course meals, and that sinking feeling of "is this really all the legroom I'm gonna have for the next 10 hours?" when I get in my seat, I love flying and being at the airport! To me, it's the appetizer on the travel menu, with that "getting there is half the fun" concept whetting my appetite for the adventures awaiting me in a new & exciting locale.

Now I can bring a bit of the Jet Age with me in my chic new (non-leather!) bag. And maybe I'll even dress-up a bit for my next flight....

birthday fun!

Hello! I must begin with a BIG thanks to everyone for making my birthday yesterday so special !! I appreciate all of your cards, gifts, e-mails, calls. I have a long shelf lined with cards, I absolutely love getting such nice things in the mail! I had a nice day (entire weekend, actually) of celebration as I bid farewell to "42". And thank you to my sweet Sal for treating me like a princess!

But now I'd like to share the special MILESTONE birthday that we celebrated in my family recently ... my Grandma's 90th! Several family members traveled to southern (Ontario) Canada to surprise her! We had a fun time ... here are some highlights ...

My Grandma is a volunteer (6 days a week!) at a local nursing home, where she basically runs the little gift/sundry shop... we stopped in for a visit during her "shift" ... from left, Aunt Lois, Grandma, my Dad, Uncle Richard, my Mom, me:

Sal has known my Grandma for 23 years!

We gathered for a party to celebrate my Grandma's incredible 90 years!

Sal hangin' with my cousin Phil (like me, he suffers from a severe case of wanderlust, LOL --- I loved chatting about travel with you, Phil!), his wife Renee, and my Aunt Lois (who makes beautiful greeting cards with scrapbook supplies!):

And a big surprise for my Grandma ... my Uncle's singing group (that's my Uncle Phil in the middle) showed up during her party to sing songs chosen especially for her, mostly from her era ... they sounded great, so much talent!

Here's a video clip (sorry, it's probably not compatible with mobile devices, you'll need to watch it on a PC):

My Grandma likes to wear funky socks!

Pink roses for Rosemary!

Make a wish!

We stayed at the family cottage in Cedar Beach, on Lake Erie:

And my Grandma had to chuckle when I took her picture with my iPhone! I was demonstrating all the cool things my "phone" can do ... maps, e-mail, music, news, weather, and of course access my blog! Can you imagine what technology will allow us to do by the time we're 90 ?!?

And I'd like to send a BIG thanks to my Aunt Lois & Uncle Phil for their warm hospitality! You're so much fun!

Here's to birthdays!

Susan