"appy" holidays

Whew, we're already a week into 2012 !! Before we get too far into the new year I'd thought I share a few scenes of our Christmas festivities....

Sal and I had some fun with fellow faculty, staff, and grad students at the FAU Chemistry Dept's holiday party:

Santa brought iPhone 4s's to my parents, woo hoo! We all had fun downloading apps and stuff over the holidays ... I got them addicted to the Word Warp game, LOL:Buddy & Aruba had a blast opening their gifts!

Thank you, Grandma! :-)


Hope 2012 is off to a great start for you!

it's my Dad's special day!

Happy birthday today to my Dad! He lives in Seminole, Florida.

We wish you a special & memorable day, Daddy! :-)

Love,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

happy new year!

Welcome 2012 !!

Sal and I began this new year as we always do, with a group hug with Buddy & Aruba at midnight. It's the best!

I (sadly) took down our 2011 Greece calendar ... loved that trip! But I already have my 2012 calendar hung ... you might recall that I always choose a calendar theme based on the destination(s) that we'll be visiting that upcoming year. And Where In The World? is our 2012 destination? ... TBA ! (soon!) {planning in progress... I'm waiting and hoping that airfares will come down, LOL}

Wishing you all the best in 2012 ... my hope is that all suffering around the world --- both human and animal --- will somehow be replaced by joyful living.

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!),