As We Gather Together

November has been a loooooooooong month and I just haven't made time to blog. Sorry blog followers.

I spent a lot of time in the Transplant ICU helping take care of my dad who had a tumor removed from his liver including cutting out entire right side of his liver and was in the hospital for two weeks. It was so hard to see my dad so weak and in pain. You just never think that your dad will ever be like that. Wishful thinking on the part of all daddy's girls I think.

Happily, dad is recovering well and we were so Thankful to have our family together this Thanksgiving. Bianca came over the day before Thanksgiving and helped us decorate and set out our special Turkey place cards we made last year.

I did find some time this month for a little bit of "scraptherapy" and created a "GIVE Thanks" Banner. The pictures are not the greatest but you will get the general idea. Loved using a mix of wonderful fall papers from some of my favorite manufacturers.

I took some close ups of the banner and will post latter this week for those that want to see it.

Hope everyone of my friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. Enjoy the rest of your long weekend.

Starting to get a little SPOOKY around here !

Halloween week is such a frenzy of activity....with all the decorating, costume making, trick or treat candy decisions to make plus the school and church carnivals going on.

One of our favorite SPOOKS dropped by earlier this week to give us a FRIGHT!


Can you guess what her costume is...... A Skeleton Bride ! Oooooooo...Soooooooo Scary!!!!!

We had a lot of fun shopping for just the right things to make her costume unique....the half skeleton mask, the black rose bouquet and the glowing skeleton necklace added just the right touch of gruesomeness to make Bianca thrilled with her costume.

I had a lot of fun designing and creating a new tablescape for the entry hall. I was inspired by something I saw on my Creative Escape trip .... decorating empty spools with loads of fun items. The transformation of a wooden spools, a tulle roll and a thread spool was eeiry...and so much fun to do ! I even added one of the vintage Halloween postcards on an easel to complete the look. Love how this turned out in such a short time.

Hope your Halloween week is full of fun and inspiration too !

It's a Banner Day !

I love it when I get inspired by things I see when I travel. Don't you ?

While I was at CE in August, I went to some fabulous shops... a favorite was Melrose Vintage. A wonderful eclectic mix of antiques, shabby chic decor and amazing scrapbook products and projects. One of the things I just fell in love with was an awesome Halloween Banner. It was an upcoming class they would be teaching but alas, I wouldn't be in Arizona to attend.

So I purchased as many products they had on hand and took a few photos to inspire me. This past weekend I was able to spend a little time creating my very own banner with loads of Halloween products I have been collecting over the years.

I need to make a few more tweaks to it but I couldn't wait to post if for you all to see. Let me know what you think about it so far. If this doesn't inspire you to create some Halloween decor of your own, I don't know what will :) I wish you could really see the awesome glittery paper and embellishments but the photos just don't do it justice!

Fav Fall Goodie Time !

The air is crisp and cool, finally! The fall festivals are at the churches and schools everywhere around me. I can not resist the pull to stop and just take a quick turn through to see if they have my favorite treat.....KETTLEKORN !!

This weekend I was able to score some fresh made, sweet and salty, uber delicious treat. I start craving this as soon as the weather cools off in October. Brings back fond memories of my childhood. Over the past few years I have added to my treat some Brach's Autum Mix...candy corn and candy popcorn ! YUMMY !!!!

What is your favorite Fall treat ?

Fall is Here.....

Well at least on the calendar anyway! Happy October everyone!

It is muggy and warm here but a cool front is headed our way so tomorrow morning I am hoping to step out into some cooler weather when I go for my bike ride :)

I have always loved the month of October! Cooler weather is always welcome here after our hot, hot summers but I really LOVE:

the fall colors everywhere
Festivals and Church Bizarres
the crispness of the air
sitting outside again
enjoying a fire and making s'mores
family movie nights outside
college football games
Halloween !

I have started decorating the house and have more to do this weekend. Will hopefully get some good pics to post later this weekend so check back. I have made a Fall Banner inspired by something I saw on my CE trip. It is "U-DORD-IBLE" as my granddaughter would say :)

This weekend I hope to get my Halloween Banner completed .... it has vintage Halloween items on it and I am so excited about adding it to my other Halloween Decor.

I will leave you with a few pics of some past fall memories....we are ready to make more this fall memories this year :)

What do you LOVE about Fall ?

Post a comment and let me know.

My Family and Friends are AMAZING !

After my family's plotting and planning and hiding all the details from me of my 50th Birthday Party, the big day arrived on September 19th (just three short days after my real birthday on the 16th).

And let me tell you.....THEY ARE AMAZING PARTY GIVERS!!!! I never could have imagined all the fabulous things my family planned and executed to help me celebrate my 50th in such a special way! I guess after all these years of my being the party giver in the family, they really did absorb some of party planning tips I use. They are still assuring me that I remain responsible for our future family gatherings even though I am more than willing to step aside at this point :)

Mere words cannot explain all the wonderful details ... the barbque dinner, the cake, the games, the decor, the slideshow, the caricature artist, the flashing 50 pins, my crown and sash and ALL the FUN!

So enjoy a few of the photos from my 50th.....they speak for themselves. You will be able to see why I am so humbled by all of their efforts on my behalf! I LOVE YOU ALL....

Diva Debbie's 50th Birthday Party at Armadillo Place on September 19th.


The fantabulous Scrapbook Diva Birthday Cake.... The pics were edible and the cake was CHOCOLATE of course !!

The kids at the party enjoyed an imaginative game of "PIN THE CROWN ON THE DIVA"!

A pic of me and a bunch of cute crowns, a blind fold and the kids were having loads of fun!

It wouldn't be a party for me without a luscious strawberry margaritas in my hand!

Note: The Crown, Sash and Caricature Artist are normally optional at most parties but I highly recommend them :)

The guests enjoyed my favorite dinner....Bar-b-que of course for this Texas Native!

It is truly humbling to see 50 of your nearest and dearest family and friends at a party in your honor!

My Daughter Heather was the major planner of this shinding for me. She has always been so creative and this party really showed off some of her creativity....I wonder where she got that from :) Thanks for all your efforts honey...it was a wonderful party !

My Daughter Crystal even managed to find time to help with the party even though she lives out of town and just started a new job! I was so happy you could join us to celebrate your mom becoming "old". LOL

And my # 1 LOVE....my dear hubby Michael who worked so hard to plan a special night to celebrate!

I am not sure who is more of the character....the REAL Gary or the drawing of him! Thanks for coming all the way from OK to my party dear friend!

It was no surprise that the caricature artist made my dad's wild and crazy eyebrows such a feature in his drawing! LOVE IT and you too Dad!! I was so glad you were able to be at my party.

And we KNOW that my nephew Nicholas is the real cutie in this picture and the drawing just shows that off!

Crystal, Michael and me!

My oldest (not her age, just how long we have known each other) and dearest friend Anne. She made the slide show that both made me both laugh and cry that night! Thank you sweetie!

I was so thrilled to see my granddaughter Bianca and my dear friend Joan hit it off at the party. They are both such social butterflies it really shouldn't have been a surprise :) Thanks Joan for jetting in to help me celebrate!

Note all the western decor at this place....that is a real horse saddle with silver decor on it on display and loads of great western memorabila on the walls. And yes, the bar-b-que is as good as it looks here. YUMMY !!!

My dear in-laws and my hubby sharing some time together. Thanks Gladys for picking up the cake at the bakery. I hear it was an experience since the cake was so large !

My new dear friends, Rochelle and Rick. Thank you Roc for helping with the party. Heather loved getting to hang out with you during the party planning/shopping!

As you can see, the party was super fabulous! I certainly am thrilled beyond words...well almost! Thank you to all my guest and family who helped make my 50th birthday something special and memorable!

There were a ton of photos taken that night and I might post some more another time...sorry I couldn't post pics of everyone this round but know you are loved and appreciated too!

Today I Reach One of Life's Milestones

50 Years...WOW !! You know when you are a kid, 50 seems like you are ancient. When you are a young adult 50 seems too far away to contemplate. When you reach 40, 50 seems like it will be here too soon! But now that 50 is actually here...it is just a number.

I like to think of it as half way to the ripe old age of 100 which is my personal goal to reach. As I take a little time to enjoy my 50th Birthday, I am so thankful for the many blessings that I have obtained over the years.

I have been blessed with a wonderful family. And yes, I do know how lucky I am to be able to say that!

• The best husband I could ever hope to have...I LOVE you soooo much honey :)
• Two amazing daughters who make me proud every step of the way, even though there were times I wasn't sure which direction we were running :)
• A bright, fun loving granddaughter who I treasure beyond words :)
• Loving and giving parents....both my own father and my in-laws :)
• Brothers who are great men and whom I admire :)

I have also been blessed with many, many friends. Friendships that are old are dearest, friendships that are newer are special to me as well. Friends help you when you are down or share joys when you are up! I have learned so much from all my various friends over the years. I hope I have always been the kind of friend that you can count on and you know how much you mean to me.

So Happy 50th Birthday to Me ! Watch Out World...I still have 50 to go !!!!!!!!!!!