Christmas Cheer

I can't believe it has been a whole year in our new home. Last Christmas when we got the keys to our house, my good friend Jessica made me this beautiful wreath.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to put it up since we were painting and moving, so this year it served as the starting point for my decorating.

I didn't think I was going to decorate at all this year, but on December 20th the shopping gods shined on me and led me to Jo-Ann Fabrics and EVERYTHING I bought was 70% off! I got a shopping cart and loaded it up with a 7ft tree (lights built in), some ornaments, a feather wreath (I had my eye on for ages!), 3 Santa dolls, 2 poinsettia garlands, and 1 pine cone garland and a partridge in a pear tree! Ha!

Since I was on such a shopping sale high, I headed over to Michael's where everything was 60% off! I gathered more ornaments and two white feather trees, which I absolutely adored! After Michael's, I still felt I was lacking in the ornament department, so Target had the perfect solution with their $1 white and silver snowflake ornaments!

When I first put the tree together, I was pretty disappointed on how "skinny" it was compared to the picture they advertised on the front, but at 70%, who can complain!

The hubby wanted to start a tradition of buying one special ornament each year. So here's the one we bought for 2010.

The frugalista in me couldn't bear to shell out over $10 each for Christmas stockings, so when I came across these "dollar store" silver stockings, I snagged them up right away.

Of course, I had to "jazz" them up and customize them to make them a bit more "fancy". So, by shelling out another dollar for some stick on rhinestones at Michael's, for $3 I had customized stockings! Holla!

And finally this holiday season would not be complete without a customized Christmas card.

This may be my last post of the year, but I do plan to come back FULL FORCE next year with lots more projects and posts!

So, have a very safe and fun-filled Happy New Year!

2011 is gonna be AWESOME...I just know it!

xoxo,

The Mariano Project

Giving Thanks...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, there are so many things I am THANKFUL for this year. It has been an eventful year of twists and turns, but yet, even with the challenges, it was very fulfilling.

Here is what I am THANKFUL for...

• A loving & supportive husband who loves me for all my imperfections.
• Great parents, siblings & two beautiful nieces.
• A beautiful home & neighborhood.
• Having central heating during these cold nights.
• For all my wonderful friends.
• For being given a new opportunity with a new company, during these challenging economic times.
• The public library for its copious amount of books that helped me with my interview and fueled my reading habit.
• The Power by Rhonda Byrne. It changed my life in so many ways...
• For being able to give and love open-heartedly and freely.
• For great health and always having food in my refrigerator.
• My iPhone...seriously how can I live without it.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

xoxo,

The Mariano Project

Here's my Pillows...

Wow, has it really been almost 2 months since my Pillow Talk post?? It's so funny, because after I posted that I became deathly ill with some kind of food poisoning and just last week, it happened again. But this time it was the stomach flu & colon inflammation, which also meant a trip to the ER = Not fun at all...

Anyways, I probably finished these pillows about a month ago and I absolutely love them! While outdoor fabric can be kind of stiff and rigid, I've noticed that after a few uses they have definitely eased up. I used a basic square pillow pattern with an envelope style back.


Notice the "Karate Chop" indentation on the pillows? It gives the pillows a cuter flair don't you think? Kinda like they have ears?!

Happy Halloween Eve...

I didn't think I was gonna decorate for Halloween, but then we bought some candies and I just couldn't resist! I had bought mini pumpkins earlier this month and incorporated them into my Fall dining room centerpiece and thought that would be festive enough. Yeah, right! Who am I kidding?


Today I came across some really cute burlap sacs that I am either going to frame or make large pillows out of, so that started the decorating base. I used the plain side for my set up. Then, I came across reusable pumpkins with built in lights and at 2 for $10, who could resist a white skull shaped pumpkin! And no icky pumpkin seeds to scoop out. Well, actually, I do like scooping them out...


On the door I used double-sided tape to put this place mat on to my front door.


Being the neurotic person that I am, I didn't like the empty space between our porch light and my pumpkin decorations, so I grabbed some tissue paper that we had and made a Martha Stewart pom pom. I even cut out a spider from some black card stock. Jay said my spider had a "cat" head...so I guess, I made a "cat spider"....spooky!



In addition to the usual candies like Reese's and Snickers, we decided to get some Rice Krispies Treats to give to our first ever Trick-o-Treaters! I had seen some really cute 8oz Coca Cola cans at Costco and was thinking, how cool would that be if we gave those out! But, sadly,I was DENIED!


No costume for me this year, so I thought I would put up a picture of my most favorite costume to date. A bubble bath! I won Best Costume with this bad boy, at TWO Halloween parties in 2008!


So, to all you party goers tonight, I wish you a very Happy & Safe Halloween!

Unwinding & Relaxing...Ok not really!

So, it's been 25 days into my new found freedom and things have been going pretty well. The first week was filled with staying up until midnight watching movies on my iPhone, waking up at 8am, taking morning walks, cooking dinner, and going out on random trips to the store. And then the second week came and half way into it I was BORED. This A type personality with B type tendencies was BORED.

And then an email came. It was for an interview. And my A type kicked into full gear and I was studying and answering interview questions like there was no tomorrow. I was in total "Ace the interview" mode. It's literally been 7 1/2 years since my last interview, so I was flipping out!

But, with the help of my hubby (who happens to conduct interviews at his job) and a fabulous legal recruiter friend (aka Jessica), I went to the interview over prepared and ready to answer any question. In a matter of one week, I knew more about myself that I ever wanted to know and about the company I was interviewing for!

So in order to quell my interview jitters, I decided to start crocheting. It was something completely unrelated, so I could digest all my interview homework and unwind by focusing on crocheting. With the fall weather creeping in, I decided to make my cute little niece a beanie. She's 7 months and barely has any hair! This child needs a hat!

This hat took me about 2 1/2 hours to complete. I used a 5mm hook and Caron Simply Soft in Violet. I used the Puff Stitch Crochet Hat pattern from The Art of Crochet by Teresa. I was completely blown away by how easy this hat was to make! It looks complicated and intimidating, but in reality, it is a breeze! Oh, and I do recommend watching her You Tube video tutorials. I believe this contributed to the success of my hat! And for the pom pom on top, I used this tutorial from Bella Dia.

The matching scarf on the bottom was actually the start of a blanket I was going to make for our living room, but after 3 stripes into it, I wanted a different look. So, it became the perfect "baby scarf" to accompany the hat!

Heart of the Matter

Two weekends ago, I had the luxury of having the whole house to myself while Jay was doing his monthly military reserves duty. I had this book in my possession for over week, but had a bunch of stuff going on, and so there it sat on my nightstand collecting dust.

On Saturday evening, I thought I would pick it up and get in a few chapters to help me fall asleep. Well, I should have known better right? Emily Giffin books DO NOT make one sleepy at all, in fact, they have the opposite effect. They suck you in and you get wrapped up in the story and the characters and then 3 hours later at 1:30am, I found myself flustered and exhausted after the emotional roller coaster I had just gotten off of! How about that for a wild and crazy Saturday night!

I love how Emily incorporates characters from her previous books. It brings a sense of cohesion with all her books. Heart of the Matter will touch the heartstrings of married couples and single moms as well. It is a very real perspective of the choices we make in our lives and the effect those choices can have on those we love. We can all get caught up in our daily lives and in the needs of others, that sometimes we may neglect those who matter the most to us. This book delves straight into those circumstances and the consequences they can have.

Recommended: Yes! Yes! Yes!

Read: The Power

I am currently reading The Power by Rhonda Byrne.

I had read her book The Secret back in 2006 and really enjoyed her explanation of the Laws of Attraction and the power of positive thinking. However, I think I was in a different mind set back then and didn't apply those principals as effectively as I would have liked.

Fast forward to 2010. I have a bunch of changes going on in my life right now and this book is EXACTLY what my soul has been searching for!

I'm three chapters in and loving it!

Stay tuned for my review!