Happy Birthday To Me!!

It's true......It's my Birthday. I am a New Years Eve baby. My Husband and I are at our condo in Beaver Creek to celebrate. We went to dinner last night at Spagos. Wolfgang Puck....you rock!I got this beautiful decadent chocolate desert. It was sooo rich and yummy that a few bites was all I could eat.
My husband had this beautiful flower ring made for me. My brother in Law is an amazing jeweler, and he did a magnificent job on this flower ring. It has white gold and yellow gold petals, with beautiful colored stones in the middle. The picture does not do it justice. It is amazing. It weighs a ton!!! You did good hubby, thanks I love you.
I wish everyone was here to help me ring in the New Year. I have made some amazing blogging friends this past year, and I cannot wait to see what next year brings.

xxoo Valarie

Christmas Memories

I wanted to share a couple of my favorite Christmas pictures with you all. My youngest son Brad is a huge Florida Gators fan. His idol is Tim Tebow. Mr Tebow is graduating this year, and so his last college football game will be on New Years day in New Orleans. The Sugar Bowl. My oldest son managed to buy tickets for the two of them to go to the game. He wrapped up the tickets, and honestly when Brad opened them, and realized what they were, he went from speechless to tears. The two of them will leave tomorrow, drive to Dallas, spend the night, and then drive to New Orleans, where they will spend a couple nights before they drive home. The trip is just a bit (okay, a whole lot) over the limit they set for gift exchanging, but Dustin really wanted his brother to be part of Tims last game.Brad was truly blown away by the gift. He is still a little teary eyed in this picture.

I love that my sons are so good to each other. I managed to raise a couple of great guys.

Have a lovely day.

xxoo Valarie

Gingerbread Houses

Last night we had our Traditional Gingerbread House decorating party. We only had 7 people, much smaller than usual. The kids decided to only bring one friend each. It was much easier for me, as I build the houses ahead of time, and the kids just decorate them.

My oldest son wore his apron as a cape. Crazy kid.

Yes, even though they were all older kids, they still had to sample the frosting.

I love this picture!! My oldest son Dustin is on the left. My youngest son Brad and his Girlfriend Jill decorated a house together.

My nephew Logan is on the right, and his good friend Tarron is on the left. Tarron is here from Arizona, and we were all so happy to see him!!

Brad (my baby) decided he wanted a mosaic beard....his brother was happy to oblige.

I must say...a frosting beard is very becoming on him!!

Ah, the finished House....I must say they built a pretty amazing house.

Bailee (my niece)......her roof was made of smashed mini marshmallows.

Dustin's house turned out AMAZING.....I helped!!

Addie's house got 2 thumbs up!

Logan put a pop can on his house.....who was I to crush his creativity?? Tarron's also turned out beautifully.

The kids were all worn out...hehe...they needed a little rest.
I can't believe that we have been making Gingerbread houses for the past 13 years. My oldest son was only 12 when we started this tradition. Every year I think they will say they are too old, but fortunately they all love it still.

Have a lovely day. xxoo Valarie

Yes.....More Christmas

Here are pictures of my Entry. I should take close ups of the ornaments. We have some beautiful vintage ornies from my Husbands Grandmother. I will do that tomorrow. I am a terrible photographer. It is much prettier than it looks in this photo!!

The sweet cherubs going up the stairway are playing sweet musical instruments.

Garland over the door.....A pretty wreath.

This is the buffet in the dining room. It has glittery snowmen and houses...

If you click on the picture you can see the sweet Cherub that is painted on our ceiling reflected in the mirror.

The piano has my sweet pink Village. You gotta love the picture of our Granddaughter in the background!!

A sweet church with carolers!!

See you tomorrow for more Christmas House photos!!

Have a lovely day.

xxoo - Valarie

More Christmas

Here are the pictures of my kitchen....I hope you enjoy!!

Oh no, the piggie caught the Gingerbread men!! I guess they didn't run fast enough.

The pictures are hard to see, but they are of my sisters and myself on Santa's lap. The bottom one is my oldest son on his first Christmas. My baby wouldn't get close to Santa, so he isn't on the wall.

This bookcase is a sliding door that leads to our basement.

I will be back tomorrow with more pictures....I hope you aren't tired of them yet.

Have a lovely day.

xxoo - Valarie

I WON!!

I am so excited. I won the most amazing giveaway from Tammy at Tinsel and Company. I rec'd it in the mail today, and it is even cuter in person. Thank you so much Tammy, you are the sweetest. If you haven't seen her blog, hop on over and say Hi to her. She sells the cutest things ever!!!xxoo - Valarie

Frosty Treat Cups

I just wanted to share the cute little Snowman hats that I made. I got the directions from Fabulous Holly.....and I think they turned out so cute.I added a bit of mica to the hats so they looked like they had been out in the snow. I LOVE them. I made them for my sister Rhonda. She is a Hair Stylist and every year I make something at Christmas for her to give her clients. She fills them with Hershey kisses and they are as sweet as can be. So far I have made 70 of them, and I think she may need about 30 more.
I hope everyone has a fabulous Monday.

xxoo - Valarie

Pink Saturday & Childhood Memories

Happy Pink Saturday.....I wanted to share pictures of my spare bedroom.....and the beautiful wreath that I hung over the bed. It has the most beautiful vintage ornaments on it. I hope you enjoy.

Today Beverly asked us to share a childhood Holiday memory with everyone. The first one that came to mind would have to be when I was around 7 years old. My Dad worked the night shift, so our family was heading to Nebraska to be with our Family on the 23rd when he got off work. There ended up being a horrible snow storm, and we got snowed in at home. My Mom hadn't grocery shopped since we were going to be gone, so there wasn't much food in the house. She had a pound of frozen hamburger and a jar of spaghetti sauce.....so we made meatballs and put them in the crock pot with the sauce. We all sat around the table and ate them with toothpicks. My sisters and I thought it was so much fun, that we still ask my Mom to make her famous meatballs every Christmas Eve to celebrate!!! I guess that's how traditions get started. I hope everyone enjoys the Holiday Season.

Have a lovely day.

xxoo - Valarie