My favorite Christmas gift this year! :)

I went to the post office the other morning and found a pretty little package slip in my box. I went the the window, exchanged it for my package, and frolicked home.

Here's what was inside--

My lovely cousin Mindy made this cozy blanket for me! It's super cute and warm for all the snowy nights we have here. It will get plenty of use over the next few months.

What was your favorite gift this year?

Goodbye Holidays.. Hello New Year..

Decor is down for this year.. What will the next hold?.. You'll have to wait and see :)

A clean slate for next year..

Holiday Warmth...

I love this time of year.. just sitting around in glow of your Christmas tree.. drinking hot chocolate, all huddle up cozy on the couch while snow blankets the ground outside. *SIGH*.. There is just nothing that beats it!
Hope you are all having a peaceful evening!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2009 is coming to an end and it's that time again. Merry Christmas Eve! Don't get too caught up in that last minute rush!

A few of the decorations mom sent. These things are awesome!... Just peel and stick.

One of the cute tea light holders Alex's mother gave me :)

Made some bows for my garland..

Just a couple pics from around the house... Hope your Christmas Eve is peaceful and warm.

XoXo,

Christmas Decorating in the mix.. More to come!

Now that Thanksgiving is over the tree can go up! I'm sure after visiting the Christmas markets over the next few weeks my house will be decorated to the max!

Lugged the boxes up out of the basement...

How exciting!! :)

Bare tree is up and ready!

in the works..

Warm and cozy... can you smell the apples, cinnamon, and pine?..

Perfect place to sit.. listen to some music.. and read a book or chat with friends.

Lots more to decorate, so stay tuned!

Happy Thanksgiving!! :)

Here are a few pictures from the cooking....

Prep stage... Turkey's ready for a bath!

"Help! I'm naked!"

Fresh and towel dried!

Throw a few things into the bottom of the pan.. onion, potato, garlic, rosemary.. Dress it up with some olive oil.. MmmmMmm.

Butter it up allll nice!

Added some delicious seasonings and stuffed it up..:)

Oh buddy, my Martha Stewart pan looks lovely!

~Sizzzzle~

When your overseas for the Holidays, webcam cook with fam!! hehe

What would I do without olive oil and my tong ta tong tong toooongs??

I need more space!

Hot from the oven! The aroma is *delightful*!

This thing was SUPER juicy!

Here's my baby.. waiting next to my candied yams.. 10 minute rest and then time to carve and eat!

Hope you all had an AWESOME Thanksgiving! I know we did!

--Steens

** Happy Halloween! ** A collage of my day!

 ~*~ BoOooOoOoOoO! ~*~

My friend Josh and me. I made my costume out of a cheap white sheet.. some green and gold Christmas ribbon.. and an old broach my grandmother gave me. A bit  of quick sewing and my costume came out quite well!

For makeup I used a lot of bronzer.. greens and golds for shadows.. and some fluttery lashes.

Me and my hubby on the train to Manheim ... Josh made my Banana Republic Cardigan and necklace hot. He was by far a hot chick lol

We had very little selection for decorating so I pretty much made mine.. Trash bag ghosts and a felt spider! Good thing I already had a "morgue" sign! :)

Hope you all had a VERY Happy Halloween!

xoxo

Steena the Grecian goddess

My Holidays! [Last Year vs This Year]

Me and Bear...My in-laws pitbull

Ok, So I guess I should start off by filling you in on our trip from last year... Then, you can see why this year's trip to Michigan was much more enjoyable! lol

Well, as you may know already, my husband is obsessed with his car.. so when EVERYTHING bad started happening around it last year you can imagine the "fun" we had. It seemed like something went wrong in every state we entered!
Virginia- We got a speeding ticket. [what a wonderful start!]
Yes, we speed sometimes.. and Mike has a lead foot, but this time I can honestly say that he was going maybe five over the speed limit and got pulled over. The cop was on the right shoulder of the road and we were in the far left lane of the THREE land highway lol... Considering how there was a semi- truck and red Honda Civic in between us and him (and the civic flew by him and slammed on his breaks) I don't see how he "clocked" us?? But I guess this is why I'm not part of the Virginia Highway Patrol.
West Virginia- Semi-truck tire flew off and hit us. [ causing an almost certain death sentence]
Once we got about halfway into West Virginia... driving through the winding mountain roads... enjoying the scenery .. chaos struck! lol There were two lanes... The right lane was next to a cliff drop off and the left sat next to the concrete dividers [YIPEE] We were cruising in left lane, minding our business, when BAM semi-truck tire flies off! Split second decision has to be made- Option one-- Hit cement wall in front of us; Option two-- swerve into semi-truck next to us and possibly crash over the cliff side to an eminent fiery death! We chose option three-- hit the huge arse tire in front of us. Mike's car was NOT happy about this... Needless to say, his front end was ripped to hell.
The fun didn't stop there though... We choo choo'd all the way to the nearest exit to figure out our next move. When we got there [we thought we were **** outta luck] but luckily the HILLS HAVE EYES truck drivers didn't mind lending a helping hand! (hand with all of 12 fingers!)
They told us that the truck that had the bad tire was at fault and had to pay for the damage.. and what do you know? He had to stop at the station we were at too! lol.. At first the guy didn't wanna give us his info and what not.. but when the state trooper got there, everything was taken care of! :) (Did I mention that he was the ONLY state trooper along that hour+ stretch of highway?? Why couldn't Mike have been 'speeding' there?! lol)
Ohio-- Bambi's mom met the hunter.
After we reached Ohio we KNEW things couldn't get any worse... Or at least that's what we thought. We had been driving about 20 mins into Ohio when "clunk clunk" lol
What now!? Mike hit a dead deer in the road and now we had a dead deer carcass stuck up under Mikes 'low to the flo' Volkswagen. This was the most disgusting thing ever! Every time we'd stop and I opened the door the smell of hot dead deer hit me dead in the face! I'm sure it was SoOOoOo funny watching me jumping out of the car gagging and nearly puking up my insides..

As far as getting to Michigan... We made it.. but the whole trip was centered around getting this car fixed and little was enjoyed.

This year-- [MUCH BETTER TRIP]
We only hit snow in Michigan and fog on the way leaving Michigan. :) From now on.. I think we'll stick to summer trips.. and take my ride!

Hope your holidays were as good as mine this year!
--Steens beans

Merry Christmas!!!!

Sorry I've been on hiatus! Visiting with family can keep you REAL busy.... NOT to mention being surrounded by tons of snow!
I just want to post a quick blog wishing you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Holidays Ya'll!

--Steens
(Hopefully I'll have some pictures later.. and maybe I can post some on my handbags!)

Thanksgiving 2008!

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! (I know I sure did.) Last night I finally put up the Christmas Tree... and OHHH man it's beautiful. I'll have to post some pics up later.. ALSO, I finished my craft area. I'm so excited to have everything just about in order at my house. Right in time for my birthday ::::cough cough:: which is tomorrow:::cough and the holiday season :)
Anyways! On to what we've all come here for! What did Christina do for Thanksgiving this year?
Well, of course I stuffed myself full of delicious food, BUT more importantly, I was filled with joy. I got up super early on Thursday and met up with my parents to go feed the needy. I could have done away with eating completely that day. The feeling I got from helping others was good enough. Here are some pics---- (gotta love the camera phone and overexposure... lol)

The meals were all ready to go by 11am.. They were made at a church down the street and brought to the rescue mission for passing out. From what I saw, it looked like a nice selection of food. Each person got a meal, some fruit, a drink, and some sort of dessert.


Yum.. Vitamin water... lol jk... I'm really not a big fan of it.. But then again.. I guess I'd be glad to have anything if I was without.

Mom and dad. They are two of the most kind hearted people I know.. They definitely passed along their 'giving' heart. They raised me to appreciate everything I've been blessed with and to help those less fortunate.
With the economy the way it is right now... you never know if you're a heartbeat away from trading places with the people you help.

There were a lot of young people helping out. I think it's a beautiful thing to see young people making a difference. They are the future.

This is my favorite picture of them all. See that arrow? Well, the arrow is not important. It's the children that arrow is pointing at that make it all worth it.
The little boy in the picture kept picking out shoes and laying them by his sister's feet to see if they 'fit' lol.. It was the cutest... He wasn't concerned at all about what HE was going to get.. but more which shoes would look pretty on his sister. He'd grab the glittery shoes, put them by her feet, then put them back. Next, the pink ones and so on. *sigh* oh the petty things we take for granted. If you look at the little girl now you'll see her on her pink bike.. see it? Well, that bike was about 8x too small.. but she was so appreciative and in love with that pretty pink bike. She entrusted me to 'guard' it for her while she ate lol.. It was my pleasure.

I'm so glad it was warm out.. Unfortunately, it wont be that way for much longer, which is why everyone was allowed to grab a blanket from the stack. I usually sleep with two blankets at night, but as of now, I will be donating one to keep someone else warm this holiday.

Here my parents are walking over to check out the men's shelter.... sadly, there isn't much left. It burnt down and now many are back on the street this winter.

I'm so thankful this year for all my many blessings. I'm thankful for a wonderful family, a life full of happiness, and the drive to give back.

Hope you all have a great day!
--Steena