{winner} + news

I've been a bad blogger lately. You may have noticed, but if you didn't, that's okay, too. ;)

This week has been busy. I'm worn out.

But I missed my blogging a lot! So now I'm back, and trying

my hardest to fight off bad blogging habits.

*****

I'm sure you'd like to know who the winner of The Lavender Road giveaway is, right?

Well, I plugged in the number at random.org, and the winner is...

Bailey!

from Addicted to Addison.

Bailey, please email me!

thesweetestpetunia {at} gmail {dot} com

If I don't hear from you, I'll have to pick another winner, and I'd really hate to do that.

*****

Thank you for the sweet and heartfelt comments left on my post about Haiti. I did find out that those 2 little girls and their family are all right, but I'm sure they're still having a rough time. I'm not sure if they have food, or a place to live...it's very sad for me. But I am very thankful that they are alive.

I've created a Help for Haiti section in my shop.

I had made some zipper pouches like the one shown above, and I decided to sell them

{just for now, not permanently}, to help raise money.

$10 from each sale {of a zippered pouch} is being donated to Compassion's Disaster Relief for Haiti.

Right now that section is empty.

7 pouches have been sold.

That's $70 for Haiti.

I am so excited!

Right now my sewing machine is giving me fits, {seriously, it's driving me crazy!} but as soon as I can, I'm hoping to list a few more of the zippered pouches.

I'm not selling them for me, I just want to be able to help Haiti.

*****

I've managed to cross some things off of my {101 in 1001} list!

I'll be showing some of that during the week.

Still can't wait to see just how many I can accomplish!

{ #29 }

29. Make a new Etsy banner.

Check!

The Art of Paper has a new look! Which is good. My other header? Not so appealing.

You can see my other 100 goals right here.

*****

In other news, you'll definitely want to check back in on Monday. I have something special planned!

It may also include something exciting for one of you...

I'll see you then!

A {Blessed} Christmas

Whew.

I can hardly believe that Christmas is over.

The presents unwrapped, the food eaten, the family visited, and even a birthday celebrated.

{Gee, that makes it all sound pretty depressing!}

But I'm not depressed about it. I had one of the lovliest Christmases I can remember!

The birthday celebrated just happened to be my own (any guesses on how old I am?), and it was fabulous. So many people blessed me with gifts, and my sweetheart came over for dinner, and it was so fun. =)

The only downside is the fact that I'm battling a nasty cold, which does tend to put a damper on things. I'm hoping for speedy recovery!

This week promises to be a busy one. I may not be around much, but after the New Year, blogging should resume as normal.

So tell me: How was your Christmas? Really, I'd love to hear about it!

Holiday Posting

Happy Monday, everyone!

My goodness, the holidays are fast approaching, and I'm sure all of you are busy with plans and preparations. I love this time of year.

But I did just want to let you know that my blogging may suffer because of the holidays. I plan to be around, and will {hopefully} post some small things, I just don't know how much. After the first of the year, I should be back to my "normal" blogging schedule. Well, as "normal" as it gets, at least. :)

If you'd like to chat, feel free to send me an email:

thesweetestpetunia AT gmail DOT com

I'd love to hear from you!

Merry Christmas!

{One Week}

Christmas is one week away.

Wow.

{source}

Are you ready?

I'm ready. Christmas is so exciting to me. It always has been, and hopefully it always will be! I love the {slight, so far} change in the weather, decorating the house, picking out a tree, drinking hot chocolate with a candy cane stirred in, buying gifts for those I love, wrapping the gifts up all nice and pretty, listening to Christmas music, going to parties...

It's just so fun. =)

This week will probably be a busy one, but I don't mind. Sometimes I just enjoy being busy, even if it makes me tired. But if you're getting worn out from the holiday season, I suggest you take some time for yourself and make some of this:

Peppermint Stick Cocoa Recipe

And then you can send some to me. And to Lindsay. We would love you forever. =)

{Sunday Chat}

Does anyone else just feel very tired on Sunday afternoons? Maybe it's just me.

{conversation between me and my sweetheart today}

Him: Are you doing anything exciting today?

Me: Well...I was kind of thinking about taking a nap.

Him: And that's exciting?

Hey, to me, extra sleep is always exciting.

*****

I finally pulled out our Christmas decorations on Friday night, mainly because we were having company over. Gotta look nice, right? We got our tree last night, too (more on that another time). Sooo, if I can pull myself together enough to take pictures this afternoon, I will be participating in The Nester's Christmas Tour tomorrow:

I can just feel the excitement. =)

*****

Oh yes, I do have one more little piece of info for today.

Who is the lucky {Gussy Giveaway} winner??

Well, Random.org has spoken, and #36 is the winner...

Lisa!

Lisa, please go ahead and shoot me an email {thesweetestpetunia AT gmail DOT com} so I can put you in touch with Maggie! But be quick, if you don't email me within 3 days (by Wednesday morning) I'll have to choose a new winner. And I'd really hate to do that to you.

*****

Okay, now I need to go practice my photography lack of skills so I can join in on that Chrismas Tour...