Today was very cold and windy and it seemed as if we might get a little snow, but alas, no luck! As I am with my favorite little buddy most everyday, my heart feels very full of love and appreciation for this little guy who may not be very big, but he does make me feel warm inside! And that's my fur baby Elvis!

It's the start of a new year! I went through the blessings jar last night and it was so great to read about all the wonderful things that had happened in 2013! For this year I may try something new. There is this wonderful hymn entitled "Great is thy Faithfulness" and one of the lyrics reads , "Morning by morning new mercies I see". This had me thinking about each and everyday there is a new mercy that God has blessed us with. It may be small, it may be gigantic, but we need to take the time to see each day these new mercies He gives us. So I thought I would try to keep a daily log each day this year of my mercies and blessings. ( I will attempt to do this daily but I may have to double or triple up some times! ) Today is a trivial blessing, but none the less makes me happy!! Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love shoes! So to start this year out - thanks to many DSW gift card blessings from family and friends - I will say new shoes make me so very happy! And I thank God that I have many more shoes than I possibly need!

I have been very remiss in posting over the holiday season. I am going to try and work harder at posting more regularly. I thought I would start the year off right by being more mindful of the blessings God has given me. I saw this idea on Pinterest - of course - and thought what an awesome idea. So here is my Blessings Jar for the year. I would encourage any one to try this and see how full your jar becomes at the end of the year. My hopes and prayers for this year is great health for me and my family, lots of laughter, new friends, less stress, and taking more time to enjoy my life and those in it!

Just made this lovely gift basket for a customer! I hope the lucky recipient will be pleased!!!

J

New product coming out this weekend at the shop. Fruits of the Spirit Candles! I love these so much and I loved making them. Each candle represents one of each of the fruits of the spirit from the Bible verse found in Galatians 5:22-23 -" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." These will make great presents for teachers, Sunday School, and for yourself as well. They come in a beautiful 12 ounce glass container with the scripture found on each one. I have also packaged them in a lovely lavender organza bag.

Decided to go a little shabby with some pumpkins and help boost my "Mabelicious" display at the show. I painted some pumpkins pink and white and added a little bling with some glitter! Add some tulle and dried flowers and voila!

We are open!

It's been way too long since I have posted. I guess I have this little thing called opening up a shop to keep me  busy! What an exciting adventure it has been! We opened  officially on Sept. 8th and had a fabulous opening! Since then it's been two weeks and I couldn't be happier! I love it when people come in and remark how peaceful it is. That was my goal. To have a little "retreat" for customers to shop in peace and quiet and enjoy themselves as they browse through all the lotions and creams and other unique gift items. I am posting some photos but I am not pleased with the turn out. I am not a photographer and keep having trouble with the lighting, but hopefully you can get a small glimpse into the shop.