Christine just told me that her Project of the Month is in the Top Ten over at Two Peas!  It is pretty darn cute!!!

And…

One of my customers, Krista, is moving to Corvallis from Massachusette and is getting a hard time from friends as to why in the world they would want to move here!  (We live about 100 feet from the Corvallis townline.)   To illustrate why she thinks Corvallis is a perfect place to live and I have to admit some of the bulletpoints I was not aware of.  I do have to say that I’m a bit biased about #5!

The Top 20 Reasons Why I Love Corvallis
(in no particular order)

1. The February 2004 issue of the Harvard Business Review ranks Corvallis as the 15th most creative city in the nation.*
2. In a 2007 report, Farmer’s Insurance Group ranked Corvallis as the “most secure” small city in America, based on (as reported by Insurance Journal magazine) crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, environmental hazards, terrorism threats, air quality, life expectancy and job loss numbers.*
3. The incredible park and recreation program, which includes soccer for 2 and 3 year olds.
4. A strong sense of community - everyone in Corvallis loves Corvallis. They support their schools, go to the OSU football games, and are proud of their town.
5. It’s the home of Cocoa Daisy - the best scrapbooking kit club around (ok, they are technically in Philomath, but close enough).
6. Nathan’s family and all our West Coast friends.
7. It was named “One of the 13 best towns to be a vegetarian.”*
8. The fact that one of Corvallis’ most notable people (per Wikipedia) is Brady Sahnow, founder of National Corn Dog Day.*
9. Corvallis School District was named one of the top public school systems in the country.*
10. Corvallis-Benton county library was named one of top ten libraries in the country.*
11. It’s the 9th most bicycle-friendly city in the nation.*
12. The Inkwell - a fabulous home furnishing store.
13. A survey by the National Science Foundation found Corvallis ranks second in the nation for the number of scientists as a percentage of total employment (12.7 percent) as of 2006.*
14. The climate is ideal for gardening and every yard has such beautiful flowers in the spring.
15. Corvallis was ranked the 20th safest city (of 344) in the 13th Annual America’s Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities publication for metropolitan areas of its size.*
16. Francesco’s Gelato - they let you sample as many flavors as you want!
17. It’s close to both the ocean and gorgeous, green mountains.
18. It is much less crowded than the East Coast and really has such a relaxed vibe.
19. Corvallis was the first city on the West Coast and only the third city in the nation to receive the “Green Power Community” designation by the EPA.*
20. It has that small town feel with a thriving downtown full of one-of-a-kind shops. They are very conscious about urban growth and many “big box” stores have had a hard time stepping foot into Corvallis.

****But… she did miss that Corvallis was just ranked as the #1 green city in the country and a few other designations.  But shhhh don’t tell anyone how great it is here!

Sorry for the little blogging hiatus — things got so crazy towards the end of our trip and then once I got home I was just inundated!  And then, with every day that passed, I figure my entry needed to be that much more monumental to make up for the lack of posting and everyday I couldn’t think of anything monumental to say. And so, another day would pass.  Then I gave up on monumental and just decided to post!

Sooo… where to begin?  New Year’s Resolutions?  Umm… kind of didn’t really happen.  The intentions were good but when you are traveling over the 1st, it’s hard to get started in earnest.  And then when you get home and it’s well past the 1st, it’s hard to make the 7th that clean slate that January 1st.  So, I’ve been rather half-assed about it.  I’ve decided that I’m going to work out 15 times a month — that way if there’s a bad week I don’t have to feel bad about it — I’ll still have time to make it up (that being said, I need to get 5 workouts in in 5 days!).  I’m back to Weight Watchers.  I am 2.4 lbs above my Weight Watchers goal weight.  And if you are more than 2 lbs above, you need to pay.  I am confessing my weight weekly to a friend, but this first week hasn’t gone especially well — even though you don’t have to cut out certain foods you do need to stay within your points and somehow those 2 chocolate chip cookies on Thursday, the 3 on Friday, the FOUR yesterday and the one today are probably going to keep the scale from moving a whole bunch.  Hopefully I at least one have to pay, but I don’t think I’m showing up at CHA looking much different!  I am 10 pounds away from the weight that’s been my dream weight sincd 8th grade.  I’ve got to get a bit more serious if this is actually going to be the year that I get there!!!

What else,  my furniture finally came for my livingroom — well, some of it that is.  I now am the proud owner of a hot pink loveseat and a very brightly striped ottoman.  When I went to pay for them the woman asked me, “What are you going to do with that couch?”  And just in case I wasn’t telling the truth that it was going in my livingroom she also asked Wendy what I was going to do with it!  I LOVE it and I think once the living room is actually complete, it’s going to look great!

Here’s a photo of the kids and the couch:

And in front of the buffet that I found when Emily, Paolo, Jill, Ali and I went to the Coburg Antique Fair. (And just to explain the t-shirt over the sweater, Jack picked out his outfit all by himself!)

The chairs I’ve ordered aren’t here yet, but hopefully in a few weeks!  This is a photo of them but mine will be in white leather and there won’t be nailheads on them.

And I want this mirror:

(Good thing my sister is a designer and I get her discount!)

Then I just need a side table, drapes, throw pillows, a tray for the ottoman, and this gorgeous print (that’s now been rolled up in a closet for 9 years) framed and I will finally have my livingroom furnished after 7+ years in this house!  But, I figured I’d rather take my time, figure out what I really wanted and then purchase very well-made pieces so that in the future, I can reupholster them if I want a change instead of needing to start from scratch.  I’ll show you photos in about 6 more months when it should be all done!

We’ve been having rather odd weather for Willamette Valley — several days of snow.  It’s been a fun change of pace, but I do have my fingers crossed that tomorrow won’t be a snow day even though it appears it’s going to be.  Three snow days in one month are already more than enough!  Mama’s gotta get some work done!!  But, this was the view I woke up to Friday morning and was reminded of why I love where we live!

And here’s the kids sledding with some exchange students staying next door — THE sweetest girls!

And how about some scrapbook news?!?!!

I just got the images from Christine of the Valentine’s Day project kit she completed for the store.  I think it is the cutest thing!  The birds on the outside are from this beautiful vintage wallpaper I found at the Coburg Antique Fair too.

And, while I’m at it, how about a sneak peek of the March kit?

Well, I hope this very lengthy post makes up a bit for being MIA for so long! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Christine just sent me photos from the project kit she created for January.  I love the way it turned out!! She used the Danelle box (that’s filled with 12 little books) to create mini albums for each month of 2008.  This kit is going to be jammed-packed with products and will include step-by-step instructions.  Hope you like it as much as I do!

We are taking off for Georgia tomorrow and will be gone for the next three weeks.  Scott can work pretty much from wherever we are so that’s what he’ll do.  We’ll visit with my parents  for the part of the trip and then meeting Scott’s entire family at Disneyworld.  I’ve never actually been.  My parents had my sister and I fill this enormous piggy bank with change that was to go towards our trip.  That trip finally happened when we were living on our own and they took our younger brothers instead.  But, I am ok with that.  In fact, I really have no desire to go; I’m not a huge fan of amusement parks or very crowded conditions.  Hopefully the kids will love it and by some miracle the lines won’t be quite as long as I’m imagining….

I’m really, really looking forward to just being still for a while at my parents’ house.  I’m going to take some scrapbooking supplies and hopefully find some time to scrapbook and maybe send out some Christmas cards!  The kids love being at Marmee and Bop’s house and my parents of course love having them there.  For the most part, it’s usually a very low key relaxed time.  We are going to try to make it up to the Atlanta Aquarium while we are there; I’m dying to see it!

While we are away, Wendy will be here holding down the fort and will be able to meet whatever needs you might have.  You can reach her directly at wendy@cocoadaisy.com if you have any needs that need to be addressed concerning shipments, etc.  If you just have general questions, please feel free to still contact me at tricia@cocoadaisy.com

And… if you are curious about the January kit, here’s a sneak peek!

Look for peeks at the add-ons to come and photos of the AMAZING project kit that Christine has come up with as well!

And keep your fingers crossed for us that our flight out of O’Hare isn’t cancelled tomorrow.  One night at O’Hare with the kids in 2 months is definitely enough for me!