I’ve decided to take this month and once again, post every day for the next 31 days. I’ll be sharing one thing per day that makes my heart smile. Each post will usually be a picture, but I’m not going to limit myself by saying it has to be a picture.

All pictures will be taken with my trusty iPhone so the quality won’t be the best ever.

And now, I present Day 1:

My Kalanchoe with white flowers. I only have 3 plants and this is the prettiest of them all. Please excuse the dead leaves. I suppose I need to go out and pick those off. If you’re looking for a VERY low maintenance plant, this is the one for you. It’s nearly impossible to kill, can be started from shoving a cutting into the dirt and saying a little prayer. And the flowers are just beautiful.

See you tomorrow!

I have a love hate relationship with Southern California. There are many good things about where we live. The weather for much of the year is fantastic. Our neighborhood is pretty great too. Disneyland, the beach, the mountains… The main problem I have with SoCal is the cost of living. It’s darned expensive to live here. I just don’t see how we’ll ever be able to afford buying a home here. Unless a long lost extremely rich family member passes and we get a large inheritance, it just doesn’t seem feasible.

I’m also not enamored with SoCal weather. It’s the reason a lot of people live here. We have mild temps much of the year. Well, mild to the rest of the country anyway. And then there are the summers with the scorching heat. Hot like AZ? Yes and no. Kind of, because during the peak of summer, it’s 100+ often. No because it’s not scorching for as long here as it is there. And then there’s “fire season.” That has to be one of the most horrible things about SoCal. Where I’m specifically located, there isn’t much threat of a wildfire wiping us out. But we’re not too far from locations that regularly burn. That means ash and smoke. Lots of it.

Anyhow, I found the website Find Your Spot. Just answer questions about the weather you like, what activities you enjoy, how much you want to pay for rent, how much you’d be willing to spend on buying a home and so on. It return 25 locations you might be interested in. I really wasn’t all the surprised by the results. And none of the results were in SoCal, or California at all. However, I can see myself in San Francisco. I think the dollar figure I used was too low for SF though. The site also gives you a ton of information about each location.

My top 25 locations:

• Eugene, Oregon
• Corvallis, Oregon
• Olympia, Washington
• Tacoma, Washington
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Anchorage, Alaska (which surprised me a little)
• Salem, Oregon
• Portland, Oregon
• Kent, Washington
• Bellingham, Washington
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Chesapeake – Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Medford, Oregon
• Seattle, Washington
• Bend, Oregon
• Baltimore, Maryland
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• New Haven Connecticut
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Hampton, Virginia
• Spokane, Washington
• Greenville, South Carolina
• Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Some of those places have more snow than I’d be willing to deal with (I’m looking at you Spokane) and several are way too humid. But I can see myself living in the majority of those locations. It would be really interesting to see Jason’s results.

By the way, I’m in no way affiliated with Find Your Spot. I just ran across the site and thought it was interesting. Give it a try!

What brings you joy?

Here are a few things that bring joy to my life. In no particular order:

• Early mornings before everyone wakes up. The house is nice and quiet while I enjoy my morning coffee.
• Christmas Shopping. I love picking out gifts for people.
• Wrapping my little one up in a towel and carrying her downstairs after a bath.
• Empty plates after dinner has been consumed.
• A good sandwich.
• Penguins
• Disneyland
• Spending time with my husband or my friends.
• A full fridge and full cupboards
• Making tamales with my (“ex”tended) family
• Eating one tamale from the first dozen tamales we make. There’s nothing like a fresh tamale.
• Playing Apples to Apples with the Wright boys.
• My grandmother’s apple cake recipe.
• Target and the chance to win a $300 gift card to my absolutely favorite store EVER thanks to Barking Mad

With money being tight for many people this year, we are all looking for ways to save on Holiday gifts without giving up the thoughtfulness that comes along with gift giving. We want to give our loved ones something they’ll want, use and appreciate. One of the best ways to do this is to make them something.

I’ll admit there are people on my list I’d never make a gift for. Not everyone on my list would appreciate something made by me. My own kids would be really disappointed if I made them something. So for them, I stick to store bought, and I think that’s ok.

However there are plenty of people that seem to like it when I make them something. Not everything I give has been warmly received, but I’ve learned that the trick is to make them something they’ll like; not something you want them to like. Don’t spend days learning how to knit your sister a scarf if she lives in Hawaii. Don’t decoupage a wooden jewelry box for your mom if she already has a favorite box to store her jewels in. Think about the recipient and tailor the gift to that person.

If you’re not the crafty type, don’t let that stop you. Let this be the year you delve into handmade. Do you need some ideas? Well over at Just A Girl, she’s hosting an “I Can Make That” party today. As of this very moment there are 78 links to various blogs featuring hand made gifts with tutorials. Go on over there, and check out the amazing projects. There are projects for beginners all the way up to experienced crafters. Take charge of your budget and make something!

Just go ahead and click the picture or click right here to get to the post and get started today!

November 14 will be an exciting and nerve-wracking day for me. I’ll have a table at my first ever craft fair. To be honest, I’m extremely nervous about the whole thing, but I’ve had some people that are extremely important to me encourage me in the endeavor. One of my good friends will even be there with me and supporting me the entire time.

I’ve never done this, nor have I even really been to a craft fair before, so I don’t know what to expect.

If you live in the are, feel free to stop by the La Habra United Methodist Church and say hi! I’ve signed up for an inside table so that’s most likely where you’ll find me. It’s located at 631 N. Euclid St. La Habra, CA 90631

You might want to bring the entire family because they’re also hosting a Chili Cook-Off.