Notes from A Cottage Industry

Cutie-Patootie Valentine tags

Who needs "Be Mine" when you can use a song lyric to get your message across?

The Christmas spirit hits the office....

So, I showed you the Peace on Earth banner while it was a work in progress. Well, now I'll show it to you it is in it's completed state hanging in the front lobby of my office building!

Two other gals from my work helped with the lobby decorations and we had a blast making things merry and bright...a nine foot fake tree on top of a round coffee table that was draped in a twin size sheet. 

White poinsettias and ooodles and toodles of purple glittery ornaments and silver-y snowflakes (Everything came from good ol' WalMart and the cost was surprisingly low!

My favorite part of our  decorating was the curtains we added. We used scrim (skrim?) fabric to fashion make shift drapes, hung with those awesome stik-um hooks that won't hurt your walls, and added our company initials(AG) in glitter as well...

...and I then swagged the glitter-y banner.

A little touch of glitzy adornment to the sign near the elevator and we were done. 

Well, nearly done. After I took these pictures we did add a three foot wreath that I did up to match the tree on the far right hand wall for balance....

It was a lot of fun and I think the office looks really festive and merry, with our signature purple making it unique.

I know it's only rock n' roll, but I like it.

I am thankful for...

my Rock n' Roll Buddy.

If anyone had told me five years ago that I'd love going for rides on the back of a Harley, (including one spur of the moment ride at nearly midnight) that I'd actually look forward to Sunday Football, (even if the Seahawks are borderline pathetic this season...) or that many Friday and Saturday nights I would utter the words to a new acquaintance, "I'm here with the Band" I would have done a double eye roll...as soon as I finished laughing.

Watching Monday Night Football, and hearing the announcer repeat, verbatim, what my Buddy just said on the sofa always make me laugh, (seriously, it's like there's a three second delay and the guy has an ear phone to repeat what he said...) listening to old reel-to-reels of  Rock n' Roll from his earlier band days, or snuggling up in a blanket enjoying a really late-night (early morning?) private one-man-guitar concert,(complete with moments of Name-That-Tune from him and some song requests from me...) are all things I would never have pictured myself doing...(actually, having a blast)...but I do, and that is what is so great about life. Change isn't necessarily a bad thing. Different can be better.

Finding someone who is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get person is very different for me, and I mean that in the best way. (Trust me, after spending three decades with a guy who's motto was "You are what you drive." this is so refreshing, and welcomed.)

I consider one of my all time favorite dates the time we stopped at the grocery and got frosted animal cookies, milk and two paper cups to share in the car on the way to a Brew Pub to watch the vikings lose play and share some two-for-a-buck tacos. (I can't tell you how much fun that was...and that's definitely something you would never have seen me doing in my old life.)

Mmmm hmmm,  I'd have to say that I am very thankful for my Ralph, and for a second chance at sharing my heart.

Breaking up is hard to do....

One of my new gal-pals at work is going through a break up with her boyfriend this week so I put together a quick lil' Breakup Survival Kit. It was easy, and took no time at all.

I began with a bottle of soothing lavender mineral bubble bath, added a People Magazine for some mindless reading and topped it all of with a ginormous chocolate candy bar. (excuse the blurry shot..it was the only picture I took of the candy bar wrapper...)

I removed the outer candy wrapper and replaced it with some cute scrapbook paper, made a gift tag for the box and added a card (I coincidentally had a Susan Branch Break up card in my card file stash...can you believe they make such things? Too sweet!)

Anyway, she was quite touched and even stopped by my desk at the day's end to tell me that she was anxious to get home to take that bubble bath....and that made my day.