Yesterday, I was over at one of my favorite daily reads, {A Beautiful Mess}, and I saw their {4 Simple Goals} challenge from September. I think it was a seasonal goals thing, but it felt like a perfect way to set a few tangible resolutions for myself for the coming year. One of the rules they laid out for the challenge was that the goals should be quantifiable. So I thought of some broad, theoretical goals and then I tried to pin down some hard and fast ways to quantify my accomplishment. I'll write a little more about each of them over the next few weeks, and then add updates on my progress as it's made.

Thanks to {Emma and Elsie} for a great way to set some realistic resolutions for 2013!

Christmas 2012

Chris got me a really great little camera for Christmas. I am so impressed by the quality of pictures that it takes! Here's a sampling of them (untouched) from the wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we spent with 

my mom, my dad, Chris's mom, and Chris's sister. 

And of course, our furry sweethearts, including our furniece, Miss Macy. 

Above, Clyde-dog stuns the camera with his beauty. 

We got to use our wedding china for the yummy lasagna we had on Christmas Eve.

So many stockings on the mantle warms my heart. 

A mantle full of stockings means a house full of family and love. 

Mom relaxes with her Kindle in our newly decorated dining room. 

I finally tackled getting that space looking prettier, thanks to her encouragement. 

Chris's Grandma's antique bar, decorated and ready to serve drinks!

Christmas Eve vino.

Macy does her best blue steel.

Whoa. This stuff is goooood!

What's a family holiday without Skip-Bo??

Chris read the Christmas story from Luke to the family on Christmas Eve. 

Then, to my dad's delight (sarcasm), we sang Christmas carols. I loved it! 

Of course, I have quite a terrible voice, so there may have been some ears bleeding...

Candy cane place settings and pretty table for Christmas dinner. 

The Nug looks distrustful of the camera in her face. 

A beautiful new angel (Celia) and creche for my Nativity scene, care of my mom and dad! 

I love that the angel has a cat and a dog; she's my kind of gal. 

Snowy Christmas scene in the ornament that June sent us. 

Hound-doggie gettin his snuggle on in the fleecy blanket. He is so happy right now. 

Custer wants to know why I'm taking photos of him instead of going over to the cabinet to get him one of the Beggin Strips his Grandpa got him for Christmas. 

Happy birthday, my love!

Happy 40th birthday to the original Widgapae!

There aren't really words to describe how much I love this guy, so I'm not even gonna try. I'll just leave you with a photo of his cute mug :-)

I love you, Widgie!

Sneak Peek: The pedestal is in!

Yep, that's right: the walls and trim are painted and the pedestal is in!

Still lots of work to do, but we're getting there!

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul Update: Washer/Dryer Pedestal Has Been Built!

Whew! That took a looong time! We started the washer/dryer pedestal in May and we're technically not finished (I'm still putting the finishing painting touches on it, but we'll save that for another post, shall we?). It didn't need to take that long. And, actually, the part I'm posting about today didn't; it only took a few hours one Sunday. It's been the painting and trim and all that stuff that has gone sloooowly. 

The main reason why the project crawled along at a snail's pace was because the pedestal can't be brought in until the wall behind the washer and dryer is finished and painted, so there's no sense worrying too much about getting it done in a hurry. But now that there is a visible (albeit faint) light at the end of the Wall Treatment Tunnel, I wanted to get the pedestal all finished up so it's ready when the walls are done. I took some pictures of the progress. Like I said, the final, finished painted project will be discussed in a forth-coming post. 

Our pedestal was inspired by Sausha's pedestal that we found on Ana White's blog.

We started with 2 x 4s, 2 x 6s, 4 x 4s (treated)...

...and a big ol' piece of 3/4" treated plywood.

A few hours of this...

Got us this...

...then this...

....and, finally, THIS!

Ok, I know this isn't all that impressive, but it was a super big deal to me. Our first big "furniture" carpentry project!

I'll probably finish the rest of the pedestal this weekend, so stop by again for a final reveal :-)

Sunday Style - Perfect Autumn Outfits

Though those of us living in Texas still have at least a month of hot, 90-100+ temps to contend with before things start to get comfy around here in October, I've got fall on the brain bad. Even then, the weather really won't be conducive to the kind of clothes that my New England brain will always associate with fall: cardigans, leather boots, pretty scarves. But, hey, a girl can dream (and plan for Texas autumn, which happens in about...oh-I-don't-know...December). In dreaming, I discovered Polyvore this morning, so now I really probably will never get anymore DIY projects done! But at least I created a few perfect fall outfits.

They have some ridiculously over-priced items in them, but I looooove to try to find cheap versions of expensive stuff to achieve the same look on a dime. I'm going to do that with these outfits, so I'll keep you updated on my finds. For now, dream with me...of pumpkin lattes, a fire in the hearth, and the ability to go outside once more. 

Fall 2012 - Perfectly Simple by widgapae

Fall 2012 - Simple Red Flats and Top Shop Blazer by widgapae featuring slim tees

LBD with Autumn Twist by widgapae featuring drop earrings

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul Update 7: Paneling is All Up!

The walls of my laundry room are covered in horizontal paneling!!! 

Big Tex and I finished putting up the panels this afternoon. In total, it took six packages of EverTrue Plank Paneling. At $10.97 a package, that's a pretty darn cheap wall treatment! Thanks to Karen at the The Quaint Cottage for leading me to these super affordable and easy-to-work-with panels. 

The project is far from done. The panels still need to be trimmed out, caulked, primed, and painted, but this is still a huge step. It feels like a major milestone and I'm super psyched :-)

What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

I'm always looking for a palatable and convenient way to eat more vegetables, especially leafy greens (which I don't really like). So this morning I made me a little smoothie with about 2 cups of nutrient-loaded spinach in it, and it was gooooood. Check out the recipe below:

Widgapae Green Smoothie

2 cups spinach

1 banana

1 mango

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

1 packet of stevia

Water (as much as you need to achieve your preferred consistency)

Blend it all up and enjoy!

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul Update 6: Paneling Sneak Peek!

Just a quick little update to show you some major awesome: 
The laundry room paneling has begun!