Merry Christmas !

It's Boxing Day here ...
I hope you all had ( or are having ! ) a fantastic Christmas.

Our Christmas Day was ...

Relaxed.

Fun.

Refreshing.

Cherished.

Appreciated.

Enjoyed.

Celebrated.

Yummy.

Simple.

Special.

Perfect.

Good Times with Little House Braids

Hello !!! Has it been forever since I posted or what ?!?! How are you all ? I'm well. Life has been so busy lately. I've managed to keep The Beans Blog going but this poor Simple Beauty blog has been a bit neglected since May ! I can't promise that it will get better any time soon ! ha ha

But ... I'm up early this morning ... 4:30am ! I'm watching Spain vs Netherlands in the World Cup Final. Come on Spain !!! You.Can.Do.It !!! Anyway ... I thought I'd pop in a write a quick post. Maybe get the ball rolling again ...

I have been taking lots of photos. Maybe I'll just start posting some of them ... without too many words. We'll see.

Did ya'll know I took a quick trip to the States in June ? My Grandma died and the day after I got the call, I was on a plane, by myself ... off to Ohio to spend 10 amazing days with my family. I'm so thankful that I was able to go. All of my aunties and uncles on that side of the family were there. My parents were there. All of my siblings. And all of my cousins. AMAZING !! It was sort of like we were all kids again. Just being together. Doing what we do so well ~ loving each other. There were sad times, to be sure, but mostly there were lots of memories. Lots of stories told. Plenty of laughter. Plenty of tears ... Lots of preparations. A beautiful memorial service. An impromtu service at the lake, scattering ashes that was the highlight of my trip.

I'm going to go ... halftime is over and I can't watch and type at the same time ... ha ha !! The tension of this game is about to kill me ... SCORE ALREADY SPAIN !!!!

I'll leave you with this photo though. It's from when we were cleaning out Grandma's apartment. Mom and her sisters have always told us about how they used to put panty hose on their heads when they were little .... to play Little House on the Prarie ! Hilarious, no ? One of the sisters reckons they used to wear three pairs and braid them. Mom doesn't remember this so she had to try. She's the one in the middle ... I'm the one in purple 'hair' ... and the one in the purple hat is my sister Ellie.

Ahhhh ... good times ! goood good times !!

this is my box {i never travel without my box}

I don't really travel without this box, I just couldn't write this is my box without writing the next line of the song. It's a song from my childhood. From a play we saw "Amahl and the Night Visitors" ... You can listen to a minute of it here (including the line I'm talking about !!) Seriosuly, how cool is the internet ???

Anyway ... we're talking about MY BOX today ... I'm not sure where it came from but I have had it for a long time. It has a lock but the key is long gone. My box has been home to many things but for a good number of years now it has housed my favorite memorabilia. I spent a few hours the other day going through it all. Oh it was so much fun. It's like this flood of memories. Childhood. Teenage years. Wedding. Spain. Canada. Japan. Russia. Ohio. Maryland. Italy. Bulgaria. Hawaii. Colorado. Family. Friends. Sports. Postcards. Poetry. Lots of fun stuff ...

And so many stories.

In my box, there are also many little boxes. Those who know me well, or who have known me for a long time, will remember my motto from my teenage years ... "Every box is another step towards organization !" I LOVE BOXES !! My Aunt Lissa made me this box years and years ago. It is a treasure to me ...

Inside this little box is a variety of other little treasures. Shells from various beaches all over the world. A cork. A little whistle. A couple of small silver balls. A pic. Truth be told, I have no memory of any of the items besides the shell that looks like a flower ... Can you see it ? Just next to the cork.

The photo was taken in Italy. It is my and my brother and my sister and our friend. We have recently been reunited with this friend and her family on facebook. Oh how I love facebook ! We've had a few days of photos from this time period and comments and discussions and it is so great to be in touch again !! Have I mentioned recently how cool the internet is ?!

Thanks for all the great comments on my slowing down post from yesterday ... ya'll have some great ways that you slow down too ! And who knew there were so many of us who loved getting letters in our mailbox ??

I'm heading over to the Studio blog. I've been posting regularly there if you'd like to check it out ! There is even some of my work up there now ...

Sharing Osborne

Are there certain things that remind you of your childhood ?
Things that when you see them,
taste them,
hear them,
smell them,
touch them,
take you back ??
The other day I needed some dry sherry for a recipe.
I went to the bottle-o to get some and saw this !
Osborne Sherry !!
I was instantly transported to Spain !
To my youth ...

Last night Rory and I had a few nibblies while we were cooking dinner.
Olives, tapenade and crackers.
I enjoyed mine with a small glass of this beautiful Sherry !

Just wanted to share ...