CHRISTMAS BOUTIQUE!!!!

We are having a Christmas Boutique at my work, the Finer Consigner!! There are going to be 7 different vendors selling all sorts of great holiday gifts, and decorations. Not only will we have 7 booths set up, there will also be snacks, and a whole lot of really cute consigned Christmas decorations priced really well so we can get it all sold before Christmas comes.

Among those 7 vendors I will be there sellings picture frames, magnets, decorative stones, and my tin stars. Here are a few pictures of some of my Christmas stars that I will be selling. I am also putting in other seasonal stars into the boutique. Please come and support me, my work, and all the other vendors; and take some time away to relax and shop with me on Saturday.

We are located on 7817 S Highland Dr. (2000 E) in Cottonwood Heights.

Christmas Joys!!

Now I know its only Mid November, but I am already so excited for Christmas that I decided to get my decorations up on Sunday. Chandler and Kevin were so great to help me. I had my favorite Christmas music playing to help get us in the right spirit. Every time I would open a box and pull out a new decoration, Chandler would open his mouth and eyes wide and gasp. It was so cute. I think Kevin underestimated how many ornaments we put on our tree, but he was sweet enough to help me get every single one on. This is the best picture I could get of the tree due to the fact it was taken by my phone camera. It doesnt quite do it justice, but you get the idea anyways.

Witches at Gardner Village

Mid October Kevin and I took Chandler to Gardner Village to see the witches. If you havent already noticed its my favorite place to take Chandler. We love the ducks, the fun holiday decorations, all the fun shops especially Christmas Village, Protea Cottage, and Sweet Aftons. I think my favorite part though is how quaint it is. One day I would love to open my own shop there. All in good time though. Here are a few pictures we got while we were there. As you can see in the pictures Chandler still had his cast on.

In front of the witches cauldron. While they stir up their withces brew.

Kevin and Chandler with the witches softball team.

He did not like this witch. haha

By the time we took this picture he was ready to keep moving on.

Just for funsies!

I Always. . .

Sing Chandler at least one lullaby before bed. His favorite is Return to Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins.

Watch Kevin drive away at night until his car is completely out of sight waving and blowing kisses the whole time. (This drives him nuts)

Cry during pocahontas

I Sometimes. . .

Run scenarios in my head. Like my latest scenario was while I was waiting for Kevin to answer his door. After standing for 2 minutes to no answer I began to think "What if he is in there with a girl, and he cant answer the door cause there is nowhere for her to hide". And then I started thinking "what if someone broke into his house to steal his massive dvd collection and left him for dead." Come to find out he was just getting his mail. Obviously! I know its sick, but I always think the worst things have happened.

Eat more candy or drink more Dr. Pepper than I should, and its starting to show.

Cry during Sylvan Learning Center commercials.

I Never. . .

Get where I need to be on time. I think I have got it in my head that everywhere in the valley will only take a 15 minutes drive. Its definitely not true, and I really need to start leaving earlier. It just always feels like I have all the time in the world, then I look at my clock and its already too late to leave early.

Have been out of the country. I have also never been east of Colorado.

Take my son or Kevin for granted. I am so blessed to have them both in my life. Chandler is my all time favorite person in the world. He is a handful but when I am down he can always sense it, and makes sure to cuddle me until I feel all better. And Kevin is my hero. He never fails to amaze me. He puts up with my crazy personality, loves me endlessly, and is so completely selfless.

I Believe. . .

That 2 people really can live happily ever after. All it takes is a lot of work, patience, sacrifice, communication, time apart, level headedness, time for business/time for play, trust, faithfulness, no trash talking, special time, and patience patience patience.

I will never truly figure out what love means. Every time I think I have it figured out God throws something else at me to show me I still havent felt all the love in the world. I thought I felt love when I met Tyson. Then I met Scott. I thought I knew love with Scott, then I had Chandler. There is no greater love than that of a mother to her child. I believe that more than anything.

God is loving and forgiving and knows my heart even more than I know it.

For the past year, I have wanted to get pictures taken of Chandler at Gardner Village, since that's our favorite place to play. So on Sunday we finally went. My friend Aimee Smith did the photography, and she did an amazing job. She was so fun with Chandler, and had so many great ideas. I highly recommend her if you are looking for someone to do photography for you.


The pictures we got on the bench were probably some of my favorite. He was making the cutest face expressions, and the way she did the sepia and black and white on some looks great.


There were so many places for perfect photo ops that we had never even seen before, like this bathtub filled with rocks and a tiny shower.




Chandler was sitting on a barrel, and he had just about had it with the picture taking, so Kevin kept holding up the bottle and saying if he just smiled one more time, he would give it to him. So we got this adorable picture of Chandler motioning for him to hand over the bottle. Adorable




It was nice to have a little relaxing mommy and son time on the swing. Chandler has finally started getting better at giving me "loves" or kisses.

He loved the water time, especially since he didnt have to wear shoes for this part.



He wasnt a huge fan of sitting on the truck by himself. Although I must admit he looks pretty adorable even with the crying.

I am having a hard time deciding which ones are my favorites, but I think these two are definitely up there.
He was enjoying a minute to eat the left over waffles we had fed the ducks. And as for the picture below. I think this is just about the funniest picture we got all day. His face, slouch, come here gesture, and his toe sticking straight up are all so priceless.


He was finding all the apples and throwing them into the water through the opening and then would look under the bridge to see where they went.



He had fun looking at the ducks from the bridge, and at all the apples he had thrown off the bridge.


He was sad that mommy was making him stop looking at the ducks and go to a new spot for pictures.


He sure did have a blast feeding those ducks though. They know us all too well, from how often we visit. He was a little hesitant to feed the ducks this time. So I was helping him do it.




Chandler and I went to Will Jensens 1 year birthday, and Kerry Jones was nice enough to get some pictures of Chandler and me.

Art for sale!!!

Okay so over the past 8 years I have painted numerous paintings. And sadly most of them are sitting in my office leaning against a wall. So I have decided its time to try and get some of my artwork sold. Now we all know times are hard and money is tight for most of us, so I am pricing my artwork at a decent price so i can try to get it sold. All of my artwork is sold as is. If you are interested or know anyone who might be interested just leave me a message and we can set up a time for you to see the art. Thanks a bunch!! :) Natalie

Flower1© Oil on canvas 9"x12" $20.00


Splurge© Oil on Masonite 12"x16" $15.00


Martini© Oil on Masonite 12"x12" $15.00


Labrynth© Oil on Canvas 14"x18" $15.00

Mass Chaos© Oil on Canvas 9"x12" $15.00

Perfect Circle© Oil on Canvas 12"x16" $20.00

Surf© Oil on Masonite 12"x14" $30.00

Cross© Oil on Canvas 14"x18" $15.00

Ode to Rothko2© Oil on Masonite 12"x12" $25.00

Ode to Rothko© Oil on Masonite 12"x12" $15.00

Flower3© Oil on Masonite 12"x12" $15.00

Coffee© Oil on Masonite 12"x12" $15.00

Bee on Flower© Oil on Canvas 16"x20" $35.00

Flower2© Oil on Canvas 10"x16" $30.00

Orange Flower on Black© Oil on Masonite 24"x24" $35.00

Martini© Oil on Masonite 12"x12" $15.00

Beach© Oil on Canvas $25.00

Sunset© Oil on Canvas 9"x12" $15.00

Red Flower on Green© Oil on Masonite 12"x12" $15.00

MOM

I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!

Being Mothers Day it feels appropriate to write about my own mom. I guess the first word that comes to mind when thinking about my mom in regards to raising me is "Trooper." She truly is an amazing person, and has been through so much raising me. Anyone who really knows me, has to know that my mom is an angel. Without going into too much detail or boring anyone completely, I will start at the beginning. I was born on Christmas Day 1983. So even from the very beginning I was kind of a nuisance. Haha. I have always liked to believe that I am my moms biggest and best Christmas present. Mom said once "when you were little you were the best out of all the kids... and then you grew up." Growing up I always went my own way, and most the time my way was not the way my mom had hoped for me. But she stood by me anyway, and for that I am gratful. Below are a few pictures of my wonderful mom, and a list of all the things I love about her.

This is one of my favorites of my mom and I. She is a fantastic comforter.

She is beautiful in so many ways. I think this pictures is gorgeous of her.

She is fun!! She always comes up with great activities for us to do as a family.

She plans some of the best and elaborate vacations. She is also very patient, and puts up with some of our most sour attitudes.

She has continued to love me through all my crazy haircolors and hairdos.

She has pulled me through some of the hardest times in my life.

She loves my dad Ron and supports him in everything he does. They have been together over 27 years now, and are still just as in love. She is the best example of love.

She loves each one of her kids unconditionally.

She loves her grandsons and is a fantastic Grandma to them! She's always finding them cute new outfits to match each other, and fun new toys and books for them from her favorite store.
I am so lucky to have such a great mom, and I couldn't and wouldn't ask for any other.

Thank you mom for everything you do for me. I know I have not made life easy for you. But I also know you will be rewarded greatly in the next life for all the sacrifices you have made for your family. I could thank you 100 times over and it still wouldn't be enough. Sometimes it amazes me that you still love and care for me the way you do. I hope I can be as great a mom to Chandler and my future kids, as you have been to us! I love you so much. Happy Mothers Day.