~Our Shutterfly Holiday Card!~

Oh yes, we know that it is officially the holiday season, and everyone is preparing by shopping, decorating, party planning, card sending out . . .

Yup it is that time, to think about holiday cards!

And ladies . . . I am officially jumping on this fabulous

Shutterfly Holiday Card bandwagon!

I have seen this blogger's promo on several of my favorite blogs already, and what a sweet deal!

(any of you already jump on this wagon?!)

Shutterfly's designs are super cute and chic, and there are too many to choose from!

I picked out like 6 and emailed them to my hubby to see what he thought.  His fave was:

Tweet Evergreen Christmas Card

Simple. How cute is that little birdy? :-)

A few of my other favorite cards are:

Hip and Happy Holiday Card

(Loved the colors on this one)

Starlight Ribbon Christmas Card

Bright Blooming Tree Christmas Card

(Cute tree!)

Bright and Merry Christmas Card

(I think this is my 2nd fave)

Oh Joy Joy Christmas Card

What is a girl to do?  I want all of the above! Lol

I'm leaning towards cute and simple this year.

Which one is your fave?

I need to order asap, me being crazy and trying to be organized I was going to have them out by December 1st (2 days away!) So obviously that won't happen, but we still have plenty of time:-)

So help a girl out and vote!

Want to earn 50 free holiday cards?

Find out here

To see some more super cute card and gift ideas:

*Christmas photo cards*
*calendars for 2011*
*holiday photo cards*

Usually for Christmas I hand make all of my Christmas cards, write a year-in-review family letter (this will be our 3rd family Christmas letter!), throw in a photo booth style print of 3 pictures, and buy photo stamps.

Although super cute and personable, it can be super expensive and time consuming. 

And well this year I have many other things going on.

(more on this later)

I will still add a Christmas letter in the mix, but this is saving me so much time. Sometimes I kill myself and stress myself out doing things that are not necessary.  So this year I'm taking a cute easy out:-) And proud of my decision!

So what about you this year?

What is your Christmas Card tradition?

Do you write a letter?

How many do you send out?

Do share, and make sure to let me know which is your favorite so I can order asap!

~Monday Mosaic~

Happy Happy Monday to you all!

(Also Cyber Monday!)

I hope all my American fellow bloggers enjoyed their long Thanksgiving weekend!

Silly bakers:

Our new dog is fitting in well:

What we did:

*Thanksgiving at our place- thanks to the in-laws*

*Lots of movie watching*

*Got all of Christmas shopping done!*

*Lunch date at Coho's with the hubby*

*Photographed 80 new items for my shop, listed another 34 new online so far!*

*Still breaking Lu Lu into her new home, she's adapting well!*

(for those who don't know who Lu Lu is chk here.  Our new rescued dog!)

*Healing my back- taking it easy!*

*Found some killer deals on boots! 2 pairs!!! Will post pics soon*

*Finished "Picture Perfect" by Jodi Picoult*

What a fun yet relaxing weekend we had!

Sometimes it's just nice to sleep in, relax, and just do nothing.

I feel like that's what we've been doing all weekend, and it's GREAT!

To express how I feel after all of our relaxing time:

Simplicity

How was your weekend?

Were you able to relax and enjoy life?

Pssst also made a new button for my blog!

I'm all about button love and exchanges, so if you take mine (on sidebar) i'll take yours:-)

~Let's Decorate . . . and we have ourselves a Winner~

First off, a huge

congrats to Sarah From 5k's and Chardonnay!!!

You are the lucky winner of $20 at the simply adorable shop A Little Lollipop Tree!

Go ahead and email me your email, and start thinking about what you want to spend your moolah on! (memorybeandesigns@yahoo.com)

Thanks Julie for hosting this giveaway, your shop is stinkin cute!

So if anyone plans on making fun cupcakes for holiday parties, etc. she has some amazing ones for a great price:-)

"Cupcake Wrappers - hot pink and black polka dots - ASSEMBLED, Set of 24 $12"

So how was everyone's Thanksgiving and Black Friday??

I hope everyone had a blast!

Now I'm full force on to Holiday Decor.

I am hosting my annual Girl's Christmas Party next Saturday.

Wooooo hoooo!

I always have a theme, potluck yummy food, we play a gift exchange game, eat, drink, and be merry!

This year's theme: Snow bunny!

Attire inspiration:

Snow Angel by Tamara Nicole featuring grey hats

hee hee!

So I will be working like crazy here to decorate, prepare the menu, and get things all holiday cheery around here:-)

I'm thinking the classic Red and lots and lots of silver and sparkles!

Some inspirational eye candy:

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and I want to make something like this:

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Have you starting decorating for Christmas?

Making any fun decor pieces?

Hosting any parties?

Pssst new shop banner!

Happy birthday to talented singer Udit Narayan.

Happy birthday to talented singer Udit Narayan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to talented singer Udit Narayan on 1st December, 2010. Udit Narayan, is probably the most unique singers who had graced bollywood films for the last 20 years. The main reason of his success was that he did not imitate any legendary singer for getting entry in bollywood cinema. For example Shabbir Kumar and Mohammad Aziz had imitated Rafi for their existence, Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Babul Supriyo imitated Kishore for their survival.Udit Narayan sang immortal songs like “papa kehte hai”, “akele hai” for Amir Khan in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, “tum pass aye” for Shahrukh Khan in the film Kuch Kuch hota Hai, “chand chupa badal se” for Salman Khan in Hum dil de chuke sanam. He had been the leading singer for the last 25 years and probably sung every type of songs.

The other hit songs include “dil to pagal hai”, “kab tak chup baithe”, etc., from the film Dil to Pagal Hai, picturised on Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, where Lata had sung with him. Also his songs “pyar ki kasti me” for Hrithik Roshan from the film Kahona Pyar Hai, “mai nikla gaddi leke” for Sunny Deol in the film Gadar –ek premkatha, “chalo chale sajna” from the film Nayak, picturised on Anil Kapoor, “bechainiya” from the film Gupt, picturised on Bobby Deol, were big hits. He had also taken part in the Indian idol music competition held in Sony TV Channel as a judge along with Anu Malik and Alisha Chinoy. It is very difficult to mention the contribution of a legendary singer of the esteem of Udit Narayan in a small article as he had sung more than 15000 songs in the last 25 years. His other catchy numbers include “chalo chale sajna” picturised on Anil Kapoor in the film Nayak, “do you wanna partner” picturised on Govinda and Salman Khan in the film Partner, “o ho ho chandni aya hai tera dewana” picturised on Salman Khan in the film Janam Samjha Karo, etc.

He had received filmfare awards a number of times as best singer and is probably one of the most consistent singers other than Sonu Nigam. In the present days new singers like Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Javed Ali, Himesh Reshamiya had entertained the musiclovers with their new style of singing, but that has not created any problem for Udit Narayan.After Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore, Manna Dey, Udit Narayan is the singer who had stood the test of time and is expected to serve bollywood films for another 20years if he can maintain his voice quality.

Happy birthday to Dharmender.

Happy birthday to Dharmender.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Dharmender on 8th December, 2010. He is one of the living legends of bollywood.

He had acted in more than 300 films and bollywood industry was heavily dependent on the star in the 60s and 70s. He started his journey with romantic films. His successful romantic films included Phool Aur Pathar with Meena Kumari, Mamta with Suchitra Sen, Mere Humdum Mere Dost with Sharmila Tagore, Aye Din Bahar Ke with Asha Parekh, Pyar Hi Pyar with Vaijayantimala, to name a few. Rafi’s songs picturized on Dharmender like “gar tum bhula na doge,” “ na ja kahin ab na ja”, “o majhi chal”, “dil kahen ruk ja”, “aaj mausam bara beimaan hai”, etc., had remained evergreen gems. His combination with legendary singer Mohammad Rafi was evergreen. As he acted in the production and direction of different legends in the 60s, including Bimal Roy, Chetan Anand, Asit Sen, etc., he gave lips in the songs of Rafi composed by different composers. Some of the examples include “aap ke haseen rukh” composed by OP Nayyar in the film Baharen Phir Bhi Ayegi, “dekha hai teri ankhome” composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film Pyar hi Pyar, “chalkaye jam” composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal in the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost, “tere paas aake” composed by Ravi in the film Aankhe, “in baharon me akela na phiro” composed by Roshan in the film Mamta, to name a few.

He played a different innings in the 70s. His image of action hero created revolution in bollywood films. He had a very muscular physic and created a trend of actors who involved themselves in exercises. His discipline had been followed by the actors of the next generation like Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and others. His successful films in the 70s included Jheel Ke Us Paar, Jugnu, Sholay, Dream Girl, etc.

His combination with Hema Malini is considered as one of the most colourful onscreen combination after Raj Kapoor Nargis and Dilip Kumar Vaijayantimala. Dharmender had acted in more than 20 films with Hema Malini, most of which were super hit. The most renowned films included Raja Jani, Naya Zamana, Sholay, Charas, Seeta Aur Geeta, Burning Train, Dream Girl, etc.

Dharmender acted in off-beat films as well. The best example was Gulzar’s Kinara. He was the husband of Hema Malini in the film who was a noted classical dancer. He was killed due to an accident with the car of Jeetender in the film. Bhupinder Singh’s song picturised on Dharmender titled “ek hi khwab kai baar dekha hai maine” remains as one of the greatest off-beat creations of RD Burman. His performance in the film Maa, based on the life of elephant requires special mention. He took a young elephant away from his mother to use him in Circus. The mother elephant revolted and killed Dharmender’s mother Nirupa Roy in the film. Dharmender’s patent dialogue “maa kasam”, “kamine”, etc., were memorized by youths of the 70s.
Both his sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol are successful actors of bollywood films. Dharmender still has acting left in him and the viewers expect him to carry on the marathon innings that he had started 50 years back.

Happy birthday to Konkona Sen Sharma.

Happy birthday to Konkona Sen Sharma.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to actress Konkona Sen Sharma on 3rd December, 2010. Actress Konkona Sen Sharma had married actor Ranvir Shorey on 3rd September, 2010. Very significantly the marriage had not been full of pomp and grandieur. After marriage Konkona Sen Sharma had reduced acting in films.

They were having the affair more than 3 years now. Ultimately they got married. Even when director Anurag Basu asked Konkona Sen Sharma about marriage in the early part of this year in a program in zee Bangla, she did say that there was no decision for the moment. But it is good that she had decided at the end.

In the entire program which determined the greatest fan of Konkona Sen Sharma, the honesty and humbleness of the talented actress was reflected. References came about the performances of the co-stars of Konkona Sen Sharma, where she admitted that she admired Irfan Khan. She started her career with the film Ek Je Ache Kanya in 2000. Then she got National Award for the performance in the film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer in 2002. It was directed by her mother Aparna Sen.

She acted well in the parallel cinema Page 3 in 2005. Then she received filmfare awards for best supporting actresses in the films Omkara in 2006 and Life in a Metro in 2007. Her performance in the film Omkara also earned her second national award in the category of best supporting actress.

She spoke about her experience of acting opposite popular actress Rani Mukherjee in the film Laga Chunari Me Daag. She said that her dancing skills were quite weak. Her tool flew off and hurt Rani Mukherjee on the first day of shooting. She also did a great job opposite Farhan Akhtar in Zoya Akhtar’s film Luck By Chance which was given positive reviews by critics.


Recently she carried her success in art films to commercial films as well. Her film Wake Up Sid opposite Ranbir Kapoor became a smash hit in 2009. She confessed that she was very comfortable working with the director Vishal Bharatswaj as he was organized and actor Ranbir Shorey who was very intimate to her. The Bengali audience expressed their sadness for not seeing her in many Bengali films. Her Bengali films were limited to only art films like Rituparna Ghosh’s Titli where she acted opposite Mithun Chakravarty and Aparna Sen and the film Doshor where she acted opposite Prasenjit Chatterji. She confessed that she did not get good scripts. But both Anurag Basu and Konkona Sen Sharma said that they will look forward to working in more Bengali films in future.

Ranvir Shorey had acted in landmark films like Singh is Kinng, Emotional Atyachar, Do Not Disturb, Chandni Chowk to China, etc. It is interesting to see how the marriage can help both the stars to carry forward their career in bollywood films. Konkona Sen Sharma has a lot of acting left in her. She should join films soon and play challenging roles.

Happy Black Friday!!!

Ready, Set, SHOP!

Anyone crazy enough to wake up early, stand in line, or stay up all night with no sleep to get some good deals?

If so, you rock!

I commend you on your bravery and determination!

Me:

 I will enjoy the warmth of my bed and cuddling with my hubby, and 3 pups.

My Christmas shopping: online (my whole side of fam and extended fam of 12 people are DONE! Except the handmade gifts that I've begun, gifts are all done thanks to Amazon and their deals and free shipping, score!)

I've decided for my good friends this year:

~Handmade Etsy gifts~

I think there is something amazing and special about a handmade gift.

And supporting handmade!

A few of my faves as of late:

Tan and Black Tuxedo Spats by Mademoiselle Mermaid $25

zinfandel pom clutch by Eclu $48

Rose Pink Gray Flower Hat by mojospastyle $38

Grey Mug Cozy, Gray Cup Sleeve, Coffee Tea, Twilight Silver Dark Fall Ash, Knitted Cabled Steampunk by natalya1905 $17.50

Crocodile Cream Special Knitting Handbag-Shoulder Bag-White-Bamboo Handle by mymomsknittingshop $75

ruffle necklace in chocolate. by prettythingsbymeg $20

Grecian Romantic Era Rosette Woven Goddess Dreamy Soft Misty Feminine Rose Tea Blush Pink Chiffon Dress by RiverofRomansk $39.80

There's a few, I'm finding so many fun ideas for my friends!

Many more fun finds to come!

Do you have any gifts that you are excited to give this year?

If so please share!

 . . . . . . .

Psssst: Don't forget

 Memory Bean Designs Black Friday sale!

20% off of everything!

Enter code BLACKFRIDAY20

 . . . . . . . .

Happy shopping my lovelies!

Remember . . . gifts are from the heart.  It's not about how much you spend, but that you thought about a person, or know them so well that you find the perfect gift for them:-)

Ooooh also: Winner Announced TONIGHT for this fabulously free giveaway

Hurry and enter before it ends!!!

Happy birthday to Sushmita Sen.

Happy birthday to Sushmita Sen.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sushmita Sen on 19th November, 2010. After creating a mark in the fashion world she made notable contribution in films as well. She won the Miss World Crown in the early 90s and at that time remained one of India’s best beauties along with Aishwarya Rai.

She had impressed the viewers with the film Mai Hoon Na opposite Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan came to find his own brother in an educational institution after a long time. Shahrukh Khan fell in love with Sushmita Sen in the film. The online chemistry appealed to the masses. Both of them gave able lips in the song “mai hoon na”. Zaid Khan, Amrita Rao and Sunil Shetty also did very well in the film.

She faced the glamour of Katrina Kaif in the film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, opposite Salman Khan and yet impressed the viewers with her unique performance. She was a nurse in the medical clinic of Salman Khan and she was asked to play the role of his first wife to satisfy Katrina Kaif. Salman Khan went on saying lies one after the other and Sushmita Sen had to help him for the wrongful cause. A time came when Sushmita could not bear any more. At the end of the film Salman Khan married her as she really loved him. Sushmita Sen gave brilliant lips in the song “laga laga laga re”.

She even did well in roles of second heroines like the one she played in Salman Khan’s film Bibi No. 1. Salman Khan was married to Karishma Kapoor and he lived with Sushmita after having an affair with her when he went for a foreign visit. When the question came as to upbringing of Salman Khan’s children Sushmita Sen failed miserably. Anil Kapoor and Tabu helped Karishma Kapoor to create ill-feelings of Salman Khan against Sushmita Sen and ultimately the family peace was restored in favour of Karishma Kapoor. The songs picturised on Sushmita Sen and Salman Khan became super hit like “ishq sona hai”, “chunari chunari”, etc.

Sushmita Sen also acted in challenging roles in films like Chingari, which were made for response from critics and Sushmita had shown her acting skills in these types of films. Her other successful films include Aaghaaz, opposite Sunil Shetty, where she played the role of police officer, Zor, opposite Sunny Deol, etc.

Both Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai joined bollywood films more or less at the same time and there was an express competition between both of them as both had come from the fashion world.

Although Sushmita Sen showed her potentiality in many films and the films had done well in box-office, she was not as lucky as Aishwarya Rai in bagging the big banners of Subhash Ghai, Sanjay Leela Banshali, Ram Gopal Verma, etc. Sushmita has also appeared as judges in many dance competitions hosted in different TV Channels in recent years along with other celebrities like Wasim Akram and others.

The viewers still believe that Sushmita Sen has a lot of acting left in her and she can do even better in bollywood films in future including her film relating to Benazir Bhutto. She had done a great job in Anil Kapoor’s film No Problem which is going to be released very soon. Aneez Bazmi had directed the film. There are other stars in the film including Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Khanna in the film. The viewers wish the best for Sushmita Sen for the films that are going to be released in future.

~Give Thanks~

With Thanksgiving tomorrow . . .

and me being stuck at home . . .

(due to snow, ice and . . . more on the second reason below)

I find myself contemplating my life.

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this, but I want to:-)

As you all know from my pics on the blog . . .am a red head, so with that comes pale skin and freckles.

Also comes senstitivity to the sun.

So growing up I didn't really think about sunscreen and taking care of my skin.

I just wanted to play outside as a child.

Then as a teen I just wanted some color on my skin like everyone else.

So my disregard for sunscreen has given me some bad sunburns over the years.

And I am sure tanning beds haven't helped either.

So when I met my hubby, he encouraged me to go get my moles checked out.

Since then I have had 4 moles removed, of which 2 have been "bad". 

(At least we caught them early)

So the 2 "bad ones" I had to get re-cut to make sure all of the cells affected were gone.  One was basal cell carcinoma.  But all is well and it's gone.  That was last year.

This year I had one removed on my lower back, actually just 2 weeks ago.

When the doctor called last week I was kind of shocked, this one turned out to be Melanoma Insitu.

(1st stage of melanoma)

So yet again, I had to get more removed to make sure it was gone.

My dermatologist suggestion I go see a plastic surgeon since it was on my back, I scar easily, and it's right above my spine. This one is a lot larger than the other ones.

I had an appointment yesterday to get it removed, with the crazy snow Monday we were stranded home not being able to drive.

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So we actually walked 6 miles there, and 6 miles back.

Crazy! Lol but we stopped for a nice bite of lunch and a warm coffee.

I was still numb so didn't feel a thing.

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Anwho I am chillin' at home now, and will for the rest of the week.

(Thanks hubby for my early Christmas present, my Kindle! Love it!)

The pass to get to my mom's is not looking good for tomorrow, so we are going to most likely postpone our Thanksgiving for another day soon.

The In-laws are going to bring Thanksgiving to us, so I don't have to try to cook at all.

(Sweet!)

I have some nice scars on my back now, but you'd never know.

Despite this "fun", I am super grateful for so many things in my life!

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"My Thanks List"

My health for sure!

My amazing hubby, seriously he surprises me each and every day.

My family, which keeps getting bigger every year!

The in-laws who have adopted me as their own daughter.

Our new adopted dog Lu Lu.  I think she gives us more than we give her with her new home.  She's the cutest little thing ever and I am so glad we found her!

My 3 little adorable Westies that bring so much joy and laughter to my life

My super amazing friends, who are always there for me even though we don't see each other as often as we used to.  Love you guys!

My job. 10 years with great people!

Creativity. I love that I can have fun and create, and actually get paid for it. Sweet!

Our home.  We have so much fun updating it and our little projects bring us closer together.

Literature and the written word.  I love to read and expand my thinking.

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I'm not gonna lie, I am grateful for some cute boots and a warm jacket!

Good food, but even better when enjoyed with great people by my side.

Warm coffee

HGTV :-) he he I'm addicted!

Sweet messages (text, voice, or on FB! They make me happy!)

And of course, I am so grateful for God and what he does for me every day!

The list could go on and on. 

I am super grateful for a great life, and couldn't imagine it any other way.

This Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?

Any big fun plans in the works?

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I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving with family and friends. 

We each are truly blessed in different ways. 

 Although sometimes life may not be perfect, there are soooo many things to be grateful for.  Focus on these things and be happy!