So after we all gathered around here and ate lots of this...
...and even more of this...
{yes my dears, it's garlic mashed potatoes!} I garnished them with a sprinkle of paprika, just to make them more festive & Thanksgivinish ~ they were all eaten up quite promptly :). We drank lots of this...
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! 
Yesterday we spent the day in Asheville with some friends and went to check out the {more than 200} Gingerbread "creations" at "The Grove Park Inn"...
The Inn itself is just absolutely amazing. A really "grand" experience to say the least. Of course, it's not somewhere to just go "hang out", since the beers are $8 each!!!
But the gingerbread creations were amazing ~ here are a few of my most favorites:
"Reindeer Games"
I loved all of these...
But, of course, my most favorite was the "Irish Pub" :)
Brrrrrr......so yesterday's show was pretty much a bust. Everybody was freezing to death and not very many people were out shopping. Our hero of the day, though, was Wayne! Yay!!! He bought me a propane heater and we stayed snuggled up around it like Ozzy & Lita do when they have a good bone to chew on:
You can't tell by this picture, but me Mike & Paula were all getting our butts toasted while we waited for customers to shiver & run by...
awe, this lady actually spent more than 5 seconds looking @ my jewelry ~ sweet ;)
and this sweet little lady scored some really cool head-bands from Carolyn...
but Mike's glass pendants....
and Paula's awesome yarn broaches, hair pins, bookmarks & earrings were the hit of the day!
...another sign I made today! And, if YOU haven't already, please do! You'll be really, really glad you did.
We had a really great evening last night over @ some of our friends' house. They are movie producers/directors and have written & directed several films. But the one we watched last night is called "At Last" and it's a movie about them & their lives and how they got back together after 30 years. It was really sweet & heartwarming. At first I really just wanted to stay home last night and make some new things for the shop and get ready for this weekend's show. But after it was all said & done, I'm really glad we went. And the dinner Tom & Sandi made was awesome! So if you having been putting off friends lately, you need to go visit!
And this is my new favorite necklace! I love it!!! Of course, I'm keeping the originial one for myself and I have 3 more of the bead-caps and Sandi already put in her order for one, so I'll only have 2 for sale in the shop. So, if you are eying it, you better snatch it up. It's just gorgeous, like having your own little garden, so I named it "My Secret Garden" ~ very appropriate, I think.
And then there are these, that I named "Organically Grown" - the Pink Peruvian Opal is just gorgeous! So I sit back and look at the new things I've made and think "gosh, my style is taking on a victorian flare and I must remy this right away"
And out comes "Wish You Were Here" ~ these awesome little earrings that are totally inspired by "Pink Floyd" ~ So now I'm back!!! But while I was out on the front porch taking pictures, I got the feeling I was being watched......
Back by popular demand & just in time for your Thanksgiving Day dinner, the ever so popular "Broccoli Cornbread" {another one of those comfort foods}:
Well yesterday was a sorta blur...my husband ended up in the emergency room having emergency surgery @ 2 am {Saturday}. He had a severe nose bleed that would not stop {no matter how many "google" remedies we tried and believe me, there are gazillions}. Come to find out, a small artery had split and was steady bleeding. So nothing we could have done would have stopped it. It was very scary & frightening for us both. They had to call in the surgical team {we live in a small town, so a surgical staff is not on duty 24/7 at the hospital}. So they all drag in right from bed ~ I asked them if they needed coffee or something before they started operating on my husband! They assured me that they "hit the ground running" and have done it a million times. They had to go in and cauterize the artery to stop the bleeding. Thank goodness they were able to find it! Needless to say, we didn't get back home until 4:15 am yesterday morning, both thankful and exhausted at the same time. But now, after a day & night's rest, I'm feeling 100% and he's feeling lots better! You know, I felt a little guilty when I realized just how much I love him, and what in the world would I ever do without him, while I'm sitting in the waiting room @ the hospital and he's having surgery. All that's going through my head is, gosh maybe I should have cooked him some meat loaf today, or gave him a massage, or just sat with him and had a conversation. So yes, that's what I'm doing today! All 3 of those things! And of course, what better reason to also cook some garlic mashed potatoes! The ultimate in comfort foods {besides chicken & dumplings} Yippie!
And I did make this awesome little necklace yesterday with some gorgeous Keishi Pearls that I got from "J.Nic Designs" on Etsy! I named it "Free Bird" and, you know where to find it :)
This one is my favorite {of course} ~ please do check out her shop! She has lots of things that would make really great Teachers/friends gifts :)
Ahhhh...so as I sit here and watch the last of the leaves fall from the trees outside my window, I start getting more and more excited about the approaching holidays. My plans are to send out a Newsletter early next week that will include a 15% discount to jump start holiday shopping. But, for you, my precious & dear little blog readers, the discount will be 20%, starting right now until Monday {November 17t} at midnight. After that, you will only get the 15% discount and that will be good until midnight on Thanksgiving {November 27th}. So, what do you have to do to get the discount? All you have to do is purchase your items from the shop, type in "Blog Reader" in the "comments to seller" section at check-out and then wait for me to send you an updated invoice. No worries if you accidentally pay full price, I'll refund you the difference through PayPal. Be sure, sure to type in "Blog Reader" in the comments to seller section, since this discount is only for you!!! And, just so you know, my Holiday Shopping cut off date will be the weekend of December 13/14. My very last trip to the Post Office will be December 15th, as I'll be headed out of town December 16th. So please plan ahead. If you wish to "reserve" items or pay in a couple of installments between now and then, please let me know. I'm more than happy to work with you in these trying economical times. My e-mail address is Kathy@dornickdesigns.com - send me a note and we can discuss options. 
I don't know what this picture/quote has to do with my blog post today, I guess I just liked it a lot...plus the little picture kinda reminds me of myself. My Mom had cataract surgery today and I felt a little guilty for not being in Louisiana so I could go "comfort" her a little *sigh* ~ but my life is in North Carolina now and there's no turning back. I talked to her on the phone and she did great & my Sister was taking care of her today {yay for Sisters}. So, enough of that sappy story - how about a pair of these awesome earrings for "free"!!!
I named them "Splendor in the grass" and, of course, they are for sale in the shop, but you can win a pair just by commenting to this blog post! That's all you have to do. You don't even have to say much, just a simple "hello" will suffice. I'll be drawing a number Friday morning and the winner will be announced on that day's blog post ~ Good Luck!!!
This little picture & saying has always been one of my favorites....along with this one:
And I already have my 2009 Mary Engelbreit Calender all ready to go. I get a new one every single year and have been for about 14 years now {I guess it's one of those traditions by now}. Most of the pictures & captions are repeated year after year, but I still love them like they were brand spanking new! And speaking of brand spanking new ~ I've made several new things for the shop:
This awesome little Dragonfly necklace that started off as a gift for my Sister's friend, but then I decided it was just to cute not to list at least one for sale in the shop. I really love the picture, too. You can see how red my maple tree is right now - it's awesome!!!
And then there's this little "Here Comes The Sun" necklace that is just adorable...
And then there's these ~ the labradorite stones are stunning!!! I named them "Kashmir" {my most favorite Led Zepplin song}...
And of course you can't jump start the holidays without a little "Mint Julep" ~ right!
There are just certain things in life we endure that will always make us want our Mommies, like getting shots! Wayne and I got our flu shots today and I don't know about him, but I wanted my Mommy....especially her {made from scratch} Chicken-n-dumplings. Katie gave me an awesome recipe a while back, but as soon as I read the first step 1. Boil The Chicken ~ it was over for me *sigh* I guess I'm just lazy ~ we had Chicken Caesar Salad instead, which was better for us, but certainly not as comforting. Besides, my arm is still throbbing. I feel like I was "sucker punched". So I'll just go make me a big mug of hot chocolate and then take a nice warm milk bath. I almost feel quilty when I buy powdered milk in the giant container from Sam's. They probably think it's because I'm trying to cut my costs of buying "real milk", but little do they know that I actually bathe in it! And here's a great little moisturizing milk bath recipe. It's great for winter itch and just down right comforting :
Check out the "Etsy Treasury" I created today! I love the colors and, of course, the sellers are some of my favorites as well.....
Hello everybody!! I just had to share a couple of really hysterical things I've found lately on Etsy. This made me laugh out loud:
"Hanz" from A l'Heure de l'Apéro. He looks a little like my Sister's boyfriend!
And these super hilarious "see through" skirts from Pantherbyhand, who is also responsible for these:
I guess the reason I think these are so funny is because I try to picture Wayne in them and that makes me laugh! I hope these make you laugh, too ;)
Happy Tuesday!!!! Good luck to whoever becomes our next President....
I can't believe it's already November 1st! ~ I've been living in North Carolina for over a year now! Amazing how fast time flies. One of the things I don't get by living in the woods are Trick-or-Treaters. Sometimes I really looked forward to seeing all the little ones dressed up in halloween costumes *sigh* ~ so, I just had to get my "little Jack" fix yesterday and went to see him @ his Dad's shop ~ he was helping Nick fix up the place, but they both took a short break and joined us 1/2 way on our afternoon hike...
...which was awesome! The gravel road winds along past this beautiful meadow that a gorgeous creek runs through the whole way...
....and then there's a trail up through the woods to this awesome waterfall.
We actually climbed up to the very top and sat behind the waterfall & had some wine. It was awesome:
We even tried out the "10 second lapse" on my little camera so we could get a group picture:
So for those who have never seen me in any pictures ~ there I am! The one on the far right with the "Jay Leno" gray streak in my hair and wearing my "Season's Don't Fear The Reaper Earrings" and my little "Shrunken Ex-Boyfriend Bracelet"! What the heck, it was halloween :) And check out my little skull & crossbones leggings ~ they rock! Anyway, we are really "squished" up because we all had to share the same rock. We stopped back by the "Duck Pond Pottery Shop" (which is actually where we had parked) on the way home, had some coffee and enjoyed the rest of the afteroon out on the deck:
All in all, a wonderful end to October & Happy beginning to November ~