File Cabinet Frames

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I know that we had a great one here! We all got tuns of stuff, ate slews of food, and had more laughs and fun than anything else!

I have been dying to post about these but had to wait until after Christmas. I have had these file cabinet fronts for a while and have been trying to figure out what to do with them and I finally figured it out! I decided to make some magnet frames out of them. We got some tin measured about 8x10 and nailed it down to the wood with 50 year old tacks I got from my grandparents store. We then put all the original hardware back on them. I think they really turned out looking nice. They are now in my brother Preston's possession, he got them for Christmas!


Dad was a big help with this project! I think he was even impressed with the result!

On to the next project... happy trails....

Black Eyed Susans and Cake!

I have to admitt that any creative ability I may have comes from my mother and father. I remember being little in the kitchen with my dad makeing flowers out of strawberries for garnish on a plate and other crazy things. This last weekend Preston and Mindi surprised Mom with a visit to see the tree and party it up! In celebration (really just because I had an excuse) I made a red velvet cake. This is the cake decorated with mango flowers and blackberries! My dad helped me decorate and we have bigger grander ideas for the next one! It tastes as good as it looks too!

Happy Holidays!!!! Have a wonderful Christmas!!! Happy Trails...

Cold Death

Yesterday I got the chance to go and see Death Cab For Cutie and Cold War Kids in concert in Tucson! It was a blast! I wish all days could be that great, but I suppose that is why we have brains so we can remember those good days on all the others that aren't so good.
Here are some pictures of the trip...

This is the first stop of the journey GAS CITY (my moms favorite place)... had to take a photo for her!
This is a Cookie Sand which, yeah it is as good as it looks!
Whenever I ask Dylan what he wants to eat he says "Anything that will make me full!" We decided that Claim Jumper may be able to fill him up. This is what he ordered, the Motherload Sandwhich! He ate the entire thing and then remarked "I am almost full" I think that the cookie sandwich did eventually send him over the full mark, he said no to a burger anyway.


This is us (minus Shannon) after the concert! That was Dylan's look the whole time, and Zach's too!
This is the Cold War Kids. A year ago when Preston came home for Christmas I heard one of their songs, Saint John, for the first time and must admit I was instantly in love. They are a great band and amazing live! Their music is meant to be heard live and it is a magical experience when you get to! They are so full of energy it is amazing!
Highlights of their set were...
-Mexican Dogs Opener
-Something Is Not Right With Me (truly beautiful guitar)
-Hospital Beds
-Saint John (the bird noise additions were particularly nice)
-Two Weeks Vacation
-The 50 something man who was dancing crazier and harder than I was!

If any of you ever get to see them....... DO IT! It will change your life, it changed mine!!!!
Death Cab For Cutie...
I love Death Cab and have wanted to go to a show for a long time! I was not disappointed! It was a small venue which was great, and a fabulous show!
Here is the set list...
-The Employment Pages
-Your Heart Is An Empty Room
-The New Year
-Crooked Teeth
-President of What?
-No Sunlight
-Grapevine Fires
-Soul Meets Body
-I Will Possess Your Heart
-Cath...
-The Sound Of Settling
-I Will Follow You Into the Dark
-I Was A Kaleidoscope
-Transatlanticism

Happy Trails...

Fall Into Place

This is my newest painting! I have been working on a bunch of projects lately but it is close to Christmas so some of them are going to have to be posted later. I had to post something though or I will go crazy! I painted this last night while we watched The Dark Knight! I vastly enjoy that movie and Christian Bale, I am just not sure which I enjoy more!


I really enjoyed painting this! I am glad that I have time to paint again! I hope to do alot of projects during Christmas break!

In approximately 5 hours I will officially be done with my first semester full semester of college! I have survived finals week! This last week has been crazy but it feels so good to have it over! Now for one month I officially have no responsibility since my job is at school! Sometimes it is truly wonderful to be 18!

Christmas Tree!

For 30 years my parents have cut and decorated their own Christmas Tree. My mother is an amazing Christmas Tree decorator and I have never seen or heard of a Christmas Tree like ours. She gets lights and wraps them around every single branch of the tree, then we get glass balls and cover the entirety of the tree with them, and finally put the tuns of special ornaments we have gathered from our travels and years of living. The tree is a great family tradition that we all love to be apart of.

Yesterday was tree decorating day! Mom put on the lights and dad and I helped with the ornaments. I cant remember a prettier tree, but then again I say that every year! It is a great tree and yes, it is as big as it looks! I am so glad that mom has held true to her roots and done the tree like her dad did it when she was little!
Isn't it gorgeous?

It is officially Christmas time!!!!

Happy Trails....

DIY

Smith Family Extravaganza

This last weekend was the annual Smith Family Extravaganza Phoenix Christmas Time Weekend! We all had a fabulous time like we usually do but this year seemed particularly great for some reason. Mom, Dad, and Shannon went up in the mountains to get Christmas Trees and I left after school and met them in Phoenix.

My weekend consisted of:

-Jesterz
-Good food at George and Dragon
-5 dollar gift exchange
-Shopping
-Games
-Christmas lights at the temple
-Crafeteria at Frances
-Shopping Marathon at Target
-Cookies
-Family loveliness

Zach and Preston in front of Michaels with their usual happy faces.

Every year we go to a mall of a shopping center and we all get five dollars. We try to find the most unusual thing we can for 5 dollars and then we exchange them! It is always interesting!

As a part of the 5 dollar gift exchange Zach got a kit to grow your own Venus Fly Trap... just add fly's...
Shannon got this wicked awesome mask... she loved it so much her eyes got really big!
On Sunday I stayed and hung out with Shannon and Zach we made cookies, decorated their Christmas Tree, played games, and went and saw the Christmas Lights at the Temple! It was a great day!
Zach always looks at his cookies this way...



Perhaps the highlight of the weekend for me was the Crafeteria we went to! My favorite little indie boutique in Phoenix was having a Christmas open house Friday night with 30 independent vendors all with handmade stuff. It was fabulous, I could have bought something at every booth and I could have bought everything at Frances too! I appreciate my patient family waiting for me as I walked around and around with my wide eyes and looks of glee. Zach said he wanted to walk around following my family counting how many times people said "This looks like Tessa!"

My happy self in the midst of Crafeteria!

This is Shannon holding up my newest key chain named Nappy, he is a cute Napoleon!


By some miracle this and Nappy was my only purchase. I probably shouldn't have bought this either but it was love and at first sight and there was no going back really, I had to have it!
We all had so much fun this weekend it was great! Prestons improv at Jesterz was hillarious! The only way it could have been better is if Stacy, Doug, and Aunt Janet could have been there with us! We missed them!

Until Later...Happy Trails...

We Are Lightning

I love James Taylor, really, but this is AWESOME! This is the last week of school before finals so I have been busy busy busy! I will go into a posting frenzy when I get done with school or more specifically when I finish my british literature paper!

Happy Trails...