HAPPY HALLOWEEN...and...Giveaway Winner Revealed!

H A P P Y

H A L L O W E E N !!!

Hope your day is Spook-tacular!

And now what we've all been waiting for!  First, I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who entered my very first (but hopefully not last) giveaway...and thank you to those of you who are my new followers.   Also, thank you to the wonderful folks at CSN for being my sponsor.  (Christmas is coming so please check out their many stores for your gift-giving.)  OK....enough suspense!  Here are all the names....

My always-helpful hubby is going to draw now...here goes!

And the winner is....(drumroll, please).....

Congrats, CAROLSUE!  Hope you enjoy your shopping spree!  I'll send your email address to CSN and I'm sure they will get in touch with you soon.  I wish ALL of you could have won!  And again...thanks so much for dropping by and entering!

Psst:  If you want another chance to win a CSN giveaway visit Cortney at her blog LIVING AND LOVING IN CALIFORNIA!

Cigar Box Swap

I'm linking up with Karen @ Some Days are Diamonds for her Cigar Box Swap reveal.  This was my first swap of this kind and I was very nervous because I'm not nearly so creative as many bloggers out there.  But I had fun and met a great new blogger friend:  Cindy @ Applestone Cottage.
Karen's directions were to:
     *decorate the box and fill it with fall items
     *keep it a secret until the big reveal (which is today)

Well.....I didn't exactly follow directions:(  Sorry, Karen!
First of all, I was having difficulty finding any fall things that really "spoke" to me....and the fact that Cindy had mentioned she liked cottage-y things did speak to me!  So instead of doing as I was told to do, I did this....click here.

Secondly, I got sort of mixed up and had my own reveal awhile back!  (as you saw above if you clicked on my link).
Karen, I am sooooo sorry!  I tend to read directions too quickly and carelessly sometimes.  Anyway...everything is just fine and my partner and I made our swap and sweet Cindy sent me this....

I love all things cherry so Cindy covered my box with cherry fabric and topped it off with a cute button that says TEACHERS HAVE CLASS...(yes, we do!)  Then she filled it with some really cute things including scrapbook supplies, a cute kitchen towel, some old postcards, and a pin cushion made from a cute white pitcher, all of which I know I will enjoy.
Next time, I promise to read directions carefully...and follow them.  Thanks, Karen & Cindy, for all the fun!

OCD or Just Well Organized?

*Go here to enter my first giveaway.
  

I admit it...I love organization!  What's more I love to do the organizing myself. I've sorted and categorized things since I was a little girl...it was just plain fun for me, and still is. If it were possible, I would begin a late-in-life career as a professional organizer but in a small town like ours not many folks would be willing to pay someone to organize their underwear drawer.

Recently I had a bridal shower in my home and friends and  guests were teasing me about this....

That's my laundry + storage room and this is my "stuff"...the stuff everyone needs has but don't always know where it is.  I know where mine is...labels, labels, labels...I love labels!

These notebooks contain paper work for my mentoring and supervising jobs as well as holiday ideas, genealogy research, gardening and decorating ideas,and anything else I find on the internet or in magazines that I want to keep for future projects. Each notebook contains tabbed sections to identify the contents.  My own reference library!  Definitely better than sticking everything in an old shoebox.

As you look around you may also notice this...

hangers grouped by color.  I can't stand for them to be all mixed up...does that mean I'm OCD???

In my closet I put different types of clothes on different colored hangers...

yellow for jackets, turquoise for tops and pants, another for jeans, another for outfits.  Clothes are also separated by color.  Don't ask me why...it's just ME!

Shoes are in labeled boxes and stored by color. 

Wish all the boxes were just alike but couldn't find enough of the same kind to do that.  It bothers me but I can live with it! 

Jewelry is also sorted by color and/or style.

  

Something I've recently discovered is that the older I get the less clutter I am comfortable with.  So I've gotten rid of a lot of things that no longer serve a purpose.  I recently read that 80% of what we keep we don't use.  (Surely I use more of my "stuff" than that!)  I've also heard that if you don't wear an article of clothing for a year you need to get rid of it.  Hmmm...I disagree.  I've brought out things that went out of style and then came back again!  Of course, I could probably get rid of those saddle oxfords (we called them BeBops) that I wore in high school!

Whether OCD or just a love of organization, I like my labels and I like knowing where my things are.  And when I'm dead and gone my son and his wife will have a lot less trouble getting rid of all my "stuff"!

MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!

Yippee!!!  I'm having my very
first GIVEAWAY...thanks to the fabulous folks at CSN!

CSN Stores has become my #1 "go to" shopping source and I could literally spend hours on their website...searching their wonderful selection for ideas and to learn what's new in the decorating world.  They have everything from a bar stool like these...

                                            Love, love this RED one!

                             And this one looks so elegant!

To bedding...

      I ordered these sheets and they are FABULOUS...so comfy!

Would you believe I had never heard of CSN until I began blogging?  Just think of all the years I've been missing out on this fabulous place to buy almost anything and everything!!!  Now I'm HAPPY and THRILLED that they have contacted me and offered a $35 GIFT CERTIFICATE for my first giveaway!  If you win, what would you buy?  There's soooo much to choose from!  They even have GIFT SUGGESTIONS for all your family and friends.  Maybe for Christmas I could get Granddaughter M this...

And I think Grandson R would love this telescope to look at the moon and stars.

Maybe these cute yellow pots & pans for DIL...

Or a cool tool for son and hubby...

And for me.....:):)

                        Gotta have these!!!!

So here's all you have to do for a chance to win CSN's $35 Gift Certificate:

*Become a follower of my blog if you aren't already.
*Leave me a comment on this post telling me if you've ever shopped with CSN...what did you buy?
*For a second chance post a note about my giveaway on your blog...let me know you've done so.
     Sorry...but this is only for residents of U.S. and Canada.

It's that easy!!!  I will draw the lucky name on....HALLOWEEN! 
Hope you win and get something
"Boo-tiful"!   And to CSN...a big, big
                     THANK YOU!




P.S.  There's another great giveaway you might want to check out if you are interested in beautiful hand-carved wooden spoons.  Just visit Ashlee at her blog:
Across the Branch. 
 

GA National Fair

On Sunday Mr. Chatter and I went to the GA National Fair.  It was a beautiful day but way too hot.  Fair season is supposed to be cool!  We had fun though in spite of the heat.  We didn't venture on any of the rides but did enjoy the sites...and the food!  (Mr. C. likes to sample as many of the food vendors as possible.)  Somehow though, much of it never tastes as good as you think it's going to.  But there's just something about fair food that makes you want to gourge yourself  eat your fill. 

There was definitely a wide variety of eateries...Chinese, Mexican...and lots of good old American grilled delicacies...

     People were buying these  TURKEY LEGS like they were going out of style tomorrow!

Mr. Chatter finally decided on a grilled pork sandwich and I got a chicken kabob. 

             Then for dessert we shared an awesome
                                 APPLE DUMPLING

from this very quaint looking place...

The GA NATIONAL FAIR has lots of animal exhibits & shows.  Local 4-Hers & FFA members compete for prizes.  We walked through some of the areas and saw goats, cows, & chickens.  They were all top-of-the-line animals with their owners hoping to walk away with a blue ribbon or two, but the buildings were quite "odorous"!

                                      This goat was ready to strut his stuff.

                        These two looked so happy to be cuddling together.

                                     And this one was enjoying a cool bath.

                          The goat in this stall proudly displayed her name!

                       Some of the cows were HUGE...like this one
                       who was ready to participate in the milking exhibition.

                                 Don't these two make a cute pair?

   Her (or his???) face just melted my heart.  Look at those big brown eyes!


In the Poultry House I held a soft baby chick & even got to see some of them being born, pecking themselves out of their shell.  I remember learning that baby chicks have a special "egg" tooth that they do this with.  I had never seen this before.

The RABBITS were my favorite although their cages kept me from getting good pictures.  The lop-eared ones are absolutely precious.

FALL decorations were everywhere!

There were many, many exhibits....like the SCARECROW contest.  Loved these...

Lots of flowers & arrangements that were judged...

Many exhibits of vintage and handmade items....

Isn't this quilt beautiful?  There are so many
wonderfully talented people out there!

A  SNOOPY  collection???

We passed this trio...think they had just put on some type of show.  Mr. Chatter was all eyes!!!

As I looked across the waterway & took this picture I couldn't help but remember many fairs of days gone by when you could spend just a few dollars and yet have the time of your life...enjoying the rides, the side shows, the carnival games where you hoped you could win a teddy bear but usually got some dinky prize instead...and where you could fill up on corn dogs, candied apples, cotton candy, & popcorn...then go home happy, tired, and possibly with a belly ache that you figured was well worth it! 

              There's nothing like a day at the FAIR.