DIY: Easy Christmas Centerpiece

I put together this simple Christmas centerpiece for my dining room table last year (and again this year) and, to my surprise and delight, I have gotten a TON of compliments on it.

Materials:

-Clear plastic (or glass) bowl

-Ball ornaments of various colors and sizes (I got 4 boxes: 2 with smaller ornaments and 2 with larger ones. They were from Target and I snagged them on Black Friday for $1 each!)

-Pillar candle

Steps:

1. Fill bowl with ornaments

2. Stick the candle in the middle.

See? Super easy. The hardest part is popping the ornaments out of the plastic. After that, it takes about 2 minutes to put together (unless you get really fussy with the placement of the ornaments and making sure the same colors aren't touching).

And, it has a huge impact. The candle light looks gorgeous reflecting off the ornaments.

<3 Brittany

Allow Myself to Introduce... Myself

Brittany

That would be me! I'm 24, married, have 3 cats (see below), and I'm kind of a huge nerd. I work full time at my

alma mater for the Alumni and Development offices, but have a very different plan for what I want to do with my life. In 2010, I am going to begin pursuing certification to become a postpartum doula through DONA. My number one dream in life is to be a mom (a SAHM, to more specific), although that dream is a couple years out, unless God decides that he has other plans for us. I love all things domestic, except maybe cleaning (read: I only do it because I have to), and have recently become a pretty avid crafter. I also love documenting life (i.e. I take an obsessive amount of photos), reading, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Daniel

Thats would be my hubby! Daniel is amazing. He really brings out the best in me (most of the time ^-~) and we act like big goofy dorks when we're together. He's a huge history buff and aspires to teach college-level history courses one day. He is also a fabulous guitar player and avid reader. Probably the best thing about him is that he is able to put up with my antics (although, he can also be pretty annoying at times, too... and I of course mean that in the most loving way possible). Daniel is by far one of the most loyal people I have ever met.

Phoebe (aka Phoebus, aka Fetus)

Hmm... how do I best describe our fuzzy little feline? She's pretty much the best cat ever. Before Phoebe came around, Dan hated cats (which is quite problematic, because I love them!). But, this little one melted his heart. Phoebe loves all people (and has a propensity to climb her favorites) and wants attention all. the. time. She loves to play and be cuddled and she will purr her heart out, even when Dan wears her as a hat.

Bella & Edward*

Bella and Edward are a package deal. We adopted these sibling kitties last January when I was volunteering at a cat rescue, Furrever Friends, in NJ. They had a rough life until coming home with us, and as a result are endearingly shy. They have warmed up to us quite a bit over the last year, but all bets are off when we have guests over. Edward likes to hide under the couch and attack the toes that get too close to him. When Bella feels safe, she's a big sweetheart and loves attention. Edward becomes a completely different cat when we feed him and will let us pet him like crazy (until he is full).

Setting - Eastern PA

Dan and I both grew up in South Jersey, and are completely Jersey-fied, through and through. We love our home state, and if it weren't so darn expensive, we probably would have settled there. But, circumstances being as they are, and because we both work in PA and hated commuting, we ended up in our little apartment in Eagleville (which is actually quite "theme-y" - we both graduated from and now work at Eastern University and our mascot is the Eastern Eagle. The school is located on Eagle Road. Our apartment complex is called Eagle Stream.... see the connections?). Anyway, we're still exploring the area and "adapting" to life in the Keystone State (ok, so there's not much adapting, really - just more hills and deer, and less street lights).

Long story short, we are *living the dream* in the Philadelphia suburbs and I'm excited to start documenting our adventures again.

I think my resolution is starting off pretty well - two posts in one week? Not too shabby for me :)

<3 Brittany

*Yes, Bella and Edward were named after Twilight characters. No, we did not name them. I'm obsessively dorky about a lot of things (such as Disney or Hello Kitty), but as much as I wanted to love Twilight, it's just not one of those things for me.

Beginning Again

Clearly, this blog is not new. I started it nearly a year ago now and I think I've written approximately 3 or 4 entries and I haven't even published them all.

Anyway, lately I've been realizing how much I miss blogging and I've decided to give it another whirl. In fact, I've made it a pre-New Year's resolution.

So, what is this blog about? I won't be breaking any new ground with my writing, but I've decided to document all aspects of my domestic life and the happenings of me, my hubby and our 3 kitties. I may work on importing the posts from my previous blog about mine and Dan's life (Newlywed Adventures) and condense it all into one.

As for the title - well, scatterbrained describes me fairly well. I know the term "ADD" gets thrown around a lot by many who do not have it, so I shy away from describing myself as such. Perhaps "easily distracted" better sums it up? My blog may end up being somewhat on the random side, but I'm hoping that defining the content will help keep me focused.

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned - my next post will help to define the main cast of characters you'll be encountering throughout my blog.