It's been WAY TOO LONG

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I blogged. Things at the Francisco household have been very crazy. During the time that I've been away I walked for the Breast Cancer 3 Day, I celebrated my 27th Birthday and Steve and I will be celebrating our 3 Wedding Anniversary on November 18th!

Not so much has changed on the home front. We've been getting some little projects done here and there and I've been SUPER BUSY with glitter garlands. Tis the Season to GLITTER! We are, however, hosting Thanksgiving for a small group this year and I'm super excited about that. We don't get to entertain as often as we like, so I'm going a little overboard with the Thanksgiving table setting and decor!

Check back soon to view pictures of some new glitter garland designs!!!

and the winner is...

Abby wrote:

"I am most excited to be a mom because my husband and I have dreamed of this day since we were married 3 years ago. We then started trying to conceive in December 2008. We've now had 2 miscarriages and having those dreams dashed was heart wrenching. This is now my 3rd pregnancy and after guarding our hearts through the first trimester we feel like we can actually get excited and see our dream coming true. We are most excited because we have dreamed of this day for so many months and to see a light at the end of the tunnel and having a baby to hold in our arms is simply priceless."

Congratulations Abby!

(Please email me funfancyfree@gmail.com so we can discuss your custom made garland)

**Mommy Giveaway**

If you have visited my store than I'm sure you've seen the sparkling "Dream" garland that I make. I made it with the hopes of them being hung in the sweetest of nurseries, and with the overflow of baby announcements recently, I think it's only fitting that I give one of my garlands away to a Mommy or Mommy-To-Be.

To enter:

leave a comment on "your favorite thing about being a mom"or "what you are looking forward to as a first time mom".

For a second entry:

Blog about the giveaway and be sure to let me know you did.

The winner will get to customize their garland by picking the color. All entries must be received by September 30, 2009 (11 pm). The winner will be selected using random.org and will be announced October 1, 2009

GOOD LUCK!

~~Let the Fall Fun Begin~~

Fall is my favorite time of year and not just because my birthday and our wedding anniversary is in November, but I absolutely LOVE the weather and the fun things there are to do in our area.

Today Steve and I visited Peddlers Village (a quaint area with lovely shops, handmade crafts and great food). We always make it point to visit when they are displaying the entries for the scarecrow contest. We also like to visit during their apple festival where local farmers feature their fresh baked apple treats and sauces.

The weather today was perfect. We've had a straight week of cloudy skies and rain so it was SO nice to get out of the house! I've also been busy creating some Fall and Halloween garlands . I hope you all enjoy the beautiful weather that Fall brings you... I know I will!

Dream Kitchen for 2010

I've never been happy with our kitchen. I don't care for the oak cabinets and to me, it just feels generic. I confessed my disappointment in our kitchen with Steve and he has happily agreed to a facelift. Of course I always get in way over my head but Steve is keeping me in check.

Here is our kitchen facelift to-do list:

1. Hire a professional paint and glaze our kitchen cabinets

2. Rip up the ceramic floor tile and replace with wood flooring

3. Remove the backsplash and either paint of replace with a new design (if we find something)

4. Replace the countertops (possibly Silestone)

5. Replace the sink (Granite Composite Sink)'

6. Add new hardware

I decided to come up with a Design Board to show you the look we are going for! It's going to be a long work in progress considering Steve and I have a lot coming up (Breast Cancer Walk, 3 year Anniversary, the holidays, and our trip to Disney), but it will get done!

Chic Sparkle Now OPEN!

Last night I finally got around to listing some items on my ETSY store. We are officially open for business. I still have a lot more items to list for sale, but this is a good start! It's been a long time coming. If you are interested in purchasing one of my garlands but would prefer a specific color, let me know. I offer a HUGE variety of colors!

NYC for the day!

This weekend Steve and I, along with our friends Mark and Sarah, went to NYC for the day. Since it's only an hour train ride for us, Steve and I make it a point to go as often as we can. We usually try to avoid the Times Square area (always crowded), but since our friends haven't been there for a long time we decided to make a visit.

After some sightseeing, we continued on with our mission. Unlike our other trips to NYC, we actually had a plan. We were on a mission to get to FAO Schwartz to make our own Muppet! At FAO Schwartz they have a "Muppet Whatnot Workshop" where you can create your own "Whatnot". Whatnot's are the Muppets you see on Sesame Street or in Muppet movies that aren't main characters... I guess you could say they are "extras". Having been a fan of the Muppets since I was little, the idea of making my own Muppet was a dream come true!

We finally made it! When we arrived to the workshop the Muppet Makers gave us some color forms. From there we were able to put together different options for our Muppet and it helped us get a better idea of how he or she would look like when they were finished. For someone (like me) who has a hard time making decisions, this was not easy, and I think Steve was afraid we would be there all day.

Now it was time to wait. After handing the Muppet Maker our final version of our Muppet, we were told we had about a half hour wait, which was just fine considering we were in one of the coolest Toy Stores EVER! There was plenty for us to do!

After acting like 5 year olds, we went back to the Workshop to pick up our Muppets! To our surprise, they were finished and just hanging out waiting to be picked up!

We had a great time and would recommend this to anyone who has children or is just a kid at heart! We named our new friend Mupples and to be honest... we are having a lot of fun with her!