A Final Farewell

I finally did it. I started a new blog. It has been something I have been thinking about for OVER a year, and I just couldn't bring myself to let go of the old blog. I've had it since 2005! But since opening up my shop on Etsy, I realized that Grace Goods is more than just my little on-line shop. It's my life right now and I feel that it should reflect in my blog also. So, this is a final post for Bella Grace. I will leave the blog up for a little while longer, but will eventually delete it. And ironically, this will be my 250th post!!! And in a way, I will be offering a giveaway, but at the new blog. I am working on my OWOH giveaways and will be posting those tomorrow, Saturday, February 6th, 2010.

Thank you to everyone who has followed Bella Grace and all of the wonderful Friends I have made (you know who you are!). Please, if you have Bella Grace listed on your sidebar, please edit the listing to reflect the new address. I'm still working on editing fonts and background, but will start adding my own links to Grace Goods shortly.


Please, come I hope you will come join me over at the new blog, Grace Goods.

XoXo,
Kristal

New Items in the Shop

I have SERIOUSLY been working, hard, to get a minimum amount of items stocked at Grace Goods. I have a plan...and so far, it is going along (somewhat smoothly) but by the following pictures, you can surmise the detours and distractions I have encountered.

But my trials and tribulations to get here have been well-worth the effort and I am extremely looking forward to do So Much More in 2010! I hope you join me, it's going to be A BLAST!!!

2009 9-9 Challenge

I love to read. I can remember my Mama taking me to the library during the summertime to pick out books. She used to get upset with me because I wouldn't read a book if it didn't have anything to do with an animal. I never wanted to read about people. While I still love to read about animals, I can handle reading about people now ;0) But I did notice that as I became older, got my driver's license, started dating, working, etc., my book reading fell to the wayside. I would still read but nothing like I used to. Back in 2007, I decided to read 24 books that year. Then a quarter of the way through the year, I came across an reading "challenge" That year, it was an A-Z author challenge. So I added it in with my previous number and read 48 books that year. Then in 2008, I uped it to 64. For 2009, I was tittering between 68 & 72. Well, I made the 72!!! Again, it was done according to a challenge I found. This one was to read 9 books in 9 different categories with only one book able to overlap a category. Ideally, you should have read 81 books, but if you took the easy route, it would be 72. I didn't want to push it, so I took the 72. But since I belong to a on-line book group and read at least one book a month for it, one of my categories would contain 12 books. So I simply adjusted the amount of books in each category to accommodate the difference. I still read 9 categories. And completed my goal of 72. It was fun, but not easy. And for this year, I am going with 10 categories, but only 50 books. I'm lowering my number because I have made myself a list of 10 personal goals for this year, and I am going to give them everything I've got, so I am preparing myself for more time spent on accomplishing these goals, yet still keeping my love of reading alive! I'm hoping that I will surprise myself and read more than this, but I am going on the low side so that I can feel confident about my reading and about accomplishing my Main Goals for 2010.
Below is a my list of categories and the books I read in each.

I have added a star rating to each book. There is my guidelines for how I rate them:
5 - These are books that have in some way changed me, made me think, shaken me up or impressed me with the writing style. They are books I will read more than once.
4 - Books that I enjoyed, they engaged me & took me for a great ride. I would recommend them to a friend.
3 - Okay books. I recommend borrowing or checking out.
2 - I wouldn't read again OR recommend
1 - An insult to my time!

1. Play Book Tag ( My on-line Book Club)

1. January - Music - Violin by Anne Rice 289 pages 4 stars
2. February - Chick Lit - Icing on the Cake by Laura Castoro 379 pages 3 stars
3. March - History- An American Plague by Molly Caldwell Crosby 308 pages 4 stars
4. April - Friendship - Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff 208 pages 3 stars
5. May - Suspense - Black by Ted Dekker 408 pages 4 stars
6. June - Time travel - The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers 387 pages 3 stars
7. July - American Literature - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain 541 pages 4 stars
8. August - Humor - Where is Joe Merchant? by Jimmy Buffett 399 pages 3 stars
9. September - Coming of Age - The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi 282 pages 3 stars
10. October - Contemporary Fiction - Mary Modern by Camille De Angelis 350 pages 3 stars
11. November - Thriller - Afraid by Jack Kilborn 346 pages 346 pages 4 stars
12. December - Satire - Animal Farm by George Orwell 128 pages 4 stars




2. Animal Farm

1. Second Chances: More Tales of Found Dogs by Elise Lufkin 180 pages 3 stars
2. Bunnicula by James Howe 98 pages 3 stars
3. Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls 272 pages 4 stars
4. Chicken Friend by Nicola Morgan 160 pages 4 stars
5. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski 576 pages 4 stars
6. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White 184 pages 5 stars
7. A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin 182 pages 4 stars




3. Seriously Serial

1. The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1: The Field Guide by Holly Black 107 pages 3 stars
2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 375 pages 3 stars
3. Every Dead Thing by John Connolly 395 pages 4 stars
4. Troll Fell by Katherine Langrish 355 pages 3 stars
5. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris 258 pages 2 stars
6. White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison 5 stars
7. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs 288 pages 3 stars



4. Pile Up on the KL Expressway (Books from my To-Be-Read pile)

1. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 288 pages 5 stars
2. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank 274 pages 1 star
3. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 127 pages 4 stars
4. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant 321 pages 5 stars
5. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown 569 pages 4 stars
6. Ghost Walk by Heather Graham 393 pages 3 stars
7. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen 335 pages 5 stars
8. The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love by Jill Conner Browne 213 pages 4 stars
9. The Little Prince by Antonine De Saint-Exupery 83 pages 5 stars
10. Wolf Boy by Evan Kuhlman 320 pages 3 stars
11. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill 376 pages 4 stars
12. Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson 259 pages 5 stars



5. 28 Days Later (apocalyptic/plague)

1. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson 272 pages 4 stars
2. The Stand by Stephen King 823 pages 5 stars
3. White by Ted Dekker 370 pages 4 stars
4. Red by Ted Dekker 381 pages 4 stars
5. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan 310 pages 5 stars
6. Into the Forest by Jean Hegland 241 pages 5 stars
7. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank 323 pages 5 stars



6. Something Wicked This Way Comes

1. Coraline by Neil Gaiman 194 pages 5 stars
2. Road to Nowhere by Christopher Pike 212 pages 3 stars
3. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton 146 pages 4 stars
4. The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue 319 pages 5 stars
5. The Strain by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan 416 pages 5 stars
6. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury 4 stars
7. I am Legend by Richard Matheson 312 pages 4 stars



7. Getting to Know You (History, Historical Fiction, Bio/Memoirs)

1. Lincoln by David Herbert Donald 720 pages 2 stars
2. The Colony by John Tayman 432 pages 4 stars
3. Roar of the Heavens by Stefan Bechtel 308 pages 5 stars
4. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson 468 pages 4 stars
5. An Unlikely Friendship by Ann Rinaldi 241 pages 4 stars
6. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert 384 pages 5 stars
7. Sickened by Julie Gregory 244 pages 5 stars



8. Fried Green Tomatoes (Southern Lit/fiction OR Food)

1. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg 416 pages 5 stars
2. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore 293 pages 4 stars
3. Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch 241 pages 2 stars
4. Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West 291 pages 3 stars
5. The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate by Rhett Devane 270 pages 3 stars
6. Love and Meatballs by Susan Volland 232 pages 4 stars
7. Cooking for Mr. Right by Susan Volland 240 pages 4 stars




9. Queen of Her Castle (Other Challenges & anything else I felt like reading!)

1. Nesting: It's a Chick Thing by Ame M. Beanland & Emily M. Terry 285 pages 4 stars
2. The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori 296 pages 3 stars
3. The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman 278 pages 3 stars
4. A Hard Man to Love by Kathleen Lawless 212 pages 3 stars
5. Swell by Cynthia Rowley and Ilene Rosenzweig 136 pages 3 stars
6. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron 222 pages 5 stars

TOTALS FOR 2009:
Books Read: 72
Pages Read: 22,340 pages
Authors Read: 69

Happy 2010!!

Whatever you resolve to do
On any New Year's Day,
Resolve to yourself to be true
And live-the same old way.

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Happy New Year to all my friends and family! It's hard to believe that another year has passed us by, but I'm am truly looking forward to all sorts of new & exciting things going on in the coming new year. I hope for each of you that this past year was full of wonderful things and that you only find more of the good stuff ahead.

XoXo,
Kristal

Wordless Wednesday

Early Morning Frost on the Lake

Day 11 and 12 of the 12 Days of Fun

I know, I know. I'm kinda late in making my final post for my "12 Days of Fun". But here's the thing. My last item for the 12 days was a project that I had been working on. And I was so excited. And things just didn't turn out right. Not at all. So it really threw me into a whirlwind and I had to lick my wounds and decide if I still wanted to continue tackling this project or call it quits. Well, I decided to forge ahead. And I'll let you see by the pictures, I believe that at a quick glance, it looks alright. And after some mulling over, I have decided to continue making these. And now for Day 11:

I saw one picture of these cute pettiskirts & knew that I had to learn how to make these for Gracyn. And like I said, I now have a few "Don't Do This" stories about making them under my belt. Since finishing this one, I ordered the correct fabric and am now awaiting a trip to the fabric store for sewing thread. I still need a fabric ruffle attachment for my sewing machine, but will have to save up a few more dollars for it. Overall, I think this one turned out. Like I said, from this picture, you can't see that the edges of the fabric are fraying and as she was rolling around with her brother on the floor, Gracyn could really care less.

And for my final day of FUN:

Last year on my 40th birthday, Charlie had attempted to throw together a last minute birthday party for me. But we lived so far away from all our friends & family, things just didn't turn out. Now that we are in Gadsden, we have a friend that lives in Birmingham, and he has a wonderful 10 year-old daughter that I really enjoy being with. So, together, so threw together a little party and we all went out to eat and they got me a gift card for the bookstore!! It wasn't anything wild & exciting but fun and thoughtful and I enjoyed it immensely. And I got a great picture of me and my wonderfully, sexy Hubby.

Day 10 of the 12 Days of Fun

Dane lost his first tooth!!! And that got me looking for a tooth pillow. Found an adorable pattern made from felt, but we didn't have any. So I used the next best thing...construction paper! I will make the pillow, once I get to the fabric store and buy some felt. I have been finding all kinds of cute things made out of felt. Enough for a post all by itself.

Here is the toothless boy!

Day 9 of the 12 Days of Fun

I've been having some fun with my sewing machine! I have always had a desire to learn to sew clothing, but never really say down long enough to learn. Now that I have a little girl, there are so many cute things I want to make!

These turned out so cute, I made another pair for myself as arm warmers. But they were confiscated by my son when he came home from school. Now, we'll be going back to the store to get many more pairs since we decided that so many people would like some of these! And it's been cold here, so they are perfect!

Day 8 of the 12 Days of Fun

Another project I have been putting off. I have a few pieces of jewelry that needed to be repaired. The charm bracelet needed some new charms added and the two necklaces that I made needed some minor repairs made. Now I can go out on my birthday wearing some
BLING!

Day 7 of the 12 Days of Fun

Later on, I want to post about my reading goal that I have for this year. But I did read one book during my 12 days and was so glad I did!

I can't believe that I had never read this before, but it is definitely a wonderful book. And not just for kids!

Day 6 of the 12 Days of Fun

(oops...I'm running behind...but I've been having FUN!)

I believe I've said this a few times, but when we moved I had some items in storage and wasn't able to get it all. So all of our Christmas decorations are still in Florida. So I've been trying to think of ways to be a little frugal this year. I did know that I was going to need new lights for the tree, so that was an expense I was anticipating. But when we went to Lowe's to get our tree, they were sold out of white lights! I really don't like colored lights, so I thought we could stop at Dollar General. Still, no white lights. Dane had run into the store with me and he said he liked the colored lights, so I thought with the kids, all the different colors might be nice for a change. So, colored lights it is! And I must say, I found one box of LED colored lights while digging behind all the boxes of lights. I grabbed it along with a few boxes of the traditional lights and once they were on the tree, I love the LED lights! The bulbs are shaped somewhat like a pinecone and the glow off of them is remarkable. And they were only $3 or $5 dollars (can't remember) but definitely a good deal. I'll have to remember to check Dollar General next year for some more lights.
So once we got home, for the first time, all of us gathered around the tree and helped with decorating it. And we had a nice fire going in the fireplace! It was wonderful!

If you look closely, the LED lights are around the top of the tree. You can see they have a different glow about them.