A Serendipitous Shopping Trip

Looks like Christmas already!

I have NOT started my Christmas shopping yet. Well, maybe I have. This morning when I was scrolling down Facebook (you can judge me for that; I am trying to cut down), I saw that Kayla Marie’s would be open for walk-ins. Yay!

Kayla Marie’s recently announced that the store would no longer have regular hours but would be available by appointment or online. This was sad news for me and other impulse shoppers. When I saw they would be open today, I immediately made a plan to go. For one reason, I knew it would make a good blog post.

Ah, my first love: Halloween!

I love looking at all the beautiful decorations and gifts, many of them hand made by Kayla Marie herself. I also enjoyed a chat with Kayla. We lamented the loss of craft fairs, where she previously did a lot of business. Perhaps these events will return before too long.

Christmas will help me get over my post-Halloween let-down.

In the meantime, we all do the best we can. People can watch Kayla Marie Creations’ Facebook page for chance openings like today. You can make an appointment to visit the store in person, or you can shop online through her Facebook page. You can also join the private group Kayla Marie Creations VIP. For more information visit the Facebook page or call 315-360-0058.

Run, Shop, Drink, It’s Scattered Saturday!

I have had a WONDERFUL day, and I will now attempt to make a Scattered Saturday post about it.  I have a number of pictures to share, so if my words are less than wonderful, I am certain my readers will forgive me.

This picture courtesy of Steve.

This is me finishing the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls, about a step behind Santa Claus. I think I may have been able to pour it on a little more and beaten the kid, but I did not try.  Perhaps if I had tried I would have failed.  But it was a fun run.

Love those alpacas!

The Reindeer Run was part of Christmas in Little Falls.  After I had showered at the YMCA and had a good breakfast at Il Caffe, we did some shopping.  My favorite stop was at Paca Gardens.

My photos here came out a little blurry.

After shopping, we were fortunate enough to catch a performance of a puppet play of “A Christmas Carol.”  It was awesome! We loved it!

A zombie nutcracker?

Later on we went to a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer,  NY.  I took a few pictures of their holiday decorations,  which I hope to share in a later post.

Steven was the only one who deigned to smile.

After the tasting, we went for a couple of drinks at Heelpath Brewing Company at the Frankfort Marina.  It was fun!

I have not gone onto depth on any of our activities today, but perhaps future blog posts can fill in the gaps.  In the meantime,  Happy Saturday,  everyone!

 

My Husband, Mr. Christmas

I spent some time today staring at a blank sheet of paper.  “Just write something,” I told myself.  I did not.  However, rather than continuing with a whiny post, writing about not writing (the irony is not lost on me), I thought I would share a couple more pictures of the delightful Christmas decorations my wonderful husband Steven put up.

Full disclosure: none of these has ever actually cracked a nut.

Steven has a lovely collection of nutcrackers.  It’s always fun when I can find a different one for him.

A few more cuties.

This is our dining room table.  Luckily we do not plan on eating there any time soon.

A little busy, but fun.

The three wooden boxes and a lot of the other stuff is up all year, but Steven added some Christmas touches.

As I sit here typing, Steven is working on our Christmas cards.  What a guy!  He is certainly Mr. Christmas this year!  I wonder if I can find a nice picture of him in my Media Library, so he can sort of take a bow.

Steven doing some Christmas shopping.

Here is a recent picture of Steven at New 2 You Consignment Store in Ilion, along with the proprietresses and their cute dog.  That reminds me, we have a lot more Christmas shopping to do.  Perhaps I had better make a list.  In the meantime,  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

All Dressed Up for Non-Sequitur Thursday

Oh, the days when I have Mohawk Valley Adventures and then feel too tired to write about them!  It is for just such an emergency that Non-Sequitur Thursday was invented (by me).

I got home from work, showered (I have the sort of job you shower after, I mention for the sake of those who did not know or had forgotten), and put on a cute outfit (although I daresay I flatter myself).  Steven and I had planned on shopping and dining.

We went to Rose Quartz Stand.  I had a gift certificate I had won at a Herkimer County Historical Society fundraiser.  We took a long time walking around and deciding.  I will probably return for even more Christmas shopping (and a little shopping for me).  After making our purchases, we walked down the sidewalk to Jamo’s for dinner.  Yum!

Now we are home relaxing.  I hope to write more about both our stops later.  In the meantime,  here is a brief shout-out to two Herkimer businesses.

The Rose Quartz Stand is located at 105 Mohawk St., Herkimer NY, phone number 315-868-5199.  They are open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday,  11 a.m. to 5 p.m, Saturday, closed Sunday and Friday.

Jamo’s Restaurant and Bar is located at 123 Mohawk St., phone number 315-866-1746.  They are open 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday,  11 a.m. to 9 p.m, Saturday and Sunday.

 

Beginning Our Local Christmas Shopping

Today was Shop Small Saturday.  I did shop somewhat small, but not at as nearly many places as I could have.  Nevertheless, I think I can come up with some semblance of a blog post on the places we made it to.

Kim, Steven and I started out at Kayla Marie Creations on Rt. 5S in Mohawk,  where Steve and I have beem, but Kim has not.  I did not take a picture but believe I can find one in my Media Library.

Isn’t she pretty?

This was not in my Media Library,  but here is Kayla Marie herself. We had a wonderful time looking around and finding a couple of gifts to purchase.  From there we went to New 2 You Consignment Store in Ilion, where we found a few more cute things, for ourselves and others.

Steve making his purchases, with the proprietresses of the store and their nice dog.

After that, Steve Kim and I went to Salvatore’s in Herkimer for a snack. Naturally we took a couple of pictures.

Steve and Kim, toasting.

 

The three of us by the tree.

 

Me and Steve.

We had quite the fun afternoon.  I guess we could have hit a couple more local businesses,  but we do what we can.  There are still a few more weeks before Christmas!

 

Let’s Start Christmas Shopping!

Well, I was all set to do my usual Friday Lame Post, but instead I think I will write a little more about Kayla Marie Creations.  I started to talk about the shop yesterday, but my sinus infection flared in a manner most uncomfortable.  Today I am still feeling whiningly bad, but yet want to communicate something other than said whines.

On Route 5S, a wonderful place to shop.

I just finished and emailed my article to Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I strongly urge all local readers to pick up the December issue when it hits the stands. In the meantime, I highly recommend Kayla Marie Creations for Christmas shopping and for your own personal decor.

A few of the non Christmas items available.

I was mostly taken with the Christmas decorations, but as I say in my article, Kayla Marie offers year round beauty.

And a few of the Christmas things.

I don’t want to share all the pictures I took,  because I also submitted them to the magazine. The beauty part is, she always has new stuff, so when I go back there (I have more Christmas shopping to do, as well as picking up a few items for myself), I can take more pictures!

All of these earrings are delightfully lightweight.

Before I close, here is one more picture, just to remind my husband of these lovely earrings.  After all, I have a birthday coming up.

Kayla Marie Creations is located at 262 Rt 5S, Mohawk, NY, phone number 315-360-0058. For more pictures, check out the Facebook page!

 

Yes, I’m Just Starting Christmas Shopping

I did not have to go to work today (don’t hate), so Steven and I headed to Little Falls for some local shopping at a few fun, distinctive places.  I know I said I was not going to talk about where I shopped and what I bought who, but, well, I took a few pictures and I need a blog post today.  Anyways, maybe I didn’t buy anything.  Oh, OK, I bought a few things, but they might have all been for me.  I call myself Cindy Claus this time of year, but I am always the Evil Woman CinCin.  No matter.  On with the blog post.

I saw on Facebook (a veritable font of information if you have Liked the right pages) that there was a Cookie Crumb Trail at Canal Place, one of the main shopping destinations in Little Falls (the other one is Main Street).  Participating merchants were offering cookies, so one was encouraged to go from store to store.  We started at Rochette, which now shares its space with Huckleberry Letterpress Co.  Lots of great gift ideas!

I told the lady behind the counter that we were following the Cookie Crumb Trail and I hoped to take a picture at each stop for my blog post.  She nicely offered us a cookie and hoped to see the blog post (oh dear, I will share this to Rochette’s Facebook page, but maybe the post isn’t very good. I always worry about these things).  I decided to take my picture of a pair of ice skates covered with glitter hanging behind the counter.  I saw a number of old ice skates for sale in the various antiques vendors’ spaces, so that is an idea I can steal (plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery).

She said they leave behind a trail of glitter but it is worth it.

Next we went to Ole Sal’s Cafe and Creamery and through the different vendors in that area.  I took my picture of some local art on the wall.

I don’t know how well you can see it, but my favorite is the mirror with the Overlook Mansion painted on it.

When we went to the building next door, I could not get a picture, because my Tablet went into Selfie mode and I could not get it back.  When we got to PrimaDonna’s Boutique, the nice lady there helped me.  I happily took a picture of some pillows I liked, although there is a LOT in that boutique I admired.

A soft pillow can bring one a lot of joy.

After that we drove to Main Street, the other shopping destination in Little Falls, to Paca Gardens.  I love walking around that place and touching the merchandise.  So soft!  Of course I had to take a picture of some cuddly alpacas.

Aren’t they sweet?

There are other places to stop in Little Falls, as well as a few places in Ilion and Hekimer I had thought to hit for Christmas shopping.  I guess I’d better charge up my Tablet and head out again tomorrow!

 

Maybe If I Left Out a Couple Geese A-Laying

I am even more tired now than I was on Tired Tuesday!  What the hell, me?  No matter.  I have one more day of work to get through, then I have the next week and one day off.  And only about a million and twelve things to do before Christmas on Monday.  Ooh, I randomly decided to put 1,000,012 instead of a more mundane 1,000,000, then I realized “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  So I went ahead and changed my headline.

I had originally put, “At Least I Chopped the Celery.”  I was going to do a kind of a Scattered Thursday, because I did a bit of running around after work today, which is no doubt why I am so tired (yuh think?). However, I just realized that I cannot very well talk about where all I stopped, because I was buying Christmas presents.  The recipients MIGHT read my blog post (or do I flatter myself?) and guess what I got them!  Worse yet, they might guess wrong and get their hopes up for a better present than I actually selected.  Oh, the pain. (Yes, that is a period there, not an exclamation point; I was being Dr. Smith from Lost in Space; remember how he always said that in such a quiet, tired voice?).

So this is your basic Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  At least I got it over 200 words.  And I like the headline.  I hope to see you all again tomorrow on Lame Post Friday.

 

Does Santa Give Coal to Bad Bloggers?

Some bloggers have guest bloggers or re-blog others’ blogs on a Sunday.  Maybe I should consider doing something like that.  Or I could keep having posts like Wrist to Forehead Sunday, when I really don’t feel capable of posting anything good, yet I like to post every day.  Oh, what the hell.  You can always feel smugly superior, all you bloggers who make better posts than this on a regular basis. Or you can just point and laugh.  You know who you are.

So Christmas Eve is one week from today.  Am I ready for such a thing?  Of course not!  Why would I be!  But I am tremulously happy that I have five more days of work, then a week and a day off.  Yes!  You would not think it was a mere three weeks since I had time off, or that I have had every weekend off for a very long time.  I can’t help how I feel.  I want some time off.  I’m sure many people can understand this feeling.  Those of you who can’t, well, congratulations on your far superior work ethic.

Where was I?  Ah yes, nowhere in particular.  Just trying to type a few remarks in so I can continue to pretend to be a daily blogger.  I hope you are all having a lovely December.  Steven and I had a few friends over last night.  I guess you could call it a Christmas party, although I usually invite more of a crowd to a party (so any local friends who are thinking, “She didn’t invite ME to her party,” please don’t feel bad).  We had a very fun time.

I did a very little Christmas shopping this morning.  And by “very little,” I’m afraid I mean I purchased one present for one person may or may not like it  and bought a bunch of stuff for myself.  In my defense, most of what I bought for myself was yarn to make more afghans which I will give away (I have plenty of afghans of my own).  It is not a great defense, however, because I love to sit on my couch, watch TV, and crochet an afghan.

Speaking of which, that is exactly what I want to continue to do.  This is Wrist to Forehead Sunday merely because I fear I am not making a good blog post.  I am having a rather enjoyable time apart from that.  I hope my readers have had a wonderful weekend.

 

Frantic Friday

I actually wrote a whole post in my head while at work today.  I even told it to a co-worker, you know, not word for word, but the gist of it. I did not go so far as to write it down, but I daresay I could remember it. However, I thought of the above-used title on my way home from work.  I thought it might be appropriate for the afternoon and evening I had envisioned, and it turned out to be true.

Steven worked until six, and we planned to meet to Christmas shop using a one-day-only coupon.  The details of where and how are not important.  For one reason, it is not one of the small, distinctive local businesses in which I delight.  I’m sorry that I do not exclusively shop at such establishments.  I mean, I’m not apologizing about it, I truly am regretful that I do not.  Be that as it may, I will tell you about my gyrations thus far today, and that will serve as this week’s Lame Friday Post.

I went straight home from work at three and took my dog, Spunky, for a walk.  He only wanted to go to the end of the street and back, but at least that is further than the end of the driveway and back.  I felt a huge need to exercise, so I changed into running clothes and ran in place on the mini-tramp, while watching part of an episode of Snapped.  It was not too cold or rainy to run outside, but I did not want to leave my dog twice in one evening.

After a shower and the usual trauma over what to wear, I got on the computer to check my Facebook notifications and email.  The Facebook check was not purely frivolous, you know.  A friend had messaged me a cookie recipe, and I intended to purchase ingredients as part of our Christmas shopping spree.  Of course, it was partly frivolous.  I also wanted to see how many Likes I got on my status of “The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote:  Stink!  Stank!  Stunk!”  But I digress.

Leaving the house shortly after five, I walked to where I was meeting Steven.  It had gotten colder, and the wind had picked up.  I enjoyed looking at Christmas lights on houses as I walked.  I started shopping without Steven, and he joined me already in progress.  We bought a lot of stuff.  No, I’m not going to tell you what!  People on my gift list sometimes read my blog, you know.

Now we have shopped, eaten, and are enjoying a glass of wine and watching another episode of Snapped.  I think Oxygen shows them all night long on Fridays.  I don’t believe I will stay up all night to see, though.  I’m tired.  Happy Friday, everyone.