Christi Johnstone ~ Sentimental Silver Personalized Jewelry

Just a little peek at the studio, decorated for the holidays!   I do love me a pink Christmas tree!

Our puppy Jack.   Yeah.  He’s that cute.

Cute cute cute.  And ornery as the day is long!   But he is a puppy.  And very a cute one!

We’ve managed to have a somewhat relaxing yet very productive weekend around here (always an easier task when you don’t have anything planned and can stay home most of the weekend).   We put the tree up earlier in the week, and have been decorating it a little at a time the past few nights, finishing it up last night.  Bella LOVES decorating the tree, and will sit and play with the ornaments for hours.   She’s a kid that in general likes a lot of interaction, but when those ornament boxes come out she will sit in the living room and get lost in her own little make believe world.   I remember doing something similar as a child.

I love the tradition and memories tied to Christmas ornaments, and have a few of my special childhood ornaments on our tree.   I am Sentimental after all!  While I have  few pretty “decorative” trees, our main tree is always stuffed full of memories.    A few pics of our trees…

We also had a visit from my brother Danny, his wife Meghan and our adorable niece Molly.

Santa also brought one of our gifts a little early.   The past few months I’ve been watching Craigslist for air hockey tables.  It’s a game we all really enjoy, and you just never know what you can find on Craigslist.  I’ve found some good deals, but often way across town, so I’ve never really bothered to pursue them.  Well on Friday I found one for a great price, at a thrift store about a mile away from us.   After a quick look online, I found that the table that was up for sale was a really high quality one (so I than assumed it was probably quite beat up or didn’t work).   Rick went over to take a look at it, and it was really REALLY dirty, and you couldn’t turn it on to test it, because the power cord was broken.   He checked out the motor, and had a feeling it worked fine.  They offered to hold it for him, so he could come back with tools to fix the power cord.   He did, and it fired right up.   We got it for a ridiculously low price (less than I spent this weekend at Costco for a bag of potatoes, a pack of razor blades and some apples).   My Dad helped pick it up and bring it home, and after a few hours of cleaning and some minor repairs, we had a fully functioning air hockey table!   It’s already seen a lot of play this weekend.

Oh, I can’t forget my favorite treat of the weekend.  Peppermint Ice Cream!   I think it tastes like candy canes, and since it is a seasonal flavor, I tend to refer to it as Candy Cane Ice Cream.

And just to add a little something extra, I prefer mine with some mini chocolate chips.  Oh my.  It’s good.

I think that’s a pretty good way to finish a nice weekend.  I have a feeling the coming weekends leading up to Christmas will be quite a bit busier, but I’m sure we’ll still find time for some air hockey.  And ice cream.

Last weekend was a busy dance weekend for Bella.  The weekend itself wasn’t too busy (nor was the actual dancing) but the driving sure was – almost an hour drive across town!   She performed two different dances, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.  She did great, and had a great time, which is what matters most.  She loves to perform, and just shines on stage.   I’m not sure where she gets it from, it certainly isn’t from me!   It makes me so proud to see her get up with such confidence, grace and poise.  It is really remarkable to me, and I hope she will always that wonderful confidence and belief in herself.

From her group dance “Splish Splash”

“Splish Spash” won a Top First & High Point Award

Enjoying lunch after at Rainforest Cafe, one of her favorite restaurants

Early morning check in for her very first solo performance

First Solo – Lyrical – “Catch Me” by Demi Lavoto

We were SO proud of her.  Rick and I both had tears in our eyes watching her perform up on that great big stage.  I’ve never liked getting up in front of people doing anything, and to watch her get up there, perform and have a BLAST – it’s just fabulous, and makes all the time (and money!) we spend at the dance studio completely worth it.