Happy New Year!!!

I can't believe 2011 is coming to a close.  To me, it feels like the year has flown by, which is good because having my husband deployed this whole year has not been easy.  I'm so glad he will be coming home in just a few short weeks, my kids and I are so excited!!  Every new year, I always make this long list of resolutions - the token eat healthier and exercise regularly are always at the top of the list, but this year, I thought I would try something different.  Rather than make some long list and doom myself to failure before I've even begun, I'm going to concentrate on one word for this coming year.  What is this word you say, well, my word is "Joy."  Why "Joy"?  Well, I have noticed that this year I was extremely busy, which was good I like being busy, but in that business I sometimes missed those moments of joy, playing with my kids, laughing with them, relaxing with a book, enjoying the beautiful landscape that God has provided for us.  It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day things like work, laundry, preparing meals, scrubbing toilets and miss the blessings that are all around us.  So this year, I want to focus on the joy of life, love, family, friends, nature, and of course, jewelry :)

If you could pick any word to concentrate on this year, what would you choose and why?

On behalf of myself and my mom (GirlieGals) we wish everyone a very

HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!!

Also, don't miss out on our After Christmas sales!!  All Christmas items are 50% off in both shops - here's a preview:

Merry Christmas

Christmas is my favorite holiday!  My mom, Girlie Gals is here in Virginia visiting and my husband is completing his year long deployment in Afghanistan next month. My kids and I decorated the house with paper snowflakes and chains.  My house looks like a winter wonderland.  We are all finally ready for Santa!!  Luckily for my mom, we are having the warmest winter in a long time, it feels more like a Texas winter here! 
The holidays have been very busy and we have both been very  busy getting orders sent out and now we are stocking back up! We are grateful for all of our wonderful customers and fellow Etsians!! We both have some new Pandora bracelets out with more coming soon.  We both wish everyone a very  

Merry Christmas!!! 

 

Don't miss out on our After Christmas Sale where all Christmas items in both shops will be on sale 60% OFF!!

Christmas Hoop Earrings with Pandora Style Beads

From GirlieGals

Christmas Color and Bling!! Beautiful red pandora style bead hoop earrings with green faceted crystals and fancy silvery rings. They measure 2 1/2 inches and match the Christmas Necklace and Bracelet:

Christmas Red and Green Pandora Style Bracelet with Faceted Crystals and Rhinestones

From GirlieGals

Christmas Color and Bling!! Beautiful red and green pandora style beads with green faceted crystals and rhinestone studded silver beads. Red enameled bell charms and a sparkling colorful sleigh focal charm add that extra touch to make this a very special bracelet for someone very special-including yourself!! This bracelet measures 7 1/2 inches long. You'll also love the matching necklace

Christmas Red and Green Pandora Style Necklace with Crystals and Rhinestones

From GirlieGals

You'll love wearing or giving this lovely Christmas red and green pandora style necklace with green faceted crystals and rhinestone studded beads. It also features red enameled bell charms and a birght and delightful sleigh charm. Bit of bling, bit of glam it measures 18" long and matches the Christmas bracelet

Winter Wonderland with Crystals and Snowflakes

From GirlieGals

Captivating and gorgeous. This winter wonderland pandora-style bracelet has white rhinestone beads with 925 silver grommets, large round silver plated crystal studded beads, white pandora style beads, antique silver snowflakes, and crystal teardrop charms. The focal bead is a beautiful crystal teardrop and larger snowflake with a dangling silver bell. All the other charms also have a dangling silver bell and silver seed beads. It's got romance, pizzaz, bling and sophistication all wrapped in one beautiful bracelet to wear with anything throughout the Christmas Season. It measures 7 1/2 inches on a snake chain with a lobster clasp.

Twelve Days Of Christmas

Have you ever wondered when the twelve days of Christmas are or what they mean?  BrankletsNBling and GirlieGals will be hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Sale from Dec. 1 - Dec. 12, but before the sale begins, I wanted to know more about the 12 days of Christmas history and meaning.  I decided to do a little research on the subject and what I found was very interesting. Most of us think the twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days preceding Christmas Day, however, the Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day. This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide. The Twelfth night of Christmas is always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which Christian tradition is followed.   

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" song comes from an English "memories-and-forfeits" game, in which a leader recites a verse, then each player repeats the verse, then the leader adds another verse, and so on until one player makes a mistake. The player who errs was required to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss or a sweet. 

Does this song have any meaning?  A bit of modern folklore claims that the song's lyrics were written as a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn their faith.   There is no substantive evidence supporting this claim, however many Christians believe the following interpretation of the song:

Gift	Interpretation
A partridge in a pear tree	Jesus
Two turtle doves	The Old and New Testaments
Three French hens	The three kings bearing gifts
Four calling [sic] birds	The four Gospels
Five gold rings	The Torah or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament
Six geese a-laying	The six days of Creation
Seven swans a-swimming	Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Eight maids a-milking	The eight Beatitudes
Nine ladies dancing	Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Ten lords a-leaping	The Ten Commandments
Eleven pipers piping	The eleven faithful Apostles
Twelve drummers drumming	The twelve points of the Apostles' Creed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_days_of_Christmas