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I have sick babies today, but wanted to share the gingerbread house we made a few days ago. The pre-made kit we had didn't give us nearly enough candy, in our opinion, so we added many many gumdrops left over from Eve's birthday celebration.


Gumdrops can make anything look a bit better and the colors were a great tie-in to the Christmas mantel in the living room.

December is here, and I'll use this as an excuse for wearing RED again. For me December is all about red in the color spectrum. So here I am, wearing red skinny jeans & red heels, both in one outfit, toned down by a grey sweater and a dark grey coat. For this structural coat with a masculine cut I have to thanks to cozbest.com As you noticed, lately I like to mix feminine with masculine elements for a edgy daytime result.
 I guess some things never change :)




                                                                                Coat: thanks to cozbest.com/ Here
                                                                                Jeans: Mango/ similar Here
                                                                                Sweater: Gap
                                                                                Bag: Costume National( sold out) another great one Here 
                                                                                Heels: Nine West/ similar Here
                                                                                Sunglasses: Prada/ similar Here 
                                                                                Ring: Vince Camuto

December 11, 2012
Give Away Your Money Before 2012 Ends

Done. Now what?

Click to enlarge.



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Cash surplus/deficit (% of GDP) for the World

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It looks to me like China's competitive advantage relative to Mexico has peaked. It happened during the Great Recession and we're well below that point now. I can't say with any certainty if the peak is permanent or simply temporary. I am willing to call it an exponential trend failure though.

In any event, I wonder what the savvy Chinese have to say about that?

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

I guess is ok to start making "THE LIST" for Christmas because is already December!!! A list that I want to share with you, giving you some presents ideas for your closest friends, sisters, mother and why not for yourself too :) Today's post is all about Red & Gold items, most of them at an affordable price.
Tell me which one is your favorite?





                                                                                 1. Sweater: Michael Kors/ Here
                                                                                 2. Plaid Scarf: Gap/ Here
                                                                                 3. Gloves: Alfrick  Mittens/ Here
                                                                                 4. Heels: Nine West/ Here
                                                                                 5. Parfume: Chloe/ Here
                                                                                 6. Lipstick: Lancome/ Here
                                                                                 7. Bag: Rebecca Minkoff/ Here
                                                                                 8. Cuff bracelet: Asos/ Here

Last year, the Christmas mantel was all about the ribbon. This year however, I wanted to do something like...I had no idea. I never know when it comes to the mantel. I've accepted the fact that I will have chronic paralysis in this area- especially at the holidays. So I just thought I'd wait for inspiration to strike. And then I saw this.


My 5-year-old, Amelia, took it upon herself one day to delicately remove everything from the coffee table and do her own decorations. "Mommy I made you a centerpiece. Isn't it beautiful?" She comes by it honestly.

I am an encourager (and the enforcer, but that's a different post) so if she's got the styling bug, who am I to deny her the pleasure. So I decided that this year's Christmas mantel would be all about crafts ala Amelia. Eve would offer all the moral support that 20-month olds can provide.

I had pinned this last year and thought it would be a great jumping off point.

The Wool Acorn via Pinterest

Amelia picked out the color schemes and decided on the placement.


She would hand me a ball and say, "put that one there." I was merely the hot glue gun operator. The whole thing went really fast. I think we were done in about 4 Christmas songs (love Pandora). A perfect craft with little ones who don't have very long attention spans.


She did a great job I think. This girl has got some mad color dispersing skills. And she practiced great restraint  I would have been gluing balls all over those things. That sounded weird.


Of course, I had to get into the mix a little bit. My contribution - an pink ombre pinecone.


So with our pinecone Christmas tree village ready, we made some garland. And what kind of garland do you make when your husband works for Dunder Mifflin? A paper chain of course.

Again, Amelia was in charge of picking out the colors. We talked about red and green but she wanted her favorite color - rainbow. She's learning about creating patterns at school, so this was a perfect activity.

 An afternoon of quality girl time produced one colorful Christmas mantel.


The jewel votives work really well with the colors in the trees and garland.


Birds eye view.
Christmas is the ultimate kid holiday, so I thought this was rather fitting. And since I get free reign of the house the rest of the year, I thought the girls should have some input into how our living room should look for Santa's arrival. As Amelia pointed out, the fireplace is like Santa's front door to our house.


So, welcome Santa.


How about you? Ever put the holiday decorations into someone else's hands? Any good holiday crafts you recommend for kids?  Have you ever tried to explain to a 5-year-old that rainbow is not a color, but rather a whole group of different colors? Don't bother, it is a loosing battle.

I linked up to Clean & Scentsible and A Thoughtful Place.

Click to enlarge.

Tombstone Generator





Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: St. Louis Source Base

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Look at all that money patiently waiting for a miracle to occur.



This post inspired by the comments of Luke Smith which can be found here.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

December 9, 2012
Gongol: Household net worth rises in America


1. He's a bit off on GDP. It's actually closer to $15.8 trillion.

2. GDP isn't earnings. GDP represents economic activity. It's an opinion, but I'd say GDP is more like sales than earnings.

If one sticks with the business analogy, then that puts our price-to-sales ratio at a whopping 4.1 to 1. That seems pretty darned high to me, especially if one factors in our massive debt.


Click to enlarge.

If I was a gambling man, then I'd offer a long-term return to the median theory. Heck, I might even offer it if I wasn't.

And lastly, those who believe that the ratio should be over 4.4 must believe many more economic bubbles are on the way (in addition to the dotcom and housing bubbles which got us there before). High real interest rates would seemingly have little hope of doing it. That ship has sailed.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Click to enlarge.

There were clearly better times in all of recorded history to swing for the fences. For example, 1982 looks pretty darned good in hindsight. Got time machine?

As a retired saver, I cannot afford to take big risks with my nest egg. I have no job to fall back on if the gambling doesn't pay off.

This is not investment advice.

See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Real S&P 500 Index (October 2012 Dollars)

Happy Monday to ya. Hope your weekend was good. If it was half as crafty as mine, I bet you are nursing a few glue gun burns as well. We Christmas'ed up the place and are now in full holiday mode. And all this week I'll share the results. Super exciting, I know.

First up is a little Pottery Barn hack.

I was looking at my 7th Pottery Barn catalog of the month on Thursday and feel in love with these mercury glass votives. I instantly thought of Mary McDonald ala Million Dollar Decorators. Loving the jewel tones. And of course the mercury glass, I'm always a fan of mercury glass.

Pottery Barn

However, the last thing I need are more votives, and I've got way bigger fish to fry...or gifts to buy right now. (I've got rhyme skills) So I recycled the catalog and went on with my day. It was very responsible of me.

When I started pulling out Christmas stuff the next day, these fell out of an overstuffed cabinet. I mean, I noticed them perfectly in line on a shelf labeled votives.

I got about 10 of these from the dollar bin at Target a couple years ago. And it just so happens I also have a drawer full of paints left over.  I could hear Mary McDonald's voice in my head, 'jewel tones. I'm in love with jewel tones.'

Who needs stinkin' Pottery Barn?  I can make my own colorful votives damn it. It was all very Norma Rae. Before I knew it I was painting one, and then another. I did it all so quickly that I didn't even take any progress pictures. Although, what is there really to photograph? Dip your brush in some paint and paint the inside. The end.

To give them a bit more of a weathered vibe and stick to the spirit of the mercury glass, I did make sure not to put on too much paint. Just a washed out effect.

Now I didn't have the exact colors I wanted so I mixed a few and made due with others. Not exactly jewel tones, but certainly jewel tone inspired. (Have you started a drinking game with the word 'jewel tone' yet?).


They look magnificent lit up, and work perfectly with the 'theme' of this year's mantel. (Although I really hate decorating with themes, so I shouldn't use that word). Anyway, take that Pottery Barn.


Come back tomorrow and I'll show you the mantel...if you show me yours.

Any luck with holiday DIY? What is your favorite holiday project? Need any votives? I've got a bag full of the suckers from IKEA circa 2002 and I'm STILL not out of them.

Click to enlarge.

BLOW IT DOWN... BUT, MAKE IT LOOK LIKE AN ACCIDENT.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

It appears more rEpublicans are either A) acquiescing to the Obama and democrat push for an increase in the tax rate for those making over $250,000.00 per year, or B) the rEpublicans are actually learning how to effectively negotiate and perhaps out maneuver the democrats long term. We'll just have to wait and see.

THE HILL - Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Sunday joined a growing chorus of Republicans who are open to higher tax rates for the richest Americans as part of a deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”

Corker, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, told “Fox News Sunday” that Democrats have the upper hand following the election. He said he was optimistic Congress would strike a deal within the next 23 days, even if it means agreeing to President Obama's plan to increase the top rate on individuals making more than $250,000 a year.

But Corker said he expected Democrats to accept spending cuts to entitlement programs such as Medicare.

“A lot of people are putting forth a theory – and I actually think it has merit – where you go and you give the president the 2 percent increase that he's talking about, the rate increase on the top 2 percent – and all of a sudden the shift goes back to entitlements,” Corker said. “And all of a sudden, once you give him a top rate on the 2 percent it's actually a much lesser tax increase than what he's been talking about.

“I actually am beginning to believe that is the best route for us to take,” Corker said, “to again shift the focus to where it needs to be, which is entitlements.”

The Republican-led House, however, is reluctant to agree to Obama’s demand for higher tax rates on the wealthy. This past week, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) proposed raising $800 billion – half what the president wants – by limiting tax breaks, an offer the White House immediately dismissed.

Corker predicted that Republicans would gain the upper hand in future negotiations if they can prevent the tax hikes and spending cuts that are set to kick in on January 1. ... {Read More}

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Is the following a voice of reason by Representative Cole (R-Okal.), or is it a voice for further statism and federal control of the individual's right to retain a larger share of their personal property? Dialogue begins just prior to the one minute mark in CNN video following excerpt.

THE HILL -... “So just let’s make sure for the 98 percent, they know they’re not. We can continue to fight on the other two percent and the higher rates,” Cole said.

The Oklahoma Republican said this would swing leverage over to Republicans in their negotiations with the White House to avoid going over the “fiscal cliff” — a set of massive tax increases and budget cuts that will go into effect early next year unless Congress acts.

“It’s quite the opposite. We gain leverage,” Cole said.

Not everyone is on board with Cole’s suggestion though within the House Republican caucus. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said the election results show that tax increases are not what voters wanted.

“We won the House,” Blackburn said, appearing with Cole on CNN. “The American people have clearly said we don’t want our taxes to go up.”

The Tennessee Republican said she doesn’t see support for tax rates going up among House Republicans. That said, they are more open to tax reform that could bring in new tax revenue.

“I’m not sure there’s support for the rate hikes. There is support for revenue by cleaning up the code,” Blackburn said.

Speaker Boehner (R-Ohio) has proposed bringing in $800 billion in new tax revenue by likely capping or eliminating tax deductions. Cole said Boehner is on the right path but that compromise is on the cards.

“We are not getting 100 percent of what we want, but we can get a lot. John Boehner is trying to focus us where it belongs, and that’s on spending restraint and entitlement reform because this revenue won’t come close to dealing with our fiscal problems,” Cole said. ... {Read More}

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


Treating all fellow human beings that mean you no harm, and do not threaten you or your families livelihood and well being are deserving of respect and full equal treatment under the laws of the United States of America. Including the full recognition of equal rights for gay couples to marry and enjoy the same secular rights that heterosexual couples enjoy.

America's belief in equality with respect to treatment of homosexuals, specifically their right to marry is, and has been changing. A plurality now support gay marriage.

POLITICO - A plurality of Americans supports gay marriage.

A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll found 40 percent of those surveyed said that same-sex couples should be able to be legally married. Thirty percent thought same-sex couples should be able to enter into civil unions but not be allowed to get married. And 24 percent said they should not be allowed to have any type of legal union.

The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Dec. 2-6, just before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday announcement that the justices will consider two same-sex marriage cases. The full poll results will be released Monday.

One in five surveyed admitted to changing their view on same-sex marriage in the last few years, as President Barack Obama said he did earlier this year.

Nearly half, 48 percent, approved of Obama’s handling of the gay marriage issue. Seventy-one percent of Democrats approve, and 65 percent of Republicans disapproved. Independents approved the president’s handling by a 16-percentage-point margin, 50 percent to 34 percent.

The generational gap on the gay marriage question persists. Younger people, who tend to view this as a civil rights issue, overwhelmingly supported gay marriage. A full 63 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds backed marriage, and only 14 percent wanted no legal unions for gay couples. It dropped off to 36 percent support among both 30-to-44-year-olds and 45-to-59-year-olds.

Only three in 10 seniors supported gay marriage. Another three in 10 supported civil unions. And 28 percent wanted no legal unions.

Predictably, the country divided along political party lines. Among Republicans, 40 supported percent civil unions and 37 percent didn’t support any legal unions. Just 17 percent of the GOP accepted legal marriage. Among Democrats, 60 percent supported legal marriage and 19 percent backed civil unions. This left 16 percent opposing legal recognition.

Self-identified independents tracked with the electorate overall: 42 percent supported legal marriage, 32 percent preferred civil unions and 18 percent wanted no unions.

Just over half of those who attend church infrequently supported gay marriage. Only 18 percent of those who attend services at least once a week did.

Roman Catholics are significantly more supportive of full marriage for gays, 42 percent, than Baptists and evangelicals, 18 percent. Among mainline Protestants, 35 percent supported gay marriage, 31 backed civil unions and 27 percent wanted no recognition. {Read More}

And so, once again we see the concept of individual rights and the application of equality under the secular laws of the United States of America being resisted by the Socon Evangelicals that would have all live by their interpretation of the scriptures. One can not help but wonder from where our greatest threat to liberty lies. Is there any difference between this and Muslim Theocracy? Just asking...

Via: Memeorandum