Staring Contest

Photo for Dec 8th 2009

This little Christmas decoration was staring at me from across the room.

He's adorable. He also has a twin who is currently still in a box somewhere.

My mom bought them for me and my sister years ago.

Normally I'm not one to get a cutsie - but this thing is adorable. I love it.

He makes me smile.

First Snow.

Photo for Dec 7th 2009

The very first decent layer of snow from our front window.

Our Christmas Tree

Photo for Dec 6th 2009

Here is our Christmas tree - with lights.
{No decorations just yet...plus we need to get another string of white lights on there...but you get the picture}

We're celebrating one (of three) Christmases at our house on the 19th ... that means its only 12 days till Christmas! Woot! Unless you count the fact that we're celebrating Christmas in Toronto with some of our closests friends this weekend...then Christmas is only 5 day away!
Double Woot!

Christmas Date!

Photo for Dec 5th 2009

Every year since we've been married, Mat & I have had a Christmas date. We go shopping, have a special dinner, wrap presents, decorate & (for the first time) we put up the tree!

{Living in Toronto we never bothered with a tree because we always spent Christmas touring around visiting all our families}

At my request we got a Scotch Pine.
{I like the long needles - thank goodness for hardwood floors}

{It says its 'Environmentally Friendly Choice...since when is deforestation friendly for the environment? These 'green' activists...I don't understand them. :)}

The base we had just BARELY fit the trunk...it was a super tight squeeze. Watering it was ridiculously hard because there was no space left around the edges. It probably took about 45 minutes to fill the base with water.

When we finally cut her loose we realized there was NO WAY it was going to be able to be in front of our window. So we had to move it into a corner. However, we forgot to take the netting off before we left the house to go shopping, so we didn't even get to decorate...but that's okay, we wouldn't have had time anyway - we were up until 1am wrapping presents!

Christmas at the Office!

Photo for Dec 3rd 2009

This tree belonged to Mat's 94 year old grandmother, Adah. It's a lovely vintage Sears Christmas tree. I thought it was a shame that this awesome old tree wasn't going up at our place since Mat & I wanted a real tree & there is NO room left for anything else. So I brought this lovely little tree to work.

I even wrapped a bunch of office supplies for presents.
Who asked for staples for Christmas?

Christmas Cards

Hey All!
Well since it's December 1st, & its time to get those Christmas cards ready to mail, I thought I'd put up pics of some of my Christmas cards to help inspire you!
Enjoy!

Happy card making!

Peace

One of my favorite parts about Christmas decorating is the peace it brings. There is something to subtle about it, maybe the lights, or the glitter. It's so silent & pretty, especially first thing in the morning when it's cold outside, warm inside & the world is still quiet.

This morning was a little rough for me as Mat headed to Hamilton. His commute means killer anxiety for me. After he called at 6:50am to tell me he got to Oshawa okay, I finally settled into the usual morning routine...but today it was accompanied by an atmosphere of peace. There were all these visual reminders of Jesus' birth all throughout our house - & while it didn't instantly squash my anxieties, it did remind me of the hope that there is in Jesus for all the trials of life. I'll probably take a lite of photos of the decorations we have throughout the house as the days go by, but today this was the first one I took a bit of time to look at.

Have you started to decoate for the holidays yet?

Decorating

Photo for Nov 29 2009

Well after getting our Christmas tree on Saturday it was really difficult to resist the temptation of pulling out all our Christmas decor & putting things up around the house.
{Even though the tree is still sitting outside}

We finally broke down somewhere around 6pm on Sunday & opened up all the storage boxes & hauled things out.

As I worked on a little project for our little wall divide, my heart turned to mush as I watched Mat out side setting up our little Christmas tree things.

He is such a wonderful husband. I thank the Lord for him everyday.

My Talented Mother

Photo for Nov 28th 2009

Mat, my mother & I went to a greenhouse that is just down the street from where we live. Mat & I bought our Christmas tree!! We haven't brought it inside yet due to the type of tree it is (Scott's Pine) the cooler & more damp it is the longer the needles will last so we are going to bring it in next weekend. For now its just laying in our backyard.

After getting our tree, my mother & I went on a while drive around the countryside collecting the following:

Branches, twigs, bushy things, & prickly things
{Apparently they all have names, what they are I don't know}

She then proceeded to make this beautiful arrangement that the greenhouse was selling for a rather high price.
I was so proud that she was able to make something so professional looking, & she didn't have to pay for it! I am so impressed, I went out and trudged through the dirt & fields for more of these branches, twigs, bushy things & prickly things so that she can make one for me!

Christmas Party #1

Photo for Nov 27 2009

Our first Christmas Party of 2009 at the Leavers:

Too much food.
Just the right amount of laughs.
Too much used underwear.
Just the right amount of adorable kids.
Too much salmon pink re-gifts.
Just the right amount of Christmas celebrating.

Giveaway!

Since it's almost Christmas time & I'm in a giving mood, I thought a giveaway would be appropriate for my internet friends.

{I'm also cheating & making it the photo of the day for Nov 23rd}

I thought I would giveaway this pack of 5 'Neapolitan' all occasion cards.

They're all handmade by me, & are perfect for little thank you notes or you can wrap the whole set & re-gift them to someone as a stocking stuffer for Christmas!

{I'm all for re-gifting}

To top it all off, they come in this cute little collection box.

To win, please leave me a comment about your favorite Christmas tradition - ps. you can have an EXTRA chance to win if you refer a friend & have them enter the contest too, but make sure to tell them to mention your name in their comment!

The winner will be announced Thursday December 10th.

Technicalities

Photo for - Nov 21 2009

Some of you may think this is cheating - photographing the cards I made on the 20th - but technically I got home after midnight so it counts.

{yay for technicalities!}

Besides, I finished a whole bunch of them on the 21st.

64 cards done.

I'll take pics of all them them later.
{Maybe this week if you're lucky & I'm not lazy}

& maybe since I like some of you I'll do a little giveaway this week!
Stay tuned for details!

bitter to sweet

Photo for - Nov 20th 2009

What a great way to end a bitter-no-so-wonderful week than a sweet girls night?

Kelly indulged us with three kinds of cheesecake, chocolate fondue, fancy cupcakes & a nice glass of wine.

We ate, laughed, made Christmas cards & plotted ways to paint the town red...

It was cold out though...so we stayed in.

Thanks for the great time Kel!

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!

Nov 16 2009

It was never the dip in temperature, the first falling of snow, a Santa Claus parade, pulling out the winter coat, or even the decorations in the stores that ushered in the Christmas season for me. No, instead it was these:

Christmas oranges.

I remember when I was a kid, my mom would buy a box of them & hide them in a closet in the basement so that my sister & I wouldn't find them & eat them all. I caught on quickly & I could easily polish off half a box in one sitting which obviously frustrated my mother.

But nothing says Christmas like these oranges.

I bought a box this weekend & have them resting nicely in a big yellow bowl on our kitchen table. Mat won't let me decorate for Christmas yet, but little does he know that these are decoration enough in my mind.

Katrina

Todays photo of the day is Katrina.

& her Triscuits.
{She has powerful & demanding cravings at random}

She is one of my best friends. She's funny, intelligent, has a BA in history, & is great with babies.

Yesterday was her birthday - today we celebrated by Christmas shopping.

11 Bath & Body Work soaps later....

Katrina, Happy 24th Birthday. I love you muches. You also smell very pretty.