And We are Thankful

Thankful for extended time with family.

Thankful for relaxing.

Thankful for adventures out.

Thankful for getting away.

We are so grateful for the crazy, wonderful bunch of people we call family.  We love them.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving week.  We’re getting back to real life and Christmas bliss after being away all week.  I love going away, but I sure do love coming back home-even more so when Christmas is underway. 

We’re planning on getting on the last of our decorations up and hunting down the perfect Christmas tree this week.  Out in the woods, there will be hot chocolate and hopefully not too much wandering around looking for that (elusive) perfect tree.  How about you?  Artificial or real?

Holiday Project Rundown

Oh the joys of Christmas past.  I’ve gotten myself pretty busy in the past few years cooking up lots of Christmas projects.  And I love that.  I love making stuff.  And I thoroughly enjoy covering stuff in glitter. 

Here’s a rundown on some of my favorite Christmas projects:

The Pinecone garland that left me covered in tiny little cuts from sharp little pine cones.  It was worth it, totally worth it.

The Starbucks inspired wreath, which sad to say won’t be gracing my home this year.  Apparently my storage tactics leave a little to be desired.  This baby’s gonna need some major touching up before she’s allowed to come in from the garage.  Bummer.

Easy, thick and full garlands.  I’ve done this type of thing for the past few years and I love them.  This year I’ve got something different planned which has left me with tons of great artificial greens to spread into wreaths.  Wreaths, everywhere!  Love it!

And then there was the amazing hot wheel Christmas tree.  I love this one.  And so did my son.

I’ve been gathering ideas and slowing putting Christmas together at my house and right now there is even snow to go along with it.  I think that beats out any decorating I can do!

What sort of projects do you have up your sleeves this Christmas?

DIY Vintage Inspired Wreath

Here goes my first (and maybe only?) Christmas craft project.

Isn’t she pretty? And she was pretty easy to make.

First make hot cocoa (essential for doing any Christmas project). Then turn on the swinging Christmas station on Pandora, nice and loud. Also essential for any Christmas project. Then get to work!
To make the wreath all I did was wind two strands of tinsel garland around a foam wreath form. To keep them on I just secured them with straight pins. Then I used a heavy piece of white cardstock I had in my paper drawer to make the house. I did a template like the one below and then cut two pieces for the roof and small piece for the base. I stuck it all together with packing tape and tacky glue. Fancy, isn’t it?

To make the snow I used a generous amount of tacky glue along all the edges and let that dry, then I dribbled hot glue around the roof. And somewhere along the way I cut a door with cardstock and fashioned a doorknob out of a brad. Once all the glue was dry I painted a thin coat of tacky glue all over the house and doused it with glitter. Then I stuck it all on the wreath. The tree I had in my Christmas stash and the silver berries were from little picks I got at the dollar store. The snowflakes were cut from a garland I’ve had for years. And then it all got stuck on with hot glue. It was really easy, and not counting kid time it was really quick to put together.
What’s kid time, you ask? Well that’s the time it actually takes to get something done when you are constantly being interrupted to do silly things like make dinner and fix boo-boos and stuff. If it wasn’t for that I’m sure I’d have very little unfinished projects, right? Ahem, maybe not.


So now this baby hangs proudly in my home and makes me grin every time I pass by. I love it! I also love that I had everything on hand to make this, so it was free! Well, not counting the money I spent on the stuff last Christmas. (grin)
Okay, now that I’m looking at it again I’m noticing a bare spot of wreath poking through…better fire up that glue gun!

Sharing with:

Happy Things

Hearing what they are grateful for.

A new friend.

A few minutes to myself with this in my hand.

A stack of Christmas books.

Also, there was the run in the morning snow.  A sunny afternoon.  Christmas projects under way.  And tonight a date with the couch and my man to catch up on our favorite shows.

Hope you’re having a happy day!

Lovely Defined

Lovely is a home made coffee treat and time on the couch, alone, to enjoy it.

Lovely is coloring with the kids. I love how they use color and pattern so freely, making blue trees with pink leaves and bright green trunks.  I think one of them even ended up with a purple sky.

Lovely is getting inspired for Christmas projects like this wreath.

Lovely is pausing for gratitude and thinking about the simple things that make life happy.  Like a good night’s sleep, the belly laughs of a four year old, the faithful companionship of a great dog and a husband who takes the kids away all afternoon so you can take a nap and clean in peace and actually be able to form a complete thought without being interrupted.  

Lovely is a lot of things, right now to me lovely is found in simplicity.

Sharing with Life Made Lovely at Blessed Little Nest. 

From Home to House

I’ve been thinking a lot about homes and houses lately.  The state of the economy has left a lot of our close friends losing their homes, through short sales or foreclosures.  Looking around, it’s causing us to reevaluate what our house really is and what home means to us. 

Our house is home not because it’s spotless or has all the coolest furnishings or is immaculately kept.  Our house is home because of the wonderful people that live here.  Our house has become home because we are here; living in it, filling it with noises and messes and memories.  Our house is home because there is a happy dog waiting for our return.  Our house is home because of the meals shared here.  Our house is home because this is where we love, laugh, fight, mourn, celebrate, encourage and live.  This is where we find safety and refuge and comfort.  All that goes on here is what makes this house our home.

And all that goes on here can go on anywhere else.  We can be home and be content wherever we are simply because we’re all together.  And in my book if we are all happy and all together then that is good enough.

I do love this house but a house can change, but home does not.  Our material possessions may come and go and lately  I’ve found myself wondering at the eternal value of the things I so often strive for: a clean house, a house at all, more possessions, a new purse, new boots, new scarves-none of these have much lasting value or impact.  I’m thinking about this lately and wondering how I can do more with less; less new stuff, less stuff to clean, less to do, less house.  Gulp.  That one just might be reality for our little family sometime too.  And you know what?  It’s okay.  I can be content and grateful for the essentials in life, that the basic needs of my family are met and that they are happy.

Sometimes God changes your perspective and shows you that a specific house doesn’t have to be home, that he might have something different in store for your family.  And that leaving a specific house isn’t the end of the world, just the beginning of a different chapter in your family’s life.  And that is okay.

A house is a building but home is where ever my family is. 

Nancy Reagan may have said it best: “I have been very happy with my homes, but homes really are no more than the people who live in them.”

Those are true words indeed.

and so it begins…

The Christmas decorating usually happens early around here.  I figure that’s okay because we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving at home.  Once Thanksgiving is over I usually just want to snuggle up with hot chocolate and enjoy the season, not run around like a decorating fool.  I usually do end up running around and changing things up in the house, but that’s because I want to not because I feel like I have to.
So I start slowly.  And I started last night.  My open cabinets got some new wrapping paper and I think that spending $2.50 on wrapping paper was a great use of my money.  I still have plenty left to wrap gifts. 

Yes it’s the cheap stuff that rips if you move the scissors wrong, but I don’t think the gift recipient will mind.  I know it just as good in my kitchen.

And there’s my start and with it a challenge.  I’ve spent $2.50 on Christmas so far and I’ve given myself the goal of not buying one single new thing for the house this Christmas.  Not even one.  I’ve got bins full of stuff and I’m determined to work with what I have and be content with that.  The extra spending just doesn’t need to happen and I know that there are more important things to do this Christmas season than decorate my house. 
Last year I felt challenged to be content with what I have, but I think it feels like I need to go a bit deeper.
What do you think?  Do you start decorating early too?

Around here…..

the snow is flying….

we found a onsie worn by Cayden at the grand old age of 8 months, here’s Aida wearing it and holding a the album of her sister wearing it over three years ago….

his teeth are falling out….

the camping gear has been housing a previously happy little family of mice….

and I’m still crocheting and trying to figure out lesson plans between now and Thanksgiving, all while listening to Christmas music.  And using every ounce of self restraint to not drag out all the Christmas things.

What’s up with you?

The Many Looks of Aida

She definitely has her own look, her own sense of style and her own way of doing things. 

Clothes are one of the things I’ve decided will not be a battle, unless it’s Sunday morning and she wants to wear flip flop with socks and her prettiest dress.  That one I’ll put my foot down on.

But otherwise anything goes.  And so she puts her own looks together and usually changes her clothes five times a day. 

Here’s a sampling of a normal week around here. 

I guess you could say she keeps things interesting.  And yes, this last one is a nightgown.  She wore it all day, and out on errands.  Is that hard for me as a mom?  Sometimes.  Sometimes I want to have everyone looking a bit more put together.  Sometimes I don’t appreciate the sideways glances at the grocery store.  But more than that I appreciate her cuteness and her ability to pull just about any look off.  I’m sure it helps that she’s only four.

She might not always be so, ah, creative in her clothing choices but I’d like to think I’m helping her be her own unique person.  Helping her gain confidence for later in life.  I want her to be her own person, even at the expense of my pride.  And not having those getting dressed battles is sure nice around here.  We’ve got enough of other battles.  Like who ate the last cookie, or used someone else’s toy without asking.  You know, typical sibling stuff.

I love the creative cuteness right now, I’m secretly hoping she doesn’t grow out of it.

It isn’t too early, is it?

I just can’t help myself.  I really, really like Christmas.  I’m getting an itch to pull everything out and sprinkle Christmas around my house.

Am I the only one?  Or am I just crazy?

all images Country Living