jolly snowmen

Next up is my entry way, and these jolly snowmen are the first thing you see when you enter my house. Some are ornaments... the large wooden one in the center was made for me years ago by my sister in law Dianne, and the majority of them are reproductions of snowmen Christmas decorations from years gone by (as are the bottle brush trees, which I love). I am hoping to add to this collection each year.

This large pear-shaped guy is by far my favorite. How can you look at him and not be happy? From the tip of his polka dot party hat, to his little tree and blue party coat with it's puff buttons, he just makes me smile :)

This more traditional snowman with his real twig broomstick and his humorous hat (held above him by a spring) stands proudly on a pedestal and looks at the world with his eyes and mouth made of - what else? - coal.

I adore this very old fashioned Mrs. and Mr. Snowman couple made out of pipe cleaners! Someone took a lot of time and care to add all the detail to them - their hats and bows and glitter, their little coal button eyes & mouths and her buttons, their scarves, foliage, and his candy cane and her pearl. So darling, I just love them :)

This view is kind of from an odd angle, but I wanted you to see all my sweet snow flakes hanging on the ceiling!

My "MOD" version of a Christmas tree: most of my coffee table books stacked with a poinsettia plant at the top! The Apartment Therapy blog would be oh so proud ;) Just please forgive my awful cement floor - aargh......... 

I loved how this photo turned out, so I'm going to close with it for today. I hope you are all taking time to ENJOY your holiday preparations and the season itself. More of my pics coming soon - and some other fun things too :)

Christmas Porch 2009

It's that time! So welcome! My Christmas porch is different this year. I thought about it a lot over the course of last year. I was ready to let cutesy go. I love fun, and colorful, and unique, but I'm not big on cutesy. I wanted things to be more understated this year - more natural but still festive, welcoming, spiritual, simple. Next time I would add a bit more from eye level and up. It could use a little more color and brightness. But all in all, I'm really pleased about how it turned out, and it makes me smile every time I come to the door :) I hope you enjoy it too! 

Up next is my entry way, where happy little snowman will greet you - and a few other festive vignettes bringing cheer to the holidays around here too - so be sure to stay tuned for that! In the meantime, drink some cocoa!

Sandpoint Snow

This is one of my favorite photos. The first time it snowed up in Sandpoint Idaho, way up at the top of the Idaho panhandle by Canada, where we lived on top of a mountain, John and I reacted as if we were kids. It had been cold and raining, the boys were all at school, and we were in different part of the house. We must have looked out the windows at the same time though, and realized the rain had suddenly turned to snow. I hardly believed my eyes at first. I still remember the smile of wonder on my face. We instantly pulled on sweatshirts and ran outside to greet the falling powder. It was a magical moment I'll never forget.

I'll be back ASAP - my hard drive crashed and it's given me much distress! But I have lots to share - stay tuned!

first night

Hi my dears. Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah! Being that the hard drive to my beloved laptop literally went KABLOOEY early this morning, I have been distraught all day trying to figure out how I was going to create this post. I stole my son's laptop for a time this afternoon, and am finally borrowing my husband's laptop tonight. OY

I am not Jewish myself, but all my life I have had many friends of the Jewish faith. What a fascinating religion. I also spent 6 months studying in Israel when I was in college, so the people and the land have a soft spot in my heart. When my children were young, I made a menorah out of wood, and carved Hebrew characters in it using my dremel tool. Every few years we would celebrate Hanukkah along with Christmas because it was important to me to teach my children to know about and respect the beliefs of others. I love the origin of Hanukkah - it is a beautiful miracle indeed - and I have fond memories of celebrating those times.

So happy first eve of Hanukkah! I found the above menorah a few days ago on - where else? - Apartment Therapy. I absolutely loved it! They had a post on eco-friendly menorahs and this one made out of galvanized pipe was so creative I couldn't take my eyes off of it!  

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel. How I adore this story! In fact, my entire family adores this story - so much so that we have read it year round for countless years. Even tonight when I pulled it out, my 18 year old quickly grabbed it away from me as soon as he saw it. A delightfully playful story about brave Hershel who helps a little town celebrate Hanukkah again by outwitting the greedy, creepy, and downright scary goblins that have been tormenting the town for years. The story is wonderful, but the illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman are so creatively and beautifully drawn, they bring every page to life. A story you will never tire of!

So happy first night of Hanukkah my friends - I wish you all a lovely celebration :)

Special times xoxo

buttah

I know all of us think our dog/s are the most adorable dogs on earth - and they are. You all know how the sun rises and sets around my 2 dogs Luna and Angel. But sorry folks - this sweet baby HAS to be the most precious baby on the face of the earth. Such a random post, I know... I have resisted posting this pic sooo many times. It floats around the internet now and then, and every time I see it my bones disintegrate and the rest of me just melts into a pool of buttah. I received it again from my friend Tami last night, and it never ceases to reduce me to an overdose of cuteness. So take a few minutes to smile at God's precious little creature, and have a great day :)

bare

Pathetic, I know. Please don't call social services. There are Hot Pockets and waffles in the freezer, I promise. We even had a few protein bars left. But when I opened the fridge yesterday morning and finally focused on how COMPLETELY EMPTY it was ("would anyone like some A-1 on their yogurt? or perhaps some ketchup on their cream cheese?").... I really truly was slightly mortified that I could let my fridge reach this state! Are you even kidding me!?! Have I really been so blindsided working on projects and Christmas that I didn't see this coming?!? Were all those activities really more important than making sure my family has FOOD!?! Um...


All right, I admit it. I hate going to the grocery store. I hate it. I really do wait as long as possible to go, unless I am out of diet Coke and/or Ruffles. Actually, that's not true - I'll send my kids or my husband on a DC/Ruffles run, and they know they must go or face my wrath. But the store... the same things over and over again, year after year. Blahhhhhhhhh. Especially for those of us who are cursed with the I HATE COOKING curse. And it really IS a curse I might add. I would give ANYTHING to love to cook! ANYTHING! To have a family of boys and to hate cooking is a guilt-producing irony fest. Every single day! UGH. I can't even go there right now.


So YES, both John and I went to the grocery store yesterday. Even though it was pouring rain. And YES, our fridge is stocked with something besides condiments. And YES, our family once again has real food to eat. In fact, I'm fixing taco salad for dinner tonight - AND MY TACO SALAD IS REALLY GOOD - so please don't judge me too harshly. Oy - I need a diet Coke :)  

friends are the family you choose

Oh people... I would be remiss if I didn't shout out a very heartfelt thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to my dear friends who made me feel so special on my birthday. You know the saying "friends are the family you choose for yourself"... well, that's how I feel. Not a day goes by when I don't pause to give thanks for such precious friends.

Since we were crammed into Davy's truck driving across the desert on my birthday (not really the kind of birthday activity you look forward to) my friends really brought a smile to my face when I reached home. There were gifts at my door, gifts snuck into the house, cards everywhere, something like 60 Facebook wishes, e-mails, blog comments, messages on our answering machine... you name it. Even Davy's girlfriend and best friend Val & Liam had decorated the white board with a sweet message :) And it didn't stop there. Gorgeous, yummy bundt cakes, delectable pumpkin bread, candy, cocoa, several friends chose awesome ceramics that are so ME it was just uncanny... and the sweetest sentiments in cards you could imagine. You friends... you have blessed my life so much. I just want you to know that, and to know how much I love and appreciate you  ❤