fa la la la love

mmmmmm yes i have many loves this week on flickr.
so many i need 2 mosaics.

wintry

goodness

 i even scored some sweet love for my hands today too.

"X O"  just like the mittens say! 

 :) happy love thursday

making

i had been wanting to make ornaments this year with kellen & casey. at first i had my mind set on salt dough ornaments, but then i saw this photo of erin's.  Aren't they so pretty?   at first i assumed they were gingerbread cookie ornaments, but when i followed her links that led me to Heather's soon to be garland, i saw that they were actually cinnamon spice ornaments.  We already had all the ingredients at home, and added bonus these require NO baking!  so on saturday morning, while we were delayed in getting our christmas tree by a certain flat tire of mine, we set about making a batch of these. they are all dry and ready to be strung today.  let me tell you they smell SO good. i think this may be something we make every year. a new tradition born.

Here is Heather's recipe: 

Ingredients:
1 Cup Cinnamon
1T Cloves
1T Nutmeg
3/4 C Applesauce
2T White glue

Method:
combine cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg. Add applesauce & glue, stir to combine, work mixture with hands for 2-3 minutes. Divide into 4 parts. Roll each to 1/4" thickness. Use straw or toothpick for hole. Place on wire rack & allow to dry at room temp. Turn after a day. (takes about 2 days to dry) String with a pretty ribbon or string of your choice, hang and enjoy!  :)
**If your mixture is too dry add an extra tsp of glue and a tbs of applesauce. If it is too wet, sprinkle cinnamon & mix in until it is easily workable.**

WARNING:  these are NOT edible!  they look like cookies and smell like apples and cinnamon but they do have glue in the recipe.  so please beware if you have animals or really little ones,  they may not be able to resist the sweet smell of these and try to eat them! 

happy making!  XO

late night bench.

yeah still doing it.

happy bench monday!

perfect ending

today was a busy day filled with plans.  a curve ball of a flat tire was thrown in just to keep us on our toes i guess. remember that certain little one i talked about exploding with excitement?  well he just about did.  i do believe the build up and anticipation of it all got the best of him, though he had wonderful, joyful moments, he was also on overload all day.  when the day was near done and all was quiet,  the only light in the house was the lights from the tree, daddy laid on the floor with them both and read a book.  you could feel the little guy finally decompressing.  it was a needed, and nice ending to a bit of a crazy day.  tomorrow we relax.  

friday!

this week has been a mix of wintry things.

some new snow, then sleet.

our first snow day off from school and snowman built.

hot cocoa drank with marshmallow fluff melting in the mug.

most of my shopping done just last night on a night out alone with my hubby.  oh! and ate one of the best burgers i have had in a long time too last night.  so juicy and smothered in blue cheese crumbles, crispy fried onions, and bbq sauce.  oh man it was messy and delicious!

tomorrow we plan to get our tree at the tree farm.  kellen is beyond excited!  he asks every morning if today is the day we are getting the tree.  so tomorrow when i can answer, "YES!",  i think his little body may just explode from excitement!  i honestly can't wait either,  it is one of my most fave things to do, made even more fun these past few years with little ones in the house. i especially love the smell of real evergreen indoors.  mmmm yes.  still on our holiday to-do list is baking christmas cookies, building our gingerbread house, cutting paper snowflakes, making salt dough ornaments,  and packing gifts up to get in the mail to all our faraway family and friends.  as i type it all out, it seems like a lot to do, but i am not feeling the crunch this year.  maybe that feeling will set in next week, but right now i feel calm about it all.   i like that.  i want to slow down a bit and remember these special times.  the fleetingness of believing in santa and magic flying reindeer is gone so quickly.  so while we still have that here, i want to take it all in.  that IS the magic of christmas to me.  hope you  have a great weekend.

ps~ i had a second set of winter postcards printed and re-listed them in my etsy shop.

so if you need a little gift for someone who loves mail, please click on over and check out the sets.  i have 3 different sets to choose from: winter~holiday, beach zen, and love notes. 

thank you.

proof of life

i know i am not alone in being camera shy.   like most moms,  we are more comfortable behind the camera, clicking away.  but today, please join me at shutter sisters and share a piece of you.

show us proof of your life.  you may be inspired by what you see,  because you ARE beautiful. 

awesome!!!

don't you agree?

week 52

26 'momenters' contributed to this grand finale. 

all I need is a moment.

truly a celebration 

please do click here to view the mosaic large.  it is SO much better that way!

big thanks and love to Cory and Rachel who birthed this wonderful collaboration project 52 weeks ago.  xo