We are slowly building a collection of children’s Christmas books to enjoy during the holiday season. Read more about that here. We read a lot of books with our little ones and it’s nice to emphasize special occasions and holidays with an appropriate book. We have come across a few to consider this year. These two seem particularly lovely. Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien Tolkien is a brilliant mind, whether fantasy is your genre of choice…
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I’ve been begging Viktor for a red wall in our house since the day we moved in, to no avail. He thinks it’s *garish*. Then I moved on to wanting a chalkboard wall, you know, for the kids. {wink} He decided it was too messy. So I came up with a winning compromise. I painted the inside of the pantry door with chalkboard paint {for recipes, menus, and notes from the kiddos} and the outside, bright red. Everybody wins. Well,…
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…to be thinking about holiday decorating? I know of those who put their Christmas lights up before Thanksgiving, even their Christmas tree. Me, well, I aim to have the shopping done by T-day, and the cards ready by December 1st. Key word being “try.” If you craft your way through the holiday season, you know it’s not too soon to get started. I discovered these ornaments while searching for instructions to replicate a homemade ornament from my childhood. Aren’t they…
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aren’t these family trees lovely? I think so. the company, my tree and me, offers custom family history art and do-it-yourself options (think fill-in-the-blank) for $45 to $100. What wonderful heirlooms and artwork to display in your home, or gift to parents, newlyweds, or even for a nursery. I’m eyeing that colorful tree for myself. {found via ohdeedo}
Our laundry room is much like a galley kitchen in a Manhattan apartment: long and narrow without much space to work with. I’ve been brainstorming over the last few years about how to make it a little more user friendly, a little more family friendly. The solution went thussly: Step A}: Buy a coat rack from IKEA in the As-Is section for $3.99. Bring it home and screw it into the laundry room wall. Stand back and admire your work….
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Do you love party favors? I do. I love to send guests home with a sweet little memento of the evening, to thank them for joining the celebration. The trick this time was coming up with something that was a) semi-useful, b) semi-thematic), and c) very very budget friendly for our large guest list. Also, I wanted to avoid candy and anything labor intensive like fancy sugar cookies. The final product: little bundles of mulling spices with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, orange…
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It’s the little touches that make a special occasion feel, well, special. Don’t you think? I really wanted to play up our theme without investing a lot of money on one-time-use decor. So we made use of a pumpkin surplus at the pumpkin patch for polka dot lanterns on the doorstep, a few candles in the serving area, a few flourishes of leaves and berries, and of course the paper buntings I’ve been enjoying since the onset of autumn. Observe:…
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I only have a few things to say about last night. One of them is that I’m sorry I dragged my poor children to SLC on a school night to wait out in the cold in vain. Another is that Ree remembered me and called me by name as she walked out the door. Life lesson: it’s likely someone of her caliber will know who you are if you make a big enough fool of yourself on first impression. I…
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Fall is here and it is apple time!! Heres an easy guide to help choose the best apples for your needs, whether baking, cooking, or just simply eating. For eating straight from the basket, crisp, juicy, and tangy varieties are best. Red Delicious is the most popular eating apple, but if you prefer a denser, tarter snack, try a Granny Smith, or a softer-fleshed McIntosh. Or check out the distinctive tastes of local farm varieties like Newton, Pippin, Macoun, honey…
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