Hello December.

...thanks to Sunday's deadline knitting (which I did finish - thank you all for your encouragement!), this week's newsletter and a long list of to-do's, I got myself comfortable with holding off on the holiday decorations until Friday. We did get our tree into the house on Saturday ... and that fresh pine smell was delightful.

But as I finished up the last stitches on that hat Sunday night, I reconsidered the decorations. Twinkle lights are one of my favorite things about December. I really - really - wanted to have them up for today. So yesterday afternoon, I hid my to-do list under a book, turned on a holiday playlist, and put up the lights on the tree.

after last night's class...twinkle lights and a glass of wine

I was still fine with leaving the rest of the decorating to Friday. until this morning. While Charlie ate his breakfast, I checked up on Instagram. and saw a post from Katie - from Sunday afternoon - where Charlie had "helped" hang ornaments on their tree. 

And in that moment, I decided we'd do the same.  We hauled up the boxes and spent the better part of the morning and after-nap time putting out decorations. The Advent and Word trees are up, the mantles are finished, and all the “little stuff” (like the Santa that sits on the bathroom sink) is out. All that's left is the bird tree and the ornaments on the "big" tree (yeah, despite my "inspiration", we didn't even open those boxes today).

our Advent Calendar...aka the #tbt tree

the Word tree

Charlie had a ball “helping”. Pulling out tissue paper, pushing around boxes and dancing to Christmas music. 

I even "fixed" his Little Blue Truck book so the Christmas tree lights up. and then we read it. twice.

December, I have big expectations - and if today is any indication, I don't think you'll let me down.

Wishing each of you a December full of light. and wonder.

Christmas 2014.

Christmas morning toast

...was a most festive affair. We drank and ate and even managed a few photos. mostly of Charlie!

with his dad, smiling at his Poppa

and with his mama and his new alphabet letters - he especially loves C and T!

I actually awoke with a start Saturday night thinking I didn't have a single photo of Sara and then I remembered Friday's lunch. Girls only (we were going to make an exception for Charlie, but he and Katie were detained at the pediatrician's ... big boo!) at our favorite Bistro VG.

I have no photos of food, so you'll have to imagine lobster and burrata flatbread, fried calamari, wine, mussels, salmon, scallops, smoked chicken salad, beignets and a pear brown butter tart.

me, Sara, Lydia (my sister-in-law), Jillian (my niece) and Karen (my sister)

The rest of the weekend flew by. Sara and I saw Wild on Saturday. I'm determined to see all the best picture nominees for this year's Oscars and she promised this would be on the list. It's certainly deserving. I'd read - and enjoyed - the book and the movie is just as good. Reese Witherspoon is a very believable Cheryl Strayed and Laura Dern is wonderful as her mom.

My other memories are about cloudy skies and rain. It was actually beautiful for a few hours Saturday afternoon (I told Sara to enjoy it, she wouldn't see weather like this again until March, she said no, more like May :-) but most of it was black and white.

from Saturday morning's walk

Thank goodness for twinkle lights!

the entrance to my neighborhood on last night's walk

Today the house seems really empty. I thought it might, so yesterday, when I got back from the airport, I told Marc I was going to leave Christmas up until after the New Year. He didn't argue. Really, everything except the poinsettias are doing great. I think they're suffering from so much dark. Just like me. I pulled all the pots up to the front windows and as I type this, I see bits of sunshine starting to peek through the clouds. Hopefully they'll perk up. They only need to last a few more days!

Around Here.

...we're feeling grateful to be here. It's been three years since the airport figured into our holiday plans and it threw us a curve ball early this morning. Marc's flight was supposed to arrive about ten minutes before Sara's and they'd drive home together. He finally took off four hours late and her flight was on time. So as much as I said I was glad I didn't have to make that drive to the airport...I'm glad I did. It's pretty awesome to be one of those standing in the arrivals area waiting for...and finally greeting...someone special.

We stopped at Whole Foods on the way home. I'm not sure Sara was quite as thrilled as I'd hoped but we got what we needed (and a bar of Mast Brothers chocolate that wasn't even close to being on my list!). We had enough time back at the house to get two holiday drinks underway (winter sangria and Fairytale NY - the photo above is the Winter Warmth simple syrup...I think it's going to be great with bourbon, gin and champagne...pretty much the perfect mix-in, right?) before a quick visit with Charlie (and his parents). And finally home...just a few minutes after Marc (over four hours late, he needed a nap...I would too...and a cocktail!)
Anyway, I've been hoping for over a week that the sun would come out to share a real look "around here." But now it's Christmas Eve and it's still dark out...at least the twinkle lights shine. Here's what it looked like around here earlier this afternoon.

Since then, Sara has transformed that mess of dairy on the kitchen counter into cranberry cheesecake.
Now it looks like Christmas and smells (and sounds - yep, those are real jingle bells on Holly's collar) like it too!

Wishing you warm smells and jingle bells...xo.

The Best Accessory.

...I wore my just-finished Christmas beret to our family holiday gathering yesterday, along with the cowl that my dear friend Penny knit for me. I asked Katie to take photos.

And this morning I texted that first one to Penny to show off the cowl. I wrote "...it's warm and sparkly...the best kind of accessory for dark cold winter!"

She replied "I think Charlie is the best accessory - period." She's right!

 

 

Watercolor Wednesday | Looking In.

...hope your Wednesday was full of warmth and twinkle lights!

 

Throwback Thursday | Second Christmas.

Christmas 1963

...I obviously loved the rocking horse, which I still have - our girls played with it, and maybe Charlie will too...next year?

And that gingerbread ornament near the bottom of the tree (just to the right of the horse) is one of my favorites.

Here is this year's tree, with Mr Gingerbread featured close to the top, just right of center.

Christmas 2014

Jingle Bell Time.

...brought to you by this year's December Daily. which I've finally decided is going to be fully digital.  I spent a few hours yesterday playing around (not with my printer :-) in photoshop and have a plan, and a template, and the first seven days done!

Charlie is all about the Jingle Bells. Here's what I'll be sharing for yesterday.

each day starts with a card like this - super simple!

in the actual book, I'm going to use six of these photos individually, but the collage is more fun for the blog

There's something about camping out here at my kitchen counter, with my laptop and knitting, Michael Bublé singing Christmas carols, lights twinkling...it feels pretty good for a Monday morning! Hope your week is off to a great start, too!

Bring on the Twinkle.

...my well-earned reward for a long to-do list...fully done. Twinkle lights, a glass of wine and knitting.

When I walked with Lauren this morning, I didn't think there was any way I'd get it all done (especially because I - yikes!!! - overslept an hour!) 12 hours later, I'm still amazed it all happened. and incredibly grateful for my iPhone.

And now I'm leaving it to charge...while I re-charge. Happy Thursday!

Watercolor Wednesday | The Bird Tree.

...made its first appearance in 2011 in the family room of our old house (and yikes, I had to really dig to find any reference to it here on the blog!). The tree is just four feet tall so it sits on a table - now in our entry hall. I love how there's a trail of twinkling tree lights from the front of the house to the back (stay tuned - that's a post for another day!) I've added a few ornaments since 2011 - bird ornaments are one of the few things I still actively collect. Apparently, I have a lot of red birds.

Along with a few antique, handmade and otherwise sparkly specimens.

That guy with the gold streamers was on my tree growing up (as was the green and silver tree topper).

I never set out to collect bird ornaments; I've always loved birds and I guess it was just natural to add them to our tree. It wasn't until 2010, when I put all the ornaments away that I separated out the bird and bird-themed ones (in addition to actual birds, I have a few bird houses and a nest). At that point I realized I had enough for a small tree...and the idea was born.

Do you collect or display any special ornaments?

Not What I'd Planned.

...nope, I had the best intentions of sharing the beginning of my December Daily album but...it's not ready. In fact, I've got nothing except a head full of plans and a heap of enthusiasm (and if I'm being totally honest, because I like to do that here...a fair bit of frustration after spending the whole afternoon trying to print a 4x6 photo "full size" on a 6-1/4x8-1/2 sheet of paper. yeah, it keeps coming out small. and off-center. and I'm not sure that the glass of wine I just poured is going to help me figure it out, but it is still a glass half full!)

Instead, I've got pretty pictures. First, a sunrise (from the park and my early morning walk with Lauren), full of promise for a month that I can only hope doesn't fly by as quickly as the last one did...there's so much I want to savor slowly about December.

And a sunset (just as I arrived at the shop for class). Red sky at night, sailor's delight...for sure tomorrow's going to be a great day!

Hope your December is off to a pretty start - full of plans and enthusiasm...and no frustration!

 

Daily Crazy.

...I know I was two days late coming to this daily posting party, but halfway in...I'm really having a great time with it. Recalls my early blogging days back in 2007 when I was a lot more likely to post on Saturdays and Sundays than Mondays or Tuesdays (or any other day of the week). One photo and/or one story is all it takes. (and whoa, photos are way better now!)

2007 was a banner creative year for me: I started my blog in February and that December, I participated in Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas and made my first daily December album. That album is still one of my favorites; not only for the wonderful stories I captured, but also the process...creating something every day (and really, it was just the words I created daily - the paper and cutting and pasting happened every day or two).

I made four more daily December albums and then in 2012 and 2013 wrapped that daily practice into Project Life. In 2012 I was good about capturing something each day and slipping it into one of the pockets. Last year, I didn't even manage that. The weeks are there, but the days...not so much.

And now, I guess I've come full circle. I want to take this daily energy full speed into December...and create another daily album. A real one. with paper and scissors and glue. and printed photos adhered to paper. along with a few other good bits and pieces that make up December. glitter and ribbons. (and yarn...definitely yarn. I think I want to knit a few Christmas gifts too...)

How do y'all document the season? is anyone else into this daily thing like I think I might be?

 

Ten on Tuesday. Making a List.

…today Carole's asked about our to-do lists. Quite contrary to my normal MO, I've been resisting getting all those things running around my head down on paper. But once I did, it wasn't all that bad. We've scaled back a lot this year on gifts, and Marc's been away for a week, so I've had extra time. I hope this feeling of relative calm lasts!

1. Holiday cards. We haven't sent one in years, but Katie convinced me (and gave me a great coupon). I finalized the design and ordered them this morning. Plan to get them addressed, stamped and into the mail next week.

2. Daily December entries for Project Life. Scheduled for this afternoon. (I haven't done a single one so far…)

3. Groceries. Related to Marc being gone for a week, the pantry and refrigerator are nearly empty. Must do. tomorrow.

4. Holiday sangria, birthday card and gift for a sweet friend who's celebrating a milestone birthday this week. I'm hosting the party Thursday night, but everyone is helping with the food, so it really should be this easy.

5. Holly's annual checkup. She's out of heart worm medicine and her rabies vaccine expires this week. must do!

6. Sunday School lesson. It's my turn to teach on Sunday.

7. Shop blog post. Yep, I am behind on two blogs, not just this one! (and if time permits, I'd really like to get this blog updated for the new season).

8. Post office. Two packages to mail. Thursday?

9. Homeland. I hadn't watched a single episode of Season 3 til Saturday…and now I've seen all eleven, but need to re-watch that last episode before Sunday's finale.

10. Knitting. of course. I haven't finished any gifts, but three of the four I've planned are started.

With just two weeks to go, what's on your list?

click here to join the Ten on Tuesday fun!

Throwback Thursday | A Christmas Elf.

…one of my very favorite photos of my dad, from Christmas Eve 1967 (I think). That red wagon was our big Santa gift that year. 

Of course he had to be sure it "worked" after he assembled it…smart thinking since that festive holly mug he's holding was a hot drink we call Tom & Jerry's, a Sheffield family holiday tradition.

Tom & Jerry's

my mother's recipe

Batter

Slowly beat 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks; stir in 1 pound of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Refrigerate in a covered container. It keeps for a week or two (if it lasts that long!)

For each drink

Add 1-2 heaping tablespoon(s) of batter to a warmed mug (the batter is pretty rich, I prefer less, but I think others in my family like the full two tablespoons), a jigger of dark or spiced rum or brandy (my dad's favorite), and boiling water to fill the mug. Stir to dissolve the batter. Add a little sprinkle of nutmeg. Enjoy!

Sadly, I don't think we have any good Christmas elf stories from our girls' childhoods. But I think this one serves well for two generations!

project life weeks 40 and 41.

...showing again that when things are quiet here on the blog, it usually means there's a lot going on in my real life. truly grateful for that time on tuesday to map out these last two weeks of 2012 (because I am so itching to get started on 2013!) and then time yesterday evening to put it all together (and while I'm at it - huge thanks to marc for being patient with leftovers so many nights in a row - I do think tonight will be it and we'll have "new" food tomorrow!)

week 40 covered december 16 - 22. most of the photos have already shown up here, but the extra stuff, what's on that right-hand side, is new.

katie sent me those three postcards - and I loved using the new "G" page protector to showcase them front and back. it was also fun to include the front and back of the super-cute tags katie made and used (top row, center). each of her gifts included one of those tags, tied with bakers twine or adhered with washi tape.  I punched a hole in the page protector and tied the bakers twine through the hook to hold it in place.

and yes, I finally learned how to use the smudge tool in photoshop - if anyone wants my address, I'm happy to share it - just send me an email!

onto week 41, which included ... a lot. I ended up with three 12x12 spreads. 

this is just december 23!

we hosted the annual family gathering, which always includes photos. I was really pleased with the ones we had this year and love that this format accommodated my favorites.

and the rest of the year....

the rest of the year came together once I knew what photos I had and what stories I wanted to tell. I was careful to save ephemera from the whole week so I'd have plenty to work with. two wine labels, a piece of notepaper from maggiano's, church bulletins, and gift tags from christmas morning. I only ended up using one of the gift tags, but it was the most special gift. so it's perfect.

from the first year I did Journal Your Christmas (2007, with Shimelle Laine) I've tried to include a bit of how we wrap gifts in each album. this year was really simple - I have a huge roll of brown packing paper leftover (and bonus points that marc smiled when he found out I was using it instead of buying new!) - I added a glitter snowflake (bought a box of 20 at target for $5) and stamped "merry merry" on shipping tags. ...I still have a huge roll of brown packing paper and lots of shipping tags and I'm finding glitter in the oddest places...

...and that wrapped up the last week and my 2012 album. I had an empty page protector to fill and found this terrific idea on pinterest. a few hours and many google searches for free clipart later:

I saved each of these cards as a template to use for future albums. the counts were kind of surprising to me - I expected more running and finished objects (and maybe a few less self portraits); maybe I wasn't consistent about how I counted. oh well. I don't think it really matters. it's still fun.

...and it's done!