christmas revisited week :: day 1

Wow! How is it already January? December kinda went by in a blur. I had planned several things to post over Christmas, but we got so busy right before Christmas and then we spent a week with family that I couldn't seem to find the time to post. That and we have discovered the show Psych on Netflix and have four seasons just sitting there waiting on us. Well, not so much waiting since I have the overwhelming need to watch at least one episode every single night. It is so addictive. Anyway, back to Christmas. I decided that while I try to get us back on track with homeschool this week and find our groove, I would just post the things I was too busy lazy to post in the past few weeks. So, for those of you who, like me, are still enjoying the Christmas spirit, enjoy!

I had planned to spotlight some of our Christmas decorations. It was weird being in a different house and having to figure out where things should go, but it was fun just the same. In this house, our living room does not have the space for our regular tree, so the small one that used to be in our kitchen is now in the living room. Oh, and the pic above is the regular one in another room. I would have a tree in every room if I could :)

Michael and I bought this nativity when we first married. We bought it at our local Ten Thousand Villages. One day I came in the room to find baby Jesus on the back of the ox and then he went missing for a few days. This incidence produced an odd feeling. But moving on...

Once I saw this wreath that Eren made, I wanted to make something similar. OK, very similar. I love it, and am considering leaving it up all year. I think I have a total of three dollars in the project.

These birds found their way to our home this year. And I have had these books for years with no way to display them. I think this is a great way. And I have so many vintage books that I think I will rotate with the seasons/holidays.

I have a bag of bottle brush trees that I bought several years ago. This year I found this cute jar and decided to put a tree inside. I would love to have a whole display of these in different sizes. I will have to build up that collection up slowly.

One thing we have never had is a mantle. We have always hung our stockings from a door frame. This Thanksgiving while we were at my parents' I had my dad take me out into the woods to find a limb to bring home. I had no idea what I was going to do with it so for a couple of weeks it sat on our front porch. Then one night, Michael had the great idea to hang it above the couch and hang our stocking from it. I love it! I am also going to leave it up and hang something different from it the rest of year. I have a few ideas I want to try. But if you have a good idea, let me know!

As I mentioned in my last post, we did make our first gingerbread house this year. I used this recipe and I altered a pattern from this site. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and now I know some tricks that will be helpful next year. The most important thing is how much fun the kids had with it!

Lucy made a sled with people wearing hats. I love it.

So, there you have it. A small tour of our Christmas home. I am pretty sure that Christmas will be on our minds quite a bit this year. I posted earlier about Smalltown Poets releasing a Christmas album this year. Last night Michael cleaned out the studio/library and got things set up. He has named the room, "Christmas Town" and has informed me that we will move the white Christmas tree into that room. And of course, Christmas tunes will fill our house for months to come. It will be fun!

garden treats

In early May we planted out little "garden." We planted these tomatoes. The plant is taller than me! I have a tomato cage around it, but I also had to tie it to the porch railing. It is quite the rigged up plant, but I had no choice. The tomatoes have finally started to ripen and that little beauty above was our first treat. 

We also planted a jalapeno plant. It has been producing like crazy for several weeks now. It is currently loaded with peppers. And they are particularly hot. For my green salsa I usually use two regular size peppers from the grocery store, but with this plant, I only have to use one small one and it is still hotter than the two from the store! Every time I cut into one, it takes my breath away.

We also planted some sunflowers, but they haven't decided to show their smiling faces just yet. The flower buds are just started to appear, so it shouldn't be too long before they are blooming. I also planted my first rose bush, but I keep forgetting to take pictures of the blooms. They only bloom one at a time, but they smell divine!

All this talk about my little garden reminds me that I need to go water it before our scorching heat appears. And then we are going to take a trip to the new pool at the park. Yay for summer!

why did the rooster cross the road?

One day last week, as we were pulling up to our house, we noticed a girl hanging out of her car window taking a picture of something with her phone. As we got closer we noticed that it was our rooster, Cary Grant. He had gotten out of the coop and the yard and was prancing down the sidewalk. I guess the girl found him pretty entertaining and I must admit, although we have had chickens in the city for several years now, it is still a bit funny to see them out of the yard. And actually, he didn't cross the road...at least not while we were around. We were able to quickly and safely guide him back in the yard and he seemed eager to get there, too!

We had a bit of a bump in the road this week as Lucy came down with a stomach virus for a couple of days. She is back to her normal self today and thus, we are back to the task at hand. Have a great Thursday!

stuff

Don't you love the way I post about coming back to the blog after an unexpected break, and then I don't post for over a week? Yeah, me neither. But, I am back this time. I think it took me a little more time than I expected to get back into the groove around here. And see that photo above? That is the kind of stuff I am working this morning. And rest assured that the other side of the room looks pretty much the same. Stuff is just tossed everywhere in the room. The room stayed pretty much tidy during the school year and in the last few weeks it has gotten out of control. 

I have been slowly working through the house cleaning out the clutter. I find that I am a much happier and pleasant person when the house is clean and simple. We are planning on having a yard sale this weekend. And what doesn't sell goes straight to the thrift shop. It better not even look back toward the house!

Oh, and you probably can't tell, but in the photo, perched on the top of all that stuff, is this book. I checked it out at the library and love it! I am planning on getting my own copy. The recipes look great and the photos are quite lovely. I also love the way the recipes are written...very conversational. Larkin actually asked me to read it to him one afternoon!

OK, off to tackle more clutter. And don't worry, this week is not going to be all about me cleaning. I have some other stuff to post!

my new room

does anyone remember this post? yeah, i didn't think so. well, our bedroom has been repainted for quite some time, but i have been reluctant to post about it only because the room still needs some attention. we needed new bedding (read bedding. period.) i have been on the hunt for that oh so perfect vintage quilt for what seems like an eternity. i got very lucky last week at one of the local antique markets. i found this jewel for just $22. i was not sure how it would work in the room and it was a little different than what i had been searching for. but, when i got it home and put in on the bed, it was love. instantly. there are so many fun fabrics and colors...

i mean, look at this scottie! right next to cowboys and an old coffee kettle?

i truly am in love with this quilt. and it makes me so happy to see it in the room. i feel like i finally have some direction for the room. and i love it with my little glimpses original on the table.

yay for me!

improvements : part 3

i posted back in january about plans to redo my laundry room . well, quite a bit of time has passed and several planning conversations have occurred between me and my dear friend janelle. the room is quite small and only wide enough for the washer and dryer on one wall and the ironing board on the other. the other two walls contain the door and a window. so, there was not much to work with. well, while we were visiting my grandma over easter and my birthday, janelle and her husband, leroy, decided to do the room as a surprise for my birthday. i could hardly believe it! when we got home on monday night, i went to the mud room (which is adjacent to the laundry room) to get something and the laundry room door was ajar and i could see color. yes color. my laundry room was a boring contractor's beige with scuff marks galore and this lovely mess on one wall...
i like to refer to it as the command center. all those wires are ridiculous...cable, alarm system, and who knows what else. i have never seen so many wires on one wall. and if you look closely you can even see the cobwebs! we talked over and over about how to work with such an eyesore. well, here is what they came up with...
a lovely little door to hide it all away. and look even a table for folding! i was so tired of throwing piles of laundry on any available piece of furniture in the house. now i can fold right in the laundry room! on the opposite wall they repainted my shelves and added a third one.
and let me talk about the color. i love the color. i had already picked it out, but was hoping it wouldn't turn out too "miami vice" and it didn't. i can tell you now that the wall with the folding table will be of great use in taking photos for the blog. i can already thank that wall for the background of my new header! and you also may have noticed the ironing board has no cover. i ripped that hideous thing off yesterday and headed to target to buy a new one. i had no idea they were so expensive, not to mention the fact they would clash with my new "decor." so, i am going to attempt to make one from some fabric i have in my stash. it is kind of sad that i now want to spend so much time in the laundry room. if it weren't for the water shortage around here, i would probably be washing things over and over!

i think that may be it for the improvements posts this week. i did a bit of sewing today that i can't wait to show. i finished a baby gift for a good friend. however, she reads my blog, so i will have to wait to post it in a few days. (it will be on its way to you tomorrow, lacey).

one more thought...it only took lucy 30 minutes to go to sleep tonight. a great improvement from the 3 1/2 hours on tuesday night, wouldn't you say?

my kitchen

so, my friend katie tagged me with eight things about my kitchen. so here it goes...

1. my kitchen is green with red accents. it kinda makes me feel like christmas all year. i even left one strand of pom pom garland in the window above the sink last year, and i don't plan on ever taking it down.

2. my favorite part of my kitchen is my red kitchen aid mixer. it is a baker's best friend.

3. my least favorite part of my kitchen is that an entire half of it does not have lighting in the ceiling. that side of the kitchen also has no furniture other than a small table for the kids. but that will change come december when this will arrive.

4. i love the smell of pumpkin pie coming from the oven. my kitchen sees a lot of those.

5. i love that i am supposed to wear an apron in the kitchen. although, i have been known to wear one all over the house. i just love how they make me feel like a vintage mom.

6. i love that larkin likes to help cook in the kitchen. i hope that lucy will one day, too.

7. i despise unloading the dishwasher. yet, i find great pleasure in loading it. michael says that i have been gifted with diswasher loading talent.

8. i love that i have kitchen "stuff" from both of my grandmothers. using those items just makes me feel warm.

ok, karin, you're tagged.

welcome

i had my eye on this door mat for quite a while and finally bought it. i love the little gnome. i sometimes walk out on the front porch just to see it. it makes me happy. and no "welcome" photo would be complete without gypsy since she is a large part of the welcome you will receive when you visit.
i am also happy to report that the weather here is great and the sickies, who, by the way, were not welcome, have finally left our house. i do, however, feel the need to scrub everything down and open the windows and doors and let some fresh air in the house.
on another "welcoming" note...i am privileged to work at an amazing place. this week we are moving into our new building-a building that we have looked forward to for four years. i am so excited about the opportunity to serve this community. and i look forward to seeing what God has in store for us. do you think i should get a welcome mat for my new cube? you know, one on which to wipe the sheetrock dust?

self portrait

enjoying the nice weather...68 degrees. yes, that is a ladder in the background. we had to replace our front porch a while back and are just getting back to putting the railing back up and repairing the columns. i am very excited. now i will not have to have the fear that one of us will just fall of the edge of the porch, and then six feet down to the ground.

a space of my own

well, i have had the space for a while, it just was not very conducive to the creative process. we finally finished my new cutting table last saturday, with the help of larkin and lucy. i love it. it was hard for me to leave it. i kept going back in the room just to stand by it. i have had much creative time at it since (of which i will share more later). for now, i will go and watch an episode of keeping up appearances. michael bought me the entire boxed set for christmas, and we are making it through all eight volumes, one episode at a time. it is funny stuff!

roomy

well, i haven't been around for a few days because my computer airport would not connect at home. i finally fixed the problem on thursday only to find out that i had left my power cable for my laptop at work. and, of course, my computer ran out of juice about three minutes after i got the airport to work. well, yesterday, michael and i, with the help of larkin and lucy, rearranged their bedroom. larkin has a bed which has a headboard and footboard that can be let down to make a twin size bed. we decided it was time to let the footboard down, which meant that his bed had to be moved. i like the new room layout so much better. the room feels twice as big. there is a lot more usuable floor space for the kids to play. now i just need to make a quilt for larkin's bed. he is currently using a lap quilt that i made for michael when we were dating. now larkin can have his flag that i made for him last halloween when he was a knight's page (you can just see the tip in this photo) and plarbar (yes, that is what he named the snake) close by.

guard

meet millicent. she sorta guards the front entrance to our house. i bought her several years ago after searching for a dress form for what seemed like an eternity. i just happened upon an antique store one day, and when i found her, i got a price in my head and went and asked the salesperson how much she costs, he promptly called the owner, and whatta ya know, the exact price! easy-peasy. when she first joined the family, i would get startled every time i saw her silhouette in the dark. fortunately, i have gotten used to her presence. these days, she is a great temptation for 14-month-old lucy to spin.

smile

i love the look of little coats, vests, hats and shawls hanging in the hall. those paired with the wonderful coat rack my friend, erica, an amazing artist and documentary filmmaker, made for larkin when he turned one, just makes me smile. and kudos again to erica for starting my love of teeny wooden animals.