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advent calendar

every year i plan on making an advent calendar for our family that we can use year after year. and then it turns into december with no handmade advent calendar. and this year we were traveling, so we missed the first 5 days anyway.

i had some white lunchbags on hand, so i printed out cute labels with numbers and stuck them on the bags. this year is quite a busy one, so we have a lot of activities rather than toys or candy. jack also made a blank paper tree for each bag, so whoever opens the advent bag gets to decorate the paper tree. i love that!

i love amanda’s idea of a gratitude advent, but we already have a nighttime ritual of saying our “thankfuls” before bed. i am also totally in love with sally’s advent.

here is a list of what is in our advent bags this year ::

days 1-5 {traveling}
6: put a light in each window. we’ve always wanted to do this, and finally we are doing it!
7: make a wish list and send it to santa
8: the children’s school is having a book fair at barnes and noble, so we will attend and buy a christmas book
9: make felt santa ornaments
10: i will give chris one of his christmas presents early for us all to enjoy: a record player with vintage christmas albums.
11: get our tree and decorate it. we are a little behind this year, but still plenty of time for us to enjoy that pine smell!
12: decorate clear glass ornaments. i love these.
13: make and mail christmas cards to family and friends.
14: christmas music dance party.
15: new christmas PJ’s. in a dream world i would make these, but i don’t think its going to happen this year.
16: christmas play at children’s school.
17: sugar cookies to decorate and eat.
18: family christmas party.
19: christmas puzzle and hot chocolate.
20: make snow globes. if i can find some good glass jars with metal lids!
21: it’s a wonderful life movie at my husband’s school. with popcorn and hot chocolate of course.
22: family game night.
23: drive around with christmas music, singing at the top of our lungs, looking at the lights and decorations.
24: open one present, along with hot chocolate with a candy cane stirrer, and music of course.

let the magic begin..

traveling, traveling, traveling.

we’ve been on the road for days.  traveling with three kids under 8 is really hard. but in between those hard times, we’ve had a lot of moments of wonder, warmth, and love. i hope they won’t forget those, because i know i won’t.

food + foto :: number 4. pear.

i am traveling, and don’t have my computer, so this photo is straight out of camera – no editing.  a pear on our hotel balcony.

pin it.

have you heard of pinterest? if not, then go check it out. yes, right now. beautiful way of keeping track of those lovely things you see on the internet, organizing them, sharing with them others, and linking back to the original source.

feel free to see my boards and follow me.  i am putting up my gift guide right now and so can you!
*be warned, once you start pinning things you love, and following other people’s pins, you may not ever want to stop.*

food photo 3.

chocolate chips.  one of the many, many, many things i am thankful for.

30 days of crafting. day 14. mod mosaic quilt block.

i am a bad quilting bee person sometimes.  this block is for the bee lovely quilting bee and it was due by november 1. modquilter wanted a mod-mosaic quilt block using this tutorial from oh, fransson!. she sent fun fabrics, and i loved this quilt block. i’m totally going to do some for myself someday!

30 days of crafting. day 12. knitted ornament

oh, yes people.  i made another one.  really, they are the perfect quick knitting fix.  and i can’t wait to put them on the tree.  don’t be surprised if you see more of these around these parts!

speaking of trees, i have always had a real one.  i can’t imagine a christmas without that smell of pine and without having to vacuum a few pine needles here and there.  and getting that dang tree to stay upright in the stand.  and coming home from the christmas tree farm with it tied to the roof. this year i want to have a big one in our den, and a smaller one in the kids craft room that they can spend days and days and hours and hours decorating.  i thought of buying a small fake tree for the kids.  (to save money, and so they won’t spill the water).  but my emmie was having nothing of the sort.  “why do we have to have a fake tree, mom?  i really want a real one.”  she is only 3.  i doubt that she even really remembers having a real tree in our home.  but i have to agree with her.  fake ones just aren’t the same.

 

 

another food photo

another photo for food + foto.  my emmie thought it was very strange to see me taking countless photos of her oranges by the window this morning.  especially when she wanted to eat them so.

{p.s. yes, i am still doing a craft a day in november, i’m just behind on posting!}

happy weekend..

i’m interrupting my 30 days of crafting posts to wish you all a happy weekend!

i took this photo as my first week’s assignment in food + foto. i think you are sort of supposed to be making food to photograph. but that puts two words in the same sentence that don’t usually appear together when coming out of my mouth. you know, making and food.