Three Owls, A Snowman, and One Stuffed Turkey

We had a blast on Christmas day over at Charles parents house! There was lots of giving, tons of delicious food, and an abundance of joy and laughter to be had.

Our celebrations started on Christmas Eve when Anna got to open her first present of Christmas pajamas!  I started the tradition last year of always giving her pajamas that night and then taking pictures Christmas morning in our pjs in front of the tree!

Taking pictures this year was sooo much more difficult now that she is mobile (last year she was only 3 months old!). It took several tries until we managed to get a picture via the "sit her down and dash out of the way" method hahaha.

Here are first a few of the attempts at taking Anna's picture.

Project Christmas Cheer Take 2!

Despite our house being madder than the mad hatter I insisted we bring some Christmas cheer to this house and luckily Charles got in on the act and helped string up some lights and hang baubles in special places! I'll be showing a full preview of our house in a few days but for now here is a sneak peak in it's all Christmas glory!

Our real Christmas tree all lit up! No fakes here :D

Blogging as a lumberjack

As I sit here I am wearing a lumberjack plaid shirt that I stole from Charles, wearing a furry aviator hat that he got me for Christmas, and eating a chocolate orange. Life is good. Last week? Well let's just say we were running around like chickens with our heads chopped off to put it lightly. As I told you all before I was in the process of moving. I was supposed to have posted 2 Christmassy posts but in the process of unpacking, working on my practicum, getting ready for Christmas, and spending time with the family to appreciate the holiday my blog sadly had to take a back seat. We literally did not have time to stop and take a breath until 9pm Christmas Eve when we declared we were "done".

However! The presents did get wrapped, our 2 trees were beautifully decorated, and our house unpacked, organized, and decked out with Christmas cheer! And since we put so much work into this madness I'll still be sharing with you the wrapping paper I made for a few of the presents just before I moved (hence why it`s only a few lol) and I'll be sharing another post of the decor throughout our home. I'll also be putting up a post later this week about how we spent our delightful Christmas day!

Lastly, I have an adventure-packed post planned showing my boyfriend's house as it was before I moved in, how it is now, and the plans for the future that we'll be working on and blogging about throughout 2012! I`ll share this post in the new year. I'll even eventually make up a checklist I'll share with you that we can cross off together as we tackle the many projects we have planned!

So, home made wrapping paper eh? Isn't that old news you say? Well I have allwayysss wanted to wrap up some pretty non-traditional gifts for Christmas but never had the time. This year I forced myself to find the time and I would love to share with you guys the process and the purty results! I wrapped 2 presents for Anna and 1 present for Charles.

For the first present I took a paper doily, placed it on my precut brown wrapping paper and painted over top of it, dabbing well into all the little holes, before removing it and being left with a pretty lacey design. I then wrapped multiple ivory strands around the present for a beautiful loopy bow.

Gingerbread Mania

This weekend I am in the process of moving in with my bf in Castlegar, BC! Yes, I am crazy for moving a week before Christmas, but it's easier than having to drive back and forth over a monstrous snowy summit for the rest of the winter. As a result of this mayhem I won't be making a regular meal plan this week but I thought I would  share with you some gingerbread house inspiration instead!

Charles and I really wanted to make an elaborate gingerbread house before Christmas however I think we'll now be postponing it till afterwards because we're gonna be so busy! We haven't even decorated the tree yet and we still have some presents to shop and wrap for! Nevermind unpacking and organizing! It'll be a fun week none the less and I'll have 2 more blog posts to share with you before Christmas! One of a tutorial for homemade wrapping paper and another of the Christmas tree and any decorations we manage to put up!

But enough prolonging, bring on the houses!

Image found here.

I love the classic all white of this house and the super peaked roof, just stunning.

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Isn't the pink just so cute and girly??

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How about a gingerbread church complete with stained glass window!

One month blogiversary and some christmas parade love!

Today marks my one month blogiversary! I can't believe I've managed to keep this up for a whole month and am still going strong and loving it more than ever!

I must say I'm most shocked about how far this blog has already progressed in only one month. My "A gingerbread romance" post got 61 hits! That's more than I ever thought would be possible after only one month of blogging. I've also already had viewers from around the globe including 11 from Greece(!!!). So here is a shout out to all of you - Thank you for sticking with me, reading, and commenting on my posts. This blog wouldn't exist without all of your support!

In addition to my little celebration I thought I'd share with you guys, in the joy of the holiday spirit, the Christmas Parade that we attended this year! We live in a very small town so it's not very long but at least we don't have to stay out in the cold for long and we all had a blast; Anna really loved seeing all the lights! 

Excited for the parade to start!!! Check out those cute lil mittens hehehe.

Smiling with grausmama.

The start of the parade with a cop car and bagpipers.

I think the dogs were Anna's favourite part lol.

This kind fireman came up to Anna and gave her 2 lollipops! She didn't really know what to make of him haha.

At the end with her bottle and I got a pumpkin steamer at a local coffee shop, mmmm! It's our own little tradition I started last year as a nice way to end the evening (and I always have to get a pumpkin steamer, soooo good!!). Here's a flashback comparison to her first Christmas Parade!

My goodness they grow too fast :( I think she enjoyed this years parade a lot more than last years haha! It will be so crazy once she's old enough to run around and pick up all the candy everyone throws! Did anyone else go to their town's parade? Do you have any crazy flashback comparisons? Feel free to share!

Couch Cuddles

I love having cozy pillows on my couch, I've never been a fan of having too many pillows on a couch but I love having around 4 or 5 different ones. For the longest time I had some blue floral ones but I felt it was time for a seasonal update. I felt like something cuddly and "warm" for curling up with on those cold nights while watching a movie. Well, what's more cuddly and warm then a nice thick sweater? So I decided to make sweater pillows!

For this I simply went to the thrift store and found some sweaters that I liked the feel and pattern of. I also picked up 2 cheap, ugly pillows that I was able to steal the form from since mine were starting to get a bit flat. Sorry but I forgot to take a picture of the sweaters and pillows before I started this, woops! Also all the pictures were taken at night so excuse the horrible lighting.

So to start I washed all my sweaters than turned them inside out and laid them flat on my floor and placed my pillow form over top. I cut around the pillow form leaving a little extra for seam allowance.

I then broke out my sewing machine and sewed around all 4 edges leaving a bit of a gap at the top to stuff the pillow into.

A gingerbread romance...

There once was a little gingerbread woman with a big heart who was sooo lonely for she had no one to keep her company until one day she met the sweetest, charmingest gingerbread man with bright blue eyes and two snowflake buttons.....

Err....

What I actually meant to say is that I've been having fun crafting some super cute felt ornaments! I did sew them but they are sooo simple to make and it only involves a needle and thread, no sewing machine required! Plus, I think any mistakes or crookedness just makes them that much more charming!

 

All that is required for these is your choice of felt, a needle and some thread, maybe a few buttons, cotton balls, and a wee bit of creativity.

Christmas Cheer!

So I'm actually moving into my boyfriend's house at the end of this week, also hence why I've been so busy, but I couldn't miss out on some early Christmas cheer and threw together a few quick decorations around my house at the beginning of December! I am hoping to get around to fully decking out my boyfriend's house before Christmas and if I do I'll post those as well but here is what I have going on!

 

 Some pinecones and ornaments on a cake stand I originally made for my daughter's birthday that is now perched on our piano!

 A countdown to Christmas chalkboard on our kitchen counters!

Eezy Peezy!

Well last week was a fun week for eating! The squash and mushroom pizza turned out absolutely heavenly and was so easy to make! I decided to bake mine on a flat bread topped with olive oil then spaghetti sauce, portabella mushrooms, acorn squash, and onions and for spices I threw in a little rosemary, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and fresh basil. Lastly it was topped with bocchini and cheddar cheese! If anyone else made this I'd love to hear your variation!

The steak I had last week was also super amazing! I was going to pick up a cheap fryer steak but decided to experiment with a strip loin steak instead that was on sale for 30% off and o.m.g. I simply liberally rubbed it down with salt and pepper and let it come to room temperature before sauteing it in a fry pan with some butter and olive oil. Once each side was nice and brown (just like 2 minutes each side) I let it rest under some tin foil while I drained most of the oil in the pan leaving those little tasty brown bits. I added some fresh butter and a splash of red wine to this and made a reduction sauce which I poured over the steak. The angels sang from above. SOOOOO tender!!!! These steaks aren't even that expensive either, normally about $5- $7 per steak, which is really not bad if you got a hankering and sure beats restaurant prices!

I will note that this week, on Wednesday, I have a dentist appointment and am getting some cavities filled hence the liquid diet for that day :( And, on Thursday, the children's group I take Anna too is hosting a Christmas Dinner that we will be attending so no lunch for that day! Yummy!!! 

Now onto this week's meals!

Monday

Lunch: Weekend leftovers

Dinner: Angel hair pasta with zucchini and portabella mushrooms.

Tuesday

Lunch: Chicken hero sandwiches

Dinner: Taco Salad (I just love this salad <3)

Wednesday

Lunch: Fruit smoothie

Dinner: Cabbage and hamburger dill soup

Thursday

Dinner: Leftovers

Friday

Lunch: Lazy man's cabbage rolls

Dinner: Quesadillas and salad

Who wants some recipes?!

Story Time!

Growing up I was always an avid reader; you could almost always find me off somewhere with my nose buried in a book. I hated being disturbed, however, and if someone interrupted me during a story I'd have to go back and start from the beginning of the book! I was also a very fast reader haha. As a result I always looked forward to story time with my own daughter! I pictured us curled up on the couch looking at picture books together while the snow falls outside. Having a nice warm bath then cuddling in her rocking chair reading a few books before bed. I also read my daughter lots of books while I was pregnant. Well, all that dreaming sets you up for a recipe for disaster....

Anna never wanted to sit still long enough to look at a book! She would just push the book away and busy herself with something else. And at night? She just wanted to be breastfed and did NOT want to be read too! She, again, would just flail until until I put the book away. I was a very sad momma but I understood every child is different and decided to let her develop her own love for books at her own pace. So, I still dedicated the bottom shelf of my bookcase to all of her little books and hoped one day she would love to pull them off the shelf and bring them to me to read.

Eventually Anna started playing with her books. I was thrilled, at least it was a start! But, as soon as I tried to join in and show her the books instead of just letting her toss them around she got mad and started playing with something else. Once again, I stepped out of the picture. Over time she started pulling the books off the shelves and looking at them herself! She would just sit there and look at book after book for up to half an hour as long as I did not disturb her. It particularly helped if I sat at the table on my laptop or read my own book and she thought I wasn't "watching" her hahaha. She's always been an independent little girl and loves to play by herself and explore new things on her own, at her own pace, without intervention.

Finally, one day Anna was quite tired and she decided to have some quiet time with her blanket while sitting on my lap. I got a cue of brilliance, grabbed a book and!!!! we actually both sat there together and looked at the book! Then we looked at another one! We looked at books together for a good 20 minutes!!! I was THRILLED! The next day Anna was playing with her books so I sat her on my lap and we, again, were able to look at her books together.

It just goes to show that babies aren't always like we planned, and that not all babies develop at the same pace. But, if you give them time and space, eventually they'll get there. And if Anna still never loved reading? Well I'd love her all the same and appreciate her for whatever other interests she took up because she has so many other admirable traits that make me fall in love with her over and over each and every day. (You should see how much she loves watching me cook!) I love you Anna!

What dreams did/do you have for your children? Did your children develop faster or slower in any particular areas? Feel free to share!

Tis the season to be jolly!

Well the Christmas season is upon us and thus the rushing around of Christmas gift buying, crafting, visiting, and best of all, playing begins!

I had started off this blog with every good intention, wanting to create 2 blog posts a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays), which increased to 3 once I started  wanting to write a meal plan post every Sunday. I was gaining a good rhythm until this week when I had a week off and traipsed off to my boyfriends house where sadly, he does not have internet. *gasp I know! How does one survive?!?* Well, survive I did but my blog definitely fell behind. 

I didn't expect post writing to take so long but by the time you upload photos, edit them, write the post, proofread etc. I've been averaging about 3 to 4 hours a post (yikes!). I really love updating you all but I also want to make sure that Anna gets the most out of this holiday season with lots of walks, tobogganing, playing in the snow, and good old fashioned cuddling in a warm house while watching the snow fall outside. I've thus decided I'm going to attempt only 2 blog posts a week now - one post on Wednesday and the meal plan on Sundays. I'm hoping, however, after Christmas and once I get into a routine with my future job I'll be back up to the 3 posts a week (mid January to February I hope??). Until then, I apologize to my readers. I will note, however, I may occasionally do an extra surprise post if I find some free time on my hands or something I really want to share so do keep your eyes out for those!

Also, due to disappearing for a week I didn't get to utilize last weeks delicious meal plan! So this week I'll be following the meal plan I posted on November 27, 2011, and I'll be back with a new one on December 11, 2011. 

Thanks for surviving this little blip and I promise some great holiday posts to come!

Image found here.

Cinnamon scented pinecone fail

So currently at Extra Foods they are selling cinnamon scented pinecones! Since they're selling around 5 of them for $4 I figured I could do better and try making them myself!

Now obviously there is always a few ways to do every project. I had heard of putting the pinecones in a bag, coating them with a spray glue, then pouring in some cinnamon and shaking them. The problem was that I didn't own any spray glue, and it would cost me about $6, which defeated the purpose of doing this for cheap (or free!).

Thus, I decided to try a method that was pondered by my boyfriend, Charles. He was wondering if they got the scented pine cones to smell so good by boiling them in a perfumey concoction, and thus why you didn't see any actual cinnamon attached to the pine cones.

And that is why you would have found me in my kitchen with my largest pot, boiling up a delicious bath of cinnamon, cloves, and pine cones. All I did was fill up a pot with water, poured in about 1/4 cup of cinnamon and a small handful of whole cloves, then once it was boiling I added my pinecones. I boiled the pine cones for about half an hour then fished them out of the water and placed them on a baking tray. I discovered that pine cones when wet close up, but fear not, once they dry they open back up!

So far my project seemed to be working! My house smelled like cinnamon and clove goodness and I was hoping for the best. However, once my pinecones dried I gave them a good sniff test and, sadly, none of them retained the scent :(  FAIL!

I will mention that the day after I boiled my pinecones I went away for the weekend and when I came back my house still smelled amazingly delicious! But I'm sure you could obtain a similar effect by just occasionally boiling up cinnamon, cloves, and water on your stove, minus the pinecones. However, if your wanting the pinecones, you're probably better off just shelling out the cash. Or you could try the bag and glue method described above. I decided to just call it a day :P

Disclosure: I received information about Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign and am sharing my messy moment/craft fail/bleach project for the chance to win prizes from Tatertots & Jello and Clorox. You can find out more information about this campaign –  www.BleachItAway.com.  If you share YOUR messy moment story, you can enter to win $25,000 and daily prizes, and you can get a coupon for Clorox® Regular Bleach.