pretty soon, i am going to be wearing these things.

because i cant get enough of my vintage ornaments. so i am trying to come up with different ways to display them around my house (one can only have so many ornament wreaths around a little apartment). i saw this idea of hanging them on an old screen door and loved it. this is my version.

christmas carol 2011

this year, craig's family joined us for our annual trip to see the christmas carol.

i love getting dressed up and going downtown with craig.

afterwards, we went over to the sheraton to see the amazing gingerbread houses. this "rudolph the red nosed reindeer" inspired house was our favorite. and we got to meet the creative artist who made it. :)

downtown seattle, (when dry!) during the christmas season, is so special.

seeing santa
we took the boys to see santa this week. we were positive that sully would not be able to handle it (he is QUITE the mama's boy). but despite some back-arching and crying, we managed to get this not-completely-tragic shot of him. and of course, tagg was as happy as can be.

finding our tree

we went to get our tree last friday. my boys love this tradition. stomping though mud, carrying a saw, and chopping down a tree. whats not to love?

i cant ever resist a picture at a painted cut out. i love my happy little elves.

after trekking through the farm twice, we decided on this tree.

luckily, tagg brought his little saw along to help with the process. he is one hundred percent nuts.

i am not kidding. nuts. (this picture was taken 2 seconds after he had bonked heads with sully a little too hard.)

tagg and his tree all ready to go!

happy december!

my friends and i got together and made advent calendars last week. nothing like crafting with my girls. i found this piece of wood on the side of the road and craig kindly braved the rain to fetch it for me. i then painted it white (surprise.), painted the clothes pins white, glittered them, stamped numbers on the little kraft bags (filled with goodies) and put it all together. i hope tagg and sully enjoy counting down to christmas this year.

thanksgiving

i made my first pie crust. very exciting.

since my grandma, aunt and uncle came from out of town, we decided to dress our table up pretty fancy. i just love any excuse to use my china.

everyone wrote what they were thankful for on the back of their place card. but since our family has to make everything a little weird, instead of everyone just reading their own card, i read them all aloud and we guessed who had wrote what.

ready to stuff ourselves.

my plate. i laugh every time i look at this picture. carbs much?

i made little pins for all the girls to wear.

after dinner, we got cozy in the family room and watched christmas vacation. tagg loved spending time with uncle scott!

and sully loved falling asleep on craig. what is it about sleeping babies? i could eat them.

after the movie, we topped our tummies off with pie. a very fun thanksgiving!

my favorite part of thanksgiving

this cranberry "salad" (nothing nutritious about this situation) has been at every thanksgiving table since i was a little girl. my grandma got the recipe from a neighbor in maryland. they were from the deep south and always served it with their thanksgiving turkey. it is honestly one of my favorite foods.

cranberry salad

1 12 ounce package fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 pound miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 teaspoon gelatin

1 pint whipping cream

1 cup drained crushed pineapple

grind cranberries in a food processor until the pieces are about pencil eraser size. combine berries and sugar and let stand for two hours. dissolve gelatine in a small amount of the drained pineapple juice. whip cream until stiff. gently combine all ingredients. pour into serving dish and let stand, covered, in refrigerator overnite.

*even the smallest amount of double dipping will turn this salad into soup. so exercise some self control (its seriously hard to do with this stuff) and make yourself a bowl.