Oh Pretty Christmas Tree

I have seen lots of pretty Christmas trees posted on Pinterest and on blogs since Thanksgiving (and even before!). I am pretty sure I have posted pictures of our tree on this blog and on Instagram in the past but it looks the same every year.

You know what? That's perfectly great - in fact - it is awesome. Our tree is a memory keeper. It includes ornaments we have purchased on trips or for momentous events (our wedding, the year 2000, etc.). We hang little crafts the kids have made and pictures of them as well. Some of the ornaments were gifts from others. When we hang them, we think and talk about all of these things. The kids love to ask questions about where things came from. Since my brain is filled with useless junk then I can often drag out the answer without much thought. I love that my kids also like to buy ornaments when we are on trips. I try to write their names on them if I remember so that down the road, I can pass them along to them when they have dingy apartments that need some Christmas cheer.  My mom did this for many years and that's how my brother and I got our collection started.

In other Christmas news, we have been able to pack in a lot of fun this season.  I took the kids to the Meadowlark Gardens Winter Walk of Lights while a friend was visiting with her daughter a few weeks ago. It is a lot of fun even in the pouring rain (almost no one was there!) - definitely recommend it if you live in the DC area.

We also made our first ever trip to the American Girl store in Tysons Corner which I LOVED. OMG - If I was 7 years old today, I would have to have everything in that store. My daughter, however, is not at all interested in dolls (never has been) although she was fascinated by the store (it's hard not to be!). And they have a doll hair salon and ear piercing station!

Jim and I also took the kids to the Nutcracker at Warner Theater. This is a special production by the Washington Ballet with a DC theme - cherry blossoms, George Washington nutcracker, etc. It is a lot of fun but long for 5 year old boys (and 43 year old husbands), but we rewarded everyone with a nice downtown dinner afterwards.

This weekend or next week while my family is visiting, we plan to visit the National Christmas Tree at the White House and maybe go to Mount Vernon which is always beautiful during the holidays. We are definitely making the most of the season!

Here's our holiday card this year. We send out about 160 now which seems insane but I love getting them in return! Photos this year are by Wendy of Blue Lily Photography. I cannot say enough good things about her - creative, fun, and relatively affordable.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Happy New Year! 

Happy 4th of July!

We're getting ready for a fun night with our neighborhood block party - over 175 people are coming!  We opened the party up to our entire civic association doubling the size of our party.  

Have a safe and happy 4th of July with friends and family!!

Follow me on Instagram for the latest updates!

Christmas Grapevine Wreath

I had grown a little tired of our Christmas wreath - your basic evergreen with a ribbon and some red sparkly berry sticks.  I can't even find a good picture of it on my door!  In any case, not memorable!

I wanted to make a new grapevine wreath but for the holidays.  I love grapevine wreaths because they are a great base for so many things.  Here's what I ended up with after a little fiddling around and a consultation from my mom (master wreath maker) who was visiting.

Here was my total cost:

• Grapevine Wreath - $2.50 (50% off at Michael's)
• Bead garland - $4.50 (30% off at Michael's)
• Berry sprays - $7.00 (50% off at Michael's)
• Ribbon - $4.00 (60% off at Michael's)

                 Total $18.00 

For less than $20, I have a new wreath that looks different than any other on our street.  The other great thing about grapevines is that you can change out the components easily which I love.  

Here's a picture of our monumental snowfall yesterday...  Not so monumental but still messy and a great reason to stay home.

Be sure to check out my yummy and sooo easy slow cooker chicken stew recipe on my Facebook page.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Bracing myself for the Christmas madness that I know is about to begin...

Happy Valentine's Day! {Elizabeth's Valentines)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you are having a happy day.  Handy Hubby and I have never been super into Valentine's Day. Before we had kids, we never saw the point of going out for a romantic dinner in overcrowded, overpriced, and understaffed restaurants just for the sake of a day.  We often ended up in our local Mexican favorite-of-the-minute (we eat a lot of Mexican food) because those places were always empty on the "fancy nights".  

Now that we have kids, we give the kids a little candy (a definite treat for them) and big hugs when they wake up.  When Elizabeth went to kindergarten last year, we started doing school Valentines.  Her preschool was somewhat anti-commercialized so they did not allow kids to bring in Valentines. So, kindergarten became a whole new outlet for my pent-up creativity.  Check out last year's here.  

In first grade, candy is not allowed (say wha??!!), so Elizabeth and I set out to find something that would work for first grade.  We perused Oriental Trading company for cute pencils, erasers, or pencil shoppers (I don't think any of those would be objectionable to a teacher).  I briefly considered bubbles but then thought better (she thought it would be awesome).  We found some cute penguin erasers on sale for $3.99 per dozen. We did a little Pinterest searching, and then the rest was history...

First I cut some 4.5"x6" cardstock from the scrapbook aisle at Michael's.  I also invested in this little paper trimmer which is intended for scrapbooking but I think it will come in handy for various craft, invitation, and birthday projects for years to come.  It's similar to this one but I bought mine at A.C. Moore with a 40% off coupon.  

Next, Elizabeth cut some "snow" out of 4x6 cards for the penguins to hang out on.  

Then she glued the snow onto each card.

Lastly she attached the penguin to the card with a removable glue dot.  (How is it that I never knew about Glue Dots until last year - the BEST!).

And my sweet and crafty Valentine girl!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Simplifying Christmas Cards

I wanted to share some tips about simplifying Christmas cards.  We send about 140 Christmas cards every year.  This was by FAR my simplest year yet in terms of processing the cards so I wanted to share these tips even though it's probably too late for many of you.

1.  The Picture

Although we typically have our family pictures taken in June, this year I unintentionally let it slip until the end of September.  As a result, we had a great family pictures which were only 2 months old when we put it on our Christmas picture. I also like to have my kids wearing cool/cold weather clothing in Christmas pictures. Just a personal preference... don't judge.

Needless to say, we'll now do all of our family pictures in the fall. Bonus, it's not generally 90 degrees so my hair is less likely to return to its naturally frizzball state.

2.  Addressing

I made the switch to printed labels a few years ago when our list topped about 85 cards.  This seemed like a real cop out, but I could not address all of those cards and keep my sanity (and job and family).  So, I did a mail merge and then use the same list every year.  I try to remember to update those who have moved, divorced, etc. throughout the year on my list when I update them in my regular contacts, but I always miss a bunch so I do a clean read of the full list before I print the labels.  I use clear Avery labels.  By keeping the list current, I have a good idea of how many cards I need to order when the time comes. Always order a few extras... see below.

3.  Stamping, Sealing, Mailing

Here's where you pull in the whole family!  Handy Hubby band kids did 90% of the labeling, return address stamping (we have one from Tiny Prints), and postage stamping.  To seal the cards, we use a glue stick.  So much easier than licking (and less scary - Seinfeld fans, anyone?) and much less messy than any water sealing device I have used.  The glue is more effective too since I find that many envelopes have inferior glue.

I like the bigger glue sticks for this project. Available here.

4. Unexpected Cards (Fun!)

Every year we receive some cards that we didn't expect.  Generally from new friends, coworkers, neighbors, or old friends with whom we have recently reconnected.  These are some of the most fun for me - yes, I am a freak.  This year, I had my card assembly workers, stamp and seal the extra cards (we generally order 15 extra beyond the existing list).  This way, when we get a new card, I hand address their card and then add them to our printed mailing list for next year.

So that's how I have made the whole card process easier on myself.  I no longer dread doing the cards and my kids have fun helping.  Who cares if a stamp is upside down?  Not the mail carriers certainly!

And in case you want to see what my Christmas card display looks like as of this morning...

I think I need another one of these.  How cute is my friend Stacey's dog (top left)?  This is from Willow House.

I'll try to swing back before Christmas to show you my living room mantle.  Exciting!

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Party 3.0

My wonderful neighbor Meghan hosts a gingerbread party for neighborhood and school friends every year. She works really hard on it but it is so worth it because the kids really love it (and she must too or she would not keep doing this!).  The basic premise has not change but she has found that some candies work better than others, and that you can never have enough royal frosting (Joy of Cooking)!  

Here's the table ready for the kids to start decorating.  All of the houses are pre-made by Meg and her husband Jeff (see recipes and tutorial here).  They make the gingerbread well in advance and freeze it so they don't have a made rush in the days leading up to the party.  Fortunately you don't really have to worry about staleness since these are better for looking than eating.

Balloons are always a big hit. This year Harris Teeter is carrying brown balloons - perfect for gingerbread parties!

Each child has their own candy dish.  About 75% of the candy makes it onto the houses.  25%... doesn't.

This was my little guy's first gingerbread party. He was so excited to be a "big kid" and worked so hard on his house.

The kids had some time to run off their sugar highs while we did a quick clean-up and reset the table for snack time (popcorn and bananas to counterbalance the sugar!).  

As parents started to arrive, Meghan and Jeff did the awards ceremony.  Here's Elizabeth with her award!  I was so proud of her house - she worked really hard and probably would still be working if we had not pulled her away!

 Here are some of the finished masterpieces!

For more information about the party, please check out these posts: 2010 and 2011.  These parties have always been my most pinned pictures so here are some more to add to the mix!

Thanks again Meghan for another great Gingerbread Party!

Christmas Mantel

Wanted to share a few pictures of our family room Christmas mantel.  I like this mantel to be fun and whimsical since this is our family hang out location and there is nothing formal about this space.  I have used these items in various decor configurations for the past several years and they continue to be my favorites.

Of course our elf, Giddy, is back and enjoying himself in our house. My 3 year old has already told us that Giddy doesn't go back to see Santa and isn't telling Santa what he has been doing all day.  My 6 year old believes though! Jeez.

We put our tree up after we got back from New York City.  The kids were really into putting ornaments on this year.  I love sitting on the couch watching television and enjoying our tree.  I'm still happy we went with the fake tree.  

I only put about 25% of my holiday stuff out this year.  Just wasn't really into decorating but I feel the urge to do more coming on so I'll probably break out some more decorations in the next couple of days.

Linking to Thrifty Decor Chick

Spooky (and Fun!) Halloween Bathroom Decor

I have a minor obsession with the fake spider webs.  Cheap and easy with a great effect.  Doesn't get much better than that.   I have used them out front last year and again this year but I also decided they could be fun inside as well.  My kids love that I spooked up the mirror in our powder room.

And a few glittery spiders for good measure.  Not sure that Handy Hubby has used this bathroom since I decorated - he is not a fan of spiders!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you had a really nice Valentine's Day. I can't say we really get into Valentine's Day anymore. We used to go all out and then we had kids and bills and other stuff going on!  Handy Hubby is always so thoughtful though and brought me flowers and the kids balloons after work today.  Nothing like a $2 balloon to make kids so happy!  I also attended the Valentine's Day party at Elizabeth's kindergarten class. I wish I could bottle their energy - I would be a millionaire!

Last night I made the kids and Jim homemade Valentine's to go with their Make-A-Plate kits, and left them on the table this morning for them to find at breakfast.

I love homemade cards!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  

Homemade Photo Valentines

When I was a little girl, I loved Valentine's Day - especially at school. I loved exchanging Valentine's with my classmates and over thinking who got what Valentine from my pre-printed box of Valentines features Hello Kitty, Care Bears, Rainbow Brite or whatever the character of the month was.  You wouldn't want to send the wrong message to a boy, right?

Now my little girl is in kindergarten and I was giddy when I read the Valentine's Day party notice. Each child has to make a mailbox and bring in Valentine's for the class. I knew exactly what I wanted to make with Elizabeth thanks to Family Fun Magazine.  

The process was relatively simple once I finished editing the picture. She held a tube of silver wrapping paper which I turned into a white stick using Pixelmator (Mac App). I then ordered copies of the pictures from Shutterfly using a free prints coupon.  Heart lollipops were from Target. Fortunately I grabbed two bags because several were broken in the first bag. I then made a slit in the picture near the end of the "stick" and slid the lollipop through. Elizabeth then taped all of the lollipops on the back of the picture, and we glued a 4x6 index card on the back for a little extra stability.  Total cost of the project was less than $8 thanks to the free prints from Shutterfly! 

Elizabeth is so proud of her Valentine's and cannot wait for Valentine's Day! 

I forgot to take a picture of her mailbox before she took it to school yesterday but it was totally made by her and adorable.

Any fun Valentines in the works? 

Faking It

I never thought I would be writing this post, but I am considering getting a fake Christmas tree. 

1. Yes, I love Christmas.
2. Yes, I love the smell of real trees. 
3. Yes, I think they are beautiful. (see last year's here)
4. Yes, I love the experience of going and cutting down our tree. 

But...

1. I don't like the mess they make. 
2. Putting lights on is annoying.
3. And I'm allergic to them and I'm pretty sure my son might be too (he's had ear infections both of the last two Christmases). 
4. And we are often traveling before Christmas so the tree gets dried out an drops needles even faster. 

And to round out the debate, these are not the reasons I'm considering this move.

1. Environmental reasons. I think real trees are more environmentally friendly but let's not debate that point.
2. Expense. A good artificial tree is hundreds of dollars and probably won't last more than 6 or 7 years until the lights burn out or it's too dusty or worn from use. 

While the debate continues, here are some options. I haven't looked at the big box stores yet.

Home Decorators Collection - 40% off right now so $161 plus free shipping

Frontgate - $$$

Brookstone - $429.00 + shipping

But will I like any of them as much as this?

Do you have a fake tree that's super realistic? With LED bulbs? I'd love to hear about it!