Decked Out

Last night, my dad and my brother and I went for a walk so I could take pictures of the most festive house in the neighborhood. These folks decorate every year, and each year there's a little more.

I'm glad some people get so into decorating for the holidays. It's fun for everybody. 

Golden Necklace

Eric bought me a beautiful necklace for Hanukkah/Christmas. There are 100 little golden beads spaced out along the chain, and each one represents a wish. That's good, because I love making wishes.

My first wish? I'm so not telling! (If you tell, they never come true. Don't you know that?)

Happy Friday + happy weekend. What are your plans?

*Valentines are now available in my Etsy shop!

Orange + Gold + Purple

While I was home for the holidays I got to visit my friend and mentor, Viola. Not only did she cook a delicious dinner for my mom and me, she also gave me me a beautiful gift.

Would you just look at this notebook? It's handmade, and I believe the paper (for the pages and the cover) is salvaged from scraps that were going to be thrown away. The binding is particularly nice; when the book is open it lays flat, no matter which page your on. Cool, huh?

And it's orange. She knows me so well. ★

One-upmanship

At Christmastime Eric's whole family got to spend some time together (and me, too). Since all the boys were home, their mom wanted to get a picture. Eric got a new blazer from his parents, and he rushed to put it on (you know, so he'd look sharper than his brothers). Since his mom said it would be a waist up photo, he didn't bother to change out of his PJs.

He didn't count on me getting a photo. :)

(He makes me laugh.)

*The first Lost in Thoughts of 2010 is up today.

Lights On The Tree

Eric's family has a beautiful Christmas tree in their family room.

It was also super exciting to find a bunch of gifts for me under the tree!

I hope you all had a lovely holiday. I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve! Where will you be celebrating?

2009 Holiday Forest

I like my pictures of our holiday forest this year. (See last year here.) I used a tripod and everything! I also got the daytime look and the nighttime look.

We don't really have any Christmas Eve day traditions, do you? I'm just happy to spend time with my family. It's the best.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or Wonderful Winter (whatever your heart desires)!

*I'm posting a few more photos on flickr. Plus it's Thursday, so there's a Lost in Thoughts posted on the Everything Little Miss blog!

Teeny Tiny Gingerbread Houses

Yesterday I made the most adorable little gingerbread houses. But these are not your ordinary houses, these little guys sit on the edge of your mug of hot chocolate, just to make it super special. My mom found the tutorial over at Not Martha, and she wanted to give them as gifts. Since my mom had to work until 6 last night, I was in charge.

It was my first time making gingerbread houses without my mom. Luckily, she'd already made the dough, so she was able to help me bake & build the first one before leaving for work. But then I was on my own. I made 9 total.

My favorite part was decorating, of course!

It was a lot of fun and not too hard, so check out the tutorial if you're interested!

P.S. We had dinner at a friend's last night and brought these for the hosts. They were very well received!

7th Night Of Hanukkah

I've always liked lighting the menorah for Hanukkah. There's this picture of me as a little kid just looking at the candles in awe. I still feel that way. There's something magical about them.

When I was little I would sometimes get upset about getting smaller gifts than my friends or I'd be jealous of my sister's prizes. As a kid, it's hard to see past the presents during the holidays. But as I get older I understand why people are always talking about the spirit of the season. This year I haven't opened a gift each night of Hanukkah, but it's still been fabulous. Suddenly trinkets don't seem as important as they once did. Now I'm grateful for the life I'm living, the things I have, and the people who love me. I don't really want anything else for Hanukkah.

Christmas is a different story. I'm expecting mountains of gifts bright and early on the 25th! (Totally kidding, family. No I'm not. Yes, I really am.)

*Today's Lost in Thoughts is awesome, if I do say so myself. Plus, there's a special offer! Check it out right here.

Tree Trimming Party

On November 29th we were invited to a tree trimming party. It was the first I've ever attended, and it was adorable. It was hosted by one of Eric's analytics learning team members. (Analytics was held before the real school year started to give non-finance people a bit of a crash course and prepare them for the regular curriculum coursework.) I think it's great that he's still in touch with his 4 original team members.

Everybody brought something to share. There was a delicious cake with a melted butter topping (heaven), cheese curds (a Wisconsin delicacy), apples and caramel sauce, cookies, a traditional Indian dessert, egg nog, and mulled cider. There may have been more, but that's all I remember. It was so festive! Oh yeah, the hostess was also playing Christmas music and It's A Wonderful Life was on mute in the background.

We brought clementines and I made 2 paper crane ornaments for the tree (do you seem them?). Everybody helped decorate while we all chatted. It was really fun!

Are you getting into the holiday spirit? Have you checked out the Everything Little Miss 2009 Holiday Gift Guide?

*As always, click the pictures to enlarge!