After putting my pumpkins in the compost bin, my table needed a little cheer. I gathered a few items and found my washi tape. I dig this decorative paper tape. It makes a novice look really crafty!
I know that we made some important decisions about our Christmas lights last year. There were some critical changes that we were going to make this year. We had a plan. Not sure what it was now-but I am certain it was good. Has that ever happened to you?
As soon as it is dry and I am fairly sure he will not slip and fall, I send my husband up on the roof. Sunday turned out to be a perfect day. In the end, we decided to simplify this year. I love the look of these bulb lights. When you use light clips you can get an almost perfect line with perfect spacing. {I am an “all white lights” kind of girl inside, but I splash out out with red bulbs on the house.} I spent most of my afternoon up a tree. Methodically, I wrapped hundreds of white lights around the limbs of our Japanese Maple. Risking my life, numerous times, to get a strand just a little bit higher. The pay off is totally worth the risk.
The Christmas train has left the station and I am joyfully on board. Don’t let it run you over. Just take small steps and find the joy of the season. Make a plan.
Dorothy Dean’s Turkey Talk. Instructions my grandmother sent to me when I was preparing to roast my first turkey. She had received it as part of a Homemakers Service mailing printed by the local paper. Decades later, nothing has changed. I love that I have this!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I am thankful for the little things.
{And also all of you. Thank you for being so supportive of my little blog!}
The weather yesterday here in Seattle, pushed me to hunt down the essentials for one of my husband’s favorite drinks, a Dark and Stormy. Fitting, right?
The key is finding good ginger beer. Ice, Bundaberg ginger beer, and Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. The perfect Dark and Stormy.
I do love my iPhone. It is just so darn handy. I often take pictures of magazine images with my camera in waiting rooms. It is easy to snap pictures of recipes, exercise routines and restaurant tips that I want to remember. This recipe is a perfect example. Not sure exactly which magazine it was from last fall, but I have made this many times over. My obsession with butternut squash has not faded and this curry dish is the perfect mix of the “other” squash and pumpkin.
Sorry for the blur, but I was pretty darn excited to eat!
Pumpkins are still the #1 decoration for a few more days. I am crazy about chevron stripes and could not resist this project!
Grab a pumpkin. Make a pattern of chevron stripes with masking tape or painters’ tape. Paint entire pumpkin with white spray paint. [I used Krylon Flat White.]
I am totally digging my new plan to meet up with friends. I will call it my, “Let’s do breakfast.” plan. Lunch is great, but it happens right in the middle of the day. [Funny how that works!]. With lots to do, meeting a friend right after I drop the kids off at school allows me ample time after to get sh*t done! With a bit of rummaging, I have been finding some amazing places that serve mid-week breakfast.
I recently lingered over a breakfast at Oddfellows Cafe + Bar. Exposed brick, repurposed furniture and fixtures, and tons of light make this Capitol Hill eatery comfortable and easy. They are open 8am-late daily-with a full bar. Breakfast was delicious, so I can only assume lunch and dinner would be too! Oddfellows gains total bonus points being next door neighbors with Elliott Bay Book Co. That is a perfect one, two punch!
The pressure is on. Time to pick a picture and theme and get my holiday cards ordered. Each and every year, November arrives and I scramble. We have a few requirements in our home for the picture that we choose:
1. It MUST include all 4 of us. [My husband stands firm on this one.] 2. 3.
Wait, I guess that is just one one requirement. Easier said than done. How many of you get to the end of a calendar year and have yet to take one picture that included your entire family? I was so desperate a few years ago I bought $1 Santa hats, put my camera on self-timer and posed us in front of the fireplace. Not our best picture. Professional shots are the easiest, but we only have those done every few years or so.
Last year we were crazy enough to go indoor skydiving and I had a bystander snap a quick picture. In the end, it was the picture that summed up our year. [Oh! What fun!]
What I love the most about our card in 2012 was that is was TOTALLY us! It is completely freeing to give up on the idea of the “perfect” family picture, for the “perfect” holiday card. Who’s perfect anyway? Perfect is boring. We didn’t sky dive this year, so our picture won’t be quite so awesome. Nonetheless, I do have one of all four of us-so I am on to step 2.
{PS. I love everything about the upcoming holiday, including the cards! If I didn’t find enjoyment in the process-I wouldn’t do it. My thought: if it doesn’t feed you in some way, shape or form, DO NOT do it.}
Both of my sons are wrapping up their fall sports seasons. And yes, they will be receiving trophies for simply being on a team. I am indifferent to the idea of awarding trophies for nothing special. I am pretty sure if, and when, either of them get a trophy for an actual accomplishment they will understand the difference.
Actually, we should roll this idea over to parenting. You wouldn’t actually need maternal skills or exhibit exceptional ability. No need to go above and beyond-just conception and birth. Mother of Year!
