peppermint + chocolate

 

I absolutely die for anything peppermint and chocolate! Each year I have to force myself to wait until the day after thanksgiving before ordering my all time favorite holiday classic, the peppermint mocha at Starbucks. It just instantly makes me feel christmasy, I could drink them all day everyday for the entire season. Another holiday must for me is the candy cane frango at Macy's. Seriously if you have never tried one you must they are so good and so addicting. I usually buy myself my own box each year and really don't like to share - ha! They are only available at Christmas and I look forward to them with great anticipation.

I confess though that I didn't get around to making my all time favorite peppermint bark this year - I have made it for the past four Christmases and looove it but it is a bit more involved than I was up for today. 

Instead I used what we had in the house. A bag of semi sweet and a bag of white chocolate chips. For the first layer I melted the semi sweet chips and spread them out on parchment paper laid on top of a cookie sheet. I put it in the freezer for about a half hour and then melted the white chocolate chips and stirred in a bit of smooshed candy canes. I spread that layer on top of the first and sprinkled the rest of the candy cane on top and popped the whole thing back in the freezer to cool. Broke it apart and slipped some into glassine bags, wrapped them with bakers twine and added a cute gift tag. I think I am going to hand them out to a few neighbors this week. 

If I had more time and energy I would be giving these amazing peppermint patty and peppermint brownie recipes a try, but I think I will bookmark them for next year. I can't believe that Christmas is this coming Saturday. I honestly don't even really know what to do with myself to prepare. Tomorrow I hope to do some last minute Christmas shopping and fun with my bestie and the kiddos...we shall see how much we actually get accomplished. I do however know that the peppermint mocha will be on the menu, tis the season!

{cute gift tag download from black apple a few years ago, they continue to be a favorite!}

make something monday :: sequins paper chain necklace

this is a super easy and festive way to spice up any outfit for the season. I could also see these strung on the tree, which I might actually have to do one year. An easy gift as well - they are fairly addicting once you get started.

you will need:

sequin's tape
scissors
fabric glue - {I like fabri-tac}
ribbon

cut the sequins tape into 4.5" pieces, carefully glue each link together using fabric glue, sew ribbon on the ends, throw on your cutest party dress and new necklace - enjoy!

etsy favorites :: a vintage christmas

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve

deep breaths

 

this Christmas season I have been totally struggling with squeezing in all that I want to while balancing our full house with a new baby on board to boot. There seems to be something constantly vi-ing for my attention at all times. Piles of dishes and laundry. Yesterday morning my boys took every.last.stitch of clothing out of their dresser AND all their books AND all the games and made a giant pile in between their beds so that when they tried to leap one side to the other side, if they fell they wouldn't hurt themselves. Made complete sense to them and they were even calling it a "party" and not letting me and the mr. in. Chris and I were having our own little discussion of sorts, some might call it a fight - and truth be told I was sweating so it probably was sort of a fight but we were trying to keep it low so as not to alarm the children. We let them do whatever they were doing in there room for a bit while we used the time to work out our disagreement. When we finally got around to checking on them the damage was done. 

and boy was it

it literally took us two and a half hours as a family to put the entire thing back together. Lots of tears were had, toys thrown away and their dresser reorganize which I suppose was a silver lining but not the way I had planned to tackle that job. It was super frustrating and woven throughout the morning were long stretches of baby bawling and begging Josie to take her pacifier so that we could finish up. When it was over and Chris was loading the kids into the car to do some errands it was already after two. He leaned down and gave me a kiss but it was a reserved kiss and he mumbled something about how he hadn't brushed his teeth yet. I totally started laughing and confessed that neither had I.

This is such a full season with our family that I desperately want to bottle up and save. It just goes so fast, so fast and the constant expectations that I have layered on top for myself are making it so hard to relax and savor. I am bustling around, literally shedding tears over how stressful it is to do Christmas shopping with three. Longing for a long nap because the sleepless nights are starting to really take there toll. 

I know I need to slow down, but I don't want to. I want to be super mom, I should be super mom. Other mom's are doing it all, perfect decorations, clean kitchens, plates of Christmas cookies..I can't even find anything to wear except for an over sized sweatshirt with spit up all over it...

but then somehow in that one tiny stolen moment of peace that I find, Jesus reaches down and touches my heart. He reminds me of his love for me and how he came to earth so softly, gently and quietly in a stable that was not perfectly decorated with lavish gifts to welcome him, no just the love of a mother and father. That is all I want to give to my children this year. If that is all I can muster than I will give them my quiet, patient presence and love. thank you Jesus for giving that to me.

this is my favorite new song of the season, I could listen to Audrey Assad all day long sing this gorgeous lullaby - it resets me and reminds me of the reason for Christmas.

Christmas Card Photo Shoot 2010

Every year one of my favorite traditions is the classic family photo shoot for the Christmas card. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have a professional take the pictures. My friend Barbie Hull took our photos this year and I love what she captured. But they aren't always professional shots that make it onto the card. Last year I chose a silly series I snapped of my boys goofing around in the back yard and they ended up being some of my favorites of them ever!

Christmas card photos 2009

I also just adore opening my mailbox everyday during the holiday season and finding cards from friends and family,  seeing how their families have grown and displaying them around our home. It fills the house with such life and joy, it makes me feel connected to loved ones who live far away - I love the cheesy Christmas cards I will admit it. 

So how do you choose your cards? Do you always put a picture on your card? Is it a fun tradition or do you think that cards just add stress to the holidays? 

All I know is that no matter how cheesy or silly our cards may be it is a joy to look at cards past and see just how much our family has grown and changed and how blessed we are to even do things like cheesy photo shoots together. For me it makes the season that much more about family, making memories and savoring the sweet moments we have been given!

what's in a name :: why I chose this title

 

when I was a little girl I had a stuffed swan that was my very very favorite, a gift from my dear Grandmother. she wore a little straw hat and when you wound her crank she hummed the tune to you are my sunshine. she was always by my side. unfortunately something happened to my little swan and I haven't seen her in many years but that song, you are my sunshine, became a sort of theme song in my mind. I would sing it constantly - I just adore that song. now that I have kids of my own we love to sing that song together,  and it perfectly describes how I feel about my family. they are my sunshine's, my very favorites. we live in Seattle which is often grey and rainy and so this blog is dedicated to all the things that like the song says: make me happy even when skies are grey. my kids, my craft, photography, decorating, daydreams...pretty things that inspire a bit of sunshine.

christmas crafting

I finally found five minutes to myself and an idea for that pile of vintage doilies that has taken over my studio lately. I whipped this bunting together in about an hour and hung it in our dining room, the perfect spot to clip all those christmas cards too for display instead of collecting in a pile on the kitchen counter. I also love how this easy bunting will transition into winter and can stay up after christmas. now to work on stockings and christmas cookies!
what are some christmas crafts you are working on these days?