25.12.10

1. asa coming in to the world was certainly a way to start the christmas festivities.

2. i made these again because i love the idea of having cookies on reserve as soon as your fancy strikes. this year i tried these babies out. i made them just to make sure they were alright. they were.

3. what's better than a tree lined with presents. i used hardly any wrapping paper this year. kraft boxes tied up with string are pretty great.

4. my daddy and til at my aunt and uncle's horse farm. isn't it beautiful?!

5. handsome jake watching as the first flakes begin to fall. did you hear? georgia had a white christmas. it's a miracle! it was stunningly beautiful.

6. matilda with her umbrella and rain boots from mama. fantastic!

7. we did a lot of this. matilda snuggling with her beautiful cousins.

8. matilda in snow gear and elmo. she loves that critter.

hope you all had a fantastic christmas where your cheeks hurt from smiling. after a gluttonous and fun-filled weekend where i felt truly and utterly spoiled, we ended up being snowed-in, thus creating the perfect recipe for a purging rampage. i only get like this about twice a year, which always terrifies my family (read: sam). not quite done, but the main body of our house is so close. i can almost scratch another item off the list. i love the renewal that comes with the start of a new year. see lots more pictures of our christmas here. this is one of my favorites.

homemade gifts: half aprons

i made these little aprons for my wonderful co-workers. i love working with fabric because you can tailor the same design for different personalities. i thought so much about the woman who would be wearing the apron. i adapted the pattern from this book by lining the apron, thus making it reversible. i love things that are reversible and i wanted them all to look festive without being overtly christmasy. i gave them to the girls last night at our christmas dinner at abattoir. let me recommend the ginger smash for starts and then the hummus and then the risotto and then the maple caramel creme something with bacon cookies. that's right. bacon cookies. i may or may not have had to take a pepto last night. my stomach didn't know how to handle all of that awesomeness!

i'm so excited to meet one of my best friend's brand new baby son today and to wrap up some homemade treats for my neighbors. as matilda would say..."christmas. is coming."

holiday dreamy

today i will run around with my head cut off, so i'm savoring these last quiet moments with my coffee and you. holiday baking is in the works today, as well as lots of wrapping, a photoshoot, a favorite little boy's birthday, the day before another favorite little boy is born (come on asa!), obsessing over package tracking, and a few sneaky errands. since i can't really share any of these projects yet i've rounded up some inspiration that's making me feel quite in the mood.



<-----the confetti system is killing it.

nie nie's house at christmas. i want that toadstool and the flocked tree is so lovely.

speaking of mushrooms...make these!

christina's gorge wrapping on d&oc. tiny clothespins and those adorable owl tags. love.

gorgeous snow globe diy, perfect for making while holed up over the holidays. let it snow let it snow!


did anyone catch the eclipse? we set our alarm and it was cloud central. thanks kyle for sharing this so we can all pretend we saw it's majesty in real life. sigh.

christmas cloth napkins

seriously, let's talk about the fact that it's FIVE days until christmas. sorry if i made your heart beat a little fast. fear not friends. cloth napkins are such an easy and practical gift for last minute hostess gifts or for making christmas morning that much more special for your family. i love that fact that you can make napkins out of any fun fabric that you have. i bought this fabric a while back and wanted to turn it into somethin' pretty. i ended up using it for another project too!

to make these four napkins i took an existing cloth napkin to use as my pattern and made my outline 1" bigger all around. i then cut out all four squares. going clockwise i turned each side down 1/2" and pressed on all four sides. then i repeated the process so that each side was pressed down twice hiding the exposed seams. then simply stitch all four sides shut, backstitching at the beginning and end. i then ironed the napkins in half horizontally, the folded them vertically and ironed them, and then folded them again and ironed them. you could also embellish them if you like for an even more personal touch.

these made me laugh

last weekend i drug kate, claire, and rachel to the lavish! after party thrown by hgtv and rue magazine. smilebooth was there. we partook with the lovely and hilarious rachael. i clearly like wearing tinsel (shocker) and didn't want to put down my drink (double shocker). afterwards we met andy and scott for a drink in a deserted bar and then we braved the artic blast.

today i made three homemade gifts (phew!), ate breakfast twice, schooled matilda in sewing, stressed about all of the little things i need to get done, watched toy story, and ate way too many treats from my thoughtful friends next door. tis the season!

christmas card ribbon

i LOVE getting christmas cards. i seriously can't wait to get the mail in hopes that a card has arrived. sam is the best because if he gets the mail, he saves the cards for me to open. how great is that? the only thing is every year i leave them on the counter, they're getting knocked down every time we make coffee or grab a glass. so, this year i did the simplest thing possible and tacked some beautiful vintage ribbon (gifted to me from my lovely boss) and then used these adorable clothespins (available here) to attach the cards (thanks katie!). now i can look at leon's adorable face, not to mention all of the cute families in my life, in peace.

ps this week i've been feeling so uncool. sometimes the internet makes me feel like i'm in high school again. ick.

simple christmas

starting this year, as a family, we will be making a tradition out of everyone (in our immediate family, let's not get crazy) getting four gifts: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. this is not an original idea, i saw it on a blog last year, but unfortunately i can't remember who to give credit to. this is what matilda will be getting this year, she's the only one i can tell you about as she is only 2. she can work an iphone though, so maybe i should proceed with caution...

want,need,wear,read

ps. if i had seen these kitchens first i would have saved my pennies because they are the cutest kitchens i've ever seen!

wrap

layers of fringed paper, recycled catalog pages, and crazy dream catcher tie ons. i love the wrapping inspiration from ruby ellen that she's been sharing every wednesday! head over there now to see what she's cooked up this week. i'm hoping it will inspire me enough to tackle the pile of gifts hiding in my bedroom. i'm slightly nervous that anything this pretty would get destroyed by guinness and matilda!

o' christmas tree

shortly after thanksgiving the tree must go up. i love sitting next to a twinkly tree. just makes me feel so good. we went to the coker tree family farm for the second year in a row. we love going there and cutting down our own tree. also, the kids all have red hair, so you know how i feel about that. LOVE. also, there is a farm next door with lots of baby goats. they gave us our second ornament, which i will cherish. it has the date on the back so we'll know what year it was from. i love starting traditions with my family.

kate spade

dear santa,
please let my life look like a kate spade ad next year.
please let there be confetti at some point.
and please know that i would not be sad at all to find these under the tree.

yours truly.

p.s. how cute are the girls with glasses?

for the gardener

[images from top: 1.outdoor canvas utensil roll 2. deerskin work and garden gloves 3. nutscene garden twine 4. haws watering can 5. market and fruit picking pack 6. stronghold denim apron]

kaufmann mercantile's collection of objects are timeless and each item would make a thoughtful and lovely gift. loving this general store's edit of fine gardening, cooking, and other accessories. give me a general store and the thought of snow shoes and i'm a happy girl.

the last several days have been chock full of all things blogging. sam and i participated in a photoshoot thursday night with rue magazine + my friend annette joseph, lavish! conference was on saturday (along with some serious nerves about public speaking), and the rue magazine/hgtv soiree was saturday night (i have a new favorite drink: cold cider + bourbon). throw in a girl's dinner at mezcalito's for good measure and you've got one jam-packed weekend. all that fun made for a lazy sunday watching snow flurries, snuggling under quilts, and slow cooking my favorite chili.

* the winner of the c&g mane giveaway is katie weber!

c&g mane giveaway

today i am very excited to be giving away one of c&g mane's fabulous creations. each item is 100% handmade. christy uses felt, fabric, and beads to create unique headpieces. i love her use of texture and color and i think you will too!

{to enter}-visit christy's shop and tell me what you would choose if you won
-leave an extra comment if you follow this little blog
ps i'll throw in an extra entry if you leave a comment that you've helped spread the word.
deadlines for entries are friday at midnight...

[photo.]
i confess that this is not always an easy thing for me to remember. some people we deal with in life are just tough. i've been feeling a bit punched around these days and i'm in the need of a little rest. on another note, i've decided to close the shop until next year. as much as i LOVE creating little pieces of clothing, it leaves me little free time to make things for my little one and i want to enjoy this season as much as possible. i look forward to returning refreshed and inspired.

it feels good to take charge of your life.

feeling like i can breathe a little easier already!

me and matilda picking out our christmas tree.

here are the winners to the southern flourish giveaway!

please email me to get your subscription code.

1. that fresh feeling: wow. i would love to win because because it defn would give me some motivation and inspiration. the pages posted looked full of just what i need for the holiday :-)

2. leah: I'd love to be a winner, the catalogue looks fab! I am semi-crafty and you make it look so easy yet chic!

3. hiking in stilettos : Eee! I would love a subscription! I always find some inspiration in SF!

4. karissa jade ferguson: I would love to win a subscription! This looks like a beautiful magazine full of inspiration. I love gorgeous magazines that have great ideas and tips inside, I think this magazine would quickly get into my list of favorites!

5. erika at blulable bungalow: I'm a true G.R.I.T.S. and have the peach fuzz to prove it ;-) I would love a subscription to Southern Flourish to fuel my creativity and give me infinitely more reasons to love the South!

thanks to everyone who has supported the magazine! hope you love the holiday issue. you can still subscribe here.