3 years.

Today we're celebrating our wedding anniversary! Three years ago, we exchanged vows in front of God, family, and friends. I realized this long before I married Q, but today I'm even more assured: he's a keeper.

crafting & happy christmas

A little quirky, but one of the crafts we did this season included these miniature potted decorations. We painted the pots white and picked something to go inside. They're a fun little addition to a book shelf, table or nook for the winter.




We're going home to our families through next week, so I'll likely be away from blogging for awhile, but Merry Christmas (& cheers to a new year!).

hooray for: pretty pine

pine with ice (marthasnail)


pine branch (tiny happy)


untitled (Nestled In)


untitled (Berta...)

christmas spirit

The inside of our home is filled with new & old Christmas keepsakes, decorations, and lights. Homemade goods to be baked & wrapped are on this weekend's agenda.

And, I'm so happy with the way our outdoor "trimmings" turned out - the berry light garland, red ribbons, and lighted wreaths.
Enjoy the last weekend before Christmas!

(PS. I drew numbers for the giveaway and #7 & 23 were chosen, so I'll be sending a gift to Melissa and kribss!)

clues & aids

Clues I've received (so far) in the advent calendar from Q about my Christmas gift:
Clue#1: Cookies-don't-cha-want-some
Clue#2: Cinna-Rolls Mmm...
Clue#3: Who said we needed any aids in the kitchen?
To me, those clues add up to one thing: a shiny new KitchenAid mixer. Which is way more than I expected, and has me sweating about what I got him.



We've been shopping for a KitchenAid since we got married. He's always wanted the fancy model that lifts up instead of the one that just tilts, so we've never made a decision. My opinion is that I'll take anything over our tiring, messy hand mixer.
So he either compromised or he splurged. I'll find out soon enough. : )




Above are some other bits from the advent calendar so far. And I just love the ornaments & Christmas cards all around the house (like the last photo). Is Christmas really only a week away?

RedRedOrange

My husband's cousin Sarah is an amazingly talented graphic designer. I remember when I first met her, she was showing the family her designs for brand name gum packaging. I couldn't believe that the gum I saw in the line at the supermarket had taken so long to design and that she was behind some of it. She now designs out of Philadelphia, and also has an Etsy shop & design blog called RedRedOrange.



If you're looking to work with a professional designer - she offers both ready made goods & custom designs - go check out RedRedOrange.
And I didn't tell her I was posting this, so if you get a chance, stop by her blog & say hello (she's super friendly, I promise!).

holiday shop update & giveaway

A little shop update: I have some big changes planned for Hooray in 2010. So, I decided to do a quick holiday promotion to close out the year: from December 15th-20th, all orders over $10 will receive a gift (spools of twine, glassine bags filled with gift tags, paper sacks, etc. I have lots of fun gifts ready to go!).



Giveaway: As a thank you to those who read this blog and/or have supported my shop, I'd like to do a quick giveaway here as well. I'll pick a few people randomly from the comments section of this post & send them a gift. All I can say is that the gift will be small, really cute & fun to open (promise!). Simply leave a comment & I'll pick names by the end of the week. Thanks for all of your support this year!

stylist: eva lindh

I discovered a new (to me) site by stylist Eva Lindh, through the lovely blog Lanalou last week. Head over to the site to see more of her portfolio.



photos via Eva Lindh. 1+2 by Anna Kern, 3 by Charlie Drevstam

snow-white rooms

When I came across this house tour roundup on Apartment Therapy, featuring white rooms, I instantly bookmarked it. Here are some from the roundup that I like best:


photos via Apartment Therapy

kissing stags

This winter, I'd like this bedding from Anorak, called Kissing Stags, complete with matching pouch. Because it's seriously cool. And I think it would look great paired with red.


For other animal options (like robins, horses, or rabbits, see their selection here). And if you'd like, see another post on Anorak here.

inspired: 3 things

Another week is quickly passing by. Hope you're finding time to enjoy the season. Today I'm inspired to:
1. walk in the snow ("sunday walks" by clumsy bird)
2. make something ("doll quilt" by quejiminez)
3. celebrate the season (untitled by catmil)

holiday cottages

Can you picture yourself taking a holiday at a cottage in Derbyshire?



After a recent viewing of The Holiday (a movie I've watched an obscene amount of times), I was ready to pack my bags.




photos via Chatsworth

I keep thinking about the idea. I've still only gotten as far as the Chatsworth Estate, which is filled with holiday cottages available for rent, but I'd even consider a home swap website like in the movie. Well, maybe.

book wishlist

Here's a peek at some of the books on my current wishlist, in no particular order:






1 French Women for All Seasons, by Mireille Guiliano - I want to own all of her books, they are witty, inspiring, & wise. It will teach you how the French faites simple (keep it simple).
2 Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten - One of the first cookbooks I received (when getting married) was by Barefoot Contessa and it's a favorite.
3 Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child.
4 Camilla Engman: The Suitcase Series, by Camilla Engman - Published by Uppercase.
5 Weekends, by Katie Brown - I saw this at the store the other day & couldn't put it down.
6 The Family at Home, by Anita Kaushal - Had a really hard time returning this one to the library. Each and every page made me smile...and jot a lot of notes.

gingerbread houses

photos via Martha

I've been longing to make a gingerbread house this year, for some reason. We randomly made some miniature houses (as ornaments) last night out of clay, but a gingerbread house is just so festive. Do you make them for Christmas?

christmas favors

You know what we did as favors for our Christmas wedding, nearly 3 years ago?



We took clear baubles (in the tiniest size we could find).
We opened them & filled them with shiny, sparkly things.
Then we took personalized ribbon, with our name/wedding date (ordered from here) & tied them up to make ornament favors.
Each ornament had a tag attached with guests' names & table number, hung on mini trees outside the ballroom, doubling as seating cards for our guests.
Some people still come up to us around Christmas to say they have our wedding ornament hanging on their tree at home. It makes my day every time.

photos: 1 land rich via oh joy!, 2 williams-sonoma

peikon poika

I'm heading out for the weekend, but first I wanted to mention this little shop, Peikon Poika.




A few weeks ago I did a small wholesale order for the lovely Päivi who runs this online Finnish shop. Although I have no idea what anything on the site says, it's fun to see products from Hooray on there, and I love their books/magazines for sale. I can tell just from the book covers that I'd be content looking through them, even if they don't have a word of English in them. Wouldn't you agree? Hope you have a happy December weekend.

(Book links: 1, 2, 3, 4)

viva terra

Viva Terra makes products for home & living using sustainable materials, and although not everything they offer is quite my style, I do have a weakness for requesting/browsing catalogs. A few things caught my eye this time, & with a quick visit to their website I found these links to my favorites:

chalkboard organizer ($89 - I could really use one of these)


retro bamboo radio ($248 - pricey, but cute)


glass pear-shaped terrarium ($79 - perfect for Christmas)


bamboo mouse & laptop stand ($34 & $59 - love)

la rara stationery

I adore this reindeer print from La rara (also shared here this week), and all of the bright, fun colors of their screen-printed goods.

mistletoe screenprinted cards

tree and star cards

cups of tea screenprinted card

vintage dutch covers

I reallycouldn't resist posting these Dutch picture book covers that I spotted on love you big, which are from BibliOdyssey (many more covers here, worth taking a look). The designs are fantastic and the amazing typography is definitely a bonus.




photos from BibliOdyssey found via love you big