joy to the world.

We've made it home to our family, and are preparing to celebrate the birth of the King (with many a Christmas cookie involved :-). Hope your holidays are wonderful, and Happy New Year!

(photo taken in traverse city last year)

gift wrapping.

Besides a roll of white & kraft paper that I always keep handy, the only wrapping paper I've bought in recent years is a pack of stars, stripes, & hearts from Ikea last Christmas. It pairs great with any type of recycled/found papers for a nice homemade look - anything goes. This year I cut up our TJ's grocery bags (they have cute free tags on the back) and then used the rest of it to wrap remaining small gifts, without worrying about perfect corners or avoiding excessive amounts of tape.

under the tree...

(similar lens I had borrowed)

Q surprised me with an early Christmas gift: a 35mm lens for our camera. It has a low f-stop to let in extra light & blur background objects, and one of my favorite unexpected features is the silent motion motor - it runs smooth like butter when you focus on your object (and consequently, makes me even happier when using it). I'm sure there will be a lot more picture-taking happening over Christmas this year.



(first few photos snapped with the lens: a candle by the tree, and potted plants waiting to be gifted)

the weekend before christmas...

...and we spent ours shopping for a few gifts, babysitting nephews, going to a Christmas cantata, painting our mudroom, and watching movies (including this one in theaters). How was yours?

Above: our twinkling village; heart sweater & a Met and Liked notebook for bloggers! at jcrew; a minty coat of Bakery Box White on our walls.

friday favorites...

(mantle decorated with candlesticks & mini trees)

A few small, random Christmas details that we're enjoying around the house lately. Hoping to soak in every bit of holiday goodness this weekend (including a driving lights tour around the neighborhood with popcorn & hot chocolate in the car. What.) Happy weekend!

(odd little glass elves from my mom's childhood)


(pine cones resting safely around the house - a sign the cats are gone)


(old & new ornaments)

songs for christmas.

I've been enjoying the various holiday playlists on blogs, and although I can't resist those classic holiday songs, I thought I'd put together a little mix that also includes more of my favorite, traditional carols & hymns (celebrating the true meaning of Christmas).

There's a bit of everything - festive classics (& movie favorites), winter songs, and mellow hymns for Christmas. Hope you enjoy! (And if you have any other favorites, I'd love to hear).

Listen to the playlist right here.

hello red.

A few snapshots while packaging up the last of the holiday goods for this year! I just wanted to say thank you, so much for your support of the shop launch (and patience on pre-sale items). It is truly appreciated, more than you know.

ginger pear tea.

This organic tea from TJ's is some of our most well-spent $3 lately (it has a refreshing pear flavor & slight spice of ginger, and a hot cup of it is pretty wonderful by the Christmas tree on a Sunday afternoon).

monday inspiration...

Soundtrack to the film The King's Speech (music that can inspire you in any mood - it's just so good).

(image 3: orchestra's studio during the recording process)

minnie cat.

Despite a few attempts to pull together a friday favorites post, these photos on my desktop were begging to be posted. Our two furry friends are already at my parents' for the holidays (since we'll be traveling there anyway), and it's strangely quiet around the house lately. Also, much, much cleaner... Have a wonderful weekend.

garlands of joy

I made some chipboard letters to (eventually) hang with garland for a simple decoration above our mantle this year, and covered them with some of my favorite vintage fabric from Q's grandma. I realized afterward (doh) that I should scan the fabric & print it onto paper for no-sew projects, and now I'm full of all sorts of new ideas for projects involving these wonderful patterns.

The patterns are too pretty not to share, so I made the red floral chevron available online if you'd like to use it for any of your own projects, too*. You can download the 7x7" pattern here, or print & cut the letters j-o-y here (click zoom to the full size file before saving).

(*non-commercial use, of course!)

handmade faves: rebekka seale

The sweetest, whimsical house illustrations & art by Rebekka Seale.

(found via YHL)

monday inspiration...

Christmas Vacation.

It's tradition in our household to watch Clark Griswold force a cheerful, "old-fashioned family Christmas" every December (black turtleneck dickies optional :-). I've always liked their cozy, typical movie house too.

A few other favorites this time of year: the family stone, elf, home alone, the holiday, a christmas carol, & while you were sleeping. Any other suggestions?

friday favorites...

A few bits of sparkly, gold, and pine, because I can't resist this time of year:
Mini Christmas trees.
A peek at how the holiday J.Crew bags are designed.
Anna's tassel earrings DIY.
Bright, retro (& free) gift tag printables.

(Have a festive December weekend!)

first of december.

Yesterday Michigan got its first real snow - only a light dusting by our house, but friends & family in our hometown got covered in over half a foot of white.

In other news, we picked out the family tree over the weekend in light sweaters. Q played football outside with his nephews in t-shirts. And back at our house, we put up our little faux tree in the tree stump stand that we made last year. (The house feels entirely cozier now.) Happy December!