Little boy skinny jeans

Aw, skinny jeans... I love them on Syd, but I sure dig them on Rob too.

At OldNavy they're having a big "after Christmas sale" & I found these suckers for $5 (they didn't have them online but these Target ones are similar).

P.S. Can't find your own pair? Check out this tutorial & try to make them on your own.

Goodbye 2010 & Hello 2011!

How we spent our NEW YEARS EVE:

1. Played out in the newly fallen snow with colored water (idea from Debbie). It's been SO COLD here- down into the negatives. Boo.

2. We had dinner with friends, a little Wii playing, & an early "countdown" with the kids. They watched an early ball drop online, kissed, & clinked glasses of Martinellis.

3. Now, we're home. Kids are in bed and Scott & I are going to snuggle down, watch a movie, and celebrate just the two of us.

Goodbye 2010 & Hello 2011!

Cute play kitchen

Syd & Rob have a fabulous "vintage" play kitchen that they got last Christmas & they love, but I thought I'd pass along this one. It's really cute too:

I love the clock by the sink you can roll to change the time, & the cute washing machine on the side of the kitchen.

Bree Despain's launch party for "The Lost Saint"

I had a lovely evening at the independent bookstore"The Kings English" attending the book launch party for Bree Despain book The Lost Saint  (I also went to the book launch for her first book "The Dark Divine").

She spoke, did a reading, & Q&A. I have to say being around book lovin' peeps & talking about reading/writing is so inspiring- I LOVE IT!

And, like last time, there were tasty sugar cookies in book coordinated colors that Smithy & I elbowed our way through the crowd to get to.

Bree is a master market-er & like last time she had nail-polishes (this time in a lovely shade of blue) that matched her book cover.

A great pair of leggings

I've been searching for a good pair of leggings for a while. Until I got a text from my friend Linds, about a $6 pair Mossimo brand ones at Target. Yesterday I ran & grabbed a pair.

Perfection. I don't wear leggings often: when I write, apparently when I mourn, & sometimes with skirts/my turquoise cowboy boots.

I couldn't find them online but they look a bit like these.
Any other legging suggestions?

Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve we had a "Bethlehem" theme dinner with friends & family. We ate humus, pita, olives, kabobs, dates, & all manner of tasties, then we read the Christmas story.

Christmas we had a busy morning opening presents & the kids loved their "pillow pets" from "Santa" (despite my questionable feelings about spending $20 on a pillow). Enjoy the kids walking out to see the tree Christmas morning:

How was everyone Christmas?
Any BIG hit presents for the kids?
What about you guys?

The Little Drummer Boy

The Little Drummer Boy never ceases to make me cry every single time I hear it.

Except maybe this version:

It just makes me giggle.

Metallic Ornaments

LOVE this tutorial on making plain little plastic animals & dinos (we have like 5 million hidden in every corner of my house) into cute metallic (we all know how I feel about gold & shininess) ornaments, giftbox toppers, & a fun/pretty necklace.

Nana's ingenious gift wrapping

My Nana is the bomb. She lived through the depression & it means she uses everything in ingenious ways.

Example:
For Christmas we got this cute gold rimmed tub filled with homemade caramel corn.

That cute tub... is an old ice cream container covered with wrapping paper.

Pure genius.

Love.

Gorgeous video. I am in love.

Thanks to Shauna's blog I got to enjoy this Christmas gem.

First snowman of the season

Buckets of snow fell so we made a slightly creepy (doesn't he look a little manically happy?) snowman. The kids keep peaking outside, checking on him.

Bah Humbug Santa

Okay, so I was tentative to write a post about my feelings about Santa... because quite frankly they aren't always happy feelings (but then I read this post & realized I am not alone)

I know, I know... I'm sure I'm in the minority of parents but I've got a couple issues with the jolly old man:

1. He gets all the credit for my hard work
2. Having to eventually explain about Santa
3. The whole "be good" or you don't get presents
4. The OBSESSION with Santa (especially since, for us, Christmas is a religious holiday)

But you know, I don't judge any other parents feelings about Santa. I get that Santa is part of what makes Christmas magical. I don't want to ruin that for my kiddos & I don't want them ruining it for others. So, we still do the Santa thing.

I'm just wondering, am I alone?
Any other parents out there not the biggest Santa fans?
What traditions do you guys do when it comes to Santa?

Last mintue homemade Christmas gifts

Well, I've all but abandoned most of my homemade gifts- there's just been too much going on these past few months.

But for your guys here are a couple quick & cute homemade gifts:

A Utah favorite chocolate covered cinnamon santas

Monogrammed dishtowels

Adorable pom-pom hair pretties

Homemade Peppermint Hot Fudge

Bath Fizzies

Gnome Sweet Gnome Christmas Giveaway

Alrighty, my blog readers, this is a little late but I did want to have a Christmas Giveaway to thank you guys for sticking around, though I've been a slow blogger lately.

For Christmas this year I'm giving away two of my favorite books signed by the authors:

MATCHED and VAMPIRE ACADEMY

Just leave a comment telling me which one you want (you can do both if you want)! I'll keep it open until the 24th & announce the winner after Christmas! That way you'll have a NEW BOOK to kick off your NEW YEAR!

Richelle Mead book signing

I had a fabulous night with two LBGS (Smithy & Lay) and two writing group girls (Meagan & Debbie) at the Richelle Mead book signing. I've mentioned her books (the Vampire Academy series) a couple times on my blog & I haven't found anyone yet who has read them & not enjoyed them.

Of course I had to design shirts. I say, "Go big or go home!". We wanted to do something original so I played off of her last name "Mead" & made a bottle of mead with her face on it. She thought it was funny & even put a picture on her blog.