i think i might...

have to make my way out to mesa

this weekend.

some last minute christmas shopping perhaps?

i spied these two treasures

from flour clothing.

doesnt that sweater just scream ruby?

and this jacket for dec?

he loves to be stylish.

{above event mentioned here and here}

its beginning to look a lot like...

....christmas

around my home.

i can not believe it is so soon.

the kids tree.

we dont have a big one yet.

soon.

i cant wait.

gum drop people

thanks to martha's ideas in the december issue.


many a gingerbread house
i mean candy eating extravaganza
has occurred.
and one chimney devoured.

and everyday,

the pending question,

'can i open an envelope?'

yes. our advent calendar is strung across the mantle,

and holds a treasure for each day.

oh to be two again!

happy b day eduardo fastidious

we love you!

we started the 10th...ed's bday...
just right with rainbow donuts (yum)
and while he was at work ruby helped me
make this lovely trader joes cake,
which i confess i bought b/c the box was so cute.

and we celebrated later that evening
with a lovely dinner,
cake and vino
and topped it off by meeting up with some
friends after kids went to sleep.
it was a pretty good 31st.

i am pretty sure ruby lives for birthdays.

she may in fact think we are celebrating Jesus' birthday

every night she blows out the advent candles.

silly girl.

happy birthday anyhow; a couple days late big guy.

we love you lots

and think youre the absolute best dad around.

toy calendar

wouldnt this calendar make the cutest kid gift?

this guy makes the greatest stuff.

fabulous ideas up currently on what to do

with old cheerio boxes.

i may have to make one soon.

buy the calendar here.

venturing downtown

so the other night i just felt like a good walking

adventure was being called for.

ed had to work late so i thought maybe we

should jaunt downtown

and peek around.

ruby throughly enjoyed picking out some

hot pink nail polish at the new

urban outfitters,

while i had to slap my hand away

from buying glitter eyeshadow

and fancy cameras.

while waiting for the light rail
later that night declan was throwing out the
craziest mr. magoo faces,
but for some reason they
were crazy blurry.
i guess i couldnt help but share them anyway.

we did have a whole lotta fun.

its so magical walking around big buildings,

twinkle lights,

skipping, dancing and laughing with my two crazy cats.

i do fear though i may have a shopping lover on my hands

(can i buy this? um...no...again)

wild giveaway!

not from me that is.

but go over to design mom

and enter yourself for an insane giveaway!

i thought the florals, wreaths and above embroidered cookbook

were so lovely from terrain.

(i always get lost in the links...and dream shop)

good luck!

happy thanksgiving!

a truly happy thanksgiving to all!

we had a really lovely day;

i feel so blessed by the family i am surrounded with.

we spent our time cooking,

playing in the yard with the kids,

doing a little crafting,

and just enjoying the general magical feeling

that is this time of year.

a simple table setting with the best we could find

between myself and emily.

some old embroidered napkins...my one and only scruffy table runner...

and a splattering of various silverware.

it turned out pretty lovely i thought.

the first turkey carved in our home.

a false alarm on doneness...

but nevertheless tasty tasty.

super cute bunting emily made for the kids chairs

with all of their names on it.

and today spending the morning
in the warm sun outside...
we picked these from our garden.
we have so much to be thankful for...
esp our extremely full bellies!
hope your thanksgiving was just as lovely!
and many thanks to all of my readers,
you're fab.u.lous.

first birthday party!

i can hardly believe it but my little guy

turned one

on saturday.

we had a wonderful party with many

of our family and friends.

a little skimpy on the pics...

you could say i was distracted by a few things.

thanks to all who were able to make it!

i just loved having an excuse to plan a party.

one year old parties are the best!

{the party hat i made

following this tutorial}

punk pasta

this pasta dish sounded so tasty.

im thinking i'll be giving it a try soon.

the cool weather makes me want to eat lots

of comforting dishes like this.

oh, that lemon ricotta on top...yes please.

{found via jaimee rose}

save the date

come support emily and i

this december 3rd.

friday night.

frances parking lot.

good times.

lots of shopping.

here is a sampling of my goods.

dont miss it.

sugar cookies

with holidays approaching don't we all need a

good sugar cookie recipie handy?

i made these for the willows this morn.

i might have eaten a few or 10.

no one was looking.

sugar cookies

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 c. sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 1/2 t. vanilla ext.

4 1/2 c. a.p. flour

1 1/4 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

cream butter and sugar using whisk attachment of electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy....about 5 minutes.

on low, add in eggs one at a time...then add vanilla.

separate bowl: whisk together dry ingredients

using paddle attachment on mixer, slowly add dry ingredients until well incorporated.

wrap dough in plastic wrap and refridge for 30min to 1 hour. (they say longer sometimes, but my house is kind of chilly right now, so it seems to work out just fine).

Preheat oven to 350. Roll them out to desired thickness (1/4 in is good). Cook for 10 minutes, unless doing really tiny circles like i did...only 6-8 minutes.

Let cool and frost!

royal icing

4 large egg whites, room temp

1 lb. confectioners sugar

beat egg whites and sugar using whish attachment of electric mixer on low to incorporate sugar into whites.

increase speed to high for 7-10 minutes until icing is thick and shiny

divide into bowls and add desired food coloring.

WARNING:

makes a rediculous amount of cookies.

before we had kids Ed and i would make them for Christmas gifts. he would get maybe way to into it while i ate too much sugar and got really hyper...bounced off the walls giggling, and then we were left with an absurd sugary mess all over the kitchen and table tops, and yet still we could not muster up the strength to frost them all. so just be careful...they can be dangerously fun and awfully messy but oh so worth it.

a dear friend

busy busy enjoying some quiet naptime....

getting some crafting done.

just wanted to share these sweet pictures

of our dear family friend Tesfaye.

he is such a blessing on our lives

through the magical gardens he creates, wild sense of humor,

and of course how he makes my kids smile.

some people are just such treasures.

hope your weekend is full of cheer!

out of the loop

so i guess i've been a little out of the technology loop.

for some reason i've found it really hard

to get myself to sit down at the computer for a variety of reasons.

once in a while it is just good to let it go or it overcomes me too much.

is it just me or do you find yourself getting encompassed by

blogs...email...facebook...more blogs...keeping up with it all...on and on?

i also just tend to be much more creative when i am not

in front of the computer for a while.

so sorry ive been slacking.

christmas is fast approaching for handmade gifts

so its all a bit overwhelming right now.

i promise i'll try to be better.

for now,

here are some fun pics i took

last friday

down by the train tracks.

it was a little spur of the moment.

we just went on a drive downtown for fun

and i happened to have my camera on me.

i just love the textures of the bricks

for a backdrop.

and then a train came whizzing by

so that added some extra excitement for these guys.

cheers to the season of chilly weater upon us!

hope yours are going splendidly!

ps. i realized today the pumpkin bread recipe

i posted on in september had a misstype.

i fixed it....just so you know.

(only 1/2 c. of oil....sorry!!!)

la luna

just took these the other night while

playing outside with the kids.

it was so beautiful.

we just love the full bright moon this time of year.