Give

As we are still house bound while Estelle is getting better, house cleaning has been in order. I feel so proud, some of the closets are looking better but not all.
So far 5 bags went to neighbors whose girls were delighted to see so many hand me downs and I dropped off 3 huge bags at St. Michael's. There is a lot more to clean up in the future I am ashamed to say but, it feels good to share, good to give to someone in need.

Approaching 10 degrees

The weather today is brutal. We started at 33 and went down to 10 in a matter of hours. What makes it worst? The howling winds.

Our 15 year old started getting sick last night and by mid day water was starting to make its way to her lungs. So following a visit to the doctor's ans some strong medicine she now is in bed.

To make her feel better? A warm cup of tea

A warm cashmere throw ( I love these from William Sonoma Home available at http://www.wshome.com/)And two great books that I love:

And when she finally decides to get up her faithful Ugg Sleepers will be waiting.

Good thing we are all on vacation this week.

Taking the time

Taking the time to do nothing on a Monday afternoon. Taking the whole week off. Sleep, eat, spend time with my girls , watch the snow fall, cuddle with the cats, having fun conversations with hubby.

Pure luxury for the mind and the soul.

Need to get organized

Christmas is already over and the house is quite a mess. We all received so much we need to get organize and purge sad to say.
But before we even get to the bedrooms and their respective closets my current craft space (the office for now) is crawling under glass glitter, glue and ribbons of sorts. I need to get organized and return this room to its original use. Pencils, card stock, glitter , ribbons and more have to go into hiding just for a little while . So here are so storage ideas that would make any space look organized and yet practically pretty.

Joyeux Noel

Joyeux Noel!

Time to rejoice and feast. Take the time to celebrate and enjoy what you have.







Foie Gras sur toasts blancs

Gingerbread cookies

French Macarons au Chocolat

Christmas Eve Traditions

As a child I was never home for Christmas, I was always sent to ski as my mother continued on working. As much as I longed for a Christmas at time it did create some amazing memories as well. One of the most magical one was the "descente aux flambeaux" down the mountain before heading to Midnight Mass. The whole village would get together, the best ski teachers, all volunteers and the best of the resort would be handed lit up torches and we would watch them go all the way up the mountain. It would take a while but the village was so busy and the mood happy. After a good 30 minute wait we would watch the procession start. It was by far one of the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. A trail of warm fire glowing in the dark and yet reflecting on the snow. Everyone quiet just taking in the sight, mouth wide opened smile on their face. As the skiers come down they go towards the church followed by all of us, Christmas mass starts we all sing as the church fills in and the snow falls. Christmas night is magic.

A paper Christmas

Some people are just so creative. Go to http://www.etsy.com/ and take a look... Wendy Addison started the rebirth of the trend.

A different way to decorate

Depending on where you live you can decorate so many ways!

snow day

It snowed all day. Nowhere to go...fabulously gorgeous. Finshing the house

Waiting for the snow to fall

Waiting for the snow to fall. Shopped all day and my feet hurt. At this time I have to finalize the list and check it twice (I love this simple surrounded in lights chalk board idea from Sweden).


I think I have everyone covered so tonight the baking will start as the snow

falls and blankets the streets. Snow on a weekend is the best, we all stay home without having to rush to go to work. It seems that time slows down.

So gingerbread cookies are on the list as will gift wrapping and putting the final touches to the house.

gift wrapping

We are now a week away from Christmas and the last gifts have to ship out by tomorrow if I want them to arrive on time. Every year I try to come up with a different scheme to warp presents. To stay creative I always look on teh web to get ideas. These are some of the favorites found along the way.