Snap! Where'd the Christmas go?

I think I blinked and Christmas 2010 is now a date in the past!  It was a low-key celebration and different than some before but I definitely felt the love from my peeps.   It's easy to question why things happen and wonder what the heck God was thinking when you look back on the year coming to an end... but I definitely saw evidence of God's perfect timing when navigating this Christmas missing my mother-in-law and being pregnant at the same time.  It was a beautiful little example of the circle of life and that hope is renewing.  The four principles of advent are love, hope, joy and peace and I plan to make those a priority in 2011.  Thank heavens for my faith in the good Lord above, my husband, and my emotionally supportive family -- I can't imagine my life without them.  Here's a pic of the husband modeling his new comfy pants from my Mum -- she has a lovely tradition of buying us new jammy pants, washing them, and sending them so we have new cozies to sleep in on Christmas Eve:

Here's a pic of me and Mo (23 weeks along!):

Here's a pic of Mo, you can almost see what his wee face looks like!:

This is the insanely cool Basquiat self-portrait Nate had framed for me for Christmas:

This is the sweet owl pendant from my family I strung along with an old key:

And the seriously amazing angel wing ring from my friend Erin:

And lastly, my knitted cowl with cable that I just finished:

Yep, I wear my shades inside ALL the time.  

Merry Christmas and God Bless Your Little Hearts!

Just a few more days and it is officially CHRISTMAS!!! WOOT TO THE MAX!!!  I've been SO busy baking and shopping and wrapping and card-making and baby-growing!  Here are the sweets I've made this week:

Peppermint Bark:

Candied Pecans:

Banana Bread:

Baby:

And here's our adorable, slightly Charlie Brown-esque Christmas Tree!

 I wish everyone a very merry and very blessed Christmas!  Now go spread some cheer!  xoxo

A Crafty Christmas Cornucopia

Oh yes, I am LOVING this time of year... the chill in the air (we're in the low 60s here, brrrrrr....), the Christmas lights on houses, all of the Christmas junk at the dollar store... I'm definitely in the mood for some gift-giving and carol-singing!  

I decorated our mantle last weekend and got a little metal manger scene for 50% off at Hobby Lobby but couldn't resist flanking the manger scene with   La Virgen de Guadelupe.  I figure, she represents the immaculate conception so she's appropriate.  You can sort of see her on the left... and then she is in candle-form on the right.  :)

Here's the manger scene:

As far as gift-giving and craftiness goes I've been spending many a crafternoon making soap and knitting baby booties for a few new mamas.  The booties are for baby girls and I like this yarn because it's not YOU-ARE-A-GIRL-AND-YOU-WILL-SUFFER-ALL-THINGS-PINK pink... it's more of a periwinkle with rose and mauve accents. 

And then there was soap.  My friend at work mentioned she wanted to make soap for her peeps for Christmas so I hijacked that train and have been making soap the past week.  Basically it amounts to melting glycerin in a double boiler and adding color, fragrance and whatever else you feel belongs in soap.  In my case I've made Peppermint soap, Red Rose and Thyme soap with dried thyme leaves, Eucalyptus soap with dried orange peel and Lavender soap with almond oil and lavender buds. Here is a pic of my first batch which turned out too bubbly because I melted the glycerin in the microwave and turns out that's a no-no.  Can you tell the only thing around the house I could find for soap forms was a muffin tin?

And here's the eucalyptus and  lavender soaps curing in their muffin tin beds:

So, that's it for now!  More soap-making and bootie-knitting to do this week!  And then I'm on to Christmas cards!  Yes!  I love love love this time of year!