tomorrow...

I hope I wake up to something like this...

just not this....

I mean I live in the Midwest for a reason.

Are you dreaming of snow like me?

just to keep you smiling

 

Really how can you not smile when you see that face?

Oh man do I love her!

Christmas ornaments in a flash

    If you need a fun idea to do with your little ones this holiday season here is a simple fun one. Get some glass ornaments (I found mine at Salvation Army, but any place sells them right now) and some paint pens. I had the kids write their name and the date on them (and something else for the ones that will be gifts;)) because I love the idea of forever having their sweet handwritten ornament hanging on our tree for years and years to come. It was a super fast project, fairly clean and pretty cute if you ask me. And really without snow around here we are having to get creative with things to do!

 

Do you like an eclectic array of ornaments on your tree or do you keep with a specific theme/color scheme? Can you guess what we do?

my favorite Christmas nail polish

 China Glaze nail polish in the color Ruby Pumps is a no-brainer when it comes to festive nails! It is a gorgeous red that will suit any skin tone with enough holiday sparkle to elevate it to another level of cheer. I love it. You would too.

sorry kinda blurry...my camera is acting up so this is from my phone

 

a little Christmas scene on my window ledge

 

Ruby Pumps

What is your go to nail polish this Christmas season?

Thanksgiving Morning

I love the holidays for more reasons than I could ever articulate in person or on this blog. There is truly something magical in the air and the mood at this time of year. The smells outside, the smells inside...everything has a holiday aroma and even going to get in the car makes me smile. Right now we have a fire blazing in our fireplace and our whole house smells of burnt wood and roobios tea. If I could control my dreams they would smell like this.

Thanksgiving was quite a few days ago but I still wanted to share about it because it was lovely. I woke up extra early (6:00am-sorry if this is not early to you) and went downstairs to prepare two quiches and some carla rolls. The quiet of the house was precious-but especially so because I knew that just a few stairs away I had all my babes and my hubby sleeping. I love that feeling when you know the energy is about to explode but it still is slumbering away. My sweet Isabelle came downstairs to help me, which was a super early rising for her as well. I loved her for it. After she peeked about I made her a little "nest" on our chair and out she conked. It was a perfect morning....and then you add that energy, my little family, breakfast food and coffee and really things could not be more delightful. It has me hankering like mad for Christmas morning....there is so much to look forward to....and I am.

 

 

And my sweet babes:)

marshmallows (repost)

Homemade Marshmallows (this is a repost for those of you who have been asking:))
(yields about 40 )

2 1/2 TBS unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 TBS vanilla extract
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in a bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let stand 30 minutes.

Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.

Clip on a candy thermometer; raise heat to high. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees (firm-ball stage). Immediately remove pan from heat.

With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into softened gelatin. Increase speed to high; beat until the mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to incorporate.

Generously dust an 8-by-12-inch glass baking pan with confectioners' sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into the pan. Dust top with confectioners' sugar, (optional-wet hands and pat smooth and re-dust with confectioners' sugar) let stand overnight, uncovered, to dry-out. Turn out unto cutting board; cut marshmallows with a dry, hot knife into desired size and dust with more confectioners' sugar.

beauty product talk

If you are struggling with a Christmas list this year I would like to offer some helpful advice. Get Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow. I have an arsenal of beauty products and these shadows I use every day and they are wonderful. If you have 5 minutes to get your face ready then slapping one of these puppies over your whole eyelid will do the trick and out the door you can go. If you have more than 5 minutes then slapping one of these puppies on your eyelid and adding a shadow overtop will be amazing. I try new combinations almost daily and I feel like I am continually surprised with how versatile and beautiful they are time and time again. I have the following colors myself....

birthday suit-a brushed chrome (my favorite for everyday, a great neutral)

rsvp-a sparkling champagne (great for a base of brightness to really bring out the color of an eyeshadow)

flatter me-a toasted mauve (this shade is beautiful on all eye colors)

busy signal-a venetian brown (this color I like to use along with another color, I find it too dark to wear all over my lid unless it is a formal event...which is like never:) )

These colors cost $19 each and I have had the first one I purchased for over a year and it is still going strong. The formula is lovely and does not dry out after multiple uses. If I lost all my makeup this would be at the top of my list for repurchasing....and I would probably buy birthday suit first. You can get these at Ulta or Sephora and might be an awesome gift for someone you don't know what to buy for....unless they are male...then it might be really awkward!

What beauty item can you not live without. (side note: currently I am sitting in my pjs without a lick of makeup on and it is 11 in the morning...not every day is a makeup day)

a few snapshots of life...

thanksgiving morning delights



patchwork pants

morning snuggles

my wild girl

the current outfit of choice

Decorating....

We decorated our Christmas tree and let me just say that everything (alright almost everything) is better with little ones. Christmas tree decorating is about 10000000 times better with babes.
I especially love that this will be Vera's first Christmas since she was born in January. She seems to get so much of it already and watching her little eyes stare at the lights on the tree is just magical!

watching in awe as Isabelle gets the ornaments ready to go

me and my love...decorating our tree in jammies...no shame

the problem with Vera and oranments

GRRRR

If you are wondering why I have not been posting it is because I cannot get my photos to load anymore and truthfully what is a blog post without a picture?? So until my hubby can figure it out then I will have to be silent...knowing my hubby's mad skills it will not be long:) Love to you all!!