Swiss Christmas feast: I hate it when someone else finds the perfect gift for Brian: For people who do not like going to the antique store our girls sure had a lot of fun: Seems like we do a lot of coloring when the girls gather around Grandma J.’s table. These tiny presents were made…

I’ve finished my downstairs bathroom – yah! No more chinoiserie wallpaper and grungy paint and red floor. Here’s a before photo – yikes. Here’s what it looked like for a while this summer – yikes! And now here’s how it looks today. I scraped all the old paint off the tile to reveal the original…

We are celebrating our Swiss Christmas TONIGHT! And the girls are dying of anticipation. Why, as parents, do we slide into the roll of present controller – taunting our kids with the hour when they can finally open their presents. Maybe it’s because we recall that anticipation and the suffering and we want to inflict…

The girls and I made our gingerbread men last night. They each made one for their best friends and we’ll deliver them tonight. I love how Claire places her gingerbread men’s eyes so close to the top of their head. She gets very involved – each cookie had a story or a concept. Like the one…

We’ve been busy checking off all the Christmas activities on our list. The traditions make this time of year so reassuring and special don’t they. Decorate the tree – check. Make a new ornament for the tree – a Christmas Hen – check Go to the Wonderland Express display at the Chicago Botanic Garden – check…

I haven’t had much to say on my blog lately. Life rolls on and nothing big happens, but there are lots of small things to enjoy. Things like saying goodbye to Fall and hello Winter. Here are are some other little things that I’ve been doing: Making: The house feel festive.   Cooking: Sometimes when I feel…

just some pretty doughnuts

Claire made a pony stage or palace or something. She loves those ponies!

Every year I make a Christmas wreath for my mom-in-law. This year I made one from pinecones and I added lots of glitter. 

We got out the Monopoly game over Thanksgiving and the girls loved it. First we played at Grandma C’s – Claire was so funny. Whenever she collected money she acted the opposite of humble. She jumped around and gave an evil laugh. Bea started out being the banker and then Claire wanted to be the banker…