Christmas Packages

I've gotten into the habit of doing an amazing amount of baking around Christmas time to send out Christmas packages to neighbors, coworkers and such. They normally look like this:


This year I didn't have the storage space to make them early and I didn't want to spend 3 days straight baking and organizing and such so I'm just doing breads and bars in these cardboard baking trays. They have festive prints on the outside and are durable and sturdy enough to bake in them. You bake it, let it cool and then wrap it or put in a clear bag and your done!!! I'm excited about having a break this year but we'll see how they're recieved.

Gingerbread House Design

Trevor and I are going to make a gingerbread house next week and I mean week because we wanna make an indepth one. I was looking for designs, here are the ones I like:











What do you think? I like this last one here and I think Trevor will too. I guess we'll see what he picks.
Each picture is linked. If you click on them they will take you to the website I found them on.

I love decorating for Christmas. Every year I want to try something different. Maybe a different theme. This year I want to make a wreath but I'm not sure which style to pick. I have this really heavy sparkly ribbon that  I used to make the bows on my Dorothy shoes in the costume post below. These are the wreaths I like so far:

I like the last one with buttons of course! I say of course because it's the only one I can't imagine using the sparkley ribbon for and so it makes sense that I would be wastefull like that.

I found most of the wreath's at Martha Stewart's:

http://www.marthastewart.com/274364/holiday-wreaths/@center/307034/christmas-workshop#938633 

and then the button one here: 

http://missfancypants.typepad.com/little_miss_fancy_pants/2009/09/fancy-this-christmas-wreath.html

I also like these ideas for cards since I'm constantly frustrated with finding ways to use them:

I Think I'll go with the window trims. If that doesn't work then probably the boring door because then everything will be semetrical and that is the key to my sanity these days ;p

I never showed how the costumes came out for Halloween so:


Better late than never ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

 So what are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions? Mine are Oreo Turkeys :)

Here is a link to the site I got the picture from:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/11/oreo-turkeys-and-cookie-pilgrim-hats/

It should explain how to "glue" everything together with chocolate icing, YUM! This year I found out I have Gluten and Dairy intolerance. So I will have to just look fondly at this picture and remember the good ole days of normal candy.

Halloween :)

It's that time again!! My favorite holiday! Halloween!

This year Trevor and I are going as the Scarecrow and Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ. I've already ordered all the materials, just have to create, sew, and perfect each peice. I'll try to keep posting the progress and then the results.

Cloud Atlas!!!! :)

I am getting so excited for the movie "Cloud Atlas" to come out! My husband and I are reading the book and are more than half way through it. The book is very witty and clever beyond words. I saw this really fun post today from the Toronto Films Festival and found this engaging clip of the press conference for "Cloud Atlas". There are some enjoyable comments from the cast and crew in the clip and I hope this sparks an interest for more viewers and such or at least someone else to gush to about this phenomenon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnG5zbg8NoM&feature=player_embedded

It doesn't matter how many years have passed since September 11th 2001, I still feel this great sense of loss and shock to my system every time I think about that event in time. I remember not being capable of doing anything but staring at the TV that day. I couldn't understand others going about their daily activities. Every year since on the anniversary, I have felt this hollow, gnawing, pit in my stomach. So I think I'd like to start a new tradition. Every year I want to ask myself about how I've conducted my life since the previous year. Have I shown a greater commitment to peace, love of mankind, and Charity? Not monetary charity but the pure love of Christ. Have I, since this time, worked to deserve the life I live? Is my life an instrument for good in serving others? Do I live a life that promotes peace and love to everyone? Do I pray for not just myself, but others, even my enemies? I hope that next year as I remember the lives that were lost surrounding this awful event I will have truly remembered the commitment I have made to deserve the life that I live, in a country whose sacrifice has been many, for my life.

My husband and I have been looking for a hardback copy of "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. We can find so many paperbacks and the only hardbacks are signed so they're $$$$. Oh well...we are really pumped to read it. The preview to the movie looks fantab.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnAqFyaQ5s Most any movie with Tom Hanks, I will love. The trailer editing was done well, I thought. When you can connect and feel something stir inside of you after only a couple of seconds...that's when you start to anticipate the future ride. I love it when movies introduce you to books that you would never know about otherwise. Although, when a book is so amazing and the movie doesn't do it justice it's hard. Especially when you have this picture in your head with the way everyone looks or feels like. So...we will read it, review it, and measure the results.