[ mr. freckles: one of the few photos I took Christmas morning before my in-laws arrived! ]

I hope you all had a lovely holiday! Thank you so much for your holiday emails and comments! We’re in recovery mode around here right now; cleaning up the last vestiges of unwrapping gifts and after the massive amount of cooking done on Christmas day. We had such a lovely Christmas! As usual, I’m just a little sad that it’s over already; I’m planning on keeping my decorations up at least a little while longer to make the magic last!

[ mr. freckles investigating his first Christmas stocking... ]

I have a few posts scheduled to go live over the course of the week. My in-laws are going to be visiting for the rest of the week, so we have a bunch of plans lined up that take me away from internet access for long periods. hehe! (Not a bad thing, considering I’m glued to my computer most days!) So I think it’s safe to say I’ll “officially” return to the blogworld January 4. Until then I’ll be visiting with family, knitting in my free moments, reading some books gifted to me, and eating too much candy (Sailor Husband stuffed my stocking with chocolate this year! Sure knows a way to my heart… lol.). I hope you have a fantastic week and New Year, friends!

I just wanted to post to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I’m probably going to skip posting for a few days; my in-laws arrive tomorrow, and then we have some weekend plans with them. I shall hopefully return by Monday though.

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments about my Christmas preparations (and the “pistachio dress” post)–they have truly warmed my heart and helped me get in the holiday spirit. You all are the sweetest, kindest friends! I hope you all have a lovely, safe, and blessed holiday!

While my mother emailed me regular updates over the weekend about the big snowstorm that dumped on the northern portions of the East Coast, Sailor Husband and I were busy creating our own version of a winter snowstorm! I have to admit, one of the wintertime things we both miss the most in Florida is snow. I don’t miss shoveling it, or having to deal with bad traffic due to snow, I miss the magic of a snowfall. So we did a “Florida version” by hanging a bunch of white tissue paper pom poms (tutorial on Martha here) and snowflake ornaments (courtesy Target after-Christmas sale, a couple years ago). Capturing the magic it adds to the space in a photo was difficult; but every time I walk into the room I smile and feel a little like wintertime has visited us!

I also wanted to show you some other pictures of things that have been tweaked or gone up around here for Christmas! (More photos here.) The gingerbread house was finished (I based it on this template), and I have to admit, I am so excited about it! I did a little dance after I finished it. hehe! I was going for a “Hansel and Gretel” look; encrusted with candy! Sailor Husband keeps asking when he can eat it. lol! (If you’re interested, here’s the page I found on making the icing “icicles” that hang from the front roof.) It’s right next to my little white feather tree that is bedecked with the cupcake ornaments, so I’ve dubbed this the “Sweets Corner”.

These are the $1 tinsel wreaths that I made. I wanted a trio of wreaths for a long wall in the dining room, but couldn’t find any within my budget, and wreath forms at the craft store were just as pricey. So I picked up three packages of silver tinsel garland ($1 each), and made my own wreath forms from wire coat hangers and rolls of newspaper taped over top. Once the tinsel was wrapped around, you’d never know it’s humble origins! The bows and mini ornaments were added for a bit more embellishment.

Finally, our beautiful tree! Being matchy-matchy is reserved for my small feather tree; this one is decidedly more eclectic. Sailor Husband and I have rather sizable collections of ornaments that we’ve been getting since we were babies, which makes it fun to decorate the tree and tell stories. This year, we were able get our live tree from a group that gives active duty military members fresh cut trees for free. I feel so blessed!

Are you all ready for the holidays? We have a bunch of stuff left to do (clean and tidy up before my in-laws arrive), prepping dinner for Christmas day, and generally making sure things are as ready as they’ll be. I’m just trying to remind my OCD self that things don’t have to be perfect. After all, Christmas isn’t about meticulously decorated gingerbread houses, delicious cookies, or a perfectly wrapped gift, is it? Have a lovely Tuesday, dear friends!

[ work-in-progress gingerbread house. it still has a lot of neatening up needed! ]

I hope you all don’t mind if I don’t do a big post for today–I’ve got a million and one things to do on my list, and am a bit overwhelmed by the idea of trying to jot down a substantial blog post! I was going to show you photos of the dress I made to test one of the new designs for Colette Patterns, but I’m afraid if I do (I haven’t edited the photos yet), something won’t get done that needs to (menu planning, anyone?! lol).

So instead, here’s a sneak peak at the work-in-progress gingerbread house! (Things are still being neatened and decorated; so it’s a bit of an “ugly duckling” right now.) One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is what I’m going to wear for Christmas. I have a red crepe dress halfway finished, but it’s a heavier crepe, so I’m not sure it’ll work for the weather that is being forecast (mid 60s). Oh well–I’m sure I can wrangle something festive out of my wardrobe! Do you have any special outfits planned for Christmas? Do tell me!

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments you’ve left of late–they have been warming my heart so much!

[ whipping up (literally) a batch of candy cane marshmallows for Christmas gifts. ]

One of the last things to be made for my Christmas goodies box (being mailed and gifted to various family members) was a batch of homemade marshmallows. Now, if you’ve only ever tasted the jet-puffed sort that you get at the grocery store, you haven’t lived yet! I’m serious. I blame Emily Martin and Amy Karol for planting the idea of actually making my own marshmallows. I made a batch last year for gifts–vanilla and chocolate dipped–and they got rave reviews (Sailor Husband pretty much made off with the leftovers! lol).

[ finished and now they have to set up! this is the hard part... waiting to test them! ]

Of course, this started a tradition, so this year I decided to try Martha’s candy cane marshmallows, since they looked pretty and I love peppermint. Now, the one hitch to making marshmallows is that they are slightly complicated (things are on the stove that need attention, egg whites have to form stiff peaks, etc. The usual candy-making stuff!), and that they are exceedingly messy. I swear after last Christmas’s batch I found bits of marshmallow fluff on my mixer for months afterward–places I didn’t know goo could get into! lol. It’s a bit tricky to get them into the pan too, and for this particular recipe it was a race against the clock to get the red coloring swirled in. I don’t think mine are going to turn out as pretty as the ones on the MS website, but they still look yummy!