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Holidays

Ten of my Faves

That make great stocking stuffers.

Odd that I would have favorites out there, considering that I am doing the whole handmade Christmas thing. The truth is though, that the handmade part is the part with all my family, which totals fourteen before adding Myself, Hubby and the kids.   For our home Christmas we are buying a few little things for each other.  Just a little something that we wouldn’t normally buy for ourselves.  So here are my ten favorites, hopefully you may be inspired for that person you were stuck buying for.

1. Cake Beauty   specifically the “You Deserve This” pack.  A wonderful hand cream that smells like dessert and leaves your hands feeling soft and their triplemint foot creme that keeps your feet beach fresh all year round.  Cake beauty is a Canadian company and their products are available online as well as in stores (such as Chapters and Bed Bath and Beyond) in both Canada and the US.

2. Journals.  I can never have enough journals.  Funny though I don’t actually Journal anymore, but I use them for notes.  I have one for knitting, one for all the library books I get, one for working out, one for food and my list could go on and one.  I have never met a Journal I didn’t use.  I really love these ones by Ecojot.  The covers are fabulous and I love the big spirals to flip over the pages.

3. Starbucks Cards or a Reload.  I know I should be keeping with Canadian, even for my treats, but truth be told, when I do go for a treat, I go to Starbucks.  I want the whole experience.  I want the multiple selections, I want my hair to smell like coffee, I want the jazz music in the background, I just want to go to Starbucks.  I love receiving a Card in my stocking, it makes treats after Christmas easier. I do enjoy a reload of my card too, my Sister and I do this for each other every now and then.  Even J asked for a Starbucks card in his stocking this year! (train them young I say)

4. OPI Nail Polish.  A girl can never have too much nail polish.  I think I have received one in my stocking for several years now, I love them all.  Now, if only I can find the time to polish my toes every now and then.  My favorite colour is Bubble Bath, but I also enjoy Back to the Beach Peach, among others.

5.  Laura Secord Chocolate Covered Marachino Cherries.  Truthfully, any good chocolate will do, but I mean good chocolate.  Not the boxes you buy at the grocery store, but the ones you have to go to the Chocolate Shop for.  I love Laura Secord and only get it once or twice a year these days, but I wouldn’t say no to some nice truffles from any other Chocolatiere that was would there.

6. Scarves.  And here, I don’t even think I have a website to offer, but I love getting scarves.  This comes from living in Canada with Fall and Winter that seem to last forever.  If you can change it up with a different scarf every day, it makes Winter a little more interesting.  I have funky ones, chunky ones, handmade ones, pashmina type ones.  A scarf a day keeps the winter blues away. {American Apparel has a good list right here}

7.  Chick Flicks.  Every year I give Hubby a list of Chick Flicks that I love and as the year goes on, I receive them when he sees them on sale somewhere.  I love getting a few good Chick Flicks in my Stocking, gives you something to laugh, relax and enjoy a cozy Winter evening.  Some of my Faves are: Sweet Home Alabama, 27 Dresses, How to Lose a Guy in 10 days, Pride and Prejudice… just to name a few.

8. Dessert.  My Sister Received this as a gift one year, and I have always wished to receive the same thing.  She received all the toppings you would need to make sundaes.  All you had to do was buy the ice cream.  In the basket was a jar of chocolate sauce, a jar of caramel sauce, coloured sprinkles, M&M’s, marshmallows, and waffle cones.  You could make this a big basket or a little basket, either way it is just so yummy to recieve.  It is one of my favorites though because I got to share in hers :).
9. Magazines.  I don’t buy as many magazines as I used to, so I always love to receive a good magazine or two in my Stocking. In fact for my Birthday, Hubby picked up three of my favorites for me (Real Simple, Canadian Living, Photo Life) and I enjoyed them so much, just because they were a treat for me.

10. Photos in a frame.  Nothing is more thoughtful than receiving a photo already in a frame of my neices and nephews.  After a while you may not need frames anymore, but when the though is there and the photos arrive all ready to go, I just love it.  You can tailor the photos depending on the receiver.

And there is ten of my Favorite things to receive for Christmas.  I mean, I could add that I would love to receive a 1 million dollar cheque, but I am being realistic here. I was also trying to keep this to stocking stuffer type things.  If I were to have an unlimited budget there would definitely be some fancy camera equipment and software on this list. For now, I keep track of those on my Amazon wish list, just in case Santa asks.

2 comments
Categories: Christmas, Holidays, Lists, Santa Clause, Wish List

As the leaves turn…

…Christmas is just around the corner.

Christmas?  What am I thinking, talking about Christmas, Fall just started.  Exactly.  Tomorrow is the first of October which only leaves two months to plan and execute operation Home Made Christmas – Second Edition.

As I sit night after night knitting pumpkin hats (if I had known they would be this popular I would have started knitting them last November) I am getting that, “Oh my Goodness, what am I going to do for Christmas this year?” panic attacks.  I have a short list to work from, but want to remain original.  At this point in time my Sister and her family are not flying in from Regina.  Anything can change, but I have to think easy to pack up and send out.

I am welcome to any ideas or suggestions, even if it is just something you personally would like, I might just be inspired to create it for Christmas.

My short list so far is:

  1. Family Board Game
  2. Family Happy Pants (lounge pants, flannels, we call them Happy Pants)
  3. Bath Soaps, Salts, Lotions
  4. Handmade Note Paper.
  5. Knit Hats
  6. Christmas CD, Family Favorites.
  7. Family Photo Albums (with photos I took of the family!!  I did do this a couple of years ago, but it might be time to put another album or two together.)

So, there you have it, the short list.  I am sure I have more on the list in my head, but I can’t seem to pull it out right now.  All year long I have been printing off suggestions from websites and what not, so I still have to go through these and see which ones are feasible.

Anybody else out there willing to take on the Handmade Christmas this year?  I say bring it on.

7 comments
Categories: Christmas, Craftiness, Holidays

300 Plus Years

And this Church is still standing. It is located in Laurel, Delaware, not far from my Aunt’s house. I have been to Laurel many times over the years, but I never noticed this little Church. If you didn’t know it was a Church you would think it was a barn and keep on driving.

One of the days that we were at my Aunt’s house and heading out to do a bit of shopping, Hubby remembered seeing this Church in a book on my Aunt’s coffee table the year before. Hubby loves old buildings and Churches and is always wanting to stop and look at them. We looked it up in the book and got the address onto his GPS and headed over. It was beautiful. Not that it is fancy or anything, but the sheer fact that it was built 300 years ago using timber from the land and iron from the Nanticoke Indian Tribe. And the fact that it has boxed seating and the interior has remained unpainted for 300 years is amazing.

I guess you are wondering how I know all this? Well, after Hubby took a walk about, I got the kids out and wanted to take some photos. When I was finishing up and we were getting ready to pack everybody back in the truck a little red car pulled up. I was thinking, that we were going to be in trouble for parking on the land or walking around or something, but no. The couple that pulled up asked us, “How would you like to take a look inside?”. How would we, we would love it!!! They were the keepers of the Church! They attend the Christ Church in Town and nobody had been taking care of the Church for a few years, so they offered to do it. There are at least four weddings a year, one of which was theirs some 20 years ago, and every Sunday the Pastor holds services there during the summer.

Here is a photo from inside the Church.  Each box was owned by a family, the pulpit is on the right wall (This photo has it cut off a bit), and there is a balcony for visitors, which is where I took this photo from.  The couple wanted to open all the windows for us, but I stopped them at one.   It was such a treat to be able to see inside this piece of history, we felt blessed.  For all the years I have been going to Delaware, it was nice to see a little something extra.

6 comments
Categories: Holidays, Kindness, Photography, The Beach, Uncategorized