1. Tilda the Goose, 2. Soft trees, 3. xmas-crafts-in-felt-gingerbread, 4. Gold/Whit Christmas stars!, 5. christmas dress & apron, 6. Vintage ornaments in a favorite compote, 7. Untitled, 8. Ginger Snaps, 9. christmas cupcakes., 10. deerinhere, 11. McCalls Christmas Make It Ideas Vol XIII 4, 12. The Sweetest Christmas ^_^, 13. Ice-Skating Afternoon Ornament Pattern, 14. christmas fabric, 15. McCallsMakeitChristmas3, 16. n’s heart, 17. Jollypops, 18. Funny Christmas ^_^, 19. Tomte gang, 20. Stocking advent calendar

Almost everything about it. (I could do without the incessant Toys ‘R’ Us ads on TV though. Seriously. My child doesn’t need a “So Chic Boutique” to make her look like a little scary pageant queen. So stop putting those ideas in her head, thankyouverymuch. While we’re on the subject, could someone please explain to me why it would ever be appropriate to air an ad for Top Model between Dora and Diego? Garrrr!)

Since I’ve already begun to make Christmas presents, I think it’s okay to share some pretty Christmas inspiration with you. But I do have family members who read my blog, so I can’t show you what I’m makin’. Well… maybe just a peak! :)

Are you making gifts this year? If so, whatchamakin?

I’m thankful for sweet, wonderful family. We’re heading out tomorrow morning to trek halfway across the country from Oklahoma to Tennessee to Virginia to be with family. And eat. Love it!

Last year, I found a yummy cranberry dish (that’s more than a sauce) in a Jell-O ad in Martha Stewart Living, I believe. It’s much like a fruity dessert. Based off of this recipe, I made a few changes. Here’s the adapted recipe:

• 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 pkg. (8 servings) cherry flavored Jell-O
• 2 cups freshly prepared cranberry sauce (I used the directions on the bag)
• 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1 orange, peeled and sliced

Drain pineapple, reserving liquid in 1-qt. liquid measuring cup. Remove 1 Tbsp. of pineapple; set aside for garnish. Add enough cold water to the reserved liquid to measure 3 cups; pour into large saucepan. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Add gelatin; stir at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add cranberry sauce; stir until well blended.

Pour into large bowl. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites.) Stir in remaining pineapple, apple and orange; stir gently until well blended. Pour into medium serving bowl or Jell-O ring. Refrigerate 4 hrs or until firm. Garnish with reserved crushed pineapple just before serving. Store leftover gelatin in refrigerator.

Makes 14 servings, 1/2 cup each.

So what’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

…which is on my bed. :)  How about some yummy crafting in bed?

I found this tray at the Quality Thrift Store for $2.98, and it’s solid walnut.  How awesome is that?  So it has become my Portable Crafting Room.  Perfect for corralling all those little bits and pieces, and perfect for moving from dining table to couch to bed… while you watch things like election results, ya know. :)

From the tray, can you guess what’s on my mind?

With Halloween, the time change, and Election Day behind us, are we ready to talk about Christmas yet?

But, boy, Halloween is Ti.R.Ing.

Jacob was a peapod.  But only long enough for a few pictures.  The costume was tight in the neck area, which concerned me.  So off it went.

But he was pretty stinkin’ adorable, wouldn’t you say?

At the last minute, I made some scary cookies for the Halloween party.   They’re called Bones of the Dead, and I found the recipe here.

Though they were a little tough, they seemed to go over well with our friends.  And they looked cool too. :)

Emily went trick-or-treating.  Once around the block was more than enough.

Definitely.  And here’s the proof:

How was your Halloween?

Can you hear that little clenched-teeth growl?  It almost looks like a smile, but don’t be deceived.

Emily Bear is cranky.  So don’t even think about eating her porridge.  Or oatmeal.  And, my goodness, get this itchy business off of her Right Now and take that camera out of her face.

Or you’ll have to face Meltdown Bear.

And that’s just sad.

This is Little Red on Halloween last year.  She just turned 1 and had no clue what was happening. :)

But she jumped right in there anyway!

Or, at least the lion is. Just kidding. This is for Emily. I’m contemplating the design of a bear-suit to accompany this. I’m just not overly enthused about that part. But it would make it better. To a 2 year old, anyway.

Jacob is likely to be a pea-pod because that’s what we’ve got. Unless the costume-crafting bug strikes again. In which case, I’m not really sure what he’ll be.

EDIT: I thought you might be interested to see something that inspired this little helmet of a hat: Tekkonkinkreet… a Japanese film we watched the other night. Have I ever told you that I like this sort of thing? :)  Anyway, the bear hat adorned by the character White pretty much solidified my plan to make a bear costume.

Oh, and this little amigurumi pattern is pretty cute too.  Just a bit more inspiration for you!

Hey, U.S. people, how was your Labor Day weekend?

We had a cookout in the park with friends, went to the zoo, had a chocolate cream pie milkshake from Sonic, and ate at Daddy’s favorite local restaurant.  We also got all caught up on Battlestar Galactica.  What wonderful things did you guys do to celebrate your daddies?

To all the daddies in our life!  We love you all.