Merry Christmas from the Emery family

Christmas cards have been on my to-do list for months. Tonight, I'm facing the fact that they're just not going to happen this year. So instead, here's a mostly-current picture that I spent five minutes editing in PicMonkey just now. That's the nest best thing, right? Signed, sealed, and delivered to a computer screen near you.

Side note: Are regular printed cards becoming a thing of the past? My parents always hang their Christmas cards on the door to the back deck, and this year there are less than half of the cards they used to get. Maybe this digital age has overtaken Christmas cards along with everything else, and people will send their holiday greetings via social media now? Or maybe my parents are just way less popular this year. Ha! Has anyone else received less cards than usual?

Things will be quiet around here this week. I'm taking a few days off from blogging to be with my family for Christmas. I'll be back to bring you the annual big Year In Review link-up. A few people have asked me if I'm doing it this year. You bet I am! Get those blog posts ready!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

more than just your average holiday date ideas

Holiday dating is the best dating. In college, I swear everyone started dating someone else once the cold hit. When the pool days and summer nights were over, the collective campus started searching for a snuggle buddy to bunker down with, never to emerge until the snow melted and the winter coats were put away five months later.

So holiday dating? It's the best. Here today is the incredibly lovely Sara from Simply Hued. She's sharing 20 amazing holiday date ideas - and I mean amazing! 

+ Craft some christmas decor. Make ornaments, stockings, or paper snowflakes. Turn on some holiday tunes to get you in the Christmas spirit! 

+ Go ice fishing. Many places offer ice fishing tours or will allow you to rent ice fishing equipment. 

+ Grab a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy the Christmas lights together. If there's a Christmas light attraction, there's usually a horse-and-buggy nearby offering carriage rides-- and who doesn't love carriage rides! 

+ Go ice-skating. Play with your balance at a nearby skating rink (bonus points if you find an outdoor skating rink!)

+ Decorate gingerbread men / gingerbread houses. Buy a decorating kit at a nearby grocery store, or make gingerbread dough from scratch. (here's a recipe that doesn't spread when you bake it.) This makes a fun date to do in a big group!

+ Enjoy the snow together. Build a snowman, snow-fort, or have a snowball fight! (I actually think it's illegal to throw a snowball in some states... if so, you didn't hear that last suggestion from me)

+ Snuggle up and watch a christmas movie. "Am I just eating because I'm bored?" name that movie!

+ Bundle up and enjoy snowshoeing in the moonlight. Rent a pair of snowshoes and enjoy a romantic moonlight hike together (bonus points if you pack a surprise midnight snack to eat along the way!)

+ Enjoy a holiday play together. There are plenty of Christmas productions going on throughout December. The 'Nutcracker', Scrooge, A Christmas Carol, etc....


+ Host an ugly-christmas-sweater party. Invite all your closest friends over for a Christmas get-together. Enjoy each others' company while playing games, and exchanging white-elephant gifts.


+ Round up a group of friends and go caroling. The more the merrier! "the best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear" (name that movie)


+ Spend the weekend at a cabin or hotel. One of my favorite memories I have with David is spending the weekend at a nice hotel in Park City during the winter. Our stay was a wedding gift at Hotel Park City and I absolutely loved the few days we spent there!

___________________________________________

Hop on over to Sara's blog (click here!) to read the rest of the list. And while you're at it, show her some blog love! She's one of those just-starting-out bloggers whose content is so high quality that you'd think she'd been blogging for decades. Seriously, I love the girl.

Happy dating!

*Comments turned off so you can go leave a comment on Sara's blog instead :)

Benjamina Button

I'm not a huge Halloween fan myself (read my Halloween hate letter here), but once you have kiddos, it gets a lot more fun! This year, Halloween will be an excuse to play dress up with my cute doll of a baby (which I already do every day), and get some free candy in the process.

My little drool bucket is dressing up as something that, like her, is mostly toothless, mostly hairless, mostly helpless, and somewhat hunchbacked - an old lady! I don't know why, but this costume is seriously cracking me up. I've looked at these pictures at least 10 times today, and I start laughing every time. You should see her confused face when I put the glasses on! She's not a huge fan of the homemade wig though.

10-MINUTE OLD LADY HALLOWEEN COSTUME SUPPLIES

baby wig - I hot glued cotton balls onto one of baby's old hats. Literally took me 10 minutes maximum. Extra points if you add a touch of silver or grey spray paint.

brooch (I borrowed mine from my granny)

cardigan

kid-sized sunglasses, lenses popped out

glasses chain (I got mine at Walmart for $4)

That's it! If your baby is walking, I've seen lots of super cute DIY walkers made out of PVC pipe. 

She had a glimpse of what she will look like when she's old, and she was not impressed. Ah, mortality ;)

In the first and third pictures here, I had her hat on backwards, so you can see some bald spots on the wig. Make sure to glue a lot of cotton balls on, and remember that the hat expands when you stretch it out to fit over a head!

Happy Halloween!

Who else is loving not dressing up

And just dressing up their kids instead? 

Happy Christmas one and all!

This year's Christmas post is coming to you from Sam's family's house, where 85% of us are currently napping, and the other 15% are eating Christmas candy. It's the very best of days that celebrates the very best of things. Whether you're Christian or not, Jesus Christ's teachings of forgiveness, service, and love changed the value systems of the world and how people operate today. I am grateful for my Savior, and for this great holiday to give gifts and be with family.

Here's our family Christmas card from this year. Happy Christmas one and all!

the lights! at temple square

A Christmas season in Utah can't go by without a trip to Salt Lake to see the lights. This year, like always, we went with our best friends to see the lights and tour the square. Apparently we had the same idea as the rest of the world to go on Saturday night (talk about crowded!), but we loved it.

^dying over those gold mocs and that tiny baby belly sticking out^

And of course no temple square trip would be complete without a trip to City Creek and Hatch Family chocolates. I thought of some slogans for Hatch Family. Hatch Family: death by hot chocolate to 24,000 people and counting. Or, Hatch Family: it will flush out your wallet and clog up your arteries. Even so, we love that place.

Thanks Bennetts for such a fun night! Also, don't go home for winter break, okay? What will we do without you for two whole weeks!

These next few days are one big race to Christmas break. This blog has been a little all over the place lately, and that's what my life feels like right now. A little of this, a little of that, run around, and then boom - winter break! Somebody come over and make 30 ornaments and 30 gift bags for me? And then bring on the long days and the empty schedules and the cuddling up by the tree for a Christmas movie!

the tree lighting at Traverse Mountain // the holidays are here!

There's nothing like humanity, commercialism, and one Disney channel star to get the holidays going.

But seriously. Christmas tree lightings are in my blood. I grew up in the midst of Portland, watching the Pioneer Courthouse Square tree light up. It was way back in the days when they used to light Christmas trees after Thanksgiving ;) Since then, I've been a huge fan. Everyone mills about, they light up the tree, Santa rides in (Santa!), and BOOM - the holidays are here! Bonus points if you can convince your party to get mint hot chocolate on the way home.

Since living in Utah we've been going to the lighting at the Riverwoods, and I love it there. It gets more and more crowded each year though, so we decided to try Traverse Mountain this year. It was fun! There was some sort of Disney Channel star there (I would know who it was if I had ever watched the disney channel in my life), and the younger girls were going CRAZY at her performance. But hey, you can't resist a giant pink/purple Christmas tree. They also had fireworks. Add to that a 35-minute stop inside the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company and I was one happy girl :)

 (what? I'm supposed to bring my real camera to things like this? What do you mean iPhone pics don't always cut it?)

We love our Canadian friends, even if Mark is crazy and shows up in shorts and a t-shirt while I'm pulling on an extra pair of fuzzy socks and my thickest scarf. The Bennetts are our partners in crime and we don't know what we'll do when one of us moves away!

Let the holidays begin!

Now let's fast forward to Thanksgiving break.

All in favor, say turkey :)

Oh Valentine.

for my students:

for my coworkers and friends: (coworkers and friends, look away! It's a surprise!)

from Lindsay of You Are the Roots: 

This is part of a Valentine's package swap, and what a sweetheart she is! A book, sweatband and waterbottle for running, paper clips, sticky notes and whiteboard markers for teaching, and some peppermint kettle corn that I'm dying to try. See more Valentine packages here!

for my nails: (I took the picture before clean-up, sorry)

and for my two boys: I'm not telling yet, but it involves bacon, which is kind of their thing.

And that's about as frilly and pink as it gets around here. I love love, and I love Valentine's Day. And you better believe my kids are going to be CRAZY tomorrow. 

this is not a Valentine's post

First of all, thank you so so much for all the support from yesterday's post (and the texts, and the instagram love, and the facebook love, and the blog comment love, and the emails....). You guys are so amazing and positive, and it means more than you know.  There will be much more on our decision later.

____________

So. Let's talk Valentine's Day. It's kind of one of my favorite holidays. I mean, the history! Secret weddings, prisons, people breaking all sorts of laws only to be sainted for it later. My kind of story.

I'm not a big decorator for Valentine's though. Once I take my Christmas stuff down, I'm usually ready for a break {not to mention February is historically one of my busiest months}. There's no time for decorating, and I opt out when it comes to too much bright pink and red. Plus January 14 is a full month too early, so let it be known that this is not a Valentine's post... 

But something changed this year. As I was sitting forlornly on the couch, mourning the loss of my Christmas decor {as normal people do}, it came to me. Valentine's! Not the tacky stuff, but the cute stuff! And I have a fabulous crafting friend to do it with!

Et voila - this was born. More subtle and vintage and not too much on the bright pink. 

And now that I've gotten over my mental decorating block for Valentine's.... all these lovely ideas (all via my hollidaze Pinterest board) are swirling in my head. 

What are your thoughts on Valentine's decor?

And send me some links to your favorite easy, non-tacky diys? 

And who's up for a craft night?

birthday girl

My birthday this year couldn't be contained. It was a drawn-out, amazing celebration. Here are a few highlights, with pictures brought to you from Instagram, so please excuse the quality (follow along @brookejanette). 

The actual day of my birthday was the last day of school before winter break. My students finally got to meet the illustrious Mr. Emery, and they were soooooo excited. He was a huge hit ("you didn't tell us he was so tall!"), and it was awesome seeing him interact with my kiddos. That whole day was a party, and I was so glad he could be there for part of it.

mostly I love the student with his shirt on inside out

After school, Sam took me out shopping and to dinner. I loved spending time with him, and it was such a good feeling knowing that I was officially on winter break too. 

the big 2-3 :)

And can we just talk about how spoiled I am for a minute? My coworkers bought me yummy lunch, my students and their parents gave me gifts, Sam spent lots of time with me, my aunt took me shopping, my friends came to a dessert party..... the list goes on and on. 

new watch :)

A huge thank-you to everyone who made my birthday so amazing this year! I sometimes get blown away by all the people who care about me, even the posts on facebook and this blog. So thank YOU for making my special day so great!

those lazy Christmas break days - a video

Today, finally, I woke up feeling like "hey! maybe I can get out of bed before noon. And take a shower! With minimal medicine!" Although I feel strongly that another day or two lounging in sweatpants can't kill anyone, and is most likely crucial to my medical recovery. Let it be written, let it be done.

While riding this wave of post-sickness energy, I put together a little video this morning {disclaimer: it's homemade. very homemade.}. The video documents those wonderful lazy days before Christmas, and if it looks like all we did was sit around playing cards and eating, you've got the general gist of it. :) Here's to lazy mornings and snuggling and Wilson Family Health Watch: Holiday Style.

whoops, my birthday is a week-long party

I swear I didn't plan it this way. But as it happens, my birthday is turning into a week long affair this year. A sultry mid-winter affair that involves chocolate and gifts....

It started Tuesday at my favorite dessert place - The Chocolate. I wanted to catch my friends before they went home for the break, so we all got together and had some dessert. People trickled in and out all night, and it was so fun to see them! When I gave my camera to my husband, he didn't realize the automatic focus was off {bless his heart}, so all the pictures of me with my friends are delightfully blurry. But I did get exactly four non-blurry pictures, and here they are, for your viewing pleasure. 

Really, those four pictures sum things up quite nicely. Just imagine the rest of the people there, and me getting pictures with all of them.

___________________

And now I'm off to the weekend! One Friday of teaching, a favorite things party, hopefully a Saturday afternoon matinee, and some winter pictures if it snows. And, of course, more birthday celebrations for me :) Thank goodness for weekends, and especially weekends right before long breaks! 

What are you doing this weekend?

Any big plans?

How-To: A Hot Chocolate Bar

Recently I've discovered my love for hot chocolate {especially with peppermint candy canes melted into it...}. So when I invited a few neighborhood friends to come over, I knew it would be the perfect thing to do on a Monday night. 

What I had:

Stephen's Milk Hot Chocolate Mix

Stephen's Mint Truffle Hot Chocolate Mix

candy canes

mini marshmallows

chocolate-covered cinnamon bears

whipped cream

sprinkles

mint cookies

Then I added a few Santas and some pom poms for decoration. Each guest brought their favorite Christmas mug and we sat around sipping them {and topping off the marshmallows again and again and again}. Et voila! A hot chocolate bar. It would be fun to put this in a tray and leave it up all season so guests can help themselves when they visit.

P.S. Mugs and Santa c/o Julie

What else would you add?

And uh, want to come over?

Things that leave you speechless: The Festival of Trees 2012

Over the weekend, our awesome friends the Bennetts dragged us to the Festival of Trees. I had never been, and didn't really know what to expect.

I was blown away.

The festival benefits the children's hospital in the area, and people make these elaborate, expensive Christmas tree displays and donate them to the festival. Then, people auction and buy the trees. All money goes towards the hospital, and next to almost every display is a picture of the patient who inspired the display, and you can read their story. It was incredible. There were so many gorgeous and creative displays! It was fun to wander among the hundreds and hundreds of trees and look at them.

Here are a few of my favorite fun trees:

However amazing the trees were, I think the gingerbread houses may have been my favorite! They ranged from jaw-dropping to unique to downright funny. Here are some of my favorites (with titles such as Santa's Chapeau, the Provo Tabernacle, Hobbiton, The Lorax, and Reality).

Awesome, right? It was such a fun way to remember that Christmas is about giving, and also to admire the beautiful and creative work of so many hundreds of people. Not to mention those mouth-watering scones....

Have you been to the Festival of Trees?

Or something like it?

And seriously, how awesome are those gingerbread houses?

the holidays are officially here: Lighting of the Riverwoods 2012

One of my favorite holiday traditions is to go to Christmas tree lightings.

Growing up in Portland, I loved going to Pioneer Courthouse Square when they lit up the tree.

Now, I go to the lighting of the Riverwoods. Tons of people come, and there's a big hullabaloo when the lights turn on and Santa rides in on a sleigh {Christmas is all about Santa, children}.Then, everyone wanders around in a jolly mess of window shopping and children licking the ice sculptures and free cookies. To me, it officially marks the beginning of the holidays.

This year, we went with our friends the Bennetts and their cute bundled-up baby. There may or may not have been an incident in Blickenstaff's where we wound up all the toy chicks and had races with them. Don't tell the management it was us.

The bundled-up baby herself (who gets to go to Disneyland this week! How lucky is that?)

Look! It's our cousin Matt! Doing all his official Riverwoods photographer business. And while we're on the topic, I want to let it be known to the public that Matt's hair has magical properties.

They had an awesome gingerbread house competition. 

I'm trying to wean myself off the automatic settings in my camera. It's a slow process, but it was fun to experiment in the low light. Even though sometimes it means "Sam! Go stand under that tree while I try five different ISO settings!"

All in all, the Riverwoods lighting makes us feel like the holiday season has begun. Bring on the peppermint hot chocolate and the sledding!

What do you do to kick off the holiday season?

We're always looking for fun new things to try :)

the first snowstorm

We're in the middle of our first snow storm here. The first snowfall of the year always leaves me a little breathless. I guess I forget how beautiful and still and clean it is. Yesterday morning I could hardly sleep from excitement, so I got up early, put on some snuggly warm things, and headed out to take a few pictures. 

 

Also, a little shoutout: the men in my neighborhood are so great. They have races to see who can shovel the driveways of all the widows and elderly on my street. The 12-year-olds are all out early too, racing to shovel the front walks of the people on the street who tip for the service :) 

Anyone else getting snow this weekend?

And totally loving it?