The stereotypes are true.  It’s cold in Montreal in the winter.  Nevertheless we were looking for a few-day, road-trippable getaway and this is where we went.  It was just in the wake of our epic ice storm, so long hours of driving at least had this fairy-tale, coated-in-ice scenery to enjoy along the way.

Photo Finish 1: Macarons

Well Happy New Year, sweet friends!  I hope you are excited about the possibilities that await you this year, and that you have some awesomeness planned for your blank slates.  Personally, I am super-excited about above zero temperatures, which I’m sure will be happening at some point in the year.  Once my toes unfreeze, I may get into some resolutions and goals.  But for now I will just huddle by the fire under a blanket with my laptop and do something fabulous for all of you.  My one new thing I’ve decided to do this year.  Verging on a resolution even. 

Christmas at my Kitchen Table

Hello friends, old and new.  How did you spend your Christmas days?  Were you among family and friends or among welcoming strangers?  Were you home or far from home?  Was it a season of noise and plenty or of minimalism and quiet?  I hope that your soul was filled with what you were able to give and receive.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of my readers a very Merry Christmas this year.  May you find joy in your celebrations, comfort in your sorrow and hope in the birth of the babe for whom this day exists.

And the angel said to them, Fear not: for behold I bring you tidings of great joy which will be for all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.  (Luke 2:10-11)

‘Twas the Night Before the Last Day of School

…and I realized that Personally Junior had done nothing crafty to add to his teachers’ Christmas gifts.  What??!!  How could that have happened?  Well, the truth is that with only one child left in elementary school a lot of that type of thing becomes a last-minute thought, or even an afterthought.  Sorry PJ, you see how it is.  But really, there are also a lot of perks to not having your mothers’ undivided attention, right?

Simple Christmas Gifting: Spa-Style Soap Tin

Gift-giving is a huge part of what makes the Christmas season what it is.  Some of us have long lists of people we’d like to give to, and some of us have only a few we’ll exchange gifts with.  Either way, to me two of the most important elements of a gift are that it has a personal touch and that it’s beautifully presented.

 

Simple Christmas Photography: Bokeh Lights

Photography is one of the best ways to capture some of the magic of the Christmas season.  And all the lights we have strung up outside and inside provide a beautiful backdrop for preserving some of those moments.