Wrapping with Kraft Paper

It is less than a week away from Christmas. 

Crazy!! 

I have mentioned before that my family doesn't go crazy with Christmas presents. We draw names, set a $$ limit and we then we also buy (or make) the kiddies something. I am almost done the shopping part of Christmas, which I really don't mind. I love finding something that I know the other person will love. 

I also really like wrapping presents. I haven't done any wrapping yet this year, but I have been finding a few ideas to make the outside of the present look just as special as the inside. 

This year I have a couple rolls of brown kraft paper that I want to use up and make Christmassy (my special word). I love that kraft paper is so versatile and that it can be decorated for any occasion. I have compiled a few ideas that will help me as I crack open the new tape dispenser and scissors. 

1. Knot and Bow        2. Michael Gradyon   
3. The Party Studio    4. The Small Things Blog
5. Wit & Whistle        6. Apartment Therapy
7. Robbie and Erin     8. A Creative Mint

Happy wrapping! 

A Christmas "Glimpse"

I chose to leave quite a few of my Christmas decorations in boxes this year. Both of my girls are at a stage where they love to touch and break everything. For my sanity and emotions, I decided not to go all out with my decorations!

I did put a few things out though, so here are a few of my Christmas decorations:

The wreath on our front door. It's simple and doesn't have any extra frills on it. Perfect for us!

My mom had us paint ceramic houses when we were kids. This is the one I got and I love it because it's a book store!

My girls love to pick these up and play with them. Thank goodness they're plastic!

Some votive holders I picked up a few years ago. 

A bowl full of ornaments and pinecones. So simple to do, yet it can make such a big impact!

One of my favourite ornaments on our Christmas tree. 2007, the year we got married :)

The tree is filled with quite a few of these ornaments that have mirrors in the back of them. They all look so pretty when the lights are on!

 So even though it isn't fancy, I love my house this year. Even though, I can't put out some of my favourite decorations, it's for a good reason! God has blessed me with two extremely curious little girls and someday when they're out of the house, I'll definitely miss this!

This afternoon I'm taking pictures of Heidi's house for her Christmas tour tomorrow. They will be gorgeous. She always does such a fantastic job!

{Happy Thankgiving}

It is the beginning of thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. Naturally my thoughts go toward being thankful and being aware of Who gives me those reasons to be thankful.

God has blessed me with an amazing husband and friend, who is an awesome daddy.

God has given me a beautiful little boy, who fills my life with laughter, frustration, joy, lots of running and continually answering the question, "what's that?" 

God has given me another blessing who is growing healthy and strong. 

Even though my week may not go the way I think it should go, or I don't have the amount of money in my bank account that I think should be there, I stop and look around at the blessings God has given me, and I am thankful. 

Take some time this weekend out of the busyness of baking, cleaning, and getting together with family (no matter how crazy your family may be) and be thankful.

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~

 P.S. Because we are thankful for you, we have a giveaway for this super snuggly cowl that Melody made (seriously, how does she do it!?).

There are a three ways you can enter and a few rules to follow:

• Enter by "liking" us on Facebook and leave a comment. If you already follow us, post about it on Facebook or Twitter for an extra entry and leave a comment telling us that you did that too. A bonus entry is following us via Google Plus or RSS feed.

• To enter you must have a valid email address

• The contest will end next Wednesday, October 10th at 12pm EST. 

Good luck! 

Long Weekends and Chocolate Pudding

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend! I know I am for sure. We've gotten stuff done around the house - my lawn looks fantastic!

We went to the beach with family

Took in some gorgeous fireworks

And just lazed around the house doing nothing. It was perfect!
I also decided to make some dessert today for a special meal. I knew I wanted something with chocolate since I love chocolate. I found this recipe and thought I'd see if it actually tasted as good as it sounded. I have already had a bowl of it and it is fantastic! If you are looking for a way to sneak some healthy foods into your diet, this is a great way to do it!

The original recipe can be found here with a few changes of my own added in.

Raw Chocolate Pudding

2 very ripe avocados
2 ripe bananas
2 tbs raw cacao powder
1/2 cup almond, coconut, or regular milk
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tsp of lemon juice (stops the avocado and banana from turning brown which sounds strange since you're making chocolate pudding but trust me!)

Peel the bananas and avocados and put them in a blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend together until nice and smooth. Store in the fridge until you're ready to serve it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of your long weekend :)

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Canada Day Fireworks Craft

So we're doing something different around here for today. I'm posting for Heidi today since her internet hasn't been working, and she'll post for me tomorrow.

This weekend, we get a three day weekend in honour of Canada Day. Both of my girls are still a little young to understand what that means, but I thought it would still be fun to do a few crafts with them.

The first one is very easy to do, and chances are you've done it before. Grab some crayons and a white piece of paper. Scribble all over the white paper with the coloured crayons. It's not important to make any designs, just make sure that all of the white is covered. Then colour over that with the black crayon. Make sure you can't see any of the colours. Then using a sharp object (a lot of people suggest using a popsicle stick but I used a knitting needle.. mostly because I couldn't find my popsicle sticks) carve out some firework images.

Bella loved spending time colouring together. It's a great craft to do together!

These websites also have a few more ideas that you can do to celebrate our nation's birthday:

Kaboose.com and TLC Family

How do you celebrate Canada Day or Independence Day? 

Any good ideas or traditions? 

Let's chat!

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Happy 'May Long'!

If you live in Canada, 

Happy Victoria (or 'May Long') weekend! 

Grab an old quilt and read a book or have a picnic! 

Maybe do a little gardening...

Or at least enjoy a drink of cool ice tea on your porch (if you're one of the lucky ones who has a porch!).

Maybe you are planning on having a campfire with some friends. That's our plan! Melody and Seth have a huge pile of wood from their old deck that needs burning, so we're planning on getting some marshmallows and hot dogs and making a party out of it! 

Whatever you choose to do with this long weekend, try to get outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather with family and friends! 

Happy weekend! 

{Source, Source, Source}