A Simple Happy Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated my husband's birthday.  He's officially one year over the hill, and has never been much into parties that solely celebrate him... humph.  But he is very generous when it comes to Lars and I celebrating him, and we started the day off by presenting a couple of handmade birthday cards to him as soon as he woke along with lots of jumping on the bed.  We enjoyed a long relaxing morning just hanging out, then when we finally got hungry headed to a favorite eatery of his for some french dip sandwiches.  Once home, it was time for cake.  I made this one I talked about here and it's  made it's way into my permanent collection.  It turned out so delicious that I think it will be making a regular appearance on this special day for years to come.  To top the day off, I captured this iconic image below... Sixteen Candles anyone?

Happy Birthday to my honey.  Here's to another 40+ years!

Let it Snow

While I worked on my husband's birthday cake my son was more interested in making tracks with his hot wheels through piles of flour.  This, combined with his santa pj's ended up being a cute holiday photo op, especially as he pretended it was snow.  Although it created a big mess (with flour making it's way even into our front room) I was relieved he was contented to play while I constructed the three layer cake we're looking forward to giving my husband on Thursday.

Getting Festive

We took some time this weekend to put out our holiday decorations.  After my husband brought in the Christmas tote from storage, my son showed a serious interest in how things should be displayed; I basically followed his requests as to where to put the lights, garlands and tree ornaments.  Since everything we used is from last year we ended up with a sort of funky bohemian look that feels fun and offbeat in a juvenile way.  Letting my son take the lead when it comes to things like this really takes the pressure off me to make everything 'perfect'.  I also like that he finds so much more joy in anything we do when he's allowed to be creative and participate.   We still have yet to pick up our tree, and I'm looking forward to his suggestions on decorating that as well.

 - pleased with his work -

Holiday Fest

After spending nearly every day at home this week (my son was in a somewhat unusual 'hunker down' mood) our cabin fever was getting to an all-time high;  the neighborhood Holiday Fest couldn't have come at a better time.  Starting with a Live Paint (more on this incredible program in a later post) interactive story time and craft at our library, we made our way to the Santa hanging out in the local eatery.  Lars was happy to tell him what he'd like for Christmas, but had no interest posing for a photo, which is why you'll see me in it below...

From there it was a quick stop into the historic theatre for choir carolers (wonderfully festive) while we snacked on our favorite candy weakness, sour licorice.  Not quite ready to go home yet, we headed back to the library for family game night where Lars met up with his friend for a fun game of Candyland.  Finally, on our way home we marveled at the trees now completely bare of their leaves.

It's that time again...

... and I don't mean the holidays (although that is nice). No, I'm talking about getting my hair done. Colored, to be specific; which I get both excited about and anxiety ridden at the same time. The anxiety doesn't come from worry, it comes from a severe lack of patience. While I love to get my hair done, I have the most difficult time sitting in the salon chair. From the beginning it's been undeniably excruciating. A book or magazine can generally ease my frustration, but to this day I can't seem to get past it; wonder what that's all about...

Well that aside, Ombre is my color style of choice, and I'm really loving the cut in the photo featured last... and my husband will be happy I actually have some pics to convey what I want this time.