25 Days of Christmas: Day 5

12.5.12
Ah, Day 5. A colder day in the 30s, but a bright, sunny sky. An orange disco ball to add to our tiny tree and a couple of candy canes. Today also marked mailing off our holiday cards. I feel behind this year (usually I send them off around Thanksgiving). It's already been a long week so we decided to take a night off from cooking. We went out for sushi instead and had nice hot bowls of ramen and a crab roll for the youngest and a spinach roll for me. Yum. The hubs also put up the Christmas lights. I love the twinkling of those lights and so does my youngest. He decided to cuddle up in front of the tree before heading upstairs for bed and said that a lot of kids in his class don't believe in Santa. I asked him what he thought and he said that he still believes. That warmed my heart. Nothing wrong with viewing the holidays with magic and wonder.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 4

12.4.12
Day 4 started off with a lot of grey, wet fog which turned into rain. Left work with a grey sky dusted with a few pink-y orange-y clouds above the parking structure. Again, not the best lighting. And, definitely did not have time to pull out the strobes. So, natural light with a high ISO to capture the goodies of Day 4. A tiny bell, some Godiva chocolate, and our 1st holiday card. Also tried a few new recipes today--Southern skillet black eyed peas (didn't have these so used black and red kidney beans instead) with homemade biscuits and a raw brownie recipe I found on Pinterest. Chilling the brownies right now and will try them later! Definitely a full Tuesday.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 3

12.3.12
So, Day 3. Definitely much harder to do during the work week. We didn't even get to the Advent Calendar until dinnertime because our schedules are so hectic in the morning. So, here are some nighttime shots. Not the best, but definitely captures what the evening was like. My son found out that he still fits in a little display sled we got several years ago. He felt very proud.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 2

12.2.12
Day 2 welcomed us with a warm December Sunday. We had a slow, easy start to the day. The kids experimented with our doughnut pan with some apple cider doughnuts sprinkled (or doused) with cinnamon and sugar. Day 2's ornament was a cute jolly Santa and Dove chocolates. Later, the kiddos played with the newly reconstructed (aka me sorting through thousands of tiny pieces so that the OCD part of me could feel that each structure was "just right") Harry Potter Lego village after utter destruction at the hands of visiting little boys a couple months back. Finally, the day was topped off with the hunt for this year's Fraser Christmas tree and a pic with a humongous Santa.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

12.1.12
I was inspired by a post of beautiful images I saw on Pinterest entitled the "25 days of Christmas photos" and decided to try it out this year.  My daughter also encouraged me to think about choosing a different advent calendar this year (as opposed to the one I typically buy with the stale chocolates inside). So, last night I was in Target planning on buying an already constructed wooden calendar, but realized the compartments were way too tiny. So, after wandering around for awhile, I bought a little tinsel tree, some ornaments, candy canes and dark chocolates (my favorite) plus green envelopes (inspired by a co-worker who saw an advent calendar made out of envelopes). So, envelopes stuffed with little goodies on a disco tinsel tree? Yup, that's our advent calendar for this year. Check out our 1st Day of Christmas......I'm not sure if this photo project is going beyond today, but we shall see.... 

Day 1's ornament: why, a disco ball, of course!

We've had this guy for around 11 years, still looking good Mr. Snowman!

grandma visit!

5.16.12 - 5.21.12 My adorable mom came to Ann Arbor to watch the kids while Matt and I traveled to Austin, Texas for Drew & Abby's wedding. The kids had a great time and I thought I would commemorate the visit with a mini photoshoot.

drew + abby = married!

5.18.12 Camp Lucy in Dripping Springs, Texas was the perfect setting for such a beautiful couple!