25 Days of Christmas challenge

I saw this Christmas challenge on Happy or Hungry and, like Lindsey, thought I would consolidate the questions into one or two posts. I am going to do 1-13 now and hopefully will post the last half next week.

1. Your favourite Christmas movie
I will generally watch pretty much any Christmas movie but my favourites are "Scrooged" (who doesn't love Bill Murray?!) and "Love, Actually". My husband and I have a tradition that we watch "Love, Actually" every year.

2. Your 2012 Christmas wish list
This year my wish list consists mainly of beauty products. Makeup, nail polish, skin care, I'll take it all. :)

3. When/how did you learn that Santa wasn't real?
I don't remember the specifics but I think I was around 8. Nothing traumatic stands out in my mind so it was probably just a general awareness.

4. Favourite Christmas song?
"Silent Night" gives me goosebumps and I love to sing "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey while dancing around the house.

5. Best gift you've ever received
My husband is a pretty good gift giver - one year he got me tickets to see Serena Ryder in Banff. As a kid, I LOVED my Walkman.

6. Your favourite ornament
We've started a tradition of giving M. a new ornament every year and I think my favourite is the one from her first Christmas. It's a ceramic disk with a painting of a baby girl's head along with her name and the year.

7. Most memorable Christmas
My family is pretty big on getting together at Christmas so all of them are pretty fun and loud. However, one year A. and I stayed in Vancouver by ourselves and had a low key Christmas and that one definitely stands out to me.

8. Post a picture of Christmas decor

 This is from a couple years ago but is generally what is looks like when my family gets together. Over-the-top, I know.

9. Easiest person to buy for
Right now, probably M. because she will love whatever we give her. Oh, to be a kid again.

10. Favourite holiday scent
Mulling spices are a clear winner for me - cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, love them all.

11. Favourite Christmas tradition
Stockings, definitely. As a kid we were always allowed to open those as soon as we woke up.

12. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I am, 100%, a brown paper packages tied up with string kind of girl.

13. Favourite Christmas book
Ooooo, tough one. As a kid I loved "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" but "Twas the Night Before Christmas" is also a tradition in our house.

Your turn. :)

2013 Calendar Round-Up

Can you believe that it's almost Christmas?! I honestly don't know where this year went but, frankly, I'll be glad to ring in the new year.

As usual, I have gathered a selection of calendars that will pretty up your wall for all of 2013.

| See all 37 calendars on Pinterest |

Here are a few of my favourites:

 | Jonathan Adler can make anyone smile. |

 | Love the food photography from whimsyandspice |

| Such a pretty addition to your home from Mipiacekatedesign |

| Clever take on the zodiac from bialakura |

| This cute Star Wars calendar from loopzart would be a great addition to any office |

| And finally, the winner of my affections, is the Cities calendar from Rifle Paper Co. |

Which one is your favourite? Do you buy the same calendar every year (like my step-dad with his Dilbert desk calendar) or a different one?

Mom, You're Great

Mother's Day is right around the corner and, if you are like me and prefer to shop online for beautiful, one-of-a-kind gifts, you need to get on it. I've compiled a list of gifts (all under $50!) that I, as a mom, would be over the moon to receive from my daughter. There's something for the art appreciator, the tea drinker, the jewelry collector, and the messy purse owner. You will also find a gift for the stressed out mom, the mom who adores baths, and the mom who is making the switch to an iPhone. Happy shopping!

Mom, You're Great - Gifts Under $50 treasury on Etsy

Do you have a gift all picked out for your mom?

Rullupylsa & Molasses Brown Bread

Every Christmas for as long as I can remember, my Amma made two things that were essential to the Walker family Christmas - rullupylsa and molasses brown bread. Rullupylsa is an Icelandic cured meat dish that is traditionally made with lamb flank (we use beef flank and always have). It is seasoned and tenderized and then left to cure in the fridge for a week. You then boil it for several hours and store it in the fridge. It will last for weeks - if it doesn't get eaten first.

My Amma passed away in 2003 so the responsibility for making this traditional food went to my Dad. My sister learned to make it a couple of years ago but strangely, it took until this past Christmas for me to learn (and cross an item off my life list!). Aside from loving to eat rullupylsa, I'm really happy that I can now carry on this tradition and introduce my own family to the delights of rullupylsa.

At the beginning of December we went out to my Dad's for a lesson and marathon assembly session (I think we made 11 total). I took some pictures to show the basic process and will also include the recipes for anyone wanting to try their hand at making it.

Rullupylsa

2 lb. flank steak, beef or lamb
3Tbsp Morton's Tender Quick meat cure salt
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped fine (almost pulverized)

Heavy thread
Heavy duty needle
Kitchen string
Plastic wrap
Tin foil

Lay the flank out flat. There is a thin membrane on one side of the flank - lay that side down so that when you roll the flank it is easier to sew closed. Mix the salt and spices and rub 3/4 of the mixture all over the flank. Spread chopped onion over 2/3 of the flank.

Roll the flank up starting from the end with onions - rolling will push the onions over the whole flank. Using the heavy thread and needle start sewing from the middle down to one end. Tie it off and return to the middle to sew the other side. Rub the remaining spices over the outside of the flank. Wrap your cylindrical flank tightly with kitchen string.

Wrap in two layers of plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, turning daily.

Boil for 2-3 hours, continually replenishing the water to keep the flank covered. Press with a pile of books or other heavy objects until cooled. Wrap with plastic and tin foil and freeze until needed.

Brown Bread

Makes 3 medium sized loaves

1 Tbsp yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar
6 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup cooking or blackstrap molasses (NOT fancy)
3 cups warm water
4 to 5 cups white flour
4 to 5 cups whole wheat flour

Place the liquid in a large bowl with the sugar, salt, oil and molasses. Stir in 2 cups of flour and beat to form a smooth batter. Stir the yeast mixture well and stir into batter. Beat until mixture is very smooth and elastic. Work in remaining flour (you may not need it all) and knead until smooth, springy, and slightly sticky. Cover and let rise to double its size. Knead and let rise again. Shape into 3 medium sized loaves, place on parchment paper covered baking sheet, cut slits in the tops, and let rise for a final time. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Turn temperature down to 325°F and bake for another 30 minutes, depending on size of loaves. Loaves should be a nice golden colour.

This is quite a dense bread with the nice molasses flavour. Cut off a slice, butter it, and serve with a slice of rullupylsa on top. (We ate all the rullupylsa before I remembered to take a picture.)

Enjoy!

Is there something your family eats every Christmas?

2011 Elf Yourself

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

2011 Gift Tag Round-Up

Okay folks, only one week left until the jolly old elf slides down your chimney bearing toys and Christmas joy. That means you only have 8 days to get everything wrapped and under the tree. My favourite part of wrapping gifts is the tag and with so many awesome (and free!) options being offered, there is no need to spend your money on the sticky labels from a big box store.

Here are some of my favourites that I came across in my searches. Any of these can be printed on card stock or full sheet labels and cut out.

Chevron Tags from Marry This

Bookmark gift tag by A House Full of Moxie
{download at Simply Modern Mom}

Blush Printables can always be counted on to have beautiful gift tags.

These traditionally coloured tags are this year's offering.

These round tags using the Skunkling font are also from Blush Printables.

These modern gold and purple tags are another Blush Printables design.

{download at The Sweetest Occasion} 

Modern red and green tags from domestifluff.

Feminine gift tags by Hello!Lucky.
{download at How About Orange}

These tags from Jones Design Company are available
in five different colourways.

Finally, if you are making any gifts or doing any canning, Frugal Living has various canning labels available for download. I particularly like these traditional ones.

Are there any labels you've come across that I missed?

Merry Christmas and happy wrapping!

Making an Advent calendar

Growing up we never had Advent calendars. I don't think it was for any particular reason, they just weren't a part of our Christmas tradition. When A. and I started living together we bought the cheap $3 calendars from Wal-Mart with the waxy chocolates that we stopped eating after day six. As M. gets older and understands more about Christmas I wanted to make something that would be meaningful and that would allow us to track which activities we did over the years. I pinned several different inspiration photos to Pinterest but the one that ultimately stole my heart was this library cards & pockets Advent calendar from Not on the High Street.

Source: notonthehighstreet.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I used this picture as an inspiration for my own project. I used materials that were readily accessible and purchased what I needed (sturdy scrapbooking paper, vinyl stick-on numbers, and mini clothespins) from Michael's. My book pockets have an adhesive back so I cut the scrapbook paper to size and attached the pockets to the paper.

True to my library nerd nature I looked up the Library of Congress call number for Advent calendars (GT 4988.5 if you care) and created a Cutter number (signifies the author) for our last name. My brilliant co-worker (a crafting whiz in her own right) suggested the phrase "On the {number} day of Advent" as the title proper (fancy cataloging term) for each card.

I mapped out our activities on a calendar beforehand (some items had to be placed on weekends) and then wrote them out on the borrower line of the book card. This way we are easily able to see what we did year after year since each year will have its own line on the card.

I strung everything up on a heavy twine and each day we pick out the card as a family. I'm really loving it so far and hope it can turn into an annual tradition!

When I was trying to come up with 24 different activities I searched around and found some great lists like this one from Jordan Ferney and this one from Kim McCrary. I took a few ideas from them and came up some more that suited our family and arrived at the following list. Borrow at will!

• Hang the wreath
• Pick out a book for the Birth & Babies exchange
• Make a tree topper
• Decorate the tree
• Hang stockings
• Make a popcorn garland
• Pick an item from the World Vision catalog
• Listen to Christmas music
• Pancakes for dinner
• Go tobogganing
• Make cookies
• Make a Christmas craft
• Hot chocolate in front of the fire
• Drive around the neighbourhood to look at lights
• Make snow angels
• Hang yearly ornament (Tradition #1: M. gets a new ornament every year. She will then have a starter collection for when she has her own home.)
• Go skating
• Visit Santa
• Pick a Christmas treat
• Watch Mickey's Christmas Carol
• Snowball fight
• Unwrap a new book to read tonight
• Christmas PJs (Tradition #2: New pajamas every year at Christmas)
• Read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (Tradition #3: We read from the same copy A. had as a child)

Do you have an Advent calendar every year? Have you ever made one?

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

Christmas mantles

So here's the thing. I LOVE Christmas. I love the festive spirit, I love gathering with family, I love watching the faces of my loved ones as they open gifts, I love holiday TV specials and I love decorated mantles. My mantle? Not decorated (aside from stockings). *sigh* In order to get my fix, I went searching Flickr. Here are some of the pretty pictures I found.

 | boxwoodcottage |

 | megrje |

 | boopsie.daisy |

 | PollyPainting |

| bancroft&ivy |

Is your mantle decorated? Post a link to a picture!

Merry Christmas!!

Joy, peace and love

If you read any of the more popular personal blogs out there you'll know that there are a ton of inspiring people out there doing amazing things.  Today I am beyond inspired by the generosity and spirit of Jenny aka The Bloggess. Today on her blog she offered up $30 Amazon gift cards to the first 20 commenters who were in need. She also put the call out to other bloggers feeling fortunate this holiday season to help in any way they can.

I've had a pretty good year. Sure, we have financial worries like anyone but my husband and I are lucky enough to own a home and have a healthy family. I donate to charities I care about and take canned goods to the food bank but there is honestly nothing I love more than making someone happy.

So here's what I'm going to do. Leave me a comment telling me how a $25 gift card from Chapters (limited to Canadians) could make a difference to your family this holiday season and I'll use random.org tomorrow evening to pick a winner. If you feel that you don't need the gift card but know someone who does, nominate them instead! Or, if you win and you'd rather have the money go to charity, let me know who you'd like the $25 to benefit and I'll donate it in your name. I really wish I could offer more than one gift card but we all do what we can. The only thing I'm hoping to gain from this is making someone smile and to make their Christmas a little brighter.

And if you are feeling particularly inspired this Christmas, spread the joy!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Emma! I've made a $25 donation to the Winnipeg Christmas Cheer Board in her name.

Printable gift tags

So you've picked out the perfect gift for everyone on your list, you have the wrapping paper and ribbon but you are stuck on the gift tag. You'd really rather not use the cheesy Christmas gift tags found in department stores and don't have the time to make your own. Why not download some awesome gift tags from your favourite artists for free?! You'd be amazed at the great options out there. Some come out with a new set every year but some of my favourites are several years old and standing the test of time.

Just choose your favourite and print on either card stock (punch a hole and attach with ribbon) or a whole page label and cut them out.

 West Elm has four different patterns available including this cute animal suite.

Their gift tags can be downloaded here.

These whimsical gift tags from A Fanciful Twist are available to download as a PDF here.

Crafty Carnival has baking labels and gift tags available. You can find the PDF for the gift tags here.

Camilla Engman offered gift tags in 2006 & 2007 and again this year.
The 2010 gift tags can be found here.

Bucklette is another place that you can find gift tags in various patterns. See them all here.

These cute tags from The Black Apple can be found here.

I love these bird tags from Creature Comforts. The PDF can be found here.

Then, of course, there are these colourful tags from Martha Stewart. The PDF can be found here.

These graphic tags from Paper Crave come in three different colourways. The PDF for the red and teal tags shown above can be found here.

These festive tags from Delight.com can be found here.

Last, but certainly not least, come these adorable tags from one of my personal favourites, Ashley G. She has two different sets available and the PDF for the set shown above can be found here.

Happy wrapping!

Gifted magazine

Looking for inspiration for a holiday project or just the right gift? ('It's never too early to start' is my motto!) Check out Gifted Magazine published by Creature Comforts Blog. It's a lovely little slice of Christmas heaven.

I particularly like the project ideas, like the one for fabric twist ties seen below, and their gift guides are spot on. You should be able to find something for everyone on your list!

Seen on Poppytalk.

Friday finds ...masks...

I'm not a big costume person and I usually just end up wearing some sort of mask. Sometimes they are creepy, sometimes strange and sometimes cute.  Here are some picks for your own Halloween

...masks...

 | 1. |

 | 2. |

 | 3. |

 | 4. | I wore one of these two years ago and really creeped people out.

| 5. |