Happy Holidays!

December has been fairly crazy around here, as I’m sure it has been at your house  too. We celebrated Winter Solstice in the “dark” with our friends, yummy soup, and my new favorite bakery, Sweet Pea’s, vegan carrot cake.

We made Christmas cookies here at home and gingerbread houses TWICE with two of our lovely “family” friends. (“family” friends is what we call friends who we’re so close with they might as well be family – you know who you are!)

We helped some of those same “family” friends celebrate Christmas a day early at their house. E loved the dinosaur sock doll PZ made for him. Then we hustled home to start our own celebrations.

Hubs fired up the yule log and we snuggled up to watch some classic Christmas movies thanks to a Christmas Eve present from my lovely sister Vicki and her family.

The girls woke EARLY Christmas morning to find their stockings overflowing with goodness! Santa did pretty great this year with my stocking, too!! We had a wonderfully, crazy time tearing through, I mean lovingly opening, each gift and then spent the evening having a scrumptious dinner at A and O’s house. Thanks guys!

Thanks to everyone who made our holiday season bright (that includes you!) and Happy Holidays!

Weekend Creative

Although sick, Q and I took some time to make some holiday wrapping paper this weekend. We used some of my rubber stamps, paint, sharpies, and cookie cutters as stencils.

I love the little Q she wrote on this one. She’s very into signing her work.

I also did my first round of vegan baking (I’ll tell you more about why, later). I made an alternate version of my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip bread by switching 1/2 a banana for the egg, unsweetened almond milk and a teaspoon of vinegar for the buttermilk, and earth balance for the butter. It came out great! I couldn’t taste the difference and now think it’s even healthier than before!

Chilling in my refrigerator until the girls and I can get time to cut out cookies, bake, and ice them tomorrow, is the vegan soft christmas cookie dough I made too. Fingers crossed they came out tasting good.

I stumbled upon this blog and became immediately enchanted. Wonder what one has to do to get on her christmas card list?

I’m also thinking about Squam for the spring. Anyone considering a crafty retreat? Perhaps a different one I need to know about??

Monday Must Have: Vintage Toys for Girls and Boys

I love vintage children’s books, clothes, and toys! I buy mostly handmade or resale for myself and my kids, so I’ve been doing a little vintage shopping around this holiday season. So here’s my list of vintage toys for girls AND boys for the holidays. My gift to you!

AMradio is selling an adorable vintage circus set for $86.

NehlandZotz has a really sweet set of vintage sewing cards with 3 EXTRA cards, all for only $20.

RustyRoostersRags has an adorable and really durable looking duck rocking toy for $200.

julesgraphix0 is selling this cute wooden hobby horse for $22.

VintageRedPolkaDots has this great vintage telescopic eyepiece toy for $65.

4EnvisioningVintage is selling this lovely greek windup toy ukulele for $35.

gatonegro1 is selling this nice tin bank with a combination code for $50

SwitchbladeandCookie are selling this adorable wooden zebra toy for $65.

midlandmom is selling this brightly colored 60′s board puzzle from Preskool for $9.75.

alleycatgirl is selling this 1950′s Krueger Rattle Baby Booties for $21. These are one of those items that makes you wish you had a baby in the house.

Happy shopping everybody!