Christmas

we kicked off our first Christmas celebration early on december 15th when my sister was in the state.  we went up to my mom's for the weekend and had a great time just relaxing and visiting with each other.  dug is pretty spoiled at my mom's and got extra blankets for naps and a nice, long walk.

it's a two man woman job to clean out dug's ears.  the dog has the smelliest ears ever!  it must be a beagle thing since they are so long and perfect for trapping scents and moisture.

jake had to work Christmas eve so when he got off at 5pm we headed to western Nebraska to celebrate with his family.  he worked the day after Christmas so it was a quick trip.  i wish we could have spent more time celebrating with his family.  we didn't even get to attend the yearly Christmas day movie that we typically go to the theaters to watch.

our adorable niece used her favorite dora box and picked out some of her own books to give me as a Christmas present.  what a sweet heart!  she was so much fun this Christmas.  she was so excited.  she woke jake and me up by knocking on our door and declaring "SANTA COME, SANTA COME!!!"

even dug got a squeak toy for Christmas!  he loved it!

i made luke a creeper minecraft pillow for Christmas.  i think he liked it! :)

i made our niece this t-shirt that said "my cousin is a beagle".

songs of the season

charlie brown Christmas is one of my all time favorite holiday specials.  it snowed all day yesterday and today school was cancelled!  it's a rarity for my school district to cancel school so it really does feel like Christmastime is here!  we have one more day of school and then it's break time!  i still need to get a ton of baking done and a few presents to wrap!

songs of the season

i can't not include this rendition of "baby it's cold outside" by zooey deschanel and leon redbone.  embarrassing fact 108: one of my short lived college boyfriends not only introduced me to the film (elf) but he also burned a copy of the sound track for me. 

i lost it.  oops.

Christmas is all around...

we celebrated Christmas with my mom's family early this year.  my sister was able to fly into nebraska from georgia so we went to my mom's for the weekend.  seeing some of the same Christmas decorations from my childhood just gives me the warm fuzzies.  that nativity scene has been around probably before i was even born.  my favorite memories of Christmas involve playing and rearranging the nativity scene almost daily.  it's gotten so much use that it's even missing one wise man (death from cat) but that's another story for another time.  any Christmas decorations or traditions that just immediately get you into the holiday mood?

songs of the season

i love this Christmas song and relient k's version of it.

have yourself a merry little christmas...

just a few snapshots of holiday decorating at the french house.  

songs of the season

this song is one of my favorite Christmas songs.  i especially like this version of the song done by bright eyes.  the lyrics always make me tear up a little thinking of a little boy with no gift to bring.  the sweetness and innocence of his gift (playing his drum) is such a great reminder to simplify.  so many times i over analyze gift giving and will even avoid giving a gift if i think it's too simple for the recipient.  

also... if you live in nebraska, conor oberst of bright eyes will be playing in omaha on december 21st.  you can get your tickets here.  jake and i most likely will be unable to attend as jake's band will possibly be playing a show the same night.

mud scrub

this christmas, i knew i wanted to attempt to make more diy gifts.  i've always had problems coming up with cool diy gifts for family members and friends that weren't baked goods or something only a grandma could love (i.e. popsicle stick ornaments).  but, thanks to pinterest i had no problems finding some incredible projects that make great gifts!

when i found this mud scrub, i knew it would be perfect for my coffee-loving sister-in-law (oh, and me...).  this mud scrub is a body scrub that helps exfoliate and tighten skin because of the coffee beans present.  i just liked the fact that this scrub was going to smell minty and coffee-y (i know, not a word).

  i found the original link here.  here are the directions:

1 cup sugar (i used white)

5 TBSP coffee grounds

1/4 cup oil (i used an inexpensive brand of olive oil)

1 tsp peppermint extract

1 tsp vanilla extract 

mix ingredients together.   

afterwards, i placed the scrub in a cute jar i found at hobby lobby and made a cute label to put on top of the jar. 

this scrub is such an easy and inexpensive gift!  i plan on giving some jars to co-workers that also enjoy coffee, but for my sister-in-law i'm including the scrub in a gift basket full of loofahs, a face mask, and a bottle of wine.  

i have a few other diy gifts that i will be making this year.  are you planning on making any gifts for anyone?  i would love to hear your ideas!

thanksgiving

another year is wrapping up and thanksgiving approached so fast!  i feel like every year i become more and more reflective on our day of thanks.  this year i felt so convicted about being so selfish and greedy!  i feel as if i always want more and need more.  thanksgiving was such a great time to realize how much i do have!  here's a couple of snapshots on thanksgiving day.  jake had to work, so it was just me and dug road-tripping to my mom's house.

it didn't take dug long to figure out who was carving the turkey.  uncle marlin and dug soon became fast friends.

i know this is a horrible quality photo, but dug was literally in a food coma the entire evening.  so many relatives slipped him a piece of turkey here and there.  in his opinion, it was the best day ever.