Archive for December, 2009

on a polaroid mission.

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

For those of you living under a rock who don’t read my blog (totally kidding—you know I appreciate all eleven of you), I recently received an oh-so-perfect Christmas gift, aka the Christmas surprise. I am ashamed to admit that I have not even removed the camera from the box because I know once I do, I’ll be tempted to use up my ridiculously expensive film too quickly. Perhaps one of the biggest downfalls of owning a digital camera is the annoying, yet convenient habit of taking way too many photos (and I do mean, waaaaay too many).

On the same note, perhaps one of the greatest aspects of owning an instant camera will be learning one of the truest forms of photography: click when it counts.

I already have lots of fabulous little ideas construed in my head of perfect polaroid photos, and naturally, have lots of ideas about what I am going to do with them! Mission #1: create a polaroid calendar and Mission #2: create a heart wall.

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No instant camera? No problem. Get your hands on an original Perpetual Paris photo collage calendar here, creatively created by Little Brown Pen. I absolutely love it (and make sure you watch the video).

a christmas surprise.

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

For the past four years, hubby and I have spent Christmas mornings at home, just the two of us.  This year was no exception, although this was the first year he made me cry. Don’t jump to conclusions—they were happy tears.

Our Christmas morning went a little something like this:

Wake up, hug, kiss. I whisper “Merry Christmas” and he whispers “Merry Christmas” back. We lay in bed as long as possible, staring at the ceiling, not quite ready to get up.  After nine not-so-subtle stomach growls (mine of course), we reluctantly pull ourselves out of bed. I plug in the Christmas lights and we head to the kitchen to make breakfast: Belgian waffles with powdered sugar, a side of fruit, and mimosas. Candles lit and holiday music playing in the background—everything is just as it should be.

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I grab his gifts from under the tree, and he grabs mine. We take turns unwrapping until I have opened: a juicy tubes lip gloss set, a metallic gold cover for my iphone, a pretty dress, black leggings, lovely earrings, a cozy sweater, and a birdcage jewelry holder for the wall. He opens: corduroys, season 7 and 8 of Friends, two sweaters, cologne, and a new book. I remind him about the basketball shoes I let him open early. “I remember” he says and smiles.

I crawl into his lap and wrap my arms around him. Kiss. I tell him how much I love the gifts.

Him: “What’s that? Did you hear something? Upstairs?”
Me: “Huh? I didn’t hear anything.”
Him: “Hold on, I’m going to go check” ….sets me down on the couch and vanishes upstairs.

A minute later he appears around the corner with two gifts in his hands. “That’s weird,” he says, “I found two more presents for you—one from Mrs. Claus and one from Rudolph.”

What?!?

IMG_0293He places the presents in my lap, grinning ear to ear. I open the big one first, and lo and behold, it was the lovely Fujifilm instax mini camera that I had been drooling over.  *Tears*

Surprise present #2? A box of film of course.

Hug. Kiss. Cannot believe he managed to surprise me. He never surprises me. Not because he doesn’t try, but because I always find out. (He then explained how it came about—he remembered that my dear friend Kelli recently recommended the camera, but he couldn’t remember anything except that it was a Fuji.  He went to the Fuji website and figured out which camera it was.  After googling a combination of “Fuji – instax – camera – Sacramento” he ended up on one of my favorite blogs, that (more impressively) he recognized as one of my favorite blogs. While reading through all of the comments, he saw that the camera was carried at Urban Outfitters. Alas, he called UO on Christmas Eve and picked up the last one in the store after work.)

“So now all you need is a photo scanner and you can post the pictures online.”

Perfect, I thought. My birthday is in three months.

“Wait a second,” he says, “Did you hear that?”

Huh?!?

“I think I heard something upstairs—I better go check again.”

No. Way.

Up the stairs he went, and back down he came, with a much bigger present in tow. “This one says it’s from Santa himself!”

*More tears*

I preceded to open a brand new photo scanner, which hubby quickly informed me was the best photo scanner for polaroid pictures (he researched it, naturally).

So yes, to those who have asked, I had a wonderful Christmas. Because I am married to a wonderful husband, full of wonderful surprises.

p.s. We won the gingerbread house contest—I wish our real home looked this cute from the outside.

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How was your Christmas?

a very merry christmas.

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. Me? I’ll be kissing Santa. No mistletoe required.

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diy: christmas gifts.

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

I love love love making gifts. This year I was inspired to make some homemade hot cocoa, compliments of Real Simple.  Minor changes: I used a square jar, ornament instead of a measuring cup, and made a “bow” out of marshmallows to sit on the top. Ta-da!

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What did you make this year?

reading: it’s good for the soul.

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

There are few moments in life that surpass the perfection of being curled up with a hot cup of tea and a great book. I have been a book worm for as long as I can remember, ever since I was forced to read Anne of Green Gables as a punishment for torturing my little brother. That’s right folks, my parents used to punish me by making me read. Isn’t that a hoot? I’ve been obsessed ever since: Boxcar Children, Sweet Valley High, the American Girl Collection, Shel Silverstein, Judy Blume—you name it, I read it. Over and over again.

I love getting lost in books, and it’s my life long goal to write something that others can get lost in.

BooksHere are some of my favorite reads of 2009:

The Red Tent
Water for Elephants
Escape
Skinny Bitch
Mistaken Identity
Bergdorf Blondes
Twilight (nope, not embarrassed)
The Power of a Praying Wife
Celebration of Discipline

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On my reading list for 2010:

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
The Awakened Heart: Opening Yourself to the Love You Need
The Peep Diaries
Trust Agents
The New Rules of Marketing and PR
Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life
Praying God’s Word: Breaking Free From Spiritual Strongholds
Wide Awake: Start Dreaming with Your Eyes Open
The Lovely Bones
Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman



Two sites to check out (for all you fellow bookworms):

Goodreads- A virtual bookshelf where you can keep track of your reading lists.  Check out my profile here.

Swaptree- The BEST book swapping site out there. List the books you’re willing to part with, shop for books you want, and swap! See my previous post on Swaptree for more details.

Happy reading!

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