Friday, December 4, 2015
merry & bright
It's definitely feeling like Christmas at our house and we made sure to kick off the season right away. My mom is visiting all week and we have filled each day with lots of Christmas festivness!
We spent Saturday evening strolling through the beautiful Airlie Gardens. The air was crisp and cool, the kids were snuggled in the stroller with cozies and the entire garden was speckled with thousands of Christmas lights, it was truly beautiful.
Each section of the garden was uniquely decorated. Kens and Finn loved walking through a tunnel of trees that danced and shimmered in reds and greens. While my mom was taken aback by gardens filled with individual lit hyacinth flowers.
The whole night became even better when we stumbled upon the snack tent which served local wine, hot cocoa and popcorn to snack on as you floated through the lit gardens. To top it off, Santa was waiting for us at the end! Kensi was so eager and kept practicing what she was going to ask the big man in red: a purple stroller and a high chair. Not to forget Finn would also like a choo choo train. She did so well and spoke so clear, proud mama moment right there. However, Finn had a different experience. So cute. I was dying.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
happy birthday eve finnley michael
Our sweet, handsome, little boy is turning one tomorrow. We can hardly believe how quickly this came and what an incredible little guy he is becoming.
Finnbar, you are the biggest flirt. Our hearts nearly burst every time you smile because it is so contagious. You never cease to amaze us with your ambition to get into and destroy everything you can get your little hands on. You are our wild child. You love to be silly, scream with excitement and laugh hysterically at your big sis. You love wrestling with daddy and snuggling with mama. You never pass up a chance for snuggles. You love giving high fives and sloppy wet kisses when we least expect it. You love anything with wheels and constantly yell 'vroom vroom' or 'bub' when we sing Slippery Fish.
We are so in love with you and the person you're becoming. We are so honored and truly blessed that we get to be to be your parents. Our family had no idea what we were missing until we met you. Happy Birthday Eve Love, our sweet little nugget.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
love your melon
Everyone is talking about how they're giving back, whether it's on Tuesdays or everyday leading up to Christmas. There are some really fun ways to give back, but the one I'm sharing today is a campaign. My awesome niece is a nursing student and filled me in on this awesome campaign called Love Your Melon.
It was founded by two college sophomores from St. Thomas University in 2012 whose goal was to raise awareness for childhood cancer and give every child in America who is battling cancer a hat. Since launching, Love Your Melon has given 45,000 hats to children in the United States from their original buy one, give one. In celebration of their accomplishment, Love Your Melon is now partnering with the Pinky Swear Foundation, who directly help and support families and children battling cancer, and the CureSearch to help fund research to end childhood cancer.
It was founded by two college sophomores from St. Thomas University in 2012 whose goal was to raise awareness for childhood cancer and give every child in America who is battling cancer a hat. Since launching, Love Your Melon has given 45,000 hats to children in the United States from their original buy one, give one. In celebration of their accomplishment, Love Your Melon is now partnering with the Pinky Swear Foundation, who directly help and support families and children battling cancer, and the CureSearch to help fund research to end childhood cancer.
This is such an awesome mission and I love how it has grown, as over 200 colleges and universities nationwide are involved to promote this campaign in their own cities. When you make your purchase you can choose a campus crew from a participating school to support the cause. If you need a little help I know the students at The University of Nebraska Medical Center would be delighted to have your support.
So this winter when you’re looking to buy yourself a soft, comfy hat to keep your head warm, consider Love Your Melon. All the products are made here in the U.S. and they’re specifically made to be very soft for the comfort of the cancer patients. Love Your Melon make great Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, plus you’re giving in two ways and not just one! Let’s spread the love world wide.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
create: tree collar
Over the weekend our Facebook and Instagram feeds blew up with everyone sharing their trimmed Christmas trees. This year we found our tree from a local who has a tree farm just north of us. Our tree is fat and full this year, once it was up I trimmed enough branches to fill a large trash bag, but will use some of it as garland for our mantle and above the kitchen cabinets.
This year Kensi was able to actually hang ornaments and understand the concept of decorating. I love our tree so much for the mere fact that Kensi decorated one branch with about four ornaments and continuted her strategy throughout the night. There are clusters everywhere and it makes my heart just overflow with joy because she was so proud of her beautiful work. One thing our tree has been lacking since we said 'I do' over six years ago is a tree skirt. We've often just thrown a blanket underneath to cover up the tree stand, but this year was going to be the first year it would be done properly and Mike needed a project! I asked him to copy cat this galvanized tree collar from Crate&Barrel. I adore this tree collar for its modern farmhouse feel and since we've never had a tree skirt we thought it would be a fun, inexpensive and easy DIY.
To make our tree collar we bought a 15 gallon galvanized bucket to fit over our tree stand from the hardware store. Using our Dremmel, Mike cut the steel bottom out and then used a grinding attachment tool to smooth out the rough edge and it was done! This whole project took less than twenty minutes!
Very easy and inexpensive especially for those on a strict budget, but still seeking some style, even at the base of a Christmas tree!
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