our christmas card

hope you all had a christmas filled with joy and love. and hope you felt the magic in the air. 

this was the christmas card we sent out this year. josh took the picture changed it into a black and white and then worked his magic on photoshop with the writing. we ordered copies and then taped them on white card stock i bought at michaels. easy, peasy.

peace to you!

scenes from this magical season

hope you are all enjoying this magical season! here are some photos we have taken the last couple of weeks getting ready for christmas.

great gift idea for kiddos

we bought these twig blocks from fat brain toys for karoline + rory for their third birthday this fall and they love them. they come in a set of 72 and are perfect for creative open-ended play. carved from natural wood, i think they make a great gift for the 3+ child. get it here for $31.99.

feeling colorful today...

sorry for the silence lately. i have no real valid excuse, except that our lives have been filled with christmas prep, nativity puppet shows, family christmas movies, christmas concert rehearsals, letting the girls trim the tree and then having to retrim the tree because all the ornaments were in the bottom lower half area, eating lots of gingerbread cookies, shopping for christmas presents and listening to christmas carols. anyway, hope you are enjoying this time of year. i have found that i have to take a step back when the girls are in school and head for a walk on the cliff walk or do yoga so i can start living in the moment and appreciating this time of year instead of getting caught up in the craziness.

feeling colorful today as you can see. hope you enjoy today's eye candy. 

sources:

1. queenvanna creations on flickr via ensuite via joslyn taylor's pin. preschool ice sculptures. i think the most beautiful thing i have seen this season.

2. dip dyed table cloth. photo by emma lee for house to home. via lau de casalil's pin.

3. from northwest folklife digital collection via an ambitious project collapsing.

4. pretty painted sticks. eve ashcraft's office via remodelista.

5. love that rug and table. from they all hate us via  erika johnson's pin.

6. colorful root vegetables. from livet hemma. photo taken by patric johansson and styled by sara sjogren.

7. photo by maria a. vettese.

8. ribbons make everything better. photo by nate henderson via southern weddings.

9. stylist shirley kurata's living room. photo by maia harms for refinery 29.

house tour

i am enamored with this house i spotted on the website OWI (office for word and image). the beautiful hard wood floors, scandinavian furniture, delicate lighting, artwork, fireplaces, and great lighting make me giddy. you can see more of this awesome house right here. all photos by muller fien.

happy weekend

happy weekend! hope it's filled with lots of your favorite things and some peace and relaxation too!

josh took this picture of me after a long hike in san sebastian, spain. i think the happy endorphins were kicking in.

hello, december

the advent calendar is up that i got for half price at pottery barn last year. sweet berry farm in middletown, ri is selling their christmas trees and k+r are getting jazzed about their christmas wish lists. hope you are all enjoying the start to december!

travelogue: san sebastian. spain. the wind comb sculptures.

nature and art. the perfect combination. i so enjoyed our walk out to the wind comb sculptures in san sebastian.  they were born of collaboration between the sculptor eduardo chillida and architect luis pena ganchegui. it's chillida's most emblematic work - the place where his dream came true for him: his dream of creating a space where the sea, the wind, iron and the rocks could all converse together. where the wind "could be combed as it enters the city".

travelogue: san sebastián. spain // food

there are many reasons to love san sebastián, spain. but, the top reason on my list was the food. the pintxos, which are tapas in the basque region of spain, were poetic in their flamboyant colors, many layers, and the amount you can find on top of any bar in town.  for a girl with low blood sugar, these bite size pieces of delight and protein were perfect to snarf down after walking miles and miles and  taking in all the sites. forget a sit down dinner, while drinking rioja wine that is from that region you could travel around to all different bars and eat pintxos and be fulfilled for the evening.  oh, but you would have to stop and get some gelato on the way home.

the farmer's markets and bakeries filled with croissants with creme and chocolate fillings cannot be missed either.

and quite possibly one of the best meals i had on our trip was in san sebastián. seafood done simply. octopus with paprika. calamari with the lightest breading and a squeeze of lemon juice. and the angler fish or monk fish with olive oil and herbs was heavenly.

holiday inspiration

hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving! now that halloween and thanksgiving are behind us, i am so excited to officially start the christmas decorating, prep and listening to christmas music. i picked up the jackson 5 christmas cd and we have been been getting into the spirit with that all weekend.

thought you might like a little holiday inspiration to jump start you this monday morning. found all these images via pinterest, my new infatuation.

image sources:

1. that kind of woman.

2. chilli jam. nigella lawson. 

3. holiday card by kanelimaa. 

4. madame cupcake 

5. tahoe ridge house designed by wa design inc. via chic tip.

6. christmas punch from martha stewart.

7. gingerbread cookies from en mammas dag blog.

happy thanksgiving

yoohooo. let the holiday season begin. what are your plans for thanksgiving? do you have any traditions that you keep close to your heart for thanksgiving day? 

our family tradition is to watch the sound of music after we have sat down for a fulfilling meal. it usually turns into a sing along because we just can't hold it in. it's such an uplifting movie and my three-year-old twin girls even know the songs and like singing along too.

hope you enjoy the long thanksgiving weekend with your families and sending hugs and kisses through the internet to you!

photo from the constant buzz.

travelogue: san sebastián. spain

here are some more photos from our spain/france trip. these are from the city of san sebastián in the northern part of spain in the basque country on the bay of biscay. what a delightful city full of fabulous food, culture and beautiful architecture. san sebastián was even selected along with wroclaw, poland as the european capital of culture  for 2016. i have to do some more posts specifically on the food and the comb of the wind sculptures by eduardo chillida. just too many pretty sites!