snippets // snow day

1. wool socks and coffee make me smile.
2. ripe pears for our midday snack.
3. one of our favorites, the root children.
4. stella's friends, before they ended up being strewn about our home.
5. climbing.  always climbing.
6. our collaborative watercolor painting.
7. she did a good job not mixing colors this time.
8. looking at his sweet reflection.
9. brrrr!
10. daddy came home early for snuggles.
11. dreaming of the sweet, sweet summertime.

abode // botanical indoors

i've been so inspired by all of the greenery floating around on pinterest lately.  every time i see a home spilling over with bounty of fresh flora, i push pin it.  i can't help myself.  with efforts to bring some of that inspiration into our little tree house in the midst of this barren winter season, the kids and i went on a brief field trip to home depot the other day.  we roamed the plant aisles and ended up with some real beauties.  andrew walked in the front door that evening and said, "it looks like spring in here!"  a job well done i'd say and a hearty pat on my back.  spring indoors?  yes.  it feels as good as it sounds.

coming home

there is nothing sweeter than climbing in bed after a long day of travel.  especially when you are holding little squirmy ones all day long on an airplane.  there's nothing quite like those layers of bed linens that tuck in your tired body, wrapping you up and closing you in to the familiar.

like an old friend giving you an extra tight squeeze, coming home is the best.  the ultimate.  a celebration in an of itself.

i am such a creature of comfort, and all those little things, like the way our laundry corner smells of lavender and how my slippers are always by the front door waiting for me, make so joyful.

travel, though eye-opening and pleasure-filled, makes us humble.  it grounds us.  it makes us enjoy and revel in calmness and quiet and a simple night closed in with a big bowl of soup.  it makes us thankful and keeps a fresh perspective.  

we have no real plans in the distant future, so i think we shall spend it cooking and snuggling and settling in.  movies are on our agenda and perhaps a few new board games in between.  so so good to be home.

snippets // a weekend spent indoors

1. playing so good by herself on a quiet saturday.
2. a little boy who loves his booties & mamaroo.
3. thank you writing.
4. a long view.
5. sibling cuddles.
6. sunday morning in our bed.
7. all tucked in the corner.
8. a candle always lit.
9. smiley boy.
10. snowflake silhouettes.
11. indoor garden.
12. mailing christmas cheer to sweet friends. 

abode // the sweetest comforter

there is almost nothing sweeter than a little girl reading her favorite books on her big girl bed.  but then you add the most gorgeous swiss comforter and you've got yourself the most sweetest scene of all.  i simply love the detail on stella's comforter.  it reminds me of something madeline in paris would have coveted.  the rich velvet.  the soft linen.  the vintage floral pattern.  and those precious satin tags to help tiny babes get to sleep.  if you are in need of a beautiful gift, i highly recommend this for your favorite girl or boy.  i know this blanket will be in our family for years to come.

*this post is in partnership with sture & folke, however, all opinions are my own.  thank you for supporting our lovely sponsors!

holiday traditions

holiday traditions.  to me, they are the meat and potatoes of what the holidays are about.  their weight gives meaning to that fancy day on the calendar emphatically marked "holiday" and are what make you decide to travel through snow and sleet and sludge with little babies crying in the back seat.  all for the love of beloved traditions.  

even the silly ones.  like putting on skits at grandma's house on christmas eve when everyone in the room takes on a character from the nativity.  that donkey even gets a part in the show.  or serious ones, like the beautiful and ritualistic christmas mass before dinner.  the lighting of candles and the saying of prayers.  and then ones that fall somewhere in between, like hot coca on the crispness of christmas morning and a the shopping for a new ornament each year.  let's chat about the latter.  

a few years back during my transition to adulthood whereupon i moved away to college my ornaments went missing.  alas!  a real tragedy.  my parents swore up and down that i must had accidentally threw them out in the heat of ridding my life of childish things somewhere down the line.  but oh no!  i could never.  and then one day, one wondrous day, they turned up all contained in a box and were re-gifted to me by my beaming folks, who knew very well that their daughter missed these ornaments of hers rather dearly.  upon seeing remnants of my past all nestled amongst tissue paper i carefully lifted open the brown cardboard fold.  i recall feeling warm and fuzzy with all sorts of giddiness washing over me.  these little darlings were my memories, my very own time capsules only to be taken out and treasured for one month of the year.  their specialness is quite hard to put into words but the word bliss comes pretty darn close.

currently adorned with my twenty six ornaments from cheery christmases past, our tree looks faintly akin to the one i grew up with, colored lights and all.  most of the ornaments on it belong to myself and remind me of the holidays at home with family in iowa, but peppered throughout are new ones, beautiful ones that equally hold sentiment and charm.  precisely three for stella and one for theo bear.  andrew has quite a few too from his days as a youngster, that i cannot deny.  so our tree and our stockings, both new and old, echo past memories of happiness and joy, while resounding festive new ones, too.  

*you can find theodore's red knit stocking here, stella's grey knit stocking here, and our holiday 2013 ornaments here.