[this Christmas]

family, friends, food, shepherds and angels...
what more could you ask for?

we enjoyed every busy minute this Christmas!
i hope you and your family did too!

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[love at first lens]

the smell of freshly peeled oranges
and my four year old's cute little version of taylor swift's love story are in dancing around in the background as i snap off all kinds of objects around me.

sam and the kids decided they couldn't wait to give me my Christmas gift; they excitedly brought me a big box taped up and adorned with a red sticky bow stuck on top.
after trying to insist on waiting, i lost, and then proceeded to hesitantly open the mysterious package they quickly prepared.

after several seconds of fishing through oodles of bright white tissue paper, i spotted it. my new love.
my micro lens!



"what? are you serious? no way!" i screamed.
"ahhhh!!!" i couldn't stand to look at it one moment longer! carefully ripping it out of the box and quickly attaching it to my camera is what i surely did.
"go ahead, take some pictures already!" sam hollered with a gigantic grin.
he proceeded to tell me all of the functions and details about the fabulous new thing.

craving a good close up and bribing my kids to pose was my next move.
then pine cones, Christmas lights, glittered ornament balls, and pretty much everything in sight was captured!



this lens can focus within six inches of any object.
for portraits and table top photography, this bad boy surely gets 'em good!



i told sam that it probably wasn't a very good idea to give me this gift 5 days before Christmas...
now nothing will get done :) all i want to do is take MORE pictures!

i just had to post a little bit of my happiness tonight :)
thanks family!



merry monday to you!

[the scent of a woman]

...in a house with a fresh pine wreath!

there are two things my husband strongly dislikes:
wreaths and needles (pine needles that is).
he's always bumping into the hanging arrangements, cursing them every time. "they're always in my way!" he gripes. and the mess of dried fallen needles makes him twitchy too. silly practical man! i love wreaths, all kinds.

but ahhh, there's nothing more festive and nostalgic than real aromatic boughs!
i can't get enough! my nose is continually glued to our door where it's hung.
because sam loves me so much, he puts up with me and all my musings :)

i think i acquired the love of fresh pine from my dad. we share the same sniffer genes i think. if a restaurant smells weird, we're outta there. very sensitive.
it was too cute, when i had my december baby, he brought fresh boughs to my hospital room for me! every time visitors or nurses walked in, they couldn't help but comment and reminisce about Christmas trees. so jolly! sam bit his tongue and kept patiently sweeping up the needles.
i love you sammy!

sorry, but scented pine candles are just not the same!



the one candle i do absolutely love is winter, it's the best!
.gotta love these luminaries too.

[broken]

over the course of several weeks, each one of my throw pillows have come apart.
the last one standing finally joined the others in my laundry room heap awaiting repair.

my question to you dear readers,
have you ever seen these kind of buttons before?
are they fixable? they don't look like they are.

i am trying to decide if i should just sew the middles for the "tuft" look and then hot glue the buttons on, or if I can somehow connect the top and bottom buttons together again.
they are perfectly good pillows and still look brand new....
i'd hate to throw them away!
help! i need sewing advice :)