Happy Holidays from second grade!

Ah, the holiday season. Time when everyone is ready for a break. Today we had our annual Snow Day where a foundation called Be an Angel brings in some "snow" since we generally don't get too much of that in Houston. I woke up this morning to rain and was worried that Snow Day would be canceled. Luckily the rain stopped and the snow was white and cold. Unluckily it was 80 degrees and 100% humid outside. Temperature and humidity aside we had a wonderful time making snowmen and getting into snow ball fights!

On Snow Day we always have our class holiday party. Each year I am amazed at the time and effort that the room mothers put into this party. This is generally when I receive a gift from the class and the gift this year was so amazing that I had to show it off. My room moms bought a small rosemary tree shaped like a Christmas tree and on it hung gift cards from various places. It is so cute and wonderful I don't want to take the gift cards off. Of course as soon as I start craving a Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks I will give in! I am definitely saving this idea for when I have kids and the holiday season comes around because this present was both create and very useful in several different ways! Thanks to some wonderful room moms and to 22 amazing second graders!

dinner is served!

Angry Chicken figured out how to make cakes in little jars. Looks like fun!

Did you read the story about Adelaide's dress request? No? Read it now.

Happy weekend!

Greek parrot

Here is some interesting bird news gathered by my former colleagues.

the big house

Did you read this interesting story about the house in England where the new movie Atonement was filmed?

Also, did you see my palmiers?

photo problems

I have not yet managed to take good pictures of my Christmas wreaths, which are so pretty in real life.



At night I have to use the flash, which is ugly, and during the day, there is so much light behind the wreaths that you can't really get them lit from the front so as to see the the ornaments. Yesterday I was experimenting with using all different surfaces in the apartment as a tripod (since the camera has to be extra steady when the flash is not used).

Here is the bird/rugelach story from Smitten Kitchen! That is all.

unusual bouquets

Last night while procrastinating I discovered a great wedding blog called Brooklyn Bride. Look at these amazing flowers...PS she likes the seersucker bridesmaid's dress from Thread (I'M JUST SAYING)! Oh PPS please look at this!!!

Pretty Things!

After many years of studying different wedding registries I have been lucky enough to get engaged and create my own! It took a lot of looking and a lot of thinking but we finally decided on the most beautiful combination ever! After a very fun first wedding shower thrown by some wonderful friends we were able to put together a complete setting of our formal china, crystal, and sliver! So here is a picture to show off our pretty things along with some festive Christmas decorations compliments of RAR! More wedding updates to come!!!

Blueprint is folding

After about a year of having feelings towards Martha Stewart's Blueprint that there must be a German word for (disappointment, disgust, irritation, and yet through all that still some attraction and even jealousy), I read this morning that the magazine is folding. I wanted to like Blueprint so much but always found it condescending and flimsy. I thought everyone else must have liked it, though, because MSLO was supporting it so fully, setting its editor up with the Today Show and all, and because some of my favorite craft bloggers kept raving about each new issue. I guess not.

I think Martha Stewart Weddings is an amazingly beautiful and creative magazine, and, stupidly, until today I had not thought of Blueprint as the logical subscription to pick up after Weddings--crafty lifestyle advice for stylish young couples or women who might not be ready yet for the full-on Living experience. You know, Weddings for my engaged younger sister, Blueprint for newlywed me, and Living for my more established mother. I wish they had succeeded, since the ideal version of this magazine is something I would very very much like to get every month.

Even when I was irritated with the magazine, I liked its blog, Bluelines, and it sounds as if they're going to keep that going even when the magazine dies. Yay!

Fudge - the Paula Deen way!

I just saw Paula Deen make fudge with Velveeta in it! Oh my gawwwwwdddd......
Then she formed it into balls, put the balls on sticks, dipped them in caramel, then white chocolate, and finally nuts!

Moccasins

Look at these Land's End moccasins that only cost $30! They even come in orange and red. I think they are so cute.

in the beginning

When I went home for Thanksgiving, mom gave me Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, which I had been dying to buy. It's wonderful. I haven't made anything from it yet, but here are pictures of a spectrum quilt a Purl blogger made...scroll down to see pictures of her cat posing in the middle of it!

The other day I was walking down West 29th Street between 8th and 7th avenues and passed the most wonderful series of odd little old New York shops, the kind of thing it's hard to find now in most parts of the city: a store that had empty shelves but was selling a life-size fiberglass cow in the front window; a store selling only dried flowers, leaves, and branches; and a store selling only fencing supplies.

I can't wait to see The Golden Compass. I just finished The Amber Spyglass last week! That is all.