December Recap

A recap of our December...


Around our house:












Our Christmas Bags:

Remember how B and I have exchanged our gifts to each other in brown bags for the last few years? (If not, you can revisit how that tradition got started here). Well, this year our brown bags got an upgrade, courtesy of my seester!


I had seen the idea for fabric Christmas bags here, at How Does She (an awesome blog that I love to stalk!), so I talked to my seester about making them (she has gotten really good at sewing cute bags) and she offered to make them for us!


We headed to the fabric store, picked out some cute fabrics, and got them done that evening after dinner. They turned out so cute and there was so much room for our presents (even the ones that were huge and bulky)!


Here, see for yourself....


Here's how she made them (with some pinning, turning, and cutting help from me!)...

Thanks Jenny, we LOVE them!




Christmas Eve with my fam....

Maddy...

Hudson...

Both of these cuties...

It was such a fun night! I can't believe I neglected to take pictures of the Phase 10 smackdown that I dealt out to my family! It's a good thing that my memory is like a steel trap and I will NEVER forget the first time I actually won that game!!!

Christmas Day with B's family...

This year my MIL was quite the tricky lady.



I know, I know, she looks all nice and sweet (and she really is), but let me tell you.... she has some wicked tricks up her sleeve!

Case in point, the gift card incident.

This year I thought I was crazy when I opened an old college textbook (make that a CRUSTY old college textbook!) called "The Physics of an Atom." I really thought to my self, "What the French, Toast!" I know I looked completely confused (believe me, I felt confused) and wasn't really sure what to say. I mean I wanted to be polite and all but I wasn't really sure how, it was a PHYSICS textbook, I have never done anything with PHYSICS!

Then, as I turned the book around for B to see the cover, low and behold, a gift card fell out and that nice MIL of mine started to laugh. I admit, it was pretty hilarious and clever too, so I figured I had better watch out for her!

Fast forward to the next surprise present - a jar of dried beans - and again, the total look of confusion. Seriously, how come I didn't learn my lesson from the first time? I was wondering what in the world I was going to do with a jar of dried beans (that wasn't even full) and I was shaking the jar at B, when all of a sudden, there appeared a gift card at the top of the beans.

I told you she had wicked tricks up her sleeve!

We all had a really good laugh but I vow never to look confused again - even if the gift is really, really weird!




And that is a recap of our December! Hope yours was great too!

We miss our family and friends that are far away and want you to know that we love you and think about you often. Here's to a terrific 2011 for all of us!

Putting Me Back Together Again

I have been feeling like Humpty Dumpty. You know... the wall... the fall... and the fact that "all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn't put Humpty together again."

It wasn't just that I was sick...I was wiped out.

Unfortunately, life kept rolling on (and here I thought the world revolved around me!) and the files, the piles, and the things I am responsible for kept piling up. Which led me to feeling like poor ole' Humpty.

Today I have finally started to feel like I am putting myself back together again and what I am relishing right now is that my house is getting back in order (don't be fooled, the pictures below make it look like I'm a good housekeeper, there are still piles and files in other places!).

Having my house in order was important tonight because I hosted a discussion group for the ladies at church. I know that because my house was put together, we were able to feel the Spirit as we discussed talks from the October 2008 General Conference and reflected on how much we are loved by our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

And now... I am gearing up to host a baby shower Saturday (theme-based of course... and big surprise, the theme is books!), making me glad that this part of my life is "put back together again."

Of course, I think after the shower on Saturday I'm going to "shop my house." It's a new year and I need a new vision and I am feeling the challenge to catch this vision without spending money. This may mean an extra crack or two as things move around...

But, right now, at this moment, even though I might still be a little cracked, I am enjoying the peace of my house being put back together again!

Oh yeah, the cat enjoys and orderly house too...

(Well, she'd enjoy it if she were awake!)

Christmas Parties - Blogland Style!

Welcome to our Christmas Open House!

Come in and look around.

After your visit here, check out these great spots for more splendid Christmas ideas:

Kimba's Holiday Open House
Julia's Hooked on Houses
Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Par-tay

(Just be careful of B.I.C.S. You know, Butt-in-Chair-Syndrome).

The Living Room

ideas in the living room:
* create your own cloche with a cheese tray dome
* use large vases or jars for jingle bells or ornaments

The Kitchen

ideas in the kitchen:
* use a fun, non-traditional color scheme
* use a tiered serving dish as an ornament tree
* frame gift wrap and ribbon for easy wall art

The Den

ideas in the den:
* use children's literature in a variety of places
* have a central theme (ie: snowmen) throughout the room
* hang stockings on front handle of fireplace door

And finally...

Find ways to emphasize that Jesus Christ is the reason we celebrate this season!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Don't forget to sign "the guest book" before you go
(This means leave a comment my silent friends and family!)

Merry Christmas!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

I did it! I got some of my fall decor out and about and now it's starting to feel like fall (but only INSIDE my house! Outside it is hot, muggy, and so NOT like crisp fall weather at all!)

Thanks to the challenge posted at The Inspired Room, I have been driven to get started on the fall season now. It has been fun snatching ideas from those who have posted their fall decor and I have been inspired by the great ideas I have seen.

Now I think I need to get a notebook or something to help me organize the ideas I have snatched while "blog stalking!" Maybe like the ones Saucy at "Bloggedy Blog Blog" has created to keep herself organized. Of course, getting together cute idea notebooks is a different project for a different day (man, that diy project list I have keeps growing!).

For now, a few glimpses of fall at le chateau de B&K...

It's a P.O.O.P.I.E. Party

That's right, I said a P.O.O.P.I.E. party!

What's a P.O.O.P.I.E. party you ask? It's where "People Opposing Objectionable Pretend plants in the Environment" come together and link up to show how fake plants have been used in their homes.

At a P.O.O.P.I.E. party you see the good, the bad, and the ugly of using fake greenery to decorate. Unfortunately it has come to my attention that I have way too many of the bad and the ugly in my house - a situation that caused hives to break out across my body and impacted my ability to breathe correctly - but I'm good now!

The party is being hosted over at Nesting Place so head over and check out all the P.O.O.P.I.E.s (you might find that you're one too!)

I joined the party after I dropped in (aka: "blog stalked") the Nesting Place and visited the sites of many other P.O.O.P.I.E.s, where I saw many people bravely make their fake plant decorating ideas available for public comment.

As I was zipping in and out of blogs, I decided to get up and take a tour of my own home. I began with great confidence that I had surely not committed the fake plant faux pas that has been the topic of debate.

Of course, through the lens of the camera, my sight became much more clear (that ALWAYS happens!) and my confidence level began to wax cold, no wait... my confidence level was gone. Clearly my ability to use fake plants appropriately is a bit shaky. See for yourself (scroll over each picture for my commentary)...

And now... some better choices (at least I think so):

These examples follow the rules of being simple and using things that are real. Thus the look is much better.

I definitely see some decor changes coming soon. But now I wonder... what to do with all that greenery that's coming down...