Happy New Year!

Friends,

Are you having a lovely vacation? We hope so! There's nothing like a few days after all the holiday run-around to relax with your family and gear up for a new year.

Between the two of us, we've been enjoying all of Oregon's beauties--from looking out streetcar windows in rainy Portland to sledding in the snowy mountains to marveling at the waves as they crash on the Pacific coast. Mostly we are enjoying snuggling up with our beloveds and reveling in the time we have together.

What have you been up to? Have any out-of-this-world plans for New Years?

Also this--we are loving the submissions for the Handmade Parade! Keep them coming! Email us photos of the handmade gifts you gave for Christmas and we'll post them in our parade... aplacetobloomATgmailDOTcom

xoxo
em, anne

Re-Post: Beat the January Doldrums!

Good Morning! Here's another pertinent post from the archives. Anyone else feeling depressed that Christmas is over and January is looming? Read on...

Whenever I wake up and the calendar says December 26th, I sigh.

Ug.

That has got to be the most depressing day of the year!

And, quite frankly, that attitude often lasts all through January. I mean, honestly, what does January have to offer me? It's cold. I haven't skied for a decade. It's too early to decorate for Valentine's Day. Blech. (Am I being dramatic enough to get my point across? ;)

Then, a couple of years ago, I read a blog post by my brilliant friend, Lori, that inspired me to grab January by the horns and make it rad.

-For your littles-
Lori's post about "jazzing up January" is HERE. Read it! She will inspire you to create an advent-type January game for your little ones that will majorly bring January out of gloom and doom territory. Also, check out her follow-up post detailing some of their January fun HERE.

-For your older children-
I asked some mothers of older children for some January-depression-proof suggestions:
* Go bowling (seems that children of all ages love to bowl)
* Read a chapter book out loud together
* Go rollerskating
* Don't be afraid to play outside - even if it is snowing. Just get out! Take them to a vacant parking lot (a church, perhaps?) and let them have a snowball fight while you sit in the toasty car with a good book.
* Check out winter-themed books from the library
* Fill a spray bottle with colored water and draw pictures in the snow
* Use sheets & boxes to build a fort inside your house

-For YOU-
Our list of doldrum-beaters:
*Plan a hot night out with your sweetheart. Get gussied up, put your favorite scarf on, dare to wear lipstick! Make it something to look forward to all week.

*Plan a Girls' Night with some friends. Watch the girlie movie you've been dying to see (you know your husband won't mind if you see it without him!), go out for hot chocolate, or go out and sing karaoke! (I have a major testimony of Karaoke!)

*Set aside a few hours to do something you've been wanting to do, but always push aside for other things. Read a novel, give yourself a pedi, work on a new project, take a bubbly bath.

Now everybody say it with me.

Bring it on, January!

-Anne

More ideas? Pray, tell!

Repost: G is for Gumption

Hi Friends! We hope your Holidays were lovely and that you've got swingin' plans for New Years as well. We're only sort of half-way back from our blogging vacation; for the next few days we'll be reposting some treasures from the archives that will be new to some of you and reruns for others, but hopefully they'll bring new insight and inspiration regardless. First up, Danielle's clever spin on New Year's resolutions...

Last January Danielle took a different approach to resolution-making. We loved it so much that we asked her to share some thoughts about it at Bloom as resolution-making season is upon us. As always, it was a treat to get a little taste of what's rolling around in that exceptionally creative mind of hers...

Resolution

To say that I am not a list maker would be incorrect.

I make lots of lists…mostly as a way to quiet my buzzing, helter-skelter, mind.

My lists rarely get check-marked. I am a goal finisher, but not a list finisher. And, when it comes to self-improvement, I tend to think and work in ebbing and flowing ideals rather than easily checkable lists.

So at New Year’s resolution time, rather than making big lists of things like: “Run a marathon”, or “Lose 10 pounds”, I focus instead on a single word that represents the ideal I’d like to be the overall theme for my year.

I got this idea from my clever mother in law.

It works well for me.

Mindful. Last January I’d had my first baby. I was trying to soak up every ounce of her baby-ness that I could. I wanted to just be with her, with my husband, in my home. I wanted quiet, and my own thoughts. I wanted to be un-swayed, unaffected by the outside world. I just wanted to focus on things that mattered for us. I wanted less mindless busyness, and more purposeful living.

And so the word I chose for my theme was, “mindful”.

It set the tone for 2009 beautifully. Focusing on that single word helped me really accomplish my overall goal for that time in my life, which was to simplify and be tuned in to our needs.

And now…despite my best efforts to keep her unchanged, my baby is one year older. She has grown from a tiny helpless being, to the walking, talking toddler who is sitting next to me eating pizza in bed as I type this.

She’s grown and so have I.

And this year will bring new things to our family. I can feel it.

Gumption. When I really consider the women I most admire and want to emulate, it's not their collective creativeness or intelligence or talent that inspires me most. Nope its something else…something more.

It’s their willingness to do hard things, to not complain, to make things happen, to use tools, to not be a victim, to replace the toilet valve without a man, to fear not, to try something new, to fail and try again, to take initiative, and to find a way.

It's their courage. It's their gumption.

So, as I face 2010, it's gumption I need…

Gumption I want.

If 2009 was a year of introspection and quietly residing within myself, then 2010 will be a year of breaking out, trying hard things, letting go of fear, and making things happen.

I can feel it.

2010…I am coming at you…with gumption.

What will the coming year bring for you?

****************************************************

Thanks to those of you who have already submitted photos and
links for our Second Annual Handmade Gift Parade.
There's still time to send us your photos, we'd love to see what you created.
E.mail your submissions to aplacetobloom at gmail dot com. Thanks!

happy, happy...

Things will be quiet around here for the next few days as we "unplug" and soak up the rest of the Holiday season with our families.

The other day in the car I was talking about the birth of Christ with Henry. We were commenting back and forth to each other about the details of the Nativity and when he was describing the angels singing, he sort of paused for a moment and said, "don't you remember that, mom?" I asked him what he meant and he didn't go into much more detail, he just said, "I just kind of remember that part 'cause I was there." I thought it was an interesting thing for a five year old boy to say.

The legion of angels is my favorite part of Kershisnik's Nativity (image above). I don't know if Henry was there. I don't know if I was there. But as I have made a careful effort to appreciate and celebrate the true meaning of this Christmas season, there have been several moments where I have felt like singing, when I have wanted my voice to ascend with the believers in praise and thanks for the incredible gift of a Savior.

We hope your Holidays surround you with moments that make you want to sing.

Warmly,
Anne & Em

***********************************************************

Be sure to submit your photos for our 2nd Annual Handmade Gift Parade. Details here.

And if you're a YNAB (You Need A Budget) user, read about the awesome contest they're sponsoring here.

Announcing...the 2nd Annual Bloom Handmade Gift Parade

image

Here's something fun. Remember our Handmade Gift Parade after Christmas last year? We're making it an annual event! Send us photos of the handmade gifts you made for your loved ones this year and we'll post them all in our parade on Monday, January 3rd (2011!).

Can't wait to see what you came up with this year...

xo
em and anne

F. Y(nab). I

Just wanted to let you know that the folks over at YNAB (You Need a Budget) are sponsoring a fantastic contest/giveaway. If you're a YNAB user and feel like the program has helped change your financial life, submit your success story for a chance to win a Macbook Air.

3 Runners up will receive iPads.

And just for entering you'll be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card (there are 2 up for grabs).

We've been using YNAB for nearly 5 years now and it has been such a boon in helping us get/keep our financial house in order, even in a very non-traditional income-flow season of life. Love the program. Love the people behind it. It really is good stuff. Just wanted to let any other YNAB users out there know about the chance to share their YNAB story and win a sweet prize!

Stay tuned for more budgeting talk at Bloom in the new year and there may or may not be some software up for grabs for a few lucky Bloomers (wink! wink!)

Enter the contest here. Deadline: December 31, 2010 (midnight).
Learn more about YNAB here.

Sylvia's Chocolate Truffles

Sarah & Christina always have something delicious to share at Frankly Entertaining. Today they're sharing a favorite Holiday goodie with us. Should be tasty! Thanks for being here, ladies...

We're so excited to be back at Bloom to share one of our favorite Christmas gift recipes. Chocolate is almost universally appealing, and truffles never disappoint!

These were a staple at our house whenever there was entertaining to be done. Our mom could almost always be counted on to bring these super simple treasures to any party. Our mom usually made them plain, semi-sweet chocolate dipped in semi-sweet chocolate. Sometimes she switched the coating to white chocolate, and sometimes she just rolled them in cocoa powder.
These are super rich, so avoid the temptation to make them big. A little bite is usually enough to satisfy people.

As with all things, the quality makes the difference. The better the chocolate you use, the better the end result. However, I reccomend starting with whatever chocolate chips you have on hand and seeing how you like it. I also experiment with flavor add ins. On this batch I used peppermint extract for one half, and orange extract for the other half. The peppermint ones got dipped in melted chocolate and topped with crushed candy cane, and the orange ones got rolled in either cocoa, sprinkles or chocolate shavings.

People are usually impressed because these look like they take a lot of time, but the first stage takes about five minutes, then there's chilling time, the rolling takes about 15 minutes, then there's chilling time, and the decorating takes about fifteen minutes. If you have someone to help, you can cut the rolling and decorating times in half!

These make a really thoughtful neghbor gift, or co-worker gift. You only need to give someone a few, so you get a lot of gifts out of one batch. You can put them in cellophane bags, or box them up. One year I was delayed with neighbor gift by the early arrival of my second son, so instead we took these around for New Years; we attached a bag with two truffles to a mini bottle of Martinelli's and added a sparkler.


Recipe:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
1 c. chocolate chips (or any other chocolate you'd like to use)
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Put cream, sugar, and butter into a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Heat mixture until butter melts, or bubbles start to appear around the edge of the pan. You don't want the cream to boil.
3. Remove cream from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Pour cream mixture over chocolate chips, and stir until smooth. This is where you could add the different flavorings.
5. Put the chocolate mixture into the fridge to cool for about a half an hour. You want the mixture to be firm, but workable.
6. When the mixture is firm, start scooping it out a teaspoonfull at a time.
7. Roll each teaspoon sized piece into a ball, and place back into the fridge for about ten minutes. IF the mixture starts getting too warm to hold its shape, place it back into the fridge for a few mintues.
8. When the individual truffles are cooled it's time to decorate. Let imagination be your guide. Use melted chocolate, sprinkles, a dash os sea salt, or anything else you can think of.
9. Now, take them around the neighborhood and make some new best friends!

Thanks Anne and Emily for letting us come back and share with the Bloom readers. We hope you enjoy this little treat. Be sure to let us know if you come up with any delicious flavor combinations.

More Holiday Goodies

If you want a big, sweet, beautiful dose of inspiration for your holiday baking, we highly recommend Mel's Sugar Rush over at My Kitchen Cafe. She's got a fantastic variety ranging from Gingerbread with Cinnamon Whipped Cream to Chocolate Haystack Cream Cheese Squares. (My blood sugar went up just reading through all the recipes!) A dozen days of deliciousness. And if you're still hungry for inspiration, dig the Sugar Rush archives from the past two years.

Speaking of archives, we posted some yummy recipes for a Holiday Goody Plate last year - chocolate/caramel dipped pretzels and almond poppyseed bread. I've got that poppyseed bread penciled in on my list of things to bake this season. Don your aprons and stock your pantries, friends - 'tis the season!

Christmas Service Ideas--Help for the Truman Family

If you were to say: "Name someone who makes you want to be a better person," I would shout out "Lori Truman!" before I even took a breath.

When I was first married and settling into a new home in Utah, Lori became my first real friend. She stopped by to see how I was, brought me meals when I had my first baby, and asked genuine questions about my life. We worked together at BYU, which solidified our friendship. What solidified our friendship even more? When she brought me saltines and 7up because my whole family was barfing and when she left cupcake themed Valentine's kitchen towels outside my door just because and when she took care of Blaine all day when Roger was born. We moved from Utah in May of '08 and were back in June for a family reunion. Taylor planned a birthday dinner for me with all of our old friends there. When I got out of the car and saw Lori, I burst into tears.

I guess you're probably getting the picture.

What I haven't explained yet, is that through all this time, Lori has worked from home, born two amazing children, and grappled with the reality that her darling husband, Wes, has brain cancer. And while that brings pain and stress unimaginable, Lori and Wes continue to be faithful that God will provide. As Lori has written on her blog, they know that "peace and pain can co-exist." Like I said, Lori makes me want to be a better person.

Here's where you and your Christmas cheer come in: Lori and Wes have been given an amazing opportunity to build a house, which is currently in the works. And some friends are working to raise funds to make a warm, furnished, beautiful home possible for them.

Please take some time to look at Lori's blog. You will fall in love.

If you want to do somethingto help the Trumans, you can:
*Donate through paypal by sending your donation to westrumanfund@gmail.com
*Purchase something from this registry to help furnish their new home

You should know that Lori and Wes feel a bit overwhelmed by all of these fundraising efforts. Lori was hesitant when I asked if we could ask Bloomers to help out. That is to say, they are humbled by and tremendously grateful for all of this help. And I know they would want you to know that.

xoxo,
anne

Smitten Blog Designs Giveaway Winners!

Did you notice that we kept the giveaway up an extra day? You're welcome--we love you.

We have three winners of an i.smitten template and they are:

mymoons
shasta
and
annie

And the winner of the custom header is

spiresfam

Congrats to all the winners! Please email us at aplacetobloomATgmailDOTcom so we can connect you with the ladies at Smitten. Thanks, everyone, for playing! If you didn't win today, make sure someone who loves you knows you want a fresh look on your blog for Christmas! ;)

Thanks again to our fabulous sponsor Smitten Blog Designs for this giveaway!

***Come back in a bit for my favorite Christmas service idea yet...

Christmas Service Ideas: Think Globally

Today's service ideas are dedicated to looking outside our own families and even our own communities.

#1--Sponsor an Orphan
My husband and I have had the opportunity the last few years to sponsor a boy who lives in an orphanage in Ukraine. For $75 for the entire year, it is amazing the extra things we're able to provide for him. I love that every year the time to recommit to sponsorship comes in December. As I'm making lists and stressing about decorations, I get a letter about the orphan we sponsor and I'm reminded about what is important and what is real. We participate through an amazing program (started by some of our family members) called the TOUCH Project. Learn how you can help here.

#2--Help for Haiti
It has been almost a year since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and there is still so much that remains to be done to help. The latest heartbreaking news is that cholera is rampant in Haiti right now, with many deaths and up to 1,000 new cases daily. Go here to learn more and find out what you can do.

#3--Operation Smile and Smile Train
For the last few years my dad and brother have accompanied plastic surgeons to places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic to assist in cleft lip and palate repairs. They do an incredible number of surgeries a day and come back with amazing, humbling stories. This work is done through programs such as Operation Smile and Smile Train. Obviously the doctors donate their time and services, but these programs need a lot of money for all of the set up, supplies, etc. That's where we come in. Again, see here or here to find out what you can do.

Obviously there are countless other needs in our world and great ways to meet them. These are just three that happen to be on my mind. Feel free to link us to any other great programs that we could participate to give a little more this season.

xo
anne

Roundup: Printable Tags

I'm not much for fussy gift-wrap; just not something I feel like I have time for in my life right now. I'm into "brown paper packages tied up with string." And it's a win/win because brown paper+cute string+cute tag=charming gift!

Today we want to help you with the "cute tag" part. There are so many great free printables in the interwebs, but finding them can feel akin to looking for the one cute top lurking in all the horrors at ROSS. We don't want you to have to do that, so we rounded up some goodies for you:

Vintage Style Tags via Nice Package

Personalized Labels via Martha

Reindeer & Lights Tags via Creature Comforts
***Check out their whole series of free printables (gift tags, food labels, etc.) Fantastic!***


These little sweeties via Black Apple



Love the colors & the modern edge of this set via Paper Crave.

This last one is not a gift tag, but we wanted to post this Christmas subway art that Amanda Stringham created and shared with us. A beautiful reminder to print and enjoy for this time of year.

Regardless of the trimmings & trappings, we hope you find great joy in your gift-giving this year.


Don't forget there's still time to enter the Smitten Blog Designs Giveaway -
you could win a brand new custom look for your blog!

Christmas Service Ideas: Hot Chocolate for Charity

In all the rushing and planning and wrapping and baking at Christmas time, one of the things we consider most important is finding meaningful service opportunities to share with our families.

Obviously there a lot of wonderful, tried and true service ideas this time of year--choosing a family you know is in need and secretly dropping off gits for the twelve days of Christmas, picking a name off a Christmas tree at the mall and purchasing gifts for that person, participating in Toys for Tots, and so on.

We thought it would be fun this year to draw your attention to three unique service opportunities. We'll share one each day for the remainder of this week.

Today's is an idea I saw in my December Better Homes and Gardens and I looooove it.

Hot Chocolate for Charity

Help your children set up a Hot Chocolate Stand in your neighborhood. Deck out the table with holiday decor and make sure to have fun toppings like whipped cream, peppermint sticks, and marshmallows. Help the children choose a charity or cause they'd like to donate the earnings to, and have them make a sign explaining their cause. Then bundle up and brave the cold as you watch your children learn how exhilarating service can feel!

**Obviously some neighborhoods (and some climates!!) aren't ideal for this idea. Think of ways to adapt it. For example, a hot chocolate stand outside a busy store or inside a holiday bazaar.

Welcome Sponsor: Smitten Blog Designs

Friends,

We are so excited to introduce one of our new sponsors--Smitten Blog Designs.

We absolutely love their design work--it's creative, fresh, colorful, and classy. In the words of the design team...

We are currently based out of Portland, OR, and started sharing free blogger templates on Smitten Blog Designs, LLC in August, 2008. Soon after, we started getting a lot of custom requests and opened up our custom shop. Today we have hundreds of free templates and have worked on hundreds of custom blog projects and we love doing it! We know that blogging is a complete expression of you, your business, your family or whatever you want it to be. That's why we take pride in putting a variety of designs out there at low (or free!) prices--so there's something for everyone.

And, dear Bloomers, there's something for FOUR of you today! The gals at Smitten Blog Designs are giving away...

* i.smitten templates to THREE of you! (Check them out here and choose your fave!)

and

*a complete custom header ($45 value) to one of you! (More info here.)

AND! Make sure to check out smittenblogdesign.com and enjoy their week of FREE holiday printables as well as enter to win a Mindy Gledhill cd! Yay!

Leave a comment to enter the giveaway--
we'll announce FOUR lucky winners Thursday morning!

Ding Dong! Home Tour: Leslie Krout

I can't remember when or how I first landed at Leslie's blog, (the Good Report), but I liked her style immediately. And I was super impressed by her film photography skills - A.mazing. We're so happy to have her here at Bloom today, sharing some peeks into the lovely corners of her home. Thanks for opening your doors to us, Leslie.

* where do you like to draw inspiration for your home? (magazines, fave design blogs, nature, etc)?

I definitely get inspired by blogs. The Decorista is a current fave. and those Design Sponge sneak peeks are the best. I think I'm most inspired by stylish homes done by real people (without hiring professional help). Makes me feel like a great space is attainable.... I can have the home I love too! I'm also inspired by magazines. I get way too many each month, but I just can't get enough of them. I like Living Etc, Country Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and the West Elm catalog is my dream life. Color is a real big inspiration.

* your photos are so nicely arranged - what do you keep in mind when framing/displaying art?

Keep it simple. I don't like ornate or elaborate frames.

* love the prints on your wall above your couch - where do you like to look for art?

Etsy is always a hit for inexpensive art. Lately, I've been looking to my own photographs for art to hang. I've been wanting things to be very personal and have more meaning to us. Which means I'm editing what is already hanging. The two states you see above the couch are a little project I took on. It was totally copied from something I saw in Cookie magazine. They are needlepoints and took a year+ to finish. It was a total nightmare, but I had to finish them once I started. They'll be staying. For some reason we still claim our childhood states as home even though we haven't lived there for years.

* i know you like to have nice things - but you don't necessarily like to pay a premium price -
how/where do you look for good deals? any little secrets to your frugal design?

I'm a huge fan of online shopping. There are so many good deals. I would love to physically browse my favorite stores and immerse myself in all the pretty, but it's just not realistic with kids. And with all the free shipping offers and discount codes online is ideal for me. The key is to not be in a hurry. Everything goes on sale. Also, end of season sales are fantastic.

* i love the plates in your eating area and they're so nicely arranged - did you collect those over time? where did they come from?

Yes, I collected them over several months once I decided that is what I wanted to do. I found the plates all over the place: Anthropologie, Target, Pier 1, and a local thrift store. I can't take credit for the arrangement. I'm sure I saw it on a blog some where, but I thought it made for a non-granny/updated looking plate wall.

That mobile is a $9 clearance from Urban Outfitters. Picked it up in the store a couple of years ago and finally found a place for it. It hangs to the left of our couch.

* are those just paper butterflies on the wall in the girls room? did you make them? what about the pink & orange paper lanterns? and are those some of the girls clothes hanging on the wall? i think that's a sweet and sentimental touch.

The butterflies are cut from white card stock. I used Martha Stewart template.

I just reduced and enlarged several different sizes and cut them by hand. They are stuck to the wall with blue tack (or poster tack).

The pink and orange lanterns are from the Martha Stewart wedding line for Walmart from a few years ago.

The clothes are a mix of things. The stripe dress was purchased from babyGap. I made the polka dot dress. And the red dress was mine when I was a baby. The girls' room used to be red and grey, but I didn't like it so I pulled out these two dresses and the inspiration went from there. It's so much better with this decor, and color scheme.

* how would you describe your style? what are you typically looking for when you're furnishing/accessorizing your home? how is your space a reflection of you, your family, your life?

I would describe my style as happy modern. I like clean lines and simple decor, but when I started really focusing on decorating our home all that simplicity got a little institutional and sterile feeling for me. So the "happy" was achieved with pops of color.

When I am accessorizing and furnishing the home....

I look for things I want to stare at all day. Or more specifically that I won't get bored staring at ALL DAY. Things that will make me happy while I'm cleaning, cooking, nurturing, changing diapers. Our home is so important to me. It's the backdrop for our life. I like having something pleasing to look at while I'm living it. And so much of that is tied to color for me.

I'm not really sure if this space is a reflection of us. Gosh, I think so, but we're not totally there yet. It's such a work in progress. Some of the spaces have already changed since I took those photos.

I'm trying to creative a cheerful, loving, modern, interesting, meaningful little haven. Hopefully, we are cheerful and loving too.

Thanks a million for the photos & the shared thoughts, Leslie.
You've created a lovely space. Don't be a stranger.

Luckies!

Hoo boy! We've got winners! Didn't hear back from the mysterious 3 TomKat Studios winners, so we'll announce 3 new ones. And also the Seedpod winners. Woot! Here we go:

4 Seedpod Craft Studio winners are:

Nina
Ryan & Keri
Vicky
James & Bess

Please contact us and let us know a) which pattern you'd like (the sweetpod carrier or the saddle bag) and b) the e.mail address you'd like the pattern sent to.

And the three new TomKat Studios winners are:
Tysha
Other Option (Danielle)
Charlene

Please contact us as soon as possible so we can arrange to get you your goodies! As always, many thanks to our generous sponsors for facilitating such fun giveaways!
(Bloom e.mail: aplacetobloom at gmail dot com)

Winners, Housekeeping, etc.

A few items of Bloom business:

1. We have extended the Seedpod giveaway thru the weekend, so if you haven't entered yet, there's still time. You're welcome!

2. We still haven't heard from 3 of the TomKat Studio giveaway winners. Emilee, Kelly W, and Jillsl - please e.mail us to claim your prizes. If we don't hear from you by the end of the weekend, we'll choose 3 new winners. Thanks!

Don't miss the Christmas Show-n-Tell below - it's fantastic. Scroll on down to check it out!

xoxo

Bloom Christmas Show-n-Tell 2010!

I (Anne) went for a really simple mantle this year. I love poinsettias deconstructed so much, I don't think I'll ever leave one intact again!

The boys' delights: advent boxes, peppermint sticks, and mint m&ms

Our little front porch tree and the $4 after Christmas sale green sparkly wreath that tickles me to no end!

From Mirien, who says,

I started these stockings two years ago, just after my 6th child was born. I wanted matching stockings, but ran out of time to finish them before Christmas. Same story last year. I just finished them last week, and it makes me happy to walk by the mantle and see them all lined up. Not only because they are finally finished, but because it's a reminder to me that our family feels complete, too. Our last little girl surprised us, but what a wonderful blessing she has been.

How sweet is that?

From Tiffany of Simply Modern Mom, whose theme this year is a simple, elegant white Christmas:

See more of Tiffany's darling decor here.

These next photos from Rae tell a great story. Pictured below, 'A once barfus, hideously ugly 1970's hutch I grabbed for $80 turned into my favorite piece furniture in my home.'

Check out the after

and better yet, the new and improved hutch trimmed for the holidays:

Way to see the potential, Rae!

From Lindy, who decided she should decorate the room she spends much of her time in--the kitchen!

Merry and bright is right, Lindy! We love it!

From Lindsay, who used the place card holders she inherited from her grandma to display Christmas cards:

Lindsay also captured her younger boy as he tried to sneak a bite of a 2-year-old gingerbread man!

And her oldest as he gazed at his reflection in a sparkly ornament!

From Lacey, who made this to replace her weathered front door wreath. She says, I love it and find myself opening my front door several times a day to look at it. I just hope I don't become known around the neighborhood as "that weird lady who stares at her front door!"

Kirsten of 6th Street Design shares pictures of her little Russian tree. She says, I've decorated it with handmade Russian ornaments that I bought when I lived there. This tree is colorful and whimsical and it always reminds me of my time spent in St. Petersburg. Each ornament is a little Russian palace all different colors and shapes.

From Keri,

The Willow Tree nativity is probably my favorite. Sometimes, I sit by the glow of the Christmas tree light just staring at the pieces and thinking about the Christmas story. This is what makes Christmas feel warm and Christmasy to me. (Santa table runner made by her mother-in-law.)

"Elf on a Shelf," who takes note of the children's behavior...

Advent painted by Keri and treasured nativity scenes

This advent also made by Keri. So cute!

From Jayne Wells:

As always, charming and lovely.

From Karissa, who designed this darling peppermint candy striped tree skirt:

See Karissa's tree skirt tutorial here.

From Heather of the Coterie Blog:

a pom pom garland to add a vintage spunk to the tree, a snowflaked floor lamp

and a reminder of Heather's years spent in Hawaii. She says it brings warmth in these cold winter months. Don't we all wish we could be there right now?!

From Danielle,

Does it get any more charming than that happy display?

From Chris:

The tree on the right is the family's scripture tree. To read more about that fab idea, see here.

From Cat:

Love the added detail of the red wire shapes.

How much do you love the little shoes as ornaments?! So brilliant.

From Amy, a picture of her daughter, Rachel (2 1/2 yrs.): After putting on each ornament carefully, she would exclaim, "I did it!"

From Abbie:

Check out the how-to on those awesome trees here.

My (Em's) mother-in-law has perfected Cozy Christmas decor. Her home glows with warmth and magic. Pictured here: her fiberoptic Santa (a wonder for the grandchildren to behold) and celestial mantle. Lovely!

And if you were to walk in my (Em's) front door...

I love how my entry table came together this year. The stripes and polka dots give it a candy shop charm, I think.

I am deliriously happy about my "Have Joy" print from Sarah Jane Studios. I'd like to leave it out all year - isn't that such a nice life motto?

And finally - the sparkly snowflake collection that hangs above our bar. We spend a lot of time at the bar - eating and snacking and playing with play-doh. It's nice to have this spot infused with sparkle and cheer.

And that's the Christmas Show-n-Tell 2010! Thanks so much to everyone for participating! We hope all of your homes are feeling warm and cozy, merry and bright!

love, love,
em and anne