Friday, December 30, 2011

"Home Again, Home Again..."

What sums up Seattle better than Pike Place Market and Starbuck's coffee? It really is a rhetorical question as the answer is...nothing! We are back to our east coast home after a lovely holiday with our families out west! We ended the trip with a jaunt into Seattle proper with my beloved in-laws for some shopping, coffee, chatting, a carriage ride, and spin around the carousel in Westlake Square Plaza. It was an adventure without a set plan and it was the perfect day! Here are a few snaps from our escapade.





Friday, December 23, 2011

It's a Wrap!




Last night was my family's traditional wrapping night! Although we wrap gifts all throughout the season, there is always one night before Christmas that we do a wrapping marathon. With traveling across the country and not being able to travel with wrapped gifts, we really had a lot of work. Nothing completes a wrapping marathon like a "cup-o'-starbucks-joe"! It is so nice to be home and soaking up some sweet family time! Off to play ping-pong, drink more coffee, shake the gifts for clues! Happy Friday from the west coast!

Friday, December 9, 2011

My "Present" Project

I took a brief pause from working fervently on the JJ Tulum website to complete an order for a very special client. She ordered eight bags in four varying fabric combos as Christmas presents. The bag style that she selected will be featured in a JJ Tulum collection next year, so I thought I would give you a sneak peek! It is a simple all-purpose tote with no internal pockets and resembles a reusable grocery bag with the customary "over-the-topness" of JJ Tulum. There is one pocket on the outside that is perfect for grocery lists, wallets, cell phones, bottles, etc and the best part is that the entire bag folds into that same pocket for ease of storage, packing, and gift wrapping. Here are the four fabric combos I came up with for her:

 




 Here is how you fold the bag into the pocket:





















I am excited to add these to our collection in the future and have been trialing them with some family and friends. So far I have received wonderful feedback. People have used them for so many fun adventures: sporting events, trips to the beach, packing into a suitcase for vacation, grocery shopping, and the list goes on!




Thursday, December 1, 2011

It's Christmas Time, It's Christmas Time...

If you have not figured it out yet, Christmas is my favorite time of year! Every December I remember a little boy at my church growing up who would get up to sing the Christmas song his class had prepared – his voice was always the loudest and most exuberant. As the song progressed, ”…it’s Christmas time, it’s Christmas time, there’s joy in all the land…” he would get so excited it sounded as though he were hyperventilating. Something inside of me has always resonated with that little guy as my excitement over the Christmas season is almost too much to hold inside!

Here are some details and stories to go along with my Christmas decorating this year! With my husband’s post-graduate studies I had to have everything laid out to make our traditional decorating time efficient. I spent the day unwrapping ornaments and setting out decorations. When Devin arrived home the cocoa was ready and we started in.

I remember each year setting out the nativity with my mother. She had a way of making everything exciting and fun! It was like opening gifts as we unwrapped each piece for the scene and I was always so happy when I was the one to find the baby Jesus. This year I finally realized that it was no accident that EVERY year I “happened” to be the one who found him first! Thanks Mama! Two years ago, our first year in New York, my precious mother-in-law sent me a Willow Tree nativity set for our home. The muted colors and captured moments of each figurine are so special. It is wonderful to have a nativity set of our own.

Starting your own home and a marriage is an exciting time of new memories and the melding of old traditions. Devin and I have so enjoyed the last three years of creating our home and traditions together. Our subtly-bird-themed tree has new pieces added to it each year, such as the bird ornament in the photo, who is our latest addition and something I picked from my favorite boutique (Common Folk), on a recent trip home. My great-grandmother was one of the coolest people I have ever known, she used to make beaded ornaments as gifts for each home in our family. Sadly, we lost her to cancer before I had my own home, but my mom gave me a piece from her set when I was married. So many memories of card games, pots of coffee, embroidered hankies, and pink lipstick flood me at the mere site of this ornament.
Angel Chimes are a family tradition from as long as I can remember.  Chatting with my mom tonight I learned that the tradition started on my second Christmas when my mother’s best friend brought her a set and shared with us her family’s tradition. I thought she had brought them from Morocco where she was born; however, my mother recollects that she had finally found them in the States after looking for years. Although the details are blurry now the tradition is clear. In the evening we light the candles that create heat and spin the fan on top. The fan is connected to little angels that spin around and hit the bells on the side. The sound they make is a rhythmic chime and the pattern of the fan on the ceiling is mesmerizing. It is a family time where we all sit around or lay on the floor, drink something warm and chat about our days. So special!

At the end of a busy day of cleaning and decorating I go through the house turning off lights, feeding the cat, etc, the tree is always the last thing I turn off before retiring for the night. Tonight I stopped and just enjoyed the peaceful moment for a time. The quiet stillness was piercing. Perhaps this is why I love Christmas so much, it is one of the few times of the year that everything seems to be as it should. I leave you with a little piece of the moment I had tonight! Sleep sweet.