Sunday, December 27, 2015




two sundays ago i baked this almond kringla, packed up
my sleigh and headed to northfield for an annual Christmas celebration.

my friend leslie and her two daughters and i are besties. leslie and i
met 33 years ago and our lives have 
been intertwined ever since.

we've shared most of our happiest days, and also some
of our hardest and through all of that, a fierce bond has been forged. 
we have so darned much fun when we're together, i wish it could be
bottled up and shared... anyhoo~ here's a peek at our 2015 
Christmas celebration.










when i arrived in northfield i decided to take a quick drive down mainstreet before going to
christa's.  this little town is one of the prettiest in minnesota~ built right alongside a river 
and very historic. the store front windows were beautiful. it all made me so 
happy i started feeling like will ferrel in elf.




















this is the archer house inn. i haven't stayed there, but it's one of leslie and her
hubbie's fav. places to sleep.





so many fun shops...something for everyone here folks




now it was off to christas.
when i walked into her house i didn't know where to start. she had her whole
house so decked out it seriously could have been in a magazine.
here are just a few of the beautiful areas i took photos of.
(her bathrooms and 3 bedrooms were decorated too.)

the dining room table where we had our brunch
 was absolutely magical. 
there were decorations and inspirations, table favors and a new mug for each
of us at our places. delicious food was about to be served and
being there and having someone fuss like this for me almost
reduced me to tears.





mama leslie brought us these gingerbread mug huggers from anthropologie.
i'd seen them in their catalog but they were even better in person.
: )




the inside of maggie's new mug~




christa and leslie share a memory of a huge snowstorm
and looking out the window to see about 200 robins in the yard...
this mug reminded them of that.





we were also celebrating leslie's birthday... (61 but who's counting?)





christa told me if the house was on fire, this swedish candle centerpiece
was one thing she'd grab. the heat from tea lights spins the 
propeller at the top!











christa's last name begins with a U.
grama leslie has given her grandboys all these nutcrackers.
*it's traditions like these they will always remember.
















the front porch at the U's was beautiful too.
there was an old sled on the other side of the front door.





we all noticed how pretty the rain made their flowering crab berries look.











festive dogs were everywhere~





and this gruff looking old dude was nestled in a cupboard.
christa's oldest carved the candy cane.










c's treasured wooden nativity from jerusalem, displayed on a cake plate 



i'd really like a piece (or two) of this yummy quiche right now!








momma L and her girls










we exchange gifts and have fun searching for just the right thing for each other
all year long~







anthropologie ornament. 
i LOVE him....so reminds me of my boys and Lars.
look at his tiny stitched lips!



we didn't even get time to sit in their porch, but it sure looked
pretty in the background, while we sat by the fire.









Christmas is over now, and soon we'll be packing away the
tinsel~ getting ready for a new year to begin.

i hope you had lots of moments of joy and happiness that you
can look back on as the winter grows long.
but.....
*i think if we're being honest here, almost all of us also
had some moments where we were ready for it all
to be over, the overeating and the mess and ready for the company to head on home. 
: ) yee haw!!



we got the snow i was wishing for, both
at home and at our cabin and our clan spent all day
fishing on leech lake yesterday.
i'm just along for the fun of it and am not a 
real fisher, but after a quiet day out there, with little luck,
 lars stepped out of our ice house to go see if the kids
were catching anything. (we were in 5 different portable shacks)
 i saw a cork go down. i stood up and in a panick attempted to set
the hook and then started reeling in the line. it didn't feel
like much of anything so i assumed i'd soon see a little perch through
the hole, and then all of a sudden i saw a MONSTER walleye appear.
i started screaming like a little girl yelling "DALE"  "ERIC"
"COME HERE", and then all by myself i got it up and on the ice...and proceeded
to pee my pants!

a 26 inch walleye guys.
my biggest catch EVER. too big to even keep, but
i did get a picture (a bad one) with it before eric helped
get it off the hook and slipped it back down the hole.
i'm still smiling thinking about it. biggest catch of the day! horray!

well, it's sunday and most everyone is still sleeping.
i'm going to say goodbye now and start cleaning up.

Merry Christmas, happy sunday
take care & be blessed,
xo beth





Monday, December 21, 2015





happy Christmas week!

i thought i'd show you my window box  and the steps as i
was putting it together. 


i had fun assembling it with greens and
dogwood that my hubbie & i cut from the woods around the cabin.

i can't wait for it to be coated in snow and
it sounds like some may be coming right after Christmas.
yeah! 







before i began, i had to pull up what was left of the summer plants in the box.
this summer's growing season just went on with the
warm fall temps and there was still many lots of stuff blooming. 

i started out by putting red dogwood twigs in the center- using the soil that
was already in the box as my base.





then i started filling in with evergreens...



lars and i found some branches that had these interesting white cone
type deals on the ends, so i used some of those too~



most of the red berries here are artificial and i save them and use them from year to year,
but the white spheres made from birch bark and grapevine are new.
(available at tonkadale nursery)










i finished it off by adding  dried pee gee hydrangeas from the garden and white lights.
the hydrangeas aren't wired in...just pushed down in and pretty secure just by
being surrounded by the rest of the materials.

our kitchen table is in this bay and it looks almost as fun from the inside
as it does from the outside. * it's my winter secret garden.







now~ i know i sound like a broken record, but
snow baby snow!


b.


Friday, December 18, 2015

mug shots~



i got a fun text and photo from my niece on tues. telling me she's
obsessed with a mug i'd recently sent her.
(#anthro  #thriftshopfind   #letterJ)

it made me smile, and since i was drinking tea at the time
i snapped a pic of my Christmas mug and sent it back to her.
i also told her that i was obsessed with mugs. period.

i probably get a new/thrift shop mug every couple of months to add
to my collection and i have a lot~ 
but you know what??? i drink hot beverages all day and 
i don't understand how someone can find pleasure in
using the same ones day after week after month.

having a new mug just ups the ante or pleasure of
a warm cuppa something in your hand!
out with the old, in with the new.

*i get bored easily...and like to think that's the artist in me.
: )



that was all leading up to me showing you my Christmas mug collection.















this one is new this year...i bought it in honor of theo- the little
red squirrel that raids my bird feeders everyday~isn't he cute with a scarf?
i should knit one for T.





gingerbread men = Christmas





new this year, this one if from a resale shop and i love it's
scandanavian look











the polka dot mug above has this little detail on the inside.
love a little inside surprise!







this mug is for sure a fav~ at this house we love big red trucks and labrador pups.





it has inside flair too!

















front




back...
and speaking of snow, we've had some, but then it just keeps melting! not o.k.






my neighbor laurie surprised me with this darling "snow globe".
she made it using an old salt shaker, a bottle brush tree and snow.
the vintage ornament hung from bakers twine is the best! thanks laur!




this is my brand new mug and plate--- special gifts from my 
Christmas in northfield last sunday.
it's simple and i love it.









i wish this was a scratch and sniff blog post. i wish you could just smell this
Christmas potpourri that friend leslie makes every year.
she gave me a giant bag of it and i poured it in this wooden
bowl and my holidays are complete.

*girlfriend has been making her own potpourri for years and years. she 
forages for rose hips, pine cones & beautiful pine boughs, then adds
her hand made cinnamon stars, orange peel, anise stars, orris root, cinn. sticks
and who knows what else...all i can say is: lucky me. 













i saw the movie version of the nutcracker by the New York City ballet last week
(that beautiful music spells Christmas to me),
 had a fun Christmas party in 
the darling town of northfield last sunday (i'll be blogging soon
with pictures of all that fun) and i've started some holiday baking finally...

we're all extra busy right now i know, but if you stop by i'll let you pick
whichever Christmas mug you like, and we can share some Christmas tea.


xo, b.