making and decorating cut out sugar cookies is a larson tradition.

i've been making them since my 3 chickadees were wee babies

and as they grew up they each joined in on the fun and although

i don't make them for every holiday anymore, we always

manage to find a few hours in december to throw flour around, mix up colored

frosting and decorate our little hearts out.

my daughter suggested we make our cookies after Thanksgiving dinner this year.

i had every intention of getting the dough mixed and in the fridge to chill before she 

got to my house, but i diddled around too long with other stuff/stuffing and

so after we ate our turkey dinner i mixed the dough and we were off and

running~

 i sold my big dining room table a year ago and so

far am just getting by with a tiny little gem i found at goodwill, so i had to

bring in a card table so we'd have enough room for this big process.

i forgot to take any pics of the rolling and cutting part, but here

the baked cookies were piling up...(next year i want one of those cute cookie cutters

that is a tree on a truck.)    : )

i'm fussy about the colors of the frosting,

and it's a science to get them just right:

 "the yellow is a little too "yellow".

"oh shoot... now it looks like mustard!"

the fun part for us is not the mixing or the rolling, or the cutting or the baking~

it's the decorating!!!

my oldest took an occasional break from the football game to see

how we were doing (and sneak dough or lame cookies). he also 

tried his hand at putting some stripes on a candy cane. with a spoon.

dude's got some talent. 

*one of his high school jobs was cleaning the bakery at byerlys grocery store.

ignore the nasty pan and focus on the artistry k?

 ad had two parties she wanted to bring her cookies to, 

i on the other hand, just might eat them all myself. 
i kid.

i thought it would be pretty to take a picture of some cookies

against the beautiful snow we had that weekend.

(all our snow is gone now and i don't like it at all... just say'n)

right before she left, my girl lifted up her hoodie and flashed me this

funny t-shirt she got as a gift.

: )

hope your monday is kind to you and if

you have any extra kindness to share,

scatter it around like glitter. everywhere you go~

xo, beth

back it up to Fall~

there have been a few extra busy weeks for me

as a photographer and as a result i haven't

had time to floss my teeth, vacuum or write a blog post.

(please don't look too closely at my castle if you stop over).

but here i am~ i'm back!

these pics are from up north during deer hunting season.

everyone goes out to freeze in a deer stand but the dogs and i.

we stay in where it's warm. They nap, i keep the woodstove full, do a bit of dusting, 

a bit of cooking, quite a bit of reading

and life is good.

i did get lars to help me forage in the woods for red twigs and

evergreen boughs to bring home for my window box and i'll show you

that in another post.

i like to wire fresh evergreen to the bird feeding station because it

looks festive and gives our little friends more shelter when they

come to feed.

oh and i dug the carrots, they grew like crazy this year.

my one and only daughter...we call her "the huntress" is the only

one of the gang that goes out before dawn to hunt and never comes in

all the live long day.

all the guys come in to use a bathroom, take a nap, eat whatever

i'm cooking etc.

*

not mrs. pettit. 

girlfriend is hardcore. she's always the last one in at night too.

our 3 fur balls do not like being left behind. they nap ~out of boredom, but are

always on high alert...snapping to attention at the first sound of

anyone returning.

i treasure this antique sign. it was my grams.

i snapped a few photos on my way home on tuesday. this is the road that leads away

from our cabin.

you see a lot of these at the end of driveways up north. (and locked gates).

 look closely and you'll see antlers hanging on the little shed.

hunters love their antlers and like to display them.

(in case you haven't noticed, antlers are "in" for home decor)

i guess that means i was cool before it was cool?

hello big black bull

i love old worn out, once loved houses like this.

imagine the stories it could tell.

the colors are so muted and beautiful it looks like a painting.

Thanksgiving has come and gone now and as far as i'm concerned,

even though the calendar still says november...

we are officially in full blown Christmas Season.

i have turned my outside lights on for about a week and will go get

our tree soon. i love this month so much, as everything ramps up and
we get ready to celebrate the birth of a baby~ 

a baby that changed everything.

peace and love,

beth

i just got home from 6 days at our cabin. ( i call it the lodge).

it is hunting season and all 3 of our kids ~our 2 boys and 1 girl~ love to 

hunt and fish. they have followed in their father's footsteps...footsteps leading

them to the lake, into the woods, 

& into cabelas.

: )

i have always preferred to watch from the sidelines,

cheering them on, but never learning to clean

a fish or cook wild game. (i'm smart like that).

while they are out doing all that hunting stuff i busy myself inside, 

cooking, doing laundry and

cleaning...oh the cleaning.

with muddy boots, 3 big dogs  and sandy soil, 

the cleaning there is never ending. well, on day 2 of being there i

bent over to pick up a patio table and my back went out on me.

i was in a lot of pain and couldn't really do any of the things i would

normally have been doing, so i just sat in a recliner.

it bugged me because i felt restless and useless.

i had magazines and books to read and my computer on my lap,

but like most women, i'm not used to sitting around all

day. by day 2 i could do more, but i also just worked on not feeling

 guilty~ having a bad backache is kind of like

being sick right? and being sick is literally the only time i don't feel

guilt if i'm not being productive.

i ended up actually liking that i had an "excuse" to not work 

the whole time i was there. it was like a little knock upside

the head to just relax.

well i stumbled on the video below today and i think it's

worth watching. our world keeps spinning us faster and faster

and as women, (especially any of you who are younger and 

reading this) we really need to give ourselves permission

to just chill out more. 

give yourself permission

 and then please

encourage your daughters, sisters and girlfriends, to do the same.

now...will you take a breather and watch this great 3 minute video made in the UK?

i loved the british accents and the suggestion to make a "don't do" list.

________________________________

i'm going to bed to read now,

xox~ beth

last weekend was our annual baldwin girls weekend in redwood falls.

my cousin sue has lived there and taught school there her

whole adult life! 

it just happened to be halloween weekend so we had to embrace our

halloweenishness.

(new word websters?)

nancy brought suzie this gorgeous fresh bouquet

made in a pumpkin, and witchy headbands for everyone.

anna is always willing to set my camera up for an automatic photos so 

we can all get in a frame.

there were about 24 to choose from. lol

our hostess always does a workout routine in the living room while the

rest of us sit around eating and watching her.

*whatev's.

my sis knows how much i love sea glass and she brought me this!

maddie brought us all these. : D

so have you jumped on the coloring bandwagon yet?

if not get with it people!!

adult coloring books are everywhere and being on the cutting edge 

of all that kind of stuff, sat. afternoon we sat around snacking (again),

talking smack and coloring.

cousin barb even belongs to a coloring club!

that's a club that just about anyone qualifies for. i like that.

see sue over there in her kitchen? she just quietly cooks for

us about the whole time we are there.

LOVE HER.

saturday we went to the scary haunted house in town. most of us had never

been to one and were were nervous,

giddy and pretty sure we'd need depends underwear. 

the community did an amazing job making an old

hotel into a very dark and scary place. there were

some sore throats that night from all the screaming.

  sue and her

nieces started making dinner for all of us before we left,

they were making home made noodles here.

sue got interrupted by the doorbell many times and rushed to greet

her students and give them treats.

how cute are these two?

 believe it or not sue taught their momma too!

anna brought this fab bottle of wine for herself, but graciously shared it.

we always have a million good laughs when we're together, but this year there

was a particular favorite funny.

it's not about cruelty to animals, but suz had a gold fish that was nearing it's final

flip flop, and it was in this bowl in the kitchen.

we of course had to have some fun with that.

sunday was all saints day, and we knew the end was near, so we moved him to the

table and laid hands on and wished goldie well.

(we were ready to ring the bell.)

he was still alive when we left, but sadly enough,

sue reported on monday morning he/she was gone.

(i suggested that in the future, she shouldn't hug her fish so hard, he appeared to have
a broken back).

i got the giggles twice driving home alone and once

in the middle of the night when i was awake and i laughed OUT LOUD thinking about some of

the funniest parts of our weekend. (like hiding all 125 of sue's beanie babies around

the house while she ran to church...she's found about 1/2 of them.)

it's just so good for your heart to spend time with family and

just be yourselves. warts and all.

thanks susan for another hilariously fun weekend!

xo, beth

 out takes~