our very own martha stewart

 

 

this post doesn't need a lot of words.

it's our book club's Christmas party at jill's.

*girlfriend is a rock star entertainer.*

she cooks, she decorates, she gives fabulous

favors, she makes the best meatballs & caramels in Minnesota.

 every year she invites the 7 of us who

have gathered to discuss books and

talk about our kids/ lives

for the past 14 years,

to gather at her table right before Christmas.

how lucky are we???

there was a collective gasp of wonder when each of us walked into her dining room!

 

 

 

 

 



 
 
 

jill even gifted each of us with a set of hand blown Christmas trees and candle

sticks from the table when the evening was over.

(it felt almost sacrilegious to me to strip this table of it's wonder)

but THANK YOU jilly!

 



the mcshanes put up a full size

Christmas tree with lights outside- in front of their living room window.
isn't that a fun idea?

 

it was a beautiful, cozy evening with girl friends-

a perfect way to celebrate the season.

 

 it's friday and I am officially done with
work till after the new year--- joy to the world!
 

xo, beth

 

 





want to see a miracle?

these are the dronen kids.

the oldest is 2, the middle pumpkin is 1 and

now they have a precious little girl.

 

this isn't just any little girl though- she is what I consider

a miracle.

 

Audrey Estelle was born at only 30 weeks gestation.



and that's not even the most miraculous part of her birth story~

her momma's water broke when she was only 25 weeks pregnant and

she was on vacation 800 miles from home.

she was rushed to the hospital and kept there-on complete bed rest-

for the next 5 weeks, while her little papoose girl incubated and

continued to grow- with no water bag to insulate her.

 

to tell you the truth, I've never heard of this happening and I didn't

even know it was possible!

 

against all odds, this strong little girl kept growing and thriving and

even though she was born 8 weeks early- she was unbelievably

healthy and got to come home to Minnesota

long before her expected due date of December 31st.

 



this family of five could not be sweeter. I'm constantly amazed at

Jessica's strength and patience as a mother. no one could do a better job

of raising 3 children under 3,  (& one a preemie.)

Blake flew back and forth between home in Minnesota and their two

little boys and his wife's side in Colorado, every few days for weeks and weeks and was

just a rock star husband and father. kudos to him too! 

: )

 



o.k, let's be real for a minute- Bennett is maybe just a tad

out of sorts about the fact that his momma had just gotten

home after "disappearing" for over 35 days- he's 1 after all and there's no way

he could understand all that was going on in their family.

good thing he is so absolutely adorable, we can forgive him any and all

melt downs and fingers up the nose right?

these two photos are just so funny and so real to me-...hee hee
I love these little boys!

 



I love this picture so much. it took a whole village of people who love and care

about this family to HOPE and pray and will this

precious baby to be born. she is here, and she is healthy and

she is so beautiful.
all 3 lbs. 15 oz. of baby girl!

 just wait till you see my next post.

it's from another photo shoot- and she's a couple

weeks older.

 

 

xo, beth

she loves Christmas...

 

 

I made a boat load of vintage(y) little Christmas ornaments this fall.

they were time consuming, but easy, and i'm going to show you how~

 

*I started with small cardboard jewelry boxes

*you use both the top and the bottom

*first I painted them a creamy white

*then I thinned down glue and painted over the cream paint

then quickly sprinkled them with glitter

lots and lots of glitter!

(too much glitter isn't possible)

*next I used my antique typewriter and typed out phrases like

peace on earth.

*the next step was to cut out the individual words and mount a small

piece of cardboard on the back of each one, so when I glued them

in the little boxes, they'd stand out- and be 3-d.

*I also put a little glue and glitter around the outside of each word, let

them dry and glued them in the box.

*now the fun part...I bought these little Christmas trees at Micheals

and again put a bit of watered down glue and then glitter on them

*finally I glued the trees (when dried) to the bottom of the little boxes,

punched a hole in the top and strung string through to hang with 

there you have it-

tiny little shadow box ornaments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i made almost 40 of these.... (and have some for

sale if you're interested~ )  :  )

 

this afternoon i started wrapping gifts and it's calming me to

know that that big job is getting done.

i also made a long list and did a grocery buy so when it's

snowing tomorrow i can hunker down and do some baking.

it's my Christmas party for work sat. and  now it truly feels like

Chirstmas to me.

 

enjoy the hustle and bustle of your weekend, and why don't you treat

yourself to a cup of something warm if you're out and about.

if you have a big sweetie, ask them to give you a little back rub maybe?

take a hot bath, light a candle- sit by your Christmas tree with your eyes closed for a bit- what i'm trying to say is this- don't forget to take a little time to enjoy yourself.

this month of December can and usually is kooky busy and in the blink of an

eye it will be January....... quiet, cold January.

be still for a while and do what you need to do to feel happy.

the rest can wait~

 

xo and joy,

beth

 

 



a birthday in december~

 

 

December 10th

 

 

today is my friend leslie's birthday.

sunday she, her two daughters and I met in northfield to

celebrate her.

 

 

leslie's oldest daughter and her husband moved to this historic little town

in april and I hadn't been there yet to visit. I had seen a few pictures of their

home, but like I told them, no one went on sufficiently for me to have

been prepared for how wonderful it all is.

.

 

so, christa loves to decorate. almost as much as her momma. she learned from

the best and she

had outdone herself this Christmas! all these photos are in their home- touches of Christmas

were everywhere. it was a feast for the eyes and  it warmed my heart.

 

 

hi joe and christa!

these ginger cookies are magic. rumor has it that you make a wish and lay one

in the palm of your hand, then press firmly in the center with one finger. if it breaks in

thirds- whatever wish you wished WILL come true. 

 

 

 

this tree is in their kitchen 

two of their 3 boys opening a little gift from grandma

 



here the littlest elf was hamming it up on the bed for me. he loved having his

picture taken. I loved taking them.  :  )

grama leslie gives each boy a nutcracker every Christmas. don't they

look festive all lined up on the mantle?

this is the front entry of their home. from the moment I walked in,

I was enchanted with this house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 there is a screen porch on the front of the house. that's unusual, but the

house is nestled on a wooded lot and although they are in town,

they are at the end of a dead end street and it feels very private.

(i'd love a screen porch on the front of my house~)

 

see the photo below for a look at the whole front of their beautiful home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wishing one of my oldest, dearest friends a happy birthday.

our day together was such fun (the roads were so treacherous we were nuts to drive down, but that's how much we love you Leslie)-

northfield,

"i'll be back".

 

 

 

xo, beth

 

*I might have time to show you some of the

pics of downtown northfield later in the week.

 

if you haven't ever been there, you should

grab a friend and make a day of it.

it's on the river, old, historic and oh so charming! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sharing beautiful

                                               this fabulous photography is by an
                                                      artist named ditte isagar.

I am fairly mesmorized by his work.

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

this is our Christmas from tree last year.

I am about to start decorating this years beauty.

 I think a little bailey's on ice is in order.

Christmas music? why yes, I think so.

I've lit a couple candles and my oldest has even

wrapped gifts and they are ready to

plop under the tree.

happy Friday.

happy weekend.

happy me!

 

xo, beth



 

 

 

here are some favorite shots from our thanksgiving weekend

I decided I needed to peel one more potato and look at the one I pulled out of the bag.



cheesecake factory pumpkin dessert- y-u-m

my girl trying to protect her girl from the constant

ear licking by duke. poor kenzie. duke loves her. kind of a lot.

cole made this fabulous flag out of old pallets that are stacked in the woods.

i knew nothing about it- just got to the lodge and there it was on the wall!

he'd had the idea, built it, bought paint and cut a star stencil himself.

mama likey~



here's a swag I made for the fence

buffalo plaid is one of my favorite things. I like it for wool shirts, scarfs, tablecloths, you

name it. it just says lumberjack Christmas to me.

it's on to December now,

 

are you decorating yet? because thanksgiving was so

late this year the month of Christmas is going to fly by.

I hope to have the tree up and a lot of the decorating done by Monday.

here in Minnesota we got a few inches of new snow and it's

beginning to look and feel ALOT like Christmas,

 

 

have a blessed week,

xo beth

 

 

 

*today is my dear sister's birthday- "happy birthday dawnie- I love you"!!!