Holidaze

I want to tell you all about my holiday. About the two lovely services we attended on Christmas Eve that book-ended a Christmas karaoke session. About the amazing homemade egg nog I conjured up for Christmas morning. (Thanks, Laura!) About the sparkly diamond earrings that my husband surprised me with. But I think I'll let a few photos speak for themselves. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Christmas morning

New Year's Eve

Crafty: Pyramid Advent Calendar

My first December craft was inspired by this Advent calendar. Now, mine may not have come out as fancy as that one, but I like how it turned out.

Here's how I did it.

Step 1: Gather your supplies. Stuff like lots of cardstock paper, markers (mine are fancy scrapbooking ones!), ribbon (for the hangin'), tape, garland, a ruler and scissors. Oh, and don't forget the YouTube video instructions on how to make a paper pyramid. That about sums it up.

Step 2: Light some seasonal candles. Thanks for the holiday cheer, Ikea!

Step 3: Put something festive on the tube. I chose Futurama's Christmas special, of course.

Step 4: Cut out a square and a corresponding triangle. The dimensions are up to you, but a 2" square worked well in my case. (Give the triangle a 2" base as well. Duh.)

Step 5: Cut out your pyramid origami using your square and triangle as guides. A la the YouTube instructions. Make sure to add tabs at the base of the square and base of the topmost triangle.

Step 6: Cut out lots of pyramid origami. You know, 25.

Step 7: Decorate and fold! Don't forget to add a looped ribbon (to hang on your garland) before you tape your pyramid closed.

Step 8: Add somethin' inside. I chose Advent Bible verses.

Step 9: Keep on making your pyramids. All 25 of 'em. Decorate as you see fit.

Step 10: String up your pyramids along some garland. Marvel at their prettiness, and enjoy!

 

Wish List

My birthday is tomorrow and Christmas is just a few weeks away, so I put together a list of things I'm currently craving. At the very least, I have something to save for.

Accessorize & Apparel-ize:

* Some boots to replace these cowboy-style boots that have served me well for the past 3ish years. I'm drooling over the Steven Intyce boots, but there might be others out there better suited to my aesthetic.

* A satchel bag. Something quirky like this fluorescent one from Bohemia or a calmer, more classic style like this one from Modcloth.

* Colored denim. Digging this red legging jean from Gap.

* Black pumps. My neutral Banana Republic pumps have been one of the best shoe investments I've made. 

Beautify:

* A bright or deep red lipstick, like one of the last two pictured here. And the guts to wear it.

* A gift certificate to Sephora. I'd love an opportunity to go crazy in there and not freak out at the prices. 

* Bare Escentuals eye makeup brushes. Yeah, I've been using a concealer brush to apply my eye shadow. Whatevs.

Digitize:

* An iPad. A girl can dream can't she?

* A digital SLR camera. It'll be either this or the iPad that comes from my SmartyPig savings.

Kitchenize:

* New oven mitts. (How practical of me!)

* An immersion blender.

* A Le Creuset dutch oven. Those things are fancy!

* A Vitamix. (Ha!)

* A new set of knives.

(Basically, I just want to upgrade all of my kitchen stuff. Except for my dishes. Hubs and I have awesome dishes.)

Banana Republic sweater, Old Navy scarf and coat, Steven boots, F21 bag