The Slow Lane

First, I want to say

thank you

merci

danke

gracias

tack

For all of the kind,

encouraging and just

darn nice comments

that you left for me

on my last post.

Several readers wrote

to me, asking if I would

please spill the beans on

how to create some of the

fun things that were part

of my daughter's party.

Of course, since I

love to share, here are

links to the resources

that we used.  

Felt flowers
Better Homes & Gardens
December 2011*

Rolled paper flowers
Jones Design Co.

Cutting the marshmallows into squares

Homemade marshmallows
If you've never had them, 
they're amazing.
Smitten Kitchen

The BEST frosting
{Really, you have to try it!}
Tasty Kitchen

Slowly but surely, it's

beginning to look a lot like

 Christmas at our house.

I'm not the pull out all of 

the boxes on one day and

it's done sort of a girl.

No.

No, no, no.

First I have to clear the

decks so things are a

bit spartan, then 

s

l

o

w

l

y

start to pull things out and

begin the process of making

our home feel merry.

Speaking of which, I fell

in love with a picture in the

holiday Pottery Barn catalog. 
The part I liked, metal letters

hanging off a big antler over
a TV, was not for sale.  


{They didn't use the letters 
on their website, but here's 
the basic idea.}

Inspired by their look,
I decided to create
my own.

Not having access to a moose

or caribou antler, I asked a

woodsy friend if she could find

me a birch branch, which 
she did. 

Next, I found metal letters on

Etsy.com to spell out my message.

I used temporary hooks  
to hold the whole she-bang 
in place.

What do you think?

I also wanted to bring in

more nature to my dining room,

so the same friend brought me

lacy birch and popular branches,

which we perched on top of

the chandelier.

I'm hoping to find tiny 

snowflakes or crystals to hang

among the branches, but even

plain, I love this look!

The fresh promise of spring

bulbs potted in all sorts of

containers around the house

brings a smile to my face.  I

think I may have started a bit

too late, but it doesn't matter.  

These sweet blooms will be

 a special present whenever

they decide to make an

appearance.

Are you a fast, out of the gate

Christmas decorator, or are

you a slow-bird, taking your

time and savoring the process?

If you are the former, you most

likely have all your shopping 

done and wrapped, mailed your

cards, finished baking and are 

spending your free time watching 

Christmas movies or reading books 

with a cup of tea near the glow of

the tree, which is my goal 

every

single 

year.

Hasn't happened, yet.

This year, instead of expecting

this old dog to learn new tricks,

I'm going to let her go gently

into this Christmas season, at

her own pace, soaking it all in

instead of sprinting to the finish.

This weekend I'll be adding 

a few more decorations to our 

Christmas tree and start writing

and addressing the cards.

Red Lion Amaryllis bulb.

I'm optimistic that if I quiet

the Christmas din that 

threatens to swallow us up at

this time of year, I'll have a

moment or two to share with

you on Monday : )

Have a wonderful weekend.

{Be merry!}

xx

Suzanne

PS:  The winner of the

mymemories.com software

is


Julie
Life is What You Make Of It

Congratulations : )


*If you don't have
access to BH&G, write
me and I'll send you
the step by steps.




Linking to these
fine folks:

Here

Here