DIY: Simple Christmas Stockings / December 3, 2012 by Katie Brightbill

I make my own stockings every year. It seems like a big task, but they're incredibly simple to make. Making them annually also gives me the flexibility to decorate in different ways each year, and still have our stockings blend with the rest of our home decor.

For 4 stockings, you will need:

2 yards of fabric for stocking body
1/2 yard of fabric for the top
Scissors
Sewing machine or hand sewing kit

Step 1: Start by folding your 2 yards of fabric in half (to cut matching pieces). Place an old stocking from last year on it.

Step 2: Trace your old stocking about an inch wider than your old stocking to allow for your seams.

Step 3: Cut out your stockings.

Step 4: Sew your stockings, right sides together, leaving the tops open. Turn them right side out and iron them.

Step 5: Measure the width of the top of your new cutout stocking. Cut your contrasting fabric the width of the stocking by 8 inches, plus an inch to allow for the seam.

Step 6: Sew the tops inside out to form a tube.

Step 7: Pull the stocking into the tube so the right sides are together. Pin the top edge of the stocking to the edge of the top and stitch. Pull the top up so it's right side out. Now the top is sewn onto the stocking.

Step 8: Hem the top of the stocking by folding the top inside one inch and hand sew a few invisible stitches. Once it is all complete, iron and hang on your mantel!

Happy Decorating!

Erin

Bloglovin / December 2, 2012 by Kate Brightbill

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Real Life / November 30, 2012 by Katie Brightbill

This week was pretty great in real life.

We spent the holidays with my husband's family in Pennsylvania, which was festive and relaxing and cold. My husband and I had to fly back separately because of flight/miles restrictions, so he took Maggie with him and I kept Sophie an extra two days. The girls have never been separated that long, so I was a little nervous about the whole thing. It ended up being amazing for both girls to have a little one-on-one time. Both just seemed to bask in their own extra attention and we realized that maybe we should get little dates with each more often!

So here are some highlights:

Sophie & I woke up to snow our last full day in Pennsylvania, aka her last full day of being three. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to our best year together yet. Seriously, three years old is such a sweet time of life. I'm excited about four because I hear it only gets better, but I can't imagine that being possible. We had a good time outside in the freezing cold throwing snow around and running to make footprints everywhere.

We also went and grabbed some Blue Bottle Coffee (ahh, I LOVE it) in this perfect little cafe in P.A. called The Baker's Table. It opened recently and it is such the right mix of classic and modern decor, and they serve some of the best baked goods around... and I repeat: Blue Bottle coffee; need I say more? If you're in the area, get over there!

Got home to rain and storms. I don't mind rain so much, actually. We have a cozy home with a nice heater, and we can go outside in our rain boots with umbrellas, so it's not so bad. My husband's cousin is staying with us, so today we got our "tourist" on and stopped at Boudin's for clam chowder in a bread bowl. I will use any excuse to stop there. I've tried making the same thing with the same ingredients at home, but Boudin's makes it best 100% of the time.

They also make bread in the shape of animals, which is a hit with the little ones.

Also a big deal with the kiddos is the Christmas setup. We ate soup and admired the giant plush animals and Christmas lights. They insisted we sit as close as we possibly could to them. And oh gosh, I can't get enough of winter hats on little kids. Puff balls on the top? Little rosy cheeks and cozy ears? So much cuteness.

Sophie jumped in every puddle on our walk to the bus stop, so she looked like she had fallen in a swimming pool. She was fine with that because she had her "brella" and that's all she needed.

So to sum it all up, it was a wintery blissful & chaotic week, and we're beyond happy it's almost the weekend!

*Kate

Memories / November 29, 2012 by Katie Brightbill

After a big day of travel across the country yesterday, and celebrating the best little four year old I've ever met, today I am simply going to write.

Christmas is coming. I've always loved this time of year. In my adult life, it became much about specialty coffees and nostalgic music, but my kids have started making it feel magical. Rather than reminiscing about good old days when I made lasting memories, we're instead making new memories that last. Rather than looking behind, I'm enjoying the time simply being.

Simplicity is a tricky thing in our world these days. We have the ability to communicate with people across the world and often, our next door neighbors are the last people we call when we need anything. We can hop on a plane and get across the country in a few hours, but sometimes when our friends have babies, we find it very difficult to drive 45 minutes to visit them. We have so much luxury, but sometimes I skew my priorities and miss what's right in front of me.

When I first had Sophie, four delightful years ago, I really had no friends in the same boat as me. Everyone had day jobs, and Sophie and I were basically on our own during the day. I didn't have a car (still don't), so I wasn't driving to get from here to there. Although I often felt lonely for friends my own age, the two of us had such a sweet time together making memories. We weren't in any hurry to get anywhere. We had all the time in the world to go to the grocery store and home, and we'd walk to the bay and picnic and play in the grass with a ball or toy more days than not. Simplicity.

As kids get older, they obviously become more social. It takes me being deliberate not to over-schedule and make our lives too hurried. I like taking them to activities, but I also really want my kids to be able to just be kids, playing their little hearts out with their imaginations. And here's the trickiest part of the whole simplifying thing: I want to imagine with them.

How easy it is to just build a tent and let them play and kind of watch or go clean the house... but how many more memories I'll make if I stay and crawl inside those tents and turn on the flashlight and we take turns telling stories together. How easy it is to just bake the cookies while they're taking naps, but how much more fun if we all make a mess together.

I don't want to live my life constantly looking for the next thing. I want to make memories today...

...and today, we will make our home look like Christmas is coming!

LOVE,
Kate

Gift Guide: Toys / November 27, 2012 by Katie Brightbill

Gifts, gifts, gifts! My gift guide is back, this time it's all about toys!

1. Jump rope. 2. Tea Set. 3. Wooden Dog. 4. Play Food. 5. Doll. 6. Percussion Set.

The girl toys are the easiest thing in the world for me to round up for you; these are really just things Sophie would pick, and I know a lot of her little girl friends are similar. Sophie plays with pretend food and has tea parties with dolls and Maggie all day long. We dance around the house with maracas, so the instruments would be a hit in our house. A jump rope would be a good coordination activity for the fours and five-year-olds. I've also included a wooden pull dog. Imaginations run wild with the preschool age, and I'm positive Sophie would be absolutely delighted to have her own "pet dog."

1. Cargo Ship & Truck. 2. Soccer Ball. 3. Drum Set. 4. Toy Race Car. 5. Cozy Lion. 6. Blocks.

Musical instruments, building blocks, balls, cars and roaring lions are hits with the little boys I know. Plenty of space for imagination and messes and noise!

1. Things That Go Book. 2. Hazel Village Lucy Owl. 3. Sheep Anamalz. 4. Zoo Shape Sorter. 5. Flapping Seal. 6. Wooden Bead Grasper. 7. Sophie Giraffe. 8. Soft Blocks.

Babies put everything in their mouths, so it's important to me that their toys are safe and chewable. Teething toys are great for soothing. Plush toys are fun to gum and roll over and throw. As they get older, it's nice to have some learning toys and a great push/pull toy. Maggie loves her flapping seal and the good thing about the Plan brand is that they work forward AND backward. Most other brands only go one way or the other.

Have fun choosing toys for the little ones in your life!! Isn't it such luxury that these days we can just grab things online with a click on a screen? As a mother, online shopping is just so handy when you don't want to lug the kiddos out and about, right? I love it.

Happy Gifting!

Kate

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Make It: Apple Crumb Pie / November 26, 2012 by Katie Brightbill

I love a good pie recipe in the winter. The smell of a baking pie always got me really excited as a kid, and I want my kids to have sweet smells around our house just like I had. It's such a blissful nostalgia for me. I've been a big slacker in the baking department, so my mother-in-law taught me (and you!) an easy recipe for the tastiest apple pie this week... Bonus: it was actually FUN for me... If you know me, you know that's saying something. Anyway, enough chatter; let me get to it:

You will need:

Pie Ingredients:

1 Pie Dough, 2T Tapioca, 6 Large Apples (or enough to fill the pie pan), peeled, cored & sliced.

Mixture:

Combine 3/4 C Sugar, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, 2 T Flour.

Crumb topping:

Blend 1 C Flour, 1/2 C Butter, softened, 1/2 C Brown Sugar, 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon.

Step 1:

Make or buy pie crust. Use a rolling pin to roll it flat, cover your pie pan with the flattened dough. Trim the edges so it doesn't roll over the pan, then pinch the edges so they look lacy.