Making Spirits Bright

I went running this week.  I can't tell you the last time I have "gone for a run" as people who regularly exercise call it.  In fact, I went for a run two days in a row.  What is happening to me?  At a time when everything is about tradition and the familiar, I'm out of my comfort zone - literally - and doing something new.

Not sure if this is going to be a new tradition as my run ended up only being a little over a mile (all my half-marathoner friends...I don't know how you do it), but to get me back to my center I've been focusing on what really counts.

Fawning over Franklin.

He just got a bath and is frisking all over the house, running in circles and picking up every toy he has, but it will only be a few minutes until he's calmed down and crashes for a nap.

I love that Franklin.

























And this one.


























And this one.

























And these.


























We are enjoying our family of three this Christmas, but feel so blessed to have such great families and friends to share with.  Thank you for filling up our office cork board and thinking of us this holiday season! 

























Franklin is especially grateful for our neighbor Anne who spoils him rotten and made him his very own dog-friendly Christmas cookies.

























Unfortunately, since we still have yet to win the lottery we couldn't send out Christmas Cards to everyone that we would have liked to surprise by popping up in their mailbox this time of year.  So keep your fingers crossed for us next year, and until then...




























Have a very Merry Christmas!  Enjoy the time with loved ones, good food and spirits, safe travels and the feeling that only comes once a year.


Here's to making it through the last work day of the year for me.  Ahh...

Musings

1. Franklin has a really bad habit.  You are probably thinking, "another one?"  Yes, another.

Every night to keep him off of our bed he falls asleep on either of our laps in Andrew's huge man chair.  As soon as you prop your feet up, he is next to the chair, tail wagging, front paws up on your leg.  Just warning any future house guests.   If you happen to sit in the chair, you may have company.

Obviously we can't have kids right now.  We already have a baby.  Who can fall asleep half on the chair, half off.


























2. I made nine pans of homemade cinnamon rolls this past Saturday to share with our neighbors.  My entire house smelled so good, but I'm glad Christmas only comes once a year.  It was so much work.  I did keep one pan to enjoy myself.  Duh.






































Our newest neighbor sent me a Facebook message and said they were the best he had ever had.  I don't even care if he was lying.  I'll take the accolades. 
























3. Christmas time = busy time.  Our social life has really picked up since Casey and Lora moved to Wichita.  In one weekend, we went to dinner, went to the Nutcracker and took a trolley tour through College Hill with them.  Yeah, we are popular and cool.  :)  As you can see, we really fit in in this scene.


























4.  Really glad I got pictures of the ballet since Andrew could not wait to go.  I think it was his favorite thing we've done this year. 


























5.  Love, love, love this picture.   Something about it just stops me.





















So now I'm stopped.  And that's it.

It's Christmas Time

I'm ready.  I've been elfing all over the place in Wichita - shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, repeat, repeat, repeat.  All while caroling (alone) along to Christmas classics.  You know.  The good stuff.  Like NSync Home for the Holidays (circa 1996?), Mariah Carey, Wham!, Bruce Springsteen and Glee (thanks Mom!).  I do have other Christmas music that probably qualifies a bit more as actual classics - tunes from Bing Crosby, White Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas and Home Alone.  Come on.  Home Alone absolutely qualifies as a Christmas classic.  Side note - can you this movie hit the box office 20 years ago?!

Anyways, now that we're one and a half weeks out from Christmas, I can finally share the fruits of my labor.  Things I look forward to all year long.  And only get to enjoy them for four weeks.  But that's what makes them so special.  Yes, I am calling you out retailers and radio stations - the Christmas season starts after Thanksgiving Day.  Quit forcing it down my throat earlier than that.

And after that soap box, you will not be surprised our lights didn't go up until after our company left on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

























Sharing our tree with the neighbors.







































Willie especially loves Christmas cheer. 

























We're in the keep-it-simple camp - sorry Clark Griswold, but I am definitely open to adding some more holiday cheer to our exterior next year (after I grab it up on sale this year after Christmas - duh).  I'm thinking wreaths for all of our front windows, more lights to line the full front of our house and possibly lights on these charmers.  So basically, I want more sparkle! 

























Don't even get me started on how much I am loving this cranberry wreath.  Love, love, love.










































One of the best things about this time of year...CHRISTMAS CARDS!  I love checking the mail for them every day.  I clear off my office cork-board and stare at our received cards all day long.  Happy face. 
























So glad we finally have a mantle to hang our stockings from.  And how else would Santa bring the presents into our house?  Yep, Frank gets a stocking.  It matches Andrew's.  Mine is the boot.  Yeehaw!
We have even roasted marshmallows already this season.  Cozy to the max in this house y'all.

























Another holiday fave - wrapping paper.  Good wrapping makes a present even better.  Yep, it's a fact.  I love the day I go and pick out my holiday wrapping paper.  This year, I stumbled upon these two gems at Hobby Lobby.

























Great quality, love the natural look, and love my little nutcrackers.  If I was really smart the day I wrapped our gifts, I would have wrapped the Moore family in one style and the Boye family in the other.  But, I didn't.  Oh well.  Next year.  This is why they say things get better with age.


And now for the grand daddy of all Christmas decorations.  Oh Christmas Tree.  If admiring it every night is wrong, I don't want to be right.







































I piled on almost all of my ornaments, old and new, plus some extras this year.  I love how it all works together.































































































































































Oh hey.




























Bonus - finally found a tree skirt I liked. On the third year of my search, TJ Maxx to the rescue.






























And there you have it.  Christmas at the Moore house.  Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night.

L-U-C-K

As many of you know, I'm an avid reader of Young House Love.  One of my first blogs I ever read and still continue to read.  And, perhaps you remember here when I thought I was going to be featured in a reader re-design?  What a disappointment.

But, as an almost-always optimistic person, when I received an email from John at YHL on Thanksgiving Day telling me I had won a pretty amazing giveaway, well, let's just say there are definitely no hard feelings anymore.

I haven't posted about this until now as I was waiting for the giver of the prize to contact me.  And she did.  And we've talked.  And now we're best friends.  Just kidding.  But, really, pretty psyched to work with her as she is doing a $350 original painting for Andrew and I.  FOR FREE.  Seriously.  Best.  Prize.  EVER.

Erica from Studio Eriksdotter is going to give us our first piece of real art.  I am pumped.  We decided she'll paint a hydrangea bloom.  I just love them.  I used them in our wedding.  I planted them at our house.  I took a bazillion pictures of them on our vacation.  It's just fitting.  Lucky for me, she is so great at florals and has been wanting to paint a hydrangea.  Eek!

She's booked until mid-January, so I have to be patient until then.  Or try to be.  I'm already thinking about how to incorporate this into our living room, and it's sparking some other new ideas for decor...here we go. 

Coming to a Mailbox Near You

Every day I told myself I was going to blog this week.  And every day I didn't.  I have great things to share, but life has gotten in the way.  I've said it before, and this won't be the last time.  I've been busy.

Working on these...



But, now they are done.  Each hand addressed, each with a personal note on the back for each of my recipients. 

I just like the details, what can I say. 

Except for one.  Out of nearly 60 Christmas cards (with about 15 left to hand deliver here in Wichita), I'm only waiting on one address.  You know who you are anonymous Grant LacKamp.  Don't tell me you don't check Facebook!  :)

Fun things coming your way, blog world...

Thank-full

I feel like I am always saying this, but the past few weeks have been so busy, and now I'm behind on posting.  And, I hate being behind anytime, but especially during the holidays.  Because I love everything about them and want to enjoy them and not feel like I am just getting by or catching up.

So here goes.

Andrew and I got back from our amazing vacation with Adam and Emily late on Thursday night.  On Friday we were lazy all morning, and then I decided to rake eight humongous bags of leaves from our front yard that afternoon.  On Saturday morning we packed up and headed to Hiawatha for a wedding.  On Sunday late afternoon we got back to Wichita, and I went and bought a cart overflowing with groceries from Dillons.

I cleaned our and scrubbed down our fridge and pantry.  Sickly, I love doing this.  I love the way my fridge looks after a good cleaning.  Everything clean and shiny.  All my food organized.  Sick.

Monday, we cleaned the inside of our windows AND THE BLINDS (worst job ever) and finished them up Tuesday, along with the baseboards.  We were also supposed to clean, clean, clean on Tuesday night, but we just couldn't muster the drive to do that so instead we watched K-State basketball (no comment, except for that my husband needs to take a chill-pill before games), and I edited pictures.

So here we are, the day before Thanksgiving, and we haven't cleaned, and I haven't started cooking.  Why did I do this to myself??

TL gave us the afternoon off, so thankful for that, because I spent like six hours cleaning my house like a mad woman.  I had just gotten out of the shower and ready when Andrew's parents and little brother showed up around 7:30pm that night.  Just in time for me to start cooking.

I make my grandma's stuffing recipe because it's what I grew up on and nothing tastes as good.  I'm a stuffing snob.  However, it's a lot of work.  Two batches of homemade cornbread and one batch of homemade biscuits have to be ready to go before you can start mixing everything together.  But, I got it done, along with Andrew's Texas Chocolate Sheetcake before bed.

Thanksgiving day was fantastic.  All of my family showed up by noon, and we ate around 1:30pm.  And, my turkey turned out beautifully.


It better; it's all I think about Monday - Friday for eight hours a day. 

Last year we hosted Thanksgiving, and everything tasted good, but I just felt like we were scrambling to throw everything together.  So, this year we upped the ante.   I cleaned as I went.  I scheduled when things went in the oven, when to start the mashed potatoes, etc., etc.


And, I decorated my table much better.  Number one priority.  :)



I wanted to incorporate some orange, and I found the perfect table runner at Target.


Love the detailed stitching.  And, I love the brighter colors...it's a fun twist on fall.  I found some cheery orange napkins at World Market, and then arranged my own centerpieces with flowers I picked up from the store.  (By the way, they still look great!)


I wish I would have taken more pictures of the table, but someone had to get dinner on the table.  One additional newcomer to the table though.  We saw this in Napa, and I knew I wanted to steal it and fancy up my meal this way.  Water in old wine bottle instead of the traditional pitcher.  Love.





































Our spread, just waiting on the turkey to be carved.





































(By the way, did you notice?  I switched out some pictures above our credenza/buffet...cute kiddos.)


We are ready to eat!!


Everything was delicious.  At least no one said otherwise.  Ha.

Andrew and I were totally those people and made everyone go around the table and say what they were thankful for.  Our future children are going to love us.  I only said a few things, but we have so much to be thankful for.

1. Jobs (especially since I just got a promotion - woohoo!)
2. A house we love in a neighborhood we love
3. Education
4. Good family, particularly when they travel to come see us
5. Friends that we love to be around and that are good people
6. My camera - Andrew told me this was materialistic, but I should clarify.  I am so thankful for the passion and joy it brings me, not because it's a great piece of equipment.  Although that doesn't hurt.
7. Health
8. The opportunity to travel, cheer on our Cats, experience new things, etc.
9. Franklin - he brings us a lot of happiness
10. The list could go on and on!  We are blessed.

We celebrated Quinn's third birthday on Thanksgiving afternoon.  She is just so entertaining.  She says the funniest things.  And still doesn't like Andrew. 

Trying to be patient...






























Present time!





We shopped a bit on Friday, but not with the mob early in the morning, played hide and go seek as a family (hilarious) and watched the K-State game together that evening.

Snapped a few pictures of the girls before they headed back to Hiawatha on Saturday morning, and that was it.























Cheeser.
























Brynnan looks like she wants someone to save her.























So distraught.


Our house was really quiet for the rest of the weekend.  And messy.  But we were happy.