It's the Season of Charity

***whining alert***

I'm running a little slow this morning after a late night out. We went to a local radio station's holiday concert last night and saw a few of my favorite bands: Mumford & Sons, Foster the People and Young the Giant. It was a great night for live music, but I am absolutely dragging this morning!

***...and whining complete***

Dragging or not, I committed to doing something charitable this year for the holidays and it has to be completed later tonight. Specifically, I volunteered to bake twelve dozen cookies for a community auction and donate one of my floral centerpieces for decorative purposes.

I'm undecided at this point what I'll do for the cookies, but I'm thinking of doing this for the centerpiece (thanks to Serenity You for the inspiration):

I'll be sure to share photos of the final results!  Also, if you have the chance to volunteer this holiday season or do something nice for those in need, do it!  You won't regret it :)

Calling All Baking Fans!

I haven't started my holiday baking yet, but the plan is to start with cookies or cupcakes for a few charity events this weekend. Once I start baking, I have a hard time stopping so we'll see where it leads!

In the meantime, I've had baking on the brain and I think it's starting to influence my Christmas wish list. It's surprising what gifts you can find online for baking lovers like me. There's so much cool stuff!

Like these:

Aren't these stacking cat measuring cups cute?!

With the kind of cold winter weather we have in Seattle,
a beanie like this would get a lot of use!

Everyone's heard of a gingerbread man cookie before,
but have you ever seen a NINJA gingerbread man?

I love this apron! It has a retro housewife kind of feel,
but the cupcakes keep it from being too serious.

It's a Lego kitchen scale!

Candy Christmas Trees

My Heart's Desire has this fun DIY project for making candy Christmas trees!  It looks like the perfect snow day project for kids.  Plus, you don't need a lot of supplies in order to pull this off so it's inexpensive to boot!

If I were to make candy Christmas trees on my own, I'd definitely include red and green gumdrops and peppermint rounds, but I'd also do one in red licorice wrap and maybe even one with green or red Hershey's kisses.  Too cute!

Friday Funny

Some of you may have already seen this on the web today, but as soon as I saw it I thought it would make for great "Friday Funny" material. What kid hasn't done something like this before?  Is it too cute to get angry about? Thoughts/opinions/stories welcome!

Without further ado, I present "S*** My Kids Ruined."   Enjoy! Happy Friday everyone!

Bye bye iPhone!

This computer needed more flair.

This oriental rug was far too colorful. Luckily, one oh-so-helpful kiddo
toned it down a bit. 

What's sweeter than a permanent love letter on the hood of the minivan? 

Lastly, the ever-popular attempt at a self-haircut. 

Holiday Hurricane Vases

Though space is limited for additional holiday decorations in our house, I just may find room for a few holiday hurricane vases. They are not all that expensive and can be decorated to fit any holiday or special occasion.  I've found several inspirations online, but I'm not sure which one I'll go with.  I think they would look great up on a dresser or even as a centerpiece if we host any holiday dinners this year.

Red beads or sand plus a white candle and a simple star = brilliant (and cheap!)

Glass ornaments in hurricanes feel very Pottery Barn to me. I love it!

I love the use of cranberries and other winter berries for this one. I would
leave this up past the holidays, as it isn't Christmasy so much as it is wintery. 

Take any chestnuts you don't roast over an open fire and put 'em in a
hurricane vase like this! 

A hurricane vase filled with pine cones makes me think of a winter cabin.
I like the addition of gold ornaments for added shimmer. 

Peppermint candy makes a fun filler! It smells good too.

Holiday Decorating in the Davis Household

As promised, here are a few choice photos from the holiday decorating I did last week. Given that our place is on the small side, I couldn't go as crazy as I wanted to, but I'm satisfied with the end result.

Our most elegant Christmas tree yet.  We tend to alternate between multi-colored and white lights, but this year
the white lights and gold ornaments won out.  

The stockings were hung...  above the fireplace's fake flames. 

Since we put up our tree, Bella has slept in this same place every night.
For an indoor cat, bringing the trees inside must be the best Christmas gift ever!

Paper Ornaments Aplenty!

Paper ornaments are in all the store windows this holiday season, or at least that seems to be the case in Seattle. I've never really appreciated the craftsmanship that goes into them until now.  They can truly be works of art! I also love that they serve a double purpose as both a decorative piece and a present to be used and appreciated year after year. 

If anyone has any fun tutorials on making paper ornaments, please send them my way! I'd love to make anything that even closely resembles these beauties: