Elf Updates

 Tuesday morning we awoke to find Little Richie playing Battleship with a stuffed reindeer.  Onside of the game was a smiley face and the other spelled out the word ELF!!

 Wednesday we awoke to find Richie and Sally's and Ryan's underwear hanging in the kitchen!!

This morning Richie was found in a box of Cheerios having spelled "BE GOOD".  I am still cleaning up the previous days mess when he makes a new one!!  The children are LOVING him!!!

Advent Calendar

This is our advent calendar that sits in the entry way.  It is an old Pepsi crate.  I have wrapped little ornaments in each space and every morning the children unwrap one.  Of course there are only 24 spaces so we count down to Christmas Eve.  My mom did this when we were little and now I have carried on the tradition with my children!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

 Yes I am one of those people who have to be fully decorated the day after Thanksgiving which means I have everything done the middle of November!  It was fun having Thanksgiving with Christmas trees everywhere!  Here is a little peek into a few trees.  I need to photograph the rest.

 

This is the Sugar Plum Tree in the family room.  I love that it is white and pink and happy! 

This is a little table in the hallway.  I love the fake rosemary tree with popcorn balls hanging from it.

This is my antique-y tree I have in the corner of the dining room.  It has white lace and pom pom trim and other "old" ornaments.  It's all white & silver.  I love it!

 This is a smaller white tree I have in the family room by the fireplace.  It has vintage ornaments - I love it.  I wish I had more :)

 I made these vintage cat ornaments last year using THIS techinique.

The turquoise angel cat is my favorite ornament on this tree!

Richie the Elf's Antics

 Sunday morning we awoke to find Richie in the Tonka truck with Merida in the back.  Sally had a blast with this because she could "play" with Richie without touching him.

 This morning we awoke to find Richie holding a dry erase marker tucked behind a frame.  Each of the children's school pictures had a silly face drawn on the glass!

Elf in the M & M's

 Our cousins are here visiting with their Elf, Mr. Buddy.  This morning we found all the TP cleaned up and both Mr. Buddy and Little Richie sitting in a giant bowl of M&Ms!!!

Welcome Elf on the Shelf

 Thanksgiving night we heard a knock at the door.  When the children opened the door they found a mysterious gift on the porch.  They opened it and found it was an ELF!!!  Yes, the Elf on the shelf has arrived at our house!  We carefully unwrapped it, read the book, and gave him a name: Richard but we call him Richie for short.  My 4 year old was so into this.  She couldn't stop talking about Richie and Santa and looking at him and talking about Christmas and asking so many questions - it was the cutest thing ever. 

If you don't know about the Elf, you can go to the official Elf on the Shelf website HERE.  You can't touch your elf because he is magical.  Everynight he flies to Santa using his magic and reports on what he's seen all day.  In the morning the children have to find the Elf as he is always some where new and mischivious.

This morning Richie was found hanging in the Christmas tree holding an empty tube of toilet paper.  The Christmas tree was covered in TP.  Sally thought this was hilarious!! Everyday I hope to post the antics of our silly Elf!!

Happy Thanksgiving

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had yesterday.  My parents, Nana, Brother, and Sister & her family all joined us.  It was a feast for sure!

 We rotisseried a turkey AND roasted a turkey!

 We set the table for 15!!!

 The kids were excited for their See's candy turkeys!!  I think that was their favorite part of the meal :)

 My sis and her Hallie

 Nice eating action shot - but that's what the day is for!!!

It was pie, movies, and games after - then to the mall at midnight!!!!

Guest Bathroom Finished!

 Welcome to my new guest bathroom!!  Finished moments before my whole family arrived for Thanksgiving!!!  It's a small bathroom & hard to photograph :)

 The new vanity is Hickory.  We got rid of the 1989 banjo style vanity & counter top!  There was much celebration when that thing went in the garbage can!!

 I love the 1" tile backspalsh.  There are different textures in the tile & every few often there is a stainless steel square!

 Of course I got to go shopping & get new towels!  That is the reward for all the hard work!

 I wanted something Christmas-y in the bathroom but I wanted to stay true to my new color pallet.  So I made this Elf saying picture - cute!

 The towel rack has been in the bathroom for years.  But I finally got smart and numbered them.  I hated not knowing whose towel was whose.  Now I know Ryan is #1 Sally choose #5 and guests are #3 and #4!!

 I purchased 5 different items to hang above the toilet.  A funky wire basket, a different shelf with doors, a big basket towel holder thing and this.  After holding them all up - I choose this mirrored cabinet from Lowe's.

 I feel so happy every time I walk in there!!!