It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

Ok so I lied. It's December and out my window is a whole lot of green and brown and no white. Not a single flake. There was a dusting on the ground this morning but it melted in the 38* weather.

That said, I'm not entirely disappointed in the weather. In fact.. well let's just say I'm not a fan of outdoor winter activities. I like to be warm. And dry.

But snowflakes are beautiful to look at.. they inspire me to get ready for my very favorite holiday.. and since there aren't any snowflakes to inspire me I'm left to inspire myself.

Curious as to how this is working out for me? Well blogworld never lets me down so I'll share some places I've browsed recently. (And NO I will not be giving away the secrets of my holiday gift giving ideas either so Michael if you're reading this don't even get your hopes up!)

As strange as it might sound I clicked back through my archives and found THIS POST about the difference between "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays" and the twisted marketing genius behind Starbucks. And not only did that post make me want a peppermint mocha concoction.. It also amused me because I remember writing it and remember that I was quite struck by their strange clearance coffee sale.



Then I moved on to my list of gifts that I've kept bookmarked.. you know, the stuff I ALWAYS want to make for SOMEONE.. but I never really get around to it?


Well THIS is a link for a felt Mr. Potato head doll.. complete with velcro, etc. It could be used quietly in church, etc... and it's soooo cute. Not that I'll take the time to make it but.. well you know. It's cute.




Now as for one that I'm really going to use, HERE is a link on the same page for Cloth Baby Blocks. I think a set of these will make a darling gift and I already have my cloth picked out to make them with.



And then there's this cute little Christmas House in A Jar idea. I'm not even sure what to call it. It's just a house in a jar that is just too cute.




It makes me want to decorate. And all that glitter.. I love glitter. I think I have a jar I can use too. And I know I have little trees. Maybe I could steal a little house from Aidan's train table.. *gasp!* did I really just think that out loud. Of course I wouldn't do that. Michael, you didn't read that right.



And along the same lines of decor.. there are pillows being made at Edies's blog, Life in Grace. (see linky in my sidebar? yeah, she's one of my faves)

Aren't these pillows festive? I think they are. In fact, I really, really like them. If it was practical for me to decorate this year then I would make them. As slip covers. And then just cover my pillows seasonally.

And to throw one last link into the mix, I'll encourage you to stop by our recipe blog to check out our 12 Recipes of Christmas that are being posted throughout December. There will be some Christmas favorites and many of them can be used for pretty much any occasion so they are great to have on hand.

Let me be one of the first to wish you.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!