Capturing the Holiday Season
Christmas has come and gone. I hope most of you made an effort to capture the beauty of your home’s holiday decorations through a digital camera! It is a great testament to your effort to celebrate the season and capture the spirit of Christmas!
I have yet to “stage” photos. I want to take pictures of our tree with the lights on as well as the stockings, the nativity and my little Christmas village. As with a regular holiday season in our home, it can get incredibly busy with parties and get togethers left and right. And this year is proving to be no exception!
A good thing about celebrating the holidays is the incredible feeling of magic especially when you have kids around. Their expressions when they open each gift are truly all for the books and so priceless! I leave you with my first attempt in capturing our Christmas tree, hopefully I can perfect it before we take the tree down!
White Christmas Trees
I’m not a big fan of winter and snow but love white Christmas trees! I just particularly do not like the cold and all – but would love “cold” and “cool” accessories like some bling and steel cufflinks.
I love these white Christmas trees though – makes me wish to experience a white Christmas just for once! We have always had the traditional green trees:
Christmas-Inspired Rooms
What would be a store’s Point of sale display these days?
Anything Christmas related!
This is why I am drooling over these very lovely rooms decorated with Christmas trimmings! Each room is different, playing with traditional and bold colors and standing out. You will definitely see an inspiration for YOUR home among these pictures. I actually just picked the ones that I love the most, but these are really 33 (can you imagine?) awe-inspiring rooms!
What’s your pick?
Gift Idea: For the Special Girl
If you need more gifts for girlfriend ideas, why don’t you try giving her sweet treats, especially if she has a sweet tooth. Chocolate-covered strawberries are sinfully healthy and would be sure to let you in your girl’s sweet side. They make excellent thoughtful everyday gifts and amazing anniversary presents too. In fact, these sweet treats are perfect gifts for any occasions. The presentations are in itself so amazing to look at already, and then she bites into little pieces of heaven – you sure will make your girl happy!
Holiday Season is Wedding Season!
I absolutely love this season. The holidays for us start when the -ber months start but everyone goes into full holiday planning mode right after Halloween (we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here). The holiday season is also a season for weddings, not in June, as most popularized in the US. In fact, a cousin is getting married in December and they have shopped for triton wedding bands and would be getting my daughter as a flower girl – I am beyond excited!
Popcorn: Everything You Need To Know
You can follow these easy steps though:
1.) Turn on both switches Lamp/Warming Deck and Kettle switches.2) Allow the kettle to heat for 3-5 minutes.
3.) Open the Lid of the Kettle
4.) Add oil to the kettle – measured
5.) Add Seasonings – measured
6.) Add corn – measured
7.) Close the Lid of the Kettle
8.) Keep front door slightly open to prevent fogging
9) Allow popcorn to pop until app. 3-4 seconds lapses between pops.
10) Rotate the handle of the kettle and tilt the kettle down to empty
11) Turn the Kettle switch OFF. You may leave the Lamp/Warming deck power on if you want.
Preparing Your Home for the Holidays
Can you believe it’s going to be August in a few days? Before you know it it is going to Christmas!
The holidays are here and one of the first things you should do before anything else is to make sure your home is ready for the holidays! Party decorations for the holidays can be holiday-inspired (christmas stuff) or any other theme you want it to be!
Before you take in new stuff, whether it comes from gifts, great deals on year-end sales, or bonuses from work, make sure you have looked around your home and have decided which ones need to go, be thrown, be given away, or even sold.
Media
- Clean out video games, movies that you no longer watch or the kids have grown out of
- Consider giving up the original cases in favor of CD books to save space
- Get rid of extras – remotes, consoles, cords, etc.
- Consider a basket or caddy for corralling remotes
- Label cords with a label maker. Wrap up excess wire with a twisty tie. Plug plugs in relative to their location and make the things you’re likely to unplug easily accessible.
Toys
- Designate an area for toys if you want to keep some in your family room. Use a basket, toy box or cabinet to store them so they’re not just spread around the room.
- Return extra toys to bedrooms/play rooms regularly.
- Create sets you can rotate rather than trying to keep them all out at once.
Bookshelves & knickknacks
- Clean off shelves and get rid of accumulated stuff that’s been set down on flat surfaces over time.
- Donate books that you’ve read but don’t want to keep.
- Read & donate extra magazines. If you have a ton to catch up on, limit yourself to three months of back issues.
- Consider paring back the number of knickknacks you have. The less you keep out on shelves & tables, the less you have to dust.
*Tips from Organizing Your Way.
The Top 10 Swimming Pool Toys for 2011
Summer is the perfect time to spend in the pool. Instead of going to the beach, a pool would be a safer and more controlled environment for children. Here are some of the most popular swimming pool toys for 2011, based on consumer popularity.
Before getting pool toys for your kids, make sure they are appropriate for their age and the pool toy is safe and has passed quality control from consumers themselves, the parents.
. 1. Wild Planet Magnet Dive Gloves (For kids 6 to 12 years of age)
. 2. Dive Dudes Swimming Pool Toys (For kids 6 years old and up)
. 3. Swimways Toypedo Swimming Pool Toys (For kids 5 years old and up)
. 4. Waboba Ball Swimming Pool Toys (For kids about 3 to 8 years old)
. 5. Crazy Chase Dive Ball Swimming Pool Toy (For kids 6 years old and up)
. 6. Melissa and Doug Seaside Sidekicks Squirters (For kids 3 to 7 years old)
. 7. Swimways Submergency Swimming Pool Toy (For kids 6 years old and up)
. 8. Giant Spring Jam Basketball Swimming Pool Toy (For kids 5 to 12 years old)
. 9. Max Liquidator Swimming Pool Toys (For kids 3 years old and up)
. 10. Prime Time Toys Splash Bomb Swimming Pool Toys (For kids about 3 years old and up)
Some Leftover Holiday Inspiration
You might have missed the joy of the holidays if you have a job that requires you to be on call 24/7 like doctor and nurses in medical scrubs and policemen/firemen on duty. Hats off to you for keeping our community safe!
Here are some holiday inspiration for everyone who somehow missed the holidays. I love the decorations and would totally use them as pegs for Christmas decorating this year!
Wedding Season
Aside from December being the month of merry making because of the holidays, December is also the month for weddings in my side of the world. As such, I have been ordering personalised wedding gifts left and right because we need to attend five weddings this month – all weekends of December. It’s going to be a very busy month indeed! I love it!