Deck the Halls

Fun with fake plastic trees

Friday was our 2nd Annual Donuts & Wine Christmas Tree Decorating Party (it’s still a party if I only invited one person, right?). I had promised Sym I would make donuts, and I had all these ambitious ideas involving holiday-hued sprinkles and crushed peppermint candies. In the end I was too tired and hungover (remember, I’d been at a hockey game the previous evening) so I just bought some cinnamon sugar donuts and syrup wafer cookies and said GOOD ENOUGH. Also, we’re supposed to have sparkling wine, but Jenn brought over a giant economy-sized bottle of pinot grigio and it was only polite to drink that instead.

Fun with fake plastic trees

Does your dog make too much noise?
Sym has a little purple tree, but last year she took it to her dad’s house instead of putting it up here. This year she’s staying with us for Christmas so we’re having a two-tree holiday. At some point I decided it would be a great idea to fold it in half to make it fit in a bin and I must have really hulked out on it because I couldn’t straighten it out to save my life. I did the best I could, and have it set up so that it’s angled towards the wall so you can’t really tell, but it’s kind of obvious in some of these pictures.

Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees

LOL IT IS COMPLETELY ASKEW

Fun with fake plastic trees

The first couple years she had this tree we had really terrible ornaments on it, but I’ve slowly built up a sweet collection of cute donuts, cupcakes and miniature glass balls. She used to have a whole collection of Disney princesses as well but we could only find Sleeping Beauty.

Fun with fake plastic trees

After we helped Sym with her tree we started on the big one. I put the lights on it a week earlier so it was ready for Sym, Jenn, and I to put all the ornaments in place (Taylor just took pictures).

Fun with fake plastic trees

I put it at the end of the wall that separates the living room from the kitchen, right next to my festive holiday fire extinguisher. Safety first!

Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees

The dogs were very helpful, but which I mean annoying. Dougal and Georgie kept fighting over her toy pig and bashing into the tree. At one point Dougal stole it and promptly fell asleep with it in his mouth, much to Georgie’s dismay.

Fun with fake plastic trees

All decorated & ready for the star…

Fun with fake plastic trees
Fun with fake plastic trees

Sym can’t quite reach the top…

Fun with fake plastic trees

… so she climbed up on the counter! I was there to spot her as she put the star in place.

Fun with fake plastic trees

Finished!

Fun with fake plastic trees

I mean, except for me going around and rearranging all the ornaments in my typical Christmas control freak fashion. I CAN’T HELP IT I JUST WANT CHRISTMAS TO BE PERFECT.

Fun with fake plastic trees

The Good Old Hockey Game

Fan Pic with Fin

l-r: me (I should have redyed my hair to match my jersey), Fin, Lori, Jenn
Last night I was lucky enough to attend the Canucks-Predators game with my friend Jenn. Actually every time I’ve gone to a game it’s been lucky, and here’s why:

Tickets are Expensive

OUCH
Because I’ve always been fortunate to know someone who has access to free tickets, because otherwise, WOW. Unfortunately these particular free tickets were in the alcohol-free section, so we spent every intermission out on the concourse chugging Budweiser (bleagh).

Rogers Arena

Unfortunately our team didn’t win, but it was a great game and like Jenn said, it’s better to go to a good game that you don’t win than a boring game you do. I mean, this happened right in front of us:

SCREAMING WITH LAUGHTER. From the poutine to the hockey to the beer, it was a super fun night so a huge thank you to Jenn for inviting me!

The Twerrible Tweens

So about a month ago Symphony turned ten. Double digits. It’s a big deal; she says she’s a tween now (before she was a pre-tween).

IMG_0259

She is also a total butt.

Every thing I say to her turns into an argument. EV. REH. THAH. NNG. This week my mom sent her an advent calendar, and last night I told her she could have the chocolates every day after she practiced her piano, partially because she’s not always here in the morning/evening, and partially as a clever trick to get her to practice her piano more often. Her response: I CAN’T DO THAT BECAUSE I DON’T PRACTICE EVERY DAY SO I LIKE JUST DON’T GET CHOCOLATE THEN I’M GONNA THROW SOME STUFF ACROSS THE ROOM AND WEEP AND SNIFFLE LOUDLY THROUGH THE WHOLE OF MY PIANO PRACTICE BECAUSE IT’S NOT FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIR. Really? I make her practice for like, 20 minutes a day. It’s not a Big Deal, or it isn’t until she FREAKS OUT about it.

This morning we had three dumb arguments before she went to school. Like, between 8 and 8:45. THREE ARGUMENTS. ALL DUMB.
1. I asked her to brush her hair again because it was still full of tangles. She stormed off muttering “I ALREADY brushed my hair whine grumble SLAM the bathroom door whine grumble complain eyeroll.”
2. She was running across the apartment with a pencil. I asked her not to because she’ll put her eye out! She walked for two steps and then started running again. I told her to stop and she goes “I was skipping eyeroll eyeroll god I’m so clever to sidestep your authoritarian rule with my brilliant skipping tactic.” OMG DO NOT EVEN ARGUE SEMANTICS WITH ME BEFORE I HAVE HAD COFFEE.
3. I was holding Georgie and stuck her little feet in my sweater pocket and joked to Taylor “Look, I have a Georgie in my pocket!” and Sym chimed in with a snotty “No you don’t, only her feet are in your pocket eyeroll.” REALLY??? I DIDN’T EVEN REALIZE THAT, I THOUGHT THE ENTIRE DOG WAS IN MY TINY POCKET. SORRY FOR JOKING AROUND MS. LITERAL MINDED. Okay so this probably didn’t have to be an argument but I was on my last nerve and had already had two talks with her about her Attitude Problem.

So what the hell? Is this going to be every day now? Because I’m already sick to death of it.

UGH. TWEENS.

Frazzled Nerves

Ready To Ship

I meant to do a big post about all of my weekend (mis)adventures, but instead I’ve spent the last three days in crafting hell, up to my eyeballs in glitter trying to get all my etsy orders finished in a timely fashion. Now I’m done and have everything packed up and ready to ship so maybe at some point I’ll make a real post? Who can say.

I actually have a ton of stuff to do this week still: make a new “Merry Christmas” banner for myself to replace the one I sold, finish the other banners that I started before I got all the orders, finish glittering animals for my woodland piano display (I have an ostrich, a goat, and a bighorn sheep), decorate & hang my new fake wreath, finish putting up my new Christmas lights, clean everything, bake everything, go see The Muppets (tonight), go to a Canucks game (tomorrow night) and get ready to decorate my Christmas tree (Friday night), plus take pictures of and blog about everything, as well as work 9.5 hours a day and do parenting. HUH I WONDER WHAT ISN’T GONNA GET DONE (hint: it’s cleaning and blogging).

Manicure Monday: Tiny Toes Edition

s11manicuremondayheader

I did paint my nails this weekend, but I just did Across the Universe again, so there wasn’t really much point intaking a new picture. Instead I’ll share Sym’s pedicure with you!

Shello Kitty Me the Truth

Nicole by OPI in Shell Me the Truth, with Hello Kittys on the big toes. My friend Anna sent Sym a package of one hundred million hello Kitty things, including a bag of these little nail art faces. They are so super cute and Sym loves them, so thank you Anna!

Dream Life, Version Three

Moomintroll by the Pond

I recently reread all my Moomin books and I came to a startling revelation: You know that fantasy were you want to move to the country and live in a cute house and everything is easy-going and you just basically do whatever you feel like? IT COMES FROM THE MOOMINS. For me at least. I read these books so many times as a kid that when I picture that dream life in my head, I picture Moominvalley.

Map of Moominvalley

I mean I know there are adventures with comets, floods, volcanoes, the Groke, and such, but on average, everyday life in Moomin Valley is pretty idyllic. Feel like going fishing, or sailing, or just lying in a hammock all day reading about the uselessness of everything? Go right ahead. Want to paint a mural or paste pictures on the walls? Feel free. You can sleep in your own room in the Moominhouse, or camp out in the garden, or sail away to live in a lighthouse on a tiny island in the middle of the sea, although that last one might not work out as you dreamed it would.

Rainy Picnic

Now I just need to find some way of making this dream a reality! Or just visit the real Moominvalley in Finland.

The Dance

The Christmas Elephant

… not to be confused with the Christmas Elf.

The Christmas Elephant

This guy is awesome. I put him on the piano with my forest light and glitter stag and he really adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the whole tableaux. All it took was little glue, a little (okay, a lotta) glitter, a plastic toy from the dollar store and a willingness to spend three days vacuuming sparkles out of the carpet.

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I know some people get really offended when people start their Christmas decorating right after Halloween/before American Thanksgiving, but guess what? I’m Canadian, and here in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, like God and Martin Frobisher intended.

Martin Frobisher
God not pictured

My main excuse for starting my Christmas decorating early is the daycare kids. It seems that every year I have a kid or two who is celebrating their first Christmas, or at least their first Christmas while mobile. I always worry that if I put the tree up with all the decorations in one fell swoop the kids will show up and FREAK OUT: “Look at all these things! I MUST GRAB AND SLOBBER ON THEM!!” So I like to ease them in- I put up the tree and leave it bare for a week, then have it with just lights for a week, and then finally put on the decorations. Plus this gives Claire more time to hung out under the tree, which is pretty much her only joy in life.

Christmas Tree Cat

Of course, there is more to Christmas decorations than just the tree, and I got started on some other displays this past weekend.

Stag & Forest

This snowy forest light from Ikea and silver glitter stag from Urban Barn are perfect on top of the piano.

Santa & the Nativity

The best thing about my Playmobil nativity scene is how Sym adds to it every year from her vast collection of Playmobils. Last year only a little white kitten joined the mix, but this year she’s added a second angel, a hand organ that plays Christmas songs and the fourth Wise Man, Santa Claus, as well as his reindeer. The nativity set (with Wise Men included!) I have is no longer available, although you can buy a newer, fancier version, and separate Wise Men.

Merry Christmas

I’ve been meaning to put up some pictures or something on the big blank wall around the tv, but for now it’s the perfect place to put up my latest glitter banner (check out those fancy letters!), as well as the Perler bead snowflakes Sym and I made a few years ago, some vintage chandelier crystals and tiny white ball ornaments from Ikea, all hung from the ceiling on monofilament.

Snowflakes

I was trying to make it look like it’s snowing, what do you think? Personally I think I need to get better lightbulbs in that room because all the pictures I take in there look atrocious >:/

The Merry Christmas banner is available for order on my etsy shop.

Manicure Monday

Another manicure that matches my hair! You might recall how much I love this Quo by Orly polish, Turquoise Moonlight.

Quo by Orly in Turquoise Sky

… but I wanted to do something a little different so I topped it with the matte topcoat I got from Hard Candy as part of my runner-up prize in that DIY manicure contest in the summer.

Matte Turquoise Nails

tbh I wasn’t super into the idea of matte polish, I remember I had a matte periwinkle blue in like, 1998 that just chipped like mad unless I put a topcoat over it, but as I didn’t have a matte topcoat it kind of defeated the purpose. I decided to give it a try and WOW I could not be more thrilled with the result! The matte topcoat applied nicely and dried really quickly, and it looks so cool over the shimmery duochrome polish! I can’t wait to try it out over some other colours.

Matte Turquoise Nails

Quo by Orly in Turquoise Moonlight + Hard Candy Matte-ly in Love topcoat