A Wonderful Christmas

Christmas was wonderful. I would like to share some pictures with you that stand out as I think back on Christmas 2010...

Our special wrapping paper project on Christmas eve...



This year was Preston and my first Christmas in our little house. We decorated with lights and it looked just like a little ginerbread house. Lights sparkled on our tree and our special mantle. We collected cards and hung them on the fireplace. We created a new Christmas tradition together: making our own wrapping paper. In the picture above, you can see the wrapping paper we made together on Christmas eve....

Before we climbed into bed on Christmas eve, we shared the magic of this little scene (plus a fire in the fire place that was lit shortly after this picture was taken), all snuggled up in a blanket on the couch. I had a case of the sugarplums for sure...



Me, Preston, Annie, Audrey, Kevin, Mom, Scott, Dad, and Nancy spent Christmas morning around the Christmas tree at my Mom and Scott's house (our first Christmas in their new house) opening gifts (we always open each gift one by one to cherish every gift) and had a lovely Christmas dinner together that night...

Here are some pictures Preston captured of the different parts of our holiday season. There are so many others, and I could make this into a really huge post, but I've decided to give you just a little peek into our holidays...

Preston captured of my new slippers my mom got me from the Etsy shop MEandREEKIE. They're like giant baby booties!!



Little sis Audrey in her cute Christmas pjs...



My loves Annie and Kevin...



Kevin in the tie we gave him from etsy seller, Toybreaker.




We each took turns in mom's lap--Scott had mom's special rocking chair restored. (A very touching gift.) It was the rocker that she rocked us all in as babies...



I gave Annie a special painting to honor her journey...




And that was Christmas day. There were many other pictures, but I hope you got a glimpse into the first part of our special Christmas...

Then, in crazy blizzard weather, we managed to fly out of Colorado Springs to spend time with Preston's side of the family in Kansas City and Nebraska.

We went with Preston's Mom and John to Karen and Craig's on New Years and finally got to meet our new little cousin, Courtney and Tim's little one, Josey!!



Then we spent a day with Preston's Dad and Tammy and Micaela, and the rest of the Stohs clan up in Nebraska.






This year, all the grandkids wrote love letters to Grandma and Grandpa, and it was the most beautiful thing to hear them read each letter aloud. They are very loved...





We spent the rest of our time back in Kansas City with Preston's mom and John, and had a wonderful Christmas celebration together. We also got to see Michael, and we made a special trip down to the plaza to see the lights, which we miss very much... The Plaza lights are a Kansas City tradition. Every year on Thanksgiving Eve, everyone gathers in the streets on the Plaza (a shopping district) and the lights of the plaza are turned on all at once. They wrap around every detail of every building and are an amazing sight to see... They were beautiful as ever...













We of course, as always, enjoyed many games of dominoes with Mom and John, and of course, Teresa and I kicked John and Preston's butts at Wii shuffleboard. We rock. Bring it. ;) And no, we did not just win because we went first. I know you don't like the way this is shaping up, but I'm telling you, the cheese is binding...




Eventually we made it back to the Springs, and on January 10 we celebrated with Dad and Nancy for their birthdays at one of our favorite local restaurants, Poor Richards.




I am so grateful to have shared this holiday season with my dearest family. I love you all!

Winter Magic: My Christmas Mantle

If you've been reading, you know by now that decorating my mantle with the coming of each season is something I absolutely LOVE to do, and I daydreamed and really looked forward to bringing life to the mantle for Christmas.

I think one reason decorating the mantle is so special to me, is that this is Preston and my very first house together. We've lived both in our parents houses and in an apartment, but this year, we share the sweetest little cottage. And decorating our very first house for Christmas??? Even more joy. So putting mantle and Christmas together in the same sentence, you have one very very happy me.

Another reason I love decorating the mantle, is that to me, it is like a special altar in our home (and the only place our cat Spoofer cannot get to) and I love having a special altar to the seasons. It is a warm, wonderful ritual to decorate it. This precious earth is so special to me, and it is one way in which I can honor the cycles of the earth, and honor each season and the way it touches my own human cycles, and honor the changes that take place in and all around me with each new season.

I put a lot of love into this mantle design and really dreamed it up over a couple months time, looking high and low in shops and online for the perfect elements to compliment it. So sharing it with you has been a much anticipated thing. Of course I only wish you could see it in person, and see how it sparkles in the low light of the evening, because its even better than the pictures can express. But here they are, my very special Christmas Mantle...

Ta-dahhhh! Ok...now let me show you some close-ups...

A sweet sparkly winter bird (yes, I definitely have a bird obsession)

A little snowflake candle...

Little trimmed trees on each end...

Silver branch garland that I bought to decorate for my holiday trunk show, but ended up getting some more when I realized it was the missing element in my Christmas mantle...

The beginning of a winter vignette I've started to the side of the fireplace...I've already changed it a little since this photo...

A precious tiny decoration my sister Annie got for me when she was living in France...

Spoofer wishing she could knock everything down... ok...maybe she's just daydreaming, waiting for spring to arrive so she can eat grass in the yard...

The star atop our little tree...

And put it all together.....

Christmas Magic!

I wish for you a holiday season filled with warmth, love, and all the things that make you happy! Thank you for reading my blog and allowing me to share with you the joys of my life.

Love,

Abbey

My Fall Trunk Show...

It was a while ago now, but I wanted to share with you some photos of my first trunk show of the fall.

It was a beautiful weekend, and I opened up my home both Saturday and Sunday to debut my Fall Collection for 2010.

I showcased lots of lovely new hair accessories: headbands, hairclips, and bobbies, a few new pairs of earrings, and some left over goodies from my spring collection.

I wish to truly thank each of you who came for supporting me and my business. It really means a lot to me, and I am so grateful to share my goodies with wonderful people like you. And thank you also to those of you who continue to spread the word about Love's Garden. This work is so dear to my heart. I really appreciate you.

These Green Leaf Headbands were one of my very favorite pieces in my collection, and I may just have to make some more for the spring...

Yummy snacks: Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, Peanut Butter Cookies (got the recipe from my aunt Tine, then made it vegan,) and...

Hot spiced cider...mmmm....

Some of my fall decorations ...

And there's nothing better on a chilly fall night then to curl up in front of the fireplace. We've really been enjoying it a lot lately!!