Enjoying the Small Things

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Haunted Mansion Halloween Mantel

September 13, 2018 By Kelle

Haunted Mansion Halloween Mantel

Elarlier this summer, we stayed at a beautiful old resort on the southeast end of Mackinac Island where, late one night, we ventured through narrow hallways and creaky staircases to discover a ballroom that looked straight out of the game of Clue, complete with an ornate fireplace and huddle of couches in front of it, definitely something where Harry, Ron and Hermione would have gathered to conspire in the Gryffindor wing. I tucked it away for Halloween inspiration later this year.

Knock-knock...it’s later this year. Which brings me to this very important seasonal dilemma: Come October, do you decorate for fall or do you decorate for Halloween? I have a system (oh God, here she goes with one of her “systems”): I decorate for Falloween. We throw a big kids’ Halloween party every year, so we’ve invested in some fun decorations that I like to get good use of, so I blend Halloween and fall decorations until after Halloween. I try to do this as tastefully as possible. Halloween can get a little tacky, but I love Halloween, my kids love Halloween, so we go all in. As I once said–perhaps one of my more eloquent quotes: We draw the line at blood and chainsaws. 

So, back to that little Gryffindor library inspiration. A few weeks ago, I ran into Goodwill and saw this huge framed piece of art in the corner–ugly and outdated, of course, but way cheap!

I knew if I could find the right art for it, it would be the perfect focal point on the mantle for my Halloween vision. I painted the green inner matting black and then watered down some black acrylic paint and brushed it over the frame to tone down the gold tones and make it look more aged. Then it was time to find the perfect photo to put inside. I wanted a vintage portrait and found several great ones on Art.com. I ended up choosing this amazing solemm portrait of Emily Post (it was only $15 when I bought it–price went up), but also loved these:

Bride of Frankenstein (huge poster is only $5)
Edgar Allen Poe
Abraham Lincoln

You can search “vintage portrait” on Art.com, Zazzle.com or any art site and find several to choose from.

This was the mantel before.

And this is the haunted mansion mantel after. Get me a mug of butter beer! I need to sit next to this fire and study for my Potions exam!

At the very least, I figure Ms. Post will guide us through the fall season, channeling all the good manners. See that face on her? That’s the face of disgust after Dash burps out loud in front of her. Dear Emily, we’re sorry. Please help us.

The portrait makes a statement on its own, so I didn’t want to add too much more, but what’s a haunted mansion library without candles? I love the look of taper candles, but the dripping wax? I’m OVER IT. I’ve Googled every brand of taper that doesn’t drip, and while Root brand was the closest to actual no-drip, it’s just too hard in Florida where our air conditioner runs all day, so there’s always uneven air current from overhead vents. So flameless taper candles it is (mine are Mikasa, and I love them).

The gauzy fabric was $1 from Dollar Tree, the crows are from Joann’s, and the garland is from Hobby Lobby.

Now if we can just get Miss Emily to move within her portrait before our Harry Potter family night next month. C’mon, Emily! You can do it. (Heidi, the other day: “So help me God, I catch that woman’s eyes moving, and I swear I’m never coming to your house again.”

Filed Under: Holiday Tagged With: Halloween, halloween decorations, halloween mantle

Easter Sunday

April 2, 2018 By Kelle

Easter Sunday

Happy Monday! Nella asked last night, “Please, can we have Easter again tomorrow?” And I couldn’t agree more, although I feel so filled up from our replenishing weekend, Monday doesn’t feel quite as daunting as it usually does.

With Easter falling on April Fool’s Day this year, Lainey pranked the family and smeared Nutella all over the toilet paper roll and the seat of the toilet in the main bathroom which was lovely, but I’ll spare you a photo. Also lovely: Gary showed up to the breakfast table as the Easter Bunny with the only bunny mask we have.

You’re welcome.

On to our holiday favorites this year.

I picked up these little nests at Michael’s a couple weeks ago for our finished colored eggs, and I love the simple colorful centerpiece they made for our Easter breakfast table.

Setting the table for a holiday is like therapy for me–an invitation to take my love of nurturing with my love of holidays and marry them together in a ceremony of linens, silverware and centerpieces. It doesn’t have to be over the top. There’s just something about the blank canvas of an empty table that gets me excited. Lainey said it best the other morning when she was helping me choose between all white dishes or mix-and-match: “I love choosing stuff, Mom. It’s fun.”

I wanted to use my deviled egg platter for breakfast but obviously didn’t want to eat deviled eggs in the morning, so I tried making mini egg-shaped streusel coffee cakes in silicone egg baking molds, and I’m so happy with how they turned out. A bowl of cinnamon butter made it complete.

I used this old recipe (I used to make this as a teenager when it was on the back of the Bisquick box) but doubled the streusel topping.

The Easter Bunny filled most of our eggs this year with puzzle pieces that the kids put together to find the location of their Easter baskets.

Dash has been talking for weeks about how excited he was about the possibility of a chocolate bunny in his basket. It did not disappoint.

Another favorite this year: Lainey got Mad Libs in her Easter basket, so we played it at the breakfast table–and, of course, when you play with mature adults like us who answer “butt” and “bra” for noun suggestions, the stories are hilarious. Even Nella and Dash were cracking up.

Let’s just say if Christ rose and our took sins, he left our childishness to keep us just a little bit naughty.

Where we failed on new traditions last year, we made up this year. The kids love the cascarones.

We finished the day off with a big family lunch and swimming.

A few more moments from our celebration…

Tucking all those colors and love and family time away as fuel for this week. Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Family, Holiday Tagged With: Easter

Christmas Day

December 27, 2017 By Kelle

Christmas Day

One of the greatest satisfactions of Christmas morning growing up was gathering all my opened presents into a big loot pile I’d just sit back and survey. Surrounded by wrapping paper shreds and a sea of shag carpet was my heap of treasures–the Cabbage Patch doll, the new legwarmers, the Kissing Coolers and Bonne Bell chapsticks all pushed into a pile that was mine. Before I even played with any of it, there was that moment amid the mess of Christmas morning that the simple sight of those gifts, arranged in a pile together, made me feel so lucky and loved and full.

Thirty years later, I sit on the floor of my living room next to a fire, second cup of coffee in hand. The sun has just barely risen, but the house is fully awake. Three piles of treasures begin to form amid scraps of wrapping paper, and I watch as my children gush over new Barbies and Legos and more glue to make slime. I slowly survey the living room and take in every bit of the scene–the way Brett gently calls “Hey Buddy” to Dash to distract him from opening his sisters’ presents, the chipped nail polish on Nella’s little fingernails as she carefully peels back the paper on her gifts, the ribbon Lainey tucked around her neck like a scarf, the dog asleep on the couch, my dad and Gary excitedly making over every little thing Dash holds up to show them, the music, the warmth, our home.

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This is my pile of gifts, this is my Christmas treasure, and though the greatest excitement of this morning is associated with childhood, nothing can compare with how lucky and loved and full I feel at this moment.

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Yes, the living room’s a mess, and yes this recognition of gifts comes with the pain that life is so very fragile and this scene will change every year, but for a moment, everything I love is pushed together into a pile in my mind, and I sit back and survey it and whisper a million thank-yous before I get up to refill my cup, grab a garbage bag, take a picture, wipe a nose, pull the sticky buns out of the oven. This...this is my favorite thing about Christmas.

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Looking back, a few scenes from our Christmas:

Making Florida snowmen Christmas Eve from frozen corn starch, shaving cream and peppermint oil.

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Our Christmas cake that Dash slowly devoured little by little every chance he had to sneak away and help himself.

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Baby of the family motto: Just give it to him.

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Christmas Eve bar with our signature drink “The Rudolph”: 1.5 oz Bourbon, 1 oz. fresh lemon juice, 3/4 oz. rosemary simple syrup, shaken and poured on ice. Garnish with rosemary sprig (and a cranberry Rudolph nose, suggested by Instagram followers who were clever to tie in that title).

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Dash wanted to address his own presents, and in true baby-of-the-family fashion, he wowed us with how many letters he can write on his own. My favorite for all my kids has always been their first capital “E” with, like, 19 lines coming out of it.

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Crossing off some of the last things on our Holiday Bucket List (taking it down, dating it and tucking it away in our keepsake drawer today)…

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Setting up our reindeer runway and sprinkling some treats for Santa’s reindeer…

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Milk & Cookies for Santa…

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Watching The Family Stone Christmas Eve, my favorite…

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Santa’s gifts waiting…

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Christmas Morning.

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The girls wanted “real baby” dolls, and Santa delivered. They played with them all day Christmas day and requested we pull out the old baby car seat from the attic.

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(Santa purchased this doll for the girls, for those who asked).

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(Palm Springs Playhouse from Land of Nod.)

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Lainey does not gush emotionally, so it meant a whole lot when she looked at me and said, “I can’t even tell you how happy I am this Christmas.”

My Christmas spirit may be a festive little elf for the month of December, but every year on Christmas Day, it goes into this deeply reflective place that–this year–had me crying in the bathroom. I feel too much–this is my burden to bear, and it does come with bonuses, so don’t feel too bad. “I don’t even know why I’m crying,” I told Brett. My sister recently likened this feeling to therapy dogs–a friend who had one said that on therapy days, the dog gets more exhausted than when he runs at the park. On therapy days, the dog soaks up the emotions of all those he’s around and loving, and that’s a lot to bear. Even when I tell myself “low standards” and “just chill” for Christmas day, I can’t help but feel so aware of how much I love the people I’m with and everything everyone is feeling–even if it’s all good–that I just go into therapy dog mode and soak up too many feelings and then fall into an exhausted heap Christmas night.

Loving people is so hard and so wonderful. And as much as I love Christmas, there’s a reason it only comes once a year.

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Taking this heap of gifts into the week as we continue to soak up family, feel grateful for everything this year has given us and move forward toward the new year…onward, my friends.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday…wishing you more love into the new year. xo

Leaving you with my post on Instagram from Christmas night: Lying in bed with the girls as they fell asleep tonight, I heard the ghost of Christmas past…quiet little sobs: “I don’t want to go to bed, Mom, because when we wake up, it will all be over.” My mom reminded me today that I was exactly the same (and maybe still am ????)–cried every Christmas night growing up, so sad for the end of the anticipation. So I held Lainey’s hand and told her about the words that have become my anthem…There Is More. We are the keepers of the secret power of recognizing and creating celebrations among ordinary days, and that power lasts all year. Everything we love about this season is scattered throughout the rest of the year too–opportunities for gathering, music, giving and gratitude. How many sunsets will take our breath away this next year? How many nights will we fall asleep, feeling warm and full and loved? How many adventures await us? “There’s so much to look forward to,” I told her. “Let’s start tomorrow with a walk on the beach.” ❤️ Merry Christmas…there is more.

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Filed Under: Holiday, Uncategorized

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