hello, friends, and merry Christmas! the last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, but i have been keeping up with my self-imposed "assignment." this is a big batch, and some of these are from my phone.

capture2011 :: no. 237 :: 11.29.2011 :: Christmas comes early

ben bought a makita drill set, and i think we're both pretty excited about it. we don't own a cordless drill, and the corded one we have gets a little heavy for me when i try to one-hand it. plus, "makita" is one of my favorite words to say out loud. i just did. yes!

 capture2011 :: no. 238 :: 12.2.2011 :: freestylin'

our local davanni's just installed a coke freestyle machine. it is pretty cool. i'm kind of a purist (raspberry coke just doesn't sound good to me), but the vanilla root beer was tasty.

capture2011 :: no. 239 :: 12.3.2011 :: bethlehem Christmas brunch

the tradition continues! my sister and i hosted a table again this year. our table was similar to last year's, but we brought in a little red and i liked it. i think this is our ninth year attending the brunch, and i've hosted a table for four, i believe. again, one of my favorite Christmas traditions because it sets our hearts on Christ at the very start of the advent season.

capture2011 :: no. 240 :: 12.3.2011 :: IDS center tree

very large. very pretty.

capture2011 :: no. 241 :: 12.5.2011 :: flowers from vern

he's very thoughtful. and more than a week after he bought them, they are still looking great!

capture2011 :: no. 242 :: 12.6.2011 :: morning staple

i don't mind eating the same things every day. i rather like it. scrambled eggs and peanut butter toast have been hitting the spot lately.

capture2011 :: no. 243 :: 12.9.2011 :: wrapping supplies!

it was fun to pull out my goodies for the first round of wrapping!

on a side note, ben and i recently watched our first episode of hoarders on netflix. while i was shocked, i saw some hoarder in myself. i cannot bear to throw away any bit of ribbon or pretty paper or fabric if i think i could use them someday. so i have quite a collection.  i'm often glad of it when something i've saved is the perfect size/shape/color to reuse. apparently there's a very fine line between thrifty and hoardy. don't let me get there, okay? okay???

capture2011 :: no. 244 :: 12.9.2011 :: Christmas mantel

 

things i already own arranged in a new way = satisfying.

capture2011 :: no. 245 :: 12.10.2011 :: it's hard to take him seriously in that sweater

last night, we hosted our small group's Christmas party. we wore ugly sweaters, ate a ton of sugar,  played two rounds of pass-it pictionary, and laughed until our sides hurt. i love our group!

merry Christmas!