Daddy's advent calendar

Why not make a special advent calendar for daddy too! Or for that special beer lover in your life.

Here is what we came up with. I used an apple bushel box but you can use any large box that will fit either 25 beers or a mixture of beer and canning jars. I knew my husband wouldn't consume a beer a day so we mixed it up with some fun little goodies inside of the canning jars. That's right more canning jars!

I printed off more numbers from the ones I purchased here. I cut the numbers out and tapped them to the tops of the bottles. For the canning jars I wanted to hide what was inside, so I just taped a little piece of white card stock to the lid of the jar. SUPER EASY! I had a strand of those LED lights that run off batteries, so I strung those in through all of the bottles of beer and canning jars. Lastly, I added the tinsel.

Of course we put in lots of beer, but we also added...

some work gloves,

carpenter pencils,

and a screwdriver. We also have some of daddy's favorite candy in a few of the jars. The kids loved helping me pick out the loot at Walmart this morning. Although they were both a little upset when I said no hammers.

Here it sits in the barn (already chilled thanks to the New Hampshire weather) waiting for when Daddy comes home. I'm thinking next year I just may make one up for myself, but with a new fat quarter for each day, whatcha think, FABULOUS idea right?

I'm so excited for the festivities to begin!

2010 advent calendar

It's not your typical advent calendar, but it is what I came up with the small living space we have to work with. Not having the space for a real tree, I decided to decorate the window sill with our advent calendar and throw in some lights. There is just something magical and festive about white twinkling lights at night. And what little kid or adult doesn't love white twinkling lights?!

Other than purchasing the numbers here and the loot to fill the bags, I used everything I already had on hand. I had purchased the bags months ago at the Dollar Store knowing they could come in handy somewhere, and they work perfectly here. The rest of the decorations I already had in my box of goodies.

I had bought these ANAMALZ at OSJL a few weeks ago. I just love them and they were only $2 each! They are normally $8 each, (which I have paid in the past) so score on my part. I was going to put them in the kids stockings but they fit perfectly into the little bags instead.

I also filled some of the bags with cupcake decorating goodies, candy canes, candy, and special activities to do with the kids.

Just another use for my BELOVED canning jars!

As you can imagine the kids are ready to dig into those little bags. We are off to Walmart this morning to get some goodies to fill Daddy's advent calendar. Check back to see what Daddy's getting in his calendar, oh it's a fun one!! I'm sure he will love it, or any man for that matter!

giveaway winner...

Congrats Gosfam!

who said...

Super cute--I would love to win for my lil sister who is having a baby in March and I have to buy for her for Christmas :)

Hope your lil sis enjoys:)

bye, bye my beloved Vera Bradley...

you have been my love for so long...but it is time to say goodbye!

I was in major need of a new wallet. The zipper on my old one was no longer working well and the phone slot was completely ripped causing my phone no longer stay in it. While I loved the size of my old one, I needed one a tiny bit bigger. I liked having my cell phone on the outside of my wallet, but I thought it needed a strap to hold my phone in and maybe keep little hands off it(maybe). This time I also wanted a separate little zipper pouch for all my money and change and a separate holder for my credit cards. I think it would make things easier for me when I'm in line at the good old Walmart. Yes, I do put a lot of thought into my purses.

So here is what I came up with. My new little love. I combined all of the things I wanted into one little wristlet. I still need to make the little zipper pouch for my money and the holder for my credit cards, but I will be leaving those for another day.

So here she is, in tangerine of course and with some ruffles, my newest favorite thing!

Oh yes, I do believe, there will never be another purchase from Vera Bradley again.

Because I can't do it all... {Giveaway}

I had to cancel my booth at the craft fair! And I'm OK with that, well sorta. I had to come to the realization that I just can't do it all.

I did manage to make a few items for the craft fair which mostly consist of a few key fobs and some cold packs "boo boo bags." I don't normally sell these items in my etsy shop, but they are fun to make and are good sellers at craft fairs. So to make me feel better about not being able to do it all, I am going to do a giveaway for all of you and I'm going to be donating 100% of the proceeds from the key fobs and cold packs that are in my etsy shop to Operation Shower. Please go check them out. I'm selling the key fobs for $6 and the baby cold packs for $8 a pair.

One goal I have set for myself for the upcoming year is to raise the $250 it takes to throw one baby shower through Operation Shower. Wanna help out too? You can either purchase an item listed in my etsy shop as (100% of the proceeds donated to Operation Shower) or donate directly to Operation Shower.

And now here is my way for GIVING THANKS to all of you, my readers.

I am giving away this little baby play blanket to one lucky winner. To enter, all you have to do is leave me a comment. Make sure you leave your email address if it is not linked through blogger.

Winner will be picked on November 26th!

embrace the camera {our weekend with Grammy}

Sorry, I'm a little late to the party this week!

This past weekend Grammy spent the whole weekend with us. We had such a wonderful time. The weather was exceptionally warm for fall and we took full advantage of it. On Saturday we headed out to our favorite beach. We packed a picnic and spent the whole day playing in the sand and enjoying the beautiful warm fall day.

Drawing in the sand is one of our favorite things to do when we are at the beach.

And of course we throw lots of rocks in the water.

Or if you are this little guy, he prefers throwing sticks.

And she prefers to put everything in her mouth.

She got her first tastes of sand today.

And apparently she liked it, because she couldn't get enough of it.

Sand covered and all, this momma loved snuggling her on the beach.

On our way home we made a little stop to enjoy the view of my most favorite ridge to hike.

During the fall this bridge is usually filled with leaf peepers, but today we were lucky enough to have it all to ourselves.

Grammy planned on leaving early the next day, but we talked her into staying for another quick trip with us. Sunday we headed out to Mt. Washington. I guess you can say being near all the mountains gave me the HIKING FEVER!

The last time I hiked up Mt. Washington I was with my college roommate (wink, wink). Maybe we can accompany each other for a hike again... someday...and minus 4 kiddo's!

Oh this picture warms my heart!

I have big dreams of our family hiking together someday. And not just the little hikes we do occasionally with them on our backs. But the type of hikes that we used to do!

After a few more stops and Grammy staying way later then she planned, we headed home. But not without making one more stop. We found this little place not too far from home that has the sweetest little walking trails and the biggest rocks eva for the kids to play on.

Sorry for all the pictures ya'll, but with a weekend like that I never want to forget it!