Holiday Kick-off

After spending a few days with family for Thanksgiving, Pickles and I couldn't wait to get home to decorate and craft our little hearts out. We all took a loooong nap when we got home but got down to business in the evening. Then set up the tree and started trimming it.

We love best when our favorite, most sentimental ornaments come out. For me those are two items from when our family was formed.


One is a 'save the date' card from when Daddy McD and I were engaged. All I did was punch holes in the corners of the card, took nylon thread and strung some pretty beads on it. Then I tied the thread through the holes I punched. Lovely and simple.

My other favorite ornaments are actually decorations from our wedding. Our table centerpieces were branches decorated with tags made from pictures of our two families doing things together. There were trips to the park, playing at Daddy's apartment, swimming, vacationing etc. We wanted to share with our guests that we were already a family in our hearts!


Sadly, like memories themselves, some of these tags have begun to blur. Maybe it's the quality of the paper, maybe the conditions in the attic. Either way, I love seeing how little the kids were and how many things we did together.

While all this decorating was going on, we made sure to put on a pot of wassail. We LOVE wassail at our  house and there is a pot brewing the whole season long. I use a very basic recipe that makes a tasty pot of the stuff, if you ask me. Here's the recipe:

- 1 gallon of apple juice
- 6 oz of frozen orange juice concentrate
- 2-3 sticks of cinnamon
- 1 Tbs of mulling spices (bought them at Walmart)
- pinch or two of nutmeg
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar (this is optional)
Let boil for just a bit and then let it simmer a long while. Serve it hot and enjoy!!