St. Nicholas Day (hurray!)

Happy St. Nicholas Day! Growing up, this holiday was one of my favorites. In my family, we put our shoes out and received little goodies that could be shared with the family throughout the rest of the holiday season.

If you’re interested in learning more about the holiday, here’s a few fun links:

This Monologue: David Sedaris explains St. Nicholas Day in his usual witty way.

This Website: Apparently, there is a St. Nicholas Center devoted to all things St. Nick.

Also, here’s a few of my favorite items to give and share: local honey or tasty fruit butters, exotic cookies from around the world, gourmet sausages, tasty coffee or tea.

Hope you have fun plans today!

Cheers, Amy

(PS St. Nicholas image from here)

Festive + Advent

For our family, this weekend kicks off the holiday season. We have a full slate of festivities lined up – the Victorian Christmas at 4 Mile Historic House, a craft fair at the neighborhood church, and a winter walk through the woods with friends.

What are your plans to celebrate the start of the holidays?

Alas, I think that Griffin will be too young for an Advent calendar this year. However, I’m excited by all the wonderful ideas floating around in blog-land! I thought that I’d share three of my favorite Advent calendar ideas, in case you’re looking for inspiration.

Oh Happy Day: Basically just start scrolling. Jordan has come up with a plethora of creative and exciting ideas. My favorite is this one, which makes use of a big Christmas tree fabric photo from Ikea.

Black Eiffel: Talks about a tradition of reading one holiday book a day for Advent. Be still my beating heart! This is definitely something I want to do with Griffin next year.

The Etsy Blog: This one is not for the faint of crafty heart…stitching skills are required. But, I love the idea of a calendar that will stay with you year after year. You can fill the pockets with gifts or just with wishes for the new year.

Cheers and happy (almost) December!
Amy

(PS Image above is from the Etsy blog)

Have a spooky Halloween

For his first Halloween, Griffin is dressing up as a bear. (!!) I’m so excited. I really want to take a video of him crawling around on the floor, making his “rawr” noises. I also can’t wait for trick-or-treaters tonight. It’s our first Halloween in the Highlands and I’m curious how many people stop by. In the meantime…I thought I’d share some great Halloween links:

This story: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving, is my all-time favorite spooky story. Remember the first time you heard about the headless horseman? I still get chills when I think about walking alone on a dark fall evening…

This song: Danse Macabre, by the composer Camille Saint Saens. The idea of skeletons getting to come out of the ground and cavort around is fantastic.

These costume ideas: If you’re scrambling at the last minute, Oh Happy Day has some wonderful children’s costume plans. Isn’t this cloud one adorable?

(Vintage poster picture from the Hamilton Wood Type Museum.)

Snow and childlike wonder

We had our first snow of the year last night – I loved it. There is something magical about sleeping with the soft shushing of snow falling against the window. Equally wonderful is the moment when you wake up and look outside. How much has fallen? I always feel like a small child again as I pull aside the curtain to take a peek.

This morning, the roads were clear and everyone went about their business. As someone who is new to snow, I’m still adjusting to this reaction. Growing up in Texas, everyone took the day off on the rare occasion we were graced with a light dusting.

I cannot wait to introduce Griffin to snow. What will he think of it? At eight months, he may be too young to fully appreciate it. That’s okay, we have time. And, now that we’re in Denver, we will have lots of snowy days to revel in.

What are your favorite childhood memories of snow?

Cheers, Amy

Bits and pieces

This month marks the one year anniversary of our cross-country move to Denver, Colorado from Portland, Oregon. When we moved here, I was entering my third trimester. We didn’t exactly have jobs (yikes!), just a good contract that would help my husband start his own business. For the first two months, we bunked with the in-laws while we searched for a house. People talk about pregnant women ‘nesting’, where they compulsively organize the nursery. Forget nesting – I was just hoping to find a nest before the wee one arrived.

Twelve months and a million changes later, my husband and I have a beautiful eight month old baby boy named Griffin. My husband’s accounting and consulting firm has taken off (phew), and I have a wonderfully flexible part-time job doing development work for a local museum.

We found our perfect nest just in time. We moved into a 1940s home in the Highlands last December. Okay, so we’re still unpacking…I plead the newborn excuse on that one (and likely will for the next year!). I’m okay taking time to settle. We love the neighborhood – family friendly, with lots of parks and local restaurants within walking distance – and plan to stay here for a long time.

At eight months into babyland, I feel as though I’m finally starting to get my feet back under me. We are starting to recover on our sleep – a very important milestone for my sanity. Also, I’m beginning to figure out my new identity as a mom.

So, long introduction, but that’s a bit about me. I plan to write regularly on this blog about my life in Denver and my journey as a mother. I hope you’ll share your thoughts and comments as we go.

Cheers,
Amy