celebrate 2008

It's not Times Square, but it's still lovely & magical--When in San Francisco {during the holidays} you can definitely find respite from the shopping hustle and bustle in Union Square. Due to crazy work schedules this week, Jeff and I celebrated our New Year's Eve a bit early. We strolled through Union Square and took a little kissy pic in front of the grandorious Christmas tree before a little after-Christmas shopping at Macy's and getting cozy+full at a delish new Italian place. The Union Square tree is especially magical to me because each light is sponsored to raise money for the UCSF Children's Hospital, where I {love to} work!
And since I'll never have the self-control to actually keep my lofty resolutions--this year I'm offering up a few New Year's prayers:

*Prayers of gratitude for our endless answered prayers in 2007, and for God's grace, forgiveness, and promise of heaven.
*Praying for increased trust and faith, for more abundant living, for grace to be patient, a little less homesick and a little more of a homemaker; praying to be a more devout, loving wife.
*Praying for knowledge and strength to be an exceptional nurse and for grace to reflect Christ's love while caring for my extremely sick little patients.
*Praying for wellness in my dear friends and family. Praying for a perfect, healthy little nephew to be born in just one more month!
*Praying that Jeff will find gumption, success, and a sense of purpose as he chases his filmmaking dreams.
*Praying for opportunities to share the Good News and shine my light in dark places.

Happy New Year everyone! XO jessica

no place like it...

I guess it's true--all good things must come to an end. We've landed safely back in Cali now, but yet I still can't stop dreaming of my White Christmas last week in dear Minnesota. I had the most absolutely delightful time being home again in my cozy big blue house with my crazy-cool family, eating Christmas cookies non-stop, playing Guitar Hero on my little bro's Wii, and just plain rejuvenating. My brothers and I even dug out our stringed instruments to play quartet music for the Christmas Eve service at church. It had been over a year since I'd dusted off my viola. Can't even believe I remembered how to play. :) But even better than being together, we got to celebrate Christ our Saviour's humble birth. *The best gift ever!* Oh, how I wish Christmas would come more than once a year!

home for christmas

This morning I woke up in Minnesota to a lovely coating of freshly fallen snow outside my childhood bedroom window! It's so, so wonderful to be home again, to see family and friends, to fill my tummy with the tastiest cookies of the year, and to celebrate Christmas at my old church. I'll be back again after the holiday, but 'til then: Wishing you all a very blessed + Merry Christmas, safe travels, warm hearts, and delightful memories!

{P.S. I'm so inspired by the whimsical, pastel icing on these cookies. Tucking this away in my memory bank for next year!}

blushing bride

Wedding bells, wedding bells, on the brain once more! This past week, I shared a few of the DIY details from my own wedding with Abby at Style Me Pretty. I am completely blushing, because she selected a few to post! You can check out my projects here!!More importantly, I had the most-very-special opportunity to go wedding dress hunting here with my dear, dear, recently-engaged friend Gretchen on Thursday afternoon. Happily, I think she may have found one! So as not to spoil the sweetest surprise, the photo above looks nothing like the one. Congrats, congrats Gretchen & Matt. I can't wait for your big day this summer. :)

mittens, mittens, i've missed you

Today I'm packing up our mittens, sweaters, and presents. Minnesota Christmas, here we come! We hope there will be lots and lots of fresh, perfect snow to play in!! But before we catch our red eye tonight, there are lots of little loose ends to tie up--updating our iPods, stashing snacks in our carry-ons, tidying up our apartment, and running a few quick errands. We just finished wrapping up some Merry Christmas cookies for each of our neighbors and set them on their doorsteps. *Totally in the spirit!*

holiday by hand #5

Last year I made these simple wire jingle bell wreaths for all of the grandparents on my list. I loved them so much I made one for myself this year with the leftovers! Such a sweet addition to doorknobs and door fronts alike. They're so quick & easy to make with just a thick-gauge wire, a package or two of jingle bells from your local craft store, and a needle nose pliers. Top it off with your absolute favorite ribbon.

holiday by hand #4

Despite a quick and busy December, a few new Christmas crafts have popped up around here. I made these simple paper trees using Christmasy 12x12 papers and Styrofoam cones. They make a lovely little centerpiece on our sideboard buffet.

expecting

I'm getting very, very excited about throwing a baby shower for my SIL Katie on Sunday afternoon! I can't believe that I'll be home with my family again in just a few days. Can't even wait!! I had a blast making these ultra-simple invites for her. I loved using these aqua scalloped postcards from PaperSource and a simple baby hand rubber stamp. I don't have a great game planned yet, but I'm not worried, as playing silly baby shower games are pretty much like eating meat loaf to me. They're ok, but I don't even miss them!

a good-old fashioned ugly sweater party, revisited

Last night we threw an Ugly Christmas Sweater party with some of our church friends. Instead of fretting over the details of a lavish meal, we whipped together a nacho bar with homemade salsa* and cheese dip, taco meat, guac, and all the other essential fixings. How devastating to admit that I lost my camera battery that night! **Addendum: But luckily Erin had hers! See the photo above of me in my bright red crop-top sweater with friends Sara & Kris. It would've been cute if it didn't end 3 inches above my belly button! Since I didn't have time to wash it before the party, I smelled thoroughly of Lysol for scabbie prevention.** I so wish I could share some of the classic looks that were sported at the party. There's just nothing quite like wearing the party to the party. Let me just say that Goodwill was very good to us this year! And in the true spirit of recycling ugly old sweaters to make them 'hip' again, we had a recyclable gift exchange as well. We each wrapped up a by-gone favorite paperback, cd, or movie, and wrote a clue about its content on the gift tags. It was a true white elephant exchange, and no one had to spend a dime!

*It's actually a bit of misnomer to call it salsa...I think the creation is more like pico de guillo, but whatever it is, it's yummy, and just involves about 30 minutes of chop, chopping:
4 tomatoes
2 green bell peppers
1 red bell pepper
1-2 white onions
4 jalapenos
1 bunch of cilantro
1 lime (juice)
a dash of salt and vinegar

nutcracker

Yesterday sweet Jeff took me to the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker. It was definitely the most delicious eye candy I've tasted in quite some time. Everything about it was absolutely perfect. The costumes, the dancing, the set, the music, oh my! Perhaps the best part was the myriad of sweet 4-year-old girls among us in the nosebleed section, decked out in their Christmas dresses, dreaming and twirling the entire way in and out of the production. I think I want to have lots of ballerina-daughters when I grow up.

seasonal delights

First off, thank you all so very much for your sweet and thoughtful little notes from last week when I was feeling a bit run down. I'm back at 110% and am ready to finish strong before flying home on Wednesday!The best part about Christmas checklists, to-do lists, wish lists, shopping lists, and packing lists, is definitely crossing off their final, pesky items and having the chance to sit back and actually enjoy the season.I'm never much of an early-bird. I need the sense of pressure and urgency that now is the time I simply must decide who's getting what and what's getting done and when. I'm also a complete nervous bird when it comes to procrastinating. {I have nightmares about being late for important events, forgetting about Christmas, etc.} I'd like to say that I fall somewhere in the middle of the Christmas preparation contiuum. After an ultra-industrious day of bossing Jeff around and running around like a fool, I'm so happy to have the following crossed off my list:

*Christmas cards signed, sealed, and sent.
*Christmas packages bought/made, wrapped, and sent.
*All Christmas gifts accounted for and packed into one very large suitcase. (I'll worry about packing our sweaters and essentials later!)
*Baking accomplished!

It's all such a relief. Time to relax and enjoy Christmastime!

please pass the chicken noodle soup...

Sore throat+malaise+chills. I'm feeling a little under the weather at a rather inconvenient time of year. Why is illness always inconvenient? Why does chicken noodle soup taste so delicious? I'm off to bed+drink lots of fluids+take a little ibuprofen. I know I'll be back in action in a jiffy, and in the mean time, you stay healthy!

tree skirt {of my dreams}

For 4 consecutive Christmases, I have put up a perfectly lovely tree that's forced to remain skirt-less. Why? Because I refuse to buy an ugly tree skirt, I have not had the gumption to make my own tree skirt, and I have yet to find a beautiful tree skirt. Today I think the search has finally ended. I am absolutely smitten by this Scandinavian-style Poinsettia cut-out skirt from Anthropologie. Of course, at $128 it's a big beyond my budget...So I'm praying prayers and crossing fingers that Anthropologie will pull through and save a little leftover love for me with after-Christmas clear outs come December 26th!

holiday by hand #3

I love, love the dainty look of quilled snowflakes. Believe it or not, the best part about quilling is that it's actually easier than it looks. Find a great snowflake tutorial here. These snowflakes are so versatile: make ornaments, cards, scrapbook embellishments, or decorations for your home.

clever, clever girlie gift

What will designer Heather Bailey come up with next!? Her latest, Trash Ties, are seriously nifty hair pieces with some seriously convincing marketing. This would make a super hip, inexpensive gift for the trendster girlfriends in your life.

holiday by hand #2

When you've got the heart and talent to tease out your holiday gifts from between two knitting needles, this book is a complete gem and completely for you. (I wish I had the skills to make everything!) It has so many adorable, quick projects that are all absolutely beautiful and created for different gender and ages. Even if you're not an all-star knitter, you should check it out simply for the cozy, lovely pictures!! I'm proud to say that the authors are also owners of S.F.'s Imagiknit knitting store extraordinaire. Lovely, lovely!

holiday by hand #1

Ooh, how I'd love to be caught under this kissing ball! Well, caught by Jeff, that is. As much as I love its green velvet ribbon, I'd love to make my own with a thick, ivory satin ribbon. This weekend, I'm planning to post several of my favorite handcrafted holiday inspirations, ideas, and experiments. Enjoy!

today just keeps getting better and better...

This morning I:
*was a sleepy-head
*slept through my alarm and snoozed 5 times
*got a ride to work from my sweet husband
*getting a ride meant time to make tea + dry my hair. *luxuries!*
*enjoyed 60 degrees + sunshine
This afternoon I:
*learned that in California, you can buy real, "just add water" snow at mall kiosks
*decided that was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of
*missed real snow
This evening I:
*packed up the baking and headed to our Advent carol service and cookie exchange at church. It was absolutely everything Christmas traditions are made of: great friends, candlelight, delicious treats, heart-warming music, and of course, the message of Christ's birth, the true meaning of Christmas
Tonight we
*enjoyed the peace & solace of a comfy couch, these coffee table candles, and just plain caught up on life...

it's beginning to {taste} a lot like christmas

Today I'm off and baking! Christmas baking is one of my all-time favorite things ever. I love reliving little childhood memories of sitting at the counter in our warm kitchen, helping my mom roll dough and putting sprinkles on everything. This year's newest recipe: Twinkling star cutouts with hard candy centers. Yum.

advent

Ready or not, December is here! Today marked the start of a fun new tradition for us: A custom Advent calendar to celebrate the season and the coming of our Savior! I whipped this simple calendar up out of a 24-ct. mini muffin tin, adhesive magnets, and Christmas paper scraps. (Thanks, Becca, for the clever idea!) At first I debated about the value of adding trinkets and treasures to each compartment for just me and my grown-up husband. Whatever would he do with mini erasers and stickers!? In the past week, a few of the blogs I read had similar advent calendars, filled with notes and prompts for celebrating each day. *Love this idea!*

The result is a combo: sweet treats + sweet words = the hope of sweet new traditions together. When I came home from work at 8:00 this morning (night shifts, boo!), I snuggled into bed and woke Jeff up with this in hand. How I love surprising.

I'm too excited--I simply have to share what's in store each day. But Shhh! Don't tell my sweet husband! The next 23 days are still a complete surprise...

1. Share the joy/Make a donation: Our church is putting together Christmas gifts for orphans in India this year.

2. Bright morning: Stop at Starbucks for gingerbread lattes before church.

3. Let the Christmas shopping begin!

4. Baking {Jeff's} favorite Christmas cookies, decorate, and enjoy while snuggling in front of our twinkling tree

5. Wear warm, cozy sweaters to the Advent carol service + cookie exchange at church

6. Find mistletoe...

7. Make a yummy breakfast; complete with cranberry muffins

8. Pick out a new Christmas CD

9. Invite friends over for holiday cheer

10. Make Christmas cards

11. Address + send cards

12. Homemade ornaments

13. *Tickets to go see the Nutcracker!!*

14. Date night: Window shopping downtown & checking out the tree in Union Square

15. Give gifts to the neighbors

16. Candlelight picnic on the living room floor {in front of the tree}

17. Watch Home Alone

18. Wrap gifts

19. FLY to MN!

20. Visit old friends

21. Attend little bro's Christmas choir concert

22. Grab hot chocolate thermos, drive around looking at lights

23. *pLaY in the sNoW!*

24. Christmas Eve program at church and exchange gifts.