The 3 Littles in Costume

The other day the three youngest were playing.  Here's how Truitt came down the hall.

Hangers were the only tools this Bob the Builder could find.

And then I found the other two and quickly corralled them together to snap a pic.

It's Jane Austen Day

I didn't even know there was such a thing as Jane Austen Day.  But I fully support it.

So in honor of all things Austen, here are some suggestions that would just happen to make great Christmas presents!

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice



Or the Annotated Emma, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey.  I recommend them all.

Or how about this book:



Longbourn, by Jo Baker is written from the servants perspective.  I haven't read it yet, but apparently, you either love it or hate it.  It's definitely on my list,

Or, if you are the type of person who likes to collect books in all their beautiful variations, here are some Pride and Prejudice options for you.  (But do search for all the rest too!)

                
Penguin clothbound       Drop Cap Classics        Word Cloud Classics

Maybe you want to foster this in your young children a la the baby lit Pride and Prejudice counting primer.



I totally would have bought this for Ava if it existed when she was little!

Do you have a favorite Austen?

 

DIY Peppermint Mocha

I am a little irritated that my McDonalds isn't doing the Peppermint Mocha this year.  They have some weird white chocolate mocha things going on.  And I am especially irritated right now because I just came back from the eye doctor having my eyes dilated and I can't see crap.  Anyway.

I was desperate for a peppermint mocha and came up with this simple DIY version.

Peppermint Mocha

- cup of coffee, preferably made with french press
-milk to taste
-sugar to taste
-3 Andes mints

Basically, make a coffee, add the ingredients to how you like it stir to dissolve the mints and drink up.  Simple, yummy, cheap. Eat your heart out McDonalds!

Fire Cider for Colds

This one has some pucker power.  It would have to with ingredients like apple cider vinegar and horseradish.  But it's highly praised for helping with colds by every herbalist under the sun.  My kids and I all had some today because we are battling a persistent cough and cold in the littlest three.

Fire Cider

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, crushed

4T. freshly grated gingerroot

4T. freshly grated horseradish root

Apple cider vinegar (unpasteurized)

Combine first 4 ingredients in quart size jar.  Add vinegar to just about the top.  Put on counter and shake daily for 4 weeks.  After 4 weeks, strain out vegetable material and bottle the juices back up.  Take 1-2 T. at first sign of cold, and repeat every few hours.  For kids use 1-2 tsp.  

Quick note: In my picture above I haven't added the horseradish yet, so it's not as full as it should be. Also, horseradish is seasonal and can be very hard to find.  My first batch I found some in jars by the meat in the grocery store.  The only issue with this is that there was added salt, but I took a risk to complete the recipe and it worked just fine.  But fresh is always best if you can find it.  

What I Want

I struggle with presents because I never have a list to give Chris.  Usually, if we see something we like and we can afford it then we'll buy it. (Tempered with a good dose on do we need it, etc.  We definitely don't just buy everything we want) But these are three items on my list of things that I would love to have.

Pendleton Blanket

At about $200, unfortunately this isn't the type of item I would purchase for myself.  And other than I really like it, that's not a good enough reason to drop that kind of money on a wool blanket.  Although it is on sale at Nordrstroms for $150 for the full size....

Minnetonka Moccasins  Kitty Suede Moccasin

These are definitely on my list of things I could really bring home.  $43 with free shipping at Zappos.  I might have to pull the trigger on these.  I hinted to Chris about them, but I don't think he was listening that day. 

Harry Potter Set in Hardcover

When these first came out, I was young.  Still in high school young.  And by the time I heard about the series as a freshman in college, the first one was out in paperback.  Poor, in college, no extra money, so soft covers it was.  Now, I appreciate a hardcover book if they are deemed worthy of collecting that way.  And Harry Potter is.  (Then I could finally get rid of my softcovers that are falling apart from Ava reading and rereading them!) $100 on Amazon

It's the Globe

I have a globe obsession.  I would love to say I am a collector, but I only have 3.  Still, I can't get enough of these images below.  Now I just need to keep an eye out at the goodwills and second hand stores.

Now That's Funny {New Zealand Version}

This is at the base of a 27 story building in Auckland, New Zealand.

Our Christmas Tree Fell Down

Twice.

We put it up Sunday night.  Lights first, then the ornaments, and the star at the top with the 5 pound plug-in attached to it.  That's when we discovered that although the lights all worked when I plugged them into the outlet to test them, once on the tree half of them decided to stop working.  In random areas.  After twisting individual lights we new we needed to get new ones.  

Yesterday I ran out to get some, and have you bought lights lately?  Crazy expensive.  Chris thought we should get LED to the tune of $30, and that was on sale.  For two strands.  

Last night as I was unwinding the lights off the tree around the 8 million ornaments, the tree fell over. I managed to catch it before it hit the ground but I was standing on top of a stool yelling frantically to Chris to come as fast as he can.  We finally got it set up right, felt good about it, and I walked away to pick up ornaments off the ground and bam.  It fell again. This time all the way to the floor.  

We ended up anchoring it to the hutch in the picture.  And it made it through the night, so I am pretty sure it will be okay.  Plus we told the kids that under no circumstances are they to touch the tree or there will be penalties to pay.  (Monday they put barbies in it, so that may or may not have had contributed to the tree falling over.)

And we only broke two ornaments that were easily fixable, and that is saying something because we have a lot of nice, delicate Lenox porcelain ornaments from my parents that managed to survive a falling tree, twice.  

One day down, another month to go....

My New Favorite.....

I have several new "things" that I have discovered lately, so I thought I'd share.

My New Favorite:

1. Scarf:  Old Navy Blanket Scarf  (got to cut that darn tag off!)

2. Book: I Capture The Castle

So charmed by this.

3. Drink:  Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark

I am a beer girl through and through.

4. Lip Stain:  J. Cat Wonder Lip Paint in Mad Splatter

The first time I wore it I almost had a heart attack- hello hot pink!  And for a girl who usually only wears lip gloss, it was a stretch.  But now I am obsessed!

5. Body Cream:  Bath and Body Works Stress Relief in Eucalyptus Spearmint & Eucalyptus Tea

      

Love these smell.  They are expensive at $15 each, but I only buy them when Bath and Body Works has them for $5 a pop.