Month: December 2022

Advent 2022–Day Fourteen

Moose finished off the second week of building the Lego Disney Castle by adding this adorable balcony over the entrance:

Here’s a look at the full castle so far:

I can’t believe we’re halfway through Advent already!

Sartorial Saturday–Snowbound

It’s time to think about festive fashion!

I spent much of the fall eagerly anticipating the preview of the new holiday apron from Rare Dirndl, and I was not disappointed…the reindeer apron is perfect for not just Christmastime, but all winter! I love that farmhouses and bunnies join the reindeer on the snowy background:

I chose edelweiss accessories, as I usually do when I wear a dirndl, but made sure to cover the Christmas colors of red and green as much as possible:

Here’s a closer look at my necklace duo, both from Rare Dirndl:

I chose to pair the apron with “Die Heimat” dirndl for these pictures, but I’m also looking forward to wearing it with the Herbology dirndl in the (not too distant) future:

I love the red ties on the apron, and I added a red ribbon to lace up the front of the dirndl, too:

I love how the pops of red stand out!

Red tights and sparkly silver shoes complete the look:

This just screams “Christmas in Germany,” don’t you think?

Frohe Weihnachten!

Advent 2022–Day Thirteen

Turkey finished the part of the castle wall that Bunny began yesterday and attached it…it has a pretty cool turret element now!

Advent 2022–Day Eleven

Today Chickadee finished the wall of the Lego Disney Castle that Ladybug started yesterday, and attached it to the set (with a little help from Turkey).

Nikolaustag

Happy Nikolaustag!

We started the day as we start every St. Nick’s Day…with stockings. The children always receive a new ornament, and this year, the ornaments came from our trip to Disney World. I had such a fun time picking them out at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe the Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square back in June!

We always decorate the tree on December 6th…in addition to our Mickey Ears ornaments (and the final installation of the “12 Days of Christmas”), we also added an ornament made from marble from the steps of the US Capitol that we picked up when we toured the building over the summer:

For dinner, as I did last year, I made Döner Kebab. One more year, and it will be a full-fledged tradition!

For dessert, I stuck with the Disney theme and made Mini Gingerbread Bundt Cakes with Orange-Vanilla Sauce from a recipe on the Disney Parks Blog:

We always have wassail on Nikolaustag, too:

Now I feel like the Christmas season has really begun!

Advent 2022–Day Ten

Today Ladybug started working on a section of wall for the Lego Disney Castle, which has some really cool shields on the inside. More importantly, though…she built Minnie Mouse!

Twelve Drummers Drumming

The day I have been low-key dreading since since 2011 is finally here…I have completed my Hallmark “12 Days of Christmas” ornament collection.

Back then, I wrote:

“What I wasn’t expecting, however, was to realize just how old my children will be by the time I get to the drummers drumming! Turkey will be 19–almost 20! And that means Bunny will be 18, Moose 17, and Ladybug 15. And I’m not even going to think about how old the unborn Chickadee will be–I refuse to think of her as anything other than a tiny baby!”

And yet, here we are. Turkey will indeed be 20 in a couple of months. Bunny is 18, Moose is 17, and Ladybug is 15. And even if I didn’t want to think about it then, the fact of the matter is, the baby with whom I was pregnant in 2011 is now 10, almost 11 years old.

Time marches on. And while I hoped then that my children would slow down growing up a bit, as we all know, it doesn’t really work that way. And so, one short year at a time, I finished my collection, all while my children grew up right before my eyes.