18 Days Till Christmas!

These are the coolest stars - they're about 8" across, and they were so easy to make! I made my own patterned paper with a variety of stamps (Martha Stewart, PTI, Studio G, TAC), and then whipped out the parts with my Cuttlebug and the Sizzix Bigz 5-Point Star die - it did all the cutting and scoring for me. All I had to do was fold on the scored lines and attach the sections with adhesive. Really, the thing that took the longest was stamping all the paper. I'd love to try these with metal... Hmm, coke cans perhaps? I can't believe I almost didn't keep this die. It's awesome!

Impromptu Road Trip

My favorite trips are the last minute, spur of the moment kind. There's something exhilirating about throwing some clothes in a bag and hopping in the car for a quick little getaway. Today's trip was to Springtown. The drive up was grey and gloomy, and the temperature dropped over 20 degrees along the way. Perfect Christmas weather! We listened to Christmas music and talked about our best childhood memories of Christmas.

And when we made it into town, we had this for dinner:

Hong Kong Inn has the best eggrolls in town! We eat here every time we come to Springfield.

It was sooo good...

Hey, Dave! Look! It's Snowing!

Well, more like raining with a few tiny random flakes struggling to stay afloat, but down here that still counts!


One of the things I miss living down here is distinct seasons. I'm used to Northern weather, where by Halloween you have to wear a coat at night and it's already snowed by Thanksgiving. Here in the South it's not unusual to have 70 degree weather (sometimes even warmer) in December/January, and we rarely come close to having a white Christmas. So I'm pretty stoked about the few flakes we've had today.



Christmas came early for us this year - Seth and I each got our main Christmas gift yesterday. It's our last Christmas here in the States for a few years, which means our last chance to have a big (for us) Christmas. I was able to score this nifty cool gadget with a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby:

I had a blast last night figuring it out. It weighs less than 2 pounds, is 5" x 5", AND it's dual-voltage! I've always thought digital cutting machines like the Cricut were pretty cool, but they're just way too bulky for me to take overseas (not to mention pricey!). But this little guy is perfect.

I'm almost done with the Christmas shopping; still need to make a few things. I'm getting excited about seeing my family in a few weeks!

And just in case you didn't catch it, the title of this post is in reference to my favorite Christmas album of all time:

It's a classic!