Saturday morning daydream

Oh, to be in NYC on this early December morning... I'm certain I could spend the entire day Christmas shopping and adore every single second. 

{pretty picture found on Pinterest}

Happy things with which to end the week

January has been pretty good so far. I am loving wintertime in kindergarten!

The kids love to create snowman after snowman from the glittery playdough I made. Aren't they cute?

Speaking of snowmen, I adore all the wintry artwork we've been making. These snowmen with their colourful, bingo dabbered backgrounds make me especially happy.

My new chalk board mug is pretty awesome.

My favourite page from last year's calendar is now a permanent fixture on my classroom wall. 

Merry Christmas to us! Cassie's parcel from England arrived today! Thank you, sweet friend.

I got a Kobo eReader for Christmas. That thing is awesome! And tonight I got a "75% 

off your first purchase" so I'm definitely making some book choices this weekend.

I went back to yoga last Friday and I'm so excited to be back there tonight...

Happy Weekend, friends!

E xo

Scenes of Christmas

I go back to work tomorrow morning, after two busy, festive and fun-filled weeks off {never mind the stomach bug we got for the second year in a row... let's just pretend it never happened!}

Here are a few photos of the fun we had...

Santa {my dad!} visited my class on the last day of school- it was pure magic

Christmas lights in the capital 

The national gingerbread competition at the Laurel Point Inn... the Harry Potter one was our favourite {of course}

Decorations on Government Street

Outdoor nativity pageant at Topaz Park

Plenty of tea drinking

Our pretty mantle and fireplace on Christmas Eve

The boys in their Christmas jammies

Ugh! Sawyer got a Furby!

Waiting for midnight, New Year's Eve

Happy New Year! Let's crack open the ginger ale!

Lighting sparklers to welcome in 2014

A sunny afternoon downtown, with the cutest boys in the whole wide world

Packing up the decorations for another year...

Happy New Year, friends! Are you back into your regular routine yet? Any resolutions for the year ahead? I'm determined to make this one much, much better than the last. I wish the same for you. And with that, I'm off to bedfordshire... ;~) And to kindergarten in the morning!

Good-night,

E xo

An ornament swap update {finally!}

Did you join the Christmas ornament swap this year? I was happy to help out my darling friend, Micaela {who started the swap back in 2009} and take over for her as she got to know her new baby girl, Noel. M and I have been exchanging ornaments for five years now {best. tradition. ever.} and I'm in love with the vintage beauties she sent me this year. See?

Micaela knows how I love an old-fashioned angel, and a vintage glass ball covered in frost

Isn't she pretty?

My partner for this year's swap was the lovely Johanna of the Yukon-based blog, Birds on a Wire. I wanted to choose something that would suit her pretty home in the cold, Canadian North. So I picked out this beautiful snowflake and this tiny, handmade bird. Plus I sent her a pack of tea from the Empress Hotel. One of these days, she and I are going to go for afternoon tea together. Right, Jo?

I can't take credit for this gorgeous photo. Johanna took it.

And here is what she sent me! A beautiful sparkly white church in a pretty bell jar. I love, love, love it. It's just so perfectly me. She also sent homemade potpourri which I've been simmering on the stove top all this week. It smells just the way Christmastime should. Thank you, my friend!

I've taken part in many swaps over the years, and the Christmas one is definitely a favourite. I look forward to it every year, and have made some great friends through it. I'm looking forward to next year already :)

Did you play along this year? Leave a link to your blog in the comments if you've got ornament photos to share, won't you please? I'd love to see them!

Happy Holidays, friends. I'll be back soon, with loads of photos from Christmas. 

Until then,
E xo

Merry Christmas Eve!

I know, I know... It's been ages since I've blogged! Life has been keeping me very busy. But we're on vacation now, for 16 glorious days, and I promise to catch up as soon as the big day is over. 

Until then, Merry Christmas! May your days be merry and bright, 

Love Erin xo 

Here comes Santa Claus!

I took the boys downtown to the Santa Claus parade on Saturday night. We met up with friends and sat together on the sidewalk, drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies and singing Jingle Bells as we waited for Santa to arrive. It was the perfect night, frosty and cold, and everything twinkled. I love Christmas time. The magic in the air makes everything nicer, doesn't it? 

I'm starting to feel it, and I know the boys are too. They're excited for the holidays, and are already counting the days until they can open the advent calendar. Not long now! {oh, and speaking of not long... don't forget to send your ornaments for the swap by Friday!}

Check your inbox!

I sent out all the swap partner details last night. Just waiting on one person's mailing address {email me, Sandra!} and everybody will be matched up.

You have until the 28th to send your partner the perfect ornament. Have fun, and Happy Happy Holidays!

Saturday morning daydream

Planning the ornament swap and beginning to dream of Christmas and snowy days. Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? And, have you joined the swap yet?!

pretty picture via here

The 5th Annual Dolce Vita Christmas Ornament Swap {Pughs' News edition}

Four years ago this November, I stumbled across a lovely little blog, Dolce Vita. Its author, Micaela, was hosting a Christmas ornament swap, and {festive girl that I am} I signed up straight away. I'm so, so glad that I did. Micaela partnered herself with me, and we became fast friends from the minute her sweet parcel arrived in my mailbox. We began to write to one another regularly, and every Christmas since, we've enjoyed the tradition of sending each other pretty tree ornaments. It's something I look forward to every year {and now I can say that I look forward to texts and FaceTime sessions, too! hooray for my fabulous iPhone and wonderful blogging friends!}

This year, Micaela will be welcoming her second little girl, a Christmastime baby who'll be called Noel {isn't the name just perfect?} M will be busy being a new mama all over again this December, so she asked me to take over the organization of the 2013 swap. I am thrilled to be able to help, and hope that I can do as good a job as she's been doing since 2009.

Ready? To join, here's what you need to do:

* Email me, erinbyrne{at}yahoo.com and use the subject heading ORNAMENT SWAP

* Include your first and last name, email address, mailing address and blog link. {if you haven't got a blog, include your Instagram or Etsy shop link} Please let me know if you'd be willing to be partnered with someone overseas.

* You can join any time between now and next Tuesday, Nov. 12th. I'll email you your partner's details by Monday, Nov. 18th and you'll have until Friday, Nov. 29th to find the perfect ornament and post it.

* Ornaments can be vintage {my favourite!}, store-bought or handmade and should be approx. $10 in value. Please do learn a little about your partner {follow those blog links!} and her preferences/style so that you can find an ornament just right for her.

* Include a Christmas card in your parcel, sharing a favourite Christmas song, tradition, memory, recipe...

Have fun! Don't forget to take a photo of the ornaments you've sent/received so we can share them on our blogs. I'll try to put together a showcase of all of them at some point in December, and link back to everybody.

I can't wait for your emails to start pouring in! So what are you waiting for? Get writing! {and be sure to tell all your blogging friends- share the photo above and link to this post- the more the merrier!}

Happy, happy holidays!
love E xo

photo via my instagram

This Christmas

Hello, friends, and happy holidays! How was your Christmas? Ours was lovely... up until 2:30 or so on Christmas morning when Alan and I were suddenly struck with the most horrible stomach flu. It lasted right on through until Boxing Day. I still can't believe it. Of all the days in all the year to get so desperately sick, it had to happen on Christmas day. We'd had such a nice Christmas Eve, singing songs and visiting with my parents, putting out cookies for Santa {and nine carrots! one for each of his reindeer} and trying on our snazzy new Christmas pajamas. We read The Night Before Christmas out loud, then put the kids to bed and watched It's a Wonderful Life. We piled the presents under the tree and turned out the lights and got excited thinking about the magic of the next morning. Until we woke up and were violently ill...

I think the kids still thought it was magical. They were so patient and understanding as we made them stay in bed way longer than we normally would on Christmas morning. They had fun opening gifts with very little supervision and eating as much chocolate as they liked without anyone even noticing. Alan and I laid on the couches and dozed as much as we could considering how sick we were, and watched the boys celebrate around us. It's all a bit of a blur, but it certainly was a different Christmas and one we'll always remember.

Our twinkly house on Christmas Eve

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Boys in Christmas pjs, {and Sawyer loving his new Nutcracker snowglobe!}

Cuddles by the Christmas tree

Before all the presents were piled high

Christmas dinner 2012 {not really... I didn't even manage to get through my tin of ginger ale until Boxing Day!}

We've been taking it pretty easy here the past few days, building lots of Lego, playing board games and lounging by the fire. I'm so glad we've still got a week left of holidays to enjoy now that we're feeling so much better. I'm keeping the Christmas music going, and kicking back in my cozy slippers. What are you up to in these last few days of the year? Have you got big plans for New Year's Eve?

PS: Have you noticed? I'm on Instagram now. You can follow me here.

Christmas in my classroom

Grade 1 is a pretty great age to teach at Christmastime. The kids are full of delight and excitement over every little thing- the Christmas concert {we're at school! at night!}, our class advent calendar {the special helper each day gets to open the door and eat the chocolate}, every single Christmas book I read aloud, the constant festive art projects I'm giving them to do, the music, the treats, the tinsel... and our adorable little Christmas tree! So exciting. And now, with the big day exactly a week away, the impending arrival of Santa has taken things to a whole new level. They're just about to burst with anticipation. It's pretty awesome, if a wee bit exhausting... {oh, who am I kidding? it is crazy exhausting!}

Would you like to take a peek into my classroom this holiday season? It's pretty festive if I do say so myself.

Glittery stockings by the fireplace {and every time one of my students gives me a card, I pin it up on the mantle}

A twinkly tree covered in decorations handmade by the class {they are very proud of those beaded candy canes}

Speaking of homemade ornaments, this is one I made with the class- a really cute popsicle stick, cardstock and sequined Christmas tree {Sawyer made this one for our tree at home}

Super cute snowmen {thank you, Pinterest!}

Crayon resist angels with tinsel garland halos {j'adore...}

Seriously. How cute is this?

Christmas library

Gingerbread friends {after reading the book by Jan Brett}

Just inside our classroom door... I like to keep the lights off on this side of the room, so the tree really sparkles

Our Christmas concert is tonight, and the kids are so excited to perform Mele Kalikimaka {in grass skirts, Hawaiian leis and sunglasses} for an audience of hundreds. I remember that feeling well, the thrill of being at school at night, all dressed up and singing my heart out. I'm looking forward to it, maybe almost as much as they are. That being said though, I'm definitely going to need a peppermint mocha to get me through the night!