Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings

Aren't presents great? I think I've always had just a little bit more fun giving presents than receiving them. Although it's gotten harder as we've all gotten older to find a present that is just right, it's so satisfying to find something special for a person you love. I remember one year when I was about eleven finding the game "Stratego" at Wal-mart for only $5. I was so thrilled because I knew my brother would love it and because I could actually afford it. That was a very exciting feeling!

One of my favorite things about presents is their wrapping! There are so many wonderful choices of paper and ribbon to use- it's almost an art form! At my seasonal job I had to wrap faux packages for businesses to display under their trees. I got to be quite a professional at wrapping, I must say. One company's theme was black and silver so their packages were dramatic if not very festive. I had to take a photo of some of my favorites because I thought they looked pretty cool.



Sadly, one tragedy of the modern Christmas is the overuse of gift bags. While more environmentally friendly per se, they are much less fun! And although much easier, it isn't quite as satisfying to throw the present in a bag with a little tissue. I think the prettier the present, the more exciting it is to open- and whether you like the gift or not, it was well worth the effort!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookies

Well I can't believe I let almost the entire month of December go by without stopping by here and documenting my delightful moments! And December is my favorite month, full of wonderfully beautiful things!! How could I have been so thoughtless?



Today my delighful dalliance is devoted to Christmas Cookies! Pretty much all cookies are wonderful, but there is something extra special about Christmas cookies! In my family we have always had "the classics", the cookies we try to make every year. One of our top favorites are Pepperkakker cookies, a swedish cookie that is similar to gingerbread but sweeter with less of a kick. The number one favorite in our house are definitely swedish cremes, but they are so flaky and hard to make that we probably only end up making them every other year. When we lived in Iowa my mom came across a recipe at a cookie exchange for "Butterfinger cookies" which are made by creating peanut butter sandwiches out of ritz or wheat thins and dipping them in melted chocolate (almond bark.) Those became an instant classic. The best part about making cookies is doing it with someone you love, having fun decorating and tasting the "broken" ones.

Every family has different favorites and I think it's fun to see what other kinds of cookies people normally make for their holiday festivities. It's funny what a simple dessert can mean to people, but Christmas wouldn't be quite the same without the old classics. I'll always remember being the "chosen one" to go to the cold garage at Christmas time, open up all the tins and beautifully arrange a plate of all the varieties of Christmas cookies for dessert. Somehow the thrill of that small Christmas tradition still touches me today.

Painting

I finished my pieces for the Art Show and they ended up being displayed despite my insecurities. I felt they were not as strong as they should have been to be publicly displayed, but I felt a sense of obligation to enter them because I didn't want the art gallery to be empty.

When I saw all the wonderful pieces that people from the church brought in, I still felt insecure about my work, but I also felt that other people who entered weren't "professionals" either so it made me feel a little less conspicuous. There were a few stunners, like Mandi's, the texture she used was so inviting. Altogether I thought it was really neat to see the way that people brought the theme into being. I had such a hard time with "God With Us" that I almost couldn't believe the variety that showed up!

My pieces didn't end up being as abstract as I had planned but I am fairly happy with the result. I just feel that they are a little flat... they need more dimension. I just need more practice with watercolor. Here is a photo of my piece entitled "Psalm 139". This piece was inspired by the title verse. I thought about the way that God is With Us from the moment we are conceived and is in control of every aspect of our lives to what we do and the number of breaths we take.



The photo of my 2nd piece, "How The Lilies Grow", was taken before I did the background, so imagine it with a similar background to the first, Matthew 6 written out with shades of blue surrounded the lilies. I was thinking about how God is so much with us that he satisfies all our needs and gives us no reason to worry. My motto has always been to prepare as much as you can and then forget it because worry accomplishes nothing. Matthew 6 is a perfect reminder of God's constant provision.




I'll try to remember to take a photo of the finished painting to post here, since the mid-way through piece doesn't have any oomph. :)

Family

I am very privledged to be a part of a big, loving family. I've always been glad to be one of four children- I've always thought that an only child must get caught for every little thing they do because their parents have no one else to worry about! In a big family, you get away with a few more things! And you are never lonely. There is always someone around to talk to you, or to bother you!

After being away at college for four years it is so nice to be back home with my parents and my little brother. Not only are there a lot more nice meals but I just feel happier and more content when I have people I love around me. I love evenings when everyone is home after a long day of going here and there and we all just sit on the couch or lay on the floor and chat. Just listening to everyone share stories is a calming way to end a day. Not that it happens very often, but it did tonight and making it even better my older brother and sister-in-law were here so the stories were more varied and more fun.

So even though my life isn't quite where I pictured it would be in the Fall of 2008, I always count myself lucky to have a functional family who loves and supports me and keeps believing in me even when I don't.


(This photo was taken last New Year's Day- all of us plus Grammy and my mom's friend Carol! Chinese food makes a great holiday meal btw! :)

My New CD

Ok, So this entry isn't very creative or original- but my Delightful moment of the day was when I went to Wal-mart to buy Taylor Swift's new CD!! I am in love with her single "Love Story", it is so cute and the music video is the cutest music video I have ever seen! If you haven't seen it, you tube it. It's very simple and romantic but I love it.

I've seen Taylor in concert twice, once in the summer of 2007 before she really hit it big and once this past summer. Both times she was so thankful of her fans and very gracious and seemed very down to earth. I think she is genuine and very talented and I am very jealous of her hair. :)

But anyway, I'm delighted with my new CD and if you haven't checked her out- you are missing out! :) Ok I'm done gushing for now! :)

Mixing Colors

I am trying to work on a few little paintings for the art show at our Christmas concert this year, but it's not coming out as good as I had hoped. To be honest, I don't have a lot of experience making actual paintings- most of the painting I've done has been with guache on bristol making Fashion Illustrations. I did some acrylic paintings in high school but never anything award winning. So why did I choose to make a painting for this particular art show? Because the theme of the show is "God With Us". I felt it was quite hard to draw something for that theme without it becoming too cliche, so I decided to work on the more abstract level. To make my abstract worth looking at I thought I should use some color.

And isn't mixing paint colors just delightful? I like to squirt some of the paint right onto the canvas and mix the colors as they slide across the canvas. The marbled look is always cool to see. When I was in school I always loved seeing all the beautiful colors left in my palette- when using guache there would always be varying lightnesses of a color because I would keep adding more water to get the color that matched my fabric swatch. And sometimes the most exciting part was pouring the paint down the sink and seeing the little rainbow wash away.

Fallen Leaves

I love the sights and smells of Autumn. The brisk air, colorful foliage, bright pumpkins and gourds, the scent of burning wood- all those comforting familiar elements of fall! I have enjoyed this fall immensely. I was able to attend three wonderful fairs, go on a few foliage trips, go apple and pumpkin picking, make some festive desserts and basically just have a wonderful time with family and friends. Being away at school the past four years made me really appreciate all the time I had this year to really let the season envelope me.

Alas, the leaves are starting to turn brown and there are fewer and fewer leaves left on the trees. I keep wishing that they will hold on for a few more weeks. The browns left over remind us of how quickly winter is coming and the world starts to look so drab. Thankfully the Lord created snow to give us a refreshing look at our world once all the color has left us for the cold winter months. And Thank God for Christmas- without which we would have possibly 4 months with nothing bright and colorful adorning our houses and yards!

So I will hold on to these colors for as long as they will last me- stay with me Fall- I need you!

Went a Rambling

Welcome to my brand new blog! I was thinking about how my life can be instantly brightened by a gorgeous view, spotting a pretty little trinket or seeing an adorable child! So I decided to start a blog where every post is about something I find delightful, pretty, adorable, precious, spectacular, tremendous or amazing!

Today I went on an adorable fall "Wreath Ramble" with my Grammy and Annick. It was the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, which by the way is just gorgeous. The dry stone walls alone are magnificent. The "Wreath Ramble" involved going into the woods a little ways and gathering leaves, berries, branches, reeds, and whatever else we could find to decorate our little wreaths. While hunting for something colorful in the midst of the dying brown branches, I spotted a couple of trees growing together in a twisted rope-like way. I thought it was just spectacular the way the the trees decided to become one. Maybe this is somewhat common, but I have never seen it before and found it very exciting.