i have been buried.  and i am finally breathing again - it feels good.  aside from the handmade gifts and all the baking i promised i would do this year {and is done!} i volunteered to help with a project at the girls' school that pretty much took over my life for a week.  it feels good to breath.  hanukkah began last friday evening and we have been lighting the candles and reciting prayers... and waiting for thursday night when den is home to exchange gifts and enjoy a feast of brisket and latkes.  one gift they were allowed to open already is the casa cabana from kidsonroof my sweet friend gave the girls.  i don't think i have ever seen them all jump so high at the same time as the little house was coming together.  they are already working hard on wall murals inside their little play house and want to sleep in it at night... best. gift. ever.

on another note, my plan to purchase a potted evergreen to plant in the coming weeks was foiled by the blizzard that swept his angry arm across the plains last week.  so now i am torn - do i still buy a potted evergreen and keep it inside through the winter and use it for mulch in the spring?  a small cut tree that would meet the same fate?  or do i buy a sugar dusted green that we keep in the basement during the year?  i am leaning towards the first two... for us, this is about winter and replenishing the earth which the mulch would do... any thoughts?

xoox~jla

Comments

[Bronwyn]

My sister and I would make fortresses out of the boxes that came from furniture in our new farmhouse. The best, as I recall, was the fridge box! This would have been amazing.

As for the tree we're lucky enough to have a Christmas tree farm so this has never been a question for us. The tree is always returned to the forest after New Year's.

[anna kim]

that is the sweetest little things, oh goodness

[bright and blithe]

i can see why the casa cabana was such a hit with your little ones. i know it would be at our house.

as for your plight with the tree, i'm afraid i'm of little use. i spent last night pruning the dead branches off the rosemary bush i've had in my kitchen...for only a month.

[deborah]

we bought a little living tree in a pot and plan to transplant into a bigger pot so it grows for next year. is that an option for you, jen? over here in sydney, these type of trees are available at farmers' markets, nurseries and even florists.

[julia]

how sweet. they must really love this little nook for themselves!

as for the tree- i heard a story on npr a few weeks ago about ecofriendly holiday celebrations and the woman they interviewed said that hands down a live tree (and i'm assuming a potted tree counts) is more ecofriendly than a fake one. the manufacturing of the fake ones uses so many resources that it's not very sustainable. i think you should go for the potted one. and it will be much more beautiful anyways

[jla]

thanks ladies!

deb & julia - that is what i thought we could do but greenhouse said the heat and dryness inside the house in the winter is what would kill it. but i went back today to ask about the whole thing again and told them we have a non-insulated porch - they said as long as we mist it and keep it watered it may survive to plant in the spring. so i bought it and den is bringing it home tomorrow! it is the cutest little thing {a 5-foot pencil colorado spruce} - pray for it! ;) xoox

[Jasmine]

Beautiful picture.

[Nicodemus Green]

You really don't seem like an artificial greenery sort of gal. :)

You made the right choice.

[ieva jansone]

hello! i just discovered your blog (and your website), merci à marion, and... it takes my breath away.. i'm absolutely in love with this place, and will be back soon again! thank you for sharing all those beautiful pictures, and stories, and and and... and what a lovely girls you have :)

[Hannah]

I love that picture so much!

[Jackie]

Excited about your spruce!!

Also, love the playhouse. Any idea if there's anything similar we can order in the states??

Happy holidays! Thanks, as always, for sharing such loveliness with us! :)

[renilde]

how sweet, i remember when i was a little girl, i liked to make shelters to turn in, i still do actually, guess it is a primitive drive:)

[susanna]

What a sweet photograph! That IS a good present and I like that your little ones are decorating the inside walls with their own visions of home. Or perhaps their new casa cabana is like the wardrobe to Narnia? Are they creating fantastical creatures within their little fortress walls?