Author: Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life

I try to create a culture of celebration in our home. For life, for the little things, for wonder and for whimsy. I try to find the beauty around us and teach my son Wyatt to find it, and appreciate it and love it as well. We are a homeschool family, and we love it. We love the freedom it gives us to explore a topic or idea more deeply, and I like that I can adjust our schedule around Wyatt’s other needs. Wyatt has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and his week often has therapy, doctor’s appointments, naps peppered throughout which would make a traditional school schedule difficult. He is also an asynchronous learner, and I love that I can tailor learning to where Wyatt is at that moment. We have a house full of animals and will probably add more because we like a zoo. We have one cat, Miso, who is a rescue. She is 14 years old and my little floofy girl. We also have one leopard gecko, Luna, a pictus gecko named Harlow, a pacman frog named Freddy, and two crested geckos, Applejack and Oliver. We love all of our little friends! My husband Billy, Wyatt, and I are all curious, creative, stubborn humans which makes for some fun times around here. We love the outdoors, except we are not made for high temps so we retreat inside when the temps start to soar. We are nature lovers through and through. We are trying to downsize our lives too, to live more simply, to buy things that last and eat real food from small local farmers. (and of course Goldfish crackers) We live seasonally and are always up for adventure. We love books and reading, and can be found at the library at least once a week!

Christmas Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone! It is bitter cold out this morning! It is fifteen degrees, feels like temp of negative 2! I’ve got our little fireplace on, and I am drinking my coffee and enjoying the warmth of it all. Pretty soon I will get up and make a peanut butter sandwich for the squirrels, and maybe today I will cut it up in little star shapes for them. I might throw some raisins out there as well. Right now though, I am happy to enjoy this time to sit and write, with Wyatt playing with his magnatiles on the floor, busily occupied.

We have Scouts tonight and it is our winter solstice celebration! I have some fun, I hope, activities for the kids to do tonight; they are building winter solstice lanterns decorated with gnome and woodsy silhouettes, and edible campfire cookies to bring the “scout” aspect in as well. I am looking forward to taking field trips with these guys soon, which is what I am going to start researching after the holiday.

I think the late Thanksgiving threw me off! How is it only two weeks until Christmas? I feel like I am just starting out in my Christmas journey. I don’t like it! I need more time to make the magic happen! I have most of the presents bought thank goodness, but I thought we had more time for all of the other stuff, the making of Christmas, you know what I mean? We will be binging Christmas movies starting tomorrow night, with an old old favorite, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. It is nostalgic for me – I loved the movie and would listen to the record of it every night during the holiday season as I fell asleep as a little girl. I can remember laying there in the dark of my yellow Holly Hobby bedroom, listening to Big Bird try to figure out how Santa fit down the chimney, and I would eventually fall asleep before he got his answer. I also can’t wait to watch Emmett Otter, another favorite of mine from childhood that I have gotten Wyatt to love as well.

I have done a few Christmas-y things. Last Sunday, I went to the Potter’s Market with my friends Chrissy and Kelly. I love this pottery show, and I have been going for quite a few years now, minus the pandemic years. I always find great gifts, or sometimes just things for our family, like this year.

It is set up with table after table of handmade ceramic pieces, starting out with the smaller items like ornaments and winding its way up to bigger things, like serving bowls and decorative items. You get a basket and just jump in and start shopping. There were so many cool things there, that I switched out what I wanted multiple times. They have it set up so that you can pick stuff up and if you change your mind as you wind around, you can set the discarded items on the tables at the end, and the volunteer potters put them back where they belong, which is genius.

I did not take many photos, I just forgot as we chatted and laughed and filled our baskets. Well, not filled exactly, but added a few things. Lol.

I did make a reel for Instagram:

I ended up buying a happy little snail ornament for Wyatt and his bedroom tree, an ornament for the family, and then the cutest little toad house for our yard this spring! I did see a big serving bowl I coveted, it is in the video actually if you can spot it. It is is black with birch trees and a moon and I wanted it but thought what in the world would I do with it? I also really liked the raku rabbits which were so wonderfully made, and adorable.

Last weekend we spent a good two hours as a family crafting together. We had such a great time! We made little reindeer “portraits’, and it was so fun to just sit and not hurry and add in all the details that we wanted. Mine is the red background reindeer, Wyatt is the blue background, and Billy made the “Cousin Eddie” from Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation version. Afterwards, we ate some peppermint popcorn and watched the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was a wonderfully cozy evening together.

This weekend we have plans for baking! Billy has a gift card to a local home improvement store and we are buying a small deep freeze, and I plan on filling it pretty quickly with baked goods for Christmas, before filling it with more practical things. We are going to start with ginger pancakes in the morning and then go from there!

And with that, I need to finish up school and scout prep today – and hopefully order some groceries too!

Before I go, I also wanted to share that I was asked to give a quote about my favorite movie to an article published in an article on Rent. It is a super cool article, with lots of suggestions that pair some of your favorite Christmas movies to interior design styles.

I was quoted in a Rent. article!
Read the full article here: Design Styles to Try, Based on Your Favorite Holiday Movie

Rent. is a subsidiary of Redfin.com

I hope you all have at least one small moment today that makes you smile!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Read in a (Snow) Storm

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized45 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt:  Books to Read During a Storm (these can be cozy/comfy reads, books with storms in them, atmospheric reads for dark and stormy nights, light reads to combat the heavy weather, etc.) (Submitted by Astilbe.)

Since it is December here in the mitten state of Michigan, I decided to make my storm a snowstorm! I have done posts like this in the past and I always enjoy finding snowy reads.

My list today is made up of books that I have both read and that are on my TBR for this winter. First up, the books that I have read.

Let me begin by saying City of Thieves is one of my favorite books ever. The year that I read it I recommended it to everyone, and I still recommend it to everyone. I could not put it down, and I still think about it all the time. It is just an amazing book.

The Hunting Party puts me in mind of an Agatha Christie, or Knives Out scenario. It was my first book of the year a few years ago which I had planned because the book takes place on New Years in Scotland during a snowy winter. It was also another five star read for me.

Night of Cake and Puppets has one of very favorite scenes in a book ever – and it involves snow and cake and violins and just all the things. It was so atmospheric and I loved it. It is a stand alone book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series but I loved this one so much – probably because I really loved the characters Mik and Zuzana. (link is to my review on my old blog)

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw sort of spoke to that part of me that loves the moon and magic and the woods at night in the winter. And that is enough said there!

Welcome to Fox Crossing is the first in a fun, light series by Melinda Metz. It is about a little town in Maine, right on the edge of the Appalachian trail, that caters to hikers and has quirky, eccentric locals. Sort of like Northern Exposure but on the other coast. Plus, there is a mythical fox! It is also very snowy there.

Greenglass House by Kate Milford is a middle grade that I read last year and fell in love with. It takes place during a terrible snowstorm, and the Inn that main character’s family runs begins to fill up with some suspicious guests. It is mysterious and has wonderful scenes of the characters sharing stories at night. I have the second book in the series waiting for me on my shelf to read this year. I can’t wait but I want it to be snowy first!

Finally, A Woman in the Polar Night. It sort of made me chuckle before it horrified me, but it definitely puts life in perspective! The author spent a year with her husband in the Arctic, and she thought she was going to have all this time to sit around and read and paint. Which does sound like a nice time right? However, that is not really what happens!

And now a few on my TBR!

Dead of Winter, Dead Voices, and The Vanishing of Aveline Jones just sound like the perfect reads for a cold snowy night. Now, I just need some snow around here!!

If you want to see my previous lists, here they are!

Books for a Blizzard

Books to Read When It’s Cold Outside

Comfy Cozy Christmas Update!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

Hello everyone!! So we ran into a little issue with our link up – maybe it was a prank by elf on the shelf but however it happened, we had to fix it. The link to the party we have been sharing closed accidentally on December 7th, when it was supposed to stay open until Jan. 7th! So we now have a new link, named Comfy Cozy Christmas Part Two. This is the link to the new party:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

The posts that have been going up since December 1 will still be visible to be read, just not added to. Both link ups, Part One and Part Two are still up on my permanent page for Comfy Cozy Christmas, in my banner area at the top.

I apologize for the mix-up and confusion!

But since you are here, I thought I would talk about something else coming up in our little comfy cozy world! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are planning some Cozy Crafternoons on Zoom in January and February, to beat those winter blahs that happen late winter after Christmas. We are thinking we will have maybe two per month, so four in total. We will just all meet up on the date and time, and individually work on whatever we want – embroidery, coloring, knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, etc, while chatting or you could even have the sound off and just feel part of the group without the chatter, if you like it quiet. It is sort of open and flexible but also social. I will probably be stitching away – my friend has requested a small pillow with an embroidered possum on it, so I will be working on that in January for a while. Anyway, if you are interested in learning more send an email either to me at crackercrumblife@gmail.com or to Lisa at lisahoweler@gmail.com. That way we will also have your email for the zoom link!

Again, I apologize about the linky issues!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized34 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! I hope you had a good week last week! We had a sort of meh week but it was still good. Meh can be ok sometimes.

Read Last Week:

These books were both excellent! I checked them both out from the library, but they are both on my wish list now to own. They were perfect reads for this time of year! I had planned to read The Book Hotel, but.. it was too normal. Apparently I have been reading way too much fantasy and I am not ready to stop. I was like where is the magic? Where are the elves or trolls or whatever? So yeah.

Reading This Week:

I’ve been looking at this book on my shelf for a little while now, and it is time to get reading.

Posted Last Week:

Hello December!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Top Ten Tuesday: Gingerbread Books!

Watching:

Billy and I finished up Spiderwick, and have been watching Murdoch Mysteries and The Great British Bake Off. I am feeling so ready to bake after all these books I have been reading and now this show! We have also started watching Christmas movies with Wyatt. So far we have watched The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and I think tonight we will watch Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas. That is actually Wyatt’s favorite of all that we watch. He is a big fan of Goofy.

I am off to the Potter’s Market with my friends this morning, and I need to get ready!

And just a reminder, Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I have launched the linky for our Comfy Cozy Christmas link up. You can find it at the top of my page. Post anything seasonal, it doesn’t need to be Christmas – it can be a post from all and any walk of life for this time of year! And when the holidays are over, Lisa and I will hosting Cozy Crafternoons over Zoom in the months of January and February!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP14 Comments

Hello everyone! It is such a cozy morning here. It is snowing, big fat snowflakes, Wyatt is playing, I have coffee, and it is relatively quiet. I don’t have too many plans for today. I think today we will do some Christmas crafting, and I need to sit down with a giant stack of books to prep for some of Wyatt’s history unit the next few weeks. Today seems like the perfect day to do that. We definitely have enough books here to last us a while, for reading for fun and for school.

Otherwise, it has been a weird week. I had to take care of a few things for my mom, like paying some of her bills, and making sure her health insurance was set for next year. Why does this have to be done every year? I was so confused. I have a guy who looks at all the different insurance plans and chooses one based off of my mom’s needs so at least that is helpful and I don’t need to actually figure it out myself.

Then Tuesday Wyatt woke up with a slight fever. Nothing crazy, and not even technically a fever but it was close and you could tell he didn’t feel well. His little cheeks were flushed and he just wasn’t himself. He stayed in bed watching tv pretty much all day, quiet, which is unusual for him and I just hung out with him. By about 5 that night he had rallied and was feeling much better, and Wednesday he was almost back to normal. Except we did have a return of the medicine induced nausea! I have learned that if he doesn’t eat a lot the night before he will feel sick the next morning after his meds. Observation is key with this kid and I have honed my mom observation skills to a t! But Tuesday night he just didn’t feel like eating – not because he still didn’t feel good, mind you, but because as he started to feel better he ate a ton in the afternoon. We were off our norm, and that was ok.

Yesterday, we kind of played catch up. We took it easy until Wyatt’s stomach was better, than we caught up on some school work. It’s been really nice with the ramp, because now Wyatt’s wheelchair can actually come in the house! Before there was no way I could carry it in and out all the time, and Wyatt as well. Wyatt was easy honestly, even though he weighs more than it – the chair is just super awkward. Anyway, he has been excited about it and we have had school in my office the past few days for a change. He can sit in his wheelchair at my antique double desk. It’s fun to switch it up. I have also been spending a lot of time there besides my time with Wyatt, working on the already mentioned history unit study.

Last night we finally got out of the house though for a little event at the library. I had signed us up for the 3d printing cookie cutter event, which was entirely free, and I thought it would be neat. We got to design a cookie cutter, and then the library printed it on the 3d printer. Wyatt and I discussed what he wanted before we went, a Christmas snail, so all I had to do when we got there was find an image. Our end of it was very simple. I have no idea what the librarian had to do on his end but we left with our cookie cutter. We will have to do a lot of fill in with decoration but that is ok. We can handle that. I also got to show Wyatt how magical a 3d printer is. I find them a mystery since I have no idea how they work honestly but it seems like you can make anything on earth with them. Anyway, there were only four of us there to make them, including Wyatt, and ours was the last to be printed, so we had some time to chat with the librarian. He told us that he plans on having little workshops like that frequently, for different items, and that we can design things at home and have the library print them, for $1.00. He also said that he is planning on making small assistive devices, like pencil grips or things to help open doors, etc, to have available for free for those who need them. I of course thought that was a fabulous idea!

Today I think we will just chill a little, do a little school, have some independent time so I can get some work done, and then tonight is pizza Friday so yay! I don’t have to make dinner!

So, our week this week was a little bleh, but that is ok. I was able to get a lot of different things done that needed to get done, work on my stepmom’s Christmas present that I am embroidering, and just hang out with my kid. So it wasn’t too terrible overall.

I hope that whatever you are doing today, you do something to make you smile, no matter how small!

Hello December!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized25 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s December, the last month of the year – already! Didn’t we just have New Year’s? This year certainly flew by. I will be doing a look back later, but for now, I want to just look forward to this month.

I talk a lot about slowing down, enjoying the quiet of this month, as it gets darker so much earlier, drawing us all in, indoors and maybe also, drawing us in for some more introspective thoughts, reflection, spiritual and otherwise. It is the month of the Quiet Full Moon, at least in the Kid’s Moon Club my son is in, and I can see why it was called that. We are drawing in, quieting ourselves and our spirits. (January is also known as the Quiet Moon, but Wyatt likes the alternate version of course, of the Wolf Moon).

The last few days winter has arrived fast and furious with very low temperatures here in the Mitten state. Some cities in Michigan have received up to 23 inches of snow already! Today we actually have a terrible weather forecast, that has low to zero visibility, snow squalls, flash freezes, and arctic temps but then we are back to normal in a few days. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t get all that. I like winter and snow but I don’t want anything crazy!!

I love to be outside in the cold, the crunch of the snow underfoot. It is just so refreshing and invigorating. I feel like it just sweeps through me and clears out anything negative hanging around. And to me, one of my favorite places to be is in the cold winter woods at night (but with Billy, not alone). We always go on an owl prowl every winter and it is one of my favorite things, walking through the woods with Billy and our friends the interpreters and other people excited about seeing little screech owls. There is something indescribable about waiting there silently, waiting for the owl to call back to let us know it is there. They have silent flight so you will never hear them fly in, but if you keep your eyes on the horizon at the right time, you might catch a glimpse of one.

I am being mindful this year to not overload us with too many activities- I want to do just enough. Just that right amount of going out, of seeing the lights and being a part of festivities, but also time at home spent baking and making and watching Christmas movies. All those good old nostalgic kids movies, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas (a personal favorite of mine), A Muppet Christmas Carol, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas – they just bring all the feels. And of course some just for Billy and I too, like the Man Who Invented Christmas or Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation.

We are also listening to Father Christmas by Tolkien together every night, as well as reading from the All Creation Waits Advent book. It is all so very peaceful in my soul, with this.

We decorated for Christmas the other day, and put our tree up. I have shared this before, but our tree is special to me. The year Wyatt was born was rough. He was born 6 weeks early, with health complications and spent 6 weeks in the NICU. When he came home, it was also a lot, with a little preemie who didn’t want to eat. He was just a tiny guy! Billy missed a lot of work and we will forever be grateful to his work who understood and allowed him to miss when he had to. It was a costly year, and when Christmas rolled around, we realized we didn’t have a tree. Then our guardian angel, a friend of our family named Faye, who I had known since I was a baby, sent us a card with a little extra in it, and told us to use it for Wyatt’s Christmas. We were able to buy some gifts for him, and a tree. She passed away soon after that, and the world lost a great light with her passing. But whenever I bring that tree out and put it up, I am reminded of Faye, and her kindness and compassion. And her laugh, her big laugh that could fill a room. She was a very special woman.

And I need to wipe these tears now.

I haven’t taken many photos yet, because I am not quite done decorating. I hope to finish up this weekend.

And, I think I am going to wrap this up for tonight, and start making dinner.

Stay safe everyone! And whatever you do tonight, do something that makes you smile.

Top Ten Tuesday: Gingerbread Books!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Comfy Cozy Cinema50 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt: A Freebie!

I have decided since it is December and my mind is on the holiday season, I would devote today’s post to books that referenced gingerbread, even a little bit, because it is my very favorite Christmas cookie of all.

I am currently reading A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking and I am enjoying it so much. The gingerbread parts are not overwhelming but when they happen they are adorable.

I also have the Helen Oyeyemi book Gingerbread sitting here on my TBR pile next to my bed to be read this month. It sounds so fantastic!

Finally, The Gingerbread Queen, to round out the fantasy section! I have not read it but it sounds really fun!

Next up, the romance area! I have not read any of these, but they all sound like they would be great Christmas reads. If You Give a Jerk a Gingerbread particularly grabs my attention as it has big Bake Off vibes!

The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens and The Gingerbread Cafe are both grumpy sunshine romances, which are always good for some great back and forth banter. I mean, a book that deals with gingerbread can’t be too sweet after all.

Version 1.0.0

I love Amanda Flower books and she has so many that I haven’t read yet, including her entire Amish Candy Shop series of cozy mysteries. I think I may have to try to squeeze this one in this December!

Bee Bakshi and the Gingerbread Sisters just looks so good. It is a middle grade, but that cover and the vibes – super creepy. I am definitely adding this one to my TBR.

Lily Fox and the Gingerbread Cookie. It looks like a very simple picture book about a fox following his nose to find the gingerbread that he can smell, but I just love the cover illustration. And, foxes, we all know I love them.

And finally, my son Wyatt’s contribution to the list today, his favorite gingerbread picture book, Gingerbread Pirates. it was pretty funny, I have to admit!

And that is it from me today! I can’t wait to see what everyone else chose! I also might need to go find a gingerbread latte somewhere…

*This post is also part of the Comfy, Cozy Christmas Link Up for 2024. If you have a Christmas/holiday post you would like to share you can find the link HERE or at the top of the page here on my blog.

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized34 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great week and weekend! We had a wonderful holiday, and an awesome week of art and reading and baking leading up to Thanksgiving. Saturday we decorated for Christmas, so we are all decked out now and ready.

Read Last Week:

I loved this book! It was just so easy breezy, wholesome, happy, low stakes. It was the perfect book for a week of hygge.

Reading This Week:

Let the light holiday reads commence! It has been cold and snowy and I am excited to begin some fun wintry reads.

Posted last Week:

It’s a “Puzzling” Gift Guide

Our Week of Hygge

Watching:

We just finished up The Spiderwick Chronicles which we really enjoyed. I am ready to move on tonight to something else though. Something a bit more comfy and cozy – it is after the season for comfy and cozy. Maybe the Bake Off?

We did watch the 1982 version of Annie on Friday night, and I loved it just as much as I did the first time I watched in the Wyandotte theater with my mom when I was 6 years old. I realized that was probably my very first Tim Curry movie! Also, the grandpa from Gilmore Girls is in it – he plays FDR. Billy and I would occasionally sing along; you just can’t help it! I have all the happy feelings just thinking about it.

And today, since it is December 1st, is the day that Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I launch our linkup for Comfy Cozy Christmas  but it doesn’t have to be just Christmas, just seasonal from any walk of life, culture, or faith that happens between now and January 7th is welcome. It will have a permanent page on my blog – look for it up top!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

And that is it from here my friends. I hope you are all well!

It’s a “Puzzling” Gift Guide

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn holiday gift guide10 Comments

Hello everyone! Since I am on a quest to try every hobby out there apparently, I have been really looking at puzzles lately. I never really considered doing them; our house is so small and I was like where in the world would I put it? Then I started seeing all of the puzzle boards with drawers that you can work on your puzzle, store the pieces in the drawers, and then slide it under a sofa or a bed. Perfect! So I started browsing around and wow, are there soooo many puzzles out there!! These are some of my favorites that I have found, and I was also thinking these might make good gifts. I know so many people who like puzzles, and they are so good for your brain health, keeping it all nice and elastic and active, plus they are budget friendly and provide hours of screen free entertainment. And they are like mini works of art! Anyway, here are my favorites!

This post does contain affiliate links. If you were to purchase something I would make a small commission.

Bookish Puzzles

Lore Pemberton The Book Exchange || Classic Paperback Book Covers || A Book Lover’s Christmas

For these next six, I really enjoy reading all of the titles, guessing at the books, just all the fun of the book hunt. And the Lore Pemberton puzzle is gorgeous!

Purrfect Nook || Book Haven || 50 Must Read Books Bucket List

Literary Locations || The World of Agatha Christie || The World of Jane Austen: A Conversation Puzzle

How cool are these! The Agatha Christie has clues to spot, while the Jane Austen is all about the conversations.

Puzzles for Families

Unicorn with books || Bookish Cats || Little Park Ranger

I absolutely love this company. If you visit their Amazon store, they have so many puzzles and they all look so cool. Glow in the Dark puzzles, lift the flap puzzles, puzzles for tiny kids, the list goes on and on.

For the Youngest Family Members

Melissa and Doug Sound Puzzle || Personalized Puzzles (Pink/Blue)

Wyatt had that farm animals one and he loved it when he was a teeny little guy. I think the other puzzles are just neat – I love personalized stuff like that for little kiddos.

Stocking Stuffer Puzzles

Scratch and Sniff Hot Chocolate Penguin || Nature’s Bestsellers

I love all of the bookish puzzles honestly. And as the weather here is frigid and snowy this morning, I just may have to order one for us to put together as we stay all comfy in our house.

Are you a puzzler?

Our Week of Hygge

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

Good morning everyone! I hope that you all had a good week and that you enjoyed your holiday, if you celebrate. This morning I woke up to snow, which always makes me happy. I have a cup of coffee at my side, a cat next to me, and my guys are spread out over the den, Wyatt on the floor playing, and Billy on the sofa watching reels.

This week was our hygge week here. Wyatt and I had were taking it slow, just reading and doing art projects and baking. Some of that was more slow for Wyatt than me, but we had a very good week together.

Monday was mostly a reading day, which was amazing. I finished my book, A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic, and started a new one. I also finished my embroidery project that I was making for Wyatt. It came in a pack of three that were supposed to be all foxes, but Wyatt and I think it looks more like a wolf, one of his favorite animals.

Tuesday was all art projects.

First though, we had to gather pinecones! We went to a local park and scooted around under trees collecting pinecones that we thought looked perfect for our ornament project that I had planned. Once our pockets were full, we headed back home to get to crafting. Billy had made a quick template for us, then we cut out a few more, then Wyatt painted them in Christmas elf colors. Next he dribbled glitter glue over the pinecones and chose the color antennae. Then it was my turn. I had to wield the hot glue gun to get those pinecones to stay and to glue them sandwiched shut – and I burnt my fingers more than once! Once this was finished and everything was dry, Wyatt added the little happy faces, I turned it into an ornament, and voila! Done. Wyatt made one for each of his cousins, since as a homeschool kid he does not have a Secret Santa shop. I think these are cute and I think the girls will all like them. (he has four girl cousins!)

That wasn’t all though! It was the week of Thanksgiving after all, and he needed to do a classic, traditional type Thanksgiving project, right? So, he painted a mosaic turkey! I laid out the grid of blue painters tape, he painted the shapes, and when it dried we carefully peeled the tape off, added the face, and there was his little turkey. I actually really really love how it turned out.

These literally took all day, but it was a great time and I think he did a great job.

Wednesday Billy took the day off! He has worked like a beast the past two weeks and we have barely seen him, so we loved having him home with us! I had to bake pies for Thanksgiving, but before I got down to baking, we met my cousin and his girls for a little used book store shopping. We found some good deals, and Wyatt and Billy found a fun little reading fort where they shared a cookie.

After browsing and buying, we went home where I began my baking. My goal was three Nantucket Cranberry pies, and Billy had to work on his sourdough bread as well. I got to work, whipped out three pies, and then…noticed they looked weird. And then I tasted one. It tasted weird. Something had gone very wrong! So off to grocery store Billy went for more ingredients so I could start all over again. I finally finished at 9 that night, with much better pies this time around. And the problem with the first ones? I totally forgot the sugar!

Thursday – Thanksgiving! We finished up our food assignments that we were supposed to take with us, and headed to my brother’s house, where we ate way too much food, and talked and played and laughed. I spent a good deal of time with my nieces Mermaid Girl and the Hurricane, before we went to location number two, Billy’s family’s house, for dessert. I also hung out my two nieces there, Penguin and Flamingo. (lol I wish those were there real names! Ok I actually don’t because they have beautiful names but calling them that on here cracks me up).

I didn’t take a single photo yesterday. I was just in the moment and visiting and today? Today I am happy to be sitting here with my little family, snug in our house while the snow falls outside, our animals peaceful, with Miso purring next to me, and it is a perfect ending to this week that we have had.