Tag: holidays

Comfy Cozy Christmas: Christmas Celebrations

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello everyone!! It is a super windy day here today as I type this up. It is whipping past the house, causing the windows to rattle, or something to rattle on the house, but we are all cozied up in blankets and warm inside. A big thank you to the workers out there delivering stuff today!

We had a bit of a mixed up Christmas but it it ended up a good one. The Friday before Christmas my niece tested positive for flu b and then my brother and his wife did as well. Thankfully they didn’t have it bad, Mermaid Girl had a cough and was tired, while my brother and SIL had very bad headaches for three days. However, since Christmas day we were going to celebrate with other family members who are more compromised, like my mother and my MIL, and Mermaid Girl was still tired, we at the last minute shifted plans. They were going to stay home, as it was day 7 and the contagious period says 5-7 days, and then we would celebrate with them on the upcoming Saturday at my dad’s. However, we had all planned a dinner together, with everyone supplying something. So, we decided to stick with that plan, and just made enough for each other and my brother came and picked it up and dropped off.

But ack I get ahead of myself!! The week of Christmas I was still recovering from whatever I had, which I wonder now if it was flu b as well. I never felt terrible, just run down and coughing, with laryngitis. By the week of Christmas I was good, just still hoarse and raspy. Wyatt and I spent the week baking together, which was really fun. He was a good little helper! We made four dozen chocolate chip cookies (these are a family favorite!), gingerbread, and my grandma’s coconut tarts. I felt like I never stopped baking.

Christmas Eve we were supposed to go to my BIL’s, Billy’s brother’s house, but there was going to be a lot of kids there, my nieces and some of their friends, and I got nervous about my own lingering illness and so Billy went on his own for a bit, and wore a mask. When he got home, we simply ordered a pizza and watched A Muppet Christmas Carol. It was one of the most relaxed Christmas Eves I have had, and it didn’t feel too much like Christmas Eve until after Wyatt went to bed and Billy and I did our Santa duties. Then I couldn’t wait for Christmas morning to watch Wyatt and Billy open their gifts!

Christmas morning started early, and hallelujah, I woke up finally without laryngitis. We bumbled our way into the living room and Wyatt was beside himself with excitement. But, he didn’t want to open his presents right away – I was stunned. He wanted Billy and I to open a few of ours. So I opened one and we had Billy open one as well, the one I was super excited about, his tiny baby bonsai. I wanted a picture of Billy and his baby bonsai and he turned it into a model photoshoot. Lol. Billy was very happy about his new baby and after opening gifts watched multiple videos on how to care for them.

Then Wyatt ripped into his gifts. We got him the usual type kid things, and then for his big gift this year, we got him a phone. All of his friends got them for their birthdays, and I think he felt left out. It wasn’t very much actually to add him to the plan so .. a phone it was. And he loves it. We also got him an instant camera and he has been taking photos of us all that low key look like they belong in a horror movie.

The guys got me gifts that are all for my little projects – crafting and drawing and sewing things. I am so excited!! And of course, my orange kitten. Only a few more weeks until I can bring her home! Until then she will be with her mama at our friend’s house.

And then we just proceeded to play around with our gifts! We had a pretty lazy day ahead, as our Christmas Day was reduced to hosting three people, Billy’s parents and my mom. They all came over later, and we did the normal things, and it was a great time. My mom, who has been struggling a bit, did fantastic. I was so proud of her and so glad that she came!

Saturday was Christmas at my dad and stepmom’s and it was another fantastic day. Lots of food, kids playing and laughing, presents and Christmas crackers with crowns. We had so much fun, and I think Wyatt fell asleep pretty early that night.

And here are a few random photos from the camera roll..and one of a very fancy baby Wyatt a few Christmas’ ago. Like ten Christmas’ ago.

And that was Christmas!

I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season doing what it is you love and being with those you love. I hope as well, that you stay healthy and do something that makes you smile today!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens (and some Soup too)

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized33 Comments

Hello everyone! I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hi all!! We are all getting over our ick. It is apparently the trendy new virus of 2025! I don’t usually go for trends too often and yeah, this one could have passed us by. Cough, laryngitis, headache, and I took the tests and negative so that is good at least. Just a gross virus. I am feeling better though thank goodness. I have got to get moving on Christmas! Which I dove into yesterday. I did so much! I shopped, I cleaned, I baked cookies, I watched holiday movies. I am a mom with a mission over here!

Books:

As for books, I haven’t been able to read. My mind is just going too hard to be able to focus on reading. I am guessing that I am done with reading for the year at this point, and will probably write my wrap up post soon. However, Billy, Wyatt, and I started listening to Greenglass House on audio together via Spotify last night. I have read it and I love it. I was planning on reading it to Wyatt this break, but my voice is not going to allow that, so I am letting audiobooks do it, and now it is a fun family affair.

Screens:

We have been watching a lot of movies over here. I did a round up of some of the Hallmark Christmas movies we have watched lately, and since that post we have watched two more movies, one Hallmark, one not. We aren’t watching our traditional movies until, well probably starting today! We watched Oh. What. Fun with Michelle Pfeiffer and we really loved it. I asked Billy if he had ever imagined seeing a movie where Michelle Pfeiffer was married to Dennis Leary and he was like absolutely not. I had to laugh, because me either. We also watched A Biltmore Christmas, which we both liked as well. Out of all the Hallmark movies we have watched this month, that one is our favorite so far. I liked the call back to the 40s, the jargon, the transatlantic accents. And it was just so beautiful, shot at the Biltmore, one of the places in the US I would most love to go. Sigh. A room with three fireplaces? What a scene that was!

I have also been watching Morgan Long, a vlogger on YouTube with Wyatt. She is doing a Vlogmas and posting everyday and Wyatt and I watch every night. She is just so pleasant and cheery!

Posted Last Week:

Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter TBR

My Favorite Quotes From Every Book I Read This Year: Part 3

Comfy Cozy Christmas: Make It Hallmark For Me

The In-Betweens:

Wyatt has been kicking butt at therapy. I am so proud of him for enduring all he has been through this year. I hate that he has to be so strong, but he handles it so well, better than most adults would most of the time.

I am almost done with Christmas shopping, and wrapping. While Wyatt paints, I wrap a few gifts. I need to do his gifts still, but everyone else is wrapped. Woohoo! I just ordered a bunch of cookies and treats to make a gift basket up for the staff of the senior living complex where my mom lives. She receives some extra services and I wanted to give them something from her. I need to get something to put it all in still though! At this point, Billy and I need to get the house ready for Christmas dinner, as we are hosting (eek), and get the roast that we are making, and finish up the baking. And stocking stuffers, we need stocking stuffers. I also need a gift idea for my dad. He always is adamant that I not get him anything, but I always get him a little something. I just never know what. He doesn’t really have hobbies – he is a man of his generation, he just sort of likes to do work around the house. And flashlights. I guess I could get him a flashlight? Ugh. I don’t know.

I didn’t get a chance to put up Soup and Story Saturday yesterday, but I do have the linky up for anyone to use whenever you would like to post along! I will not be posting this upcoming Saturday at all, we are doing Christmas at my dad’s that day.

I made a crock pot chicken and dumpling soup the other day, and it was one of those hearty type meals that just warm you up. A comfort food. It was soooo good. And I really really need to remember to buy carrots.

I am going to share my story tomorrow, as part of Comfy Cozy Christmas.

And that is it for me today! I hope to be bopping around visiting all of you soon!

Comfy Cozy Christmas: Make it Hallmark for Me

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Hello everyone!! I hope that you are all having a great December so far! Ours has been good but has looked a little different than what I had planned, since we all came down with a cold. However, although we haven’t been able to do the big ticket items on our list this year so far, we have been enjoying Christmas at home with movies, shopping, and wrapping. I am hoping to be able to get to the Detroit Zoo for the holiday lights in the next few days though. I am feeling ok, it is just that cough and laryngitis that linger.

However, I wanted to tell you about all the Hallmark Christmas movies we have been watching! We spent all last weekend watching them, bless my husband’s heart. We watched three: Christmas at the Catnip Cafe, Tis the Season to be Irish, and The Christmas Cottage.

We started with Christmas at the Catnip Cafe, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Olivia has a career as a marketer in California, and thinks she has finally found her dream home, a slick and shiny condo. Unfortunately, the down payment is more than she can afford. She thinks her dreams are answered when she learns that she has inherited her aunt’s cat cafe. Olivia heads across the country, planning on a quick sale and then getting back to California and her new condo. However, Ben , her aunt’s partner at the cafe and a local overworked overwhelmed vet who often does vet work for cookies rather than money, does not want to sell. So they make a deal: Olivia does all the planning and helps during the three week Christmas season at the Catnip Cafe which has multitudes of activities, and Ben will sell. And of course, as this is a Hallmark movie, we do get our HEA. I loved this one because of all the cats, of course. And because of Ben’s villainous eyebrows.

You all know I am such an interiors and set person, and this one did not disappoint. It was full of warmth and texture and color, a mix of old and new. And Olivia’s aunt’s house had the most beautiful stained glass window. Sigh.

The movie did have some parts that just didn’t make sense and gave Billy and I a little laugh , but Billy and I rarely watch a movie with a critical eye. The very reason some people don’t like these movies is exactly why I like them! And I am of an age now where I am not ashamed to admit I like things, even if they are unpopular. I like what I like and I am good with that.

You can see some of the cats here, on the Hallmark website. There was even one that reminded me of my own Miso!

You can watch this one on Hallmark via a free trial through Amazon Prime, Roku, and YouTube.

Next, we headed overseas to Ireland, with Tis the Season to be Irish.

Rose is a free spirited wanderer, who loves being on the move, being in new cities and countries and towns, and not being tied down to one spot too long. She is a house flipper and has set her sights on a cottage in Ireland, that looks absolutely adorable online. Bonus, it is located in a town that her mother (now deceased) had once visited and loved. However, when she arrives it is in complete shambles and the realtor, Sean, is also anti-house flipper and a historic preservationist. The two have a bumpy road as Rose must work with Sean in her plans to flip the cottage, keeping it in standards he approves of as the cottage is historic. Sean is also the most homebody homebody too. When the two start to have feelings for each other, they question just how such a relationship will work out. One thing I liked about this one is that both Rose and Sean are older, in their forties, and I thought that was a cool change.

I enjoyed this one, but more than the romance aspect, I loved the friendships that Rose there. She made friends with another woman who was renovating a cottage, except she wanted hers to live in, not flip, and a woman who had lost her husband and was visiting the town because it was where he was from. I loved the interactions of these women as they began their friendships together.

And there was a cute animal in this one too! Lambchop, the sheep who was devoted to Rose. When Billy and I were guessing at the reason that would suddenly shine the light on Rose that she needed to stay, I suggested that she would discover that the sheep was an ancestor of a sheep that her mother knew during her stay. Lol. I was pretty bummed too, that despite being in Ireland the interiors of these houses and buildings were a bummer. The views of the landscape however, were gorgeous.

You can watch this one on Hallmark via a free trial through Amazon Prime, Roku, and YouTube.

Ok, moving on. The Christmas Cottage.

This is the tale of Lacey and Ean. I mean, we all know they are together in the end, it’s a Hallmark movie so no spoiler there. Lacey is an interior designer, who is at the top of her game. She doesn’t design lovely living spaces though, full of warmth and whimsy, she designs work-home spaces, that are all white and designed to be perfect for, I guess, never leaving work behind? Which makes sense because Lacey is in a relationship with her design firm partner Roger, and their relationship definitely seems more business than pleasure. They have a genuine friendship I believe, and the same goals for their business, but as for a romantic relationship? That doesn’t look like something they have (and is confirmed by the end of the movie).

Lacey is the maid of honor in her best friend Ava’s wedding, which sounds magical. A Christmas wedding, followed by a night in Ava’s family cottage, which has a charming legend surrounding it. Legend says that whoever stays a Christmas night in the cottage will have a happy and lasting marriage. Ava’s brother, and Lacey’s ex, Ean, is the best man, so the two are thrown together quite a bit with their duties, and these duties include decorating the cottage for Christmas. They are there reminiscing about their past together, when they are snowed in for the night. And maybe there just is some truth to that legend, as Lacey’s outlook on what she wants begins to change. Or maybe it wasn’t the cottage that changed her mind, maybe it was just Ean.

This was a cute one! The set was so rustic lodge at Christmas and I was so there for that. I loved Ava and her bubbly personality and her love of everything, and I loved the nostalgia of this movie. After the Catnip Cafe, this was my favorite. Sorry, Tis the Season to be Irish. I enjoyed you but of the three you came in third. Still good though.

You can watch this one on Hallmark via a free trial through Amazon Prime, Roku, and YouTube.

And now I am off to find more to have Billy watch with me this weekend!

Comfy Cozy Christmas: Making Christmas

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Hello everyone!! I hope you are all having a wonderful December so far! Things here are beginning to look like Christmas. Snow outside, our indoor decorations are up, I have some Christmas homeschool in the works, and we have been watching Christmas movies.

My grandma made that white tree. It had reddish orange bulbs before, but I replaced them with clear lights and I like it better. I do need to replace the star that was at the top. I think I can find them on Amazon, more than likely.

That little Christmas tree, the green one, is covered in ornaments that Wyatt and I have made together every year since he was old enough to help. I need to pick an ornament for us to make together this year still, but I love this little tree.

I have been hiding little bits of Christmas places this year. A little teapot ornament with mice tucked in among the plants on the sill, a tree ornament from 1978 on a shelf near my books. I like running across these little bits of the holiday as I go about my day.

I decked my dresser all out this year as well, with Christmas books and a plaid wool runner, and my vintage Regency Christmas romance books. The stuffed Highland Cow was a gift from my son this year; I have named him Sir Reginald, as he looks like a down on his luck member of the gentry.

I am not quite done decorating, but I am so close.

This area is a little blah still, so I want to add some greenery to it.

The tree is Wyatt’s favorite, hands down. He loves when the tree goes up, and loves helping to decorate it. I love our assortment of ornaments. We have more than we can put on, with many leftover from my childhood, and from life before Wyatt, really. So we try to do a mix, some childhood, some Billy and Erin pre-Wyatt, then the ornaments we collected when he was born.

I even decorated Miso, much to her annoyance.

I took the hat off after the photo, and she forgave me. She got all cuddly and warm and purred away, which is always nice in the winter isn’t it, a nice warm cat on your lap?

We watched A Garfield Christmas the other night, and there is a scene that touches my heart and makes me tear up so much now, as an adult.

I am not quite done decorating, but I am so close.

We also watched Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, which is one of my own personal favorites, and Wyatt is beginning to love it too. Billy, he tolerates it for me, but we do have our own little jokes that we say to each other all year from the movie. We watched it last night, and I wanted to make it a whole thing. So we set up the den all snuggly and cozy, and I had a little plate of Christmas treats, goodies like cinnamon stars and almond windmills and vanilla peppermint pretzels. It was magical.

I have some other posts coming up, but I thought this would be a good one to kick things off.

Happy Holidays everyone.

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized22 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 that you are all doing well! Last week was a busy one for us, but we had a lot of fun with family. I spent most of Wednesday baking and it was wonderful. I had my little assistant with me for part of it, which was nice as well. Today we are decorating for Christmas which makes me happy! We even have snow for it!

Read Last Week:

This was such a light read and perfect for a busy week. I didn’t like it as much as I liked the first in the series, but it was ok. I did love that there was a baby dragon. I am still planning on reading the next one in the series in December.

Reading This Week:

Last night we had our first big snowstorm of the year, and it felt like the perfect night to start Hogfather. I’ve been wanting to try Terry Prachett and this seemed like a fun one to start with.

Posted Last Week:

A Cozy Little Life: Vintage Cookbooks and Leaning Analog

Christmas Gift Guide: Etsy Favorites

Soup and Story Saturday

Watching:

We are not watching too much, at least last week. We finished up the Bake Off, and I think that was it. We did watch Mickey’s Christmas Carol with Wyatt, because I wanted to kick off holiday movie watching. And since then he has put it on a least fifty more times. Lol. Tonight we are going to watch another movie. We have them all in a jar and Wyatt draws a name and that is what we watch. Always a surprise now! I do plan on adding in other holiday movies from Hallmark, or that are for adults – the ones in the jar are kid movies.

Around the Interwebs:

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are also beginning our Comfy Cozy Christmas Link Up! Comfy Cozy Christmas isn’t just about Christmas, it is anything holiday related – any December holiday – at all that strikes your fancy and you write about this month. Movies, books, traditions, activities. I am excited to read them! This link should be up today!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

Also, just a reminder that Lisa hosts a monthly linky, that I help with, called A Good Book and a Cup of Tea. Make sure to link up any book related posts! We love to hear!

And that is it from around here today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Hello October!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello October!! You had better bring cooler temps because September was confused about what fall means! I am so ready for my hoodies and overalls and sweaters and this weather has not been participating in fall.

October, October. Probably one of my favorite months. I love Halloween! I have always loved Halloween, even the years I got strep throat and had to miss trick or treating. Because for me it wasn’t necessarily about the trick or treating, it was the build up. The fun cartoon movies that we watched. Our family trip to the orchard with all of my cousins, and then following it up with chili at my aunt’s house where we all carved our pumpkins together. Picking my costume and my parents making it. I was a cat once, a Scottish dancer, Scooby Doo (my mom hand sewed the most awesome costume for this), Minnie Mouse. Batgirl, that was another great one. We had so many traditions, and that is something I have tried to form with Wyatt as well. These family traditions. My cousin Brian and Devin (my brother) have this same feeling of nostalgia, and now Brian hosts family get togethers during the school year, and all of our kids play together, or make things together and I love it.

Trick or treating with Devin and Mermaid Girl and now the Hurricane in their neighborhood feels like the 80s. The streets are packed with kids, the homeowners are out in front of their homes passing out candy, and the houses are highly decorated, and the feeling is just so cheerful and full of community. Our own little Stars Hollow moment, I guess! There are fires (contained fires of course, not the Detroit Devil’s Night fires from the 80s and 90s) and the mood is high. I should really change Mermaid Girl’s nickname on here, she is no longer into mermaids and hasn’t been for a long time, she is more KPop girl now and has been for some time, but she is staying Mermaid Girl.

We have so many fun things lined up for the month! We have the Detroit Zoo Boo, an orchard outing (or two), our Blackbirds field trip to Belle Isle, our Blackbirds Spooky Not Spooky party, of course cousin Brian’s get together for the kids, and a Halloween bonfire at the farm with Blackbirds as well.

As for myself, I am looking forward to all the spooky books, apple ciders, bonfires, and doughnuts. Because I do love a doughnut. I am planning a few extra things for the season as well, for our family but I am still in the planning process so hopefully I can get them done! And I am also really looking forward to Lisa at Boondock Rambling and my Comfy Cozy Cinema, and our crafternoons. (I have info linked at the top of my blog if you are interested!) I have picked my embroidery back up and am stitching away now at night while we watch our shows and movies. And my stepmom gave me materials to play with jewelry making, but maybe I am not creative enough or something because I can’t figure it out. However, Cat who attends crafternoons is a jewelry maker so perhaps I will try when we are zooming together and get some tips….

We had a jam packed September. I think we were making up for our lost summer! I feel like October will be the same, and then I can relax into November.

And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

My Last Christmas Coffee Catch Up of 2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized24 Comments

Hello everyone!! This time in between Christmas and New Year is always so weird. I never really want to start anything new and I feel sort of stuck. Lol. It’s like a limbo time. It isn’t helping that it is super gloomy out these past few days (weeks?) Anyway, we had a wonderful holiday with family the past week.

Last Saturday we spent Christmas at my dad’s. It is always so relaxed and chill. They order food, we all sit around and watch the kiddos open their gifts, and that is about it. The kids sort of have the run of the house and do what they want and make messes and play and eat all the candy…

It was a wonderful day!

Then the next few days I spent in a flurry of baking and cleaning, as I am sure many of us did.

Christmas Eve, we went to Billy’s brother’s house for dinner and to hang out with everyone. The kids opened their gifts and played together, and it was a blast. I have awesome pictures but they do not wish their kids to be on the internet, and I am more than happy to respect their wishes.

Christmas Day started early, at 6:30 am when Wyatt got up. Billy and I stumbled out the family room with Wyatt and watched him happily open his gifts. We also exchanged our gifts to each other as well. ( He got me two of the books that I wanted!)

Then we had a little time to sit around and relax because my family wasn’t coming until 4. We were making a slow cooker pot roast, macaroni and cheese, cresecent rolls (I even made a baby size one for the Hurricane), and a winter fruit salad so we didn’t even have to spend the whole day cooking. The winter fruit salad was amazing by the way. Pear, apple, clementines, pomegranate seeds, and it was supposed to have kiwi but I didn’t get them with my order and forgot to get them later. I would say though that it didn’t need it. I am probably going to make it all winter long.

Before long my other nieces descended upon us, along with my brother and SIL, and my mom. We ate, the kids opened gifts – you guys know the drill. It was a lovely evening and I had so much fun with the kids.

I fell into bed that night, full of happy feelings, joy, and exhaustion. I had big plans for the next day – to do not one thing. And I didn’t.

I totally relaxed 100% on Thursday. Wyatt played with all of his new stuff, and I did too. I flipped through my new books, played with the new markers that were in my stocking from Santa, and just totally goblinmoded out. Wyatt was cracking me up taking photos of his books….I wonder who he was emulating? Lol.

Friday Billy was home! He took a few extra vacation days, although we have no idea what we are going to do. Maybe nothing! Yesterday we drove down to an antique store in Ohio and I picked up some cast iron rabbits and sent a bunch of pictures to my friend Kelly who also wanted to go to this antique store. She had a few things she was looking for. We also went to my favorite plant store, The Conservatory, but didn’t pick anything up this time, although they did give Wyatt a few stickers. Next we went to our favorite local fish store, to buy some little plants for the frogs, Hurkle and Durkle, and then ended up at the local book store down the street because of a certain little boy’s request. He picked up a used copy of an Avi book because to him when we say we are going shopping he thinks that means for books.

We were hoping to stop at the zoo but it was cold and raining so we opted for home and pizza instead. I painted my nails with the very sparkly polish Wyatt gave me for Christmas, we watched some tv, and that was that! Which brings us to right this very moment, Saturday morning, typing this up.

I hope that you all had a wonderful week, and that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile.

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!

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!

A Great Holiday and a Return to Routine

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Michigan, nature, Uncategorized13 Comments

I had a wonderful time with my family the last few days! From the Saturday Solstice to Sunday at my dad’s for our holiday celebration, to Christmas Eve with my husband’s parents, to Christmas Day with my family, we had busy days packed with loved ones.

On Saturday we celebrated the return of the sun, and our love of nature by going on a nature hike at our favorite metropark. We have been having some unseasonably warm days these past few days, so the weather was actually beautiful. As we walked through the woods, looking for signs of winter, a flock of geese flew directly overhead, honking their hellos. Later we made sure we fed the birds and other wild things in our neighborhood a little feast, filling up our feeders to the brim and giving them some special treats as well. We finished up our evening with a beef stew over polenta and Nantucket cranberry pie, read a few picture books, and looked back on our year of hikes, some of the highlights, some of the things that we saw along the way. We also talked about our journey with the Kids Moon Club that we took last year, where we all learned a lot! We signed up as Lifetime Members and are looking forward to this new year.

Our three Christmas’ were fun as well! Wyatt had a blast with his grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, and was a lucky little guy who received some thoughtful and fun gifts as well! Lots of dinosaurs and musical instruments and books and baking toys, and some exploration gifts from us too – including a bird call that I am currently listening to. Billy and I never exchange much with each other, we do “small” Christmas for each other and feel so happy to have received this beautiful bracelet and another John Lewis-Stempel book, about owls no less! He also bought me a warm wool hat, gloves, socks and a set of blank books. We had a wonderful few days, the best of all being all the family time.

Today we start to get back to our normal non-holiday life. Wyatt is getting all the time he wants to play and explore his new things, to just play and relax and have fun. We will have music on, a full coffee pot for me, and I will attempt to make some dent in putting our house to rights. But on some level, I enjoy doing this after a holiday, saying goodbye to some things, rearranging, making way for new. We will leave the tree up a while longer, but I really need to dig out our bedrooms which have taken a huge hit. They became a bit of a dumping ground in between holiday events!

I hope that you all are enjoying your holiday season!