Looking Back

{Picture Ryan Benyi for Country Living}

This is one of our favorite pictures.

Our trademark "petite packages"!

& TA-DA, thank you Country Living for mentioning a product from

our wee little website boutique! We are shipping orders out as fast as we can!

{Photo | Contented Sparrow on flickr}

Creamy colored tent at Country Living Fair with dashes of color here & there. We lined the tent with our trademark scalloped drop cloths . I was desperate to add texture to the boring white tent side walls!  Our favorite "petite merchandise" displayed in our clutter-y, piled high style!

{Photo | Contented Sparrow on flickr}

Details, Details taking buttons and fastening with red bakery twine onto thread

cards. {Darcy' brilliant idea}

We do hope you had  a lovely Christmas! A flurry of presents, Starbucks, shopping the day after, Chinese food {a must after Christmas!}, & being with family. 

k&d

Visions of Sugarplums

{Iced Shortbread "birdies"}

I have a very good friend {she's 23 and hangs out with me, even though I'm 35} she has made this recipe since she was 16. I can't even remember when I was 16. She doesn't bake anything else at Christmas besides this shortbread recipe. I'm following in her footsteps. Easy directions. Easy ingredients. Easy small batch. Easy.Easy.Easy. I'm all about that. Plus they're yummy.

It's Martha Stewart's basic shortbread recipe. I think since it calls for confectioners' sugar instead of granulated makes all the difference. I also add almond flavoring in the dough and the icing---I'm a huge fan of almond flavoring.

For the icing:

3/4 cup of powdered sugar

1-2 teaspoons of almond flavoring

3 or more tablespoons of milk

Icing is slightly runny, I drizzle away over cookies and it sets up.

{The dirty "fluff" is his Snoopy baby----yes, my friends the classic Snoopy}

Luke is now 4 {December 1st} and it's fun seeing Christmas through his eyes. Soon after Thanksgiving he told me to get out the Christmas toys, he then stated---that means Jesus is born. What he meant was to get out the nativity set! Bless his little heart! 

I also love taking pictures of my sleeping kidlets.........

{Snoopy's tail is what he holds while sucking this thumb to go to sleep}

I thought you would want to know that. Just in case.

merrily,

k

Some Cheery Thoughts.........

*thought no. 1*

*thought no. 2*

Some special thoughts to pass on into next year...........may your day be "merry" while you're festooning Christmas all over the place.

k&d

It's a Wrap.........

*Thinking of you wrapping away............

k&d

Curiosities

*2 red notary labels---*Scallopini Cuts---*Petite tag in red envelope---*Vintage postage stamps---*Vintage map reproduced of Israel and a gold star locating Bethlehem ---*Pink bell---*Windup birdie in cage---*Red & white string---*Vintage book of Rudolph {you know who}---*Petite candy cane tied up with waxed twine---*Day #9 bag from Luke's Advent calender---*Vintage tour book of Rome.

---& Smack dab in -the- middle---

2 doses of headache relief pills & a December calendar page just in case you've forgotten

how many days left until Christmas!

k&d

Oh, we are in love with Mr. & Mrs. Limestone's blog!

I actually scrolled through her entire flickr set of photos,

I was delighted!

Slowly but Surely.........

An out-of-hand office/sewing room takes shape. Everything has a place, fine tuning as we go.

Thanks to those who inspired Jen of Cottage Nest, Jill of Sew a Fine Seam & Darcy {my biz partner}, her house is always neat as a pin. 

{Scissor love--- top from Pottery Barn & below scissor salad tongs 

from Anthropologie on $ale $3.95}

Petite vignette of moody tones becomes our inspiration for December. {all tucked into a vintage cabinet}

Darcy has decorated for Christmas

Kara has not, I'm cleaning & cleaning & cleaning!

Next up for a cleaning: inventory room, whew.

k&d