My Henry-Proof Christmas Tree Table

You all are very nice. I am still digging my way out of the drywall dust in my house, but luckily I don't feel stressed because of my lack of posts, because you understand! Plus, you are all probably too busy getting ready for Christmas to care what is going on in my house!

Here's a little project I managed to sneak in out of necessity. You may know that I have an almost-11-month-old son named Henry. He's crawling everywhere, and eating everything! When we thought about putting up a Christmas tree this year, all we could envision was digging glass ornament shards out of his little mouth. So, we improvised!

This table has been sitting in our basement, gathering junk. It originally had the same ugly legs as this table, which I renovated back in the summer.

As you can see, my accommodating husband changed out the legs for me. (The above photo is after the legs had already been replaced. And just in case you are curious, we bought the legs at Home Depot!)
I started by painting the table an antique white (Behr's "Country Dairy" in an eggshell finish). It took about four coats because I was impatient and neglected a primer coat. (Nothing new there!) Then I sanded the edges a bit and added a little knob. I love how it turned out!

I also love that I don't have to worry about Henry eating pine needles all month. Happy Holidays to all! :)

In a Bad Place

I have not been around much lately. Besides the usual Christmas busy-ness, my house has been in an uproar. What used to be this:

...now looks like this:

We decided to convert our upstairs loft into a bedroom. It's been a fairly straightforward project-just adding a half-wall, door and closet-but really? Is there anything good about having a garbage can in your hallway?

So that's why I've been absent lately. We're in a bad place around here. Construction dust. My son finding pieces of stray drywall to put in his mouth. My daughter's footed PJs looking like she's been trudging through the gutters in them. The dog? Oh, the dog! His fuzzy hair is like a magnet for debris.

And in the midst of it all, trying to put up the Christmas tree and enjoy the yuletide. So you can see why I have not been showing you my Christmas decorations, our cozy nights by the fire sipping hot chocolate, and visits to Santa!

I hope to be back sometime soon with more traditional Christmas posts. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the season!

Christmas Advent Calendar

Merry Christmas! I can officially say that now, even though I've been guilty of playing Christmas music in my house for a few weeks now. :)

Over the weekend, like many of you I am sure, we unpacked our Christmas decorations. If you've been around here for awhile, you will remember my Christmas advent calendar from last year:

I made it when I was 8 months pregnant last year, and I still love it! Each box opens up and allows me to hide a little treat for my kids for each day leading up to Christmas. Nina can hardly wait to dive in tomorrow. Henry doesn't care so much, but he will next year, I am sure!

I have a detailed tutorial from last year on how I made this, so if you feel like getting all messy and taking on another project this Christmas season, click here for instructions! Happy Mod Podging!

Thanksgiving Tree

'Twas three days before Thanksgiving, and all through the house

Carrie was using scrapbook paper and a glue stick...

So what else is new?

We are staying In Denver this year for Thanksgiving, and hosting a small gathering at our house. My friend Aimee does a Thanksgiving Tree every year, and I decided to copy her!

Here's the cast of characters:

Just get a glue stick, scrapbook paper, little tags with holes in them, and a cute paper punch-out leaf or other Thanksgiving-y shape.

Glue the cute little Thanksgiving shape to the tag. Be sure to leave some room for people to write.

Put all the tags somewhere your guests can get to them, and lay out a nice pen and some twine.

On Thanksgiving, throughout the day, people can come along and write down something they are thankful for, then tie it to the tree! We plan to read ours during dinner. I imagine some of them will be sentimental, some silly, and some just bizarre (if I know my family). Just the way I like it!

As you can see, I've already added one thing I am thankful for. Like it?

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! I will be back next week to kick off the Christmas season!

P.S. To answer a few questions: the wire tree, I must admit, came from Goodwill. I'd been looking for one for awhile and one day I just stumbled upon it. As for the other materials, they all came from Hobby Lobby. My condolences for those of you who don't have one near you! :)

Lucky Winner!

I'm sorry, but even as I write this post I can't help but stop and think about how cute this little pageboy hat is. Seriously? I want one. For my head. Do you think she makes them in Size 33? As in, my age in years, not months?

Anyway, let's get right to the winner of this giveaway! It's Sarah, of Nesting in Pleasant View! Sarah, and sweet baby Anna Claire, you can thank my husband, who chose comment #3, which was you! Please email me at buzzingsofaqueenbee@hotmail.com and I will give you the details of how to collect your $20 credit to the fantastic Marili Jean!

And for the rest of us, there is more good news! Marili Jean has graciously allowed a 20% discount on all our purchases. How fantastic is that? Just enter "Holiday" when you check out on her website (click on the name Marili Jean to get to it!) and wait for the bargains to start rolling in!

I will be back next week with a few last minute Thanksgiving ideas. In the meantime, I will be crossing my fingers that Marili Jean starts an adult line of hats, just in time for Christmas. Mama needs some cuteness too!

Pageboy Hat Giveaway!

**Updated to add: Comments are now closed! Thank you to everyone for entering this fabulous giveaway. I will be back in the morning to announce the winner!

A few weeks ago my family and I went to a cute pumpkin festival here in Denver. We had a ball! Part of the festival was made up of some artists selling their truly adorable handmade things. I ended up falling in love with, and purchasing, one of these newsboy hats for Nina:

I fell so in love, in fact, that I did something I've never done before. I asked the owner of Marili Jean, the shop that sells these little numbers for girls and boys, if she would give one away on my blog!

I felt like a bit of a salesperson, and was afraid she would think I was some crazy lady just asking for free stuff, but luckily she gave me a chance!

all photos thanks to Kelly Anderson Photo Design

And so, today I am giving away a $20 merchandise credit to the adorable Marili Jean! Just leave a comment telling me what little person in your life would receive this gift. I will close the comments on Friday night at 10 p.m. and announce the winner on Saturday!

Here's hoping that my little Nina will be cute pageboy hat twins with someone in your life! Happy Ho Ho Ho!

My Little Plaid Turkey

We got more snow this weekend in Colorado! It was the perfect weather to sit and work on this little pillow that's been in my head for a while. (Actually, to be honest, I have had the little turkey cut out since last Thanksgiving. But never the motivation to finish the job!)

I thought it was a cute addition to the Thanksgiving decor around here. I am debating if this guy can hang around all year, or does he have to go into hiding after the fall? I just love the colors in the plaid.

What do you think?