Of Grinch Happy Meals, Makin' Gingerbread Houses, & Book Club Christmases

      It's all the little moments that make a life, or so they say, and thus, here are a bunch more of my little moments. Ones where they look all dreamy in the photos, but were at the same time surrounded by crazy, uncontrollable weather and illness. I am sure one day I will look back and think these were the simpler times, but they really weren't in the moment! 

So McDonalds came out with adult Grinch Happy Meals, featuring the cutest socks, and even though I don't really eat McDonalds, I had to have the socks. 

Raccoon very kindly got 2 happy meals, so I have both pairs of socks because they are adorable. haha I didn't realize there were also kids' happy meals with little stuffies so missed out on those, but that's totally okay because the socks are useable! 

Sonya asked if I wanted to decorate gingerbread houses with her and I said "Most definitely", even though the houses end up just sitting for a few weeks and getting thrown out. It's all about the fun of decorating them.

We went absolutely ham on the decorations and had so much left over. LOL We need bigger houses! 

Also Cedar was definitely checking it all out and was not happy that the attention of Aunty wasn't all on him! He is a very chatty cat so we heard all about it. 

I got a bag of true vintage candies and they had so many cute little designs! 

Here is Sonya's house - she poured coconut everywhere! Pretty sure we were both finding coconut bits for days! 

And here is my house! It honestly kept good for weeks! 

My book club had a White Elephant Book Swap Christmas Party, and I once again pushed myself out of my comfort zone to attend. It really was a lot of fun, and I am starting to know some of the people which makes it much better. 

Alessia and Steph did a great job hosting and the books were wrapped so pretty. 

Lots of yummy snacks and a hot chocolate station! 

The swap was hysterical because some of the books were wild and lots of laughs were had. I was quite content with the book I got in the end!  

We also did a ton of other book trading. 

I ended up with this whole beautiful pile of books, including the wee Susan Branch one!!! 

I can't believe I only have 1 more post of Christmas memories to share with you, then we move on into other winter life and the New Year. I swear I am trying to hold onto the days but they just zoom by! 

Our 1990s Christmas Backyard, Endless Snow, Baking & Crafting

      Hello Everyone! I have a really odd collection of things to share with you today. Remember how in my last post I mentioned buying only some new outdoor decor items? Well, here they are - a couple strings of nostalgic, colourful, 1990s vibes Christmas lights! 

Raccoon strung them up along the fence, and I also acquire a small wreath to hang on the one entrance. 

It started snowing a day or two later, and I went out to capture the beauty while the flakes were coming down. Little did we know, this was about to be the beginning of a very long, hard winter. 

As you can see, just after our first initial snowfalls, we were already getting quite buried. That rug draped over the table completely disappeared at this point. Honestly, it may appear in April. Or it might not show up until May, who knows! 

And then, the big snowstorm arrived. Barely past the middle of November, and we were BURIED. I mean look at our living room window! And this was only snowstorm one. 

Plus it got a lot worse. The city really doesn't care much, and really underfunds the department needed to actually be able to deal with the snow. I say they don't care, but I mean, the government here, REALLY DOES NOT CARE.

So. It was a lot warmer than normal. And all that snow started melting. And since it had just been packed down, it created massively deep ruts, which for all the small car drivers like me, has created a wild situation. 

Just look at this mess - photos do not do it justice. 

We have also gotten a LOT MORE SNOW since and RAIN and radically changing temperatures. 

Oh, and my car slide on ice, got thrown into a frozen snowbank, and now I have to replace a bumper come spring. 

My stress levels and over all anxiety has been wildly high this winter, so not going to lie, really struggling. And we still have a couple months to go. I really want to be transparent that my life is definitely not what you mostly see on media platforms. Of course, I highlight the good and don't talk about the challenges much, but I try to still "keep it real" now and again. 

On a totally different note, I love Bob Snail Fruit Snacks and have started collecting the little toy snails that are all wearing different costumes. So far, I have 5 of these cuties and they are such a boost of serotonin. 

I have also perfected my Banana Bread and have made several loaves of it. What a delicious snack! Plus, I get free bananas from my work all the time. 

My first Christmas as an herbalist in training and I decided to make a good portion of my gifts. 

I made Lavender Sugar Scrubs and Lemon Cuticle Oils. Both of these I have had to adjust a few times to get them to where I want them and I still think I could make subtle little improvements, but it's been so fun to create and use these, and now, gift them to others. 

Also how cute are these little jars and roll on bottles I bought?! Giving all the apothecary vibes. 

I thrifted the little bowls holding my gifts - I love vintage china! 

Tomorrow I am going to have a GIANT post for you and if you like Christmas Trees, you won't want to miss this one!