Traditions: A Wreath, Gingerbread & Socks

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - 
Traditions. Everyone has them. This past weekend, hubs and I celebrated three different traditions. But this time around, there was something interesting about these traditions.  Let me begins with socks.

Tradition 1 - Socks. Hubs steals my socks. My white gym socks that is. To the point that I have no more. Let's ignore the fact that I didn't notice until I started to visit the gym again. Yes, I went on hiatus. A very long hiatus. But that isn't the point here. Day eight, warm & toasty, brought hubs the gift of socks. He has 16 new pairs of socks, so there is no reason for him to steal mine anymore. This is a tradition that I didn't even know that we had until I started to write this post. I always give him socks during his advent calendar. Why? Because he always needs them. This year, we both needed them. That is what happens when your husband steals your socks.

Tradition 2 - Wreath. With warm and toasty toes, he was ready for the next day. Day nine was trimming the door, aka making our annual wreath. We gathered the materials and got sappy while putting it together. With needles everywhere, lots of greens and floral wire, our sappy hands made the best wreath we've ever made. I absolutely adore it! And if you look closely, you'll see Nala saying hello!

Tradition 3 - Gingerbread House. Hubs and I are competitive people. Christmas season isn't excluded from this spirit as our tradition of competing gingerbread houses takes center stage. We always decorate our own side of the house and whoever decorates it the 'best' wins. The prize is nothing more than the self pride of winning. This year, I thought I would switch it up and throw out a variation. Day ten, gingerbread hunt, was an alternative to building. This alternate was a hunt for gingerbread houses in the Arts District (if you live in the area and are interested, research it here). However, hubs wanted to stick to building. Then he threw in his own variation - he wanted to bake rather than buying a kit.

As he said that, I immediately panicked. Little did he know that day eleven was holiday treats meaning we would be baking cookies for the Packer victory (yup, I'm optimistic - and now I know I can tell the future! 13-0 - GO PACK GO!). With that, I clued him in and we decided to combine the two days. We bought some candy to decorate each respective home and got to baking.


As you can see, the icing didn't necessarily want to hold the gingerbread in place. My house of shambles didn't even make it to a photos. What you see here is what is left of hubs masterpiece. I might add, this is a friendly competition between the two of us that we do every year. Since hubs made 'stained glass windows' with sugar and his actually stood much longer then mine, he did win this year. I say by default, but he'd argue he would have won no matter what.

This is all we have left of the gingerbread cookies. They are tasty - we snacked on them throughout the Packer victory on Sunday afternoon.

What are your holiday traditions? Do you ever change them up?

Silver & Gold...Almost

Monday, December 12, 2011 - 
My hubs loves Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  It is his all time favorite holiday movie. However, we have specific circumstances to watch the movie.
  1. It has to be snowing or snow must be on the ground.
  2. No talking is allowed.
It only makes sense that this is his stocking.


Day five was St. Nick's Day. That means this stocking was full of treats, including movies, candy, more popcorn shakers and other items. I wasn't home to fill the stocking as I was still in Vegas (for work), so prior to departing I set up a scavenger hunt for him to find when he arrived home. He searched for his favorite movie, then a board game, and a few other items around the house in search of the stocking.

Maybe this was a reward because the next day, he had to do a little 'work'. He helps out with holiday cards for family and friends by labeling them. So any of you who receive a card, know that hubs helped out on day six, family & friends. And if you haven't picked up cards yet, consider looking at Two Designs. Tara is extremely talented, just sayin'. Yes, a shameless plug for a bestie - it happens.

I would have loved all the labels were stuck when I got home on day seven, themed cuddle time. But alas, we wrapped them up together that evening when I got home. A holiday movie followed with warm and cozy blankets. Even the pups were warm and cozy.



Was it Rudolph?  Well, no. The weather wasn't quite right.