Dear Santa

In the next few weeks Kyler will definitely be itching to see Santa. Each year we visit Rheault Farm to see Santa's workshop {and every year we FREEZE our tootsies off!}. This is the first year Kyler can write his own name and letters. I'm so excited to help him write a letter to Santa, that little mind of his is so full anticipation for Mr. Claus. He's still learning how to write and sometimes gets a wee bit frustrated by being confined to lines when writing. I thought this would be a great format for him to write a letter to Santa without the frustration. 

Santa Letter Printable

Here's a few pictures from last years Christmas season. I'm still in disbelief that he will be 5 in January. Where does time go? How do I make it stop? I'm not ready for Kindergarten next year!!

My Christmas Wishlist | 2014

I never know how to respond to the ole' "what do you want for Christmas" question. Deep down I know exactly what I'd like but I just feel very uncomfortable giving loved ones a list. I wasn't raised like that! My parents taught me to always express gratitude for whatever gift I may have received regardless if I liked it or not. As an adult I just can't hand a list over. My husband {Rob} is very aware of my pickiness and every year he begs me to inform him of a gift I look forward to, so this year he will be well informed.

Rob is great at being creative and giving me the BEST gifts ever; gifts from the heart. He and Kyler often come up with a creative ideas that they make together which are the most memorable gifts I receive each year {along with their gift wrapping methods}. I also tend to be the person who buys what I want, when I want which makes it extra tricky to come up with an idea to give Rob. So this year I wanted to give him visual ideas. I think this will make it easier for him to use as inspiration during his gift buying. He is very good at knowing what I would like or not like, so I'll trust his interruption these hints/suggestions.

The other day I was hunting for sweater dresses online and this dress popped up on a google shopping search, it's from Kohl's. I'm not typically a Kohl's shopper, I usually don't find anything that really speaks to me. But I thought this dress was nicely styled and could be a great work/ Church dress {easily worn with Frye boots and tights}. It's hard to find long sleeved dresses which made this all the more appealing and the price tag isn't shocking {I leave those purchases to myself}.

You're probably laughing at the pitcher and donut pan, hey I'm practical too! I recently found myself frantic for an extra pitcher, so this pitcher is definitely something I'd enjoy having around the house. An extra doughnut pan wouldn't hurt either!

The Hunter boots and concealer are both splurges. Those may end up being my Christmas gift to myself. I cashed in my credit card points a few months ago and still have one gift card left...$250 to Nordstrom. I live almost 4 hours from the nearest store and haven't felt any hurry to spend it. I was waiting to go in the store and ya know... browse, try on, deliberate and then make my purchases. However I don't think I'll get down there until Spring so I may take advantage of their online deals coming up.  I can't decide what color Hunter boots to get? Suggestions welcome. I usually wear navy, cream, grey, light browns. When looking online I'm drawn to the classic green and grey but I'm very un-decided on what I think I'd wear most often.

Theirs no home decor related items on my wish list this year. I'm holding out for our next house/ what we decide to do on this house. In the meantime I'll be saving my pennies for those purchases in the future.

As fun as sharing these ideas are with you readers, I don't want to loose focus on the meaning of the season. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. I would encourage you to click the link below and focus your heart on the true meaning of the season. It wasn't until recently that I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, it's never too late to know the love Jesus Christ has for each and every one of you!

God Bless,

Chelsea

12 Reasons for Christmas

Christmas Printable | Gift Tag

Why are classic and simple items always more money? Maybe it's just me but I feel like simple items are harder to find than they should be and always cost more. I can rarely walk into a store and pick out any item Christmas items that I feel fit my style. I created these because I think they are simple, yet pretty. These tags will coordinate well with Christmas wrapping paper yet don't fight busy patterns typically found on wrapping paper. Again, I'm new to this whole blogging thing and I'm definitely not a graphic designer {wish I was} so please let me know if you have trouble downloading these. I would suggest printing these on creamy white or kraft card stock.

As you enjoy the start of the Holiday season these will help you get an early jump start on the wrapping. Not sure about the rest of you, but I enjoy doing my shopping in November so I don't have to fight the crazy folks madness. I resist the temptation to wrap in November...I leave that for December to put me in the giving spirit. I typically print these on card stock and then use a whole punch to tie ribbon, however you could print these on sticker paper if you wanted to go that route. The link to the printable is below the image.

Christmas Printable

Christmas Organization | For Early Shoppers

**UPDATE**
I should have all the links working properly now :)

I don't know about the rest of ya, but I find myself somewhat brain dead around Christmas time. With so many activities going on, it's hard for me to keep track of what I have or haven't done.  I can't survive without my lists and this time of year my lists go into over-drive. I'm one of those who prefers to shop for Christmas in November. I reserve Christmas time for baking, listening to Christmas music and overall being home and present during those special holiday moments. I'm posting these organizers a little early because I know I'm not alone in getting things done sooner rather than later, hope ya don't mind ;).

In the past few years I'd say I've gone a little over-board in the shopping department. This year will be different, rather than giving to ourselves we want to put more emphasis on others that are less fortunate. Kyler is approaching the age where he can be involved in giving to others and build character while doing so. I hope that while you plan your Christmas giving that you also include those who are less fortunate. So many of us are so richly blessed, lets bless others!

The bottom printable is a store planner, I use this primarily for when I'm running errands all over town. This makes those trips a lot more manageable and you'll be less likely to forget something on your list. On the baking planner I've also included an area that includes packaging supplies. Their's nothing like spending all day baking and realizing you don't have enough of the same color ribbon to wrap the goodies up as you had planned.

A link to google docs is at the bottom of each printable. Enjoy!

Baking Planner Printable

Christmas Gift Planner

Store Planner

First Snowfall of the Season | 2014

Living in North Dakota defiantly presents itself with some extreme weather conditions. Typically the wind is blowing so hard it's not exactly enjoyable to walk outside when it's snowing. Today was one of the few exceptions (well...it was pretty windy but not too terrible). Kyler and I decided to enjoy a nice Sunday walk around our neighborhood. He was a little disappointed that his snow angel didn't show up...just wait buddy there will be plenty of snow soon enough. 

^^ We refer to this house as the "gingerbread" house...Rob's favorite. ^^

 ^^ These two houses are some of my favorite in the neighborhood. The gentleman who purchased the cape cod house on the left is a real keeper. He's been gracious enough that on a few occasions he's welcomed us into his home for a peak. He'd done an stunning job remodeling the home. His kitchen is perfection! Inset cabinets, built in hutch with marble top, soapstone countertops...one of the prettiest I've seen . ^^

^^ I sure do love a classic cape :) ^^

^^ We refer to his house as the "hobbit" house. It came up for sale a few years ago and needed a LOT of work. We took a quick peak at it back then, but that was a project! It has all original tile work, wooden beams, very cozy and charming. ^^

^^ And my favorite. I often dream of what the inside of this house looks like. So simple and classic, my favorite combo. It has the most charming drive way that circles around the front of the house, I definitely could get use to that. ^^

^^ Best part of the walk was collecting sticks for future snowman with this little man. ^^

^^ First taste of the season, wish I had the same excitement. ^^

^^ Love that sweet face. ^^