A bunch of us gals bought some ugly Christmas sweaters and cajoled Mike to take some photos of us (...actually he didn't need much coaxing. He's such a good sport!). Happy December everyone! :)

A little Christmas video.

Life has been incredibly busy lately. Coming home everyday to this Christmas-y home improves my quality of life greatly. Especially when Mike sets the timer on the Christmas tree lights to turn on exactly when I get home from school. He's a good man!

See our tree last year here.

This past weekend, our dear friends, the Aysons, had their Fourth Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Each year, the sweaters get uglier, the treats get tastier, and the company gets sweeter.

In fact, it was two years ago at the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party that Mike and I had our first real conversation! At last years party, he was my boyfriend. And this year, he was my husband!

We obviously owe the Aysons big time.

See last years photos here.
See photos from the first year here & here.

On Saturday evening, my friends and I threaded felt bunting and made sparkly holiday messages. It brought back fond memories of wedding craft nights. Oh those were crazy days, but I sure loved making all the pretty things.

I also love spending time with my best friends, eating the most amazing food*, and laughing a lot.


*baked brie in puff pastry. seriously, go make this right away.
*sparkly holiday message inspiration here.

happiness is... {christmas edition}

this christmas season, i was reminded of why i love blogs so dearly - they motivate me to put more effort into the little things and be more creative. i have never been one to put a lot of effort into wrapping, but after seeing piles of beautifully wrapped presents online, i thought why not?

in another burst of christmas spirit, i cajoled my family into taking some family photos for my mom this christmas. they turned out just perfectly! (thank you mike!)

hope you all have a very merry christmas!

lots of love, janis

xoxo

(mike, me, cohen, jared, dana, shaela, brendan, xavier, jesse)

santa stops by

mike and i's friend steve recently entered a short christmas video for a contest on appvent. the video with the most youtube views wins a free macbook.

in the last six days, steve's video has been talked about on local radio stations and featured on ryan seacrest's site, the vancouver sun, the winnipeg free press, and the daily what. whaaat!? it's crazy!

good work steve!! check it out for a good dose of christmas cheer...

inspired by over-priced anthropologie winter garland, i set out to make my own pom pom garland. easy as pie and gosh darn cute! i couldn't stop swooning over it!

we turned up sufjan steven's christmas album, threw on some lights, bells, and random popcorn kernels and we had ourselves a christmas tree!

we sure love this fat little tree.

*pom pom garland tutorial here.

where the treetops glisten.

we sure got a white christmas this year!

it snowed + snowed + snowed.

 

why o why do i never wear appropriate winter footwear?!

my feet always get soaked!

the weather network promises scatterred flurries today,

which is fine by me.

i much prefer snow to arctic temperatures of -50°C!

hope you all had a lovely christmas!

XO

CHRISTMAS.

christmas 06

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS!!!

XOXO

christmas on steroids.

also known as, bright lights in stanley park
we didn't have time to go on the little train ride through the park
{we chose zac efron instead.
the movie ended up being pretty cheesy
...so not sure if we made the best choice there}
however, we were able to enjoy the lights in the plaza
we had to do a rushed loop since the park was closing in five minutes.
and judging by this santa, some ornaments were ready to call it a night.
have a great saturday everyone!!

XO

the truth about santa claus.

remember when i said i wasn't going to be around here for a few days?
well. it's 2.30 am and i can't sleep.
so much for resting up for a full day of studying tomorrow....

so inevitably around christmas time,

kids launch into passionate debates about the validity of santa claus.
today i was sitting with a group of grade 3 and 4 students,
trying to settle them down to start reading group.

they were in the middle of such a discussion,
when a girl commented,
"santa clause WAS real.
he died in france."

"what?" i asked, a little surprised.

"yeah, i read it online."

a few kids nodded.
"yeah, my brother told me that too," another kid quipped.

and that seemed to put an end to the discussion.