Southern Christmas

It has been a while since Christmas, and even longer since I wrote anything on here, but I hope it isn't entirely too late to post some moments from our American holiday. 

From the neighborhood: An abundance of wreaths, both inside and out! 

American tree, and very surprisingly - Norwegian choir song on tv.

After the Christmas Eve service.

First Presbyterian Church Augusta dressed up for Christmas. 

And one of my favorite Christmas presents: a new high-tech porcelain tooth! It kind of makes me feel like an old lady, but I prefer a whole fake tooth over half a real one, for sure.

Happy New Year from Bergen!

I was so lucky to get a new phone for Christmas, and I am very happy about the 8 megapixel camera. This is certainly an upgrade from the ipod touch with a mere 0,7 that I have been using lately. Here is a picture one from the Canada forest, taken the other day on a little hike. The dry moments are few and far between, and we managed to enjoy this one outside.

Our Christmas Tree!

I thank the strong winds and friends for this Charlie Brown-looking tree. One windy evening it blew into my friend as she was walking, and she thought of us and saved it. How kind is that? There is also another branch that might become a wreath. Decorated with thrifted lights, hearts gifted from friends, and and some red ribbon tied into bows, we are very very happy in this household. It really smells like Christmas now.

If you are interested in more Christmas decor for small spaces, check out this post from Apartment Therapy.

A genius idea for stamping words.

And more Christmas posts from years past.

DIY Christmas gifts

After writing about alternative Christmas gift, I got a lot of response. By request, I am sharing some of the ideas with you :)

- Herb salt. This sounds super-easy!

- Knitted socks. A little more time consuming perhaps...

- Home made vanilla sugar. Recipe here.

- Candy/chocolate. Who wouldn´t be excited to receive delicious treats? 

- Personal cards. No generic greetings here! 

- Give to charity on behalf of someone. Give a water tank to Vietnam, or jet fuel to MAFs planes.

And here are some easy DIY projects I have done in the past: 

- Mittens from felted wool. Use a sweater you accidentally shrunk, or buy 2nd hand ones and felt them in the washing machine.

- Pillow case from an old sweater

- Luggage tags

Or perhaps you prefer something edible?

- Chocolate chili truffles

- Chocolate caramel cookies

I hope this got you thinking, and perhaps you can use some of these ideas yourself. What is your favorite? 

Stop shop: What about Christmas gifts?

Reading Irina Lee´s book "Shoppingfri" got me thinking about my plans for Christmas presents this year. Irina and four of her friends had a year of complete stop shop, which gave them very clear boundaries for gift shopping as well. My project is slightly different from theirs (read my rules here), and so far this year, I have given clothes and things to several people for birthdays and other occasions. But to stay true to the spirit of my project, perhaps I should consider other gifts for the upcoming season.

I am not a stranger to making gifts, this includes sewing, knitting, baking and more. I also prefer to give people something they would enjoy and like and are useful as well, and those things can't always be made, at least not by me. 

Do you have any good ideas? Or do you have any gift wishes that could serve as inspiration? At the moment I have no clue ...

PS. Gift wrap idea by Jeanne and the Moon.

They won´t be expecting that!

Merry Christmas everyone!! 

Favorite pinterest finds: Neutral and sparkly

Seems like I´m liking neutrals with a little sparkle on top these days.

Sources: 1, 2, 3 

Advent: He is coming

It is December 1st today! Soon Christmas, but first: Advent. I blogged about advent for YWAM Skien on our blog, but you can read my post here as well:

    

Tomorrow we start the great countdown for Christmas! During the darkest time of the year, almost everyone is excited for the fun, the lights, advent calenders (with gifts?) and many preparations for the holidays. In the midst of the business, do we stop to reflect on the reason for the celebration? We look forward to good food, time with family, days off and lots of presents, and even as Christians, it can be hard to focus on Jesus.

If you are anything like me, you need a good reminder once in a while. Now I would like to remind us, myself included, that this season can be a time to reflect on the coming of our King.

I found an advent devotional you can use to unwrap more of this amazing story of a mighty saviour, our God who humbled himself to come as a little baby boy for our sake. And as Christmas draws near, I hope we will be filled with more gratitude and joy!

Advent Devotional by Ann Voskamp.

I wish you a wonder-filled Advent!

Thrifted - gifted

You might say it is a little late for Christmas, but last year we exchanged gifts on Valentines Day, so we were actually a little early this year. My roommate of two years, Lyndee, moved back to the States last fall, but is gracing us with a winter visit for the month of February. She brought back gifts, and technically, this was a Christmas gift.

These little bells brought some Christmas feelings, 

but I think I will save them for next winter´s projects...

A vintage 1940s table runner, and a pretty green clutch.

I love it when people know what I like, thank you so much Lyndee!!

Joy to the world

Picture by Angela Hardison. You can go here to download your own print if you want this piece to grace your mantelpiece or wall. I am ready to print out mine at least. A large portion of today has been spent on geography duels - fun!

You can also check out this give away with focus on the Salvation Army by Thea. Ive had some winners luck lately, and will show you the result when it arrives in my mailbox.

Put the lights on the tree

We got a couple of days of winter wonderland and I made sure I took in the sight. I wish it would stay like this, but that would take a miracle.

It is time to decorate the tree. In this house we wait till the 23rd with the Christmas decoration, and I will not let it happen before! And with that I can finally say: 

Merry Christmas my friends!!

On a slightly different note; 

here is an obscure Christmas cartoon by mr. Stevens.

Soundtrack: Sufjan Stevens "Put the lights on the tree"

For auld lang syne, my dear

Paper scrap ribbon and bows - genius!

Im still working on the Christmas cards. 

Ive got one more day, right, so why be done before I have to?

At least I made it to the post office today with the ones who need to travel far, and if I am very lucky, it will reach my dear friends far away before the new year is upon us. 

I wonder if I will ever throw scrap paper away again... 

Soundtrack: Beta Radio "Auld lang syne"

Snow day

Sneen dalte lett og fin, og strøk blidt mot ruten min
i morgens da jeg drømte på min pute.
Vi tok skjerf og votter på, hastet veldig med å gå,
snart var det tusen barnespor der ute.

(Norwegian winter song)

You never know when you get another snow day around here, so yesterday we put on whatever we could find of hats, mittens, jackets and shoes, and headed out in the snow to play some games. Today its a totally different (wet) story, so we did the right thing. 

Six feet, three hands

Three feet, four hands

Anyone better?

What I wore:

Hat, Noa Noa

Jacket, Vivikes

Mittens, from my mom

Ski pants, vintage (from a closet)

Snow boots, a store in Skien

PS. The striped jacket is from Azerbaijan, in case you wanted to get one too... 

Ribbon, Paper, Scissor

Pretty ribbon, pretty paper, add a pair of scissors and glue = some of my favorite things.

 Here are the supplies for this year´s Christmas cards. 

I think I have to leave the mess on my kitchen table as a constant reminder to get it done... 

Yesterday´s advent workshop was good, but as far as effectivity goes it was more like the humble start of a lot of crafting. The goal for today is to have at least one card written and ready for the mailbox tomorrow so it can find the way to a friend far away.

29. The first snowfall of the winter

Yesterday evening I stepped out the front door as the first snowflakes fell. It felt a little magical.

Rerun: a short video I made last winter

And other little things to brighten your day.

Unfortunately, I cant find the original source for the photo, I could only track it back to here.

Chestnuts and pine cones: Finds from the forest

Welcome to my Christmas home!

A little bird from Africa flew over for the holidays. 

Moss and pine cones from the forest - I love to pick stuff up and bring it home...

And this guy and his music is always welcome!

I am not too crazy about a lot of red in my home, so I have a muted color palette also for Christmas, with just a tiny hint of gold. Technically, it is only advent, but I won´t be in my home for Christmas, so this is a good mix of both.

And at the end: a star of hope and an improvised Christmas tree with hearts.

Secrets

This weekend was spent with good friends and a very pretty baby girl. A nice, relaxing trip to the other side of the fjord. I forgot to take pictures, but here is a little sneak peek at what I worked on. I can´t show you the finished result, since we are in the season of secrets, and it just wouldn´t be as much fun if I spoiled all the surprises. A healthy dose of curiosity is good for us, isn´t it? So, do you have any good projects these days, or is everything too secret to share?

I have had a lot of visitors here the past days, and some new followers too, and I wanted to welcome you! It is great to have new people stopping by at this little blog of mine :)

If you look carefully, you can see that I have added a few things to the top and side bar - some direct links to posts related to YWAM life and my home, plus the most popular posts. Check it out if you´d like! Still thinking about the header. Clean is nice, but is it too boring??

The year in numbers

January:
1 new sister in law
1 outreach to Derby, England

February:
2 days of Prison Break at the base

March:
3 flights to get to Omaha, Nebraska and Erika (when her last name was still Hydeen)

April
4 state borders crossed
4th module of the Leader school finished

May
5 DTS teams welcomed home and graduated

June
6 comments on my first blogposts!

July
7 days and nights in Langevågen
7 vehicles to get to Växsjø to celebrate Lovisa and Erik

August
8 celebrations at the workers gathering and GOfest in Stavern
800 people to celebrate them with

September
9 nations gathered for the YWAM 50 jubilee in Sweden

October
10 Pumpkin recipes: Pumpkin pancakes, spiced pumpkin latte, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheese cake, pumpkin muffins, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin spice mix, carved pumpkin

November
11 songs on the new Surround record at the backyard release concert

December
12 merry days of holiday in Bergen
12 wonderful Christmas presents from friends and family

To all my friends and family, near and far

I hope you all have had a merry Christmas!
The new year is fast approaching, and I think I need to think about that for a little while.
New Years resolutions anyone? I will have to get back to that.

For now, here is my Christmas letter this year:
Click to enlarge

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Wrapping up

This year I was inspired by Ane, The Green Grocery Bag challenge at Sew Mama Sew and various other bloggers and etsy for my Christmas gift wrapping.

Here is some of the result:

I have always loved brown paper packages and ribbon, especially vintage ribbon. Its not just pretty, but the paper can be recycled and the ribbon reused. This year I stumbled upon a new and great idea, namely to wrap gifts with fabric. When I think about it, I have done it before, but not like this, when the wrap is a part of the gift itself, which is just genius! This red one for my sister is actually a vintage scarf. 

These Christmas days have been nice and quiet, with lots and lots of food, movies, games, church, books and a walk on the frozen lake. It is good to be home for the holidays!