Frosty Garden

Simply stunning.

Photo by Maria Kallin via Creature Comforts

New Belt

My new bow belt arrived in the mailbox today. I'm so excited to wear it! Perfect to wear over a cardigan or belted over a dress.

From Darlingtonia (Hurry if you are interested! Katie is having a one year anniversary sale...belts are 50% off!)

Amaryllis

This weekend I decided to buy one of those amaryllis bulb kits that are widely available in stores at this time of year. I haven't bought one for a couple of years, and I always love how they look when they bloom! The plastic pot that came with the bulb was icky, so I used a bright holiday red pot from IKEA instead.





Can't wait for the stems to straighten themselves out with the light! This bulb has a bright red flower, so it should look smashing with the pot when it's blooming!

Five Senses Friday

My day yesterday was sooo busy that I didn't have a chance to post my five senses. But, I'm glad I didn't, as we woke up to a beautiful morning of hoar frost, a winter weather treat where everything is covered with big, white ice crystals.

Seeing:

A beautiful winterscape outside this morning

Hearing:

The AMAZING show by Dan Mangan. If you have never heard him, check him out! Great Canadian talent...

Smelling:

The faint cinnamon scent lingering on my Christmas decorations as I pulled them out of storage this past week

Tasting:

Dark hot chocolate (organic and fair trade!) on a cold day

Feeling:

Chilled! It's been sooooo cold

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Wishing my husband a very happy birthday tomorrow! We plan on doing some cross-country skiing and eating a big dinner. I'm making him a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake for dessert...

Photos by me

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A reminder: My Etsy shop, The Prairie Sparrow is offering a 15% discount on your purchase from now through November 29 with the coupon code SPARROW15

Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale

From Friday, November 26 through Monday, November 29 my Etsy shop, The Prairie Sparrow, will be offering a 15% discount on all items with the coupon code SPARROW15

Happy Holiday shopping!

Cranberry Citrus Walnut Bread

This post over at poppytalk made my mouth water! This cranberry citrus walnut loaf looks divinely delicious. I think I might have to try out this recipe! Yummy.

DIY Idea: Magnetic Advent Calendar

Here's a fun little project that'll bring joy throughout the month of December. What a fabulous idea to use little containers to create receptacles for small treats. Project via Twig & Thistle.

Merry, Minimalist Holiday Decor

I posted about my outdoor holiday decor yesterday, but here are some other, minimalist decor ideas from Canadian Gardening. I love this style as well. It looks so clean and sophisticated, yet merry and welcoming at the same time. This post has the details on how to create this look yourself.

Outdoor Holiday Decorating

With the all of the snow that fell in the past couple of days the world outside has been turned into a winter wonderland...which instantly gets me in the holiday mood! I spent some time this weekend decorating the outside of my house for the holidays using lots of (free) natural greenery collected from around our yard and my parents' yard (and ornaments I had in my collection at home). I made a large arrangement in a cast-iron urn for our front steps and also filled our two window boxes with pine and decor. So fun!





Large silver acorns, pinecones, red berries, and twig spheres were added to the pine in the window boxes to give a festive, yet rustic holiday feel.



I used four different kinds of evergreen greenery plus red dogwood branches, pinecones, red berries, and one twig sphere to make my dramatic outdoor arrangement. It's the first time I've made one, and I think it turned out pretty well!




With our red berry wreath, white lights on the house, and, of course, the snow, the exterior of our home is set for the holiday season!

Five Senses Friday

Seeing:

The FIRST snowfall of the year (yesterday)

Hearing:

The music of Footloose at the local stage production

Tasting:

Mexican spice in the fajitas I made the other night

Smelling:

My blackberry sage soap

Feeling:

The cold cold snow and wind

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Photos of the first snowfall by me around the yard

Pretty Paper Flowers

Pretty paper flowers via You Are My Fave

DIY Idea: Holiday Wreaths

A wreath is a welcome symbol on the front door, or in the house, that signifies celebration of the holidays. Canadian Gardening has a step by step tutorial on how to make your own evergreen wreath for the holidays. I'm already planning to tackle an urn arrangement and my window boxes...so I don't think I'll be making a wreath this year. I do, however, have a nice (artificial) red berry wreath that I like to put on my front door!

However, if you are interested in making a wreath yourself, Creature Comforts also has a round-up of creative, non-evergreen DIY wreath projects compiled from around the web. I like the felted ball wreath, personally.

Five Senses Friday

Seeing:

Some snowflakes swirling in the air this week...winter is on its way!

Hearing:

The good music on CBC Radio 2

Smelling:

The scents of Christmas wafting from shops in the shopping mall

Tasting:

The plantain chips I made to remind us of Belize

Touching:

Yarn, yarn, and more yarn. The shop has been busy!

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Have a wonderful weekend!

1. It Must Be Love 2. Snowblind 3. After a Snowy Night 4. In Winter with Warm Tears

Fall Garden Checklist

In case you haven't done your fall cleaning yet...



You can download your checklist from the Canadian Gardening website here.

How To: Create an Elegant Evergreen Planter

From the wonderful Canadian Gardening magazine website, a step-by-step tutorial on how to make this beautiful evergreen planter. Last year I purchased a ready-made arrangement for my front entrance, which was lovely. If I can get my hands on the branches and greenery myself I might just create my own arrangement this year...they make such an elegant holiday welcome!

Living Garden Shed

Is this not the most magnificent garden shed you've ever seen? The owner uses it as a painting studio. I would loooove a space like this in the corner of my yard to lounge with a book, knitting and a cup of something!

From Treehugger

Five Senses Friday

Seeing:

Princesses, superheroes, witches and ghouls roaming the streets for candy

Hearing:

Good news that a friend had a healthy baby boy on Monday!

Tasting:

Some delicious home baked goods from the bake sale at school

Smelling:

Roasting pumpkin seeds in the oven

Feeling:

Starting to feel really excited about the holidays now that Halloween has passed

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Some images to whet the holiday appetite: 1. Rainy Pine 2. Dark Berries 3. Ornaments 4. Bokeh Dot Aqua Light

Holiday Ornament Swap hosted by freshlyblended

Nicole of Freshlyblended is hosting the 5th annual Holiday Ornament Swap. I think this is such an awesome idea and have already registered myself to take part. Around November 15th I will receive an email list of 8-10 people (swap is open to anyone around the world!) to send an ornament to. The idea is to design a handmade ornament and send one to each person on your swap list. In return you will receive 8-10 handmade ornaments in your mailbox! What fun! I'm busy brainstorming what I will be making...

You can still sign up to participate until Sunday, November 7th. Full details at freshlyblended.

Gifted Magazine

I've totally been getting into the holiday spirit over the past couple of weeks (I am nearly done my shopping!!) and was so excited to see that the Gifted Magazine project by Creature Comforts was revealed today. I took a quick peek through it--it is lovely! Full of wonderful gift ideas and DIY projects for the holidays. I can't wait to make myself a hot cup of tea and read it cover to cover in leisurely bliss. Hope you enjoy it as well! Are you as excited for the holidays as I am?

I Go By Katie Sponsor

The Prairie Sparrow is excited to be a sponsor of the I Go By Katie blog for the month of November! Katie is the gal behind the Darlingtonia Moccassin Company...the moccassins that I've been wearing non-stop since I bought myself a pair in the spring. They are soooo comfortable and, of greater importance, pretty!! I invite you to head over to Katie's blog and check it, and the other sponsors, out when you have a chance.

Halloween

Did you have a good halloween? We had a fun weekend filled with carving pumpkins (picked up from local pumpkin stands), roasting pumpkin seeds, handing out candy (we had 80 trick or treaters) and putting together costumes for the pets!

Diefenbaker wore one of P.'s old ties from his days at working at McDonalds. He asked the trick or treaters, "Do you want fries with that?"



I sewed Kingston a small cat sized tie on Saturday. I made my own basic pattern from an idea I saw on Etsy. I made it so that it can slide onto his collar. He is so darn adorable running around the house in a tie! Quite the little business man.



This year we decided to attempt something a little more challenging with our pumpkin carving. I downloaded some templates from the internet. We printed them onto paper and taped them onto the pumpkin as a stencil. It worked great! A little more time-consuming than the usual Jack I draw, but we had tons of compliments all night long....especially on the CBC pumpkin!



I'm glad halloween is over...I really don't need to be eating that much candy! Can't believe it is November already! Time to start thinking about decorating for the holidays!