Scenes of Christmas

the sweetest of cupcakes

presents (now opened) wrapped beneath the tree

mom sipping coffee in the early morning light 

more festive cupcakes! the eggnog flavor gets my vote

brother's new snowflake bedsheets

and mmm, our annual tradition mincemeat tarts on Christmas morning 

it's a good life. full of food and festivities and flavor. 

thank you God, for your constant supply and love, you are good.

Windy & Wonderful

My friend Shelby and I took these photos back when fall was still in full swing, with orange carpets of fallen leaves and stunning trees. Today, any sign of autumn has been covered by rain, rain, and more rain! The leaves may have been washed away, but looking at these pictures brings me right back to the crisp, windy air of a November morning.

As much as I love Autumn, I couldn't be smiling wider at the fact that Christmas is so very close. ONE WEEK. Wait, didn't I, uh, just start University? Or, uh, turn 18, yesterday? Wowza.

Much love, Vivi

Gingerbread adventures!

Last night my friend Hannah and I spent hours and hours creating the most unique gingerbread creations we could. Happy, confused, monotone- all sorts of gingerbread men were brought to life. ;)

 ^^this little guy is going for swim and happens to be my personal favorite ( shh... don't tell the others)^^

Much love, Vivi

things to love this winter

lights strung along the fireplace

a messy, vibrant water colour palette

Candy canes! Sugary, festive, what's not to love?

winter melon for a late night snack

taking time to relax and unwind with my sketchbook & most favourite paints

the best way to use said candy canes: white chocolate bark! this stuff is hard to stop at one piece...

my beloved tea pots atop the mini literature section of my room: Jane Austen and the Oxford library of classic poetry.

               What are you loving this winter time?

Much love, Vivi

Christmas & pumpkins

When thanksgiving celebrations are over and Christmas fills everyone's hearts and minds, I find it hard to part with the mini pumpkins and gourds of autumn. Silly, I know, but I love autumn. Instead of letting the pumpkins and gourds find a new life in the garbage, I thought that a little face lift could help ease them into Christmas time. All it took was a coating of silver spray paint and these guys are Christmas ready. I decided to spray only the mini pumpkins to let the gourds give the display some natural color. On top of a few doilies and with candle sticks and sparkly leaves in between, these almost-tossed pumpkins make a fantastic transition into winter, I'd say. :)

Christmas decorating going on in full force over here! (no complaints here.)

december dreams

D E C E M B E R    D R E A M S

invest in quality: relationships, moments, health, what I choose to fill my mind with.

quality music time: work on those guitar skills

do things that make my heart full, happy, overflowing: photography, learning, reading, talking

write: bring pencil and paper together, write & don't stop

love: strangers included. hospitality, openness of heart, freedom of friendship

enjoy: the ordinary, the exciting, the marvellous, the normal 

less material, more eternal

 

thank you, brownies

I had this crazy thought for this past week: No sugar for seven days. For an entire week I was going to hold back the treats and eat them fruit and vegetables. Some may consider this normal, but for sugar-loving-always-baking me, the thought of a DAY without caving into my sweet tooth seems, erm, strange.

I've done it before. I recall a day in the Summer when I restrained from eating any sweets. And I survived! It required some major self-control, but I struggled through. Yet honestly, not a day has passed since then that sugar hasn't entered my mouth.

I have a thing for taste, for chewing, swirling around food on my taste buds.

I KNOW! Again, strange.

So, on Monday when I embarked on my lofty journey, I really believed it was possible. I went to school, snacked on cashews and peppers and cucumbers and fruit. I came home, drank tea, ate a filling dinner. All was well. And then I started studying for my third and final calculus midterm. And one thing led to another and a few brownies made their way into my mouth, consoling me oh-so well.

Thank you brownies, for your care. Sugar free week? Next week, friends, next week!  

a jumble of sorts

You may have thought that I fell off planet blogger. Or maybe that I began a long journey of far too much math homework. If you guessed the latter, you would be correct. My friend Shelby and I had a long chat today about finding balance. The load of University can make it hard to remember to relax, breathe, and do something other than schoolwork sometimes... In the middle of our chat, she told me something so wise that I can't help but share. It went something like,

"We wake up to enrich our lives, not to get rich in life."

I want to enjoy these crazy University days, to let go of the goal of perfection and embrace the fact that I'm just human. There is only so much calculus one can do. There are only so many textbook chapters one can read. And you know what? We weren't made to only work, work, work until we collapse. We were made to live abundant, blessed and victorious lives. God doesn't want us working ourselves so hard that we never stop to think about what he has already given us. I'm making it a goal to do more "self-care" things this month; I'm going to exercise, start painting my nails again, invite friends over for coffee, and wake up in the morning thinking today, I am going to do something, big or small, to enrich my life.

There was my little schpiel.

p.s. I made pumpkin cookies today and they are SUPERB.

they call it Autumn

leaves

light 

&

love

Much love, Vivi