Erin – Page 7

Thanksgiving has come and gone?! I’m not sure how that happened. It’s been far too long since I posted on here but life has been really full lately, thankfully all in good ways. My to do list this time of year is always long and the days never seem to have enough hours in them, but I’m determined to soak it all in and not let the holiday hustle bustle stress me out. I must say, it feels good to take some down time and write for you lovely people:)

We are OFFICIALLY in fall mode. Woohoo!! Just like I remember last year, it happened fast. One week we had the AC blasting in the house, the next we were bundled up in sweatshirts. Some days it feels like winter — so maybe we just skipped fall?! Anyhow, I can’t emphasize enough how ready I was for it to cool down and to get into a festive mode. Now that Thanksgiving is over, we’ve gone straight into Christmas mode — forget the shopping — I’m talking lights, Christmas tree, hot chocolate mornings, and all that cozy stuff:) Thankfully, our kids are not yet at the age where they’re calling their friends Christmas morning and comparing gifts (because then they’d realize how much they got gipped, hehe).

Méabh has been my early riser lately and we have been enjoying the cozy fireplace. Funny side note — when we first moved into this house I was pretty disappointed that the fire was ‘fake’. Turns out, there are some advantages to this — all I have to do is flip a switch:)

My little brother got married earlier this month! I flew home to CA early with the kids and Niall joined us a week and a half later. It was a beautiful evening and so lovely to see extended members of my family and old friends all in one night.

I feel like my kids have turned a bit of a corner and instead of constantly getting on each others’ nerves, they actually like each other sometimes;) It’s so fun to see them laugh together. Eamon is quickly turning into a little boy and copies anything his big sister does.

My little girl started preschool! A spot opened up and she’s now going for a few hours two days a week. I told my mom that neither of us cried on her first day so that’s probably a good sign we were both ready for it;)

What else? We put some lights on the house! And we are hoping to get our tree soon. My in-laws arrive from Ireland next week so we want everything to be ready.

I’m grateful to be in this season with cooler temperatures, festive lights, and the hope of Christmas to look forward to. I feel like I’m in a ‘good groove’ with the kids lately — and we all know how those good grooves can come and go so I’m holding onto it and enjoying every minute:) And I’m thankful for Georgia, our home sweet home!

Has anyone ever asked you what your love language is? Probably. My husband and I always laugh about this, because I always say for guys it’s physical touch and for girls (ok more specifically mamas) it’s acts of service:) hehe. Am I right?!?

But really, I wish there was a letter writing category. Because this is definitely my love language. Maybe it’s a thing my mom passed down to me … maybe it’s because I love the artsy craftsy stuff … maybe it’s because today, it’s rare that anyone takes the time to sit and think and write. It truly is an art that I hope will never be fully lost amidst the hustle and bustle of the technology crazed world we live in. I have never been the best with words when I’m face to face with someone, but there’s something about putting pen to paper that seems to free any insecurity or hesitation I had before.

My daughter sees me writing all the time and is catching on to all that a letter entails — she has learned the hard way WHY momma has to write the address on the envelope for her, and why the stamp must go in the upper righthand corner of the envelope (many a letters have been left in our box!!).

She’s got a couple of go-to pen pals and will often ask me for an envelope after she’s done a little drawing and folded the paper herself. She’s usually quite impatient while I write the address, I let her do the stamp, and then of course she has to put it in our mailbox “by myself mom!”:)

My friend (hi Heidi!) recently sent me a note that came inside the cutest homemade envelope, and it reminded me that I used to do this all the time. It’s really so simple and can add a lovely touch to a card or letter. Any craft store should have a big paper section (usually they come in 12″ x 12″ size) with lots of options. I picked this cute bird pattern up over the weekend and I have a feeling I’ll be back for more:)

Take a normal envelope, whichever size you’d like to use, and gently tear it apart so you end up with something like the photo above. Next, trace the outline of it onto your paper of choice. Cut with scissors on your traced line and you’ll end up with the shape of your envelope.

Using your original envelope as a reference, fold your scrap paper up the same way and use a tiny bit of glue to stick the folds together. Don’t forget to leave the top flap open!

Done! Now you have your own personalized envelope ready for use. Just use another tiny bit of glue to seal the top flap once your letter is inside. If your pattern is dark or busy, you can glue a small rectangular piece of white paper on top to write the address. I had some blank stickers that came in handy. Ta da!

Tell me, when is the last time you sat and wrote a letter? Think of someone you really care about. And do it. I promise it will make their day:)

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life lately II.

the art of letter writing + DIY envelope