Early Christmas Shopping

Happy (belated) Holidays!  This year has been a particularly busy year during the month of December, and I was happy not to have to worry too much about gift buying.  I did almost all of my gift buying on-line before Thanksgiving, then I just let the packages come to me.  This made my December quite a bit less stressful and I was able to enjoy all the fun activities we had planned.  Some people might think buying Christmas presents before Thanksgiving is a bit extreme, but to those I quote from A Christmas Carol's Scrooge, "You keep Christmas in your way and let me keep it in mine."

What are your thoughts?  Are you an early Christmas shopper or does shopping in December make it feel more like Christmas-time (as my husband believes)?

For the Love of Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season.  I love the clean, crispness to the air.  I love the bright reds, oranges and yellows of the leaves and the way the crunch under my feet.  It's during this season I love living near mountains the most.  They look so enchanting dressed in their new colors.  It's almost like magic.  

Plus, it's starting to get cool, not cold, but cool--making it a time to get cozy in long-sleeved shirts, sweaters or hoodies.  I love curling up on the couch and snuggling under a blanket with my little ones or my White Knight to watch a movie or read a good book (it's the perfect time for reading--something about this season just encourages the imagination to soar).  And let's not forget enjoying fragrant soups, homemade bread and hot apple cider--MmmMmm.

Oh! how I love autumn!