The answer to the question of what to put on her box this year was obvious. Our pug-crazed girl would get a box with a little doggie smiling right back at her.
Of course, she loved it. Just as much as all the others. We are compiling quite the collection of birthday boxes, and they seem to be getting bigger each year. (We may need a bigger house when the girls are teenagers.)
For all the special treasures and trinkets the girls collect, there is a special place to keep them safe. I love peeking in these boxes to see what the girls are coveting this minute. Their most prized items seem to change quite often. I have spied a gamut of things—from cherished souvenirs brought back for them from far away places to grapes. Old ones.
Just today we found the elusive remote in the pug box. I think I may have to make box inventory checks more of a routine occurrence.
We buy food responsibly and for the most part all our food waste goes right back into the natural system. We do a great job with composting, so any food that can, goes to the compost pile or to the chickens. But there's just some kind of disconnect in our house. How is it that we can be so careful about the food we choose to bring home, and then disregard (some of) it once it is here?
Her recent fascination with a certain dog breed called for a pug-themed celebration, complete with a, uh, frog pinata. (what to do when there is no pug pinata and it's the day before the party?) And so, in what has become a post-holiday tradition, out table top tree is transformed into a birthday tree. This year it was decorated with those adorable "smiling" dogs. (That's the attraction—pugs look like they are smiling)
But it's not just pugs on her mind these days. There's a new love. She has always gone in waves of obsession, mostly from one dog or cat breed to the next but she has recently broadened her animal-loving horizons to include reptiles. Clearly, a 
And after receiving a 
The elaborate designs were striking and the detail is insane. We practiced drawing flowy lines and filled organic shapes with traditional intricacies. The girls sketched their ideas, choosing elements from different references, and came up with original designs.
Practicing the art form on paper was the highlight for the girls, and they filled many pages in their sketch books with mehndi designs.
They each chose their favorite from their own inventive sketches, and I applied the henna. I tried oh so hard to keep pieces true to the original designs, but don't think I did the six-and-seven-year-olds' fine work justice. Seems this mama isn't quite capable of matching the impulsivity and freedom of her kid's art. (I'm workin' on that, though)
After working with the henna on these illustrations, I have the utmost respect for artist who can render that liquid into sprawling designs made of intricate details. 
Made with large lobster clasps and sterling silver tokens, these charms clip onto the tubing of a stethoscope. Now Nurse Nana can have her grandchildren proudly on display, ready to show off on a moment's notice. (This is high priority for grandparents, as we have had the joy of coming to understand) 
These little tokens invite curiosity and beg to be held, turned over, and inquired about. The combination of the polished silver and the black and white photos give the charms a sleek look that shouldn't be reserved for medical professionals. They could work in so many other applications—backpack pulls, key chains, ID badges, ornaments...
This one, roughly translated from Swahili states, "you talk too much." My mother brought it back from Zanzibar (Tanzania) last year and she asked me to make a tablecloth and some napkins with the fabric.
The colors, amazing and the patterns, vivid. That brilliant shade of blue is complimented by the striking black and white designs. I cut the pieces for the napkins starting at the edge to showcase the fabric's best asset—the border. I made eight napkins from one half of the 
My mother and my sister each got a 
Five shillings for my father. My parents have traveled to Africa a few times now, so I used a coin from Kenya for his bookmark. A dangling object felt too feminine to me, so his is set in a bezel and attached directly to the silver hook. The coin I chose was beautifully time-worn, with some of the lettering nearly completely rubbed off. I like this idea of using a coin, and I was recently reminded of a Norwegian coin bookmark I had made for a friend a few years back. (I had forgotten about this completely. Scary!)
Banana bread has always been a favorite, but it was taken to another level after a friend told me what she recently ordered at a diner: banana bread toasted with butter and powdered sugar sprinkled on top (!). So we baked a loaf, using our 
(From left: Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and Yoda)
These two are our favorite, by far. Leia's hair was a bit of a challenge for me and, as you can see, her buns are two very different sizes, heh. Little Yoda is just too much with that robe.
Han and Luke are ready to take on the dark side. Or snuggle up with a little girl. They're good like that, and will gladly do either. 
The nearly two feet of beautiful snow we got last week was washed away by Christmas rain, leaving the neighborhood looking less than magical. The girls have noticed how ugly everything looks when the last mounds of snow that remain are gray from dirt, sand, and exhaust. But there's snow in the forecast, so we look forward to having our world covered with that glittery powder again.
We burned the midnight oil last week making gifts, fueled by our tight deadline. I'll be showing you those things, along with some items we received, over the next few days.
It was quite a scene trying to get all the tops spinning for this photo but, alas, there were always a few that got away—spun right off the table, or fell over soon after launching.
A handful of those homemade beauties at rest. I love the variety of shapes and sizes.
And one atop a gift, on it's way to a special little one.
A gorgeous paper luminary (look at the details on the moon!). Sunlight shines through it radiantly in front of the window and glowing candlelight flickers through it nicely. Our partner, Lesli, told me this was made from kite paper and I needed to know more, so she kindly directed me 
A beautiful art card, made by local (to our partner) artist, Shelia DeJohn. This photo does not do the print justice. And look at the tree branch holder they sent to display it in! (in a funny misinterpretation, we originally put the paper luminary in this holder. After Lesli mentioned that the holder was for the card, we realized that made much more sense.)
She also made these adorable stuffed stars, and very generously included one for each of my girls. Made from pure wool felt , Leslie stuffed them with local wool that she cleverly sourced. She started by calling her local yarn shops, and eventually found a farm in the area. She and her son had a nice field trip to the farm, where they met the sheep and llamas, and were invited back in the spring to see the lambs. 
The stars have little pockets sewn onto the back of them. A tiny treasure was tucked inside each pocket— an agate and a piece of sea glass from the Oregon coast.
A bunch of mint hanging to dry in our kitchen is a familiar sight. We have jars and jars of the dried herb stashed for the winter.
It's a good thing that the girls' favorite tea is "minty" tea.
I recalled a simple recipe for mint candy, and figured this was the perfect use for the last leaves left out back. Start with a good bunch of mint leaves, washed and dried.
Next, dip them in egg white then in granulated sugar. Let the leaves dry for about a day on parchment.
Candied mint leaves are thin, sweet, and surprisingly crispy. This delicate treat couldn't be easier to make—the hardest part is waiting for them to dry. 
A 
Crocheted holiday lights (pattern 
A few 
We also included a gorgeous walnut sliding dovetail box, made by our 
...and we topped the box off with a bunch of treasures from our 
Suspend strings (roughly 6 inches long) from pencils and lay them over the tops of the glasses. We also put wooden skewers in the glasses to see which would work better.
Let it stand for a couple of days. This photo was taken after one day and you can see the crystals beginning to form on the string and skewer.
Two days later, the surface of the sugar water had completely hardened. 
After three days, we removed the strings and skewers. We picked the crystals off the strings, and let all the candy harden for a day on wax paper. The skewers came out looking like those pops I remember, though they were quite a bit skinnier. They also had more crystals on them when we first took them out, but little mouths made short work of that candy before I could snap a picture.