…This girl has been sold. My first Kismet sale! Hoorah! It’s been a long, long time coming. I’ve been (quite slowly, but steadily) cranking these dolls out for a year, in one form or another. Part of the reason it’s taken me so long to get them in shop is my (unhealthy) attachment to each one. I tend to draw out each decision & prolong their finishing touches. Once I’ve named them & given them a story, they instantly become my polyfill-ed children. I get too personal with each little doll. I suppose it is a good thing, to be proud enough that I want to keep each one. It is also somewhat of a curse.

To see they are liked & have one purchased is a wonderful honor. Thank you, dear customer, thank you!

She should be in Texas by now.

It was bittersweet to see her go, but Ella made me put my brave face on & chaperoned me to the post where we shipped Poppy off & wished her good hugs.

Here she is telling me not to be such a baby.

More dolls such as Poppy to be in the shop tomorrow.

Lately I’ve been worried that I’ve lost my holiday spice. Yes, spice. The gusto that comes with unpacking the tree & stringing the lights around the house. I feel like my spice was stronger back at the start of November, when Bing & “Jingle Bell Rock” first began to dance along the airwaves. Thanksgiving baking wore me out a little, although it has taught me nothing, as I plan to do the same in a couple of weeks. This year I’ve got more on my plate, & the deadlines I set for myself every year seem even more unattainable than usual.

It’s all okay, though. I realize this when I look at the little pink-cheeked bundle two feet away. We’ve got the best little Christmas package, the finest blessing we can ever receive. Christmas has become even sweeter. All the more reason to bake, all the more reason to decorate, all the more reason to make the house as cozy as it can get. And, at the same time, all the more reason to take a break from all of the holiday standards I set for myself & snuggle with the ones I love. Take the time to enjoy those cookies & maybe ask Ant to decorate them with me. To hold Ella & introduce her to every ornament, to see her face lit up in the lights on the tree. To settle in early & revel in cheesy holiday movies.

The actual day of Christmas is always bittersweet for me, as I know I will have to wait another year for this feeling to return again. Really it’s the buildup to Christmas, those few weeks between Thanksgiving & Christmas Eve, that are most exciting to me. Next year & the years to come will be even more so as Ella Faye gets older & I can introduce her to holiday traditions & our own little family can create new ones.

I think I’ve got holiday spice. I just need to taste it a little more.
Here are some favorite captures of the season thus far…holiday spice in photos, if you will:

Pumpkin biscotti

Thanksgiving baking - cranberry pear pies & pumpkin biscotti

Ella Faye’s first trip to Glendale Glitters, in her stripey hat & shoes that glimmer.

She slept the WHOLE time…

…not one light nor sprite did she see.

Hanging the lights

“I don’t really like being up this high,” he says.

Homemade kettle corn, plus some red food coloring for festiveness.

More to come…