I want to have an ice skating party

Merry Christmas lovelies! For a winter version of a picnic in a park, why not get your friends together at a frozen pond for an ice skating party? I am absolutely inspired with Cyd from the Sweetest Occasion's photos from her winter ice skating party.

 

I will be having Christmas in Vancouver with my family, going up to Tofino to visit Ross and his family, then Ross and I are going to Whistler for New Years.  Here are some photos of our winter holiday so far:

Ross and I skating in London

the girls and I skating in London

me at the vandusen gardens light show

heather wishes she was a pointsetta

heather graduated!

Victoria Christmas parade

Mt Doug

we made it to the top of Mt Doug!

winter walk in Vancouver

I hope you have a fabulous holiday!

home crafted irregularly shaped jewelery pieces

I love these home hand crafted jewelry pieces by Katherine Bowman from Victoria, Australia. So intricate and tasteful

wood whale

These handcrafted desktop holders are designed by Eric Pfeiffer for the Utility Collective

Nigella Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Heath and I made these Nigella Lawson Christmas cookies last night for Rae's Christmas party. They are soo good and so easy to make! They taste like chocolate shortbread. mmm!

Charlie Brown Christmas

Every year, my family goes to Bowen Island to pick out an eclectic Christmas tree from our property. This year my Dad and I picked a hilarious giant one with irregular branches for our living room. We also dug up and potted a little tree for Carolina to have for her living room. Its pretty silly with hardly any branches. Kindof looks like this adorable tree from u-create:

Its the silly things in life that make me the happiest. If you want to make your own Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, click on this link. only 8 days till Christmas!

Jamie's Christmas Pancakes with Poppy and Daisy

Have a fabulous weekend!

photo from Boat cruise in Gulf Islands, August 2005

This weekend I am going to Toronto and London, Ontario for Ross' Grandpa's 90th Birthday party! Ross and I fly out of Vancouver at 12 tomorrow afternoon. So excited to get into actual winter again and to reunite with the whole Jameson clan :)

kittens and knitting

These photos are gorgeous of a cat and a knitting project from the blog wikstenmade. I'm actually attempting a sock project right now as well, but have been stuck on the heel for a week...hoping to finish the socks before Christmas! We'll see if that happens. Here are some pictures of my adorable cat Max too.

I wish I was in Amsterdam...

Trying to stay upbeat is a bit challenging in Vancouver right now with the dark mornings, early evenings, ice coated sidewalks and the sudden blizzards of snow. While waiting at a dark cold bus stop on the corner of Burrard and Georgia at 7:30 am this morning, I reminisced about the fabulous trip Heather and I went on two years ago to visit Carolynn and John in Europe. We flew to Amsterdam where we stayed at Carolynn's flat for a couple days before road tripping down to Megeve, a small ski village close to Mont Blanc on the Switzerland France boarder. Here are some pictures of the adventures we went on that I wish I could travel back in time and re-enjoy (even the jet lagged moments!).

 I found heaven!

 mmm cheese heaven

 view from Carolynn's friend's apartment at dusk

 She looks like a local with her adorable new shoes bought from a boutique down the street

 Had a picnic in a town called Beune on the way to Megeve

 happy place

 view from the mountain!