Christmas 2020

Merry Christmas 2020

O Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure. Isaiah 25:1

The Bible is God’s holy word is replete with examples of God’s faithfulness. From the beginning God spoke of a coming Savior who would crush Satan’s head freeing the elect from the power of sin and death. History is God’s story of redemption and love. But who is this Messiah? Is He to be ignored? Is He to be admired? Or is He to be worshiped?

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4

“26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed[b] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”[c] 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Luke 1

The Savior, fully God and fully man, born of a virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit and without sin. He is the Son of God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1

Jesus the Son of God is eternal and the creator of all things.

“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Colossians 1

“18 For Christ also suffered[a] once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” 1Peter 3:18

He came to earth to be a ransom for sin to give His life to redeem men from every tribe and tongue. For we were dead in our sins and trespasses alienated from God. We were His enemies deserving eternal death.

“2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] 4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—“ Ephesians 2

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[a] from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In the fullness of time God sent forth His son Jesus who is Christ the Lord.

“2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.[c]

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” John 2

Merry Christmas to all!

DIY Christmas Touches

Last post I am gonna try to squeeze in before the season is over. Yikes! I meant yesterday’s and today’s for last week but I was rushing around meeting up with friends. Trying to squeeze them all in before the holidays. Anyway all that to say that is way this week you are about to be overloaded with Christmas related content. Let’s go!

Painting my canvases… a project in and or it’s self.

This year(like back in March when the world ended) I decided, mainly because my fingers needed something to do, I decided to make homemade ornaments for everyone for Christmas. I try to make a least one gift. Last year I made those big hand knitted blankets for my coworkers. (My adult coworkers to be clear) I find that homemade gifts are more special and meaningful than something store bought.

My inspiration!

These gorgeous hand embroidered ornaments were a joy to make and took me since March till last week to finish. I think I made a grand total of seven… I think. They all kind of blur together.

I started by painting the canvas so I had some kind of pattern to go off of and then went into stitch after stitch. I really think they turned out well.

My handiwork. Not bad right?

This might be a tradition I continue. By making a homemade ornament every year. Though now my embroidery project is over I miss the hand work and need a new project to pick up. Obviously I need to decide what next year’s ornaments will look like(thinking of trying needlepoint) And then my other two grand ideas are fancy rag dolls and/or a quilt. A hand sewn quilt. That might be too ambitious but we shall see. I am going to be doing a lot of research into this one before I just jump into it. Quilting can get expensive along with being time consuming and taking up space in my apartment.

Rag doll inspo. Aren’t they adorable?

Anyway do you have any homemade gifts to give this year? Or ever received a homemade gift?

Merry Christmas!

Tally

Nannying at Christmas

Oh what a wonderful, crazy time of the year! This is true I think in every aspect of life, but nanny hood can get especially chaotic.

I thought I would do a very brief and grand overview of what a Christmas Nanny looks like! (Ya know since I don’t have time for an in depth look)

Christmas Traveling

First thing you should be aware of if you are thinking seriously of pursuing that #thatnannylife, is that some families will actually want you to work during the holiday season. If this is a regular thing for them, because they travel every year and need that extra help, they should explain this either in their want ad or during the hiring process.

Most families however like to have the possibility of you being willing to work a holiday. So they’ll say that in their ad. Something like “must be flexible” or “willing to work some holidays”. For instance I will be working New Years this year. So just be aware of this when applying for a job.

Wrapping, wrapping, wrapping…

I don’t know if every family will ask their nanny to wrap Christmas presents, but my family does. And it never fails that at the beginning of the season I am all excited to pull out the paper and the scissors. But wrapping for six kids quickly gets to you and by the end I don’t care if the paper has sharp edges or not! As long as they have something to pull off the thing on Christmas. When people ask me what I did at work today I say I wrapped… for an hour and half… I don’t know if everything will be wrapped by Christmas.

Everybody’s Home

The Christmas season is also challenging in the fact that everyone is home. This year hasn’t been quite as noticeable because of COVID. But everyone is on Christmas break and the parents are home wanting to do activities with the kids. Plus relatives come to visit(I have done a post about the awkwardness of this here) and the house can get very full, very fast. Don’t get overwhelmed and just focus on your job as best as you can. Much like being on vacation with the family(covered here) nap and bedtime schedules and other daily routines will get shifted around or thrown out the window. Just do the best you can and know that is only one time a year that this happens.

Never ending Christmas Programs

Of course this looks a little different this year. With many events having been canceled and/or done virtually. But this time last year it seemed every night there was some Christmas party, program or what not to get the kids ready for. Normally I would just make sure they were clean, dressed and as ready to go. But sometimes I would take them and drop them off early for whatever Christmas themed program was needed. Then there were cousins and family members’ events to get to. It can quickly become a lot. But like everything else on this list, just remember that you can only control so much. Do what you can and let the rest go. You’re only human after all.

And that’s it my lovelies! If you still aren’t satisfied and what to learn more about nannying at Christmas here is last year’s post; plus a link to my very first nanny related post if ya want to start at the very beginning of my crazy journey.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas,

Tally

Why is Christmas so Stressful?

I don’t know about you guys but this time of year is either all or nothing for me. Either it is crazy busy, bubbly and none stop go; or really lonely. There is like no in between. Last year was kind of “eh” time. And like at the totally other end of the spectrum this year has been the most Christmas-y Christmas I have had in a long time. I think that is probably because my baby sister is living with me. (So thankful she’s staying with me)

We’ve listened to Christmas music none stop since November 29th and we have basically watched a Christmas movie every night. (I think Tay is getting slightly tired of the music) We got our first ever real tree, made gingerbread houses and threw a Christmas party.

And the most lovely part is we haven’t been forcing any of this. We’re just doing it because we want too and not because we feel like we have to.

What’s the point of all this? Great you’re having a wonderful Christmas. So happy for you, but what does that have to do with me?

I just want to “give you the permission” not to do all the things. Christmas doesn’t have to fill some list or Instagram goal. It’s okay. I don’t know, maybe it’s super presumptuous of me to even write that. But I know I really need people to tell me it’s okay not to do everything. Don’t put that stress on yourself. Why should you? Who said Christmas was supposed to be perfect or trend worthy?

Anyway I just thought I would put this out there for those of us who need that permission. I hope this makes sense(it probably doesn’t) Oh well.

Merry Christmas!

Tally

Party Planning

Hello everyone! I hope you had just fabulous holiday weekend. With the jump into a busy and festive couple weeks I thought I would give a few tips on how to throw an awesome holiday party. (Pics will be from a Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving Party I helped planned) but can be easily applied to a Christmas get together as well.

My apologies- the party I planned for Thanksgiving and talk about in this post. I didn’t have time to take pictures so here are a few throw backs.

Okay so first off I love planning and staging a party. Going to and/or running said party not so much. I love make things look pretty and over the top(which ya will see) fun, but hosting… Yeah can someone else do that? But in the end my desire to plan a party normally overrides my introverted-ness. Not always(looking at you Pumpkin Carving Party- ah maybe next year) but sometimes.

My Checklist for over-the-top-party- mania!

I mean why wouldn’t I write this post like my others… checklists, bullet points… I like lists. Moving on!

• Pick a theme or activity–

This is normally my first step in party planning or else I drive myself crazy with options, because I want to do all the things. So really just focus on narrowing down your options. Examples of a Christmas Party Theme could be:

1. Ornament Making Party
2. Gingerbread House Party
3. Christmas Movie Night
4. Victorian Themed Costume Party
5. Christmas Cookie Night
6. Christmas Art Night
7. Christmas Caroling Party
8. Tree Trimming Party

So these are just a few options to tumble around in your brain. And just because you pick one doesn’t mean you can’t combine it will another. You could have friends over to go caroling in your neighborhood or apartment building and then come back for hot cocoa and reading of your favorite Christmas books. And though while I am specifically talking about parties at your house(or apartment) you could skip having people over and go ice skating with friends or to look at the Christmas lights. See my mind is already overflowing with all the things.

Once you have your theme/activity picked out it really helps narrow down your other planning details. Let’s tackle my favorite point next…

• The Fixings-

Anytime you have a group of people together ya need food. Now this(like picking a theme) can be overwhelming, because there are so many options! So again really narrow those options down. Do you want to serve a full fancy meal?(Victorian Costume Christmas Party anyone?) Or do you want something more laid back? Just do little weenies and meatballs and other o’derves? And if food really ain’t your thing you can always do the “everyone bring something to share” routine.

But don’t be afraid to go over the top here folks. I personally love tying my food options into my theme. So like the Thanksgiving Party I knew we were doing a fancy catered meal, which translated into laying a very fancy table spread.

So like a Christmas party you may want to do a Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board. Or any kind of Charcuterie boards really. Cheese and crackers, build-your-own sugar cookie board, Christmas cookie board, etc. Pinterest had so many gorgeous ideas. And no only do these boards taste amazing, but they look amazing and almost decorative. Below are two boards I have done in the past(one for Thanksgiving and one for my sister’s baby shower. Again I go over the top so these are a bit extreme)

I honestly could go on and on talking about food. I mean I love to cook so I tend to try and make my things homemade, but even if you(like my sister) can’t cook or bake to save your life by a prepared try or meal at the store. Both Sam’s Club and Costco have really cool options. But let’s move on or we’ll just stay here forever.

• The trimmings and trappings–

So probably my second favorite thing to plan for a party after food is the decorating. Growing up my Mom loved to decorate! In that over the top way I have learned so well. Our house was called the “decorated house” since it literally looked looked like a Better Homes and Gardens catalog. But at now time did my Mom decorate more than at Christmas time. Our whole house became stuffed(in a good way) with the Christmas season. I have followed my Mother’s footsteps happily(as have all my sisters- it’s a blessing and a curse)

That being said decorating is just natural to me. For the Thanksgiving Party I literally used my own decor from my apartment. But I realize that might not be everyone’s strong suit, so here are just a few small tips to hopefully help with the confusion of staging and decorating:

1. Little details add up-
2. Everyone loves a party favor-
3. Music sets the mood-
4. Candles and smells bring warmth-
5. Food can be used as decor-
6. Use what you already have-

Party favors!

• Just Be You!

My final and probably most important point is just do you. You do not have to throw the most amazing Christmas party ever. Even if you did no body might show up or the food may burn or your tree fall over. The point is it is not going to be perfect. And you’ll only ruin the party for yourself if you try to make it perfect.

If big groups aren’t your thing don’t have a crap ton of people over. Just a few friends for hot cocoa and puzzles and Christmas music can be just as good as a big group for ornament making, food eating night.

If you don’t have money to spend on the trimmings and trappings skip them. Turn on your favorite Christmas playlist and bring on the snacks and games.

Stop setting yourself up and trying to be that perfect host. Just enjoy the friends and the fellowship. Let’s do this!

Lots of love,

Tally

Christmas for a Coffee Snob

Well I only promised a Ratio Coffee Maker review like months ago(here) but in this crazy COVID world things get lost in back order.

And yet I think it makes more sense to do this post now, during the holidays and combine it with a few of my top gift ideas for the coffee snob in your life.

If you will read the post linked above you’ll learn that my boss was on the hunt for that craft, handcrafted coffee experience without all the work and time of a pour over device. Well I think she finally found it in the Ratio Coffee Maker(here)

It’s much pricier than the maker she had tried earlier (without any success) but this maker is made of sterner stuff than plastic. So no super-heated, disgusting plastic taste in your coffee.

It blooms your coffee perfectly and makes the coffee somewhat hot. Yep I said somewhat. There is no heating pad underneath the pot(to prevent you from accidentally burning your coffee, because the kid spilt grape juice all over the kitchen floor) which is why I recommend springing for the thermal package. It comes with a very nice(and frankly my fav part) thermal decanter. (Not pictured here) If you don’t want to cough up the money for this extra package just remember to drink your coffee when it is done brewing. And/or slap it in your Yeti quickly before the coffee cools.

As far as tastes go I was very pleased. Again I will be honest; I can tell the coffee came from a maker and instead of a pour over, but I honestly think this is because I just need to find the right coffee beans/water balance. Another selling point for this kind of coffee maker is you can really tweak the measurements until you find the perfect balance.

All in all I would give the Ratio Coffee Maker from price to performance a 7 out of 10. Maybe an 8 if I can find the perfect measurements.

Now on to just a few of my favorite coffee related gifts for the snob in your life!

• Coffee Scrub- You can find this at literally any beauty store. Or go that extra mile and find a recipe for homemade coffee scrub on Pinterest. But coffee themed gifts are always appreciated by us snobs.
• Coffee Cup/Tray Set- I personally love this set from Amazon. Or others like it. So chic and cute.
• Coffee To-Go Kit- I cannot tell you how many times I have used my kit!(here is the link to the post where I list everything you’ll need to make your own to-go kit) Vacations, trips home, the entire summer living at the lake house. Best decision ever!
• Colectivo Coffee Gift Box- Colectivo is a coffee roaster based here in Milwaukee that has amazing coffee and super cute holiday gift boxes. Here and here and here. This makes shopping for that coffee snob just a wee bit easier.
• Coffee Subscription to Black Refile- Another great route to go is giving your coffee lover a monthly subscription to a great roasted like Colectivo or Black Refile.
• Coffee Gummies/Espresso- Lastly any food, candy or little do-dads that say the word coffee are always accepted. Just keep your eyes open.

Well I hope you guys enjoyed this post and I will see ya later!

Lots of love,

Tally

Two Empty Sweaters

With seven days off to be with my whole family the Christmas season was looking bright and care free. But life rarely turns out so simple and carefree. To start with my parents 16 yr. old yorkie took a turn for the worst the week before Christmas and they eventually made the decision to put her down. She’d lived a long and good life and it was time. Still her sudden change of health came, if not at a surprise than at least at a fast.

Everyone was of course sad for her lose, but we never dreamed that just two days later my sister’s three old Havanese, Dot would bolt from the house. After a five hour search through the dark, cold Illinois night we eventually had to wait till morning to search again. (I ended up getting an awful had cold because of the fridge temps) By morning we searched again for hours and found no sign. Flyers went up along with Facebook pages and ads in the newspaper. As of this writing(seven days later) Dot is still missing. There’s a small chance she’ll be found and returned to my sister, but that chance gets smaller everyday.

Bella and Dot…

My parents(since my youngest sister still lives with them) went from having three dogs to just the one in less than a week. I know they’re just dogs and they don’t live forever, but these darling fur-babies grab hold of your heart, don’t they? We may never know what became of Dot, or where she ran too, but I do know that God is in charge of even this. It hurts and it sucks, but He loves Dot even more than we do(He created her after all) and He knows exactly where she is and who she’s with.

Anyway if you guys can be please praying, especially for my sister. Two sweet puppy Christmas sweaters went unworn this year and it tares at my heart.

Lots of love,

Tally

Christmas Diary 2019

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to all of you!! I hope you had an amazing holiday and are excited for the new year and the new decade. I have two very special posts going up(one of which I have been working on all year) in celebration of 2020! But first I thought I’d give you a quick blow by blow of my Christmas break with my family.

Sweet Pupper kisses 😘

The break began with a bang. We went Christmas food shopping and as my sister said, “Our cart is very fun.” Not a healthy, fat free thing was to be found. Mostly butter and chocolate. All in all we had a great time. The night however ended horribly when my sister’s dog ran away… we still haven’t found her. I’ll write more on this later, because I want this post to be kinda upbeat. (I don’t want to cry right now)

The next day brought so much Christmas cookie baking. My family apparently can’t do anything half way, so we did like six or seven different kinds of cookies…

It was very exhausting.

The day after that was family picture day and a crap ton of pizza, hot chocolate bar, puzzles and the Mandalorian! Again we can’t do anything by halves.

We’re looking fly!

Mercifully Monday turned into a day of rest(I had an awful head cold my entire time home… figures) and I literally just bummed around… it was glorious.

Christmas Eve carried on our family tradition of all day junk and snack food with board games. My sister and I took my Mom on in Scrabble(her favorite game) We we were shocked when we both beat her. Were we really that good??? Yeah no. The next game she creamed us. Beating us both by a margin of 140 points… she then proceeded to tell everyone how badly she’d beaten us.

Christmas Day started with my dad’s famous French toast and bacon, then presents, more games, naps and a ham dinner. I apparently was so lazy I didn’t take any pictures… oh well!

How was your Christmas? Does your family have any Christmas traditions? What was the highlight of your holiday? Please leave and comment below and don’t forget to subscribe!

Lots of love,

Tally

Monthly Media: Christmas Edition

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas! It’s almost over… It goes by so fast. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and got to spend it with people you love. Here are my media favs for this month.

TV Shows/Series

• Merlin– So for my birthday my sister got me the complete series on Blu-ray and I watched the first three seasons already. I LOVE this show. It’s probably my top favorite TV show ever. So funny and sad and… just great! Of course it was canceled but the show runners where able to wrap up the story so at least there’s that.
• Lost in Space1&2– Another one of my all time favorite shows ever. Lost in Space (as you will know from this post) is my one of my favorite movies ever, so when Netflix announced they were making a series I was initially skeptical… But oh is this show good. I just started the second season so here’s hoping it’s even better.
• Gotham– My sister watched this show(all four seasons) in a month she liked it that much. I’ve just started the slow descent into madness and all I can think so far, “Is what have I gotten myself into.”

Movies

• Doubt– I watched this on a whim on Netflix and it turned out to be a great movie! Meryl Streep is flawless in this film and if you want a movie that causes you to pay attention and has rock-solid dialogue than look no further.
• Elf– Again it’s Christmas and I love this movie.

Music

• “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas”- So I made my own holiday playlist for the season and I figured I’d share it with since I have been listening to it on repeat. It is Christmas after all, you have to listen to those classics over and over and over again until you’re sick of them.

Books

• Unwind Series- Almost finished with the third book! Yippee!
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas- This is all my youngest charge wants to read before bedtime, so yeah I practically have it memorized but it’s still a great book.

Podcasts

• I actually haven’t had time this month to listen to any podcasts… so there’s that.

Now tell me your latest media crazes. And have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Lots of love,

Tally

Christmas Mood

Kind of like I did back in this post I created a board on Pinterest where I put my random inspiration for the season. Be fashion, food or just unique photos that got me thinking about Christmas. I hope you enjoy!

As you can tell I’m digging the green…

There you have it! Just random, randomness but pretty to look at. Have you ever tried creating a mood board? Or a mood collage with your own work? I’d love to know!

Lots of love,

Tally