Every day we take a long walk around our new neighborhood, and every day I find a new reason to fall in love with our new home.
Today, we stumbled across this little shrine
A plaque inside the shrine had the following invitation:
Leave your thoughts, prayers and wishes.
Twice a year they will be burned and your intentions will join the universe.
I also enjoyed the inscriptions on the benches:
The day started out with a plan, and it was all Gem’s idea. We were going to go on a walking tour of all the beautiful flowers in our new neighborhood. And, I would bring my camera, so we could take pictures and use them for a blog post.
My little unpaid intern is really starting to pay off.
We got off to a good start.
But, after a while we came across this:
And inside, they had this:
They also had books.
The walls were lined with old classics
and my little girl was entranced
We spent hours in the doughnut shop, and I got to share with her some of my childhood favorites.
The garden tour / photo walk can wait for another day.
what captured your attention this week?
We got a little snow last week, which is a rare treat around here these days. Well, a treat if you don’t have to drive in it.
Last year, we didn’t get any snow, so our one snow day was a pretty big deal for my 4-year-old.
I love the way snow quiets things. You slow down, and pay more attention to what’s going on around you…
Like the smile on this angel’s face.
So much joy.
I wish you peace, love, health, and joy on Christmas, for the rest of the holiday season, and throughout the year.
I love it when people think out of the box for holiday decorations.
This tree full of lanterns is so festive, but also, so interesting. I could sit and look for hours. Well, if it wasn’t so cold. 
Have any decorations captured your interest this season? 
When Gem grew out of her first baby shoes, I couldn’t bear to get rid of them. I wanted to keep them, but I didn’t want them just tucked away in a box for decades either.
I didn’t know what to do with them until we started putting up our Christmas tree.
Now, they are included among our most cherished Christmas ornaments. Yes, they spend most of the year tucked away in a box, but they bring a smile each holiday season.
How did I do this? Simple, just threat a little string through the loop in the back. For one pair, I poked a small hole in the back and threaded string through with a needle, but most of the baby shoes had a place to attach the string already.
