i also recently saw that she posted a challenge for february! i think i will play along on my phone camera. instagram for android anytime now please! did you do the january challenge? you gonna do the february one?

i can’t complain though, because it did mean Scot has been home and we still have our power. so although we are stuck and did run out of wine, we are super lucky. Scot made H a huge pile of snow with a slide and they went to town. i played for a bit and then came inside and did warm things. watching them outside, with lulu hopping around like a bunny around them, made my day.

i am getting a titch of cabin fever though. in fact i just looked up to see i have been watching giada for almost 7 minutes. a new record. also, teeth.

here are a few things i’ve enjoyed this week:

as soon as i can get out of this house i will be gathering supplies to make this paper terrarium. i’ve been wanting to make a succulent one forever, and the printouts over at Chelsey’s blog would be an adorable addition.

Harper’s room was featured on Apartment Therapy!

Harper has 2 pairs of shoes i’d like to try this DIY on.

one of my favorite people Monkeyface Amber showed her face and left her blog for a new one, courtesy laugh. she kicks the ace. love her.

this is not safe for work (or really anywhere but the comfort of your own home with no children around) but if you love bridesmaids with the burning fire of a thousand suns like i do, you’ll enjoy the gag reel. i uglylaughcried.

and this post is a must read for all moms.

have a good weekend, and see you back here sunday for SOS!

why yes i did buy furry boots. and you should, too, because they are super cozy and you can walk around making bear claws at people and it’s what Flo-rida would want.

last night Scot and i had our first date in so long i can’t even remember when the last one was. H went to GG’s for the first time overnight in the same amount of time. we decided to make our date a double and have dinner with Bree and Barham, who we hadn’t seen since the beginning of december (unacceptable).

we went to Marrow for dinner and cocktails. cannot recommend it enough. this was only my second time there but every thing Scot and i have tried there has been amazing. last night Scot had the marrow burger and i had the clams with pork jowl (seriously!), sun dried tomatoes and white beans. it was all in a yummy sauce served with bread for dipping and piling the goodies on. so dip and pile i did. Bree had beef cheeks with polenta and beet salad and Barham had the marrow with lamb tongue. he is more adventurous than i am. they have a full vegetarian menu as well. we know the owners and chef (and bartenders) personally and they are rocking it. if you find yourself in the tacoma area you have to go. DO IT.

plus, you can wear furry boots there.

Snag the Code Here:

<a href="http://www.harpershappenings.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2hi86lj.jpg" /></a>

kids make christmas. the past 3 years were fun – Harper being around 8 weeks, then just a year, then just over 2 – but this year she was so into it and made it magical for me. coupled with Scot, who is the king of christmas, something about this holiday season was just special. now all the hoopla is over, but the awesomeness lives on. Scot is off all this week and we are stee-raight chillin’. sleeping in, hanging out like it’s our job, you know, important stuff. the look on H’s face each morning as she realizes daddy isn’t at work is basically the best ever. i’d like to press the pause button.

the day before christmas eve, we looked at our brown crispy tree and decided the fire hazard had to come down. Scot deemed it unsuitable for christmas. after 4 trillion needles were swept and vacuumed up, we pulled out our old faithful fakey, only to have half the lights not work. 45 minutes later he exclaimed “we’re going to target”. trees were already 50% off, so we scored a new tree for cheap, and redecorating it got us all back in the christmas spirit.

my mom spent the night christmas eve and we made an epic gingerbread house, ate clam chowder and drank bloody marys while watching White Christmas. around 10:30 we decided it was waaaay past time for H to go to bed, so we checked up on Santa on the norad website and he was in boise! we rushed her to bed after she made up a note and a plate for santa (“i think santa would like eggnog instead of milk” – Scot). for future reference, santa hits seattle at 11pm.

in the morning, we woke up around 7 and Scot went in to get her. she was dead asleep, but when she heard the door open, she shot up and in a drunk voice was all “is it christmas day today? mommy? daddy? gg? is santa here?”. it was ridiculous and adorable.

santa brought her a toolset, the only thing she asked for. we have no idea where she got the idea, but she is enjoying fixing ALL THE THINGS.

she knows all the words to, and continues to sing: holly jolly christmas, jingle bell rock (her FAVORITE), regular jingle bells, rudolph, and i want a hippopotamus for christmas. in fact, in line to see santa, she said “i’m gonna tell santa i want a hippopotamus” and i said “really?” and she said “no mommy, i’m just kidding”.

she also “whatever”ed me yesterday. SHE WHATEVERED ME.

but i digress.

this christmas was exactly what it should have been – about family and being together. the presents were few, but who cares? it’s not about the things, it’s about the people. and we made it count in every way. i couldn’t love christmas more this year.