Watching What I Say!

Over Thanksgiving weekend, hubby and I were at the mall.  While I am attempting to hand make most of the Christmas gifts we give this year, there are a few things that must be purchased!  After all, I don't know how to make fragrances, teddy bears, etc.  so we found ourselves braving the crowds on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. Much to my delighted surprise, hubby suggested we just "wander the mall" once our purchases were made.  It gave us some much needed time to hang out and catch up during what will inevitably a busy season for us since he's a Pastor and I'm a music teacher and Advent has officially started!!

We were wandering through a Hallmark store when I saw a recipe box that had a recipe card rest on the lid.  It was sort of an insert that popped up for the cook to rest a recipe card on.  Since my girls and I had done some baking together over the holiday weekend, we discovered that the one cookbook I have with all the family favorite recipes in it really isn't convenient when more than one of us is baking so a recipe card box seemed like a great way to have a second set of recipes.  And the card rest was pretty clever!  I pointed it out to hubby and said, "That's cute!"  Apparently, he heard "I really like that and want to own one but would prefer that it be made out of wood and not the heavy duty cardboard that was used to make the one I pointed out to you."  How do I know that's what he heard?!  Because I now own a handmade original recipe box with a piece that slides out of the lid so you can prop up a recipe card!  Guess I have to be careful when I say "That's cute" about items that I see because he may take that as a personal challenge to make them himself!

I've included pictures of his handiwork.  The first shows the box closed.  The second is the card rest set up and ready for action (it simply slides in and out of the lid!) and the third is the box itself open.  It's been stained a beautiful golden oak and has gold hardware (hinges and latch).  Now I just have to fill it!

So close!

It's hard for me to comprehend that today is November 1st!!  Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then Christmas!!  My favorite holiday season of the year - Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year's - is nearly upon us!  I feel pretty good about where I am with the homemade gifts for the extended family (siblings, parents, etc) but there are a few things I'm feeling pressured to make progress on for my kids!  Hubby is in the process of getting some projects made for them that I am SUPER excited about.  Mostly because they are items I was going to buy and decorate but he wants to make them himself!!  I love that he has gotten into the whole Homemade thing!!

In the course of shopping around for cross-stitch ideas and projects, I found a MUCH better option for my dad's gift than what I had originally chosen.  So excited to see the final product there!  Now to get busy on some homemade jewelry items for my girls and come up with something comparable for my son.  Oh!  And the crayon totes that were mentioned in one of my first posts are nearly done!  Yay!