our tulip tree did surprisingly well this year. a few early warm days combined with late freezes caused some worry, however it powered through. i would say general beauregard lee made the right prediction with how cold it’s been.

the blooms were still quite beautiful even with the frigid temperatures. they always stand out against the dormant late winter landscape. be sure to check out more photos from previous blog posts: spring 2012, late winter 2012, spring 2011, late winter 2011 & spring 2010.

– ryan

i got the fuji instax 210 camera for christmas and it’s a blast from the past! for those who you who loved your polaroid camera, then you’ll be all over this. it shoots on wide format film that is very similar to the old polaroid 600 film size. plus you can buy new film on amazon for $16.99 for 20 photos. that’s less then polaroid film used to be.

the impossible project is also making and selling new film for various polaroid models, check out their webstore for more details. they also sell these sweet jackets!

– ryan

with the addition of a modern dollhouse, an easel, and lots of christmas goodies; we did some rearranging in clementine’s room. we added a bookshelf in her closet and moved her crib to make more space. it definitely opened the room up.

clementine loves her modern dollhouse! we saw it in a magazine ages ago, but it was quite pricey. we ended up finding it at our local consignment shop, jack and jill’s, and couldn’t resist. it’s now become a home for many of our old toys as well, ie. r2d2 and the homestar crew.

– ryan & gub

to see how clementine’s room came together, check out our previous coverage: week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5, week 6, week 7, week 8, week 9, week 10, week 11, week 12, week 13 and completion!

grey looked so sweet while sleeping the other day!

– ryan & gub

here are a few photos of our holiday decorations this year!!! clementine helped with the wrapping!

– ryan & gub

clementine was not the biggest fan of santa claus!

– ryan & gub

for the second year in a row, we went to kinsey family farms in search of the sterritt family christmas tree! it’s about an hour outside of atlanta and offers some great winter agritourism. besides picking out a tree, there’s plenty of holiday fun to be had! they have tractor rides, a petting zoo, and even hot cocoa & s’mores by a bonfire.

kinsey farms offers lots of christmas tree options as well. there are pre-cut firs, living trees, cut-your-own trees, as well as small charlie brown style ones and various wreaths. we went with a cut-your-own leyland cyprus like last year. clementine was a big help cutting down the tree, as you can see in the photos.

check out our post from last winter when we first discovered kinsey family farms. we are glad we’ve made it an annual family holiday tradition!

– ryan & gub

kinsey family farms

7170 jot-em down road
gainesville, ga 30506
770-887-6028

check out clementine’s adorable new school photos! she looks so different from her last ones a few months ago.

– ryan & gub

happy thanksgiving! we decided to stay in atlanta and spend our first thanksgiving with just the four of us at home this year. this also meant we had to come up with a thanksgiving meal! to make things a little easier, we ordered an oven-roased turkey from the mercantile, which was amazing! mercantile is a local sandwich/prepared meal spot right down the road. our friends were super generous and made tasty sides for us (and delivered them). we made our own gravy and mashed potatoes, but other than that, we just enjoyed a fun day with grey and clem. we were definitely pampered!

we started the day with some coffee, our traditional breakfast casserole and the macys day parade! we thought it was pretty cool to see a maces commissioned kaws float in the parade! coincidentally, both of our families have been making the same breakfast casserole on holidays since we were kids. clementine was a big fan as well!

happy holidays!

– ryan & gub

the mercantile

1660 deKalb avenue northeast #150
atlanta, ga 30307
404-378-0096

breakfast casserole recipe:

ingredients:
6-8 slices bread
1 lb sausage (ground or link)
8 oz shredded cheese
6 eggs beaten
2 cups milk (or half ‘n half)

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 and grease 9″ x 13″ baking dish
– break up bread (remove crust if desired) and spread throughout baking dish
– brown sausage, drain well and spoon over bread slices
– spread shredded cheese over sausage & bread
– combine eggs & milk, mix well and pour over cheese
– cover and chill over night
– remove from fridge 15 minutes before baking
– bake uncovered @350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown
– serves eight

clementine and grey look pretty similar in their newborn photos. check out the cuteness in this side by side comparison!

– ryan & gub