{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

A home movie

Do 'normal' people broadcast their personal home video recordings on You Tube?

I do.
Don't judge me.

I just couldn't resist sharing these precious smiling/pouting faces with you. Click HERE to watch our adorable nieces and nephews (all 6 of them) 'say cheese'. I might be a little biased, but they're pretty stinkin' cute. AND I ask a bazillion-dollar question... ; )

X-mas AM

I'm breaking a couple of bloggy rules today: I usually don't post on holidays (yes, Christmas eve counts), let alone on weekends, and I'm usually not feeling so mushy, gushy when I write, but I couldn't resist. So I'll make it quick...

And the rest goes, "let your heart be light"... but mine is not. It's a little heavier than usual, in fact.

Confession: I think I'm experiencing growing pains- am I too old for that?

Tonight marks my very first Christmas eve-night-into-Christmas-morning absence from the Warren household.

It's official. I'm a grown up- when did this happen?

I'm not sure why I think it is such a big deal, but it kind of is, right?- like the end of an era or something. Don't get me wrong, while I am overjoyed to be Mrs. Fabin, being away from the family whom I've spent 25 amazing Christmas mornings with, is leaving me a little blue.

I'll be missing out on so many things: The anxious, borderline-rude, early wake-up from my brothers; the indulgence of sipping on early-morning cocktails with Tracy (including, but not limited to, bloody marys and spiked coffee); the sound of mom's desperate pleas to make gift opening 'last'; and the taste of dad's bacon-fat fried eggs for breakfast (they're my favorite eggs ever).

I am missing allllll of that this year, SO I am whole-heartedly devoted to making our first Fabin-family Christmas morning equally awesome.

Here's my plan:

1. Extra sleep
2. Sweet, pulp-free mimosas in our wedding flutes
3. Calm, steady-paced gift opening
4. A homemade pancake breakfast

... we might be able to fit some cozy couch snuggling in there too. We'll see.

I'll definitely let you know how it goes. Chris has some ginormous shoes to fill, for sure.

Happy holidays, everyone! May love sparkle and shine in your lives today, tomorrow and in the new year!

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

A not-so-sweet frosting

Oh, the weather outside is frosty. Not quite frightful- but I think it's getting there. Even though the first day of winter isn't until December 22! If you ask me, it should not act like winter if it is NOT, in fact, winter. Right?

Ugh.

So obviously, cold weather is not my best friend. I don't like it. Well not necessarily the cold, just wayyy bitter cold and the ugly chores and burdens that come with it. Like, scrapping cement-like snow and ice off of my car in the morning- that might be my least favorite thing to do. Ever.

Anyway, I'm not sure if it's because I grew up in an (almost) snow-less world, but the things that I actually do like about winter are somewhat superficial.

For example: I love how a light snow dusting can make a seemingly lifeless tree come to life, OR the temporary absence of lawn care, AND the comfort of hiding any extra lbs. in something warm and cozy.

Softly snow-drenched Christmases are the best too.
Which, FYI, is coming up quick!

But yea, that's pretty much it. : )

So after Christmas is over, I think I'll be done with winter. I'll (hopefully) have had my snowy, magical-tree veiwing fullfillment, want to trade my Ugg boots for flip flops, and get outside to mow the lawn.

How many "DAYS TILL SPRING"?.. maybe I should get a countdown for that too.

Pine & burlap

Chris and I call Indiana County home, but it's also called the Christmas tree capital of the world. Yup, pretty cool, huh? So, since our first 'cohabiting' Christmas in 2008, we have always cut down our own tree. And last Sunday we got our first, official Fabin family Christmas tree at Gamble Tree Farms in Shelocta (yay!!!).

Our 2010 tree was less than desirable and quite the disappointment. It was a balding, leaning, prickly little fella that fell over twice, breaking several of our precious ornaments (grrr). And instead of blaming ourselves for purchasing a problematic pine, and/or our lack of patience while putting it up, we blamed the tree. And the tree farm. Naturally.

So we needed a new place.

I figured that this new Fabin family needed to start making brand-new Fabin family traditions. We heard about Gambles through our friends, the Goods. They truly live up to their name... good friends, with good advice. We loved everything about this place.

Each year, the first three weekends after Thanksgiving, Gamble Tree Farms holds a "Christmas Fest" at their 200-acre pinetree wonderland, offering hayrides, coco and hot dogs, among many other awesome things. They even sell handmade crafts and antiques in this really cool 150-year-old barn. It was a lot of fun.

New Christmas tradition? I think so...

Hello, Douglas.

I had them saw off a 'sentimental' slice of the trunk.
I'm drying it to make an ornament... any tips?

Although it didn't feel like we should be tree hunting in 60(+) degree weather, I took it all in. Especially all of the Christmasy smells. There's nothing like the intoxicating scent of fresh-cut pine. I'm also loving the smell of our new burlap stockings. : )

Our other purchase from Gamble Tree Farms.

his & hers

Yes, I can sew (kind of).
Click here for DIY burlap stockings.

We don't have a fireplace to display our new lovlies, so I tapped into my
resourcefulness with three sets of vintage door knobs and barnwood.

Goodness.

There is already so much I love about this time of year, but I'm really looking forward to creating more of our own family memories together (like this). So, I'm open to ideas. I want to know: What are your favorite holiday traditions?

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

The light !

I am delighted to announce that the 2011 Fabin Bros. Farms' harvest is almost complete. Almost. Unfortunately, the heavy rain delayed our efforts this season, but an end is finally in sight... only a few more fields left to combine.

A combine harvester is a machine used to harvest grain crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans. It cuts the grain and passes it through a threshing mechanism. It's inner rotating parts remove the grain from the plant and shred the remnants. The product goes into a cleaner which separates the clean grain from immature grains and small bits of straw. It is then stored until the combine can be emptied.

Since the fields are still so mucky, they'll most likely have to harvest the remainder of the corn after the ground freezes, but it didn't stop Chris' brother and dad from combining behind our house last week. Which made/makes me happy for three reasons. Because one, another field down(!!!) two, it's really neat to watch and, three, it brought on the ceasing of Rocco's 'into the corn' disappearing act.

Anyway, I decided to snap a few pictures of them harvesting from the barn to post on the farm's Facebook page. The view was perfect.



 from the inside, looking out

and from the inside, in

Either way, I could see the light.

Cat napcrobatics

While I was working from home the other day, Ruby took a journey to dream land in the middle of the living room floor. I snapped a few pics, and couldn't resist sharing them with you.

Watching her cat nap is amusing, entertaining and strange, like lethargic circdesole, or something. Despite her ever-changing bodily contortion, I DO believe that she was quite comfy...

twist

stretch

curl

expand

roll

tuck

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.