Bolton Hill for the Holidays

Anyone who knows Baltimore knows that it is all about its neighborhoods. (This is probably true of most bigger cities, but I only know Baltimore so that is what I am drawing on.)

The fabulous little neighborhood we live in is Bolton Hill. We love it here for many reasons, but I'll just share a few. For one, it is conveniently close to MICA where Jon is attending school. Also, we are equally close to church. In addition, it's convenient with a Rite-Aid, a Sav-a-Lot and a hardware store just a block away. We're close, but not too close to Downtown, Penn Station and only 20 minutes to the airport. We are two miles from the zoo and the Aquarium and just a bit more to the Science Center. And for Baltimore standards :), we feel pretty safe here. But finally, the real reason for this post... it is simply charming. Take a look...

Bolton Hill has the prettiest little streets of rowhouses. Nearly all the homes in Bolton Hill and Baltimore for that matter, are rowhouses - which is why they all pretty much have the same configuration: 2 long, narrow windows and a door.









Okay, I know it is serious overkill with the pictures today, but you'll recognize when I really am excited about something by the number of pics I post - hence the two dozen+ photos today.
Quite a few home-owners went all out, decorating all three levels of their rowhouses. I love it!

In Italy I began a new love affair with doors. Not any old doors, doors with personality, beauty and individuality. Before Italy I had never seen so many said doors and I must have taken 100 pictures of them last summer.  Baltimore has captured my heart in the same way. I love the stoops here, the way they all say something different to me.  





And finally the windows and their beautiful boxes... When we arrived in August, the windowboxes of Bolton Hill were overflowing with the most stunning displays of nasturtiums, impatiens, ivy, petunias, dahlias, zinnias, passionflower, bougainvillea and the favorite sweet potato vine.  I didn't think the boxes could get any lovelier until the Garden Club had their annual fundraiser. 

I only snapped a few pictures as it was getting late and I was losing the light, but you can see how striking they are.  For any of you copycats out there, myself included, let me tell you some of the plants used. Magnolia was a favorite, as were bays and laurels. Yews, box and juniper were popular too. I loved the wreaths and garlands with fruit on them - apples, pears, nuts too.

Who am I kidding, even without Christmas decorations, I love the architecture of Bolton Hill. I wander the streets with the kids and Jack in tow with a big smile on my face for the beauty of this place. Simply charming, beautiful, unique and for 18 months more, I get to be a part of it. 

Ingrid, have you discovered your secret blessing for the day? I have! :)

Gingerbread Heaven and New Traditions

We love the nativity around here. We have half a dozen of them to display for Christmas. This year we had a new addition. It's a little different in that everything about it is edible. Not too shabby huh?

In years past, we have made gingerbread houses to start the holidays off. This usually happens around Thanksgiving, but this year we were a bit slow. We ended up decorating the gingerbread on Christmas Day. 

I am all about traditions during the holiday season and decided I wanted to start a new tradition this year. Instead of making only a gingerbread house, I made a gingerbread nativity too. I did it all freehand this year and I think it turned out great. 

Jon did most of the decorating of the nativity and all the decor on the house. This is definitely a tradition we will keep.

Polar Express 4D

So let's backtrack to last week...

The Aquarium in Baltimore has been showing the Polar Express in 4D since mid-November. After Jon finished classes, we decided we had to go. All I can say is   WOW!! It was fabulous! If you have never been to a 4D show, let me tell you, it is an experience. They are short, to be sure, but jam packed for the 15 minutes you get. Everybody liked something different. Esther kept talking about (for days afterwards) the hot chocolate scene where you could smell the cocoa.  Jon liked that too and the pine smell as well. Et and I both really liked the roller coaster scene and we all like the swirling snowflakes in the air.  It was a total blast! 

For those of you who don't know about 4D, it is incredible. You get everything a 3D show offers, plus smells, movement (in, under and behind your chair), things in the air (bubbles, snow, wind) and water spraying you occasionally (like when the train is skidding across the ice and when it clears the ice on the other side). 

It was fun for everyone and definitely something we would do again.  It really brought the movie to life.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!!

We love Christmas! What a blessed time of year this is. There is so much to be grateful for and so much that brings joy.

This is our biggest Christmas tree to date, standing at just over 11' tall and more than 5' wide!

(I had to post two pics so you could see Sis in front, to have a reference point. She looks superimposed to me and she is too adorable to be real.)

Elder K and the kids reading C&H, drinking root beer in the morning and playing with my iPhone.

We were blessed this Christmas to have the missionaries over for the day, Elders K and B. We love these Elders! Sadly, Elder B was sick with a bad fever for most of the day. We were also blessed to have two other families join us for Christmas dinner. For this being our first Christmas away from family, we sure felt blessed and experienced so much peace.

Elder B and Et reading Calvin and Hobbes. Et got the Complete  Collection. It was a big hit!
Esther with her jewelry box. Jon had a friend make special boxes for the kids. Et's was a secret compartmented puzzle box. He got really fast at opening it.
Book 1 of the Series. I think this was almost better than a Lego set to him... almost.
Esther had been wanting a camera for awhile. She must have been on the nice list.
He is growing up so fast and becoming so witty, so much fun and so tall. I love to see him with the missionaries. He'll be there before we can imagine! He's really such a terrific kid!
Esther is becoming so beautiful and is getting sweeter everyday. She loved her bear from Jon's parents and named her Shirley Temple.
Jack was content to chase wrapping paper and tear it to shreds. He got a new rope to chew on.

Mega-wattage on 34th Street

We had heard about Baltimore's own "Miracle on 34th Street". It's in the papers, to-do books and people on campus told Jon we had to go... You see, around Christmas it is something special. This little street of rowhouses really comes to life during the holidays.
Hundreds of thousands of lights set this street ablaze the entire holiday season. Serious mega-wattage going on here.
Street vendors come out to sell unwanted things at unheard-of prices (hot dogs, glow sticks, pony rides - you get the gist).

Some of the residents even invite people into their homes to look at art and drink cocoa.
One resident dressed as Santa every night and passed out goodies to anyone who came by.
We had to go down the street twice to get these pictures. We actually waited longer to get on the street than it took to drive down it. Oddly enough, it was really fun - not the waiting necessarily, but the whole experience.
If there is a competition between the residence, (which I'm sure there is)this guy's got my vote. It was insane how bright it was. Have you ever seen the movie, Christmas with the Kranks? That street has nothing on this one.
If you're ever in Baltimore during the holidays, I highly recommend this detour. We'll see you there next year.

He said... She said

I know most people record what their little people say, but stop when they get to be, say four. My kids are still saying things that crack me up, so I decided to make a list for the blog. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Berger's cookies - Baltimore's best? You bet!!

Maybe a month ago, my younger sis Jen told me about a bakery in Baltimore that makes this one fabulous cookie. She thought it was called a black-and-white or something like that. Yesterday, we had some free time, so we decided to track them down. The place is Bergers in the Lexington Market.

We had never been to the Market, so we didn't know to expect chaos. Its basically, a huge gathering of vendors, selling ethnic foods, baked goods, raw meats, catch-of-the-day seafood, fruits and veggies, etc. You get the idea. There are no maps at the market, so you just wander until you find what you are looking for. 

We finally located Berger's, a tiny little bakery with a sister shop across the aisle.  To be honest, nothing really jumped out at me as looking fabulous. They had this weird rainbow cake, and some average looking pastries. If anyone knows me, they know I am always on the look-out for a great carrot cake. We bought a slice of theirs, and it didn't thrill me at all. Still searching... Then I asked for a 'black and white" which was met with a confused stare. After some discussion, she told me they are simply called Berger's. This cookie is simple too. It consists of a basic butter cookie covered in fudge or possibly a ganache. That's it. (Imagine my 16-layer cake in cookie form and you've got it.) Can I tell you how fabulous this cookie really is? I have a feeling it would be better after sitting a day or two, but that didn't happen. :) BYW, I know they don't actually make them at this little bakery. In fact if you want to order some you can from their website Berger's Cookies. Doesn't matter to me where they are made, they are delicious! Plain and simply Baltimore's Best!!

Coming out of the Closet

I have been quiet about something for a long time and I decided to finally come out and say what I think.... I like Twilight! There you have it. I have finally said it. I like the book Twilight and to a lesser degree the 3 other books in Stephenie Meyer's series.

I have read many a blog condemning her as a writer saying she failed in her role as an LDS author and as an example, but I disagree. One of the things I have the hardest time with is the fact that so many people blame Ms. Meyers for the age of her readers. I read an interview she gave after Twilight was released and she was asked why she wrote for teens. Her answer, "I wrote for one 29 yr. old and later my 31 yr. sister. I didn't write for anyone but myself." She went on to say that a younger audience (high schoolers) picked it up because they were living in that stage currently and they could or would want to relate to the characters. (You can find the interview on amazon.com, if you're interested). People, young adult means ages  18+. I agree that teenagers, especially the younger end of the spectrum shouldn't be reading these books. The books weren't written for tweens either.  As a YW President, I read the books, but didn't recommend them to any of the youth I worked with. Its published as YA fiction and that is just what it is.  I say congrats to Ms. Meyers on her success. I read today that she was voted one of Time Mag's 2008 People that Mattered. The nomination isn't what I thought was impressive so much as the commentary attached to it. Check it out if you get a sec. 

I guess I just don't dissect things the same way others might. Twilight was a fun story to read. I enjoyed it. I liked the movie. Simple minded maybe. I'm okay with that.

Et is 11!! Aghhhhh!

How did I ever get so lucky? I love this kid! He's almost as tall as me... another few years.

Et's birthday was on Friday. We had a great day consisting of our last zoo day for the season to gingerbread houses, homemade pizza to 16-layer cake and yet another Bionicle and even more books.

Let it burn!! Look at the light coming off that cake! Seriously, he is 11. How did that happen?

Our day at the zoo was almost surreal. There was only one other car in the parking lot when we got there. At one point, I turned to the kids and asked if they felt like I did, that we had broken into the zoo or something. There was no one around, hardly even zoo keepers to be seen. It was a perfect way to end our season at the zoo.

Et and his friend Chris - I forget how fun and ridiculous boys can be. It totally makes me smile!

Another Bionicle!

More books - Harry Potter set

There is this enormous tree at the zoo with a slide going down one side. The kids love it!

Today a friend at church asked how old I was and I told her I would be 33 in Feb. She laughed and told me she thought I was 27. How nice is that?! Really though, that means I would have been 16 when I had Et. LOL

On a serious note ~ How did I become old enough to have an eleven year old?! Aghh!!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Jon and I have been married 12 years. We've been cutting trees at Christmas for 13.

 As newlyweds with a big sense of adventure and a small budget, we decided cutting down our Christmas tree in the mountains instead of going to the local lot was the way to go. At $5 a permit, it didn't take much to convince us. Every Christmas since then, we have cut down our own tree. 

We always go the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Every year, that is a constant. We usually need a permit but as it turns out, they do it a little differently here in the East. We found a great little tree farm an hour from our house in Clemsonville MD. At only $15 a tree, any size, plus free punch and cookies and all the extra boughs we could cut, we were sold.

Our long-lost friends, Carl and Kristi, were about the same distance away in WV, so we decided to meet and hunt trees together. We met C&K years ago in UT when Et was just a baby. They might be the only people we know with four kids, who would actually load everyone in the truck and do something like this after having gone kamikaze-shopping on Black Friday. We love you guys!! The kids had a great time together. 

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! 

Anyone who knows me, knows I love snow, but seriously this was a perfect day. It was still so green and warm. We drove right up the hill to the trees and wandered around. No snowshoes, boots, gloves, bibs necessary. So easy! Later we went for pizza and root beer.   

Esther and Abby were instant friends. They are so dang cute! 

We'll post pictures of our beautiful tree later this week. I'm still tweaking it.

Thanksgiving in Ohio

Sis and Mads. G&G bought them matching pj's.

Et and Max putting together a Bionicle. Peas in a pod those two.

Jen and Levi. That little nerf gun from Bingo was too much fun!

Gramma Lizzy and Grandpa Bucky - we have missed you terribly!

Okay, so maybe I'm not supposed to post twice on the same day, but I was a slacker last week and I need to catch up, so you get to see twice as much today as usual. Lucky for you, really.

Ohio was fabulous! The drive was long and the kids didn't want to sleep, but we survived. My parents were there already. Oh how I have missed them! The food was fabulous and the weather perfectly agreeable.  Lou and I went on a run. We played Bingo, as per an old family tradition. Esther cleaned up at Bingo. We had a great night, Lou, Nate, Jen, Levi, Jon and I, playing cards and laughing, talking. I miss that. I miss being with my sisters. 

Cousin time is the best. Max and Madie get cuter every time we see them.  It's almost like having two more kids, but not... if you see what I mean. 

There is so much to be thankful for this year. We all have different things that we are grateful for, so I won't post mine, but take a second to think about what means the most to you.