Hey Little Birdie!

Welcome to our weekly feature “Know Your Birdies” where every Friday a question is posed and you get to know us through our answers. This week we’ve asked… and answered: What is your most cherished Christmas memory?

We always lived far away from extended family, and my dad, being a pastor, was always working at Christmas. All of this meant that Christmases were just the four of us being together – simple, casual and intimate. And I loved them. The moments I remember most are… candlelight services at church… my sister and I doing some kind of “show” which included reading the Christmas story (sometimes with an interpretive measure to it, like dance) and singing some prepared arrangements of Christmas carols. (I love that kids often want to perform and do so fearlessly in front of their parents, at least we did)… tons of baked goodies from church-goers; we always had our pick of yumminess… and quality time with my parents’ undivided attention, which included lots of cuddling and tv-watching. Still, to this day, this picture warms my heart and reminds me of what I love about the holidays.

My favorite Christmas memories are kind of in the process of happening right now. I cannot articulate how much fun I am having this year with my kids.  Gingerbread houses, cookies and the elf on the shelf. I love seeing the magic of their innocence and the wonder at all things Christmas. They love the music, my older daughter is constantly singing “jangle bells”. My son loves helping me cook, particularly licking the beater. He also is enthralled with Jesus asking  all of these amazing questions.  I think this is going to be the Christmas that I think of when I am an old woman with warmth in my heart. I just can’t envision it getting better than this right now.

One of the most special Christmas memories for me happened when Adrian and I were first married. Money was very tight- he was a barista by early morning, leading music at church, and teaching drumline. And I was just starting out as a full time social worker. We didn’t have the extra funds for presents that year and had told ourselves that it was okay since we knew that wasn’t the true point of the holiday anyway. But of course we were a little bummed inside. Completely by surprise, Adrian received an anonymous Christmas card in his inbox at the church (the one Jina’s dad was senior pastor of!) that contained $100. We were blown away by the generosity we felt from that secret donation. But it was more than the money. That card represented the love, celebration, and beauty that define Christmas.

via

Merry Christmas! This is our official Olbinski family Christmas card, and I thought you each deserved to get one hand-delivered to your computer screen.

As a family, we have had a crazy year, full of ups and downs. But if there is one thing I know about the Christmas season is that there is hope. Hope for the future; peace and joy in the present. Some days it is hard to see it, hard to feel it. While other days these realities cannot be contained by the edges of our lives. They so abound. But no matter where you are today, know that you are loved… to a point that is undeniable, uncomfortable, and unencumbered.

Now on to some frivolous fun. Here are a few things that have been sparking my heart over the past few days:

• Glass ornaments made in to relational gifts. Love this tradition!
• Another purpose for those Christmas cards – contact pictures for your phone.
• Tricky parents can capture Santa in their own living room.
• An extreme Santa who will deliver the gifts.
• Oh, and have you downloaded our Pride & Prejudice bookmarks? You must, right now! We’ll wait…

Share your own links in the comments. And enjoy the weekend with family and friends and yummy food. Merry Christmas friends!

Today is a good day! If you aren’t feeling it yet, let me be the one to lighten your Christmas load. Put down the shopping list, stop crafting gift toppers, step away from the baking sheets. Today we have an amazing gift for you. For me, you say? Yes, it’s Christmas gift giving time here at Hey Little Birdie. And don’t worry, whether you are a regular here or just a first-timer, this present is for one and all. Okay, I’ll stop channeling Tiny Tim now.

But back to the gift already, right? Our fearless HLB founder and artist in residence, Josie, created these beauties because of our collective love of all things Jane Austen. They are bookmarks of each of the estates noted in Pride & Prejudice – Longbourn, Pemberley, Rosings Park, and Netherfield Park – with a quote attached. And I know I am biased, but they are amazing. I’ve already printed mine on cardstock and am finding random books around the house to bookmark. I don’t care if I’m currently reading it or not, I just want to see the estate of my choice poking out the top. Plus they remind me that often the best gifts are handmade and free.

God bless us, every one.

Instructions for Downloading:
Just click on this LINK, print on card stock (8.5 x 11) in the color of your choice, cut… and enjoy!

Are you still trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas? I will just go ahead and tell you, I want Pandora One. I am a long time fan of that magical site. I have been loyal through all of the revisions and changes to skips and limits to hours (yay for the 320 hours limit, I was burning through 40 hours in the first week), but I am really tiring of the ads. SO MANY ADS. I just want my musically clairvoyant radio, not ads for cars or McDonalds.  So if you are looking for an idea for the music lover in your life (or me) Pandora has you covered, you can gift a subscription for Pandora One for $36. With Pandora One you get higher quality audio, ZERO advertising, a desktop app, increased number of skips and custom skins.  You can email it out to the recipient, print it out or pick up a gift card for it at Target. So if you are that dangerous kind of procrastinator that waits until the 24th to shop for gifts this might be an idea to keep in mind…

Hopefully you are done with your holiday shopping and moving onto the task of wrapping up all those lovely packages. (Confession: I’m not there yet.) I truly enjoy wrapping gifts, but I often find I am totally overwhelmed by the number of options and the complicated designs. Kind of like how I feel in the paper aisle at the craft store, it’s all too much! I want the presents I give to be pretty but I don’t want to add too much to my schedule by committing to a huge craft project! So here are a few easy yet beautiful ideas to inspire your (and my) wrap time this year:

1. via Martha 2. via WhipperBerry 3. via How About Orange 4. via Country Living

Welcome to our weekly feature “Know Your Birdies” where every Friday a question is posed and you get to know us through our answers. This week we’ve asked… and answered: What is your favorite thing about your family?

We are a sentimental group. We Jacksons are known for two things – crying and hugging. And while that might be met with mixed approval, I kind of love it. We feel things deeply, we love fiercely, and crying and hugging (sometimes both at once) are just physical manifestations of those traits. Case in point, my dad is a pastor, and people often felt jipped if a Sunday message didn’t produce tears in his eyes (90% of them did), and consequently often their own. Another example was Mike’s official Jackson family indoctrination which involved the sobfest movie, My Life, in the theater with my entire tear-stained-cheeked clan. Ahh… we are a sappy, affectionate bunch, but honestly if you need a hug, I’m your gal.

If I were to assign a love language to my family it would be quality time. That is one of the things I love the most about the Davis family.  We usually carve out time for each other once a week for Sunday dinner, which is a tradition that my mom carried on from her family growing up. It is so easy to let weeks slip by without seeing one another but we make a conscience decision to met once a week so it doesn’t happen.  I love that my mom makes events a celebration. It always feels like a special occasion even if it just a random Sunday. It makes the week less mundane and makes me so grateful for my family.

I love that my family is weird. Not weird in a creepy Uncle kind of way, but weird in a silly, teasing, obnoxious, fun filled way. I can honestly say that I have more fun with my family than with anyone. And it’s always been the case. Even during puberty filled adolescence, I still loved hanging out with my parents and brothers. Sure they embarrassed and annoyed me at times, but whose family doesn’t? At age 14, my dad once dropped my friend and I off at the mall, only to roll down the window and yell out in his booming voice “I looove you Nicky!” Sure I acted mortified and I was. But secretly, I loved it. If I think about it, most of my extended family is crazy too. I guess it’s in the genes. And I couldn’t be happier that my husband and the two sister-in-laws that I have been blessed with have fully embraced our silly ways. We still have impromptu dance parties and practical jokes. It is fun being an Evjen.

Today has totally gotten away from me, hence the extremely late post. So, I’m going to make this personal and tell you quickly about our little family mini-vacation to the snow this past weekend. We’ve been in need of some time away as a family. You know, when you eliminate distractions, you change the scenery, and in return you are intriniscally reminded of all the fun reasons you love being a family. It was one of those. It also contained a huge list of firsts for Lyla – her first snowman (albeit micro-sized, because we didn’t have gloves and it was really cold), her first elk sighting, and her first ever Christmas light parade (which she talked incessantly about the rest of the weekend).

All in all, it was pretty much perfection. Mike and I laughed at Lyla’s infectious excitement, we huddled in front of the iPad at night to watch a movie while Lyla slept nearby (ah, the hotel life), and we spent time talking about where we are in life and how the future is currently unknown to us.

I am resting in the peace that this weekend brought to me. I am reminded that these are the some of things I want to marinate with during the holiday season. I am thankful for God’s hand in my life, providing me with unexpected blessings… like a weekend with the ones I love.

Keep in mind, some of these pictures I actually took, not my photographer husband. Can I get some props for that?

I am kind of on and off with J Crew, mostly on.  But mostly off with their prices, that is all. This season I am definitely on. I am a big fan of basically all of their accessories. I will say I am not sure my life will be complete without those oxford ballet flats. I have a life long love of oxfords. My mom has a picture of me when I was three taking a nap with a new pair of black and white oxfords, one tucked under each arm. I would totally take a nap with these bad boys. Actually I would just like a nap period…

1. Golden Strip Bracelet 2. Lulu Frost for J.Crew Deco bangle 3. Crystal dot hand-enameled bracelet 4. Glitter Iphone Case 5. Glitter oxford ballet flats 6. Mona Glitter Pumps

The winner of this awesome fort kit is: Ashley Lester! Congrats!

I am not a huge watch person. Besides cell phones seem to do watches’  job just fine. However, lately I have found my self drawn to huge chunky watches. I spied a couple from La Mer, and have fallen for basically their entire line of wrap watches; narrowing it down to six here was a huge feat. They have basic no frills wraps, studded wraps and wraps adorned with chains. If you should find yourself loving the look of say number two but really wish that it had the chain from number six, you can have your cake and eat it too. You can customize your watch to your exact wishes in their customize section.

1. Mocha Silver Bali Stud Wrap 2. Yellow Patent Gold Glam Chain 3. Deep Aqua Odyssey Wrap 4. White Patent Single Chain Gold 5. Magenta Snake Gold Triple Wrap 6. Turquoise Crystal Slate Gray with Gold Case Wrap

PS Today is the last day to enter the fort kit giveaway! Hurry hurry and enter!