Miss Leyba – Page 9 – The Creative Salad

Gingerbread Friday

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a new activity from the week.

Neither the toddler nor I had ever decorated a gingerbread house before. A friend gifted us this already assembled gingerbread house, so we were all ready to go!

In actuality, David and Miss Leyba decorated this tree. I mainly cheered from the sidelines and photographed the event. (I also may have washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen, if I need to disclose everything. Ahem.)

David squeezed the frosting (with Miss Leyba helping by holding the bag too — she has to be involved with everything) and Miss Leyba applied the candies all by herself (another big concept around here these days!).

The ants (common to Northern California cause our winters aren’t cold enough to kill em!) waited approximately 12 hours before storming the castle, possibly a Spritzer Leyba world record. I was sure they’d find it in an hour or two.

This morning we waved, said, “Goodbye Gingerbread House! See you again next year!” as David dropped the whole thing in the trash bin.

Nevertheless, the experience of decorating the house was SO worth it.

We’re looking forward to doing it again next year!

Hot Chocolate and Ginger Snaps

When I think of David’s grandma, I immediately remember her love of dessert. Strawberry desserts, chocolate desserts, pretty much any type of dessert.

When eating out, she would purposefully order a small meal in order to leave plenty of room for dessert. We love this about her.

When he was a child, my husband remembers occasionally stopping at his grandma’s house after school during the holiday season and indulging in hot chocolate and gingersnap cookies. To him, chocolate and ginger smell of Christmas.

In her memory, we brought the tradition of hot chocolate and gingersnaps alive this weekend.

Our daughter, who inherited the dessert-loving gene, savored every moment of our special snack.

Cheers to Grandma! We love and miss you.

Paper Crafts

I love the internet. Each and every time I open my feed reader I feel amazed by (and in awe of!) the multitude of artists who share their work on the internet and inspire the masses. (See my shared items for a small sampling of the joy that awaits me each day.)

Quilters, knitters, designers, scrap-bookers, illustrators, sculptors, chefs, artists, photographers — there are so many talented people sharing themselves and their creative endeavors on their blogs. Isn’t the internet such an amazing place? I love it here.

In the same vein, I feel amazed by the numerous high quality free downloads on the internet. Gift tags, paper dolls, coloring pages. The generosity of talented artists and designers sharing their work with us, giving us such a special gift, makes me smile. Especially at this stage in our lives when I cannot afford to buy and support all the artists I follow online. (Someday!) In the meantime, I have bits and pieces of their works here in my home and it fills my heart with joy.