Merry Christmas from the Brewers

Merry Christmas friends!

I have been thinking of you all this holiday season and hoping you are well. I have been busy working at my job in education but wanted to take a few minutes to visit with you and share how we decorated for the holidays in our home.

Caution: I went a little crazy with tons of pictures added to this blog update!

First off, I have officially lost my mind this year. I made two Christmas cards, yes, two! Have you ever done this? Or am I the only crazy one? I just couldn't decide which one to go with so I ordered both. Now, I didn't mail friends and family two Christmas cards from our family. That would really be crazy if I did that, right?????

Here they are, which one do you like best?:

1. Our favorite place in the world: the Beach-

2. The kids in their Christmas outfits (you don't want to know how I was screaming at them to smile for the shots, you've never done that, right?)-

 

 

I love pouring over decorating magazines to get inspired for decorating for Christmas. I am always awed by their cool color choices. Then I look at our collection of Christmas decorations, all green and red, and I think, 'How can I not use the stuff I already  have?' Maybe someday I'll really spice it up and go with a cool blue and green Christmas motif or something different but for now I'll drag all of our favorite oldie but goodies green and red decor.

 

This year I was inspired by several magazines to add some homemade Christmas decorating touches to our home that I'll share with you below.

 

Entry Way: I reused old white cabinet doors as a Christmas card hanger. I took the cabinet doors off a DVD storage piece we have up in the bonus room and attached clothespins with hot glue to hold Christmas cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family Room: I was inspired by a decorating magazine to make Christmas banners with colorful Christmas scrapbook paper that I cut into triangles and attached to red ribbon.

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

Eat-in Kitchen: I liked the Christmas paper banner so much I continued it in here too (plus it was super easy and cheap to make and fun too!).

 

 

 



 

 

Living Room: I was inspired by another decorating magazine to add garland to the archway (reused all of the materials by the way).

 

 

 

 

 

This is where the kids and I read the Christmas books that they open each night- (I blogged about this idea that I got from a friend last year, you can read about it here:)

http://cottagebluedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-tradition.html

 

 

 



 

 

My Home Office: Another idea that I got from a magazine this season was to make these handmade peace, joy, and love signs. All I needed was Christmas scrapbook paper, 3 small wooden hoops, red ribbon, and a few stickers.

 

 

 

 

 



My wish for each and every one of you this Christmas season is to be filled with the spirit. May you feel the love of Christ and share that love with everyone around you.

 

 

 

God bless you all-

Megan



Fabulous Fall Break

Hi friends,
Isn't fall in the Eastern United States a wonderful time to visit the beach? I'm thinking I'm very grateful right now for my daughter's year round school schedule (she started school on July 30th and has three weeks off for fall break). This is what The Brew Crew has been up to on the lovely unpopulated coast of South Carolina:

We had quite an exciting day here at the beach recently. In all of my forty something years of coming to this exact beach with my parents, grandparents, friends, and family, that has never happened.

Bryce, my 6 year old daughter, and I were leisurely playing on a raft about waist deep in the ocean on a lazy warm sunny afternooon. We'd been out in the water for about 15 minutes or so and I noticed people on the beach waving their arms and yelling. I felt in a daze and I remember thinking, "That is weird. Why are they doing that?" Then something clicked in my brain. SHARK! I grabbed Bryce's small frame and threw her on the raft. I grabbed the edge of the raft and ran as quickly as I could through the water. Once we got to the shore a guy on the beach told me that he'd been fishing nearby and watching a 5 foot shark swim along the shoreline. I was quite shaken up but very curious too. I asked him how he could tell the difference between a shark and a dolphin because we see dolphins jumping out of the water daily, usually in groups. He said that the shark has the back fin and the tail fin and that the shark swims through the water, side to side, versus the dolphin that jumps up and down. He pointed out the shark to me- it was definitely different looking than a dolphin! It was most likely a sand shark which are usually harmless. I did go inside the beach house later and google sand shark incidents at this beach and surrounding beaches and there have been 10 incidents (usually bites to the legs/feet) this past summer which was high.

Sand Sharks:

 

 

Understandably, I was quite shaken up by our shark incident! That night while trying to fall asleep, I couldn't stop myself from thinking of other endings to the story! Ah! I wasn't planning on going back into the water. But, the next day, with the sun shinning, all seemed right in the world again. So, we did head back into the water but definitely cautiously, and only about up to our knees at the deepest. Plus, I stayed close to my kids and was looking out for sharks in the water.

 

 

 



I hope you're having a fabulous fall yourself! Where ever you are, whatever you're doing.
Today is rainy and chilly at the beach, so we'll be spending the day inside. Wish us luck that we don't kill each other! :)
Happy living,
Megan