Pre-lit boughs of green

Decorating the tree is something that I really look forward to every year. The Carpenter's Christmas album (albums are music on discs for those under 18, crap I'm old) playing, the fireplace channel on (see, I'm up on technology!), the dogs snoozing on the couch in the light of the Christmas lights and my husband making a mockery of the entire affair. Now THAT is what Christmas is in the Ledlow house.
I've been known to leave the tree up well into March but I promise to draw the line at February this year. Here's how our tree comes together. It's a 7.5' pre-lit Bayberry Spruce from Costco. First it gets put together, always by me, and I'm too dumb not to wear long sleeves and avoid getting my arms scratched to heck:

Then comes the star and garland. The star is from Canadian Tire and the garland is wooden cranberries that my family has been using since the early 90's (I told you I was old!):

You can barely see the garland, but alas:

We always put on the special ornaments first. Ones we made as children, ones we have been given over the years and ones we have collected since getting married by giving them to each other or collecting on our travels. I always put my pewter ornaments on first (mostly Seagull Pewter). My parents gave me one every year until I was about 25. Here is one of my favourites:

Then my husband (Adam) puts his most prized possession on the tree. The yellow "angel" that he made in 1984 (yes, old, I told you) that now looks like a sparkly Christmas alien:

Then the abundance of ornaments in our collection. Some as old as 32 years and some that have been given to the kids since they were born. Either way...it's a lot: 

Adam gave me a tip this year: decorate the tree with it un-lit! It's much easier to gauge the placement of everything. It really is! 

Lastly we put on the tin stars and tin icicles. We opted for no icicles this year since our little one is a tad on the mischievous side and would no doubt end up yanking them off and cutting himself. They are from The Pietersma Tinworks Ltd:

And here is our tree all decorated! Our kids were at Nan and Pop's house (thank you!) when we decorated so we set their ornaments aside and left the bottom third of the tree empty for them to decorate.  Fingers crossed that Henry doesn't pull the tree down! 

We used to have a lot of generic Christmas balls that we would put on the tree but every year we put on less and less as we accumulate more special ornaments. This year I don't think we used any! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy your family and be good to one another! 

Secondhand Solace

Am I the only one that feels like raising children is one of the most (if not the most) expensive endeavours in life?  It seems our bank account hasn't quite had the same level of...comfort, shall we say, as it has in past years. 
Minimal compensation from the government while on maternity leave, education, diapers, food, clothing, childminding... everything is SO expensive and it just builds from there the older they get.  Daycare alone can be as much as a mortgage payment or more!  
Sadly (I'm not sad, though some of you might be), we're not all breastfeeding, cloth-diapering, clothing-making parents and we are paying the price! 
There are numerous changes we can make and ways to ensure your children have everything they need without buggering your bank account, but one that has made the biggest financial impact for us is purchasing secondhand (or dare I say used) clothing and selling our outgrown kiddie clothes on consignment. 
You would be amazed by the adorable children's clothes you can find in second hand and consignment shops!  
We have literally saved thousands of dollars just by buying used kid's clothes...but you have to be picky!  I have learned that if you get into the habit of just buying things because they're cheap you don't save as much in the end because you end up buying clothes that you don't necessarily like and don't end up putting on your pint-sized trendsetter! 
Even if you're a parent who is concerned with your children's fashion forwardness you can still have secondhand success. 
Here are some pics of our styling little men in some recent secondhand finds from some of our local shops. 

I know Calvin looks angry but I assure you he's thrilled about his H&M slim fit grey jeans that we got for $3 and usually retail for $19.

We paid $1 for this Joe Fresh winter had and it still had the tags on!  It retailed for around $8.  His coat is by Zara.  We paid $12 and it retailed for around $70!

This Gap knitted one piece jumper was $3 and was about $25 new.  Calvin wore this too so we're getting a lot for our $3!

This Gap hat was $1 and retailed originally for about $20.  His chords are from Gap and were $4.  They're about $30 new.  His shoes were $5 and retailed for about $24 at Children's Place (and they're leather!). 

These super comfy lounge pants ended up costing me $1 each at a 50% off sale at Value Village!  I have no idea where they're from or how much they would be new but I'm sure they were more than $1!

This super gorgeous sweater was $10 and retailed for about $40 at the Gap.  Love the kangaroo pouch (and the grumpy face is pretty cute)!

This awesome long-sleeved fox T was $4 but retailed for about $24 at the Gap. 

This Queen T-shirt was (if I remember correctly) .25 cents!  I have to add that the yellow pants are from Dollarama for $1 :). 

This hat and scarf combo (there are matching mitts too) was an awesome second hand pressie from a great friend.  I'm pretty sure the set was only a few dollars! (and there's that Zara coat again!)

Calvin's gorgeous Gap sweater was only $10 and originally retailed for around $35. 

And finally, this amazing find.  These Minnetonka baby moccasin booties were only $10!  They retail for around $30 and I'm pretty sure they've never been worn (that includes by my babes). 

These magnificent moccs are up for grabs!  As long as you don't mind second-hand (after reading this post how could you be!?).  They are a size 1 but are more the length of a size 2.  They have a low instep (which is why my children never wore them). 
All you have to do is leave a comment here on the blog and tell me why you want them!  There's also a way to enter via Instagram.  Follow me @jennifersaraledlow to find out how!

quilted masterpieces

Anyone who knows my Mom knows that she's super talented and creative and is always trying out (mastering) something new.  She has tried her hand in pottery, stained glass, and felting over the last few years but quilting has definitely become her 'thing'.  She spends SO much time cutting, stitching, measuring, poking herself with the needle...just ask Dad where she is and 60% of the time he'll say 'her sewing room' (which doubles as a basement, sadly.  Mom you need a sewing room!).

I have benefited from all of her crafty endeavours but none more than quilting.  We have beautiful quilted lovelies all around the house!  And here they are:

This beauty is the first one she ever made for us.  She made it for our first baby (she started it before I was even pregnant).  It's so pretty huh??  Perhaps secretly hoping for a baby girl!?  Hmm, Mom?  ;)  The bottom right pic is the back:

This one is the gorgeous quilt she made for our first son, Calvin.  It goes with his nautical inspired bedroom decor perfectly and Calvin loves it!  So, so beautiful:

This is the quilt she made recently for our son Henry's modern cabin inspired room.  She didn't even really have a pattern for this one!  The placement of all the appliquéd pieces were all her own doing.  SO perfect for him and his little nursery.  The bottom right pic is the back.  It's much darker than that in person (bad pic):

This is a pretty, pretty table runner she made for our dining room.  I just LOVE the colours and fabrics in this one!  The bottom right pic is the back:  

This one is a coffee table runner (the spring/summer one).  I love the casual look of this one with  it's untucked edges and pretty flowers.  And the fabric on the back (bottom right pic) is to DIE for!:

This is our fall/winter coffee table runner.  Such a fabulous country Christmas feel.  It makes the room so warm and cozy!

And this one..this is the loveliest of all the lovelies.  She made me this one for Christmas this year and I'm SO in love with it.  Look at all the pretty hearts!:

So there you have it!  My collection of masterpieces (so far, ahem)! Thank you, Mom, for all the work and effort that has gone into these quilts!  I'll cherish them forever :).