What Do They Put in Those Meatballs?

Now that the 30 Days of Thanks are over, I'm working on a new project.

I'm a bit late, but these are the makings of a homemade advent calendar. I wanted to make my own version of this one from Pottery Barn, but after what seemed like hours at the fabric and crafts store, I ended up going in a different direction. I found these fabric scraps bundled together, and I just fell in love with them. I like that some of them are Christmasy, but in a different palette than the typical bright greens and reds. I picked out the blue paisleys and green to coordinate. My plan is to make 25 pockets with the fabric scraps, sew them onto the muslin, and use the white label tag thingies for the numbers. I haven't sewed in AGES, but my friend lent me her sewing machine, so I'm optimistic that I can complete the calendar this month - even if we don't use it until next year. Wish me luck!

Today, the boys and I went to the Swedish Yuletide festival in Boston. We arrived in time to catch the St. Lucia procession, which for some reason freaked out R. He buried his face in my jacket and wanted to be carried, all 50+ pounds of him. So, we grabbed some cups of glögg and did a little shopping for Swedish Christmas decorations. I can't tell you what I bought because some of my purchases might end up being presents for my family! Although I can show you the candleholder below - the kind that makes the little brass angels spin around and bells chime from the heat of the candles - because I'm keeping it. :-) That's also the table I picked up from Etsy a couple of weeks ago.

The festival was really crowded, but we found a spot on the floor (literally) and ate our fill of Swedish meatballs, lingonberries, hot dogs, saffron buns, princesstårta, and other lovely treats.

We had a nice time, although next year we'll go a little later when the crowd isn't so thick. Because we learned an important lesson: Never get between a middle-aged Swedish woman and the dessert table. Goodness - I've never seen so much pushing and shoving! ;-)