Friday, December 19, 2014

Five on Friday....

A happy Friday to everyone today!  I would like to thank Amy from Love Made My Home for setting up this fun Friday event for us all!

One.....

My apologies for not being around much this week.  These beans are keeping me busy with Christmas activities and runny noses!  Every year I try to capture photos of them taking in the magic of the season!


Two...

A weekend away to celebrate our anniversary in the city.  The hotel we stayed at was built in the 1920's and the city was so stunning all dressed for Christmas!




Three....

Been looking and dreaming about land lately and what we could do if we had some!

via~AshleyAnnPhotography

Four...

I am done with Christmas shopping for the most part.  The wrapping will be finished up this weekend.  And this vintage garden sign will be tied with a bow for my mom and pop!



Five...

My love of the garden in photos from December....









Happy Making, Baking, and Growing Friends!  
A wonderful weekend to you all!  Thanks for popping by!

I am joining in Five on Friday, taking five minutes from our day to enjoy five things.  Please go and visit the other people who are also blogging about Five on Friday this week.

Amy from Love Made My Home
CJ from Above The River
Jill from Emerald Cottage
Beth from The Whimsical Dowager
Alison from Life at Sylvan House



54 comments:

  1. Happy Anniversary!

    Big cities at Christmas are beautiful with all the decorations. In fact, the only time I have visited Chicago was Christmas. We checked into our hotel on Christmas Eve and walked around exploring Michigan Avenue. We were not in a beautiful old hotel like you, but it was lovely.

    Happy Christmas

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  2. I remember loving the holiday season as a child so this must be such a magical time for your beans. It must be such a joy for you to see them marveling at everything with wonder and delight. Congratulations on your anniversary! That pic of you two is fantastic! A weekend away sounds like the perfect way to celebrate. And seeing your beautiful garden always leaves me in awe. Have an amazing weekend Nicole! I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away now :)

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  3. Happy Anniversary. I say go for the land if you can possibly do it. Have a great week with your little beans.

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  4. Happy Anniversary - that hotel looked fabulous all decorated up. I love the plethora of greenery you have for decorations in your home. Beautiful. It is so different watching you create a winter Christmas while we experience a summer one.

    Happy weekend my friend.

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  5. Happy Anniversary. The beans are so cute and this is the perfect time of the year for the little ones. Love your decorating. It looks so festive and inviting.

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  6. That was fun, Nicole. I love the picture of you and your hubby. He's a cutie! How nice that you could sneak away for a bit.

    Your Mom is gonna LOVE that sign (and Dad, too). It looks like you are well on your way to being fully prepared for Christmas. xo

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  7. Such lovely things!! I am so glad that you and your hubby got out for some time together, that is so great. Your parents will love that sign so very much, what a wonderful present! Thank you so much for taking part, wonderful post!! Happy Christmas! xx

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  8. Happy Anniversary Nicole! How lovely to escape, just the two of you. Gorgeous garden photos! Hope you're beans are back up to full strength soon. Enjoy the weekend :-) xx

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  9. Is that a chicken house??? It's absolutely gorgeous. Oh what I would give to have something like that and a little land to put it on. The December garden photos are lovely. And happy anniversary to you both, I'm glad you had such a lovely time. Have a good weekend Nicole. CJ xx

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  10. Aren't you just the loveliest couple. Wonderful post today my friend.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  11. Happy belated anniversary! Beautiful photos on your post. Wishing you all a blessed Christmas and health and happiness in the new year. Mildred

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  12. Happy Anniversary, Chica - LOVE this post. Merry Christmas to you and your delightful family! XOXO

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  13. A weekend away sound so lovely! And that hotel looks great--I spy beagle pictures! That chicken coop is adorable :). We had chickens before we moved....someday we'll have them again. I'm still enjoying my break from all the poop for now, but I miss the eggs!

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  14. Always love catching up with you and your sweet family, Nicole! How precious is that photo of the beans looking out the window in their little hats and are you both the most adorable couple ever? Happy Anniversary, my friend! Your home and gardens are so beautiful - truly - the love just shines. Wishing you and your family the most wonderful Christmas and many lovely blessings for the New year! Hugs xo Karen

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  15. Happy Anniversary you two! That hotel looks amazing! Love your beautiful garden decorations , so pretty! Christmas and little kids is a time of magic wonder and excitement, enjoy your lovely family. Merry Christmas!!

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  16. I've enjoyed see all the wonderful preparations you've been making for the holidays. SO many beautiful photographs and great ideas. I know you will have a wonderful Christmas filled with love and joy. Debs x

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  17. Your photos are so lovely ... happy anniversary.
    Merry Christmas and the best for you and your family

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  18. Hi Nicole - so glad you enjoyed your time away together - your hotel looks very festive. I love that photo of the beans looking in the window with their cute hats. You are such a lucky girl to have three wonderful children . Loving that GARDEN sign too it would look well hanging from my garden gate - envy!!! Christmas for me is all about greens and reds and your December photos have captured that beautifully. Have a great week in the run up to Christmas - hope everyone is feeling better now. Elaine xxx

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  19. Happy anniversary! What a great getaway, and the city was all dressed up for you two!! Sounds like you're getting Christmas pretty well wrapped up. Time to sit back and enjoy the time with your family and friends. Merry Christmas, friend!!!

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  20. That hotel you two stayed looks wonderfully Christmassy, happy anniversary! First photo of the beans in front of a window is so pretty, so are your Christmas decorations. Wish you lots of fun and success with the preparations.
    Wish a wonderful Christmas with your family!

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  21. Happy anniversary! It sounds like the perfect way to celebrate. I'm so glad you had a chance to get away together for a little while. Your Christmas plans sound like they're really coming together, good for you. I love thinking about what I'd do with land! I hope you get what you want someday, I know you'd do a great job with a larger plot to work on. Take care and have a happy holiday!

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  22. Love that first picture of your beans! Enjoy the holidays!

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  23. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos! Merry Christmas :)

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  24. My garden is a feast in the Spring and summer but an utter disgrace in the winter, you have some great textures and colours there. Great to see the wonder of your children. Happy Christmas Love Jo xxx

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  25. What a nice photos all them together!!
    Happy Aniversari, I am sure you had a great one, the hotel looks really nice.
    Nice post by the way :)

    Lluisa xx

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  26. Such a lovely collection of moments! Happy Anniversary! Hope you have a lovely few days leading into the big day xxx

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  27. LOVE that garden sign!
    As I type, I'm hacking away. The kids finally shared the dreaded December chest cold. Ugh.
    You got married in December!? How fun! And funny, after all this time, I think that's the first photo I've seen of your husband.
    You know I'm dreaming of that same plot of land. The chicken coop is perfection.
    The countdown continues. Only four more days!!???? We still have sugar cookies to bake and gingerbread houses to decorate! Man, every year it goes quicker.

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  28. happy anniversary! It sounds that you have had a lovely time with your husband!
    love your christmas decoration.... green and red are my favourite colours for christmas.
    wish you a wonderful christmas wiith your family.
    love and hugs regina

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  29. Happy anniversary! I enjoyed all the lovely photos!

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  30. Happy anniversary!

    lovely photos, have a nice week!

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  31. The pictures are adorable! I love the christmas tree! Happy anniversary <3

    WritingMonique

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  32. Happy anniversary :) It's wonderful to have dreams and may your dreams come true...wishing you and your family lots of hope, love, and joy!

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  33. Wonderful Nicole...Merry Christmas!

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  34. The pic of your beans in their beanies...priceless! Happy Anniversary to you two! I love that pic! Your garden in December is stunning! I LOVE pine everything! Is that the inside of your house with the garden sign? GORGEOUS! What a beautiful gift for your parents! xoxo Jen
    Merry Christmas dearest Nic!

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  35. very nice decorations! So beautiful! Enjoy your great day with your family.

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  36. Merry Christmas to you and yours, sweet Nicole! I have very little time lately to visit or to post, but I wanted to check in on you. I see you have been very busy, as well. Wishing you a belated Happy Anniversary. The pictures of the place you stayed in are beautiful. I hope you don't mind, but I posted several to my Pinterest "Christmas" board. I also posted some of the pictures you posted of the Christmas decor outside your home to my board because I think they are so beautiful. Your little beans peering into the store window remind me of the scene from A Christmas Story. Your children are so precious! May you all have the most abundantly blessed Christmas and New Year ever!

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  37. I am a little late, but Happy Anniversary! It looks like you had a lovely time with your husband.

    Your photos are full of sweetness and charm, Nicole. Thank you for sharing with us! Have a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones! Hugs to you!

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  38. No need to apologize for spending time with family. Happy Anniversary! and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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  39. What a beautiful post Nicole. I loved every one of your five things. I am big on chickens and I could so see you having some. I lost my last two very tragically in October and it really broke my heart. I am hoping to start over in the spring with some new chicks. You and your beans would love them so much. They are so entertaining.
    You look like you are enjoying the holidays with your beans and hubby. You have shared some lovely photos. Wishing you and your family a very special Christmas and Happy New Year.
    Cindy

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  40. I wish you a happy christmas - have a nice time!!! All the best my friend!
    Helga

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  41. Just popping into say Merry Christmas lovely to you and your beautiful family. The photo of you and your love is gorgeous, you need to frame it. Be safe, happy and warm. Elaina xo

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  42. Merry Christmas to you Nicole and your family and happy anniversary to you both x

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  43. How fantastic and what a gift... to be celebrating, dreaming, appreciating, discovering... when you're in that mindset... it doesn't matter what you're doing! :)

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  44. Nicole your garden looks just as lovely in the winter. I kind of loose interest once the cold comes. You are definitely an inspiration.

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  45. Looks like you had an amazing time a away, I hope you had a very happy Christmas and you all have a fabulous new new.

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  46. It's always nice to capture your children enjoying something nice.. great picture.. I love the photo of the old Hotel it looks wonderful... I wish you and your family the best New Year to come... with love Janice

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  47. Very nice photos. Happy New Year !

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  48. Happy New Year!! So glad you had a chance to get away with your hubs. :o)

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  49. What a lovely five for Friday!
    I wish you happy new year.. :)

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  50. Happy New Year Nicole! That picture of you and your husband is so sweet, you guys look like such a happy couple and I love the picture of your beans peeping in that window, just proves that sometimes you don't need faces in a photo to capture exactly what's going on! I hope you and you family had a fantastic Christmas, and that this new year is full of joy for you all! xxx

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  51. BTW - Finally got around to creating our blogger neighbors map and made sure to add you!

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