Papertrey November Blog Hop: Warmth & Joy

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday.  My husband did all of the cooking (he doesn't even let anybody in the kitchen!); my brother and his family joined us; we all ate too much and we all played* too much.  Besides the food, the highlight was viewing the photos that my brother had taken on a recent trip to Israel.  Amazingly, he stood in exact places named in the Bible as sites of Jesus' miracles!

A side story...we gave my brother his birthday card which included a wolf image.  Before opening it, he held it to his head (imagine Johnny Carson as Carnac), thought awhile and said "it's a wolf".  My jaw dropped.  It turns out they read my blog on a regular basis and I had posted it early!!!  Lesson learned...you never know who reads the blog!

Today, I am playing along with Papertrey Ink's November Blog Hop.

The inspiration photo for today's blog hop is a dream - I wish my home could look like that.  Unfortunately, I am married to a man who prefers a minimalist look to Christmas and my boys couldn't care less as long as there are presents!  But I love the photo because it is heavily decorated by still so fresh and natural.  I was inspired by the clean look of the photo, the warmth of the wood, the greenery and the dangling skates.

I used multiple Papertrey sets on this card.  The sentiment is from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday.  The pine boughs are from Bells & Boughs.  The ornaments are from Tiny Tags and the coordinating die set.  I used Bitty Background Basics to add the pattern on the white and gold ornament.

• Stamps: Papertrey Ink
• Paper: Papertrey Pinefeather, Pure Poppy
• Ink: Delicata Golden Glitz and ink to coordinate with Papertrey Pure Poppy and Pinefeather
• Accessories: Papertrey Cane Print Impression Plate, misc ribbon

*How did we define "playing" yesterday??
With the turkey tryptophan sleepiness and given many of us had colds, this was our excitement yesterday...a lot of iPad/iPod action and you can see my brother's knees and laptop as he shows us pictures of Israel!  My oldest niece discovered the app Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo - a BIG hit - and my boys loved helping/playing with her.  My youngest niece was doing a memory match game - there were 24! squares on the screen and she methodically found every match!  Amazing!!  I'd love to tell you what my sister-in-law is doing/playing but I think I will hold on to that little tidbit just in case she EVER again shows my brother his birthday card on my blog!!