The regular “little of this, little of that” feature from Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Just dropping in briefly for a short and sweet {b&p} as I prepare our little family for some more holiday travels!
I thought I'd show you how the Christmas wreath turned out. The Artist's suggestion (which many of you affirmed) of using the wire coat hanger worked like a charm.
A quick dip into my ribbon stash provided the goods for the bow. Now I just need to have more guests over so that people can come to my door and enjoy it! (The ‘Chesternest is an apartment, so this is not an outside door.)
Some late-in-the-game baking to leave a few goodies for neighbors (and have a few when we get back home…).
Yes, these are stacking cooling racks. Love them. Great for a kitchen (like mine) without much counter space! (I'm pretty sure these are the ones I have.)
Last year Auntie Leila posted about her favorite Christmas cookie recipes and links. Included are Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps just like the ones I'm making here. Scroll down for all the fabulous cookie ideas!
This week's links!
A few art links:
- Did the Virgin Mary tickle baby Jesus? An exhibit review (currently taking place in Washington, DC) with a focus on Marian tickling!
- This is a fascinating video on a certain object being made (the video itself is very artful): see how long it takes you to figure out what the object is… 🙂
- A little history of the art form of Silhouette, including where the name comes from: Shadow Art.
A few gratitude-inspiring pieces:
- An interview with Thomas Peters (aka the “American Papist”) following-up on his life-changing accident over a year ago.
- A collection of photos revealing how Iraqi and Syrian Christians are preparing for Christmas in the refugee camps where they have been driven by ISIS. Very moving to see how the spirit of Christmas comes through so much more beautifully and truly here than in so many of our luxurious American settings. (Here and here are two organizations that provide support and relief to people in the Middle East; if you know of any great relief organizations focusing on the victims of ISIS, maybe you could leave a comment to share the info?)
- I found this article about Down Syndrome activist and researcher Daniel Allott fascinating and uplifting. He sounds like an exemplary guy who is truly doing his best to make his life's work one of service to those in need. And his perspective on Down Syndrome is interesting… The Upside of Down Syndrome from National Review.
Awesome Catholic miscellany:
- Planned Parenthood celebration jolted by abortion survivor. This exciting story features a woman for whom I have so much admiration: Gianna Jessen. If you've never heard of or from her before, check out this awesome talk and testimony she gave in Australia in 2008: Part 1 and Part 2. She will move you, I promise!!
Finally, we would like to thank everyone for participating in the giveaways this week! Congrats to our lucky winners!
But don't forget — our discount codes will work for you until Monday.
Here you go:
- For the Sacred Art Series Gospels of St. Luke and St. John: 15% off one book, 20% off 3 or more with the code LMLDBLOG.
- From Sophia Institute Press for Tony Esolen's Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching (with a free copy of his book Reflections on the Christian Life) and David Clayton and William Fahey's Sacred Heart Coloring Book: 15% with the code LMLD15.
- For the beautiful CD and/or score of the Mass of St. Philip Neri: use the code leila for 10% off your purchase.
Today is the ‘Key of David‘ O Antiphon. Enjoy these last few days of Advent! We wish you peace and joy!
~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~
Rebekka says
We give to Caritas (www.caritas.org). In our case Caritas Denmark, which is endorsed by the Church here, but it’s an international Catholic organization active all over the world, with both independent projects and in cooperation with other religious and secular organizations. You can of course give on a monthly basis, and they have special collections for Advent and Lent. It’s also possible to earmark donations for certain projects and I know they are doing work in Syria and also in Iraq/Kurdistan with victims of ISIS. Definitely recommend!
Barbara says
Great edition! I love your tidbits, especially the tickling Mary — how sweet — and Gianna and the Colorado State Legislature. Awesome.
Lisa A says
IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities) is another organization helping in Syria. Here is their website:
http://www.iocc.org/countries/countries_syria.aspx
Ann Marie says
Samaritan’s Purse just airlifted 60 000 shoe box gifts to Northern Iraq.
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/joy-to-the-displaced/?&utm_source=SPFacebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=m_Y000-SOCM_SocialMedia&utm_content=12-16OCCIraq
Meg says
While I was watching the “fascinating video” my nine year old daughter looked over my shoulder at minute 1:14 and watched for 10 seconds and figured out what they were making!!!
Nina says
Prayer for the Internet: Multilingual from Father Z
http://wdtprs.com/blog/a-prayer-before-connecting-to-the-internet/