One Week into Advent

My birthday was over Thanksgiving weekend (my first 39th!) and it was lovely, as I shared with you. Well, I thought I shared, but I haven't been paying attention to the blog as much as I meant to (what else is new), and so the blog posts I thought up just kept racking up. I cheated and posted the one for the day after my birthday for that date, but the second part about the home atrium that was due for last week will go up tomorrow. I'll post others as I fix them into a shareable form, for which I have decided this one now (barely) qualifies. But real life will not relent in passing by, and we've been trying to catch it in moments like these

I was going to say something clever here, but the kids objected to it. 

and these

Christmas trees before the first Sunday of Advent? I didn't say anything. No grouchy humbug here.
Seriously, they were having too much fun on "vacation" with Daddy for me to think about being grumpy.
I think I'm getting better. 

and these

Playing with friends at Krystin's! Although this mesmerization of the crowd with a Christmas TV show, aside from being the only way to take a picture with almost everyone in the frame, was the best (only) picture I took.

and I don't always capture them on schedule. 

Ditto with our Advent wreath. It would break the week before Advent starts. We had a simple brass ring with the cups to hold four tapers, very easy, very decorable (is that a word? Does it mean what I think it means?), very popular. As in, they sell out fast at our parish's book store, and are not restocked until next year. Since I would be out of town the first Sunday of Advent, I knew I likely wasn't getting one from there. Ordering a new one online didn't work out as amoothly and quickly as I hoped, so this past week I improvised.

I'm calling it a wreath, but it's more like an Advent cloche. I already had the cake stand, the ivy, and the tea lights. I bought the colored tea light holders from Hobby Lobby, where I went hoping to find either a bona fide Advent wreath or something I could make into one. 

I also picked up other candles, including a three-count set of white pillars, one of which you see here as my Christmas candle. I used some beeswax to affix the candle cups onto the cake stand. 

A little plain, but I like the understated look of it.

Still, I knew I would miss my traditional arrangement, so I also decided to attempt one with some floral foam, more fake greenery, and long candles. In the whole store I couldn't put together a matching set of three purple candles and one pink (rose) candle. So I bought three "formal" candles and two "tapers." Oh, well—that first week candle is always gone by the end of Advent. We'll just burn it down and use the last taper as a spare.

Close enough!

Did I ever mention that Advent is my favorite season?

Hey! I'm in time for the Advent wreath link up!