Holiday cheer.

Play.  The boy and I are celebrating our first Christmas together.  In an effort to bring holiday spirit to our teeny apartment, we purchased a 4ft tree and decorated it with simple white lights.  It looks beautiful and provides serene and glowing company.  As newbies to Christmas coupledom, and confined by our limited living space, we have zero ornaments.  Excited to begin traditions and exercise a chunk of creativity, we planned to make a single ornament each, contributing a new one every year.

Our medium?  Buttons.  Precisely 200, which cost an appropriate $10.  Of course, you can go any direction you'd like, that's the fun of it!  Ribbon, figurines, toothpicks, glitter.  No matter what, homemade ornaments are the most treasured and loved pieces on the tree.  So get crafting!

Fork. Now that you've decided to dedicate your day to winter art projects, it's probably best to plan for a comforting morning meal of steaming oatmeal.  One of my all-time favorite foods, oatmeal is hearty, nutritious, and effortlessly personal.  You like raisins, brown sugar and steamed milk?  Cool.  I'm more a cinnamon roasted apple, almond, sea salt kinda gal, but lucky you (!), we have all of your toppings on hand.  That's the most wonderful thing about oatmeal - it's straight from the pantry.  No running out to the shop for last minute ingredients, it's all right here.  And you can be as imaginative as you'd like, because that bowl is all yours.  No sharing necessary.  Tapping into your creativity on the culinary front is sure to encourage some brilliant ornament making.

Glass. With breakfast foods, coffee.  Almost always.  At home I use a french press for a simplicity, but it consistently produces an outstanding cup.  Truth is, the quality is in the beans.  Full disclosure, I've just begun working for Brooklyn Roasting Company and am completely taken with their product.  They source Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic Certified beans from all over the world, and roast them with the dedication and enthusiasm of expert coffee drinkers.  I am particularly hyped on the Peru La Florida, which comes from the second oldest coffee cooperative in Peru.  As the label suggests, this coffee is all about the soft flavors of just baked treats and toasted sugar.  Inviting.  With a splash of milk, you'll be sipping your way through an afternoon of caffeinated invention.