Decembers are a particularly festive (and busy) time of year in our house – three family birthdays fall between the 12th and 25th, and that is on top of the exciting (and obligatory) holiday bustle (insert reminder that I am woefully behind on Christmas shopping). I am so very much looking forward to hosting family and friends for Neve’s 9th birthday on the 18th (half-way to her golden!) as well as my (40th!) birthday next week, which provided a little extra motivation and a finite deadline… So we worked with the rain-breaks over the weekend, cleared out oodles of fallen leaves, and outfitted our back porch with a couple heat sources, cozy canvas walls, new light strings, and a bit of holiday flare. Now all we need is some peppermint schnapps for our hot chocolate!