Our Christmas Card + An Announcement

We are so excited to announce that we have a baby on the way! Our friends and extended families heard the announcement by way of our Christmas card this year :) We are so incredibly thankful for this answer to prayer, and we could not be more excited! I have been pretty sick these first few months, which is another reason why I've been so quiet around here. In the last couple of days I've started to feel a little better, so I'm hoping I'm turning the corner and will be somewhat back to normal soon. In the mean time I'm snacking all day long and trying to get everything done in time for Christmas (how did Christmas get here so fast this year?!). Hope you are enjoying this Christmas season! xx

It's Looking Like Christmas

Christmas is in full swing at our house!  We've had so much fun being able to decorate our house for its first Christmas.  Christmas shopping has been happening pretty much 24/7 (don't know what I'd do without online shopping!) and I only have a few people left... pretty considering we're buying for 18 family members!  Buying presents for others and wrapping them is my favorite thing during Christmas so I am loving every minute of it:)  I'm hoping to get some Christmas cookies in the oven this weekend and finish up my wrapping.  Is your home all decorated for Christmas? How much shopping do have still have left?

{tree all decorated}

{house all aglow}

{some presents wrapped}

{festive nails}

{stockings hung}

{presents starting to go under the tree}

{wreath at the office}

It's Christmastime!

I'm so excited that tomorrow is December!  For some reason in my mind, December 1st officially marks the start of the Christmas season.  I loved that Thanksgiving was early this year, because I used this past week to take down our fall decor and start making our home feel like Christmas!  The tree is decorated, the stockings are hung, the wreath is on the front door, and half of my Christmas shopping is already done!  I am ready to fully embrace Christmastime!  Last year we did 25 Days of Christmas (a Christmas-y something each day leading up to Christmas), and while I'm not as prepared this year with something for each day, I want us to soak up as much Christmas spirit as we can.  Our plans so far: finish decorating our house, the parade downtown, Christmas parties, a concert, more shopping, an ornament exchange, and lots of baking!  This year I'd also love to find some fresh mistletoe for our house.  And maybe even get crafty and make a Christmas present or two.  What do you have planned for this holiday season?

(image from here)

DIY Ornaments

Do you make your own ornaments?  I haven't made an ornament since probably elementary school!  But there are so many DIY ornaments that are really pretty!  How easy is it to grab a glass ball ornament and fill it with something?! Here are some fun DIY ornaments I've rounded up:

Origami box ornament from Creature Comforts

Sequin-filled ornament from You Are My Fave

German star ornament from Martha Stewart

Clay bird ornament from Jessica Jane Handmade

Confetti-filled ornament from West Elm that would be an easy DIY

Glitter leaf ornament from A Field Journal

Tissue paper glass ball ornament from Fresh Home Ideas

More Christmas Festivities

It's hard to believe that Christmas is in less than two weeks!  Time seems to be going by so fast, which makes me extra glad for our list of Christmas activities to remind us to soak up every minute of this season.  We're having so much fun with our mini Christmas dates, and I'm trying to document them as best I can as a reference for future years.

How have you been celebrating the holiday season?

{December 5: go shopping for our Angel Tree child}

{December 6: catch up on holiday issues of magazines}

{December 7: Festival of Lights}

{December 8 & 9: watch Christmas movies}

{December 10: The Nutcracker}

{December 11: deliver Christmas goodies}

{December 12: Christmas concert by the Gettys}

Gift Wrapping Ideas

I'm done with most of my Christmas shopping so it's time to start wrapping!  I love wrapping presents!  I think my appreciation for a beautifully wrapped present comes from my mom and older sisters who have always wrapped presents so perfectly.  I love finding new cute and creative ways to wrap presents, whether it's using different embellishments or even unexpected things from around the house.

Colored masking tape to dress up kraft paper

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Scrabble tiles on a shipping label to make a gift tag!

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Make sparkly glitter labels

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Add pretty clay gift tags

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Use silver tissue paper instead of wrapping paper

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Embellish with a tinsel tassel

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Scraps of paper and fabric to brighten up boxes

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Add glitter, tinsel, and bright colors to plain white paper

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Monochromatic looks elegant with embellishments

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Coffee filters to wrap up little presents

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Add jute twine to plain paper for a more natural look

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P.S.  Have you entered to win a necklace from Shabby Apple?

A Festive Weekend

Last Christmas there were so many Christmas-y things I wanted to do that I got overwhelmed and we never got do to them all.  So a couple of months ago I decided that I would make a list of what I wanted us to do this year, and we would do one Christmas activity each day in December leading up to Christmas.  It has been so fun so far!  We decorated our tree, watched Christmas movie #1, ran the 5K Jingle Bell Run, watched the Christmas parade downtown, and finished our Christmas cards.  It's been so fun for us to look forward to a little Christmas-themed date each day, and we are definitely filled with Christmas spirit!

{December 1: decorate the Christmas tree}

{December 2: watch a Christmas classic}

{December 3: run the Jingle Bell 5K}

{December 4: write our Christmas cards}

What did you do over the weekend?

Christmas Trees

I'm so excited that it's December 1st!  I feel like I can officially decorate for Christmas and fully embrace the Christmas spirit now.  To start things off, we're decorating our tree tonight!  We have a fake tree, but I always keep this candle lit so we have the smell of a Christmas tree, and no one knows the difference!  

Do you have a real or fake tree?  Is your tree up and decorated?

sf girl by bay

martha stewart

BHG

the inspired room

katelyn james

martha stewart