Weekend Wrap-Up: Holiday Posts

Hey friends! Just in case you haven't been around for long, or have been busy [what.... this time of year?! Noooo...] and have missed a couple, I wanted to round up in one place for you all my holiday posts. Feel free to browse and get some Christmas inspiration... after all, it is less than a week away!

Holidaze

In my first holiday post, I share some excitement as well as some of my favorite Christmas traditions.

3 Adorable Gift Wrapping Ideas

This post gives you three creative ways to wrap those packages this Christmas season. So get out the twine and washi tape, throw on some tunes, and get wrapping!

Christmas Coffee Date

A traditional coffee date post with a holiday spin. Crab a cup and sit awhile.

DIY Advent Envelopes

In this post I show you how I made my super easy Advent count-down. Sure, it may be nearing the end of Advent, but you could always do the week before Christmas!

Apartment Christmas Decorations

Get a tour of our apartment decked out in Christmas cheer for all to hear!

Christmas Freebies

A collection of some free Christmas downloads that I love from around the web.

O Christmas Tree
Yesterday I shared about our Christmas tree experience—from grade A customer service at Home Depot, to decking out the whole tree for less than $30!

O Christmas Tree

As promised, I'm finally posting about our very first tree! as you can see, it was quite the process to get it all set up and decorated, but with some Rudolph playing in the background and our stellar teamwork, I'd say it was a very successful first tree! 

Not to mention how stinkin' awesome Home Depot is. [No, I did not get paid to write that... I wish. Home Depot? Please?] But seriously. We went to go get our tree with Bri's little Honda Civic, a little uncertain about how it would go, and left with grins on our faces. 

Really, the free hot cider and cookies while you browsed would have been enough, but then we got to the check-out, the guy gave us 50% off, partially because he couldn't find the tag, and partially because he was a nice guy wanting to spread some Christmas cheer! 

Then they put it through this little machine that netted it up [see above intense photos of me cutting the net], and told us to drive up our car. Once we did, there was a gentleman there who helped Bri hoist it up on the roof of the car and tie it all down safe-like for us. What a breeze!

Here's the little guy all lit up and shiny in our living room. Please notice the faux-fire playing on the television. They are all the rage, guys.

I got all our ornaments and tree-decking supplies from the Dollar Tree! Man, I love that place! It cost us less than $30 to deck this guy out and we even had left-over ornaments to spread throughout the house (and then some.... may have overestimated how many ornaments it takes to fill a tree... oops!). 

I'm kind of in love with the gold, white, and metallic vibe we've got going on. Probably my favorite color palette right now, if you can consider those colors. We loved the experience of Home Depot and how easy it was... but I'm curious... are there those of you who are hard-core "go cut it yourself" or others who are tried and true to the fake tree? I feel like we took the road in the middle as far as convenience, ease, and memory-making. What do you do for your Christmas tree? Anyone wanna try to convince us for next year? :)

Weekend Wrap-Up: Christmas Freebies

You guys, I know that most of you aren't as obsessed with your calendar as much as I am so I wanted to let you know that it's FRIDAY! Woo! This weekend is packed with lots of goodness... with a double date tonight, Loverboy's Casino work party tomorrow, and visiting family for a birthday party and a small group game night on Sunday. We're hoping to slip in a bit of sleeping in [we've been dragging the last coupla' days], taking a chunk out of our wedding thank yous, and baking some Christmas cookies as well! Bring. It. On.

What are your plans for the weekend? Anything spectacular?

Here's some holiday inspiration for your weekend [I promise I won't make every post ever about Christmas during this season... maybe...].



I simply adore these free desktop and phone backgrounds. Perfect for getting some Christmas music stuck in your noggin. :) Speaking of Christmas music...

My love for Pentatonix grows every Christmas. They just keep pumping it out! You can listen to their whole album, That's Christmas to Me, for free on Spotify!

I'm sticking with the Christmas music theme, so here's a free printable that you can frame and put on your mantle. Or just tape to your wall with some pretty washi tape. Your choice. :)

Have a very merry weekend, friends!

Spreading Christmas Cheer for All to Hear!

I really do love this season. Partially because it lends itself to so much gold and glitter, but mostly because it's the time of the year that reminds us of God's greatest gift to us—His Son. And although gold and glitter don't exactly say "Jesus," I really do find that decorating for the Christmas season gets me in the mood for cheer and thankfulness. Having Christmas music playing as the soft glow of Christmas lights shines on the Nativity scene just does something good for my soul. So I thought I'd share some of our decor with you in order to inspire you to snaz up your place a bit for the holidays. And as you're about to see, it doesn't have to be expensive or difficult.

I love going to TJ Maxx or Gordmans and looking at all the beautiful decor, but something about the challenge of being uber thrifty really excites me. So this year we've decided to keep costs to a minimum... but that doesn't mean that gold or glitter had to be at a minimum! After hitting up the Dollar Tree and a couple thrift stores, we were ready to decorate!

So here's a peak at our place all spruced up for Christmas. And of course things are a bit different now that we had to rearrange the living room to fit our tree... but that's for later.

The jingle bells, ornaments, and this fabulous tinseled tree are brought to you by the Dollar Tree.

This ceramic Nativity set is from way back in the day when I was in a church equivalent of the Girl Scouts. I glazed the set myself... not bad for a nine year old!

The colorful lights, greenery, and gold, glittery pears were all thrift store finds, along with the precious ceramic deer that I snagged for $3 and $4 a piece!

And here's our tree.... JK! This lil guy brings Christmas cheer to our bedroom... and has been doing so for me probably since I was in middle school. Post about our real tree coming soon!

Advent [Activity Envelope DIY]

Well folks, it's December, believe it or not, which means it's the season of Advent! I decided that I wanted to do something to celebrate Advent this year, and I thought some sort of Advent calendar would do just the trick. So to Pinterest I went and found this adorable (and easy!) idea. This project really only took me maybe an hour or so and can easily be done while talking with a friend or watching a movie.

You will need:

Scrapbook paper

Paper cutter (or scissors)

Twine or other string/ribbon

Mini clothespins

Thin sharpie

For this DIY, I simply chose some fun scrapbook paper, cut it into fourths (which made for 4 6x6" squares from each piece of paper) and then folded all the sides in to create an envelope shape. If you wanted to make actual envelopes you could glue or tape the sides down and then fill them with things, but I chose to leave mine open and just write directly on the paper envelope, like so...

I decided to go for a variety of activities for our Advent Calendar, you could however just include scriptures to read. I included scripture readings, things/people to pray for, fun Christmas activities like looking at lights and cuddling up with hot cocoa, and more! The sky is the limit.

After filling all your envelopes with ideas for each day, simple string up some twine, number your clothespins, and hang up your envelopes. This Advent calendar also doubles as a wonderful little decoration, and if done with Christmas paper would be even more festive!

So go ahead! If you make this in the next day or two you'll only be a couple days behind, which is so easy to catch up! Plus, if you're anything like me you might just have these supplies laying around.



I think this will be a really fun way to be intentional with this season and focus our hearts on the coming of the Savior, as well as have some fun creating some new Christmas traditions. Plus, it will be fun to see the envelopes start to disappear as Christmas approaches and anticipation builds. I fully believe in Christmas being just as magical now as it was when we were 5 years old! :)

What about you? Do you do anything fun or meaningful for Advent?

This post is a part of the Peony Project monthly link-up. The Peony Project is a community for women who love Jesus, love blogging, and are looking for a common space to share ideas, encourage one another, and make real, honest friendships with one another.

3 Adorable Gift Wrapping Ideas

So I think by now we all know how much I love the HOLIDAYS! And with Thanksgiving right around the corner I think it's officially time for some good old holiday brainstorming. 

Now, I LOVE Thanksgiving, so I don't want you to get the impression that I'm skipping right over it to get to Christmas... but as I was perusing Pinterest today I just couldn't help but fall in love with these witty and cute gift wrapping ideas! Plus, who ever said gifts should be exclusively for Christmas and birthdays?? I'm a big fan of gifts and especially the kind that come at a time you aren't expecting—so why not give a Thanksgiving gift this year? These gift wrapping ideas are just what you need to make that little gift extra thoughtful and special!

1. Personalize the Plain!

Need to wrap a present in a pinch? Well then this first one is perfect for you! Simply grab some plain paper or a brown paper bag from your last trip to the grocery store and wrap 'er up! Then grab a sharpie and have at it! Add a finishing touch with some string, a bow or ribbon, or even some greenery or other holiday bauble.

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2. Special Delivery!

Okay, how CUTE is this?! Tying your packages to the recipients favorite animal (in toy form, of course) is perfect for small gifts. I would probably fall over dead if I received something like this. 

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 3. Washi Tape it Up!
Washi tape is everywhere nowadays! Michaels even has a full section with what seems like hundreds of different patterns. So why not grab a few rolls and get to taping? I especially love the idea of using newspaper as the main wrapping... so simple, yet pretty with the added pops of pattern and color that the washi tape brings. This Advent gift looks DIVINE.

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So there you have it! Three super simple, super adorable ways to spruce up your packages this Christmas [and Thanksgiving!] season! Happy gift-giving!

P.S. Like literally... I already posted this but I'm coming back because I just stumbled upon this beautiful article on gift toppers! Check it out peeps.

Holidaze

You guys! I love love love with a big fat hug the holiday season!!! I have been practicing my self-control and resisting posting about the holidays yet, but since it is officially Halloween week I'm allowing myself.

Ahhh... where to start?? Holidays may be one of my favorite things! And I'm pretty sure they're even more favorite now that I'm married. You see, I'm a bit of a major nostalgic and now that I get to start creating traditions with my little family of my hubby and I [that will someday hopefully be a bigger family] really just rocks my socks off.

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[Disclaimer: This is the scariest thing you will ever see on my blog. I thought it was kinda clever.]

So, Friday is Halloween, yes? Well, contrary to everything I just said, I really don't like Halloween. I am not a scary movie, creepy costume, or eerie music kinda gal. And thankfully, neither is the Mr. So, although we aren't too excited about this holiday, we are excited to start a tradition.

We've decided that making a blanket fort (more epic than the last), getting some take-out (chinese, perhaps?), and watching a non-horror movie sounds pretty wonderful to us. Maybe we'll even sip some hot apple cider as a nod to fall and stuff our faces with candy in honor of the day.

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So, to start off what I'm sure will be a plethora of posts on the holidays, let me share with you 5 things I am oh-so-excited about for the next couple months:

1. Making caramel corn. We have an amazing family recipe... I'll definitely be back with that!

2. Decorating my very own house with my very own Christmas decorations [yes, I am already buying Christmas decor... so what?!].

3. Making Christmas ornaments... ornaments can be expensive and we own one. So... I think I'll be making some this year and then hopefully hitting up the stores after Christmas for the discounted decor!

4. Driving around and looking at the lights. I have loved doing this ever since I was a little kid. Granted, nowadays it's probably more about looking at the pretty houses, but the pretty lights don't hurt either. ;)

5. Christmas cookies! There's no need to say anything else.

What about the holiday season excites you? Do you have any plans for this Friday (even if it is just staying in and snuggling up with a good movie)?

Weekend Wrap-Up: Holiday Cheer, Year 2

Last year near the end of November I did a Holiday themed Weekend Wrap-Up, and I thought it was about time to bring that back! With the ridiculous viral-ness of articles and videos on Facebook these days you may have already seen much of this, but in the off chance that you swing in different circles than I do and haven't, I wanted to make sure you got to partake this holiday season. :)

1. Of course what better way to start off than with Pentatonix again!?

2. Check out this Christmas Playlist... I'm definitely going to be looking some of these up. Grooveshark, anyone?

3. This is just ridiculous. 

4. Here's a couple free Christmas phone wallpapers you can download.

5. Spice up your manicure with some holiday fun!

And remember... JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON! 

P.S. For more great holiday inspiration, make sure and check out my "Holidaze" board on Pinterest!