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!

5 Ways to Fill Your Walls

Happy Tuesday, folks! Today I want to share with you some of the ways that we have filled the walls in our apartment... and let me tell ya, we have filled the walls.

Blank walls can seem intimidating at first, but armed with some good ideas, a few pretties, and a hammer and nails, you too can have beautiful, meaningful, and even useful(!) wall decor.

So without further ado, here are 5 different ways that we have filled our walls.

1. Large Scale Photography
Yes, I'm going there. BIG. Big seems expensive, right? Wrong! [Well, it can be, but it certainly doesn't have to be.] There's this little big thing called an engineering print that you can get at Staples for a couple bucks. Really. The only stipulation is they are black and white and can turn out a bit grainy or with a little white line running down it. But can you even tell in mine? Nope! They will definitely try and talk you out of it, but stick to your guns on this one, because it is just too good of a deal to pass up! This engagement photo was the first thing we hung up in our new apartment and I love it! It's a great above-the-couch statement piece, and at this price, a great way to fill a big wall! I picked up the frame at a goodwill for 7 bucks.

Total project cost: $10



2. Small Groupings
I think this is one of my favorite ways to display photos... in small groupings that tell a story or show off related items. Here we have four prints from our wedding... two portraits and two detail shots. I love how it shows how we looked on our wedding day. The gold frames are leftover from our wedding and were from the Dollar Tree.

Total project cost: $5

3. Gallery Walls
The ever famous gallery wall! All the frames and objects used in our gallery wall are thrifted or Dollar Tree purchases. You would be surprised what sweet frames you can find for a dollar at thrift stores! I'll be doing a more in-depth post on some gallery wall how-tos and tips I learned along the way, but until then, start collecting frames, photos, and special cards or prints. Or just go ahead and do it! My biggest take-away was that it doesn't have to be perfect, because let's be real, I don't have 10 hours to measure everything out and cut templates. That's what the back of your hammer is for.

Total project cost: $15



4. Miscellaneous Decor
Here's a way that you can get really fun and creative with your walls! Ribbons, lights, chalkboards... the sky is the limit here, people. Have something you love that's semi-flat and hangable? Put it up on a wall! See what it looks like. Take risks!

Ribbon backdrop [from our wedding] total cost: $45

5. Shelves & Storage
Last, but not least, let's talk about killing two birds with one stone in your wall decor. Have an empty wall that also happens to be near a place where some extra storage would be handy? Great! Add a shelf or other type of storage in lieu of a pretty picture or painting. For weeks I was trying to decide what kind of wall hanging I wanted above our stove. Then I realized we had this extra shelf and it makes for AMAZING storage in a place where we really needed it [and didn't even know it]. Plus, the shelf fills in the space and adds some color and pattern to the once blank wall. Win-win! The mason jar holder is from Target and was a wedding gift, and the mail/key holder was made and gifted to us by Loverboy's sister for our wedding as well.







So, there you have it! Five different ways that you can fill up those empty walls that have been staring you in the face the last weeks, months, or years. Decorating your walls doesn't have to be expensive or intimidating... you just have to get started. So grab your hammer, and get to it!

Thrift Store Finds & Pretty Plants to Boot!

I am one happy girl! Today marks one year of choosing to live life and see if we want to do it permanently (btw, we did, on March 29, when he put a ring on it) with Loverboy. So this morning I went out to my car and what do I find? That sweet man snuck a box of plants as well as a cute tape dispenser and photo of us that I could spruce up my office with. I've been thinking about getting some plants or decor of some sort to make my little cubicle more homey and that boy's been listening!

I also went to Savers today and scored this great mid-century side table for $5! So I was feeling pretty inspired by all this new fun-ness and had to do something about it!

The mug that I put the cactus in was $1 from Salvation Army... the handle creates a heart with the etched in design on the mug. Plus who can resist white and mint??

My sweet friend Kate gave me this print, which is really a card, for my bridal shower! I picked up a frame from the dollar store (score!) and threw 'er in!

Both the Pride and Prejudice and Pies and Cakes books were from a 10 books for $2 sale at Goodwill a couple weeks ago. Not only are they pretty, but they are also practical! I got the gold polka-dot journal for a few bucks at TJ Maxx a couple years ago.

All these plants go so well together... and I'm super excited to finally own my first succulent! Now hopefully I don't kill it. :)

I hope you're inspired to make some space in your home beautiful. Maybe you even need a little more green in your life!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Friday! The work-week is over, so let the weekend fun begin! This week I think that these things are...

PRETTY. That couch. (Well, really that whole room). I've been a bit of a craigslist-crazy lately looking for couches. I love the look of these lower, mid-century couches. And the fabric on this one is to die for.

CLEVER. Not only is this display of test tube flower holders clever, it's also oh-so-cute. And as a bonus I think that Loverboy would probably be swooning over this scientific decor as much as I am. (However, I don't think he would call it swooning. Geeking out? Yeah, let's go with that.)

THOUGHT-PROVOKING. The church we've been going to here in the Cities never fails to serve up some hard-hitting truth.

He must crucify our pride so that we will humbly praise the crucified One alone.

—Pastor Jason Meyer, Bethlehem Baptist Church

THRIFTY. Turning an old dresser into a spruced up bookshelf? Yes please!

INSPIRATIONAL. So good, so true. It can be easy to trust God when things are going our way, but what about when they're not? Don't give in to the temptation to doubt when you believed it when things seemed better. (Amen, sister! Preaching to the choir right here.)

This weekend holds quite a bit of excitement for me as I look forward to not one, but TWO concerts, my first bridal shower, the possibility of apartment hunting and some DIY projects, and a fancy date to celebrate my awesome hubby-to-be who just scored an engineering job!! Go him! (But mostly go God!) Have any fun plans for your weekend?

[1. via flickr, 2. via sunset.com, 3. via Etsy, 4. via Kristen Delap]

A Few of My Favorite Things

You can call it a wish list, inspiration, or late-night creativity. I call it a few of my favorite things (at the moment, subject to change, in fact, required to change, always growing, morphing, ebbing and flowing according to my mood, the design world, and yes, sadly, even our culture.)

P.S. Pssttt... did you know that The Things That Makes Us Tick is on Facebook now? Check it out! (and go ahead and click that "like" button while you're at it!)