Not Quite Christmas

My children have a mother who is overly obsessed with Christmas. I've only cheated ONCE so far this year and listened to Christmas music before Halloween. It was on Saturday, when me and Parker ventured out to a Christmas specialty store to find some stocking and maybe some trains (we didn't have any luck, but ate some delicious truffles and cupcakes). 

Anyways--it's November 1st, WHICH MEANS I can listen to Christmas music guilt-free (although Bryan disagrees...bah humbug). 

Today I had the "my tunes" on while me and Lillie Mae got the boys from school. I commented to Parker that it was November 1st along with the statement above. He just kind of looked at me and moved on to more important things ("Mom, I want to go the train park after Sonic."), but later on after we got home he asked if we were allowed to watch a Christmas movie since it is almost Christmas time. As you would guess....I agreed! We watched Curious George Christmas and then I had an idea: we are starting a new tradition. 

Since I'm technically still a "Christmas crazy" until after Thanksgiving, I think we will start calling November 1st "Not Quite Christmas". 

Activities involved: 

1. Listen to unlimited amounts of Christmas music

2. Watch a Christmas movie with hot chocolate in our Polar Express mugs (and apparently popcorn because we just have to have it)

3. Make gift lists for Santa and family (This is mostly because I like to get all of the shopping done before December 1st....I am such a smart mother. ;)

4. Read a Christmas book before bed.

This is exactly what we did tonight. Guilt free. It was awesome!

Now we can get back to good old Thanksgiving.

Christmas Traditions: Oh, The Food

Let's be real here: the holidays = food, and so today I am writing about a couple of sweet treats that my family always eats during the month of December.  My favorite thing to make during the holidays are these raspberry almond shortbread cookies. The recipe is from Bryan's mom and the cookies are divine. I get asked for the recipe wherever I take them....no kidding! They aren't hard at all....kind of fool-proof, actually--a must-try, I say!

We also do a lot of the standard fudge, glass candy, and puppy chow, but I think that's pretty normal, yes? Either way, not good for my waistline, but SO good for my soul.  ;) (Calories don't count in December anyway....duh.)

I also love good food with sentimental meaning. My Nanny has always made tea cakes (kind of like these) that my family eats by the freezer bag-full (literally, she keeps them in freezer bags) and she and my Grandmommy also make my great-grandmother's famous chocolate pie recipe (similar one from PW, here). These are recipes that are so comforting to me and bring such good memories of playing dominos and Wahoo and laughing with my crazy family around the table late at night. I never knew my great-grandmother Isca, but my dad always says that her cooking was legendary, that when you went to her house you were guaranteed to get a homemade treat and a frozen Dr. Pepper, and that at every church potluck she would bring a chocolate pie and let him have the first slice. (Talk about sweet.)

What treats and desserts are staples in your family? As always, I would love to know. :)

Christmas is this week! We leave tomorrow and I'm praying my family is healthy by then--Parker came down with a bad fever and congestion over the weekend. Poor babe. This December has unfortunately been the month of sick for us.

Christmas Traditions and Stovetop Potpourri

Isn't it interesting that at this time of year, favorite traditions take on a whole new league? They are amped up, held high, savored, and protected. I love that about Christmas and the holidays. It is one reason why I look forward to it all so much throughout the year. I get all nostalgic just thinking about how we've always done something as simple as easting at a certain restaurant on a certain night. I'm a nerd.

I thought I'd share  a few of my favorite holiday traditions over the next couple of posts--some that are new-ish and some that I have known my whole life.

Let's start with one that is relatively new: Stovetop Potpourri

It is, hands down, my favorite handmade gift to give out to teachers and neighbors. I found the recipe maybe five years ago on Pinterest (somewhere....can't find the original one anymore). My mother-in-law is hooked now as well and we make this every year for Christmas events, gifts, and for our own personal use. No mixing, no messes, and no washing dishes. And, unlike baking holiday treats, no weight gain on my part, so you know....win!

Here is the recipe:

-1/2 cup cranberries
-Orange, quartered
-2-3 cinnamon sticks
-1 T whole cloves

Put all ingredients in a small saucepan. Fill with water. Put on the smallest burner, on the lowest setting. Refill water as needed to keep your house smelling like Christmas.

And! And I thought it would be fun to share the printable we used this year. I use a 3" scallop punch to cut out the tags on white cardstock. The link for the printable is right HERE. Guys. Please try this! You may just love it.

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The other two traditions that I thought would be fun to share today are Christmas movies and the biggie: Christmas music. (I'm one of those who starts listening in October. Shhhhhh.)

Our family's favorite movies...

-Muppets Christmas Carol (my favorite version, still)
-The Santa Claus
-The Grinch
-Miracle on 34th Street (the newer one)
-A Christmas Story
-Elf
-The Polar Express (Parker's all-time fave....are you surprised? We are watching it as I type.)
-Home Alone 1 and 2
-It's a Wonderful Life (my dad's favorite)
-Also, Love Actually and The Holiday....but I never thought of those as real Christmas movies? Am I weird? Must be the no mention of Santa thing. I watch them all year long.

As for the music....well. Good grief. I could go on for a year about this, but for your sake, I will just list what is absolutely necessary (maybe).

My childhood memories of Christmas largely consist of driving to and from Texas listening to the Alabama, Trisha Yearwood, Reba, Vince Gill, and Amy Grant Christmas cassette tapes. I can still tell you when each tape needs to be flipped. My dad hates country music so I'm surprised he allowed so much of this. (It may have been me and my sisters serious attempts to sound the the pros coming from the back seat. We meant business.)

Disclaimer: Most of these are horribly 80's / early 90's sounding....but I love them. Also, the YouTube videos may have weird slideshows. Sorry. :)

The Christmas Guest (still gives me chills, Reba!)
Silent Night (Reba)
On This Day (Reba)
Thistlehair The Christmas Bear (Alabama...I have a soft spot for this one)
Christmas in Dixie (Alabama)
Let There Be Peace on Earth (Vince)
Till The Season Comes Round Again (Vince)
Sweet Little Jesus Boy (Trisha Yearwood)
The Sweetest Gift (Trisha Yearwood)
Take a Walk Through Bethlehem (Trisha Yearwood)
Breath of Heaven (Amy Grant)
The Night Before Christmas (Amy Grant....the contemporary Christian Christmas anthem of 90's)

Other favorites that I won't link because it takes too much time (ha!), and also because you probably know them all:

Welcome to Our World - Chris Rice (Alright, I will link that one because I love it so much.)
Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby
Christmastime is Here - Sarah McLachlan, Sixpence None the Richer
Carol of the Bells - BarlowGirl, Destiny's Child
Somewhere In My Memory - Home Alone Soundtrack
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon, Maroon 5
Last Christmas - Taylor Swift, Wham!
O Holy Night - Nat King Cole, Leona Lewis, Celine Dion
Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie and Bing Crosby
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - N'Sync (I was 10 in 1998....I can't resist.)
Christmas Song - Dave Matthews
All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey (Duh.)
Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
White Christmas - The Drifters
Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord - Boney M.
Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano (Because I find joy in annoying my husband.)


What are your favorite holiday movies and music? I'd really love to know! It is so fun to read about what others do with their families, friends, and homes during this time of year.


Have a great Wednesday! Only nine days left.

DIY Paper Advent Hearts

Hey guys!

The last few weeks have been full for sure, but today I wanted to stop in and share another craft that I've done on behalf of Jo-Ann from their Holiday Maker's Guide.

These sweet little Paper Advent Hearts are easy and simple and very family-friendly if you have craft-happy kiddos. I feel like Advent activities are such a big deal right now (and can be very overwhelming...thank you, Pinterest), but the true reasoning behind Advent is obviously a great one so I think a simple version like this is worth the time and effort during this busy season.

You can fill these with homemade cookies, candy, small toys, or slips of paper with activities or scripture to do or read each night. I actually love the idea of doing a different Christmas activity for Advent every night, but let's be real here.....I have two small children and do not live in la-la-perfect-land where everything goes according to plan and mom has endless amounts of joy of energy, so I think that sprinkling in a few activities along with treats and verses is about the best that is going to happen in the real world. ;)

For this craft, you will need:

• Various colors of cardstock
• Wax paper
• Coordinating ribbon
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Chipboard numbers or stickers
• Glue stick
• Twine
• Decorative punches
• Sewing machine (if you would rather do this quickly)
• Basic sewing supplies
• Cardstock heart template (download HERE)
• Wax paper heart template
• Cookies, candy, small toys, lists of scripture or activities

Alright. So first, you are going to print out this heart template that is right HERE. Cut out twice as many heart templates as you want to do advent hearts. I chose to do 12, mostly because that's all I can handle and also because everyone can relate it to "The 12 Days of Christmas". I bought an adorable scrapbook paper pack with gold foil and kraft paper designs to to all of my hearts....LOVE it and super easy.

Take your hole punch and punch about 1/2" apart around two of the hearts (wrong sides together). Take your twine and loop through the holes to sew the heart together. Your goal is for it look homemade--perfectionists, beware! 

 Leave about 1/4 of it open at the end. Stuff you candy or whatever you choose in. I used M&M's, mini candy canes, and mints. If you are doing baked goods, use the printable template to cut out the smaller heart from wax paper and slip two of those in before putting in your goodies to make sure they don't get grease all over the scrapbook paper. 

Stitch the heart closed and tie a handle with the twine. Now for the fun part: embellishments! You can either paint or glue your numbers directly on your heart, or you can do like I did and add a tag to hang separately. I used a 3" scallop punch to cut out my tag for the number. I also decided to attach the activity or scripture to the outside of mine (so we get something sweet every night), so I wrote that on a little slip of black paper with a dressmaking pencil and cut it to look like a pennant. Super cute!

Attach your tags using the hold punch and threading on the ornament hook. Take your ribbon and tie a bow on the hook as well. 

Hang on your big Christmas tree for the kids to hunt for and remove each night. Wa-lah! A cute and easy Advent.

I'll be sharing this on Studio 4 today. Can't wait!

Hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season. Oh, and did I mention that we are building a house ourselves? Um. Yes. More on that later!

My First Oversized Poster Print!

To be perfectly honest, one of the main reasons I wanted to start decorating with black in our new house was because of my obsession with chalkboard prints. :) I know that I share this obsession with a lot of people right now and that is fine by me! Now that we finally have some black in our kitchen and dining room (cabinet hardware, shelf brackets, etc....so exciting!), I thought I would make my very own chalkboard print for Christmas. I used Isaiah 9:6. I had this verse on my bible cover when I was like 9 and have been obsessed with it ever since, haha. Just a side note. :)

I made this to fit a cheap-o Ikea frame that I've had for about a year now. I actually think it looks really nice when spray painted with gold leaf...not too cheap at all! I may spray paint it a different color eventually because it was hard to get the gold to look even, but we will see.

This was also my first time to print one of those super popular over-sized blue print posters from Fed Ex. It cost me all of $3 for a 20"x28" black and white poster!

(Aaaaand you can see me. Looking awkward. I think I was trying to duck from the tri-pod, haha)

The quality is actually pretty nice, except for that it didn't print quite as much of the chalkboard texture as I would have liked. For the price though, I am A-okay with that. ;)

I put this on our Craigslist buffet which now has a new home in the dining room. I LOVE it here! 

I may end up moving this poster to the mantel, but I wanted to get a few quick pictures today because I have listed it in my shop! It is available as an instant download 8x10 printable OR as a custom-sized print. (Perfect for these oversized posters!) Please head over there to check it out!

We just got our NEW faucet in the mail today and I am in love! Hopefully Bryan can install it tonight and then I will take some pictures. And then after that maybe I will get around to decorating the rest of our house for Christmas! Y'all, I can't handle our house right now. I am looking at pumpkins and ornaments in the same room and it's driving me nuts. 

Yay! Two posts in one week. Go me! Have a great rest of your week.

Parker's Christmas Nursery.

 

Hello there! Just wanted to pop in and share a few pictures of Parker's nursery all done up for Christmas. Here we go!

 

 

 

I know, you are all just SHOCKED that I decorated with neutrals. ;)

 

 

I did lots of fresh greenery and garlands (even though they made my hands itch like cra-zay), and my favorite white poinsettias. Love love love.

 

 

 

 

I also got a rosemary tree for the first time this year. At first, I bought Parker a fake mini tree... then I decorated it, decided I didn't like it, and swapped it out for this little cutie.

 

Yes, I am a fickle decorator.

 

 

 

 

I wrapped the container in some extra burlap ribbon that I already had and got that little silver star in the Target dollar spot. (best section ever!)

 

 

 

 

I made this cute cute cute little wreath with some linen that I already had. I just followed the instructions for the Nonna Wreath from Jones Design Company. I'm slightly obsessed with Emily, I pretty much think we should be friends. :)

 

I love this little guy. I also made a friend for him that I hung in our kitchen. Can't wait to show ya'll that too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that's that. Pretty simple, but I love it. I've really been looking forward to decorating Parker's room for Christmas ever since we finished it, so I'm happy that I'm happy with how it turned out :). Don't you just love when things work out like that?

 

Talk to you all later!

 

 

Our 2012 Christmas Mantle.

 

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year! And I love our mantle. Again. It didn't change much at all from last year, but here it is for all who want to see it:

 

 

 

 

Obviously, we painted our house, which I LOVE. I moved the stockings over to one side and added a mirrored ball thing that I got at TJMaxx a few years ago, as well as another apothecary jar that normally sits on a dresser in the corner of our living room (our tree is there right now). The last new addition this year are a couple of wired baskets filled with grapevine balls and ornaments.

 

 

 

 

This year I decided to jump on the bandwagon and buy some real greenery to mix in with my ever-faithful faux greenery. I like the look, but not the mess, and definitely not the rash that it gave my hands! And it made me wheeze. I am a loser.

 

 

 

 

 

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So here is our mantle last year:

 

 

(OH my gaaaawsh. I pulled this up and yelled "Peach Crayon!" How did I stand that color for so long? I really need to do a updated home tour with the new paint color--sorry about that.)

 

And here is our mantle now:

 

 

 

Ahhhh, pretty much the same, but SO much better. :)

 

 

Linking this at Ten June and The Lettered Cottage!

 

 

 

Christmas at Our Casa

Lots of pictures today, friends. Hope you don't mind too much :).

As I've said before, we tried to make everything as natural and simple as possible this year. Hence, the wreath. I like it though! I made the bow real quick with some burlap ribbon that one of my wonderful and crafty work friend surprised me with when I couldn't find it anywhere in town.

Ornaments hung from the window in the kitchen with a mixture of fresh and fake greenery along the window sill.

Here's a little snapshot of our kitchen that has yet to be featured on the blog. You get the gist, right?

I had some extra ornaments so I combined them with a few fillers and spanish moss that I had lying around the house. Add to that a white bowl and cake stand and you have a cute little decoration!

Nothing much in the dining room. Just some greenery in the light fixture (that I would really like to replace this year....please!), and a pretty poinsettia on a cake plate. In a trashcan. Yes, that "vase" is actually a trashcan that was on sale at TJ Maxx (where else?).

 

And of course, the mantel, which I posted about with a lot more pictures here.

Little vignette in the corner of the living room.

I apologize for the terrible lighting in this picture. It was an overcast/sunny day and I just couldn't get the settings on the camera to work with it.....but here is our living room in all of its Christmas-y glory.

Oh the tree. I didn't put that many pictures of it in this post, but that's mostly because there are about 387 in my last post that you can look at here.

And on to our bedroom. Simple. I love it. Some ornaments in a vase, greenery, and another pretty poinsettia. In another trashcan. Whoops :).

So that's it for our house in 2011! Hope you enjoyed the tour :). I had a lot of fun decorating and am very excited to look at all of the homes decked out for the holidays around blog world. Thanks for reading!