What I'm Pondering this Christmas

Merry Christmas!

For me, "Christmas" begins when you wake up Christmas Eve morning and ends when you go to sleep Christmas night. So, I'm writing this post with as much excitement as a five year old.

Probably the most exciting part for me is seeing my family open gifts that they weren't expecting...we have a few of these in store for tomorrow and I'm super excited excited about it.

Also...this year both of my kids really understand what's going on for the first time and that adds a whole other level to Christmas. I'm so excited for them to see their gifts under the tree in the morning, and we've had a lot of fun putting them together as well. As I write this my dad is putting together a giant swing set in the back yard while I keep the kids entertained in the house and John is in the garage constructing a baby doll bunk bed for our littlest)

I think in America, Christmas means so many different things to so many different people. As a Christian, Christmas is first and foremost a celebration of the birth of Christ. I do think that there are other meanings to Christmas that should also be celebrated.

This season is a time for giving. It's not a secret that I'm cheap. But come December I get so excited to spend so much money! Why is this? It doesn't stress me out like it does the rest of the year. I spend so much time thinking about what I can get my friends and family that they will really enjoy. I also spend time thinking of the less fortunate and how I can help them. While part of me wishes I thought this way throughout the whole year...I know that what makes this season special, what makes me want to do these things not begrudgingly, is that it's for a 'season'. I love that Christmas is a time for giving.

Christmas is also a time to be with family. My family lives 30 minutes away and while we see them often, we've seen them so much more over the past two weeks than we normally do. The same goes for John's family. They live about three hours away but we've seen each other 3 times in the past few weeks! Once again, it would be nice if we maintained this throughout the year...but it's also what makes this time of year so unique and special.

I hope today that you are excited about the next 48 hours. I hope that this season has brought you joy and a bit of childlike anticipation. I hope that regardless of your faith, you are able to recognize the magic of this season. And don't forget to give. Spend some time today researching some local and international opportunities. If there was ever a time to give to the United Way, to give to the refugees, to give to the lower income families in your city or town...now is the time. Now is when we will actually do it, while we are caught up in the generosity of Christmas. In a month, in six months, we will be stressed over the details of life and giving will be the last things on our mind. In a season where we give to ourselves (our family, our kids) take a few minutes to pick someone outside of your circle who could use a blessing too.

Merry Christmas!

Dining Room Table Christmas Centerpiece

A few days ago I posted some dining room centerpiece inspiration for Christmas. I decided to tackle that room first and wanted to share what I ended up doing. I already had these birch candles and wanted to use as much of what I had on hand as possible. I found the wooden sectioned container at Ross for $11. I also already had the berries on hand. So for me, the total cost was only $11 and I will be able to use what I bought for other things throughout the year.

My favorite part is the paper runner though. I had been looking for paper runners on Etsy and they are expensive (also you have to buy then in like 30 feet incriments)! I didn't want to do that. My next idea was to buy normal brown kraft paper and stencil is with polka dots or stripes...but that sounded like a lot of work.

And then I found this WRAPPING PAPER at TJ Maxx. It was $2.99!  and was the perfect width so I didn't need to trim or cut it. I also still have some left to wrap presents!!

It is thicker than normal paper so it is pretty difficult to rip. I was so excited because it was exactly what I was looking for to give my table a contemporary feel...and it was under $3!

TJ Maxx had some great wrapping paper options that were really unique and elegant so check them out.

I love the finished result of my dining room table. Simple, inexpensive and a little modern.

Christmas Decor Ideas for your Dining Room

I know. I know.

It's only just November.

But...I do love Christmas and before you know it Thanksgiving will be here...which means it's getting very close to time to decorate. I am going to try very hard this year to decorate well. I don't necessarily want to go overboard but I would like to do each room well and with style. I love the idea of a good dining room centerpiece so I thought I would start there.

Here are a few that I've found that have given me some (p)inspiration for my own dining room.

I love this one for a few reasons.

1. It looks simple enough to duplicate
2. I have birch candles like this already
3. Love this table!

This one is also simple, rustic, but beautiful. I love the garland going down the center. 

This one is a bit more traditional and I love the fresh greenery.

Finally, I like this one for either an outdoor dining area or an indoor one. It would be easy to duplicate simply by cutting up a log. 

Stay tuned to see what I end up doing in my own dining room this year!

I'm back!

So, it's been a while! Sometimes I think we all go through periods in life where we might feel like we have nothing to say. Or at least nothing to say that other people might want to read. But it's also good to keep writing...I enjoy the process whether or not it's read by the masses. All of that to say, I'm going to be trying to post on here more regularly-hopefully a few times a week but I make no promises.

Today's post is inspired by the upcoming Christmas season...it's coming y'all! Like most of you reading this, we are blessed to consider ourselves the middle class of America. That being said, our kids quite honestly don't NEED another thing. We do enjoy giving them gifts and I love the Christmas season in general but I don't want to just buy then something because I've got a quota to meet. I've been thinking though, about what I can get them this year that won't just be another thing they don't play with once February rolls around. 

Because Pinterest is amazing and not at all a waste of time and energy...I've been browsing that site for a few ideas and here are some great ones that have inspired me a bit...

First Up: Handmade fishing pole and fish! I actually have a friend who made something similar to this last year for her kids and it has been a big hit. I also love the fact that both parents can contribute to this finished product. You can purchase the items pretty inexpensively and the end result with be something very cute and one of a kind. I think it would also be fun to have a few more sea creature options besides just fish...maybe make a few fish, a crab, a shark, etc...

Another good idea is this Hopscotch Mat. I think this one looks easy enough for beginner sewers and the kids will love to jump around on it too!

3.  I love this drum set! So cute and easy. I think I will definitely attempt this one this year. The color and size options are endless!! 

So now you have a few cute ideas to get the wheels turning in that brain of yours. What are some fun gifts you've made for you kids?

Thrift Store Finds

Yesterday was my first day of Christmas vacation! We started it off right by sleeping in...until 8:00!! (Lilly did too!) We also finished up all of our Christmas shopping and went to a thrift store as well. Here are a few of my favorite things that we found:

• Christmas Lights! We bought two colored net lights for $.25 each. We were able to test them before bringing them home and they worked. We had been wanting to get some more (I love how easy the nets are to use on bushes) but didn't want to spend $11 a piece for each one! $.25 is much better!
• This trivet may not seem too exciting but it just so happens to match all of my Christmas dishes! My dishes are older (from the 90's) and they don't make them any more so this was quite a find...and for only $1.25

• Tree Topper: This guy was only $.50 and so lovely don't you think!

How to throw a Christmas Party

One of my favorite things about Christmas is throwing our annual Christmas party. I love the planning, decorating, and dressing up...and of course love catching up with all of our good friends each year.

I feel like of every year, this year's party went the smoothest, despite that I am sooo much busier this year than I've every been before!

Here are a few tips that I've learned to make your party throwing a little bit easier:

1. Pick the day: Every other year I've done it on a Friday. A Friday that I've worked a few hours in the morning and had about 3 hours to prepare. Bad. Idea... This year I did it on a Saturday. I woke up around 7:30 and cleaned/cooked throughout the day. While I was busy the whole day I wasn't too busy. I was able to cook at my own pace and didn't feel at all rushed.

2. Pick good foods: This year I put a lot of thought into the food I made. I wanted a good variety but also wanted things that good be prepared ahead of time. In the past I have had to basically wait until about 4:00 to begin because everything I made was hot. This is so stressful. Below was my menu...most things could be prepared ahead of time. Basically I only had two things that I needed to wait to cook.

• Marinated Ham and Swiss Poppy Seed Buns
• Cream Cheese Pin Wheels
• Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies (From a 'Just Add Water' Package) Easier is Better
• Various Specialty Cheeses, served with Crackers and Grapes
• Hummus and Pita Chips
• Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods
• Broccoli and Red Pepper served with Ranch Dressing
• Mojitos

I felt like this provided a great spread with a little bit of everything.

3. Have fun games: We always do a white elephant gift exchange, as well as a cookie game where you try to get a Ginger Snap from their forehead to their mouth without using your hands (The Great American Cookie Race) By having these games every year it gives people something to look forward to and expect :)

Here are a few pictures of the night, we had a blast!

The Spread

Marinated Ham and Swiss Buns

Mojitos (love the straws)

Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Cheese Spread

The Great American Cookie Race

White Elephant Gift Exchange

For my favors, each person received a peanut butter kiss cookie packaged in a red CD case. This saved so much money, was super cute and who doesn't like cookies? I used a hole-punch to put two holes in the top corner and tied it with a lime green bow.

Christmas Card Tree

Since our Christmas party is coming up this weekend, I'm putting the finishing touches on our outdoor decor. I wanted the porch to look cute and welcoming.

I have a topiary tree on the left with a poinsettia and wooden church. I picked up the old wooden chair at a thrift store for $6. The sled was an unfinished wood sled from Michael's and I painted it red and green and added some scrapbook paper with Mod Podge. I like how it turned out don't you? 

The greenery under the chair is from my yard. I just placed it in glass bottles and wrapped the bottles with red ribbon.

I wanted to display our Christmas cards in a cute way and decided to incorporate these branches and vase that I already had. I hole-punched each card and then tied them to the branches with ribbon. The picture above shows it on our porch, where I have it but the picture below is a up-close photo so you can see how it looks.

Advent Tree DIY

On black Friday I picked this advent tree up at Michael's. I had been looking for them everywhere but couldn't find them online or at the Michael's at home. When I spotted it on black Friday in northern VA I was quick to snatch it up!

The first thing I did was paint. I removed the boxes and painted the 'tree' green and the star red. After that was done I cut out some squares from a book of coordinating Christmas scrapbook paper that I had also purchased on black Friday. I used five different pages, that all coordinated together.

I brushed on one coat of Mod Podge to the box, laid the paper down, and then brushed on another coat on top of the paper.

As you can see, each box has a peg on it. Using needle-nose pliers I removed each peg and then once I'd applied the second coat of Mod Podge, I re-applied it by screwing it in thru the paper. I did it before the Mod Podge completely dried so that the glue helped hold the peg in place. Everything is dry now and has been for a few days, the pegs aren't going anywhere.

Finally, for the numbers, I just hand-drew them on, using a black pen I purchased at Michael's. It was a simple project and I'm sure I could have made it more ornate/complicated but I like how it turned out, what do you think?

Fun with buttons! (And Fleece Pants)

For those of you who have been following for a while you know I'm in a book club and you also probably know that it's the best book club ever! We just finished reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and it was excellent. Well, last night was our annual Christmas Craft night and my friend Christine came up with the idea to make two adorable button crafts. The first is a wreath made out of buttons (simply string your buttons onto wire) and the second is a Christmas tree. (Buttons threaded onto twine in the shape of a tree) Aren't they adorable! The pictures below are of the finished ornaments hanging proudly on my tree.

Also, I just had to share this picture of Lilly because her outfit is so cute...

I purchased this aqua colored fleece at Joann's on black Friday for only $.70 (it was in the remnant bin which was an additional 75% off) I had enough to make Lilly these cute pants as well as a fleece hat. The pants matched this onesie she already had perfectly!

Don't you like the heart on the leg?

How to Save on Christmas

I thought I'd share a few Christmas saving tips today. At a time when it is so easy to spend spend spend, every little bit can help right?

1. Kohl's Cash: Believe it or not Kohl's cash can be purchased on E-bay! Kohl's cash is basically a gift card that can only be used at Kohl's. Shoppers who receive this 'cash' after making a big purchase at Kohl's will sell it on E-bay for a discount. I bought $30 in Kohl's cash yesterday for only $23, which is 24% off! Next, wait for a good deal, or for something to go on sale and then pounce, you can end up making out really well. (For example, I believe their Keurig's are on sale this week, combine the sales price with the savings you made on the Kohl's cash and then add in an online discount code and you've got yourself a deal!



2. Homemade Gifts: Check out my post on some great homemade gifts that will save you some dough (Click Here)



Looking for an easy, low cost gift? Check out my handmade scarves....only $4.99!

3. Ebay: Ebay has a lot more to offer...did you know you can buy gift cards on there? If you have someone on your list that you were planning on getting a $25 starbucks gift card for you can usually snag it on Ebay for about $22...not a huge savings but $3 is $3! (You can also typically find Starbucks gift cards at Costco or Sams for a deal as well..such as a four pack of $25 gift cards for only $80)




4. Consignment Shopping: Lilly is in need of some clothes this Christmas. I went to my favorite children's consignment shop yesterday and found her some adorable stuff, some with the tags still on! Specifically, I found these adorable Gymboree shoes for $6, tags still on them...new $22!

How to have a craft night!

I had a craft night a few days ago and it was so much fun!! Here's the craft we made:

It was a wreath made out of slips of scrap book paper and I love how it turned out. I purchased a coordinating scrapbooking book with 24 different types of paper (48 total pieces of paper). I cut all the paper into slips that were 5 inches long by 1 inch wide. (Yes, that means I cut 1152 pieces of paper)

I charged $10 per person and each person received a Ziploc bag full of all the paper they would need, a piece of ribbon and a plane 12 inch Styrofoam ring. I had four hot glue guns available as well as four staplers so that four people could sit around the table at a time and do the craft.

You fold each piece of paper so that it makes a loop and then you staple or hot glue the end so that it stays. Then you begin gluing your loops onto the wreath. I tried to coordinate my colors so that I didn't have a lot of one color in any area, but for the most part there's really no rhyme or reason and you can't really mess it up.

I found that each person needed about 72 pieces of paper to complete their wreath.

Here are a few more pictures of some of the completed wreaths:

The package of 48 pieces of paper was enough for 13 people to do the craft. Besides buying the paper and Styrofoam wreaths you just need staples, staplers, hot glue guns and hot glue sticks.

For the people who had already finished the craft, or who were waiting to make it, I had Elf on for them too watch and finger food to eat.

Below are the recipes I used and they were all delicious!