Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I hope you are taking time to unwind, enjoy and spend time with your loved ones. I am looking forward to relaxing at my parents house, eating some great food and watching my family open the gifts I have for them. Have a Merry Christmas!

images: HomeSweetHome

Christmas wrapping

One last day of work, then I'm off to spend time with my family for the holidays! I'm really excited and everything is coming together nicely. As promised, today I am going to share my approach to wrapping this year. I wanted to do something elegant, but also somewhat festive and fun. What do you think?

I printed the gifts tags on ivory cardstock and cut them out with a 3" circle punch. I used three shades (two reds and one ivory) of embroidery thread and black lace ribbon to add texture and contrast. The paper is a smooth kraft from Ikea, which I picked up a few months ago. The origami flowers are from this tutorial on Folding Trees, which was shared with me! I used a metallic ivory textweight stock for the flowers.

Happy wrapping everyone! I'm off to do a few more.

homemade holiday

Hello everyone! I am finally going to show you the projects that I have been working on! I am definitely pleased with the final outcome, but I'm not sure if I will do a homemade Christmas project again without trying it out first. Here is my first really failed attempt at making these bath fizzies. I obviously do not recommend you ever try this. Seriously, never try this. I can tell you are considering trying this. Don't.

Then I decided to put my ingredients to good use by making bath salts (I added food coloring) and sugar scrub. I didn't lose hope in Martha completely. I am quite pleased with the turnout and there were no production problems compared to the dreaded bath fizzies!

I also made this wine bar nut mix, which I have made in the past and love, as well as sugared almonds. Delicious and super easy!

I got the sugared almond recipe from a friend a year or two ago, and they are super easy, as well!

• Bring 1 1/2 c. water and 1 1/2 c. sugar to boil

• Add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. vanilla

• Turn off stove and mix in 1 lb. whole almonds until coated

• Spread evenly on baking sheet, bake for 20 min. at 350

• Continue to baste with syrup every 5 min.

• Sugary coating will harden once out of oven

Enjoy!

one week 'til christmas!

Happy Friday to you! I have been a busy-bee lately. I've been working on a couple handmade presents, some of which are turning out, others not so much. I'll post some pics of the failures later on. The success will have to wait until the unveiling :) We are going to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra tonight. I'm excited to be festive and in the holiday spirit. I've never been and its always nice to do something new. Can you imagine if one of these was your tree? Yes, darling, we open our gifts beachside.

images: Coastal Living

bedrooms via HomeSweetHome

Hi everyone! I have been such a bad blogger lately! The holiday busy-ness has been getting the best of me and I'm sorry. I feel a New Years resolution coming on! Check out these gorgeous bedrooms I spotted on HomeSweetHome. There's something to love about each one.

Happy Hump Day to you!

images: HomeSweetHome

happy weekend!

Hello everyone! I hope your week is winding down nicely and you are looking forward to the weekend! I have been pretty successful with my shopping and gift wrapping, but I still feel like I have a lot to do. I am traveling with my family around Christmas and will be moving at the beginning of January (ahh!) What do you do to keep not only sane, but cheery around the holidays?

images: Coastal Living

comfy-cozy days

Woah! It got cold outside. I'll accept this weather through Christmas, but come January I will already be ready for Spring! On such cooold days, I ache for surroundings like these, a good girly-book and a hot peppermint mocha. Make it a large!

images: HomeSweetHome, pointclickhome, Annie Schlechter

gift wrapping!

Hello everyone! I have been up to some exciting gift wrapping and will be at it again tonight! I have just a little teaser for you now. The final product will reveal itself when it's good and ready. Okay, so maybe I'm talking it up a bit too much. You can be the judge, like I said, when it's good and ready :)

Coulson Macleod wall art

Last night I fell COMPLETELY in love with the work of Coulson Macleod... and I'm pretty sure you're about to, also!

If you aren't in love yet, maybe my own personal fav will put you over the edge. Drumroll, please...

 

 

Each piece is limited edition, with only 250 produced. I desperately want the last one. We'll see how the holidays treat me :)

images: Coulson Macleod

let the festivities begin!

I hope everyone had a great Friday and is getting excited for the weekend! I'm headed to a Christmas party with my high school friends and can't wait! A lot of people say that their relationships with their high school friends have disseminated, and I am very grateful that mine have remained close! For the past three years one of my good friends has been hosting the party. This year's theme is Christmas Pajamas with an "As Seen on TV" white elephant gift exchange. Talk about eliminating the "prettying" process.. PJs here I come! The rest of my weekend is dedicated to organizing and shopping. Have a splendid one!

Disclaimer: There will be no children at this party. This image is used for its Christmas-tree-presence only.

image: Coastal Living

Coastal Living love

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great first week of December. It seems to be flying by and the type-A in me (that's all of me by the way, 100% type-A) is trying to stay organized and on top of my gift shopping! Here is some pretty home decor for your viewing pleasure...

images: Coastal Living