Cheers!

Well, its here. The time of merriment is upon us. We are heading to go pick up my brother (who is an official airman now- so proud of you Bradley!) from the airport, and I can promise you there will be tears. I have not seen my brother in such a long time I can't stop smiling. I'm so excited to see the family!! We will be at the beach all next week- so I won't be back until after New Years. Yipee! I hope that everyone's Christmas is wonderful and you all have an amazing time with your families- and make sure you eat lots of cookies. Christmas calories don't count.

Before I go- here's some pictures of Christmas at my house.... I LOVE decorating for christmas!

 

Our Tree- named Mindenhall (after an NFL player- can you tell it was Luke's year to name the tree??)

 

I love my new 12 Days of Christmas ornaments- aren't they cute? Thanks Aunt Darlene!

 

Our "naughty" stockings...I've been bad Santa. I was always that kid that deserved coal in my stocking growing up, oh well. 

 My centerpiece that I whipped up with fake fruit and branches from Mindenhall. My father-in-law was coming to visit and I didn't have anything on our table- so I clipped a lot of branches from the back of our tree and voila!

Cheers Everyone! Merry Christmas!!!

Sorry you haven't seen me...

We have been CRAZY busy at work getting ready for the holidays- sorry I haven't been around. And I'll be back on Thursday, wish me luck tomorrow, we have 5 installs lined up!!!! Crazy! I'll leave you with this pretty that I saw over at LGN of Kristen's fabulous work- and *spoiler alert* I think something like this might be happening in my bedroom! I think its a fabulous idea for renters who don't want to commit to paint their whole bedroom- this gives you amazing punch with minimal effort. 

A little something for you, (courtesy of some of our favorite people)

Today on the 25 Days of Christmas, I am trying to make you money, not spend it. Here are some great giveaways around the blogging world to help you buy gifts for the ones you love, or maybe just a little something for you!

A Cup of Jo always has AMAZING giveaways, and this week is no exception. Spotted Moth is offering one of Joanna's readers $100 gift certificate, which I would use toward these fabulous pretty's...

 

Coco + Kelley is featuring a great Pier One giveaway... Love all of these...

And LGN is having a great giveaway sponsored by Shannon from Pink Wallpaper and Designer's Attic. Pick a yard of your favorite fabric.

I would def go for Lee Jofa/ Kelly Wearstler's Katana- I've loved that pattern for forever!

Make sure you enter!!

Get On It

So I know what you are saying... "Christmas cards can wait a little longer. Surely I don't have to do them today...I just don't feel like it, it takes too long" Well wake up people! Christmas is only 17 days away! Go to TinyPrints and be done in 15 minutes. To get you inspired, here are a few of my favorites. (And yes, I practice what I preach, I sent out my cards earlier this week!)

 

This might be my favorite. 

but this one gives it a run for its money. Love it!

Because I can't live without mine

Riley introduced me to these and I haven't looked back. After stealing hers for 6 months I finally got my own and they have been an essential part of my wardrobe for the past 3 years. I have *gasp* even worn them out of the house. Available at llbean.

Gifts that taste as good as they look

When it comes to giving gifts, there are always those people you never really know what to get-  you don't really know them well enough to pick out something personal like clothes but you know you need to get them something. This year, instead of coping out and getting them an itunes gift card- go with some chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate- you would be crazy if you didn't. The treats below are all super scrumptious and beautiful to boot.

 

And for those of you who have lots of patience and are good at cooking- go DIY, but for the candy apple DIY challenged, these are a great option. Every time I try to make them, I get caramel EVERYWHERE and I end up eating almost all of the toppings before they make it on the apples.  

All from Rue La La. And if you aren't a member, go here to get hooked up... http://www.ruelala.com/invite/ebeaver01

Because I have always wanted one.

Available here.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this is on my wish list.

Comes out this weekend. Need I say more. I love these movies. Available at Amazon here.

Look here for Deliciousness.

Today our 25 Days of Christmas fun is a recipe. Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Muffins from Amanda to be exact. I am able to personally testify that these taste as AMAZING as they look. Incredible. When Luke and I went to the mountains the other weekend to celebrate our anniversary, I made these for breakfast and I could barely get them out of the oven before Luke devoured them. 5 in one sitting. Yep they are that good. They are great for a holiday breakfast, and add coffee and a fire = perfect. Head over to seegirlcook for the recipe. Enjoy!

25 Days of Christmas

Its December, eek! Christmas is sneaking up on us, and are you ready for it? Are you ready for all the eating, singing, being jolly, and shopping till you drop? Have you ordered the mistletoe, strung up the lights and bought the gifts? Am I panicking you? No worries, because I am kicking off the 25 days of christmas, upon which each day I will post a fabulous recipe for you to make, a wonderful idea for a gift, or a craft to do. Totally takes the stress off. To kick off our party, here is one of my favorite ideas for a great gift for the girls. LarqueByjason is one of my favorite Etsy shoppes, offering beautiful rosebud jewerly. Mr. Jason is a wonderfully nice vendor (I can attest because I bought my bridesmaids gifts from him- he was wonderful to work with and might have happened to slip in a free pair of earrings for me, so I love him.) All his jewerly runs from $12.50 for a pair of red rosebud earrings (which I have and wear all the time) to about $25 to a necklace. Totally reasonable and one of a kind. I have gotten so many compliments on mine! And to top things off , he is having a 2 for 1 sale this week! Buy any pair and any piece valued at up to $14 free. done deal.