12.20.2013

Our Halls are DECKED! + DIY Ornament Wreath

TGIF!!!

I am one happy lady today!  It is my last day of school!

I am so thrilled to relax for two weeks!

Today I am excited to share our Christmas decor with you!

I had initially hoped to go a little funky/non-traditional this Christmas, but then I just realized that our house -at this point- just calls for traditional Christmas and I think it turned out to be really beautiful!

This first stop on this tour is our living room...

I finally ordered personalized stockings this year...something that has been on my wishlist for us since our first Christmas together two years ago!

I feel like the mantle still needs a little more, but just never got around to it this year!  Next year I am hoping to get all my nutcrackers from my parents' house and maybe display a bunch of them on the mantle.

The glow of the Christmas lights is so pretty!



Next stop is the sun room (aka: my girlie room and the one room with a bit of funky)!

The sun room is immediately off the living room and here is the view from the door!

Bryce got a much smaller tree this year and at first I was disappointed, but I think it really suits our cozy little sun room!

Here are two of my favorite ornaments:

This little VMI guy was made for Bryce by one of his mom's best friends who has since passed away, so it is very special!

This is the little angel that was a tree topper on the teeny tree I had in my playroom growing up!

This is my attempt at funky in our house...blue ornaments and my favorite pink and blue house!


One thing special about this Christmas has been incorporating some of my grandparents' Christmas decor- I just love this vintage angel that was my grandmother's!

And now for the dining room!

The place mats were also my grandmother's and the full set is 10 place mats, so I know that down the road I will still be able to use them on a larger table!

I found this reindeer at Michael's recently and added the bow...I love him, but he reminds me a bit of the chocolate bunnies you get at Easter, ha!  Doesn't the gold look a bit like foil?

Every year I hang ornaments from our chandelier and this year, I think I found my favorite arrangement!  I have been meaning to add some ribbon to the candles to match the reindeer as well...

I've had this elf advent calendar since college and love him!



Our bar area also got some holiday spirit!


There are just a few holiday touches in the kitchen.

I love this tree I made last year!
(Directions here!)

I love this trivet that my class from student teaching gave me:  "We love you DEERly!"

And finally, I love this reindeer towel I found when we were at the Waterfowl Festival this year!

Ignore the wrinkles..this is real life, people!

And last, but certainly not least, is my DIY ornament wreath and the view from outside!


There's just something about a Christmas tree in the window...

Our happy home!

And many of you who follow me on Instagram, and already saw the wreath, have asked how I made it!  It was super easy!  I followed the directions found here.

All my ornaments came from the Dollar Tree except the pink and the miniature ones.
I used all ornaments pictured except one box of the minis and two of the long tubes.

All you do is hot glue the ornaments to your wreath.  Start with the largest ornaments first, then the medium, and finally the minis to fill in any gaps.  I also paid attention to my color arrangement as I went.

And voila!

Are your halls decked yet?

Do you prefer classic Christmas or a more modern spin on decor?

Have a great weekend!

12.18.2013

3 Restaurants, 1 Night

Happy Hump Day friends!

Can you believe Christmas is just one week away?

I am ready to enjoy the holiday and say hello to 2014!

Today I wanted to share a fun date night Bryce and I had last weekend.

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of pictures...the whole night was quite impromptu and I wasn't prepared with my camera!

Sunday night, we went to an annual Candelight Service with Bryce's family for Christmas.  It was at Grace Covenant, a historic church downtown and we have a tradition of always making our way to The Jefferson Hotel after Candlelight to see all the decorations.

My favorite is always the giant gingerbread house...

This year they outdid themselves with a sleigh fashioned out of gingerbread.
It contained more than 350 pounds of gingerbread, 400 pounds of icing, 70 pounds of fondant, and more!


I really wanted to climb into the sleigh with Santa!


After checking out the decor we decided to grab a drink at Lemaire, the Jefferson's 5 Star Restaurant!

Bryce got his favorite, an Old Fashioned and I got the Pom Queen.

Bryce's stepbrother is Lemaire's executive chef and his pimiento cheese is my favorite so I convinced Bryce we had to have some!

While munching on the cheese, we discussed where to go for dinner and I mentioned how I had always wanted to have a night where you have each course at a different restaurant.  Bryce said "Let's do it tonight!" and a fabulous date night got started.

After finishing our drink and appetizer course at Lemaire, we decided to head to Edo's Squid, another Richmond favorite.

We gorged on pasta...my favorite is their spaghetti with crab meat as seen here.  Bryce ordered the carbonara!
If you can't tell by the picture, I was a bit surprised by the flash!

And finally, for dessert, we went to the location of our first date:  Can Can Brasserie.

The atmosphere at Can Can is truly magical!

We shared the Chocolate & Strawberry Mousse and sipped on after dinner drinks!

At the end of the evening the waiter at Can Can snapped our picture asking if it was a special occasion- we answered "Kinda...we just went to 3 restaurants in one night!"  We then explained our evening and he loved the idea and said he would have to do it soon with his girlfriend!

All in all, it was a fantastic evening and certainly helped curb my typical Sunday night blues!

Have you ever done this?

What are your favorite date night ideas?

Come back Friday to see how I've decked our halls!

Have a great day!

12.13.2013

JoJo Loves You Bling Sale!

Happy Friday readers!

How are things?

I am feeling happy because in exactly one week I will be on Christmas vacation!  Now I just need to keep chugging along...

Today I'm writing to share a fun sale with you.

If you'll recall a while back I posted about JoJo Loves You, here.

I'm mentioning her again, because right now she is having an awesome sale!

If you haven't heard of the company before, take a look at some of her pretties...

What girl doesn't love a little pink sparkle?

I love how delicate the oval shape is!

If you've been reading my blog for even the least bit of time, you probably have a hunch that I love pearls!

And finally, my personal favorite is the Party Bling Line:

Shut the front door!

How festive would these be for a holiday party?  Fa la la la!

JoJo was sweet enough to send me a pair of these and I am loving them! They are so glam and really make a statement!

Those of you who follow me on Instagram know I had a fun time in the library taking selfies for this post, ha!

Aren't they fab?

So now, today is your lucky day!

This weekend only JoJo is having her huge Holiday Bling Sale!  You can get mega deals on any three pair of blings!  Why not buy a pair for your mom, your bestie, and yourself?  They would make the perfect stocking stuffer or Christmas present!

See all the details below!


Are you a fan of glitzy jewels?

Finished all your Christmas shopping yet?

Have a great weekend!

12.05.2013

Holiday Gift Guide: Gents

Happy Thursday readers!

This teacher is counting the days to the weekend...

Did y'all have a nice Black Friday?  Anyone do any major shopping?

I personally did all my Black Friday shopping online...on the couch...in my pajamas!

I am nearly done with Christmas shopping and it feels good!

Today I bring you my Holiday Gift Guide for the gents!  If you're in need of some inspiration for that special man in your life you have come to the right place!

I am getting giddy just looking at this guide!  My heart melts for a Southern gentleman and I know these gifts would certainly please my man!

For the guy who always has the latest gadgets...

Why not give your grill master all the tools to make his friends envious?

Whether he's just a fan or an athlete himself, these gifts are sure to please your sporty man!

Because the little man in your life deserves the best, too!

And there you have it!

What men are you shopping for this year?

Have a great Thursday!