christmas decor 2014

Hey y'all! 

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner's 

Christmas Tour of Homes. 

It was just the push I needed to get pictures taken of my decor this year. 

My favorite thing in my house is in my library, of course. 

This year I did my first book tree. 

It was super simple to do and only took about 10 minutes. 

I cannot believe I have never tried it before. 

I decided not to do a big tree this year. 

I will be a D's house the week before and week after Christmas. 

So, it didn't make a lot of sense to have two big trees. 

My wonderful landlord gave me this live tree that I can plant after the holidays 

and it was perfect. 

Every year I have to do a different wrapping theme. 

If anyone needs any wrapping paper, 

I have PLENTY to choose from. ;) 

I really liked this brown paper look this year. 

Moving on to my main living space ...  

I have a wooden beam that runs the length of my apartment. 

And this is my second favorite part of my Christmas decor. 

I hung the ornaments with fishing line and it looks like they are just floating in space. 

I love the look of this tray 

It is so hard to get a picture of the whole beam

I got all of my decorations from Hobby Lobby. 

That place gets me every time. 

I swear I cannot walk out of that place without spending $50. 

If you are stopping by from the linkup be sure to say Hi! 

weekend - christmas decorating

Saturday: 

D and I met both of his siblings new special someones. 

I really liked them both. 

Especially his sister's new boyfriend, 

he is a fellow Seminole fan. 
Go Noles! 

Then D and I had wine club at IvyT's house. 
It was a ton of fun as usual. 

We hung out on IvyT's awesome porch until 1:00 AM talking and listening to music. 

Then D and I made a late night early morning trip to Walmart. 

Because I planned to spend all day Sunday in my PJs decorating for Christmas. 

the Wild Turkey was for me :) 

Sunday:

I caved and decorated for Christmas this weekend. 

I typically do not decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. 

This year I will be at D's for Thanksgiving and the weekend after. 

So, I decided to decorate my apartment yesterday. 

This is my first Christmas in my apartment and it was so much fun decorating it with D. 

I was too tired to take pictures once we were finished! 

But I did get one that shows what colors I'm using. 

I put on Christmas music and had chili in the Crockpot for supper. 

D had to make an emergency run to Walmart for more Christmas lights. ;) 

I really love the way it looks! 

I promise I will get pictures posted before Christmas. 

Since I probably will not post again before Thanksgiving. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Eat plenty of turkey and pie and 

just love on your friends and family! 

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Linking up with: 
Monday Morning Gossip, 
Weekending, & 

2013 holiday season

I had an absolutely fabulous holiday season! 

Christmas was great. 

New Year was great. 

And all the time between was great. 

Are you getting the gist?! 

I think I need to use "great" at least one more time in this post! ;)

One of the perks of working at a university 

is the 2 week vacation at Christmas! 

Of course, getting paid for no work is already a perk. 

But this was D and I's first Christmas season together. 

Our 8 month anniversary was on Christmas day! 

We spent the entire week 

between Christmas and New Year's Day together. 

I was a little worried that we would get sick of each other 

or that one of us would get tired of the other, 

but I worried for no reason. 

It was actually super relaxing. 

We did not make a lot of plans and just really enjoyed doing nothing most days. 

The weekend before Christmas, D and I 

went to my hometown and did Christmas with my family there. 

Then on Christmas Eve, 

I exchanged presents with my best friends 

and then went to D's extended family Christmas. 

Just a sampling of presents ...
I got a Keurig!!

Christmas morning we went to D's parents' house to open presents 

and then just lounged around in our pajamas the rest of the day. 

The week between Christmas and New Year was my favorite. 

We sat around the fire one night 

and roasted marshmallows, made s'mores, and drank coffee. 

D's fire pit

S'mores!

Mmmmm ... Coffee! 

We went hunting that Saturday. 

Neither D nor I killed anything but we still had fun. 

In the woods, waiting on the deer

Then Monday, we went up to Augusta. 

We walked along the Savannah River, donated blood, 

and ended the day with some Coldstone ice cream. 

Meet D! 

Random river walk shots

More river walk shots ...
I must have a thing for pathways

Donating blood

Reward for donating blood!

New Year's Eve we had a big fire at D's parents' house. 

Around midnight, we all set his parents' Christmas tree on fire. 

That will definitely make you more cautious 

about Christmas trees. 

That thing went up in a second and it was a huge flame. 

I was helping D put it on the fire, so I did not get a single picture. 

The New Year fire before the Christmas tree 

It was so hard going back to work on the 2nd. 

I still have not fully recovered! 

I am definitely looking forward to more weeks like that one! 

I hope y'all had a GREAT holiday season! :)

christmas mug swap

I promise to post a Vegas recap soon. 

I brought back a fun souvenir from Vegas ... 

the flu! 

So, I am playing catch up this week. 

A few weeks ago, 

I signed up for a fun Christmas Mug Swap 

with the lovely G.I. Joe's Wife. 

I mean, who doesn't love a good coffee cup?! 

You can never have too many in my opinion. 

I was partnered up with Jo. 

{Her blog was not linked to her profile, I would love to share if I could} 

And she sent me the cutest mug. 

I have used it constantly since receiving it! 

Thanks so much Jo! 

And thanks Sarah for hosting such a great swap! 

Christmas for the kiddos!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is buying presents!

Especially for my kiddos. 

{aka my two nieces Whit & Cas and my nephew Nash}

It was a lot of fun buying for a baby again.

Whit & Cas are getting harder to buy for the older they get.
So I just bought them a couple of things to unwrap and then I am taking them shopping to pick out a few outfits.
I would hate to pick out something "uncool!"
Here is some of what they will unwrap Christmas day:

W
Pea Coat from Old Navy

Well charm necklace

C
Pea Coat from Old Navy

Well Charm Necklace

N

Clothes
{mainly from Old Navy & Target}

{the shoes are in the same color as the plaid shirt in the first pic}

Bouncer from Amazon

His 1st Christmas outfit from Target

It looks like the dude racked up.
But the girls will surpass his haul when I take them shopping!
I am really excited about seeing the girls in their coats.
These are the first "grown up" coats that they have had.
Honestly, they do not really need them in South GA.
But I wanted to get them something nicer than a hoodie to wear!

As you can tell I LOVE spoiling my kiddos!
And probably go a little overboard.
But it is just so much fun!


Who are your favorite people to buy for?

what Christmas is all about...

Precisely wrapped packages.

Stockings.

Bright colored lights.

Jingle bells.

Snow.

Santa Claus.

Sales and bargains.

Extravagant parties.

Delicious food.

Family time.

Tradition.

What do you think of when you think about Christmas?

Please do not misunderstand me. 

I LOVE all of these things.

But Christmas is about so much more.

It is about a Savior who willingly chose to become a man.

To live on this Earth to be betrayed and sacrificed.

It is about the birth of Jesus Christ.

I know many only believe he was a good man.

I believe he is the Son of God.

His life and His message are profound.

And I think that gets lost in all of the trimmings and trappings.

I am not an eloquent writer.

And this is not coming out the way I want it to.

But hopefully, you get what I am trying to say.

Jesus loves you.

He died for every single person reading this post.

Even if you only believe he was just a good man.

I think it was summed up best in A Charlie Brown Christmas:

the day after...

We had a quiet and low key Christmas, which I think suited us very well this year. The first set of holidays are over so hopefully next year will be a little bit easier. Hopefully, everyone had a great time yesterday with friends and family!