Not So Much of a Honeymoon

Every year, Daniel and I go on a self described "honeymoon" to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We pick a new island in the Caribbean and enjoy a week together. This year, we had a baby, which resulted in a very different kind of vacation.

My parent's graciously offered to come along for the ride so, this past June, the five of us rented a house down in the Florida Keys.

There was some fun, some swimming, and some celebrating; but mostly there was lots of baby.

I'm glad we went but I am already looking forward to next year's honeymoon, just Daniel and me.

DIY Advent Calendar

Christmas is upon us! This year things are a little tight but I managed to get our Advent Calendar up and ready before the first.

I went with a simple, colorful design this year.

Each Advent is a scrap of 3" scrapbooking paper that I had, with a blank back for writing our sentimental sentiments on them. I decided against our usual advent to make things a little easier on us. Just a simple note each day. These are they types of advents I cherish the most.

Aren't the little clothespins the best?

The name of the game this Christmas is easy and fun and I think this meets those requirements. I'm still coming down from a delicious Thanksgiving with family but I'm looking forward to getting more Christmas up and out this week.

Cheers!

Happy Thanksgiving

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Daniel and I are spending this holiday making an inappropriately sized dinner for two and loving it. Hope your day is just as wonderful however you spend it.

Cheers!

The Wicked Web we Weave

I've been eyeing Halloween door decorations for a while now (say since we moved in) and there are some pretty cute ones out there.

This one would be awesome if you had a way to cut out all those bats

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And I've always loved this one. It is just too cute!

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So I thought to myself, what can I make that will look good and be entirely free? Spiderweb!

This project was super easy and very quick. Just grab some black electrical tape, some scissors and go to town. 

I went for the classic design. First you start with the spokes (look at all that light now that the trees are gone!)

Then cut pieces to make the "webbing". My only advice is to put the tape on the outside of your door or window. The backside of the tape looks a little different, so it is more dramatic to your guests on the outside.

There you have it. Simple, quick, and spooky. As to why I only went part way? I like the unfinished look and it does block the light, which I am loving right now, so I stopped when it felt right. You could even add a dangling spider to really top it off!

We still need to get pumpkins to carve but at least I'm finally getting in the spirit!

Cheers!

Spooky Mantle- 2012 Edition

I've actually had the mantle decorated since mid-September (weird I know but it was a matter of convenience). I basically reused what I had last year and mixed in a few things that were already there.

Here is 2011's version

Now for 2012

I didn't go quite as crazy with the spider webs this year because it turns out Daniel was right, they do make it hard to have a fire (and it certainly has been cold enough for them)

I filled my egg jar with skeleton heads which I thought was a nice nod to the macabre (get it? Nod?)

The book page pumpkins got a second showing. They were just so cute last year I was glad they held up in the decoration box.

Just simple changes. I'm trying to settle on a mantle that just needs little tweaks to become festive instead of tearing the whole thing down every time there is a holiday. So far it has been much less stressful, which is key. 

I've got lots of wood to stack today but I have to say I am loving my new open yard. Can't wait to show you more!

Cheers!

Lusting

I can feel this Kitchen project coming to a head. You know, that glorious stage where it stops just looking messy and starts looking like a Kitchen again? But still, you've got to keep your motivation up...

Who wouldn't want to live in this kitchen?

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The hood comes tomorrow (even though it can't be put up until after the tile) so the last piece of electrical will be in and I can start patching the rough spots. Joy.

Cheers!

Happy Valentines Day!

We don't usually celebrate Valentines Day but when I saw this on Pinterest I couldn't resist.

You can choose from a variety of colors and even add a little date under your initials. This would be a great anniversary present or wedding present. Eventually it will go above a night stand in the bedroom but since the bedroom is still spread all over the house it is living on our mantel with my anniversary map from last year.
Cheers!

Oh Christmas Tree!

We finally got our tree up and it is glorious! The last few years we didn't even bother since we were spending the holidays elsewhere. This year we are celebrating our first Christmas in our new house and I wasn't going anywhere! With a new kitten in the house we were a bit worried about the tree and ornaments but we decided to give it a go anyway (also, I anchored the tree to the wall using command hooks and some twine so my tree isn't going anywhere!). We carried our tree home 8 blocks from the local tree lot and set it up for a few days without ornaments to test out the kitty-proofness. Once we were sure it wasn't going to fall we opened a bottle of sparkling cider and got to work.

She is pretty sparsley decorated since we have only ever had small trees in the past but I love just sitting in the livingroom and enjoying how festive it makes our house feel.

I also decorated the buffet while I had the decorations down. I found this candle holder over the summer at the Salvation Army. Look at Santa and his reindeer go!

I also decorated our willow branches with a few bright baubles. In previous years we have done more monochromatic color schemes for Christmas decorations but I like the bright cheeriness the multicolored ornaments and lights give.

There you have it, our Christmas tree. The house smells amazing and I love that the tree is the first thing you see whether you are coming in the front or the back door. Better late than never right? I still have a few more weeks to enjoy the sight.

Cheers!

Shutter Up!

I think this might have been one of my first pins on Pinterest and I knew I would be making my very own come Christmas time.

Pinterest

I love Christmas cards. Both sending and receiving but struggle with displaying them. I keep them every year but I would like to have them out somewhere at least for the holidays. That is where this lovely project came in. Super simple depending on your materials. Here's how I did it:

1. Find shutter. This sounds easier that it was for me. I checked out my local RE-Store but no dice (I think everyone had the same idea I did). Instead I used a bi-fold door that I picked up for free off Craigslist and cut the shutter part off. You can't tell the difference so I didn't care. 
2. Paint. Whatever color pleases you. I picked something that didn't clash with my decor so I could keep it up all year long but that also looked Christmasy.
3. Hang. Preferably near a door if you are using it for practical purposes. 

My shutter was super long which made it fit in perfectly in that weird little space between the front door and the window. I used RustOleum's Moss Green. The only real trick with this is making sure you hang it the right direction so that the cards actually slip in correctly.

It is great for letters out or in and as I get more Christmas cards it will look even more festive!

We are planning to get our Christmas tree this weekend. I can't wait! Anyone else getting theirs? Or do you all already have one?

Cheers!

Linking up to
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed

A Christmas Tradition

Today is December 1st and that means a lot of things in this house. Besides being the official beginning of the end of the year it is also the start of our Advent Calendar tradition. We started this tradition three years ago and it has become one of my favorite parts of the season. Each year we pick either even or odd days (we've been trading back and forth so I'm odd this year) and then on our "days" we write a note to the other person and stick it in their Advent spot.

I got our Advent Calendar from Target and like how simple it is. I may play with it a bit this year though and change things up.  I've seen quite a few different versions of Advent Calendars out there from an origami crane one that was featured in the Good Housekeeping Christmas edition to the more traditional houses and doors. This is another of my favorites from Martha Stewart.

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I love the little socks which would be perfect for slipping notes and gifts in to. We tend to focus on love notes and poetry though occasionally we will throw in an early present or treat. I am always so excited to wake up and "find" my Advent from Daniel. Sometimes they are silly and sometimes they are sweet but they always leave me with a smile all day long.

After Christmas I put them all together into a book to keep. This is last years book

 It was just a hand made note book I got at a local store with the right number of pages. On each page I stamped the date and glued a little envelope to slip the note in to.

This is one I made using a left over invitation from our engagement party.

It is always a challenge to come up with something to say every other day but it is a great exercise in sitting back and reflecting on the things I love about Daniel and how important he is to my life. We love looking back on our notes and seeing how we have changed and grown in our love and our lives with each other. It makes the season even better (and I thought it was pretty great to begin with).

What about you? Anyone else have a good holiday tradition? Our other big tradition is making gingerbread houses from scratch. We are already sketching out our floor plans for the big event.

Cheers!

Let's Get this Party Started!

Best Thanksgiving EVER!!!!

Morning everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with friends, family and food. Mine was just about perfect. The food went out without a hitch and I had fabulous company. Of course that meant I had no time to take any pictures what so ever (how does that always happen?) but it really was just a blast.

I know we are all transitioning into Christmas but I had to take a few moments to get some after pictures of my Thanksgiving decor before putting it all away. I had planned something more elaborate for our centerpiece (remember this?) but as I read more and more I realized that a simple low centerpiece that didn't get in the way of food or conversation would be best. This is what I ended up with

Just simple alternating little white and orange pumpkins with some orange candles in between. It was nice because it looked great before everyone got there and it didn't hinder the passing of rolls. As an added bonus I plan to turn my little pumpkin centerpiece into pumpkin bread this week.

 Never fear though, I reused my branch candelabra for my mantle.

A word to the wise though, keep flammable things away from candles. That corn husk made quite the scene when it lit up.

I plan to switch out the white candles for red and add some greenery this weekend to transition this to my holiday mantle. I love the organic feel of the log and candles.

Anyone else still have their Thanksgiving decor up? I'm hoping to change that this weekend but we will see.

Cheers!

It Isn't Fall Without...

A trip to the pumpkin patch! We've been to pumpkin patches before but this was the cutest. It was up in Snohomish just 45 min out of Seattle. Gorgeous day and great pumpkining.

Daniel carted everyone's pumpkins around while we searched for bigger and better ones.

We picked these two because they looooooooove each other.

There were hay rides and cider and a little barn yard for the kids.

We went our friends Cj and Erin and their little girl Bobbie and met up with Daniel's aunt Pam.

Bobbie had more fun on the grass than with the pumpkins but I think that is usual for a 17 month old.

It rained a little but it was still perfect. In true Seattleite form we carried our coffee with us everywhere.

Then of course we had to carve our perfect pumpkins.

With a little help from the kitty (she was looking for brains).

I love how they turned out.

Before

After

They looooooooove each other.

Anyone else have a good pumpkin carving? I think we were the only ones there without kids but it is my favorite part of Halloween!