Christmas Time Is Here

Although we did have some time to relax, a lot of the Thanksgiving weekend was heavy on the decorating side. We got our tree...got her standing...then I threw some lights and ornaments on her (if only it were that easy)...decorated our mantel and then that's pretty much it for decorating. I tend to reach a peak when it comes to Christmas decorating...maybe many of you do the same...but I'll have this energy to do it all and then slowly it starts to fade and I better hurry up and finish all I can before that energy is gone. 

So while the motivation was pumping on Friday, we set out to get our tree...

Christmas tree shopping in a Lowes parking lot...totally idyllic right? ;)

  

It's an ongoing joke of Rob's love for Christmas tree shopping...lol...whatever Rob, you know you love it!

Sweet boys...

We stopped by Target and got Finn a baby's first ornament (yeah, I was suckered by the elephant cuteness) and a stocking as well.

He approved. :))

The tree-standing-up experience was so much easier this year (last year it fell multiple times...Rob loved that experience). And I can't remember if our previous trees had the wrappings around it, but either way, this made it so much easier. Finn got to watch from his pack and play while we had some Christmas Pandora playing.

Finally got around to decorating it the next day or so while Finn napped. When he woke we showed him the tree and asked him where he wanted to hang his ornament. (gah, he looks so big to me in this pic!)

He pointed at a spot on the tree so I placed his ornament there. :)

Here she is from far away. Our first large tree...we started out with the table top ones, then to the 5-6 footers, and now 7-8. Oh and I can't express how excited I am to finally place the tree in our front window now that we have furniture in this room. I'm sure I've mentioned that to Rob about a billion times, lol. I'm known to repeat things that I'm excited/happy about.

My current favorite decorating combination for our tree. White glass ornaments along with limey green ones and pine cones. Makes me feel like I'm in Aspen or something.

The previous day I had decorated our fireplace mantel, once again while Finn was napping. I brought him out from his nap and he was loving those lights. Fuzzy shot, but love my sweet boy seeing Christmas in our house for the first time...still sometimes can't believe he's ours. <3

And yesterday while Rob was getting some sleep in for work, Finn was getting antsy in his room so we went into the living room to chill in the pack and play. I put on Polar Express and started to work on an art piece for our kitchen shelves while the boy played for a little bit.

Three stockings on the mantel...love.

I can't believe December is here. I'll be sharing a post this week of my adventures with this art piece for the kitchen. Let's just say third try is a charm. Wowzers, did I almost throw in the towel on this one. Happy Christmas season everyone!

Can It Be Thanksgiving Every Day?

Ready for a Thanksgiving picture reel? I know these posts are more for me and for my love of capturing a day through pictures. It was a special one, Finn's first Thanksgiving (even was able to eat some turkey) and relaxing with some family while ringing in the holiday season...yes, the stockings are officially hung and although our tree is just standing bare in the corner, it's definitely feeling a lil like Christmas around here.

But back to Thanksgiving...started out with breakfast at my mom's and a lil parade watching...

Or no parade watching for these two boys...love Finn's face in this, lol.

How nice it was to actually get a cold Thanksgiving for us Floridians, all the way down to the high 30's in the morning. A welcomed difference to a humidity filled day in the 80's...

After Finn took a nap at home, we then trekked out to my dad and step-mom's house for the big dinner. Lots of pictures were taken here. Oh how I wish Rob and I had real grass in our yard...not just weeds, you know?

All of us kids got together for a pic...

With the permission of Rob, I'm able to share this. Maybe you've noticed, maybe not, but over the past 6 months Rob's eyebrow has kinda turned white in one spot. He's pretty sure it's from the stress of starting his new job, but with our crazy schedules and the little amount of sleep Rob gets, all of that could be a factor too. All that to say that my sister-in-law came up with a solution for his eyebrow that he's grown to jokingly detest. A little eyebrow pencil and it's good as new. Didn't get an after pic but it looked just like before. Ah, sibling memories. :))

After we ate we went out for a walk and some football throwin...

Finn already wishin he could join...

Beautiful sister-in-law...

Dad and I rockin the flannels...

If only it could be Thanksgiving and the long weekend every week. Thankful for so much, words can't express. And even though this goes without saying, I am ever so grateful for these two boys.

Hoping you all had a great day as well. Plenty of posts to come...tree hunting and decorating, and also attempting my hand at some wood burning. So far, that's just going so-so...but hoping it'll turn around. Right now I'm just looking forward to getting the smell of smoke out of my nose. Yum. :)

Kitchen Upgrade - Wall Shelves

Finally an upgrade to this wall in our kitchen that I've been trying to avoid direct eye contact with for years now. :)

Blessed shelves have entered the building. These shelves and brackets are from my second home, Ikea. But let me go back to the before. In this space we used to have a random wire rack that Rob and I acquired at some point. Maybe it came from my first apartment with my friend? I'm not sure. But overall it's been around for a while, sticking out like a sore thumb.

As you can see, we used it to put our microwave and toaster oven on. Also recycle would kind of build up down there as well. The plan is to purchase a new microwave that hangs over our stove, and then to put the toaster on the countertop where those metal tin cans from the above used to be. The true motivation for this project (besides just making the space look better) is in the name of baby proofing. And stretching our space in this little galley kitchen doesn't hurt either.

So I started by taping everything out. Just to get the measurements and the placement.

This is why it takes me forever to get moving on hanging stuff...it's one of my least favorite things to do. All the measuring and leveling, bleh! And hanging stuff like art and shelves feels like a commitment similar to getting a tattoo. No take-backsies...or at least that's how it feels in the moment. So all that to say again, it can take me a while to hang stuff.

But once all the tape was up there and the holes were marked, things started moving. Still some griping, but thankfully we got the things up there and looking pretty shiny.

SUCH a welcomed difference...

I'm sure that the items on these shelves will continue to evolve. I kinda just threw this together using various stuff around the kitchen. That piece of wood is actually from when I had to trim down these shelves and I'm thinking of painting a silhouette on there. Not sure exactly what, still mulling that over, but I'll be tackling that soon.

So the plan is to have our trashcan tucked under these shelves, but the exciting part is that we're looking to get a new trashcan. (never thought I'd say the words "exciting" and "trashcan" in the same sentence) I found a rectangular, stainless steel (fingerprint-proof) trashcan with clean lines that don't quit that we might get.

But for now I'm just basking in the newness and beauty of the view.

Oh and here's our big boy walking around Lowes shaking little packages of screws while daddy was looking for anchors for the shelves...

Love our sweet boy and so excited to experience the holidays with him. And I'm SO ready to splash some Christmas decor up in this house.

Have a Holly Jolly DIY Christmas (Simple Decor & Gifts)

I know, I know, it's not Christmas yet. But I thought I'd gather all my current favorite Christmas DIY projects and compile them into one place.

This first one is from Under the Sycamore...these absolutely adorable boxwood wreaths. Super easy, simple, yet so charming. All that's needed are some embroidery hoops, boxwood and hot glue...I wanna make a few of these. Why can't Christmas decorations stay up year round?

I've also wanted to DIY an advent calendar for some years now. And I stumbled upon this awesome gem of one by The Painted Hive. I've wanted one that can have a combination of various scriptures written, activities or even a surprise note of a hidden gift. Especially for our little guy and as he gets older.

I also had the idea to create a glittery snowflake garland similar to this project found on KatieCupcake. She used actual snowflake ornaments from Target (super cute!) but I'm thinking of getting some glittery paper (probably in white or silver) and actually cutting out various snowflakes and then stringing them up.

On to some DIY gifts...oh the cuteness you can create with an etching tool. On Design Mom, she uses the tool to create cute designs on wooden spoons and cutting boards.

Unfortunately I can't find the source for this next image, but this is the pin that I found here. Purchase white plates or mugs and use an oil-based sharpie to decorate. Then you just bake it for 30 min or so in the oven at 350 and it permanently stays on. Reeeeally like this idea. Some people use stencils, or just write words all over it, tons of options.

So that's just a few things that I've stumbled upon that I'm really liking. I don't like to over commit to too many DIY projects for the season, because one year it felt like craziness trying to get everything done in time. So I'll just tackle some or whatever I get to, but won't stress about it. It's not what the season's about, right? But it is fun to get my creativity on like Donkey Kong. Mm hm, I said that. And I actually used to play Donkey Kong like no-body's business. ;)

Do you have some favorite projects lined up? Will you be DIYing some gifts? Yeah, I think I'm officially done looking on Pinterest for a while, we need some healthy separation. :))

Fall-ifying My Wardrobe & A Sweet Kid

I'm pretty sure I could wear flannel pattern every day and be perfectly content. If there were a zombie apocalypse, I think I know my outfit. A flannel. My new cords. And some boots. (don't wanna run around in some silly flippy floppies...hello zombie bait!)

Yep, I finally used my birthday gift cards (from the summer, thanks again family!!) and what did I end up buying? Some flannels and some cords. From good ol' Old Navy.

And they're not that fleecey flannel material, very light and still appropriate for Florida. (and currently on sale for $15!) And these cords are pretty comfy too...

As far as boots? Haven't bought any of those yet. I have one pair that fall just below the knee that I've had for a few years now but they only get to be worn maybe 2, 3 times most a year! Boo, Florida, boo. But I'm thinking of maybe getting some shortie boots. Like these...(insert Lisa's dream sequence)

Mmm hm. Yep, I'd take that. 

So I'm mentally gearing up for Thanksgiving and that long weekend. Unfortunately Rob has to work a lot of it, but I'll at least be home with him during the day so we can all be together. Always having to look for a bright side with this crazy schedule of his...I just miss my man.

But back to Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving weekend is probably my most favorite weekend in the year. I know I'm not alone on that one. But a weekend with family, friends, Christmas decorations, and PTO is all highly favored. And with this being Finn's first holiday season, I'm just a lil excited about that.  

Our sweet boy...and such a wiggle worm...

Especially since he's now WALKING...it still blows my mind...he's just so tiny. I'll try to share a video on here soon.

I had been trying to get a picture of this thing he'll do with this basket in his room. There's two holes on either end of the basket and he'll play peek-a-boo through it. It's pretty stinkin cute.

He also has this thing with mirrors. In one of his books, there's a mirror on the last page and he likes to get real close to it (like lay on it) and all you'll see is his eyeball in the mirror looking at you. It's kinda hilarious. Rob was joining him here...and let it be known, this mirror is tiny, like 1"x3"...

I hope you're all doing well. We've got some projects in the house that have been just a little delayed coughcoughmasterbathroom. The hold up has been with the light fixture, but we'll get to it hopefully soon.

Happy almost Friday!