When Holidays Collide, an ode to pre-Thanksgiving Christmas c h e e r

While I admit last week's weird, hotter-than-usual, November weather was pretty rad compared to snow storms and rain downpours...I'll also admit that a big part of me is ready for sweaters and scarves. This next week promises just that, rain and weather that dips into the 50's, so that's fabulous in my book. I feel as though I'll be happy about it for roughly 2 weeks and then I'll be over the cold again, but I'll plead not guilty until such a revelation comes ;)

And since we're on the topic of November. I know everyone thinks Thanksgiving gets little to no attention, and while that's true to an extent, I've had some thoughts brewing about that lately. For me, the Holiday season includes Thanksgiving and Christmas. Is this normal for anyone else? I always assumed it was, kind of until recently. Why does everybody freak out about people decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving? Is there a secret code somewhere that says "Green trees in homes wrapped with twinkle lights must not be looked at while one gives thanks"...?? Just because a person puts up a reindeer decoration and starts burning freshly cut pine scented candles, it by no means suggests they're any less thankful than a person who hangs a "Thankful banner," and sets their table with turkey place holders. Nope, it really doesn't. Look, I still have gourds and a scarecrow out...but I also have an elf on my kitchen table!

I understand all of the people who hate that it's become a pushed hallmark holiday and I'll agree with you wholeheartedly. Retailers have turned this holiday season into something it was never intended to be. So, let's take back the things we love about this Holiday season and just enjoy it. Enjoy the fact that people are excited for a season where they get to spend time with more family and carry on years old traditions. Understand that for some people, part of gearing up for the Holiday season includes decorating *gasp* BEFORE Thanksgiving, and they will still be just as thankful as you are when they gather with their families. For other families they're home suffers an identity crisis between elves and scarecrows while they're excited for both of the holidays around the corner.

*note* If you're one of these said "Holiday haters" before the day of Thanks, I'd hope you won't be wrapping up your goodbyes at 7pm Thursday night so you can stand in line at Best Buy ON Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving at 8pm is not Black Friday. By shopping on Thanksgiving, you've completely taken away somebody else's time with their family who is forced to work their minimum wage, retail job away from their families and contradicted your "no Christmas before Thanksgiving anthem." More often than not, these are the people who sing their Christmas anthems early in the season, but I felt as though it was important to note this :)

This whole anti all things Christmas before Thanksgiving has always baffled me, so I hope this opens some people's eyes to the fact that it really doesn't matter what decorations are up, what music is playing or what date Thanksgiving falls on. All people celebrate the Holidays in unique ways so let's not make people feel bad for enjoying things differently than you do. I for one, absolutely love to decorate for Christmas so I don't think I should have to defend that love to people who enjoy having turkeys all over their house. I'm really excited for Thanksgiving and don't plan to overlook it this season just because I have an elf decoration on my table and a Christmas movie on my TV.

Fall is still here but little by little winter is showing her crisp self to us which means we're nearing twinkle light overload [something nobody can be upset about], loads of Christmas posts, and vlogmas by some of my favorite youtubers. These are all things I'm thrilled about. You'll have to excuse me while I drink my pumpkin spice chai and watch a Lifetime Christmas movie.

See what I did there? Pumpkins colliding with Christmas ;)

happiness is plants

Our little home is slowly coming together, as in we have nailed things to walls & decided on furniture we want to build. I can hardly wait to see the final products, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the process of making our apartment look less apartment-ish, & more home-ish along the way :)

This was our weekend project that I have been looking forward to for some time now. My hubby is so handy & worked so hard to measure even lines & ensure that everything was level. He did a fabulous job & I am so thankful for him! Now the fun part...rearranging & making the shelves cute. I've kept this look for about 3 hours now so it's safe to say this one will probably last at least a week ;)

Buy yourself a plant this week, I promise it will make you smile!

Gallery Wall Pt. 1

It's no secret to my friends and insta followers that I'm slightly obsessed with decorating and redecorating and creating an enjoyable space to look at. I've had this idea of a gallery wall brewing in my mind for about 8 months now but I've never had a space for said gallery wall.  Well, Jeff and I moved last month and our new home has the absolute perfect spot right above our couch! I'm still putting together the whole look of the wall and gathering prints and creative personal touches to make it just right. So here's a little sneak peek at what I've mustered up so far!

I've been scouring Etsy and my home for meaningful art to put on our walls. I've tried to get creative with the elements of the wall, including things that both Jeff and I love. I'm a big reader so I've incorporated torn book pages, post cards and letters, and a book cover that I'm kind of obsessed with [pictured above :)]. Jeff loves to go fishing so I'm working on including some fishing elements, so that the wall represents BOTh of us :) I'm still working on putting it all together and finding just the right images so you'll have to check back and see the final product in the coming days!

Any suggestions for more unique prints I can put up? Do you have a gallery wall? I'd love to see it!

plate wall

Back when I was first introduced to Pinterest I came across the idea of a plate wall. However, I never understood how to hang plates on the wall, so I didn't pursue the idea. How silly of me! Ever heard of a plate hanger? Super novel idea. They exist and they are less than $2 from any craft store. I found mine at both Hobby Lobby and Michaels. 

I started my collection over the summer, my first few plates came from the thrift store. You can see those here. Over time I went into West Elm, World Market, and Anthropologie looking for discount plates, and I was really surprised to find some of these super cute plates for less than $6! I'll give you my source list below. 

The best part of this wall is that it's always changing. This is my current setup, and the one I've liked most. I've had plates rotating in and out with the seasons though, and it's a lot of fun to change it up..yet maintain a similar design scheme. 

yes, that IS boy meets world on my tv :) and yes I know my plate wall isn't currently centered...but it's a work in progress, I left room for new additions.

source list : 

green anthro | owl anthro | west elm [similar]

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Have you checked out my succulent DIY yet? I just love the color here so I had to share it again :)

DIY Anthro Succulent Mug

Succulents are seriously my new favorite thing you guys. You can put them anywhere and they're so easy to manage. I've seen creative succulent pots/mugs/cups all over Pinterest, West Elm, and Anthro lately and thought it would be fun to make my own..instead of buying the expensive kits they create for you. I mean West Elm is charging upwards of EIGHT DOLLARS for just your succulents...love you WE, but you can find these little guys from Lowes for $2. 

It's almost silly to give you guys a DIY for this because it's SO simple. But it's fun and I want you to make them too, so I'll give you the 411.

What you'll need

cute mugs [I got mine from anthropologie]

soil

succulents [from lowes or home depot]

OR

take clippings from mom/grandma/succulents you already have

stick them in water until they begin to root

Process

Fill cup almost full with soil, separate soil with your fingers and stick in succulent. 

THE END!

So easy, right? 

These would be cute on top of stacked books on your bookshelf, next to your kitchen sink, clustered on your bedroom dresser...or just about anywhere. I gave these pretties to my friend, {they made the cut for her mantle makeover!..which you can check out by clicking that link} so I'll be making another Anthro trip in the near future to make some for myself!

dresser top

here's a quick teaser of our home tour, which I plan to take pictures of and post now that Christmas decor has been tucked away until next year.

I also have a plate wall, and new chair from World Market...and I stare at them for a good majority of the day :)

merry christmas!

Sharing a bit of Christmas around our home, wishing you a very blessed, and Merry Christmas with your loved ones!

I've thoroughly enjoyed all things jolly and bright this year. I've soaked up all the Christmas decor in my house, drank in the beautiful sight of Christmas lights with each house I pass, and thanked my Savior for coming here to this earth in a wee little manger for me.

It's a time to be thankful and celebrate with family and I plan to do just that over these next two days. Not everyone has that luxury this time of year though. To the soldiers serving overseas and on duty away from their cozy homes, to those serving on our law enforcement, to the UPS drivers, to the firemen, to the Starbucks barista's who are working this Christmas Eve, and day...thank you. Thank you for protecting us, thank you for serving us, thank you for driving around to give us presents that we ordered too late, thank you for keeping us caffeinated. I know you'd rather be home with your families, sipping on hot cocoa and watching your littles run around...or maybe playing a game of scrabble, possibly Christmas caroling..whatever your traditions are this holiday season. I wish you could be doing those things. Thank you though, thank you for the sacrifices you're making to bring us a safe and happy Christmas.

To the families of those serving, to the family of the UPS driver, to the family of the barista, to the family of the walmart worker, to the family of law enforcement..I'm sorry your loved one is working today. I wish they could be with you, sitting by the fire enjoying this holiday. Thank you for your service, thank you for raising a dedicated worker. Thank you for your sacrifices this holiday season.

Our hearts have been heavy the last couple of weeks and I can't begin to fathom the ache in the hearts of all those affected by the tragedy in Newtown. I can only hope and pray they feel the vast amount of prayers flooding their way, especially over these next two days.

Thinking of the precious angels Heaven gained a little over a week ago. You will continue to be in our prayers, Newtown families.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays wherever it is, whatever you celebrate!

life lately via instagram & other things

consignment store dresser in her new home :) | thrifted quilt, you can bet we'll be picnicing soon | thrifted 1950's camera | Mr and little bub | antique store | vegan burger on my birthday | antique store X2 | decorating momma's kitchen | trader joes peonies

While I write, this song plays in the background and feeds a part of my soul that aches for piano, strings, and whimsical music. I am inspired after finishing this book, by the always full of life kelle hampton. I may or may not have linked her book in like my last 5 posts, but that's beside the point :) The way she celebrates little things in life daily is certainly the type of life I want to lead. 

Buy a new quilt? That calls for a picnic! Stumble upon a hole in the wall antique store? Stop and take pictures! Freshly cut flowers scattered around your house? Invite the girls over to enjoy them with you while you watch sappy chick flicks and sip on delicious drinks. Bottom line is, small things call for celebration and should be honored accordingly...it makes life colorful. 

New additions and crafts

Before school started, we made a few changes around the apartment. It's so hard finding nice furniture for such a small space, but with places like Ikea and World Market, our job is made easier! Besides some new furniture, I got in a few crafts before the crazy school semester started.

I've really been wanting some new coasters lately because the ones we had didn't really match the themes we had going in our little place.  I stumbled on this idea from Pinterest one day and decided I had to give it a try. I used the coasters that we already had because I didn't want them to go to waist. I'm so happy with the outcome and only burned myself with hot glue 5 or....20 times :)

The next craft I worked on involved some more hemp because I'm sort of obsessed with it right now. But, sticking with the theme of saving money I looked around the house for more supplies on hand. I found a canvas I bought on clearance last year, and had saved for the perfect craft. All I did was wrap the hemp around the canvas, as tight as it could go. After spacing it out evenly..because I'm slightly OCD..I cut out hearts from some fabric I had and hot glued it on top. Easy peasy lemon squeazy.

I'll show some before and after pictures of our living room in another post so you can all see the transformation, but for now I'll reveal our new Ikea chair. The lady I used to nanny for had it sitting in her garage and offered it to us a few months back. We had ugly brown couches before and no space for it but I assured her we would be back for her green beauty. When Mr got home...literally THE night he got home from Iraq, we went out and bought new couches. We couldn't put up with our dirty brown Craigslist couches much longer ;) So after Christmas passed and we had room where our Christmas tree was..we called up our friend and said we were coming for the chair. I'm in love with it, and feel like it finished off our room perfectly. So here's a little sneak peek of our new family room. Oh, and the best part, now we have an ottoman..

I've always wanted an ottoman...is that weird?

So there you have it...all our little home changes on a budget. I've got so many more projects I'm dying to do but I should probably write that 8 page paper first... ;)

Happy crafting and decorating!