Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Hope you enjoy your day and are able to celebrate with family and friends!

Our Christmas decor...

{Our Christmas Tree}

Christmas decorations are my favorite! :-) Tried to go with a more neutral tree this year. 

{Brown paper packages...}

Kraft paper wrapping is from Target. Ribbon is mostly from Hobby Lobby- love their red velvet ribbon. Bags are primarily from Marshalls. 

Burlap treeskirt is from World Market.

{Our mantel}

I stick with the basic pre-lit greenery every year and add candles and of course our stockings. 

{burlap stockings}

I ordered new stockings this year from Groopdealz. They're handmade. I am very pleased with how they turned out. 

{DIY merry & bright art}

I wanted something with a little sparkle, so I created my own! It wasn't exactly how I envisioned in my head, but it was super easy to make. 

I used a font I already had from dafont.com, wrote out the "bright," traced it with glue, and sprinkled gold glitter I already had on it. Then, I drew the half wreath at the bottom with a pen. 

{rosemary tree}

Purchased from Trader Joe's! Also sprayed painted the votive beside it, which was originally red. The red seemed too much this year. I wanted more neutral and simple. 

{buffet table}

Again, used pre-lit greenery that I already had. Makes it easy!

{Merry Christmas chalkboard sign}

This chalkboard plate stays up year-round. I like to update the message based on the season!

Maybe one day I'll try for a fancier style/font. :-) For now I am keeping it simple. 

Rustic holiday wreath {DIY}

{rustic holiday wreath}

The natural wreath is from Trader Joes and then I dressed it up with burlap ribbon and an initial I spray painted from hobby lobby. 

Super easy and quick! 

Great for anyone who needs a last minute idea. 

Happy decorating!

Thanksgiving favorites...

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A little behind, I know, but here are a few of my favorites of our Thanksgiving holiday! We were at Lake Junaluska. 

There we are above with the lake in the background!

An unexpected surprise, we had snow! So pretty!

Just a little bit, but enough to cover the ground. 

Footsteps in the snow!

The house we stayed at had great views! I snapped a few pics with the fog over the lake in the AM. 

Benefit of waking up early!

For Thanksgiving, I ended up making apple cider margaritas! I modified the recipe I posted about here. 

On Saturday, we had a girls lunch at a cute little cafe located downtown, which had a rustic eclectic feel. 

Here's our group shot!

And....a family shot right before leaving!

Hope you had a happy happy Thanksgiving filled with time with family and friends!

Pumpkin spice muffins...

{pumpkin spice muffins}

In case you are looking for a Thanksgiving treat.....

These pumpkin spice muffins are easy and delicious, without being loaded with sugar and artificial flavorings/color.  

 Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I use Trader Joe's)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat the over to 350.

In one bowl mix together the dry ingredients and then set aside. In another bowl use a mixer to combine the sugar and the eggs, then add in the pumpkin puree and oil. Once combined, slowly add in your dry ingredients and whisk together until combined. Fill each of the baking cups 3/4 of the way full. Bake 18-20 minutes. 

Enjoy!

On being thankful....

True statement. These days I'm trying to take more time to stop and count my blessings, mostly it is the little things.

The sweet content face of Jackson as he is sleeping--thankful. Harvey snoring (he is quite loud) in his dog bed--thankful. The beautiful colors in the changing leaves on the way to work--thankful. A job I love {most of the time}--thankful. A hot shower--thankful. A nice glass of wine after a long week--thankful. A husband that cooks and is very good at it--thankful. A beautiful sunny day--thankful. Cup of coffee in the morning--thankful.

And the list goes on....

Point being, there truly is always always something to be thankful for, even in the midst of the hardest and most challenging times.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with a heart filled with the true meaning of this day!

5 apple cider cocktails....

First of all, anyone else feel like November went by super fast. I think I'm still stuck in October somewhere, but nonetheless, I've excited that the Thanksgiving break is upon us!

We'll be going out of the town to spend time with family. In preparation for our trip, I bought some apple cider with the intention of making some sort of cocktail over thanksgiving. Didn't realize there would be so many choices! 

All of these cocktails sound delicious! A few months ago I would have grimaced at the mention of bourbon, but I have come to love it. Just makes you feel all warm and cozy!

We'll see what I end up deciding on.... :-)

{the bourbon bomber}

Found over at The Boys Club. Contains apple cider, bourbon, agave nectar, all spice and a few other goodies. 

{apple cider cocktail}

Found at Cordially Yours by Julie Blanner. Love her blog btw. I've made a few of her recipes and they turned out fantastic. This cocktail is made with apple cider, vodka, club soda, and a cinnamon stir stick. Love the use of the cinnamon stick!

{apple cider sangria}

Found over at How Sweet It Is.  Contains pinot grigio, apple cider, club soda, ginger brandy, and fresh fruit.

{bourbon and maple apple cider}

Found at Freutcake. Contains bourbon, lemon juice, maple syrup, and apple cider.

{apple cider margarita}

Also from How Sweet It Is. Contains Grand Marnier, gold tequila, apple cider, cinnamon, sugar, apple slices and cinnamon stick for garnish.

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

Five Things {Fall edition}

 {fall leaves}

Changing leaves are one of my favorite things about fall! This picture was taken several weeks ago when the leaves were at there peak! 

{pumpkin spice coffee}

Found at Trader Joe's. I first saw this posted by #whatsgoodattjs on instragram---good to follow if you aren't already! I was so excited to find it at our local TJ's. When I mentioned something to the woman checking me out, she said it sold out in 2 weeks last year. Not sure the status now, but it is delicious! We are adding a little to our regular coffee every morning to make it last!

{thankful chalkboard sign}

Updated our chalkboard platter/sign in our dining room for the season! Another easy and simple way to decorate for fall. Also, an excellent reminder of celebrating the true meaning of Thanksgiving. 

Again, I copied a chalkboard font from pinterest! 

{pumpkin spice candle}

Another one of my favorite things for fall! Found this candle at Marshall's. We light it at night and on the weekends once we settle down. Makes the house smell wonderful! 

And I love that Harv decided to photo bomb my pic! As always, they were following me around when taking pics. 

{little white pumpkins}

Also found at Trader Joe's. I bought a few of these little pumpkins to put on our mantle. Honestly, its one of the few things I've done for fall decor---just enjoying keeping it simple! 

What are your favorite things for the fall season?

Chalkboard Pumpkin {DIY}

{Chalkboard pumpkin}

This may have been the easiest pumpkin I've done yet! I used chalkboard spray paint {which I already had from Wal-mart} and chalk {which I also already had on hand}. Chalkboard paint and chalk may be two of my favorite items when it comes to decor because it's just so easy. I mentioned I like easy, right?

After I spent two minutes spray painting and the pumpkin was drying, I researched some chalkboard type fonts on pinterest and just copied one I found. Turns out it is kinda tough to write on a pumpkin, so it looks a little different than I anticipated, but I was still pleased with the way it looked. 

I actually bought two pumpkins but kept one plain to keep things simple!

And of course while I am on the porch, the boys were right there with me! They LOVE looking out our storm door. 

Hope you had a happy happy Halloween! 

Rustic Monogram Printable {DIY}

{easy rustic monogram printable}

I did this project a while back because let's be honest it's been a while since I posted! Just a little busy, that's all. Happy to be back. 

As I've mentioned before, I like easy and inexpensive art. Oh, I should also mention quick art. This project was all of those! I spray painted a black wood frame {which I've had for several years} and printed the graphic on cardstock. I found the free customizable printable from Wedding Chicks here! Probably took me all of 10 minutes to do!

 Now, this lovely print has found a home in our powder room. Pic is a little blurry oops! #embracetheimperfection

I noticed after placing this print that our shelf is not straight. The shelves, which we have in two bathrooms, were already there when we bought the home. Not likely that I will be fixing that, so for now I am, again, embracing the imperfection!

Here I am! Just wanted to point out that my stripes kinda match our walls. Oh, and yes, the hood was needed. It was chilly in our house!

Homemade dog cake recipe {for Jackson's 3rd bday}

{homemade dog cake}

We celebrated Jackson's 3rd birthday on September 8th! To be fair, I made him a cake since I made Harvey cupcakes! 

I found the recipe over here, which of course I adapted based on what we had on hand. I didn't use the baby beef food, but did try to make up for it with extra bacon. I also didn't use cream cheese with the peanut butter for the frosting. I knew peanut butter would suffice. 

And yes, I did light the candles and we did sing happy birthday. 

I laughed to myself again as we did!

But I love spoiling our boys! 

Happy happy birthday to Jackson!