a merry, merry Christmas

39 weeks pregnant at Christmas, so ya know, here are the 7 photos I took.. :)

 We spent Christmas Eve in Waxahachie with family. Dinner and desserts were unbelievably delicious as usual. Christmas morning, Blake and I woke up slowly, had a small Christmas breakfast and watched Christmas Story until my parents came over. We opened presents and had a big Italian lunch from Buca at the house. The rest of the weekend was spent with Blake's family. We opened more presents, ate a lot of good food, got hooked on Chopped, and spent a lot of time relaxing (or maybe that was just me..)

It was different this year, because baby and I couldn't travel, so family came to us. 

It was sad to not see most of our other family members, but it sure was nice to stay in Dallas, have some sweet alone time, and host company at our house before the baby gets here!

I'm feeling unbelievably grateful for this season, and this year. I quickly forget how much God loves and cherishes me, so to sit still in this season and read of God's promise to His people is so refreshing.

Merry Christmas!

DIY office christmas gifts

This year I needed something co-ed, easy, wallet-friendly, and somewhat personal.

Chalkboard painted office plants.

I bought two 6-packs of these mini clay pots from Hobby Lobby ($3.99/pack), a can of chalkboard spray paint from Lowes ($5.98 Valspar - my new favorite), pack of chalk from Target ($5.00), and a couple indoor plants from Lowes ($4.98/plant).

- First, I laid out my pots on an old sheet in the garage, applied 2 layers of chalkboard spray paint, and let dry.

- Second, I repotted the plants, taking one indoor plant and dividing it among 3 of these mini clay pots. So 3 plants from Lowes makes 9 gifts, then I bought two extra succulents for the odd number of presents I was giving.

- Third, with some twine I already had I tied a piece of chalk to each pot. Be gentle with this step, I broke a few pieces in my attempts.

- Fourth, add a little design, I did initials on some and Christmas cheer on others!

Total for my office Christmas gifts - $37.90. For 11 gifts, I think that's $3.45/gift. Not too shabby.

I already have requests and orders for more, from other work folk! That's a good sign, I think!

in the neighborhood..

I've fallen pretty hard for our little neighborhood. Last night was the Bishop Art District's Wine Walk.

$10 gets you a glass, then your night is filled with boutique shopping while you sip different wines from each store. I had so much fun with my bff's and their hubs, though I missed my little studious husband.  We ended the night right with pies (Chai buttermilk - hello!) and warm mulled wine.

You gotta love that camera on the 3GS . I apologize.

white and natural.

White and natural, and a little mercury glass sparkle.

That was my theme this year. Here's what's going on with the dining table.

Decorating our dining table is just one of those little joys for me. No one will really get to see it, we head out for Houston for the week of Christmas. Maybe one of these days more people, besides just Blake, Dakota and me, will be able to enjoy the Christmas table. Or, the Halloween table, or Thanksgiving table.....

(more people = babies, and family)

 
I was most giddy about putting out our china. It stays securely in boxes in cabinets for about 49 weeks of year, so this time of year is extra fun! I love that stuff, probably more than one should love material possessions. Doesn't it fit in perfectly with my white, natural with a touch of sparkle theme?

The mercury vase and tea light holders are from West Elm, and they look a bamillion times better in real life than in this photograph. I officially spent up my gift card from last year's Christmas with this purchase, just in time for another one this year. Winky face to you... mom... who is reading this...

The candle stick holder to the left, reeeeally old Anthro, candle stick holder on the right, our "friendship candle holder" that each of us girls got from the flea market in Ft. Worth a couple years back.

Wreath on the herringbone mirror.

PS. I made those table runners with a little help from my trusty Iron-on hem tape. The ends are just folded to make a point. The fabric is white cotton with a subtle white stripe from Hobby Lobby. Easy!

Happy Christmas season!!

YHL "meet" and greet.

YHL was in Dallas this weekend. Here's Lauren and my very normal, hide-behind-a-huge-pole-to-conceal-your-identity-poke-your-head-out-slightly attempt at getting their picture. It's very obvious that John is staring right us here, with a "I see two very creepy girls giggling and snapping pictures of us" kinda chuckle on his face. Sorry 'bout that.

The line was out the door and around the parking lot, and ain't no body got time for that.... so this was as good as it got.  Then we ran into a friend, Helen, and she boldly just ran up in front of them to snap this for us! No line waiting, and no more border line stalker photos, it's a win if you ask me!

Also, look at this. My christmas angel.

yea, this happened..

The Christmas tree is up, the garland is on the door and mantel, and the table is set... And I don't even feel bad about it!

I was feeling a bit more neutral this year. Golds, whites, and browns on the tree.

My DIY reclaimed wood art got a makeover. That's a moose, and I love him.

 

 The "tree-topper"

The plan was to DIY this but when I got home and forgot the DIY supplies, the decision to put these little guys up there just felt right. The squirrel obsession started with my adorably strange husband, but now, when I see them, I love them too. weird how this happens.

I'm just excited to come back from Houston this weekend to an already complete Christmas wonderland!!!

  

have yourself a merry little christmas..

matching PJs, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Christmas Eve Advent reading, tons and I mean tons of gifts, 5 Christmas in one day, White elephant, Kota Christmas sweater, a lot of sweet time with family, about 750 miles traveled and as always, really really good food.

Is your house on fire, Clark?

After filling our bellies with lots of turkey and stuffing (on Thanksgiving weekend) we got out in the yard with one thing in mind, lights! We also needed to move around so we all didn't fall into a tryptophan coma.

Our wonderful neighbors saw us out in the yard plotting, and brought over this box of goodies! Have I mentioned how great our neighbors are? I'm going to hang out in the front yard more often, it seems every time I'm out there someone comes over and brings us free things.

Blake and I had such a merry time running around our yard with strands of lights, throwing them up on our house. With joyful hearts, we checked the strands, replaced bulbs, wrapped bushes, lined the windows, methodically plugged them all in, and finally stood back to enjoy our Christmas creation.

Porch update: As a birthday gift from my mom, we now have the most perfect porch chairs. They are so darling. It's like I'm on a beach, but also out at a cottage, and they're so dang comfortable.

my christmas pallet art made it outside.

and here he is, the christmas light master. What a great job he did!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!!

the etc. part of my last post