Favorite Things 2011

So how did everyone fare this season without Oprah's annual Favorite Things episode?? To be honest, the daily 4:00 hour of my life has suffered less than I anticipated... Yes, I would love to see the Oprah on Gabby Giffords and Amanda Knox interviews but I haven't found myself actively missing her {do you think somewhere in Hawaii Oprah just started twitching?} . With Nate Berkus and Ellen, I'm quite content with my afternoon talk show lineup (sorry Anderson, I've tried...).

I planned on having this up before Christmas but I was all busy shopping for Tyler, like 3 hours before we were supposed to trade gifts. Hopefully you were all better prepared than I was and finished your shopping in a timely manner but just in case you need some last minute inspiration or ideas on how to spend all of those gift cards and exchanges, here are a few of MY favorite things of 2011...

Silhouette SD
If you're not so crafty, this might not be your thing {or maybe it will!!}. The Silhouette is an electronic cutter, similar to the Cricuts you see everywhere but for half the price. What sold me on the Silhouette is that you can use any and all of the fonts you have on your computer-- you're not limited to what Cricut sells {which costs upwards of $30-90 PER CARTRIDGE}-- and you can purchase singular graphics or shapes iTunes-style for 99 cents apiece. There is also additional software you can buy that allows you to upload and cut your own pictures-- whatever or however many you want. This is what I used to make the custom stencils for my Etsy Christmas pillows and make all of the monogrammed Christmas ornaments that I gave to my patients this year. You just slide in the paper or vinyl like you're printing something and it cuts it out! {People are also über impressed with you, in case you need an ego boost} I am in love with this machine and SO, SO, SO glad that I did my research and didn't buy the Cricut-- I saved myself a small fortune. {And since I've started this post, I learned that the SD has now been discontinued and they've upgraded to the "Silhouette Cameo" and now I am veryveryveryvery tempted to put mine up on eBay so I can upgrade too...}

Moving on...

Stella & Dot!!
I've known about their jewelry for awhile and always thought it was super cute but if you know me and my frugal ways {and my NYC jewelry excursions...}, I couldn't swallow their prices. But I hosted a party for my friend Lindsey and despite it being a small turnout, I still got great hostess rewards! With a $100+ credit and three 50% off coupons, I bought 4 great necklaces that I wear all. the. time. I am seriously loving this jewelry and while it is definitely not an everyday purchase for me, this stuff is beautiful and really well made {read: heavy on your neck}.

Contigo Coffee mug
Ahhhhh, this coffee mug. I. love. this. mug. It is the bomb diggity. I received this mug as a gift from a patient earlier this Fall and "As long as Eye live, I will never use another mug again!" I love it because it will NOT spill. I typically leave the house in the morning juggling my purse and my lunch and my gym bag and my keys...my coffee and...my hands are full. I can throw my coffee in my purse and it can shake all around, turn upside down...it will. not. spill {it also keeps the temperature of whatever's inside a ridiculously long time}. You can pick one up at Target, among other places, for 20 big ones. Do it.

Oh My Darling Designs
A mom that I know through work {whose children are adorable and impeccably dressed and could sell the clothes themselves}, recently started her own children's clothing company with a friend of hers. She was inspired one day when she went to buy a smocked dress for her ONE year old that cost NINETY dollars. I went to the launch party last month and my uterus was turning over at the site of all those smocked dresses and John-Johns. So check it out-- the stuff is adorable and all reasonably priced. They also announce sales and specials on their Facebook page all the time.

Mary Kay Like their skin care, love their make-up. If you were to open my make-up bag at any given moment {or the ziplock bag I call my make-up bag}, you'd find MK concealer, foundation, powder, blush, creme eye shadow, facial highlighting pen, creme lipstick, and no less than 3 lip glosses. I recently took a trip to the 19th century and honed my bartering skills with my friend Laura Sue-- I helped her with a blog make-over while she sent me an awesome goody bag of MK products-- face wash, nail polish, lip products... She has great taste {and she makes cool headbands}, you should definitely hit this girl up for your facial beautifying needs...

And now for the last one.... Despite our recent trip to Napa, when it comes to wine, I really don't know what I'm talking about. But a year or so ago I kept having this great glass of Savignon Blanc-- a wine I don't typically gravitate to and I couldn't figure out why it was so good. "Savignon Blanc from New Zealand," the girl next to me said. "It's always good." And she was right! It never fails: Cupcake, Nobilo...it's all perfect.
So that's it! Just my two cents on how you should spend your Christmas money... Happy exchanging everybody! Good luck out there...

Merry Christmas!

Greetings from Nebraska! We're spending time with Tyler's family for a few more days before we head to Georgia to spend time with mine. We have savored time with our sweet nephews and eaten waaaaay too much food. It is unseasonably warm so sadly we didn't have a white Christmas... But enjoy our 2011 Christmas card and newsletter! {That makes it all better right?}

I hope today has found you well. I can't help but think of my friends and family who are without their loved ones this season. While today should be a day of joy celebrating a Savior, I know that today is just a strong reminder of their absence-- please know we're thinking of and praying for you today.

Merry Christmas

Y’know, some trips to Santa just go better than others…

It’s that time again…Dress the kids up.  Between nap times and mall crowds, coordinate the best time to go see Santa.  And then email Aunt Kathryn & Uncle Tyler the pictures!

Kara emailed us these precious pictures of her boys…

{Cohen {4}, Grant {2}, Reid {3 mo.}—Grant favors Tyler a lot which I love….}

And then my sister Becky emailed us her pictures of Halley & Santa…

There was only one…

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Tour of Homes 2011

Helloooo bloggers!  This is my favorite blog party of the whole year.  And despite the house being finished for weeks, I’m always scrambling at the last minute to get my pictures up {I thought I was going to be all ahead of the game by getting this finished on Wednesday, but there’s already 226 links up—whew!}.  So let’s get this party started—without further adieu, welcome to my little North Pole…

For the first time this season I’m sitting on the sofa with all of the lights turned out except for the tree lights and a burning candle.  Hallmark movies are on and the house is quiet.  This is one of my top 5 favorite parts of Christmas every year.  The laptop is fired up, I just made hot chocolate, and I am thrilled to have an excuse to sit here for a few more minutes {or hours…or fall asleep on the sofa}.

We hosted Tyler’s office Christmas party here two weeks ago so the house has been done for awhile now.  Though I’m prone to jumping the gun on decorating, it’s always nice to have an excuse so people don’t think I’m crazy Christmas lady… And it’s even better to be able to really enjoy the decorations for the entire month!

My favorite views in the house are the ones that have as much Christmas jammed in as possible:

Last year I did a “fah-ncy tree” in all golds and whites and silvers.  This year I wanted to do something a little more fun—I call it "whimsical,” Tyler calls it “Dr. Suess” {but he’s complimented the tree about 18 times so I’m pretty sure “Dr. Suess” is a good thing.}

   

I don’t know how I missed this, but tree picks were a completely foreign concept to me!  I was at Sam’s one day and saw this great box full of curly cues and glitter sticks and sparkly presents. Thus, the whimsy tree was born  {I supplemented a few more from the $2 section at Target and the not-$2-section at Pier One}.

I saw this picture on Pinterest and decided to make sillhouettes of me and Tyler {the jury is still out if this is normal to do for adults without kids…thoughts?}.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I kept our Christmas cards in the same spot as last year—I really love it and it’s such a nice scene when I come down the stairs every morning to see all of these smiling faces of our favorite people.  {Confession: I think I kept last season’s up until March or something ridiculous like that.}

This year I bought real garland—for $30 I think we got at least a few hundred yards.  We had enough garland to wrap about 42 staircases. So we wrapped it here….

And here…

{My mom buys me a Wallace silver bell every year. I love them.}

And here…

{We also collect the Capitol Christmas ornament every year.  This is our banister leading to the basement.}

And covered it here…

{With a spare set of Christmas lights wrapped underneath the trimmings… It looks really pretty all lit up!}

And even draped it along our backyard fence…

A new addition this year that I love is this nativity set.  We didn’t have one previously, so Tyler bought it while he was in Israel with work last summer.  It’s carved from olive trees… I just think it’s really special and unique.

And that’s it!  Some garland, Christmas lights, ornaments, and festive pillows go a long way around here… I’m trying my best to slow down this season and not be overwhelmed with baking and wrapping and shopping.  I’ll be the first person to admit I love Christmas for the movies and the lights and gifts…But at the end of the day, the lights and sparkle pale in comparison to the Savior King we truly celebrate this season.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I’ll be recreating my snug little living room scene from tonight again this weekend—next time to tour all of yours.  I can’t wait!  {My Pinterest just might shutdown the whole system…}

{And don’t forget—there are a gazillion more homes to tour here!!}

Check. it. out.

You know what that is?  My last Etsy shipments!!  Praise. the. Lord.

Don’t get me wrong, I SO appreciate all of the business and orders but man, the last six weeks have been a ca-razy!  For now, I’m done taking Christmas orders but will be back after the holidays to restart with some less seasonal items {check out the iPhone covers currently listed—they’re designed by my graphic designer extraordinaire-slash-friend Ashley.  I love mine and get compliments all the time!  And there are more designs coming soon.} .  Through a process of trial and errors, I learned a lot about juggling orders and a full time job so I hope that going forward the shop will be a little more fun and a lot less stressful!

All in all, I sold 27 pillows, 19 sets of coasters, 14 dish towels, 15 ornaments, 3 picture frames, and 3 sets of gift tags.  Whew.  I’m ready for a nap.

Again, thank you SO MUCH to anyone that spread the word or made purchases—I really did have fun making everything and I hope they added a little handmade touch to your home this season.

Wait, it’s December?!?

What is happening to time??  Between Etsy, Etsy, and Etsy every spare second of my calendar has been booked solid for the last six weeks.  I sadly have been visibly absent from the blog world, Pinterest, and worst of all…Words with Friends.  But here are a few things I’ve managed to sneak in…

• I got really, really excited about the potential of Georgia beating undefeated LSU in the SEC Championship.  And then I got really, really frustrated about Georgia not beating LSU for the SEC championship and changed the channel.  Go Dawgs! anyway.  They earned the exclamation point.

• Tyler and I went to a benefit for International Justice Mission last week.  The banquet was beautifully decorated for Christmas, I was wearing sparkles, and they had a hot chocolate bar to die for complete with homemade peppermint marshmallows.  I was feeling really fancy until I spilled said hot chocolate all over the bathroom floor.  Cue me squatting next to a toilet wiping up hot chocolate with tissue paper… {Beyond the superficial, this was an amazing evening that highlighted the work of a great organization that seeks to end violence and abuse against the defenseless.  We’re very excited to get more involved with IJM.}

• We spent an obscene amount of money on plane tickets to fly home{s} for Christmas.

• We hosted Tyler’s office for a Christmas party—it was a great excused to have the house fully decorated and buy a wholelotta wine.  It was also really nice to finally meet everyone in Tyler’s office, including the boss and his wife {yikes!}.  The party came at the end of a very busy week for both of us though and the hours leading up to the party made me question why anyone in their right mind would EVER choose to work on Extreme Home Makeover, Iron Chef, Restaurant: Impossible or any other show whose premise is built around a ticking clock.

• I stupidly ran the Hot Chocolate 15k the morning after the party.  I was up at 5:30 to run the race and if that weren’t bad enough in itself, the race was a complete disaster.  It seems everyone in the DC running community knows of the epic failure of the inaugural DC Hot Chocolate.  {If you’re bored, go read their Facebook page…Drama!}

Other than that, I’ve just been hanging out with kids and sewing my eyeballs out!  The Christmas store is coming to a close though, so the next two weeks are reserved for slowing down a bit and taking time to really enjoy the most wonderful time of the year.  Are you guys hanging in there??  I’m on my way to go catch up on your world!  I miss my blog peeps… {My “fake friends” as Tyler says.  He means it with love.}

Don’t forget—Nester’s Tour of Homes is this Thursday!