Weekend Reads {12.20.13}

Well, my friends, I have great news. My two week holiday vacation has officially begun. After a crazy few weeks of working non-stop and back to back holiday parties, I can finally relax a bit and indulge in the things I love most like family time, baking, crafting and blogging. Needless to say, I am beyond excited. The best part though is that I'm finally starting to feel the holiday spirit. I haven't been able to wipe the cheer from my face since yesterday afternoon. Santa would be quite proud actually. Now that the spirit of the season has taken over, I've gathered up my five favorite reads from the week. Each is appropriately holiday themed and certainly going to make your spirit as bright as mine! Happy Weekend!

1. Christmas Morning Pajamas & Coffee from Meg Biram

2. Mrs. Lilien's Christmas Dinner Menu from Mrs. Lilien

3. Printable Holiday Tags and Wrap from Eat Drink Chic for Oh Happy Day

4. Easy DIY Paper Bow from Hank & Hunt

5. A Colorful Holiday Table from The Glitter Guide

Color Me {Winter White}

It's finally starting to look like winter around here. The past few days have been filled with gray skies and colder temperatures making me feel like Christmas is right around the corner. As I do every December, I've put together some holiday theme boards that will take us right up to the celebratory day. No matter if you prefer a traditional holiday, a coastal Christmas or a winter white one like today, I'll have all the holiday cheer you need right here. 

Being in Florida, the closest thing we get to a white Christmas is sandy white beaches and a decked out Palm tree, but that can't stop a girl from dreaming right? Even if you don't live in the snowy white North, you can still create the perfect white Christmas. Adorn the tree in soft shades of white with silver accents and keep the rest of your decor neutral. Apply this theory to your holiday table as well. An ivory tablecloth topped with white plates and silver decor is just what you need to make it perfect. All that is left is to light a fire and curl up with a mug of hot chocolate! 

Color Me {Cranberry}

Every Thanksgiving the table gets set with golden brown roasted turkey, bright orange yams, gorgeous green brussel sprouts, and an unappetizing lump of cranberry sauce. While the look of the sauce is not that appealing, the color is quite perfect for the season. The brightness of the deep red truly sets the holiday feel of the day and compliments the natural rustic tones of the season. The perfect holiday table for me would be last week’s shade of wheat mixed with the cheery cranberry and neutral navy. The combination could start with your Thanksgiving table and carry through the holiday season by adding in appropriate tones of hunter green. Add in a few metallic tones and you will be set for the season!

Destination Dream {North Pole, Alaska}

In the spirit of Christmas I wanted to do a little feature on the most spirited town of all, the North Pole. Located near Fairbanks, the North Pole fulfills the spirit of the season all year long. With candy cane striped light posts, reindeer, and street names reflecting all your favorite holiday traditions, it's sure to see why the big man in the red suit with a fluffy white beard calls this place home. I hear he can even be seen roaming around any time of year. Just thinking of this town puts a big smile on my face and it makes the most wonderful, spectacular destination for those looking to just have fun!

Color Me {White Christmas}

I shared with you last week my plan and inspiration for a blue, blue Christmas. Living in the Sunshine State and being as obsessed as I am with all things coastal, there is one type of Christmas, I'm guaranteed to never get, a white Christmas. There may be white sand beaches but pure white snows are far and few between. While a coastal holiday is my favorite, I've always dreamed of waking up to snow falling and sitting by the fireplace opening gifts. The pure, beautiful scenery fills my head as I anxiously await Christmas morning. If you're like me and enjoy a much greener holiday, here's a little white Christmas inspiration!

Color Me {Tartan}

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend. Now that I'm done stuffing myself with delicious food, it's time to concentrate on getting ready for the Christmas season. I was ahead of the game this year and most of my holiday shopping is already done, but decorating is still on the list of things to-do. Each year I struggle with a theme for my decorating. Do I go natural and rustic, traditional, modern, or glam? While I've decided to make as many decorations as possible, I still need a theme. I thought I would share one route of inspiration with you today. I love the classic, timeless feel of tartan. In traditional holiday colors, it's a perfect decorating theme.

What's your plan for decorating this year?

The Perfect Gift {Stocking Stuffers for Her}

I always love opening my stocking on Christmas morning. It's filled with lots of little goodies such as new nail polishes, my favorite treats, and gift cards. But, stockings are also great for stuffing with brightly printed accessories and even some necessities. Here are my suggestions for some chic stuffers...

{1} Gift Cards: I always love getting gift cards because it gives me an excuse to go into my favorite stores and over spend. One of my favorites to get an iTunes card. I can finally download all of the songs I've been meaning to download for months!

{2} Tory Burch Leopard Gloves: I would love to find these in my stocking! Warm, functional, and chic, these are the perfect balance between necessity and want.

{3} Essie Nail Polish: Perfect for replenishing the stock after a year of using those dried out goopy colors! 

{4} J.Crew Multi Color Bangles: What girl doesn't like finding jewelry? These are great for mixing and matching and for stuffing into stockings!

{5} Sara Happ Lip Slip: My absolute favorite lip gloss! A little goes a long way with this gloss so the tub lasts forever. And not to mention the gloss stays on for such a long time, there is no need to reapply every 10 minutes.

{6} Jonathan Adler Umbrella: What a way to brighten up a gray day! The print and colors on this umbrella are ones she is bound to love!

All Wrapped Up

Saturday morning I woke up, had an energizing cup of coffee, made a list, and headed out on one big adventure to get all of my Christmas shopping done. I was determined this year not to be one of those people in hitting the mall on Christmas Eve as I was last year. Minus a couple gifts I have to wait to get when I head home next week, it all got done! But, after all the shopping, those gifts weren't going to wrap themselves. So I embarked on my next journey...wrapping. I've always liked to use the same wrapping, but this year I took it to the next level, mixing patterns and matching the paper to my tree. I loved the idea of finding all the same color paper and mixing two patterns to add a little visual interest. I topped each gift off with a wrapping of silver cord as opposed to the traditional bow to tie in the silver on my tree. 

My absolute favorite part though is how my wrapping and tree match! Thank you Target for providing such fun wrapping and then having ornaments that match two aisles over. That makes this girl very happy! 

How are you wrapping this year? My mom is going with kraft paper and rubber stamps. Another one of my favorites! 

Let's Get Crafty {DIY Wreath}

Ever made your own Christmas wreath? Neither had I till this past weekend. Jonesing for some long over due craft time, I decided to get crafty this weekend and take our Christmas tree trimmings and turn them into a wreath for the front door. The best part about doing this is you can make the wreath as big or as small as you like. And seeing as my Christmas decoration philosophy is the bigger the better, I went big. Here's what you'll need to do to make your own!

::Supplies::

{1} Tree Trimmings

{2} Scissors

{3} Zip ties

::Instructions::

{1}Gather your tree trimmings and lay them flat.

{2}Begin to layer branches

{3}Secure branches with zip ties

{4}Continue to layer and secure until you have a line of desired length. Note that the longer the line of secured branches the bigger the wreath. 

{5}Take the two ends of the branches and join together securing with a zip tie to form a circle.

{6}Trim branches to make a more concise circle.  I had to trim most of mine from the center of the wreath because it looked a bit just like a solid circle and not a wreath.

{7}Attach a bow and hang from the front door!

What is your favorite holiday diy? Let me know. I'd love to try it out! 

This Week I Feel...Joyful

It is officially Christmas season! I hope you all had a delightful Thanksgiving and didn't stuff yourself too much. I know I really tried not to. But now it's time to move on from all the turkey, and begin decking the halls. And, if you are anything like me, you are struggling with how to decorate. Now, I have my staple decorations that go up every year, but other than that, I flutter between going glitz or traditional. Well this week, I'm settled on traditional. And don't get me wrong, it could easily change. But, right now I'm loving the traditional red and green.  I love tartan accents and strands of cranberries on the tree. I've even already brought the outside in by spray painting some pine cones silver. I love how homey and comfy my house feels when there is a pine tree scent and green garland wrapped on the banister. But no matter what I chose, there will definitely be mistletoe hanging in the entry way! 

How are you decorating this year?

Images: {Row 1} 1, 2, 3 {Row 2} 1, 2, 3 {Row 3} 1, 2 {Row 4} 1, 2, 3, 4

All Wrapped Up {Burlap Wine Bags}

Now that Halloween has passed, it's time to finally start thinking about my favorite holiday, Christmas. I know technically the Christmas season doesn't really start till after Thanksgiving, but it's never to early to start planning. And one of the things I always start thinking about first is Christmas gifts. What do I get for my parents, my sisters, my brother, etc.? Well, for friends one of my favorite things to do is a nice bottle of wine. But, you can't just hand someone a bottle, just like every other gift, it should be wrapped! And this Christmas, I'm loving the idea of wrapping bottles in burlap sacks like these. What's great is they add a little hand made touch that shows the person you put a little effort in. Stencil them with all sorts of sayings for the season like love, joy, or peace. I think I'm going to stencil mine with "uncork". Appropriate for the type of gift and that way it can be reused all year and not just at Christmas! 

xo