Pretty Packages!

Someone pinch me, because it cannot be the last full week before Christmas.  Yikes!

No worries, I have a cute idea for how to wrap up all those last minute gifts you'll be toting around.  Last week I shared what I whipped up for teacher gifts this year.  Today, I'll share how I put a bow on it!

In addition to the sugar scrub teacher gifts, I also made a few packages of homemade saltine toffee for some close friends.  You can find the recipe for that here.  

Target had some adorable red and white striped bags.  Since I'm a sucker for stripes, I snagged them, as well as a few decorative ornaments.  At Michael's, I picked up some gift confetti and a package of red, white, and natural rattan ribbon.

First, I filled each bag with a little nest of confetti.

Then I placed the gift (either toffee or sugar scrub) in the bag and folded the top over.  I punched a hole through both layers and threaded a single strand of rattan ribbon through.  I made sure to tie a cute little ornament into the bow.

I created some cute little labels on my computer (the fonts are Sleigh Ride and big Kitty)...

...and then we were good to go!

I love seeing all these little packages lined up on my dining room table.  Now, I'm ready for all of the busyness we have in store this week.  Girls' Night, class party, church outings.  Who wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this little cutie?


XO,
  Sara

Heavy Heart

My heart is broken over the events of last Friday.  It especially hits home as I have been a teacher of children the very age of those dear ones. I know how everyone must be feeling at school's around the country today.  My prayers are with you all.  Parents, teachers, little ones.  I hope you can all find a way to seek comfort in one another.

I posted this on Facebook on Friday, my birthday.

"It seems such a trivial thing to be celebrating a birthday today when so many are grieving. Grant me my wish this year and spend just 5 minutes everyday praying for the children of the world."

This has been a huge wake-up call for me. Making a mess in the bathroom, painting the table with yogurt, coloring on the closet door.  I'm so grateful I have my little boy who can still do these things.

There are no answers to the questions we all have.  The only thing we can do is love each other more...  speak gently and teach our children how to love.

Prayers, love, and support to everyone.

Birthday Boots

 Well.  Today is my birthday folks.  No monumental milestone this year.  I hit that one last year, to the glow of thirty candles.  This year really flew by!  And it was good one.

To celebrate, it was only fitting to get some really fabulous boots.  Duh.

I've been on the hunt for the perfect brown boots.  I wanted something with a bit of a heel, not dressy high-heels, but not tough chic biker boots.  Something leather, but not shiny.  Something a little edgy, but appropriate for preschool pick-up.

Cue the angels singing...

L. O. V. E.

These are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn, and I own Uggs.  They fit like a dream over skinny jeans and they go with everything.  I've already worn them 4 times this week.

Just to add a little Fashion Fun...

I paired my new loves with dark wash skinnies, a gray tank, a black cardigan, and leopard scarf.

Would you look at all that junk back there?  No.  Don't! Ugh.  Projects.

 I know you are all going to want a pair of these babies and you can find them at Nordstrom, Zappos, and on Amazon.  They are the Born Kylli, and I may or may not have them in black as well...

Now, I'm off to enjoy the day with my hubby and wee one.  Let's all pray there are no toddler Armageddons and the local ice cream shop made my favorite flavor.  Honey Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookie.  Maybe I'll see you there!  I'll be the one in the cute boots ;)

Boots - Born Kylli - Nordstrom

Jeans - Gap

Tank - Target

Cardigan - Target

Scarf - Michael Kors

XO,

   Sara

Recipe - Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

Hi friends!  Sorry for the no show yesterday.  The holiday season has me sprinting in 20 different directions these days and not one of them landed me in front of the computer yesterday.  Fortunately, I did get lots of projects crossed off my list so I have lots to share with you!

Next week is my son's first Christmas performance.  Fork over the Kleenex!  We've been practicing his 4 carols, complete with arm movements.  I'm not sure what to expect on the actual day, but I know it will be irreplaceable.  Video camera will be in hand!

After the performance is the holiday party...which means 4 dozen beautifully decorated Christmas cookies for me to make and teacher gifts to deliver.  Today I bring you a "recipe" of sorts for what we are gifting Little Man's teachers this year.  We contributed to the class gift, but I always think it's a good idea to give something a little more personal in addition.

This year I made Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub and it could not have been easier.  Not only does it smell delicious, but it is made out of things you probably already have, and it makes your hands as smooth as a baby's tushy.  No lie!

Here's what you need:
   3 cups of white sugar
   3/4 cup vegetable oil
   1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
   1 big lemon
   2 pint size glass jars with sealing lids (I used the Ball ones at Target, they come in a 4 pack)

Mix the sugar and oils together.  Some people like to use all EVOO, however, it was a little too strong smelling for my taste.  I used vegetable oil with just a little EVOO to give it a more lemony color.

 Squeeze the lemon juice into the mixture.  Be sure to fish out the seeds, but if a few get lost, it just makes it more authentic!  

Spoon into jars.

To pretty up my jars, I created a label on Avery templates and cut a square of burlap to put under the ring of the lid.  Voila!

The brown scrub is a brown sugar cinnamon scrub I made for some other gifts.

Teacher hands work hard.  Here's to pampering the special people who help mold our special people.  Hug a teacher!

Next week I'll show you how I wrapped up these little gifts.

Linking up To:

Shue Love

XO,
   Sara

Christmas Tree 2012

If you're joining us from Honey We're Home, thanks for coming!

You can't have Christmas without the tree.  This year was a new challenge for me as I've completely changed the color scheme of my house since last Christmas.  

It's amazing to think that last year, red, black, and silver fit in perfectly with our red sofa and black and white window treatments.  What a difference a year makes!

 This year, I wasn't entirely sure what direction I was headed.  I just knew I wanted silver, gold, and brown. A walk around Michael's gave me more direction when I stumbled upon some cute ribbon.  A rustic chic tree was born!

I reused some of what I had from last year.  These silver starts have always been some of my favorites, along with the giant one for the top of the tree (which fell off one year and hit me in the head...).  The little weathered tree ornament was $1 at Target.  I bought a few of those and a few reindeer in the same patina.

We have a few gifted ornaments we add to the tree and we get Little Man a new one every year.  This year's addition, a stegosaurus. It's fun to look back at each year's choice and remember what stage he was in.

The plaid ribbon was my Michael's find.  I had no idea I would go in the "Christmas Plaid" direction, but it spoke to me, so I listened.  I love the warmth and pattern it brings to the whole space.

The glitzy brown ornaments were part of pack of mini ornaments I bought for accents around the house.  Target, of course!

This burlap and brown ribbon is one of my favorite parts of the tree this year.  It definitely gives off the rustic feel I wanted, right next to the sparkly gold and silver ornaments.

I like to use a variety of sizes for ball ornaments.  I think it gives a tree so much dimension and interest.  I hadn't planned on red, but the plaid ribbon called for a little pop of red throughout the branches.

We also have a little tree in our dining room.

 (Don't tell, but I have a third tree I haven't set up yet.  It's for our master bedroom.  One day, when my sitting area is the way I want it, I plan to have fun decorating a tree up there. Maybe themed ornaments?  Shoes?  Kiddie creations?)

This is really not a good pic of the dining room tree.  It looks like I just threw a strand of lights right in the middle of it!  I'm going to have click on that "How to Photograph Your Tree" tutorial on Pinterest afterall!

I just hung little brown and gold ornaments and used the last bit of plaid ribbon to create a little swirl on top.
Clearly I haven't put the skirt around it yet.  I'm trying to make one out of burlap...

Well, there you have it.  Our new and, hopefully improved, tree.

Have you decked your tree out yet?  Do you fill yours with collected over time ornaments or do you like to have a themed look?

Linking up to:

Honey We're Home

Holiday Home Tour 2012

We've had such fun decking our halls.  I just love seeing everyone's homes gussied up for the month.  I thought it would be fun to gather some festive images from our house all in one spot.

The first hit of Christmas is our front table in the entryway.  I always like to add a little taste of what you'll find throughout the house for the season.  This year, it's silver, gold, greenery, and pinecones...with a splash of red because I couldn't help it.  Rustic chic, if you will.

The next thing you'll see at our holiday abode is the view of our mantle and tree (more to come on him tomorrow ;)

Across from the mantle, is the ever-necessary, sofa.  I like to change up my pillows seasonally and unfortunately, the ones I want are on back order, so this is my improvisation!

I have a TON of holiday books from my teaching days so we keep them readily accessible in a chicken wire basket next to the table.  My Little Guy loves to flip through them.  There's also a little peek at another vignette I'll be sharing soon...

Off the living room is the kitchen.  I told you about my artwork swap for the holidays here.  Every guest we've had over has really loved this subtle little nod to the season.  It was beyond easy too!

I've also added a couple of fresh evergreen wreaths to my open shelving cabinets.  I'll come back and add those pics in later!

A couple of my silver star bowls from Pottery Barn are nested together on the kitchen table.  I just stacked our everyday placemats underneath to give it a natural vibe and filled 'er up with mini ornaments.

 Here's a quick look (from a terrbile photo...*sigh*) of our advent calendar.

I showed you how I've been wrapping it up so far...

And I made reference to these two little trees (their younger sister lives on the mantle right now).  They're a nice little touch of sparkle when you make it upstairs.  Never you mind the wainscotting project in progress!

 Little Man has a cute little wooden tree with bells in his room...

...and some cute little snowmen sheets.

 (psst, we actually have these same sheets on our master bed...is that silly?  Who cares!  They're crazy warm!)

And here is the felt tree he's been decorating in his playroom...so far, he's left the big tree alone.  So far.

I've got a few more little secrets up my sleeve I'll be sharing in the coming days.  We went to a party this past weekend and I'm dying to share my Pinterest hairdo with you!

Can you believe it is almost that time?!?  I sure can't.  So many fun parties and events coming up.  Including my wee one's first Christmas performance.  I hope I don't ruin my camera while I'm crying into it!

Keep Calm and Merry On my lovelies!

XO,
  Sara

Nony

Allow me to introduce you to another member of our family.  Nony, like Tony, with an 'N'.

Last Christmas, Nony was pretty mild.  He moved around a bit, but generally kept to perching on shelves or tucking into branches of the tree.

Not this year.

Nony has been seen diving into the cookie jar...

Playing a heated game of memory...

Taking a ride on a dino friend...

Trying to train a reindeer...

Decorating a tree...

Cuddling with Sock Monkey...

Preparing for a snowball fight...

And adding his own pizazz to Little Man's decorated trees.

The little scamp.  He's about to do me in.  And it's only December 7.

Have a great weekend my friends!  Have a peppermint mocha and take a moment to enjoy the lights.

XO,
  Sara