The Last Month

December always seems to exist in such a blur doesn't it?  

Thanksgiving hits and then it is as if the fast forward button is pushed and without a second to breathe, Christmas Eve arrives and we begin to wonder what just happened.

Being my favorite time of year, the only thing I end up regretting at Christmas time is how fast it came and went.  It bothers me that such an amazing time could be over so quickly.  This year I took a different approach and decided to leave the stress behind, simply trying to enjoy the season.  Because isn't that what happens?  We get caught up in all the planning and preparing that we forget to embrace the beauty of it?

This year I laughed, hugged, drank, ate, smiled, and celebrated with family and friends.  I listened to Christmas tunes, I decorated a tree, I watched Baby Girl play with our Nativity, and I read Christmas stories.  I hosted friends, cooked, attended mass, went on walks with the family, attended parties and enjoyed some down time with the hubby and kids.

Some things I didn't do was visit a mall (thank you Amazon Prime and the greater internet...oh yes, and my UPS man), make Christmas cookies, worry about a clean house, get dressed some days, worry about calories, over-commit ourselves, worry about a properly decorated dining room table and many other things that just seem to cause a lot of stress over the holidays.

The outcome was a holiday season that I can say, for the first time in a while I TRULY enjoyed.  It is the first time in a while that I am not sad to see it end because I know I did everything I could to make it memorable.  I loved this year and learned a valuable lesson that I plan to carry on in years to come.  Christmas is not about what needs to be done but the joy and hope of life.  

When you take a moment and look back at the Christmas memories that are created every day, it is not the details that you ever remember.  

It is the smiles, the hugs, the laughs of your family and friends.  

Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Holiday Favorites

This morning I was incredibly sad to see Thanksgiving break come to an end.  I love the lazy mornings with the kids when they climb in bed with me and we watch shows together.  I love not having any plans, playing board games, decorating the house for Christmas and going on walks.  I love having the hubby home and spending so much time with family and friends.  The holidays have begun and I am loving every minute of it.

One part of the holidays that I love is spending time with the family watching Christmas movies.  There are so many good ones and there seems like there isn't enough time in the month of December to fit them all in.  These are some moments from some of my favorite Christmas movies to brighten up your Monday morning.

It's A Wonderful Life

Polar Express

Beautiful Girls

Love Actually

Christmas Vacation

Other ones not listed that I love to watch this time of year are Miracle on 34th Street, ELF, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Santa Claus, Home Alone and One Magic Christmas.  

I think I could keep going.  There are just too many! 

Happy start to the Holidays!

Holiday Entertaining with Anthropologie

Last year I took over hosting Christmas dinner with my family, which was exciting and overwhelming all at once.  I love having everyone over to our home and transitioning that tradition from my mom to me, but I was not prepared for the amount of work that would go into it.  Along with the decorating!  It just did not meet my expectations.  This year I am planning ahead and beginning to preview different decor ideas so that when 20 people show up at my doorstep, I am ready.  

Anthropologie has been one of the best places I have seen so far for holiday decor.  I love all the gold accents, the simplicity in their designs and the slight rustic feel of different pieces.   They also have a number of items that would make the perfect hostess gift for upcoming holiday parties.  

I am REALLY trying to wait until after Thanksgiving to start actually purchasing Christmas items but retailers like Anthropologie are making it EXTREMELY hard.   

Glimmer Wrapped Glassware / Gilded Snowfall Coaster / Etched Fern Stemware 

Gold-Embroidered Table Runner / Elk Horn Serveware / Cheers Cocktail Napkins

 Limited Edition Golden Monogram Mugs / Crystalline Decanter / Elysees Cocktail Shaker

Prep

Black Friday.

One of my most favorite days of the year....and not because of the deals.

I actually hate shopping on this day (blame my days at Nordstrom).

No, I love it because it is the day we spend getting the entire house ready for Christmas.

The lights are going up on the house, the hubby is setting up the tree, I ordered our Christmas cards and our Elf, Stop (named by a once 4 yr old little boy) has arrived.

By the end of the day our home will be prepped for Christmas and I will be dressing up in the most ugly ensemble I can think of for an Ugly Sweater Party, a perfect way to kick off the upcoming month of parties.

There really is nothing like the month of December and Christmas Time.

I hope you are all enjoying this holiday weekend as much as am I!

Until next week!

It's a Match!

Yes, I match my children.  But only for holidays!  Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas to be exact.  I know it is lame and completely cheesy but I don't care.  I actually go so far as to have the entire family coordinate.  Not in a Hanna Anderson catalog type of way, but enough that we "make sense".

This is for no other reason than I like the way it looks in photos.  And aren't photos the most important thing?  Also, completely off the subject, you may recognize the above sequined skirt from this post.  It was a fabulous purchase and I highly recommend it, just as an FYI to all of you after-holiday shoppers.  Anyway...

When it was only two boys, matching was an easy task.  One shirt/sweater/whatever, two sizes.  Now that Baby girl is involved, it is slightly more complicated and it usually ends up with me deciding what she is going to wear and then simply making the boys go along with her (obviously, girls outfits completely overrule boys outfits.  It is natures way).  

I know as the boys get older, they are going to be the ones to ruin this.  I think it might be hard to get two  teenagers to wear the same thing.  So, all I can do is indulge in this for as long as I can!

Here are some of our other matching outfits through the years...

Easter 2009

Thanksgiving 2010

Family Photos 2011

From Our Family to Yours,

Merry Christmas!
Wishing you and yours a holiday weekend filled with family, friends and lots of laughter.

Tis the Season

The Christmas season is my favorite time of year.  Though this has been a somewhat crazy hectic holiday season, I am still sad to see it coming to the end.  With Christmas only a few days away, I thought I would share some things I love about this Christmas season through the eyes of my iPhone.

The Christmas Tree in Union Square in San Francisco.
 A city that I LOVE to visit during the holidays.

A vintage Santa on a festive wine label

An upside Christmas tree hanging in the corner of the
dining room in my friend's home
The BEST Christmas decoration I have ever seen

Hands down my favorite Christmas candy

Gathering our cookie decorations for the kid's decoration party

Too many holiday parties to count!

An ornament, made by my oldest, with his fingerprints all over it.
My FAVORITE gifts to receive during the holidays.

Don't Lose Your Elf!

For all of those who currently use an Elf to help bring the magic of Christmas alive for your children, make sure you do not misplace it.  Why?  Because then the following will occurr.

1. You will have to come up with terrible excuses as to why the Elf has not come yet.  Some of these excuses might be, "He isn't here because he heard you were mean to your brother.", "He hasn't come yet because the lights are not on the house and he cannot find it", or "Perhaps we need to have our tree up and then he will come" (This is the one that worked).

2. You will tear apart your garage, laundry room and bedroom trying to figure out where you put that damn thing.

3. You will call your hubby numerous times at work, trying to think of the last place you both saw it.

4. You will spend another $30 on a new Elf, totaling $60 for TWO packages since the creators of this Elf knew parents like me would lose it and why charge only $15 for JUST THE ELF when you can just charge for the ENTIRE THING.

5. You finally settled in, comforted by the fact that the Elf is back, the kids are happy and now you can really start using the "Santa will find out" threat to keep them behaving.

I Am Forced To "Fake" It

No, I am not talking about sex (dirty minds!!) but Christmas trees.  Yep, we are one of those people who have a fake tree in our house.  And it KILLS me!

I grew up with real Christmas trees and find it somewhat sacreligious to have a fake one.  I ask you, how can a tree come out of a box?  Then I married a man who is allergic to them and if I was not willing to get rid of him, the real trees had to go.  One of my favorite parts of having a real tree is the pine smell.  There is nothing better during the holidays.  To compromise, every holiday season I load up on Mrs. Meyers Iowa Pine scented soy candle.

I have tried numerous pine candles and this one is the absolute best.  I picked up mine at Target but you can order them online as well.  These burn consistently throughout December and allows me to pretend that I have a fabulous real tree in my living room. 

If I am not burning the pine candles, I will also burn these two seasonsal candles by Mrs. Meyers.

Canberry soy candle

Spice Cake soy candle

If you are also one of those people that have a fake tree against your will, I feel sorry for you.  But at least Mrs. Meyers is helping to make up for it.

Christmas for the Hubby

Christmas shopping for my hubby is a pain in the ass.  He always says there is nothing he wants and he doesn't care.  But he DOES care.  Apparently others feel the same way because I received an email from a reader, asking to pull some gift ideas for the boyfriend/hubby/friend in your life. Here are a few of my suggestions that are "Hubby Approved" to perhaps make it a little less painful this year.  Good luck to you all!

Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Headphones

My hubby travels a lot for work and these are a must in his carry on.  I have used them in the past and they actually take all airplane noise away and makes it a much more comfortable flight.

Jack Black Skincare

My hubby uses skincare products and he is not afraid to admit it.  There are a number of items in this line he is fond of.  They have a very masculine smell and offer him just the minimal amount of skincare a guy needs to take care of himself without smelling like a woman. 

Tommy Bahama Cigar Cutter and Flask

This has been a staple in my hubby's golf bag since he received this in his stocking last Christmas.  Tommy Bahama also carries other incredible cigarware such as ashtrays and leather cigar tubes, all perfect for the man who loves his cigars.

Thomas Pink Dress Shirts

My hubby wears suits every day so dress shirts are a necessity.  These are his absolute favorite and a special treat (the price runs a bit higher than most dress shirts).  They look great, dry clean extremely well and they also carry a ton of fabulous ties to go with them.  He prefers the slim fit but they also come in regular and extra slim fit.

Jo Malone Cologne

That's right, I said Jo Malone.  Though this is very commonly thought of as a feminine line, it is actually unisex and there are some very masculine scents that smell incredible.  My husband has taken to the Dark Amber and Ginger Lily cologne but there are a number of scents to choose from.

LARK Silent Alarm Clock

This is actually on MY Christmas list this year.  With a hubby who gets up at 4:30am, I would absolutely LOVE to have him use this instead of the iphone alarm sound I get EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING.

The Ferarri FF - Neiman Marcus Fantasy Gift

In his DREAMS!  For $395,000 he may have to wait a while for this one.

Now, after all this thinking about someone else, why not get yourself a treat?
Only one more day to enter the CEEK jewelry here.  Don't miss out!

We Believe

This past weekend we headed out on a major road trip with another family.  When I say major, I mean major.  We traveled through three states (California, Nevada and Arizona) to experience The Polar Express in Williams, Arizona.  It was an incredible weekend with great friends and there is nothing more magical than 5 children believing that they are on a train to the North Pole to meet Santa.  NOTHING.  It makes me sad to think that one day they will not believe, but for now, I will indulge in the world of a child, where anything is possible.

There was a whole lot of nothing for the majority of the drive

But thanks to my friend who went to school in Arizona, we were able to identify The Cracker Barrel as a good place to stop for lunch...though I was more obsessed with the vintage candy section.

We FINALLY made it to Williams, a small town in Arizona

After checking in, the kids got their pajamas on and were all too excited to play in the small amount of snow and get ready to board the Polar Express!

Once aboard the train, it was hot chocolate, cookies, The Polar Express story and Christmas music.

Baby Girl was equally excited

After going to the North Pole, all the kids realized that Santa disappeared.  No one knew where he was until suddenly...

He passed out bells to everyone on the train as we headed back to the Train Station.  It was such an incredible time and I highly suggest you looking into any local Polar Express trains you may have in your area.  It was such a fabulous way to kick off the holidays!

The SPACE.NK Giveaway is still open so don't forget to enter here!