looking back

2011 has been a whirlwind of greatness and newness and heartbreak and beauty and change - and I've loved every second of it. And I am so thankful for the lives that I got to share it with. I've learned so much about myself and life and love over the past year. I went on adventures, I laughed, I made new friends, I lost loved ones, I fought, I cried, I dreamed big and I found love.

Here's to hoping 2012 is even better.

a little gift wrapping

i am so glad to be done with all my Christmas shopping! I was done a week early and it has been stress free since then. this year i chose to wrap my gifts in brown craft paper tied up with twine,  green and cream felt ribbon, and white yarn. i added a few sprigs of red berries to add a splash of color; and stamped each gift receiver's name for a little personalization

making gifts pretty makes giving them more fun :)

(the antlers are one of my favorite gifts so far, given to me by my sister's boyfriend. i am so excited to mount them, or figure out where to put them!)

Merry Christmas , ya'll!

Christmas Crafts

I LOVE CRAFTS.

and Christmas time is the absolute best time for them. 

Christmas decorations can be pretty pricey decorations to only have up for about a month out of the year (or longer if you're lazy and/or me) in your home. Especially when you like to change your look from year to year. Plus, its the perfect activity for a girls' get together when the cold weather forces you indoors!

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, my friend Whitney hosted an ornament making party and I've tackled some other crafts here and there when I had some free time on my own. Here is what I've made so far!

book/music page ornaments
i got the inspiration from here.

glass ornaments from Michael's 6 for $2.50; old book $1.21; old hymnal (sorry Lord) $1.21; modpoge; glitter; and twine


I have really loved the look of mercury glass for this season (probably because of this and this..) You can find some pretty inexpensive faux mercury glass candle holders and votives at Michael's and TJMaxx, but what is wayy more fun? Making your own!!
Before: glass christmas tree + 2 candle holders = less than $3 at Value Village; krylon looking glass spray paint $7 hobbylobby
After:

I got inspired to make these mason jar snow globes from my friend Charis, because she made such cute ones!
mason jar $1.21 at Value Villiage, snow and trees from Michael's
And this has nothing to do with crafts, but its not Christmas without some cozy lights strung around :)

Give Thanks

I am a tad bit late on posting this, since it is already a week into December.. but I wanted to make a quick post about Thanksgiving anyways! Thanksgiving was different this year and I got my first taste of sharing the holiday, but it was by far my most favorite Thanksgiving yet. Kevin was so sweet to be willing to sacrifice spending Thanksgiving day with his family to spend it with mine.

We feasted on all kinds of really southern, delicious dishes like giblet gravy, collards, and watergate salad (yum!) at my dad's house for lunch, and then headed over to my aunt and uncle's to spend the rest of the afternoon with my mom's side of the family. There were around 30 people there, it was a full house! We finished the day with a nap and A Christmas Carol and then went for coffee and split a Grand Slam at Denny's (Wilson doesn't have much to work with when it comes to late night eateries...) before we spent a few hours with all the crazies at Target at midnight for Black Friday.

The next day we ate lunch at Cracker Barrell with my Mom before we headed back early to spend the last bit of the holiday weekend with his parents. Here is a collection of a few photos from our weekend:

Even though it is wayyy past Thanksgiving, I still have plenty of reasons to give thanks!
mcm