Wednesday, December 18, 2013

REINDEER FOOD


Back in high school and college I worked for Hallmark Cards. It was hard not to get excited when the Christmas products came out each year. One that I thought was super cute and fun was Magical Reindeer Food; kids sprinkle it out on the yard on Christmas Eve to feed Santa's reindeer and make sure they didn't skip your house. I always thought this was a cute little tradition for any family, much like planting jellybeans on Holy Saturday and finding lollipops sprouted in their place come Easter morning. 
Kensi and I decided to make some of our this year and making reindeer food is easy as pie, actually much easier than pie. All you need are oats (oatmeal), cinnamon (for scent) and colored glitter. If you'd like you can also add some sequins. Put them in a food processor if you have one or you can just mix them up in a bowl. {We recommend blending a portion of the oatmeal to make it more fine and then mix it into the whole oatmeal}. Pour the magical mixture into a cute little jar and finish with a ribbon and a homemade tag. You can make a small jar for each child or you could even give them away as gifts leading up to Christmas Eve. 

Happy Mixing!
xoxo

Friday, December 13, 2013

{OUR HOUSE} HOMEOWNERS BABY!

TODAY IS THE DAY! WE ARE OFFICIALLY HOUSEOWNERS HOMEOWNERS!!!! For the last few months it has been nothing but a house; wood, nails and paint, but today we officially get to make it our home! 


Let’s unpack and let the decorating begin!!!
Happy Friday the 13th!
xoxo

Monday, December 9, 2013

JINGLE BELL ROCK: CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST

Our Christmas season may be a little bit shorter than usual this year because of when thanksgiving fell, but I know the Christmas tunes have been playing loud for all to hear since November 1st. We love blasting festive tunes through the house and in the car just as much as the next fruitcake out there. I've also seen tons and tons and tons of Christmas playlists pop up all over Pinterest. Our playlist is not much different, it has hundreds of songs on it, many of the same but different versions by different artists. But we have some awesome nontraditional songs that are actually about Christ and not about the commercialized holiday everyone has turned it into. We love love love these songs and hope you will too. This is just a quick few from our crazy huge playlist, all of these artists are great and have several other equally as brilliant songs in this itty bitty playlist.
FYI - Hold Us Together by Matt Maher isn't technically a 'Christmas' song but Mike loves it. 

xoxo



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

HOMEMADE ORNAMENTS

Yesterday we needed a little project to brighten up our day. I bought some clear glass Christmas bulbs from the craft store over the weekend with the intention to fill them with glitter. But when I was rummaging through some of our craft stash I found some colored Pom poms I used before for Kensi's sensory bottles. I felt like I scored the jackpot because Kensi could easily fill her own little ornament.
I was a little nervous about these being glass, especially in the hands of a toddler, but she did so well! We only dropped and broke one....a success in our house! And bonus...she was entertained with this activity for an hour! 

We ended up making some for Christmas gifts for grandparents and her godparents. We added the year and her initials. To finish them we added a bright green satin ribbon to make it easier to hang from the tree. 
She was so proud of the ornaments she made! She showed them off to daddy when he came home last night and even Skyped grandma back in Nebraska to show her. 

Supplies:
Clear Glass Bulbs
Colored Pom-Poms
Satin Ribbon

xoxo

Monday, December 2, 2013

MAKE YOUR HOME MERRY & BRIGHT

I can finally see the end of what has seemed to be a long road....we get to move into our house within the next couple of weeks! Since moving we’ve felt we’ve been on a hiatus with every holiday. Not decorating for the holidays has been pure torture along with putting most of my baking on hold. I won’t be decking our halls like usual this year, even once we move in because we’ll be traveling, a few decorations and of course a tree will go up as soon as we get the keys, but I’ve been keeping my eye on many festive decor items for the home in hopes to snag them with an after Christmas sale. There are some small things that have kept me afloat so far...like the Mrs. Meyers holiday scent collection and a few DIY projects.
Mercury - The mercury trend for candles and vases are EVERYWHERE! Adorable they are, but pricey they can be depending where you buy. If you’re into some DIY-ing, try this {tutorial} out from Martha Stewart.
Mrs. Meyers - I use their Basil scented countertop spray on the daily. When I found they made holiday scents (which actually smell good) I bought a couple different things {from Target} to spruce of our living quarters. Not only is our house clean but it smells all sorts of festive now!
Toss Pillows - Every year you can find cute and festive pillows for the season. Some of my favorites are on Etsy, just like this Mistletoe pillow from Michelle Dwight Designs.
Wall Hanging - Is it just me, or is everyone using wall hanging this year? I’ve seen so many variations whether it be for a small or large space. I’ve also seen everything from Christmas tree to animals to quotes. The Land of Nod carries a few different wall hangings. 
Felt Garland - To me, anything made of felt gives a very nostalgic feel. I love using felt garland for the tree, mantel and even to drape on the wall above a bed. 
Kitchen Textiles - If you enjoy dressing up your cooking space for Christmas as well, this polka dot oven mitt set will do just the trick. Not too tacky for the holiday, but just enough pop of pattern and color to brighten your space up.
Metallic Ornaments - We each have a monogrammed ornament on our tree for each of our names. I really like the simplicity of these ornaments from Anthropology, no curls, no gems, no extra fuss.
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