2012 Christmas Card(s)

I ended up ordering 2 cards this year, and I really love the way they both turned out! The addition of our baby girl makes 2012's card my favorite one yet! 

shutterfly

card store

I waaaay underestimated the amount of cards I was going to need this year, so I do apologize if you didn't get one. I was SO BUMMED that I couldn't include my bloggy girls. Accept this e-card instead? Ha! I'll do better next year. Pinky promise.

I'm linking up with Kristen @ All In My Twenties for her Christmas Card Link-Up!

Pray for Newtown

scrapbook paper & foam christmas trees

I've had some foam Christmas trees hanging around for awhile now, and I've been trying to find a way to "up-cycle" them this year. Previously they were mod-podged with tissue paper, but after being stored in the attic during hot Texas summers for several years now, they were looking pretty pathetic. When I came across this little project, I knew I'd found the one. I thought they'd be a cheerful addition to Jaqs' nursery this season!

original pin

I had to pick up some sequins and straight pins, then I got busy punching out the circles from scrapbook paper using a craft lever punch. My edges are scalloped, and the circles are 2" across. I used 9 sheets of scrapbook paper, and I had plenty left over to make a garland, too.

 Next, you just thread the sequin onto the pin then punch them (and the paper, of course) into the trees working from the bottom to the top. I put my circles in a line and basically kept that order throughout. It worked well for my OCD self ;) Once they were covered, I hot-glued a small, glittery foam ball ornament on top to finish them off!

Here's the finished product in the pea's nursery:

 I love how girly they are, and they were so simple to make! I definitely enjoyed this one.

I'm linking up with Katie & Stephanie for "Saw It, Pinned It, Did It"

Also linking up with AP for Hey, that's Pin-tastic!

Christmas Tour!

I love the way my home feels at Christmastime--so warm and cozy! The first thing I do when I get up is turn the tree lights on, and they stay on all day if we're home...I adore it!

I wanted to share some of our decor, so I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner for her Christmas Tour of Homes. Can't wait to check out everyone else's beautiful decor and to gather ideas for the future! If you clicked over from there, thanks for visiting!

I decided to do something a little different with our cards this year; I taped ribbon around the door of our coat closet in the entry way and have been pinning our cards there with mini-clothespins. I love to be able to see them all on display when you walk in!

Living room:

I made the little felt ball garland to add some whimsy to our burlap board.

remembering the reason for the season...nativities are my fav!

on the coffee table. how about all that baby swag?! and the photo bomb! priceless.

love my eleven-one-creative pillow made by meredith

hard to decorate a mantle when there's a big, fat TV over it...hope to get it back someday!

Ahh, my favorite part! The tree! Ours is bright and colorful, and I just love it.

decided to wrap the canvas up, too!

some of my favorite ornaments..
so happy to have "baby's first christmas"  this year.
Thanks Beth Ann :)
God is SO GOOD and FAITHFUL!

the night view.

Dining Room:

anthropologie-inspired snow globes

I love these little Christmas plates my mom gifted me with a few years ago!

I have other decor in the kitchen, but if I'm being honest, the sink was piled high with dishes during picture time, so I left that part out. Ha!

Of course Jaqsy girl's room needed some Christmas cheer this year! I made these little trees this week, so I'll be sure to post how I did them soon! They were very simple, and I think they go perfectly in her girly-girl room!

Thanks for taking a look into our home! Merry, merry CHRISTmas!

Anthropologie-Inspired Snow Globes

I've had my eye on these little mason jar snow globes for awhile now; I just think they're so whimsical and fun! I knew I wanted to make them from the first time I saw this pin!

I gathered my supplies from Hobby Lobby, (all on sale, of course) and 6 of these little pretties ended up costing about $5 total. Hard to beat!

You'll need: Mason jars, Village trees, fake snow, and some hot glue.

This has to be one of the easiest Christmas crafts of all time: just hot glue the trees to the inside of the lid, pour a little bit of snow in the jar, and seal 'er up. Give it a shake to help the "snow" settle, and voila! Done! Looks pretty similar to the Anthro version, no?

I'm linking up with Katie & Stephanie for Saw It. Pinned It. Did It.!

teething must-haves

I mentioned in Jaqsy baby's 8 month post that she got her first 2 teeth, and I'm sure we'll have more on the way in no time. She did take the first go-round of teething pretty well, but I think there were definitely some things that made it easier for all of us. I feel like it's my mom-friend-duty to share them with those of you who might be coming up on the whole teething thing, too. Obviously we've only done this once, but here are a few things that worked for Jaqs!

• Aden & Anais Security Blankets: These have absolutely nothing to do with teething, but Jaqs just loves hers, and I think they give her a little comfort throughout the night.
• Bibs: There will likely be lots of drool to be soaked up, so be sure to get some with some absorbency!
• Little Fevers: (or baby Tylenol) We had one night that J was up on and off ALL night long. In our fog, we didn't even think about giving her some pain reliever, but she probably would have been able to rest had we thought of it sooner. We gave it to her the next 2 nights until the tooth broke through, and she slept fine. I know all moms may not be on board with this, but we were okay with giving it to her for a couple nights to help her rest.
• Summer Infant Finger Toothbrush: Once those toofies break through, they'll need to be brushed regularly, so I think it's a good idea to get baby used to it early on. Jaqs LOVES to have her teeth and gums brushed every night.
• Sophie the Giraffe and Teething Keys: Or whatever other teething toys your baby likes the best! These are J's favorites. Actually, she prefers my real keys over anything else...people always look at me with horror on their faces when we're in public ;) Whoops. #momoftheyear
• Hyland's Teething Tablets: To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if I'm 100% sold on these yet, but we definitely did use them, and I'm sure we'll use them again. LOVE that their completely safe & natural! After seeing THIS about using Baby Orajel, I threw ours right in the trash. No thank you!
• Baby Wash Cloths: Another great thing for baby to gnaw on and even to clean baby's teeth with.

What are your tried and true remedies?

weekend, as told by my iPhone

This was the first weekend we've had at home (and with just us 3) in awhile, and it was pretty nice to get some quality time in with my hubby and our favorite girl!

 Jaqs and I got our grocery shopping out of the way on Friday before daddy got off, and she was ecstatic about that if you can't tell by this humongous grin:

Girl loves shopping even more now that she can sit up in the cart and squeal, growl, and blow bubbles at every single person we pass by! Trips out take just a little bit longer when I've got this girl and her big personality in tow; wouldn't have it any other way!

We had friends-dinner on Friday night, and it was, as always, a blast! So blessed to have such wonderful friends here.

Rob decided this week that it was time to take Jaqs to the zoo, so that's exactly what we did on Saturday morning! I wasn't sure that she'd really care, to be honest, but she LOVED it. Watching the fish swim around in their aquariums was her favorite part, I think, but she actually studied all of the animals pretty closely. Rob's favorite was the otter because it chased him all over the place, and my favorites were the gibbons because they were SO talkative. Much like my little monkey, actually :)

I think she was just happy to get to be with mommy and daddy too!

grainy iCam picture :-/

We got there not long after it opened, so there was hardly anyone there. We really got to take our time and let Jaqs check everything out without feeling rushed...it was perfect!

ol' dude porcupine was asleep like that...comfy!?

We had such a fun morning together, and I'm sure this is a little field trip we'll be taking many, many times in our future. Lucky for Jaqs, Rob and I love the zoo, too!

another sleeping beauty...orangoutang--interesting creature. 

We were at the zoo in the middle of J's morning nap, so she conked out as soon as we got in the car (never happens). Rob and I got to have a quiet lunch at our favorite place...Pei Wei! YUMMY. 

Gluten-free sweet & sour chicken never disappoints this Celiac chick.

Sunday was just spent at home cleaning and cooking! 

Y'all, we ate a ton this weekend. It's embarrassing. Almost. But if you were wondering, brownies and peppermint (Blue Bell!) ice cream is a WINNING combination. Try it.

Jaqs had some sweet bed-head on Sunday morning. Anyone remember Jimmy Neutron?? HA!

I'm incredibly thankful for my little family, and I'm grateful that these low-key weekends can mean so much to me. There's nothing better than TIME spent with the ones I love!

Pajama Party!

I could have SWORN last Friday was December, so I may have jumped the gun on the whole Christmas pajama party. Whoopsies. Good thing we've got enough jams to go around! (Thanks Grammie ;)) 

Anyway, here's Jaqsy girl in her Santa jammies! Doesn't she look so jolly and festive?? I adore this Santa baby.

pajamas

Head over to Meredith's blog and join in the fun!