Christmas in February!

Well, it's now February '13, so I think it's about time I post the last of the Christmas '12 photos. :)

This is all Zach's photography- some is edited, some is not. Either way, I am just in love with some of them!

He took a few of me & my Daisy girl by the tree one night...

The next two are me opening my gift from Zach. It was a wireless speaker for my iPod/iPhone. Love it!!

My Daisy...

Handsome Cosmo...

Me & my sweetie on Christmas night...

Zach's family...

It's fun to relive those, now that it's been a couple of months. Zach has just been so incredibly busy with work, and we are so blessed by that!! With us both being busy at work & at home, we haven't had much time to go through these. We grabbed just a few minutes last night & looked through them.

Now that Christmas posts are out of the way, maybe now I can focus on catching up on my project posts!

Christmas '12

Wow- I have loved my little break from blogging! It is nice to be posting again, but I loved the break so much, I think I'll be posting less often throughout this new year.

Here is a quick post on our Christmas. I do not have all of our photos uploaded yet (the good ones are still on the camera), but I will post those later. I had to hurry & post, so I could catch up on happenings since Christmas.

This Christmas was by far not the best I've ever experienced, but it has never really seemed as happy as when I was a child. However, the true meaning of it grows more important to me every year. I try not to focus on the actual proceedings of Christmas (lately, I would rather just skip them all anyway), but I try to focus on what it means instead. It's sad that to some, it is just a holiday to get what you want. It should always be more about the giving than the receiving. So, to sum it up, Christmas to me is still happy, just with a little sad mixed in... but, we're all healthy & happy, and are still blessed beyond measure, so we'll focus on that. 

Here are just a few quick pics from the Christmas weekend...

This was my favorite Christmas tablescape in our home thus far-
I love the mercury glass & candlelight!

Our tree...

Our china cabinet "mantle"...

Me (in my pj's) & my sweetie on Christmas morning...

One of my favorite gifts this year was this rendering of our first home (where we live now), by my sweet mother-in-law- priceless!

My mom's tree...

Mom opening one of her gifts- an ottoman I recovered for her...
Miss Ellie wanted to help :) 

My sweetie...

My Daisy girl taking a Christmas Eve nap, resting on Daddy :)...

Pop

 Christmas cards galore! I can't get enough of them!

The reindeer Pop made for me...

Our Disney tree made an appearance again this year, this time in Zach's office (last year it was in our master)...

I think this is the last time we'll have a real wreath. They are very beautiful, but not worth the extra expense. I will be creating our own for next year.

Deco mesh- my go-to decor item lately...

Our front porch (I failed to get a pic of it lit up at night,
but it was pretty)...

Ornaments around the house...

Close-up of our wreath detail...

I used fake greenery & "spruced" (haha) it up with real picks too...

This one makes me laugh... I am the "green bean queen" of the family. Almost every function we attend, I bring the green beans. That's one of the few things I am good at. :)

We have so many great pics yet to be sorted through. We have some family pics & pics of us & the doggies that I hope to sift through & post soon. Next post: My 28th Bday festivities!

"Pinspirations"- Winter Edition

So, I have been hooked on Pinterest for a while now. I love it at any time, but I especially loved it during the Christmas season. I have gathered so many crafty ideas from it. It is such an easy way to share, and I love having a visual on everything. Here, I'm going to share with you three little ideas from Pinterest that I tried.
If you like one, pass it along. It's so fun to share these ideas!

It was a little late at the time I started some of my Christmas crafts, but that's how it is around our house. I don't work on any projects unless 1.) I have the time, and 2.) I'm in the mood. Lately, I had been at a loss for both! Ha! So, I am calling these "Winter" crafts. It still works.

Once Christmas was over, our choir Christmas concert was over (as well as all the lengthy rehearsals), things in general were back to normal, and the house was clean, I got to work. And, oh how I loved it! There's nothing like a good release, just something else to focus on, that's fun & requires little to no thinking.

These projects made me wish I would have gotten a little craftier before Christmas. I felt like I was making up for lost time though, so it's ok. Zach told me a while back that our guest room looks like Martha Stewart's storage room. Sad, but true. I have been piling up things, but they're all cheap & within reason, so it's not that bad. All I know is that I'm having so much fun with it, and getting to decorate the house with all of my creations. I enjoy looking at them so much, so that's worth it.

This one has to be my favorite so far...

-Iced Branches-


From save-on-crafts.com

I basically went by the instructions. I got the Colorfill diamond vase filler at Michael's. This was the only place I could find it. I went out into the yard & gathered up my sticks & branches,
then brought them inside.

I used Mod Podge as my glue, but you could use just about any kind of craft glue. I brushed it on the branches, then sprinkled the crystals on. I would rather sprinkle than roll it up. I didn't want to break any of the branches.

It did get a little messy...

...but, it was worth it!

Voila!

More detail...

Full table view...

Zach said he thinks I need more branches, so I may create more later. I just love the wintry look of these on our table!

-Glitter Branches-

I have seen these many places, but couldn't really find a Pinterest link for them. I knew that I wanted to try making these myself, since they are insanely expensive at a craft store. So, I started with gathering even more branches from our yard

(Zach probably thought I was an idiot). :)

I then bought both glitter glue & glitter shakers at the Dollar Tree.

I got my branches, laid them out, and brushed Mod Podge on them. Yet again, you could use any kind of glue. I then sprinkled the glitter all over. Instant loveliness!

I also tried the glitter glue, but wasn't as impressed. The sprinkle glitter was a lot brighter than the glitter glue. It was difficult to make a good pic of these, but you get the idea. I only made this one (It took a good bit of time)...

...I think I'll save the rest for next Christmas.

-Glass Apothecary-

I have also seen these on Pinterest, but this lovely pic is from a blog I frequent, In My Own Style.

These are simple, but beautiful, and SO cheap to create. I made my own glass apothecaries a while back, simply using dollar & thrift store vases & candlesticks. You can see that post here.

This Christmas, I used two on my dining room table, holding ornaments, and one in the bathroom for greenery & pinecones.

I added these to my collection this year. They were in my grandmother's house, just sitting there, so lonely. So, I grabbed them up, and am loving them in their new home!

Then after Christmas, I replaced the greenery & pinecones with my new iced branches & diamond filler for the dining table.
That pic is above, but I'll include a smaller version here...



What did we ever do before Pinterest??

Hope everyone is doing well! We will be starting on our packing tonight (woohoo!), so we are pumped to say the least! It's nice that we will only be packing Summer clothes, so we can start packing any time this week. I CANNOT wait to have a full week of relaxation. The only time we'll have to keep up with is when to go out to dinner. No alarm clocks- no work. My only goal for the week is to start & finish my new book, Water for Elephants. Sounds tough, huh?

Now, if we can only hang in there until we leave. :)

More Christmas Pics- '11

On Christmas night after we got home, we hurried & took a few pics of our little family in front of our tree. I know it's a little late, but I had to post these last few Christmas pics,

because I love them so much!

Me & my sweets

My squinty little eyes, which means I'm a happy girl :) ...

Mommy & Daisy girl

Our beautiful tree

We also took a couple shots of all four of us, but those didn't turn out. Now we know similar to what it feels like when you're trying to make a family photo with kids who don't want to cooperate. It is a rarity that you have a decent pic with all family members looking at the camera, and we just didn't achieve that

this time around. Oh well, maybe next time.

Face-Lift for the Buffet

I absolutely cannot believe that this year is almost over.

Unlike most years, I am relieved. I won't quote what a friend said about how bad this year has been (ask me privately & I'll tell you)- it was hilarious, by the way- but, I will say that this has been the worst year of my life. Even so, it was still overflowing with blessings. God is still God. We made it through. We're just hoping that coming out of this worst year, 2012 will be our best!

So, on to the fun stuff :) ...

I am so excited about this simple little transformation that I was able to squeeze in during our Christmas break. I got a Hobby Lobby gift card for Christmas (one of the best gifts EVER!), so it didn't take long for me to use it. I still have a balance left on it too, so we'll have to hit it again soon! I had picked these glass knobs out once before on a trip there, but they weren't on sale & I hadn't decided yet if I was even going to use them or not. The day after Christmas, I got brave & quickly decided to go ahead with it. Also, it didn't hurt that all of their knobs, drawer pulls, handles, etc. were on sale for half off. Yay!

Since I "inherited" this beautiful buffet from my grandmother's house about a month ago, I knew I had wanted to fix the one handle that was missing. The holders were there, but no handle. I removed the two handles from the only two drawers on the buffet, and used one of them in place of the missing handle. Easy! Then, I just screwed in the new glassy knobs with a screwdriver

(so simple), and it was done!

Some before & after pics...

BEFORE

The beautiful, antique-y glass knobs...

AFTER

I just love it! The darkened glass & the brass on the knobs go so well with the original handles. I wanted something that wouldn't stand out so much, and these are just perfect!

Thank you, once again, Hobby Lobby for making this girl happy!

Happy 2012!!