{be merry}

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from our family to yours! See you in 2014!
 
 
 
 
"Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth Peace, Good Will, Toward Men."
Luke 2:14


{five on friday}

Happy Friday!!!!!! My official Christmas break began yesterday and I could not be more excited! Our little fam is in major need of a break!!!! So let the fun and festivities begin! We have our 1st Christmas with Josh's side this weekend! Then we will head to my parents for Christmas Eve and Day. We feel so blessed to have both families so close to us! It's that time again....Five on Friday! You know the drill....
 
{one}
My MOPS group had a cookie exchange party last night! Such fun to hang out and of course eat lots of yummy cookies! We had a very busy day yesterday, so didn't get to make my cookies from "complete" scratch like I wanted to, but I loved the recipe so much, I had to share with you! I ended up making White Chocolate Dipped Oreos with Peppermint Sprinkles! YUM! You can find the step-by-step recipe here.
 
{two}
On Wednesday night, our little fam loaded up and headed to Houston to meet up with my sis-in-law and family to go to Zoo Lights! If you're in the area, I highly recommend!!! This was our second year to go, and I have to say, they really "up'd their game" this year!
 
{three}
My home church puts on the most awesome interactive event/play that makes you feel like you're back in time in Bethlehem. They have little crafts, activities, a petting zoo, and people in costumes. Such a fun way for the little ones to see what things were like when Jesus was born. Ella loved it last year, so I can't even imagine how much she'll enjoy it this year being older and able to participate in more! So excited for this even this weekend!
 
{four}
I came across these precious printables! Maybe you could use them this year too!
 
{five}
Most of all, I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas! May you experience the true joy of the season!
 
Now it's your turn to link-up with Darci, Natasha, April and Christina!!! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!
 
 

{holly jolly pajama party link-up} only 9 days late!

There's always been something so sweet about little holiday pajamas! I'm only managed to capture 2 pairs of Ella's from this year, but oh how I love these! I'm linking up {9 days late, but oh well} with Darci and friends for their Christmas Pajama Party Link-up!
 

These sweet jammies can be found here.
 
 
And these jammies can be found here.
 
 
Tis' the season, friends!!! Happy Thursday!


{oh, christmas tree!}


Oh, Christmas Tree! Oh, Christmas Tree! I absolutely love getting to see all of the different types of trees people put up in their homes, the decorations, the meanings behind the decorations, various colors, and on and on! I typically stay with a "traditional" look with traditional colors, but one day, I might just do an all pink and red tree {oh my husband will love me so much!!!!} Here is a peak at our tree and Christmas mantle. Once my hubby gets the tree up, I go to town. This year, I was wide awake at 4am {the day before Thanksgiving}, so I decided I was only wasting time by laying there, so away I went and decorated this pretty thing!  

As for the tree topper, I literally stand on a ladder, stuff a bunch of stuff into the top, get down, look at it, rearrange and repeat x15! This year, it came together much faster {thank goodness}!!!
These are my favorite kind of ornaments! You will find them all over the tree.
These snowflakes were made by Josh's great grandmother, so it serves as the sentimental decor on our tree! We love them!
My favorite stockings ever! Yes, even Finley {our lab} has one!
 
Thanks for taking a quick tour of some of our Christmas decor! Wishing you all a very happy Tuesday!!!!

{five on friday} santa + plaid + cookies galore

Happy Friday!!! Can you belive we're down to 12 days until Christmas?!!!? Wow.....this might have been the fastest December I can remember! I'm excited to share with you my top 5 for the week! Let's get this partay started!
 
{one}
SANTA!!!! I was so proud of my girl! She walked right up all by her big self, sat on his lap, and told him she wanted "toys"!!!! Lucky for us {mind you, this was our 2nd attempt to see Santa...the 1st time was a 2.5 hour wait....NO thank you}, there was no line, so he was so sweet with Ella....visited with her and read her a book! Priceless!
 
{two}
Loving this top and can't wait to wear for one of our Christmas events coming up!!! You can find it here. P.S. It's ON SALE right now! Loving ALL things plaid!
 
{three}
This coming up week, my MOPS group is getting together for a cookie exchange! YUM! My mouth is already watering! So......what to bake, what to bake! If you have any cookies recipes that are "to die for", please do share! I can't make my mind up!!! :)
 
{four}
Have you all seen this color?!!? It's one of my new favs! So fun and festive for this time of year!
 
{five}
You may or may not have seen our Christmas card reveal two days ago, but thought I would share again for those of you who didn't! :) We're so happy with the way they turned out!!!
 
If you haven't joined in on the Five on Friday fun yet, now is your chance! Hop on over to Darci's blog to link up! I'm off to prepare for a weekend FULL of fun festivities! Tis' the Season!
 
 


{we wish you a merry christmas} christmas card 2013

 It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! One of my most favorite things during the month of December is going to the mail each day to check for Christmas cards! It's always so fun to see everyone's pictures and creativity! It is never an easy task for me to pick just one card for us to send out! There are sooo many out there. You can read more about that here. But we finally did, and I'm SO happy with the way they turned out!!! Thank you again, Tiny Prints! I was looking back at our cards from last year and it's so hard to believe how much Ella has changed in just one year!!! Slow down, time! So here you go....our Christmas card 2013!

 
Wishing you and your family a very blessed Christmas from our fam to yours!
 


{five on friday} necklaces and earrings and bracelets oh my!

Happy Friday!!!!! It sure was fun to wake up to a cold morning! We didn't have the snow like a lot of my friends, but it still makes me smile {and puts me in even more of the Christmas spirit}!!! I'm excited to be linking up for another Five on Friday with my friend, Darci! I'm doing a little bit of a different post this week and I'm sharing some of my favs from Stella & Dot and sharing a link to my online party {that is closing tomorrow....sorry for the short notice}! If you have ever worn their pretties, you know they are even more gorgeous in person and a great quality piece of jewery that doesn't completely break the bank! Are you still needing to find that perfect gift for your girlfriend, mom, sister, mother-in-law, or maybe even yourself?!!? Well here you go......
 
 
{one}
Have you added a new babe into the family? Still need to buy a gift for someone "that already has everything?" I love giving charms as a gift! They are a special piece that is personalized just for them! You can add them onto a necklace and/or bracelet. Wear them by itself or wear them with several charms!
 
{two}
Are you looking for the perfect gift, but not wanting to spend a fortune? Or stil needing one small gift to go along with the others? I love the "pouf" bag! Great for jewelry storage, make-up storage....you name it! They come in many different colors/patterns. They are normally $24 each, but right now, they are running a special for buy 2, get the 3rd 1/2 off!
 
{three}
Maybe you're still looking for some bling yourself....Christmas parties, NYE parties?! S&D has some new beautiful statement necklaces!






 
{four}
And last but not least, maybe you're looking for more of a "simple" gift. These were some of my most favorites earrings I tried on recently! They were just the right size and added just the right amount of sparkle {especially if you're going to wear a statement necklace}! They are also very affordable!
 
{five}
All you have to do is click here and begin shopping away! Let me know if you have any questions! The party will end tomorrow night! Happy shopping and browsing, friends!!!!
 
Wishing you a warm, productive, and spirit filled weekend!!!!


{These are a few of my Favorite Things} $100 or less

Happy link-up day!!!! I can't believe this is our 3rd and final link-up for "These are a few of my Favorite Things"! I have truly enjoyed getting to "meet" some of you through this, find new blogs, as well as see all of your awesome gift ideas! You gals rock!!!! And thank you, sweet Elise, for joining me and helping make my "little vision" come true! :)) Okay, this might have been my most fun board I've created for this series! I'm so excited to share it with you today! Happy browsing and happy shopping! Only 22 days until Christmas!!!!
{These are a few of my Favorite Things} $100 or less

For the Fashionista:
one two three four

For the Party Planner:
one two three four five

For the Traveler:
one two three four