Christmafy

Hello friends,

Yes, I just made up a word there - Christmafy, it's what I call getting ready for Christmas.  Decorating, buying and wrapping presents, and baking Christmas treats.  Since November 1st, I have been starting to add little touches of Christmas around our house.  Early, I know, but I just LOVE Christmas - and having little decorations around makes me enjoy the season more and get even more excited than I already am.  Below are a few Instragram pictures of some of the Christmafying I've been doing (oops, did it again).

 

And one of my very favourite things to do on a cold night with snow falling outside.  Drink hot chocolate in my PJ's with a fire roaring - not that we've got any snow yet, but it's still pretty cold ;)

So that's what I've been up to recently.  What about you?  Got your decorations up yet?   Or do you wait until the week before?  Christmas Eve present wrapping?  Do tell.

Tata for now. 
xoxo.

Green on the Vine

Hi Everyone!!

I just wanted to start off by saying that I have missed you! : )

As you know, Christmas is my most, most favourite time of the year, and I just wanted to write you a quick note about my new favourite decoration for Christmas this year: Greenery!

Okay, now I know what you’re thinking, you can’t open a decorating magazine without seeing rooms and houses full of Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands, and trim, but from a girl who loves everything to be white or ivory, embracing green is kind of a new thing. ; ) I have always loved wreaths, especially at Christmastime where I rely on them as a replacement for a real Christmas tree while living in an apartment , but even my wreaths I would cover in ivory poinsettias, ivory ribbon, or anything to try and  make them less green and more white.

What changed this year? Well, first of all, I moved. I think it is important not only to update or change your Christmas decorating every so often, but also when you move. Different spaces have different feels to them, which trigger different inspiration. While my previous apartment I always thought was elegant with a big row of windows and crown molding, my current one seems more like a little cottage. It is smaller, and with little rooms instead of being more open, everything seems a little cozier. Therefore, the decorations that looked lovely in my old apartment seem a little sparse in this one. I needed to add a little more. So, what was my inspiration for adding greenery instead of just more white decorations? That was the result of a few things. First was this pretty mint green ribbon I found at Michael’s in October when I was shopping with Owl and one of our other friends for craft supplies. I was originally going to incorporate just this green ribbon into otherwise white and light pink decorations. Then I fell in love with magnolia leaf wreaths, and wanted to cover my whole apartment with them for Christmas. Lastly, I took a look around my little cottage of an apartment, and thought even if I couldn’t fill my apartment with magnolia wreaths (I realized that could get a little bit expensive), it would still look cute and very country-ish if I mixed in lots of green wreaths with my original decorations. And so here we are. : )

Some of my favourites...

The Cream of the Crop:

Pottery Barn's Fresh Magnolia Leaf Wreath, $116.73

Pottery Barn's Fresh Eucalyptus and Red Berry Wreath, $129. 84 (As pretty as the red berries are with the wreath, I would take them out. They're beautiful, I'm just not quite ready for red yet. : )



Pottery Barn's Fresh Olive Leaf and Myrtle Wreath, $116. 73



Pottery Barn's Freah Magnolia Leaf Garland, $90.50




A Little More Affordable:

Walmart's White Berry Christmas Wreath (artificial), $26.00-55.00



Walmart's Olive Wreath (artificial), $42.47



Lowe's Green Artificial Boxwood Wreath, $34.97



Regardless of the weather outside, it will certainly be a green Christmas in my house. : ) I will post pictures of my Christmas decorating when I'm all finished.

Have a lovely day,
xoxo

Holiday Gift Guide: DIY Gifts

Hello Lovelies!

I've got another holiday gift guide for you today, and this week I focused on diy gifts.  I think that handmade gifts are just the sweetest gifts to give and receive.  I've compiled a few of my favourites that I've collected over the years.  I think that anyone would be happy to receive these handmade gifts, I know I would.

1. These Geode Bottle Stoppers  from Cupcakes and Cashmere are the sweetest things.  Adding some interest to a bar cart, or just bringing them out for parties - I think these are a sweet way for someone to keep their liquor on display.

2. This tutorial from DesignSponge is sure to please anyone this Christmas! Just look for vintage tins in thrift stores, flea markets or even on Etsy.

3. A personal favourite of mine is this chalkboard cheese plate.  How cute is that?  I would find excuses to use this over and over, it's just perfect.  Add in some cute cheese knives and you've got a sweet, heartfelt gift.

4. Make your own vanilla extract.  There are only three ingredients - vodka, vanilla beans and LOVE - haha, check out the tutorial here on bethanyactually.

5. Inspired by a recipe book from Anthropologie, the blogger from Flamingo Toes (guest posting over on OrSoSheSays) shared her cute DIY for this awesome recipe book - the best part? It's a binder!  That way you can continuously add recipes.

6. Get those fingers working with some embroidery.  Any animal could work, just try and find one simple enough to embroider on the toe and get to work.  Jessica at What I Wore shows you how to make these adorable smoking slippers here.

Anyone planning on a hand-made Christmas?  How's the gift getting going? - say that three times fast ;)

Tata for now.
xoxo.

Holiday Gift Guide: Under 25

Can you believe that there are only 34 days left until Christmas?  Crazy town!!  I have officially started Christmas Shopping!  I wrote out my list, checked it twice and my first package arrived in the mail today. 

Regardless of how prepared I feel for the  Christmas season, things always go a little haywire when it gets down to crunch time.  So I thought to myself, "self, how can you make things a little easier for not just yourself?  But for everyone?!"  And that's how the Holiday Gift Guide was born.  I'll be posting a new gift guide every week up until the week before Christmas.  So buckle up and get ready for a wild ride - not really, maybe just put on some glasses if you are visually challenged.

1. Feminist Ryan Gosling - Urban Outfitters - $12.95
2. Cinnamon Frosting, 3-wick Candle - Bath and Body Works - $20.00
3. Scarf - Aldo - $20.00
4. Set of 3 Studs - Forever 21 - $3.80
5. Quilted Clutch - ASOS - $21.11
6. Stemless Flutes (Set of Four) - CB2 - $14.95
7. Nail polish - Urban Outfitters - 2 for $8
8. Ampersand Pillow - Crate & Barrel - $20.00

Tata for now. xoxo.

Sunday Dinner

Yesterday I was really craving some fall comfort food.  I really love all of the recipes I can now use thanks to the weather cooling off (although today it feels like Spring again). Stews, soups and of course - pot roast.

Using this recipe, with a few of my own spice-related alterations (namely thyme and rosemary), I made a proper Sunday dinner for the boy and I.  It consisted of roast beef, brussel sprouts, and a potato, carrot and parsnip mash.  I was getting in touch with my English roots it seems ;)  All it was missing was the yorkshire puddings, but those things are darn tricky - maybe next time.

The roast beef came out deliciously tender, but I will take it out a bit earlier next time for more of a medium rare roast beef.  Good tip - Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your meat (140ºF for rare, 155ºF for medium and 165ºF for well done) to ensure a perfect roast everytime.  I added some thyme and rosemary and I cooked the potatoes, carrots and parsnips in the same pot as the beef.  While the meat was resting, I mashed up the veg with some butter and milk.  This was the first time I had ever tried this, but it turned out pretty well.

Since I was already in the kitchen making a big dinner, I decided to whip up an easy cherry pie as well.  It was cherry-licious.

Does anyone else's cooking get inspired by the cool weather?  Any good recipes out there for some stoups?  I always love new recipes.

Tata for now.

xoxo.

Fall Trending: Part 3

For part 3 of this fall trending series I want to talk about something that's very near and dear to my heart - Chunky Knit Sweaters.  Couldn't you just live in them?!  I sure could.  Now, I know this trend has been around for a couple years now, but it is still an essential part of your fall wardrobe.

Instead of just listing chunky sweaters that I currently have sitting in my online shopping bags am currently loving, I thought I'd show how versatile they can be by creating three outfits with one sweater.  One sweater (this one, in particular) can be transformed from casual to work appropriate simply by tweaking a few things and changing accessories.

on the go

This is a great go-to running around outfit.  Skinny jeans, cute flats, a big carry-all purse and a pretty necklace for some jazz hands interest.  Belting a chunky sweater with a thin belt is a good way to not look chunky yourself, because chunky knit sweaters do add a bit of bulk.

 jeans, shoes, purse, belt, necklace

movie date

Everyone needs a comfy outfit for movie dates or hanging with friends and I think this fits the bill perfectly.  I think this is a great example of what to do with your staple wardrobe to spice it up a little.  With the pants, sweater and boots you still have a cute outfit, but by adding sweet accessories like the scarf and earrings, you have an outfit that expresses a little bit of your personality and that is a good thing in my books.

  scarf, skinnies, earrings, boots

work it

This is a really easy outfit to pull off and look great in.  Black pencil skirt - check, black tights and booties - check, check.  The only thing you really need to complete this ensemble is the inexpensive collar from ASOS to punch it up a bit and a sturdy laptop bag.  

 collar, earrings, skirt, laptop bag, booties, tights

So as you can see, you can transform chunky knit sweaters into so many different looks for work or play.  I hope you enjoyed the outfits! 

How would you wear a chunky knit sweater? 

Tata for now. xoxo.

Psst...See Part 1 here and Part 2 here

Fall Trending: Part 2

Hello lovelies.

In part 1 of this little series, I talked about my new found love for embellished collars.  The next fall trend I've been lusting after are the "smoking slipper", also known as slipper loafers or just plain old loafers.  

They're awesome because they're a comfy go-to option for any day of the week.  With colours and styles that can be translated into dressy or casual they are the perfect shoe to add to my closet.  Below are just a few of my favourites, but there are just so many to choose from it got a little hard.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

Some of the honourable mentions that didn't make the top five are these, these and these.  I told you it was hard ;)  I hope you enjoyed my little round up of loafers - I sure enjoyed online browsing.

So, what's your take on the smoking slipper?  Are you as in love with them as me?

Tata for now
xoxo.