Friday, December 23, 2011

on the eleventh day of Christmas: m's favorite gifts of 2011

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me... 11 pipers piping, 10 lords-a-leaping, 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids-a-milking, 7 swans-a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.


san diego print by Lindsay Clayton Design


I wanted to share two of my favorite gifts so far this year. My boyfriend scored major points this year by giving me this amazing San Diego map by Lindsay Clayton Design on Etsy as an early Christmas gift and I received this 'Body Bean' by Brookstone from another friend. The map outlines all of the neighborhoods in San Diego and the artist also makes maps for Madison, Milwaukee, Japan, Austin and Long Island. The Body Bean is a little silicone bag that heats up and will keep you cozy all season long. It's seriously addicting and you can carry it with you anywhere - perfect if you are constantly freezing like me. 


I'm heading off to Minnesota tonight on the red eye and can't wait to share my Christmas fun with you for the final 12 days of Christmas post. Merry Christmas, I hope it's a wonderful one wherever you may be!


Check out my other 12 Days of Christmas posts here:

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

on the tenth day of christmas: the perfect holiday stationery

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... 10 lords-a-leaping, 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids-a-milking, 7 swans-a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. 



The perfect cheery stationery to let the ones you love know you are thinking of them this holiday season:

1.Black & White Holiday 2.Merry Bright 3.Mr. & Mrs. Santa 4.Red Good Cheer

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

on the ninth day of christmas: simple hostess gift

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids-a-milking, 7 swans-a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

dish towel from west elm, photo by marit
Planning to bring the host of an upcoming holiday party a bottle of wine? Well why not make it pretty! I love the simplicity of wrapping a wine bottle in a cute dish towel as a gift. This way your host not only has something delicious to sip on but something pretty to clean up with as well.

The photo above is of my hostess gift to my friend Elizabeth who had me over for a fun girls (and dogs) night last weekend. You can also check out her guest DIY snow globe post here.

Cheers. {m}

Check out my other 12 days of Christmas posts here:

Monday, December 19, 2011

on the eighth day of christmas: holiday gift guide

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... 8 maids-a-milking, 7 swans-a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

Presenting my last-minute holiday gift guide. Stocked full of gift ideas for everyone on your wishlist. From your coworkers and your mom to your best friend and the little munchkin in your life, nobody has been forgotten. May Santa bring you everything you wish for. Ho ho ho. -{m}



Check out my other 12 days of Christmas posts here:




Friday, December 16, 2011

on the seventh day of christmas: holiday link love

photo by eat, drink, chic

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...7 swans-a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.


Only a week left until it's Christmas day! I can hardly believe it. I will be going home to Minnesota over the holidays and can't wait to enjoy the colder weather {and hopefully snow} with all my family and friends. But before that happens, I still have four days of work, a dozen gifts to wrap, two holiday parties to attend and endless cookies to eat...most of which I'm looking forward to. 

To kick off this weekend, I have included some great holiday blog posts from some of my favorite bloggers. Put on your slippers, pour yourself a cup of hot coco and enjoy. 

1. Free Holiday Knit Gift Tags by Eat, Drink, Chic {photo featured}

Thursday, December 8, 2011

on the sixth day of christmas: have yourself a sparkly little christmas

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
 
Cheers to a little sparkle. Check out these shiny holiday pieces. I just love how the holidays give you an excuse to go crazy and glitter-up everything, don't you?

From left to right, top to bottom: trees from sunday in bed, tea spoons by leif, dress by vince, diy gift labels by ambrosia creative, vintage deer by busy bree vintage, nails from love maegan

Check out my other 12 days of Christmas posts here:

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

on the fifth day of christmas: a DIY guest contribution by elizabeth




On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... 5 golden rings {I wish}, 4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

Today my Christmas post is from my first-ever guest contributor and good friend, Elizabeth.

DIY Christmas Globe Post by Elizabeth:

Finally – the dishes are clean, the left-overs are dwindling away and Thanksgiving has come and gone. Growing up, this meant we could officially start playing Christmas music around the house and begin putting up the decorations. Well, I haven’t wasted a second starting my Christmas season.  Yesterday, I picked up two old-timey Christmas records for 99 cents each from my favorite record store, Lou’s (http://www.lousrecords.com/main/index.php) in Encinitas. Then I spent the rest of the day “inspiration shopping” – that’s when I pop in to all of my favorite stores like Anthropologie and West Elm, drool over the things I probably shouldn’t splurge on and think, “how can I achieve something like this on a budget?”

Let the Christmas crafts commence! Yesterday I spotted an adorable little mason jar snow globe at Anthro for $38. I thought to myself, I could probably make something like that for pretty cheap. So I did!

This morning I stopped in to Michaels craft store and bought:
  • mason jar $1.99 (any size will do!)
  • extra fine flurry snow $3.49
  • and a few little Christmas trees (the kind you see in the little Christmas city-scapes) for $2.49
(I recommend playing some Christmas tunes while you craft.) Using a hot glue gun, I secured the trees to the inside of the mason jar top. You can also glue the trees to wine corks and secure those to the jar top for varying heights. Turn the top upside-down to make sure the little trees are secure and the glue is dry. Last fill the jar with as much snow or glitter as you like. Screw the lid onto the jar, turn it upside-down and ta-da! you have yourself a sweetly nostalgic Christmas knick-knack for the mantel! (And it took only 5 minutes and $8).

-{elizabeth}

Thank you Elizabeth I hope there are many more contributions to come from you! 

Don't miss my other "12 Days of Christmas" posts:


Monday, December 5, 2011

feeling lucky


Exciting news! I was chosen as the winner today for Theresa at inspirationCOOPERATIVE's birthday giveaway. Mind you it was HER birthday- shows what a nice person she is to be giving away items for her own birthday. I found inspirationCOOPERATIVE through my recent Blogging Your Way e-course with Holly Becker of the lovely blog decor8, who, whatdoyaknow, is the author of the giveaway book, Decorate. I've bee wanting Holly's book forever and it was listed at the top of my Christmas list. Looks like Santa has come early!

Also included in the giveaway was a hand-lettered thank you card by Rifle Paper Co. and some adorable washi tape by Smash.Thank you so much Theresa. Be sure to stop by her blog and stay a while- it's filled with creative inspirations and adorable pictures of her kiddos. {m}

Thursday, December 1, 2011

on the fourth day of christmas: DIY advent inspiration



"On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...4 calling bird{y}s, 3 french hens2 turtle doves. And a partridge in a pear tree."

Happy December. Can you believe it? Exactly one more month of 2011. In the spirit of the first of the month I wanted to share some cute DIY advent calendars that I have seen around the web. Nothing more exciting than waking up as a kid {and grown-up too!} and uncovering that tiny treasure.

From top left to right: Printable Magnet Advent by Makoodle, Reindeer Advent by Ahoimeise {this one is actually from Etsy but it's a great DIY inspiration} Clothes Pins & Bakers Twine from Ulma, Clothes Pin Tree by Stylizimo, Small objects advent by the Marion House Book, Bags of Treats Advent from Canadian House and Home


Don't miss my other "12 Days of Christmas" posts:
-{m}