I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I also hope you’re excited to get some new ideas for Christmas books to read to your child because I’ve put together a short list of books to read with your children during December!
This year has really flown by. Fall is always such a busy time for us because we have Isla’s birthday and our anniversary in October. I’ve been so busy running around and decorating for the Holidays (Home tour coming soon), that I have really had to make slowing down and focusing on what’s around me during this season a priority. It’s so easy to get swept up in social media and screen time during the colder months but I’ve really been making an effort to make memories with Isla.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored in any way. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I just really like telling people about places and things they might enjoy themselves. This is simply a weekend at the Hilton Anatole Dallas.
A few weeks back, my sister invited us along on their annual weekend getaway to Dallas. She has 2 boys and likes to take them to a water park resort for a weekend before school starts.
I immediately jumped on board because we haven’t been anywhere this year because we are currently saving for our next home (I’ll do a post about this process soon). However, I got a great deal on our hotel and it was too good to pass up. I’m so glad that we went.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Whoa. I just had 3 days of not even touching a computer. I’ve got to be honest with you, it was so nice taking a few days off and spending time with family. I had a few more Christmas posts planned but we had Evan’s family here for a few days and we had a pretty full schedule.
There is so much that goes into every blog post and they typically take about 3-4 hours to edit, keyword, SEO, proofread, add photos, make a pin for Pinterest, add those pins to a scheduler and a lot of other stuff too.
I’ve been blogging for almost a month. We launched on the 26th of November. I had been writing a lot longer than that but we decided to share with the world on that day. I’ve learned a lot in the last month of blogging and I thought I’d share some of that with you.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
I am so excited about this project! I‘ve wanted to build one of these ever since I saw the lovely Emily Norris talk about hers! Here is a link to that video.
Today I’ll be showing you how to build this thing, how I painted it and decorated it. In tomorrow’s post I’ll tell you what I’m putting inside!
Supplies –
The first thing that I did was head to my garage to look through my scrap woodpile. If you don’t have a scrap wood pile, I’ll tell you what you need from Home Depot. I’m using ¾” plywood for the bottom and side of this build and I’m doing a really nice top to give it a finished look. The top will be made of 3/4 inch poplar that I had left over from another project. You can also use ¾ pine from the Lowe’s and it would look great. I just like how poplar looks when painted.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
These affordable ways to keep your home safe while out of town can be used year-round so be sure to save it somewhere if you’re going to be on vacation throughout this next year. These are all items you already have around your house or at your local hardware store.
I’m sure you’re aware of the rise in crime during the holidays and we ourselves have been victim to porch pirates more than once. I will never understand what could possess someone to take something that doesn’t belong to them, in broad daylight no less.
I am not an expert on home security. If you’re looking for an expert then you should watch my good friend, Kevin McCallister in Home Alone for ideas.
Alright, let’s get into it!
My last gift guide of the season! You know what that means?! Christmas is next week!! Who doesn’t love Amazon? I may have addiction but I can’t be the only one. You have 2 days left to order on Amazon and still have it delivered by Christmas Eve! No judgment here if you’ve procrastinated this long and haven’t bought anything. I am normally running around the week of Christmas trying to find the perfect gift. Fear not, here is a list to help you shop from the comfort of your recliner…in your PJs… while watching the office. Or whatever you watch on TV.
I come from a family of teachers and each Christmas I hear about all the gifts they have received from their students. My mom, sister, and mother-in-law are all teachers and have received some very thoughtful gifts in the past that they have enjoyed so I thought I’d share them with you and I’ve also made a list of items that they may get too much of or that may be a bit too personal to give an educator.
Let’s get into the gifts!
Holiday Home Tour – 2018
CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!! I’m pumped. As much as I wish I did, I currently don’t have every room in the house decorated. It’s hard enough keeping my current decorations in place with a toddler who insists on trying to re-decorate. She just doesn’t understand my vision, guys.
The areas that I have decorated are the porch, the dining room where the Tree is (It’s the only room that has a big bay window and I love seeing the tree when I pull up to our house), our kitchen (very minimal decorating in here. It’s mostly the island top where the baby can’t reach. We also have our entryway decorated and of course the fireplace! That is about it though.
I’m sure when Isla is older we will go all out but at the same time I really enjoy only have to pack a couple of tubs at the end of the holiday season. We have made a conscious effort this last year to have less stuff. We donated a ton of Christmas decorations at the beginning of the season and it felt really good to only hold onto the pieces that we really love.
I’m so excited to show you 3 different ideas for your dining table at Christmas time! I hope you enjoy these ideas as much as I enjoyed putting them together! These are all Christmas Tablescape looks you could recreate with things you probably already have at home!
All three looks have a book page table runner that I felt added some dimension to the table. It was so simple to make. I just used pages from an old book and scattered them down the center of the table. The three tablescapes all include fresh greenery that was found at Trader Joe’s. Make sure your greenery isn’t dried out. It’s important to never leave a candle burning, especially around dried out pine.
Let’s dive in!
DIY Book Page Christmas Tree Banner
I’m excited to share with you guys how I made this adorable little Christmas tree banner! It’s currently on my entry way table but you could use it on a mantle, shelf or headboard-which I may end up doing in my guest room later on. Does anyone else move stuff all around their house trying to find a home for it? I seem to do this a lot with my Christmas decorations lately.
My sister is a librarian, so when old books are to be thrown away by the library, she gets to bring them home and we try to give them new life!
Just take a look at my sister’s other book page projects!
She is crazy talented. If you’d like to see a tutorial on any of these projects, please let me know and maybe I can talk her into doing one for you.
Let’s get crafting!
