Our Christmas Decorations & Christmas Day Recap

Being in a new home for the holidays was ... absolutely great! We had a completely blank canvas to start from, and it was so nice to reuse holiday decor items I've used for five years in a completely new and fresh way.

I didn't add too many holiday decorations to my stash this year, but I do plan to hit up Michaels or Hobby Lobby soon to see what I may be able to score on major sale to use next year!

So here's a glimpse of our home decorated for the holidays, and then some photos from Christmas day. It was an awesome Christmas for us, not because of what was under the tree, but because of the little girls who came down the stairs to see it all.

I decorated our banisters with inexpensive garland from Michaels (I think it ended up taking 6 or 7 bundles), plaid wired ribbon from Michaels, and red mesh ribbon that I nabbed on major sale from Walmart last year after the holidays. I seriously think I got the 3 rolls of 20' for like $0.50-$1.00 each. 

It was my first time of using mesh ribbon, and it was SO easy. Next year I plan to add some to our Christmas tree before the ornaments go on it. 

We have this little shelf at the landing of our staircase. Normally we just have the tobacco basket up there, but we added the lights, a little tree, a large Santa, and a wreath to the mix. I have a feeling once it all comes down, the tobacco basket by itself may look a little plain!

Our chandelier had matte gold ornaments from Hobby Lobby on it, and a few more little details on the mirror and a kissing ball hung in the doorway to the kitchen. 

On the 23rd I had flowers delivered from The Bouqs so they would look nice and fresh on Christmas Day. They are still looking lovely a full week later!

I have the mini version of the Heidi Swapp lightbox and it was so fun to make little holiday messages and stick it around our home. Normally I kept it up at the coffee bar area.  

Upstairs, the girls had matching fun wreaths on their doors. These used to be all purple and silver and they hung on our double front doors at the old house. I added the hot pink and green this year to make them really playful for the girls' bedrooms. 

Some simple decorations on the media console in our playroom were an easy addition.

And our Christmas tree (faux, from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot) lived in our den and was so colorful and fun. Only one ornament was broken this year ... that's a win. 

In our kitchen, we had the felt Christmas tree we made which I blogged about here. 

Ian's mom was with us this holiday. Christmas Eve, we attended church at 5pm (the family service ... they specifically asked us not to worry about loud or crying children!) and then had she crab soup and barbecue shrimp with cheddar biscuits for dinner. 

Ian took a photo of the girls and me right before they went to sleep. We were setting out cookies and milk (egg nog) for Santa. 

And boy oh boy did he make an appearance! He brought the girls an art easel to share. Camille got a wooden dollhouse, a Dory book, and a paintable Elsa piggy bank that she saw and just HAD to have. 

Charlotte got a new lovey and a ball popper. 

Camille was super excited to come down the stairs on Christmas morning!

We just played with those Santa gifts for the first few hours of the day. After Charlotte's morning nap, I got the girls dressed in outfits that my mom made them (and bows that I made them!) and we opened some of the gifts under the tree.

And after the afternoon naps, we went outside on the screened porch and opened stockings! 

Ian got me some new Converse sneakers, a "best mom ever" mug, and he upgraded my diamond stud earrings two sizes. He got me those earrings several years ago, and our jewelry store lets you trade them in and just pay the difference for the larger size. It's a fun way of working your way up to nice stud earrings without breaking the bank on that first purchase. 

Oh! And I'll share a photo later, but I got Ian a Flags Of Valor wooden flag. They are beautiful works of art and they are made by veterans. Definitely worth checking out!

We'll keep our Christmas decorations up through the new year (at my insistence)! How about at your home -- are decorations still up?

What To Do With Your Christmas Cash

Grandma wrote you a Christmas check and you're thinking "I already Primed everything I want to my own doorstep." What more could you want?

Here are some items I personally LOVE, and the fact that several are on sale, well that doesn't hurt!

This first top is now $39.99 and you can get an extra 50% off using code TREATS. So, twenty bucks, and it's a steal. I'm 5'2" and petite and I bought the Petite XS and it fits great. The 3/4 length sleeves are flattering, you know why? Because they highlight a slim part of your body (wrists) while the tent-shape of the sweatshirt conceals the Christmas cookies you may have enjoyed. :) 

shimmer quilted sweatshirt

Okay, so I bought this adorable crushed velvet off-shoulder top for $39 on December 11, and it's now $23.40 on sale (40% off). I bought the XS and S and ended up keeping the small. It's so cute on. 

You better believe I just started a chat with Nordstrom and took advantage of their price adjustment! They refunded the difference right back to my credit card. Love their customer service. 

If you're looking for a great top for a winter date, I highly recommend this crushed velvet off-shoulder top especially since it's $23.

Next up is something small that is cute and that I use weekly. This Lilly Pulitzer grocery list is $12 and Prime eligible. It's such a cute way for me to jot down our house needs and stay organized at the grocery store. I know it's one of my goals for 2017 to improve my organization. 

And finally, have you used ThredUp yet? I have purchased several items and have been SO pleased with the quality, cleanliness, and "newness" of everything. It's like an online consignment store so prices are slashed drastically, and some items are even new with tags still attached.

Using my referral link will get your your first $10 for free!

Here are some items that are available right now that WILL get snatched up. 

rosalina size 4t (14.99) // lilly pulitzer size 6 (42.99)

maternity size large (16.99) // ariat boots size 7 (38.99)

I mean, what steals! Someone seriously better snatch up those cowboy boots for less than $40. And if you've never made a purchase and you use this link, you get them for $28.99. I bought Ariat boots for Ian a few Christmases ago and they were ... NOT forty bucks. They were almost two hundred, eek! It's one of the best authentic boot brands you can buy. 

So, how are you spending your Christmas cash? Did you take advantage of any of the deals above?

OMG ... Thank You

tassel garland on etsy

Thank you guys so SO much for taking that survey.

It's not too late to take it ... click here if you'd still like to give your (anonymous) two cents.

It is the first time I've ever really put myself out there for criticism and feedback, and I'm not the type of person who always handles that the best. Back when I was working, I always loathhhhhhed annual review time. Most people approached it like, "yay! raise time!" and I was the one with a pit in my stomach all day, already focusing on the ONE piece of negative criticism I would receive.

BUT - I took time last night to read over all of your responses, and ... they made me feel good. It made me feel like we have something pretty good going on here -- like two girlfriends chatting over a cheese plate and a New Zealand sauv blanc. Or cheese fries and a beer. Whatever suits your fancy. I like both :)

Here are my takeaways:

What do people like?
Words that kept popping up over and over again: real. relatable. honest. positive. optimistic.
You know about me that I won't harp over some product that I don't really love or use.
I seem to have quite a few local readers (hi Charlotteans and those in nearby areas!).
You like seeing my cute girls. And man, they're cute.
You LOVE LOVE LOVE the bargains and deals I share. Yay!
And the biggest compliment to me ... several of you mentioned that you like my style of writing. My wit. My "voice."

via

What do you want to see more of?
You guys like Five On Friday posts way more than I thought you did. I was wondering if you were "over" them, but it's a resounding NO! I think it's because it's a nice little smorgasbord of topics ... style, family, television, girlfriends, recipes, bargains.

Your general opinion on Saturday Sip & Shop is "take it or leave it." And I get that. The main reason I came up with that idea is that I wanted a "regular" feature for my blog that you could check in on on a day that not a lot of people share new blog content. Weekends in the blog world can be a little slow. But if you're not truly digging those posts, I may pump the brakes on them a bit.

You want to see more day in the life, more hair and makeup, more marriage tidbits, more decor posts and a new home tour, and ... the most surprising one to me, more "real" April, more opinionated posts. I like that you are curious about my opinion on things, but I don't share a lot of that here for a reason. I want this spot to be a happy, easy spot to be (and a happy, easy place for me to write). I figure if I write about politics, I'll lose half of you. Someone who really loves/lives for politics would be all "well good riddance!" -- but that's not me. I'd rather keep you ALL here, differing opinions and all, and talk about things we ALL can agree upon, like creamy drugstore lipsticks and how adorable my daughters are. ;) But I will definitely take that into consideration. And I appreciate that you want to get to know me more ... peel back the layers.

SOOOOO....
My new domain name has been purchased (yay!). And fun little fact, when making that purchase, I happened to see that someone purchased alizadventures.com (I've always just used the free Blogspot version and never purchased the actual domain name). Oh, and they are willing to sell it for around $800. Ugh. People are so weird. So, probably a great time for me to change names anyway. Only a few more days until I make the big switch!

Back To It Again ... And 10 Questions (A Survey)

Well! Christmas is over (I mean, you wouldn't be able to tell that if you visited our home, our tree and decorations are still up!).

I kinda have the blues. Gone are the days of Christmas music piping through our home, starting the morning with the advent calendar, Christmas sips and treats, and holiday get-togethers.

What's keeping me excited is the promise of the new year, an upcoming birthday (the big 3-5), and a new blog name!

I've mentioned it a few times here ... I've blogged under the same name for over six years and am just ready for a slight change. Nothing crazy, just something a little more updated. So, after the new year, expect that small tweak!

Along those lines, would you mind taking a little survey for me? I am just curious about who my readers are and what you'd like to see out of my blog.

Thanks, friends!

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