i hope you have a wonderful christmas and spend it doing the things that matter: hanging out with family and eating till your clothes don't fit. oh, and here are some of our yearly tear-inducing christmas-sunday-sisters-pictures-in-front-of-the-fireplace. i love these people (and lots more who aren't pictured) a lot!
i have shown you lots of ideas on how to create the perfect holiday table here and here, but this is how we are actually decorating our christmas table. somehow having the dining room table always set makes everything feel so much fancier. in a good way of course.
for the table we went with a green and gold theme, with black and white and a few hints of pink. we started with a black and white tablecloth (which was really just a giant piece of fabric, the edges aren't even hemmed. remember, we said to get creative!) we layered in a solid emerald runner (from ikea). for the place settings, we used our favorite gold chargers, topped with black and white damask plates and green flowered salad plates. we were also so excited to pull out our new gold rimmed glasses, courtesy of the salvation army. the centerpiece was a cluster of vases filled with garden roses and rosemary, tea lights and glitter. our favorite part was the pomegranates on the plates, they added such a nice contrasting color. of course we only had two pomegranates at the time so we filled in with grapefruits. we didn't spend a dime creating this table, we only used thing we had or could cut from our garden. let's see what you can pull together for your holiday table!
we are back in California, and it finally feels like christmas. rather than an outdoor winter wonderland (aka misery), we have an indoor one. and it has been quite warm in temecula. i am so happy to not live in the cold, hopefully for good! my mom's decorating is always the best, and somehow gets better every year. it's so fun to see all of the creative things she comes up with. my favorites- the magnolia branch in the vase on the fireplace, the ornament garland that she made that lies on top of the mantle, the silhouette gift wrap, and the ombre pink christmas tree. to die for.
i didn't get a chance to share pictures of our christmas party last year, and since we don't get to throw one this year i'm going to do it now. this is really just jarman and his friends at their finest. they are hilarious, but sooo obnoxious. but mostly hilarious. they decided to make the party an ugly sweater/turtleneck party (though the girls just decided to look cute). and then they took family pictures in front of the tree.
i was really proud of my christmas decorating. looking back on it, everything looks really awkward in our weird house, but it was our first christmas as grown-ups and you have to start somewhere right? when i was younger i bet my mom that i would do an orange christmas tree. i figured this was the year to deliver. i went with pink an orange decorations and even diy-ed some geometric orange and gold balls. i'm pretty craftsy. yes our couch is in front of a bookshelf and a door to a closet, but i really wanted to have a fireplace scene. it would have been nice if i had thought to include firewood to make it look more complete
oh! another diy- i made those pom-pom strings on the shelves, and attached some pom-poms to our stockings. pretty much all of the ornaments on our tree i stole from my mom, and somehow you can hardly seen them. i used pink and orange tulle on the tree as well, and got our cute glitter star topper at west elm. the piece-de-resistance was that pink feather wreath. my aunt and i fought over who got it, and i most definitely won on the 'i'm-a-poor-college-student' argument'. gets them every time. while i don't necessarily miss that little house, i do miss getting to decorate for christmas!
christmas is just over a week away! i am so excited. while we didn't ask for a white christmas, we have gotten one this year. it has been snowing like crazy in connecticut, and we are so happy to be getting back to california tomorrow. we believe in sunny and warm christmases. last week i posted my guide on how to create the perfect stocking for her, and here is the boy version. you'll notice we have changed out a few things- like music for make-up. happy shopping!
1. cable knit beanie ($20)
2. godiva truffles ($16)
3. legal pad ($11.66 for a pack of 12)
4. Cage the Elephant Album ($9.99)
5. active socks ($6.99)
6. Paddle Your Own Canoe ($16.17)
7. Men's Manicure Set ($24.99)
8. world war z ($19.99)
