Christmas is About Making it Your Own

I am sure most Southern ladies can associate with this post. Southern Proper is such a fun company that has really embraced the lifestyle of Southern men. This email was in my inbox this morning, and it reminded me of a gift that my aunt gave my brother for Christmas one year. Both my dad and brother are avid hunters. Around this time of year, they would spend all of their time in the woods if my mother allowed them to. Knowing this, my aunt (who is incredibly creative) made my brother a strand of shotgun shell Christmas lights. As you all know, I attempt to make my Christmas as pink and green as possible. My aunt gave him something that would make his Christmas a little more personal as well. It just made me think that the holidays are about making it special and adapting your decorations to your lifestyle. So here is just a little idea for all those Southern beaus who have everything. And if you don't think you could make a strand, here is where you can buy them!

Candy Cane Tag By Amanda C. Bee

I was tagged by Amanda C. Bee for a Candy Cane tag.

The instructions are to Copy, Paste, Answer, Add a Question, Tag the 3 bloggers with the most recent updates on your blog feed/roll, let them know they've been tagged in a comment, and learn about your fellow bloggers.

1. What is/are your favorite Christmas Movie(s)? The Holiday, Miracle on 34th Street, Love Actually, A Charlie Brown Christmas
2. Favorite Christmas Song? Santa Baby
3. Favorite Holiday Memory? There's a tie... when Santa brought my sister and I a pony for Christmas and when my dad got to come home from the hospital after being in there for a month.
4. What is your favorite cookie/treat to make? Gingerbread house. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time this year, so I guess I will have to go with Oreo balls.
5. Have you ever made an igloo? Igloo?! I'm from Tennessee, we rarely see anything associated with ice!
6. Do you love Starbucks? Only their hot chocolate and frappacino's. I hate coffee!
7. What makes the perfect Snowman? All of the accessories.
8. Not sure what happened to #8 so we'll move on...
9. Best gift you have ever received? Every year my parents get me the best gifts. It depends on how you define the "best." Last year, I got a new computer which was the best useful gift that I had received. But the overall best is still the pony... sister and I will NEVER forget that one!
10. What is the snowman's name on Rudolph? No idea...
11. Silver or Gold? Silver

12. What is your favorite Christmas decoration? Probably my wreath that I change every year.
13. What's your Christmas decorating style? Pink, Lime Green, and Red. Accents of Lilly Pulitzer with a whimsical, fun feel.
14. Do you hang stockings? When I get a fireplace... yes.
15. How many days do you celebrate Christmas? The whole month of December :)
16. What was your favorite ornament on the tree as a child? The ones that I made at school.
17. Where will you be spending this Christmas? Memphis
18. When you do open presents? Both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

I am passing this along to the last 3 people on my blog feed.

Belle of the Ball

A Belle and Her Beau

The Pink Tutu

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

I have gotten a lot of my Christmas shopping done, but I still have one person to shop for. I need all the help I can get for ideas for my dad!! He is into hunting, Ole Miss football, new technology, and preppy clothes (thank goodness!). I welcome all ideas, comments, hints, questions, etc. etc.

Here is what I got the rest of my family:

MOM

My parents go to every home football game at Ole Miss and host a very large tailgate. So I always know that they need entertaining gear for that. This year I got her the vegetable platter. My mother always insists on bring a cru de tet platter (like the ones from the grocery store). At least now she will have something pretty to put her store bought goodies on. I found this at a cute little store in Hernando, Mississippi called The Square Cupboard, but you can also find them online for your team here.

BROTHER

If you can't tell already, my family are huge Ole Miss fans (no body likes UT but me... oh well!). When you go to an Ole Miss football game all of the girls go to the game in dresses, while the guys where ties (it is one of the dressiest football games you have ever seen). My brother doesn't have a specific tie for game days, so I decided to get him one with Colonel Reb on it. This picture displays the tie I choose from Southern Proper.

SISTER

My sister is the easiest to shop for because she likes everything that I like. This is my sister's year to pick out her Vera Bradley pattern so that she can get a set to take with her to college. I decided to get her the Cosmetic bag in her new pattern, Mediteranean Blue. Also, since my sister is into horses too, I got her these magnets from one of my favorite companies Eliquus.

Okay so know you have a better picture of what my family is into. Now I need your help!! Let me know if you have any ideas of what I should get my dad.

Vote for the Pink and Green!!

Thanks to Kate over at Nautical by Nature, I entered my pink and green Christmas card in a contest at Life in the Cove. You can click on the link to her blog and leave a comment with your vote. I would really appreciate you taking the time to express your love for pink and green! The voting period starts today and runs until December 31st.

Now, I really need to be sending these Christmas cards out... maybe I will get around to that today!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

I am revealing my Christmas List. My mother always gets a kick out of seeing what I put on there. After writing Santa for years begging for a pony, when I finally received one from him, I swore that I would always make a list! So the tradition began and has continued into my college years. I usually include the links to the specific stuff so that my mom or dad can just point, click, and purchase. It saves them time when I do the research and allows them to get me exactly what I want.

Here is what made the cut this year...

1. Lilly Pulitzer Monopoly Game (or really anything Lilly for that matter!)
2. Patagonia Fleece Vest
3. What Would Jackie Do? Book
4. Kate Spade Books
5. Clinique Eye Contour Brush
6. All-Clad Cookware
7. Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer
8. J. Crew Fiona Jacket
9. Chanel Sunglasses
10. Ralph Lauren Polo Oxford Shirts
11. Joe’s Jeans
12. Airfare to visit my friend
13. Cute tray for my make-up brushes to live
14. Driving shoes (mine are about to die!)
15. Big claw clips for my hair
16. Anything horsey
17. Flat Screen TV for my living room
18. A new car (I promised I wouldn’t count on that one!)
19. And I almost forgot to include the most important one... I asked Santa to please pay the University $250 for my parking tickets!!

I always add a special clause with my favorite places that I would love anything from (just in case they want to surprise me).

Lulu's Labels

So you never know what you are going to find when you goggle "preppy Christmas." I was interested to find this company. Lulu's Labels carries a variety of products for all occasions from cute note cards to gift tags to sippy cup labels. My favorite designs are from "A Very Preppy Christmas." I checked their blog, and they are not accepting holiday orders this year :( I will definitely be using them next year!

Here are my favorite notecards...


These are my favorite stickers:


And these are some really cute address labels...

I must have these gift tags...


I cannot wait for this company to re-open! Here is their blog, so that you can check it out as well. Their waterproof stickers for sippy cups and baby bottles are a great gift for baby showers. I have a feeling those may be a staple gift for me!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping paper. I love to make each one of the gifts look unique. Plus they always look nice underneath the tree.

2. Tree — real or artificial? At home we use a real tree even though I have severe allergies, but I used the little lime green one at the apartment. We will have to see about next year... Sometimes I get tired of taking the Benedryl!

3. When do you put the tree up? Right after Thanksgiving. I want my decorations to stay up as long as they can.

4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever I get the energy to put all of it away. I left all the decorations up at school and I will wait until after New Year's when I return to take them down.

5. Do you like eggnog? Nnnnnoooooo.... in fact, I really don't like anything creamy (cheese, milk, alfredo, etc.)

6. Do you have a Nativity scene? My parents do, but I haven't gotten one yet.

7. Favorite gift received as a child? My sister and I got a pony one year! We got to go out to the barn as soon as we found out so that we could ride. His stall was all decorated and he had a big red bow on.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My mom... she is so picky!

9. Easiest person to buy for? My sister because she likes everything that I do.

10. Worst Christmas gift? My dad gave all of us a statue of Beethoven?! I mean seriously... what was he thinking?!?

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Good old fashioned snail mail for me.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? The Holiday. There is no way that you can watch that movie and not be in a good mood afterward. I love it!

13. When do you start Christmas shopping? I don't even start thinking about presents until after the decorations are up and the good sales start.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe? I can't recall anything specific off the top of my head.

15. Favorite food to eat on Christmas? My mom makes cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning so that we can have breakfast while we open presents.

16. Lights on the tree? Of course! They have to be white.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Santa Baby.

18. Travel during Christmas or stay home? We always stay at home. Our entire family lives in my hometown so we don't have to go anywhere to see them. I would love to go on vacation during the holidays!

19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? I think so... Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and you can't forget Rudolph!

20. Angel or star on top of the tree? My mom does an angel, but I have a large bow.

21. Open presents on Christmas eve or morning? We open my dad's family on Christmas Eve when we celebrate with them. Then we do our family first thing Christmas morning. Later on that day we go to my mom's family.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Long lines and terrible parking.

23. Favorite ornament? I really don't think that I have a favorite. There are a lot of ornaments that I made over the years that bring back memories when I see them.

On the Nineth Day of Christmas...

I got Styrofoam cups with this design on them last year, and I still love it!! You can find them at Cool Cups and Stuff. They also have some really funny Christmas designs for cups and cocktail napkins, along with a lot of other interesting things. If you are having a Christmas get together, you should check it out!

P.S. It is a really hectic weekend so my posting might be a little sparatic. I promise I will try to be better next week :)

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

I am revealing my Christmas Card. Could they scream Lilly any louder?! I don't think so! This will be my first year for sending out cards and to be honest... I haven't done them yet. That is on the agenda for this weekend. At least I already have my list with addresses updated and ready to go.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

I am putting the rush on finishing my best friends' PRESENTS. This year due to my bank account's lack of existence, I was forced to get creative with my friends' presents. Since many of them actually read this blog, I am not going to post pictures of what I have been working on yet. No worries... once everyone has gotten their's I will post them!

But here are some pictures of the lovely wrapping. One trip to the Dollar Store, and I went home with three rolls of paper that all had pink and green in there somewhere! Caution... Some rolls of their paper will only wrap one present, while others are the normal amount! When I am wrapping, I make each present different by changing the bow.




Sometimes, I feel like my blog is turning into Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation! I can assure you that I will only go to Day 12. But, on this so called adventure with the holiday spirit, I attempted to make Chocolate Chip Cake this morning as gifts to a few people. This is what came out of the oven...


So the sides were a little overcooked and the inside was completely gooey. Oh and did I mention that it vaguely resembled the Grand Canyon in the center?!

This is the best cake and I know I did everything exactly as the recipe calls for. Don't you hate it when that happens?! So first thing tomorrow, I am headed to the grocery store to get more yellow cake mix and the rest of the ingredients for Take 2. At least it still tasted good... I know because I ate all of the cooked edges!

2 more finals to go tomorrow, and I will be riding off into the sunset to my hometown!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

Okay, so if you haven't already noticed, my Christmas decorations are not the most traditional. Since, I live in an apartment with no fireplace mantle I knew I was going to have to get creative with our STOCKINGS. I was originally going to make all three of us a stocking and hang them on our bedroom doors, but time was not on my side. So out shopping I went, ending up at one of my favorite places... Tuesday Morning! As soon as I saw this door mat, I knew that it was coming home with me. Not only is it bright and fun, but it also coordinates nicely with my wreath. The best part about it is that there are three stockings for the three girls that live there! Corny... I know! So there are no real stockings around our place this year, maybe that will be a nice addition for next Christmas?!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

I had to compare my little attempt at a Christmas tree to the gorgeous creation that appeared on the Lilly blog today. I live in a small apartment with 2 other girls and we are only here for part of the holidays before we go home, so I talked myself out of going wild on a Christmas tree. I wish I hadn't done that after seeing this one!


One of the few crafts that I have done this Christmas was the tree skirt. I went to Joann's and got the white fabric that has white holly leaves on it, and cut that in a circle. Then I traced a small hole in the center to go around the tree and cut a straight line going out to the edge. I hot glued the boa around the edge. Then to finish it off, I used tacky glue and some light pink glitter to make my monogram in the middle. The project took me all of about 30 minutes and couldn't have cost more than $10 (and that's including a new glue gun!). This would be an easy and inexpensive way to change a tabletop tree every year without have to change all of the ornaments.


I used small hot pink ornament that I found at Hobby Lobby and accented them with the pink and green holiday ribbon that was featured on the First Day of Christmas. Some of the ornaments and ribbon I already had, so I just mixed and matched them. The larger silver balls are monogrammed with a darker silver sharpie with my initials, surrounded by pink and green polka dots. There is pink and green sequined garland, along with a strand of pearls, that wraps around the entire tree. Then to top it off I added the lime green bow that matches the bow my wreath.

Next year, I am going to make sure to have some Lilly fabric on hand so that I can create my own Lilly ornaments! And I will not be settling for the little tabletop tree! Oh and did I mention lights?! I have to have those too.

Here are the pictures for the Lilly blog that show their ornaments up close...





I cannot wait to go home and see my family's Christmas tree. It is just a hodgepodge of ornaments that my siblings and I have made or collected, but there is still something really special about it.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

I am recovering from our WACKY TACKY CHRISTMAS PARTY and doing homework.

Here is the way that my day started out... with text messaging my fabulous roomie, who was no more than 15 feet away.

ME (1:29 PM) - I need food!! Want to grab a bite to eat?
HER (1:29 PM) - hhmm... Sho. Let me kick this red head out real quick.
ME (1:34 PM) - Sounds like a plan! I'll get dressed... or at least attempt to!
ME (2:15 PM) - Tummy is growling! Any success detouring red head outta bed?

Right after the last text, I hear the front door slam shut and in comes fabulous roomie to say she is ready to go. Apparently her BF (red head) is not very easy to wake up! So off we headed to Wendy's in an attempt to cure our lingering hangovers.

Last night was so much fun, and I cannot begin to tell you how crazy the outfits were! I think the guys had more fun with their sweaters than the girls did. About half of our guests raided their mother's closets, while others hit up the local thrift stores.

The picture above was the sweater that I sported. I stole it from my grandmother's closet, along with a bunch of other interesting finds. She wore this to Christmas Day last year! My uncle said if she wore it again, he would disown her!! So, I have decided that I will let everyone have a good laugh when I show up to our family's Christmas Day celebration wearing this exact piece of fashion!

The girls in charge of the drinks came up to two very deadly concoctions that I thought I would pass along.

Sex Under the Christmas Tree

• 2 large cans of peaches in heavy syrup
• 1 bottle of cranberry juice
• 1 gallon of orange juice
• 1 bottle of triple sec
• 1 handle of vodka (I think they added 2!)

Cranberry Champagne

• 1 can frozen cranberry juice
• 2 bottle champagne
• Fresh cranberries to float in the drinks

Back to studying I go! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday!

On the Third Day of Christmas...

I baked and decorated GINGERBREAD MEN. Okay so I have to admit that I took a few little shortcuts... which is somewhat unusual for me. My specialty is normally homemade baked goods. These turned out so well that I really don't think that anyone will know this was not my recipe! I went to the grocery store and bought a roll of Pillsbury Refrigerated Gingerbread Cookie Dough. I just tried one, and they taste really yummy! I might never make gingerbread homemade again after tasting these.

I used this cookie cutter from Wilton. The cookies turn out very broad so you have plenty of room for decorating. And even though it is a gingerbread "man," I put dresses on them and turned them into girls too.

This was one of biggest experiments in this cookie project. I usually use a piping bag with royal icing, but I ran across this at Michael's the other day and decided to give it a whirl. Think of your kindergarten glue bottle, and this is what the packaging is like for the icing. Once you have iced the cookies, this icing gives a nice sheen and dries somewhat hard. The only problem that I found was that the tip is a little wide to be making extremely accurate designs. For example, making perfectly similar dots for the eyes was difficult. But, overall I would use this icing again. It is nice being able to throw the mess away after you are done! I think that kids would really love to decorate with this icing. We used white icing, but I also saw that they carried red and green.

Here are some up close pictures of the ones I made (all the girls are much cuter than the boys!)...


I am taking these cookies over to the party tonight. Still hoping that the weather holds out, since it randomly started snowing earlier. We are expecting about 30 people, and probably have enough sweets to feed 100. I have got to go finish getting ready! Can't wait for you to see tomorrow's post!

On the Second Day of Christmas...

I finally figured out how to get my WREATH to stop falling off the door! I am a huge fan of 3M's Command hooks ever since I discovered them in my freshman dorm room; but for some reason, they do not like my door. After picking up my wreath off the ground at least 5 times, I decided to look for a plan b. So to the craft stores I went, and came across a handy dandy clear over-the-door hanger. And voila... my problem has disappeared.

I found this wreath at Tuesday Morning, and later added the lime green ribbon from Hobby Lobby. This was one of my first attempts to tie a fancy bow and thanks to Monogram Momma's instructions, I think it turned out really well. You can't really tell from the picture, but the berries have just a hint of glitter to them. I thought that this is a fun play on the traditional wreath since the colors are flip-flopped.

Today was totally hectic. I had to work on a group project, made it out to the barn to ride, and studied... all while attempting to get everything ready for a party for 30 people tomorrow. I will make sure to share the theme of the party with you tomorrow!

On the First Day of Christmas...

I found some PINK AND GREEN HOLIDAY RIBBON!!! And you will not believe where of all places... Wal-Mart. So for all of $2.97, I found ribbon to tie my ornaments on the tree with. Some of them are grosgrain and some is silky, but they all coordinate really well. I was so excited when I found this!

Today I took my first final of the semester, and turned in my one my last papers!! Now all I have left to do is 1 paper, 1 project, and 2 finals... Wow, next week is going to be crazy!