Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to you all!  We are so grateful to have all of you in our lives and a part of our blog, it means the world to us!

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas and for those of you lucky enough to have this day off, be safe out there!

See you swoon,

Last Minute Swoon-Worthy Gift Ideas

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!  Ho-Ho-Ho!  But for those of you who still have gifts to buy or who had a last-minute gift need crop up, that saying might be Oh-No-No!  Never fear - I have some easy, inexpensive, thoughtful gift ideas that you're welcome to pilfer as your own.  

Image courtesy of Once Made

* Wine *

Wine is an easy, inexpensive gift.  The hard part can be deciding which wine to go with - there are so many choices and you don't want it to be obvious that you picked up the bottle that was the cheapest.  I have some favorites: wines that are as wonderful to drink as the bottle is to look at.  I know that shouldn't matter, but if you're giving a gift, I think the packaging should be special!  Two of my favorite wines are VOGA and Mirassou.  Both are fabulous to drink, completely budget-friendly and need very little wrapping: just a sweet bow around the top with a nice little holiday tag and you're done. Aren't these pretty?

If you're looking to splurge a little more (probably around $50/bottle), I whole-heartedly recommend Stags Leap Petite Syrah.  It is my absolute favorite red.  I try to have a glass of this every year if I can.  Isn't the calligraphy on the label gorgeous?

* Coffee or Tea*

Another idea is to go with a coffee or tea themed gift.  Get a $10 or $15 gift card from a coffee house you like, buy a pretty mug, and add a bag of gourmet beans or a box of tea.  I suggest peppermint tea: it's delicious and what's more Christmassy than candy canes?  

Mugs from Anthropologie 

* Note Cards*

In our email/text/iPhone age, note cards are always a great gift idea.  It's so easy to find pretty, inexpensive cards, too.  Target has a great selection.  My go-to place is always Paper-Source, but unless you have a store near you, that may not be an option at the last minute.  Who wouldn't love to get a sampling of these?

Cards from Paper-Source

* Gift Cards *

Gift cards are the best.  I buy them every year.  And I love that you can get pretty much any gift card for any store at the grocery store or drug store!  Presentation is key here - rather than just pop it in a card, I like to put them in a small bag and attach an ornament to the bag (a tip: buy a box or two of pretty glass ornaments at Michael's on sale after Christmas and save for next year: these are great to have to add to gifts!).  The bag and ornament makes your gift look more thoughtful and much more special. Like this:  

Image courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

* Movie Tickets *

A little movie ticket gift is a lot of fun (though probably not the cheapest these days!).  Buy a couple of movie tickets, then grab some candy, put it in a brown paper bag and tie with a sweet red and white ribbon.  Done! 

Image courtesy Woman's Day

* Scarves*

One final idea: a scarf!  I'm a firm believer that you can never have too many, whether they are for cold weather wear with a coat or light-weight over a shirt or sweater.  Here are a handful of beauties from Old Navy ... I think they're just lovely (and wallet-friendly!)

And there you have it!  I hope this holiday round-up gives a few quick and easy gift ideas for you that don't look like you were down to the wire.

I'll wrap up by sending a special thank you to our followers and friends who check out our blog each day.  You have no idea what it means to us!  We wish you all a wonderful Christmas.   

Merry Christmas everyone!

See you swoon,

{Note: none of the above products or companies paid or comped us for mentioning them.  I just happen to love them all!}

Jamie's House: Christmas decor galore & a funny cat trick

I wish it really was galore but apparently Christmas decorations are collected over years and years, not over just one year of being in your home.  I do love my decor so far but I am looking forward to watching it grow each year.  The word I would use is sparse. I did get a chance to put up the garland and a wreath outside.  Last year we had only been in our home for about two months before Christmas so needless to say things were are a bit out of sorts and the decorations pretty much stayed in their Tupperware homes.  We would have completely skipped the Christmas tree if Shanna hadn't surprised me with one delivered to our front doorstep!

Let me first show you the outside:

I love how glowy the first picture looks with the wreath.  Christmas decor and lights are so magical, I wish I could find a reason to leave them up all year.  Oh and here is a little note to myself:  Jamie, no matter how bad you want it, do NOT buy your Christmas tree four weeks in advance, it will dry out regardless of how fresh it is at the time (patience my dear).  I know that sounded insane but next year I have to wait a little longer so that I am not cleaning dropped needles all month long!

Back to the outside decor, I did plan to put lights around the garland.  The home I grew up in had a bigger porch but same layout with the front door and a window to the side so I knew just how I wanted my new house to look.  The issue?  We do not have any outlets out front.  I was trying to figure out how to make this work without lights strung all over the place.  Looks like I am going to have a year to think about it because it is not happening in 2011.

Now for the inside, this is where it gets interesting ( I also spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out how to make my camera take "glowy" pictures without making them blurry):

Glowy :)

 

Now for the interesting part.  Shanna gave me this idea but I mixed the fake garland I had left over with some real pine roping to give it a really full look. 

I had every intention of filling up the mantle with mercury glass and fun Christmas-y things but then...

Hmmm, what's this?  Pine?  PINE ROPING?!  I love this stuff!!  I know it makes me sick but I just love it!! Now how do I get up there? Cats don't climb walls...

Maybe if I stand on my tippy toes, wap, wap, wap:

They do, they do!  Cats do climb brick walls!  Look at me ma! 

You have got to be kidding me.  Now what?    It will be OK.  He will forget about this and move on...to the tree but move on nonetheless.  Nope, he didn't move on so now my kitchen stools are part of my decor, FANTASTIC!  It is quite amusing watching him try and find ways to get up the wall, man is he persistent!

This is what I have this year.  A tree, garland on a railing, and a cat on a brick wall.  Not too bad for my first year of decorating!

Send your Christmas decorations our way!  I need tree ideas for next year :)

Happy and safe holidays to you all.

See you swoon,

Two Posts Today! Swoon and Drool Worthy Recipe (Eggnog Cream Pies) and our DIY Fingerprint Snowmen Ornaments

It's a two-fer today!  Two posts in one from me. A Christmas miracle.

Fingerprint Snowmen Ornaments

I like to make ornaments with the kids each year.  This year I decided to use up the clear glass ornaments I bought years ago for the cute staged baby shower Jamie and I styled way back when (we used them as bubbles in a centerpiece).   The process was easy.  I had each kid dip their finger in some white kids' craft paint (read: washable; read: happy mama).  We did three little prints to make a snowman.  I made sure to remember whose print was whose.  Then I used puffy paint to dress up the snowmen: hat, arms, eyes and nose.  Big helped me with the boots.  And then I gave Little's print a pink scarf and Big's a blue one and had each of their snowmen holding their first initial.  I wrote "2011" on the side and we were done! I love how they turned out (and hello - free!):

Eggnog Cream Pies

I love eggnog.  I love it, I love it, I love it. I love it by itself. I love it in coffee. I love eggnog lattees. I love eggnog ice cream.  I love eggnog tea.  I love eggnog muffins. I love eggnog cakes and cookies.  I love eggnog with rum, brandy, whiskey ... even a combination of these liquors.  I.Love.Eggnog. 

So, when I saw a recipe for eggnog cream pies a few years ago that was supposedly easy and delicious, I tonto jumped on it.  I will tell you ... these are, indeed, easy and delicious.  It takes maybe 20 minutes to make them, including the time to bake the pie crusts.  My friends, I present, the eggnog cream pie:

So feel free to print and make the recipe below.  Let me know how you like it!  Are you an eggnog lover like me?  Please .... let's talk my favorite Christmas treat.

See you swoon,

Eggnog Cream Pies 2 unbaked pastry shells (9 inches) 4 oz cream cheese, softened 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground nutmeg 2 cartons (one 8-oz, one 12-oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided 3 3/4 cups cold eggnog 3 packages (3.4 oz each) instant cheesecake or vanilla pudding mix Line unpricked pastry shells with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer, cool on wire racks. In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners sugar, allspice and nutmeg until smooth. Fold in 8 oz carton of whipped topping. Spoon into crusts. In large bowl whisk eggnog and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until softset. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping, sprinkle with additional nutmeg if desired. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Yields: 2 pies.

Pottery Barn knock-off mail bin

I have always wanted a wall organization system like the one Pottery Barn sells.  I swore when I got my own house I would buy this set and display my pictures, daily notes, and mail proudly.  OK, I don't really want to display my mail but I am trying to make the most of every inch of my home while keeping it organized and clean looking as well as feeling lived in all at the same time.  I know, all this over a mail bin!  I have been searching high and low for a mail bin like this one to round out my organizational wall:

Pottery Barn Wire Mesh Wall Mount Magazine Rack

 Why not just buy this one for $24 and call it a day?  Good question. I almost did but it stuck out two inches too far.  Now two inches is not a lot I know but in this case the rack would have overlapped the light switch and just looked funky...and made me insane to see it every day, so the hunt continued.

Alas, after many stops in Home Goods and to the wall that has the organizational pieces I finally came across the perfect solution :)  Check her out:

A chalkboard with a mail bin and I love the wire, so rustic looking, just love it and for $24.99!  I inspected this thing thoroughly in the store because I had no intention of putting the chalkboard up, I was really just interested in that wire holder at the bottom.  Cue happy dance because it was only screwed into the wood!  I bet you can guess what happened next...

Yup, off you go!

Maybe I can find something to do with this later.

All I had to do next was screw the mail bin into the wall and presto! I now have the organizational wall that I have been longing for (crazy thing to long for I know, but hey, whatever makes you happy, it's all about the little things right?)

Here it all is together:

I love how you can find something in a store and tweak it to use it exactly how you need in your home.  Do any of you look for pieces to transform when you are out shopping?  I am not always thinking outside of the box like this but am very happy that on this day I was because this mail bin is exactly what I was looking for.

See you swoon,