Christmas Time is Near!

Hello dear friends! How is everyone doing? With Christmas fast approaching, I have enjoyed all of the lovely inspiration that has filled blog land recently! The amazing talent that I see never ceases to amaze me! Well I know it's been a short while since I've posted last, so I thought I'd share with you what I have been up to for the last week or so. :)

Last Friday, my husband & I had a "date night," which is rare since he often has to work late/many hours, and when we're both finally free, we are always doing something with our kiddos {I'm sure most of you can relate}! So, imagine my delight when he tells me that we have babysitting for the evening, and that we have a couple of hours to ourselves {yippee}! :)

We went to the "Americana at Brand" here in Southern California and had some dinner & drinks, and then enjoyed the festive decor all around! Of course I couldn't resist perusing through the shops there. And the Anthropologie at that location was no exception. :)

So many tempting goodies to buy every time I set foot into that store...but I was a good little gal and didn't get anything for myself {I'll just wait for "Santa" to cross off my wish list}. :)

This past weekend we also managed to get our tree up & decorated, finally! I know I'm really behind again this year. Every year I keep telling myself that I'm going to do my decor and crafts on time, but that usually gets thrown out the door because of some time management issues! And it's even more so this year with all the ongoing fixer upper projects. So I do envy you gals out there that seem to have it all together for the holidays! :)

The kids opted for a beautiful noble fir. And I let my boys pick out the "theme colors" for this year's tree, and they chose red, silver & white. Luckily that worked out since we were working with a limited amount of decor because we left most of our ornaments at my parents' house in Central Cali.

So we kept it simple this year with a few boxes of ornaments that I picked up at the "IKEA holiday tent" one week before "Black Friday" {thank goodness because all the ornaments there were pretty much sold out by the 1st week of December}! Both of my boys decorated this tree all by themselves, and I think they did a terrific job! :) The decor was simple & sweet with:

and

pretty silver boxes tied up in shiny string. :)

The rest of the tree was adorned with shatter-resistant ornaments of Christmas past that we thankfully found in the back of my in-laws garage. And of course let's not forget the red, felt star which tops the tree for a simple, yet festive treat. :)

Oh but wait! We have to wait until it gets dark to enjoy the warm glow of twinkle lights which really adds some sparkle to the tree... :)

.glitter balls & vintage inspired hearts.

Well there you have it: a decorated tree that made its way onto an uncluttered corner {rare} of our home! :) I am proud of my boys for decorating this tree the way they did. :) Oh & another exciting milestone this past weekend was that my youngest performed in his first Christmas program at his preschool, and my eldest attended his first sports banquet of the year, at his new school. :) I feel so happy & blessed that despite the often "fixer-upper chaos" & the move to a new school/area, they are making great friends and enjoying the holiday season. :) Until next time, have a bright & beautiful week!


XO's,
Jessie



P.S. I would like to also thank everyone once again for their sweet comments on my last post regarding my holiday mantel. We don't have much this year due to the recent move, & the unforeseen repairs to our home; so these days we really do have to work with what we already have. So I thank you for your kind words on my simple mantel. :)




Sharing with: The House in the Roses, My Romantic Home, Homemaker on a Dime, How Sweet the Sound, Home Sweet Home, Freckled Laundry, Faded Charm, Very Merry Vintage Style, Free Pretty Things For You, Primp, Wednesday Show Off