Holiday Home Decor

I love decorating for Christmas and purchasing a few new items each year to add to my collection. Some of my favorites from this year is our new wreath, star tree topper and stocking holders. I posted my Christmas decorations here a few weeks ago. I've also started collecting tree ornaments as souvenirs from our travel ventures. I found most of my decor at Home Depot, Khol's, and Amazon.

Where do you shop for Christmas home decor and ornaments?

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday and I'll catch you next week!

Holiday Card Linkup

I was so happy to be paired up with the lovely Emelia from Dream Big & Buy The Shoes. I had never visited her blog before so I was immediately introduced to a new blogger friend. We both agreed neither of us are exactly the crafty type but she spoiled me with two cute Christmas cards as well as a Starbucks gift card.

Loved Emelia's sweet message in her holiday card and she really went the extra mile by including a gift card. Thanks lady!

Starbucks Frapuccinos here I come!!

And a bonus card came in the mail from the girls at The Sequin Notebook.

Thank you again Emelia for the lovely cards and gift card and also a thanks to B & M from the Sequin Notebook for hosting the Holiday Card Swap.

Happy Holidays lovelies!

Christmas Decorating

It's the most wonderful time of the year and I've finally finished decorating for the holidays. We have a small fake Christmas tree which we've been using for the past few years so it's not nice and fluffy like the real ones nor does it have that nice tree smell but it's easy to maintain and will do for now. I hope to upgrade later on down the road.

Star Tree Topper from Kohl's

Christmas tree skirt  

Tree ornaments from our travels

I started off with very little Christmas decorations and have been trying to buy a few new pieces every year and also get ornaments as souvenirs from our travels. I bought the Mickey & Minnie tree ornament on our recent trip to Disney and I purchased new stockings since we now have a new addition to the family.

Our Living Room where the Christmas tree is set up to the right.

   

The little details

Kitchen (or bathroom) towels

Martha Stewart Ornament Wreath from Home Depot hanging on front door.

Happy Holidays!

How's your holiday decorating coming along?

The Holidays Have Begun

The craziness that is the holidays is here and another great weekend for the books! I had my work holiday party on Friday night so we booked a hotel and had a little staycation for the night at Universal Studios since driving after several hours of free drinks is never a good idea. 

We had cocktail hour, buffet dinner and then the after party was at Universal's City Walk.

On Saturday morning, we checked out of the hotel and picked up our precious wrinkly bundle from her pet sitters.

Saturday night was a wash and we had planned to attend another holiday party but the couch and snuggles with Lola won.

On Sunday, we were feeling refreshed and decided to venture downtown for lunch and to watch football at a couple dog-friendly bars and restaurants. Lola had a blast meeting lots of people and other dogs and crashed hard when she got home giving me time to do some blogging and the usual Sunday cleaning, laundry etc.

Hope you had a great weekend!!

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip.  

Weekly Roundup & Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! 

I love when the holidays come around because it's my favorite time of year although December is going to be a busy, busy one and now we have a puppy which makes it that more difficult to juggle. 

My work holiday party is tonight and I have several more upcoming parties and events on the agenda:

- 2nd holiday party for the year with friends

- Staycation and birthday trip to Disney

- Friend's wedding on my actual birthday

-  A friend's housewarming party/3rd holiday party

- Christmas long weekend with the in-laws

-  NYE celebrations with friends

After the 4-day weekend for Thanksgiving, it was really tough going back to work and leaving Lola at home for most of the day. I now know how parents feel leaving their babies/kids/pets behind when they head to work. 

A girl friend of mine was in town visiting so our college clan went out for Japanese hibachi and sushi dinner to catch up. 

Joining Amanda for Friday Favorites.

Favorite Purchase:

Bath & Body Works goodies for myself and Christmas gifts.

Favorite DIY/Craft:

Seriously thinking of creating my own advent holiday calendar.

 

Favorite Sips:

Really good seasonal beer ~ Leinenhugel's Cranberry Ginger Shandy.

Favorite Quote:

I ran across some Marilyn Monroe quotes while reading a documentary of her life at the hairdresser a few weeks ago.

Have a great weekend!

Puppy Shopping & Holiday Kickoff Party

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm so excited Thanksgiving is almost here. Definitely looking forward to some family time and a few days off of work. 

This weekend we started our search for a baby bulldog. We've had an empty nest since Skyh passed away and think it's time to adopt a new furbaby.

Friday night looked something like this. Well, it looked exactly like this. Chinese takeout, Redbox movies and homemade dirty martinis.

On Saturday, I used the pamper package gift certificate I won at a charity event a few weeks ago. I got a facial, mani & pedi and my hair styled. The package included a few more things but honestly I don't have enough patience to stay more than 4 hours in a spa so that was good enough for me. 

Saturday night, was our first Holiday party for the year with friends and it was a blast!

Sunday: we cooked up some brunch at home and continued our search for a new puppy. We finally found our furbaby and she'll be arriving this week from the breeder!!

 K also thought pineapple mimosas with blueberries were a good idea to celebrate.

How was your weekend?

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip.  

Birthday & Christmas Wish List

My birthday is right around the corner in December and soon after will be Christmas so I've finally finished putting together my wish list for the year. 

The big ticket item on my wish list is this Nikon D3200 Digital SLR camera which we actually just purchased a few weeks ago to have in time for the holidays so you may have noticed some better quality photos are these parts (big upgrade from my iPhone). I love taking pictures and I'm considering it a huge investment for my blog. Now, I just need some photography lessons!!

My Wish List

What's on your wish list?

Holiday Gift Guide for Yogis

Yoga is definitely one of my favorite forms of exercise and I've always loved the peaceful yoga style and way of life. I was contacted by YogaOutlet.com to review their products and had to jump on the opportunity to see what they were all about.

I ordered the Chakra racerback burnout tank and the Peace, Love and Namaste wall plaques.

*I was given the above items complimentary from YogaOutlet.com but all opinions and gift advice are solely my own.*

Guide Guide For Yogis

Love Yoga Mug

Half Toe Grip Socks

Chakra Racerback Burnout Tank

The Hand of Wisdom 

(ring holder or decoration)

Chakra Yoga Mat Bag

Sanskirt Om Necklace

Love Yoga Life Tank

Go check out the YogaOutlet.com's Holiday Shop if you're looking for fun and affordable yoga clothing, mats, home decor, jewelry and other yoga accessories.

Namaste.

Green Fashionista's New Year's Eve Celebrations

Can you believe 2013 has already come to an end? I definitely can't but it's been a great year and I'm excited to see what 2014 will bring...

As you might already know, I'm traveling for the holidays and spending NYE tonight with friends from back home so the awesome Kate @ Green Fashionista is entertaining today. Kate knows how to have a good time so enjoy her NYE celebrations over the years!

-----------------------------------------

Who else is just a tad bit jealous that Emily is ringing in the New Year in Trinidad & Tobago? I mean don't get me wrong, living life in Florida now is much more fabulous than growing up in Connecticut, but come on... girlfriend is in the Caribbean! So, I'll be filling in for her today, and you can find me over at Green Fashionista rambling about my recent purchases, house projects, recipes, and weekend escapades.

While Emily is ringing in the New Year soaking up the sun and partying on the beach, I'll be walking down the street to our neighbor's house for their fabulous NYE party. Last year, they had a dj, full bar (with a bartender!), and I dropped it like it was hot in the soul train line.

In college, my girls and I would dress up in our sluttiest finest sparkles and head out downtown to leave a trail of glitter and champagne bottles. Unfortunately, I can't relive NYE's of years past as I wasn't much of a picture taker until around the time I started dating my husband and it's been hit or miss ever since due to illnesses that liked to strike right around this time of year.

2008 - Sadly, our first NYE together was spent on the couch since he had mono, and we missed out on our friend's party. I was the good girlfriend who nursed him back to health and stayed home to be with him.

2009 - We rented a party bus with friends and we went up to Mohegan Sun to ring in 2010.

2010 - our first NYE in Florida, and I was recovering from labyrinthitis so needless to say I wasn't up to ringing in 2011. Another NYE on the couch....

2011 - we went to a club downtown with friends and reserved a VIP table with bottle service. It was supposed to be an amazing night, but way more people were invited than originally planned and it was chaos trying to get a seat or a drink. From that point on, I was all set with the downtown/club thing on NYE. I must be getting old...

2012 - We were mad men and tried to juggle 2 parties... we went to our friend's masquerade party where Emily and K were also ringing in the new year, but left before midnight to make it back home to ring in 2013 at our neighbor's house.

DJ? - Check

Bartender for fully stocked bar? - Check and check

Soul train line to end all soul train lines? - Check

Not having to worry about driving home or others on the road after midnight? - CHECK!

Can't wait to see what ringing in 2014 brings... Happy New Year!

Don't forget to come see me over at Green Fashionista and you can keep up with my NYE Shenanigans by following me on Twitter and Instagram.