why christmas was meant to be in the winter...

Well Christmas is only a few days away so I thought I would post about what makes this time of year so much fun. I am not talking about spending time with family and friends. I am not even talking about decorating my house. Those are all givens to me. What I am talking about is all of those little things that just make the day a little more fun...more merry.

Philosophy Candy Cane Body Scrub- This is without a doubt the only reason why I shower in the morning instead of at night. The smell of this wakes me right up. Plus it makes my skin all nice and smooth for the day. Who can beat that?
Festive Holiday Socks- The hubs thinks I am crazy for the amount of Christmas socks I own, but I think I am just being festive. They are beyond cute and keep my always chilly feet warm.
Starbucks- Oh how I love thee. This time of the year has to be my favorite because it's when Starbucks brings back all of their fun holiday drinks. Man do I miss those throughout the year!
Hunter Rain Boots- It doesn't snow where I live, but it sure does rain. These things keep my feet dry and are so cute on. I honestly don't know what I did before I owned a pair of these puppies.
Deborah Lippmann Red & White Sparkle Nail Polish- Best glitter nail polish around. It's festive and the sparkles are so gorgeous. Love, love, love.
BBW Marshmallow Fireside Candle- Love this smell. 95% of the time this candle is burning in my house. I love to scent layer too so this scent works perfectly. It goes with just about anything else I would want to burn and is that perfect combo of sweet and Christmas-y.

What small, everyday things remind you of Christmas?

my little christmas corner

I am linking up again to the Christmas Cheer Party. This is the first year we have had an official dining room so I was very excited to decorate it. I went with a classic Christmas look. A little country, a little sparkle and a lot of red & green!

 The view from the living room.

 A closer view of the table. The red & green runner is accented by reindeer candle holders, snowflake candle holders and a sparkly pinecone & ornament centerpiece.

 A side view of my hutch. Last year I had my village squished on the entry table, but this year I was able to spread it out a little. The top of the hutch is the new home to one of my village scenes. Above it are litlte ladders with berries running through red & white stars. To the left is the wine fridge, which holds some of the best wines we have...perfect to bring out for Christmas family dinners. To the left is the childhood Christmas tree that can be seen here.

The front of our hutch has my wine cork wreaths that I saw on Pinterest and just had to recreate. They turned our so well and are the perfect touch to the hutch. Some of our popular wines are shown in the center and of course you can't celebrate the holidays without some l-o-v-e. :) 

On top of the wine fridge I have our Christmas wine charm tree, a wine that was signed for me by Fess Parker is in my adorable snowman wine holder and the singed glass, with a mini Christmas wreath around the bottom is in the back. This area of our dining room makes me wish I could only enjoy a glass, or two, this year.

Hope you enjoyed the little peak into my Christmas dining room!

Who says you can only have 1 tree??

Normally we have a huge tree in the family room. This year, however, I am moving a little slower than normal, so I decided to give the hubs a break. Since we already had an abundance of fake smaller trees (have I mentioned I am a Christmas fanatic??) I just decided to put those up this year. According to the hubs Christmas came early this year because I didn't make him pull everything down and haul in a 10ft tree. Note to self... a 5ft tree and two 3 1/2 ft trees somehow translates to an early Christmas. :)

Below are a few pictures from each tree. You will notice that each tree come equipt with it's own theme. So cute!!

Tree One

These ornaments are ones from our childhood & ones that we've collected over the last 5 Christmases. :)

 My mom bought this for me one year in Vegas. It combined two of my favorite things in life. <3 Heels and snowmen. <3

 SF Giants baby!

Just because the hubs loves them... Sacramento Kings.

 This ornament was for my grandpa. He passed away when I was 6 (if my baby brain memory serves me correctly...). I was born on his birthday so even though I barely remember him, I still keep his memory going.

 The only ornament the hubs had from his childhood.  His dad isn't sure what happened to the rest. :( I hate it, but it will adorn our tree every year just because.

Tree Two

 Here is my third love in life...vintage Barbies. From about 12 years old on I started collecting vintage Barbies. I have the first barbie ever made, along with about a 1/2 dozen others, the original Ken doll and numerous outfits. I have so many ornaments that I couldn't even put them all on the tree. The hubs doesn't care if I put this tree up (anymore) as long as I keep it on the small tree and keep it tucked away. This tree sits on the side table that lines the wall going to our bedroom. Oh how I love this tree!

 I threw in some "country" snowmen for good measure. They go well with Barbie...don't you think?

Tree Three

 This would normall be where out big tree goes (the speaker and blanket basket would get moved obviously). It is a traditional red & silver tree with vintage/antiqued wrapping paper. The tree skirt is the tree skirt that my family used growing up and actually matches my stocking.

 Here are two doves and a snowflake.

 One of my favorite ornaments (on this tree) would have to be the red/zebra print ball. I think it gives the tree a little "somethin' somethin'."

 In my family the animals exchange gifts. This year I decided to buy cat/dog Christmas wrapping paper. You know you're jealous because it is just so stinking cute! :)

This was the hubs stocking at his grandma's house. When she passed away this year we took it and now it sits under the tree with a Santa boot that a family friend made for my mom years ago.

So there you have it. You have now taken a small tour of the trees that decorate our house. Could you believe this was me scaling back?

Oh how I love Christmas!!

our 2012 christmas mantel

Every year I change up our mantel just a little. Mostly because I am a perfectionist and I am never happy with how it turns out. Now that we have a little one on the way I have put a lot of pressure on myself to get it right. The hubs thinks I am crazy. I can't really disagree with him though because it took me 3 years to find the perfect stocking holder...did I mention I still need his and will need one for Jackson next year??

The last few years I have been snowman obsessed. I come by it naturally though since my mom is also snowman obsessed. For years that is all that adorned our house. The hubs joked that it looked like Frosty threw up all over and that's not very "Christmas-y" to him. Since I am such a wonderful wife great listener, I've decided to take his advice and ease up a little on the frosted accessories. After all, I don't want my home looking like someone threw up in it...even if it was only Frosty the Snowman. :)

So this year I decided to mix it up a little. I took a little of what I loved on Pinterest and a little of "me" and added it together. This is what I came up with.

Don't mind the episode of Prison Break on in the background. I love that show and watch it all the time. :)

What do you think?  Did I get it right or are there still too many snowmen?

my christmas movie playlist

Well it's officially December so the hubs can't complain too much that the house is in full holiday swing. There are snowmen everywhere and if holiday music isn't playing, there is a Christmas movie on the television. What can I say? I am obsessed festive!

Even though I love my holiday cheer it doesn't mean just anything shows up on my tv screen. A girl's got to have standards you know! Here are some of my favorite holiday movies!

The hubs says it's a good thing I already love cartoon movies since next year I will have a little one to enjoy some of these with. While I wouldn't call him a scrooge...Michael would rather sit through 2 root canals before watching all of these festive favorites with me.

Are your husbands like that or is it just mine??

my fav things...therefore my christmas wish list

Christmas is around the corner and I am getting so excited! I LOVE this time of year because get to spend countless hours with friends and family, everything is so festive...and of course I always gain about 5lbs due to all of the beyond yummy food that I consume. At least this year I am won't have to worry about loosing it right away. If I did, I would have a very unhappy OBGYN doctor. :)

In the last few weeks I've been asked by so many family members & friends for a Christmas list. Even though I was done with my shopping by Black Friday, I never sat down and really thought about what I would want. Since this is the last real year that I figured I can be selfish; I've decided to go all out. Below is my dream Christmas list.

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