Christmas Card Out-takes

Please enjoy some of our so-planned Family Christmas Card pics. Needless to say, we went with a wedding pic because well... you'll see why. 

And my favorite of the whole escapade....

You're Welcome. 

Our First Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Fosters!

Christmas this year was indeed a special treat! Not only was it our first Christmas together as a married couple, but we were able to spend time with both sides of the family. Such a joy!

Greg lead worship in two Christmas Eve services on Saturday night so we were able to spend Christmas Eve at my parents. The night was filled with some of my favorite things: Italian food prepared by my dad, delicious wine, a fire in the fireplace, and card games. I love Christmas Eve at the Roberts’ House. I literally talk about it being one of my favorite days and something that I look forward to year-round. Glad ol’ Gregory got to experience it with me this year!

We were able to have Christmas with my family on Chrismas Morning and then head to Cross Plains to be with the Fosters. It was a fun time of lounging, playing games, eating good food, and shooting guns, of course. What else would you naturally do in West Texas??

Armed and Dangerous.

Greg's Cousin Garrett

Some of our favorite gifts topping the charts:
Greg:

1. A Banjo!
2. A new pocket knife. Again, naturally a Texas thing.
3. New Guitar case
4. Gift cards to good restaurants (Uncle Julios!) and J. Crew
5. A fun new guitar strap.

Too talented for his own good. 

Keely:

1. A Kitchenaid Mixer! Finally!
2. A John Hart planner with the new initials
3. New slippers (much needed!)
4. A pretty new necklace with the new last initial.
5. An owl canister from Anthropologie to complete the kitchen

Grateful for two families who love us and want to bless us!! 

A Very Pinterest Christmas

Christmas is here! I love all the décor that is associated with Christmas, whether it’s the lights in trees at businesses or personalized stockings in each and every home. With my new obsession with Pinterest, and DIY products, our house was transformed into a DIY Winter Wonderland. For a tiny budget anyways.

First, and most importantly, there’s our tree. My grandmother lives very close to my parents, and wasn’t planning on putting up her Christmas Tree, so my dad brought it home for us. It’s the perfect size for our tiny little apartment! I chose to decorate with all white, muted metals, and sparkles. Not to mention, I told Greg that I wanted A LOT (slightly excessive amount) of lights and he went to town. Putting all 500 lights on the tree took about an hour and wore Greg out. 5 strands of lights later on an almost 6 foot tall tree might be a bit dramatic, but I couldn’t be happier with the way that it turned out! Props to the hubs for putting up with my ridiculous demands!

All of our decorating garb.

Here’s some shots of our favorite ornaments on the tree. And our oh-so-perfect mercury-glass tree topper!

I'm in LOVE with mercury glass!

One of my projects for decorating our house this year was to make my own tree skirt. I tend to have “boutique” style, so therefore every decorating item that I am drawn to is naturally the most expensive product that I can find. Of course. So thanks to Pinterest, I was able to recreate a Ruffled Linen Tree Skirt out of a painters drop cloth, linen fabric, a glue gun, and some grosgrain ribbon. So easy and I completed it in an afternoon!

You can get inspired and make one too! I found my tutorial here.

Another project that I endeavored on (with TONS of help from my mother) was our stockings. Again, I had seen some burlap stockings on both Etsy and Pinterest that I was in love with. Being that we are newlyweds with two entry-level jobs, we obviously couldn’t afford to pay up to $35 a piece. And naturally, we needed three of them. One for Greg, one for me, and of course one for Moose. I did some research and found several tutorials on how to make them and told my mom we had a date with the craft store and the sewing machine. Again, they aren’t perfect, but I love the way they turned out. Rustic, simple, and oh so cheap! I spent WAY less than $35 bucks a piece! Victory!

Where our TV would be if we had one. But that would require actually watching TV.....

On yet another impulse craft day, I decided to make this CoffeeFilter Wreath just to hang in our house. Again, cost me $7, and I love the way it turned out. It’s currently hanging on the wall in our living room, but I think I might find a new home for it above our bed once Christmas is over. I’m not thrilled with the décor over our bed, so after Christmas, I’ll be crafting to spruce up our bedroom with pillows, a shelf, our monogrammed initials, and a pic of our wedding printed on Metal. Yet, I’m pretty indecisive so this will probably change.

The view of the wreath on the wall in our living room. 

The window that is hung over our piano in our breakfast room. My mom and I found an awesome metal snowflake garland at JoAnn Fabrics for half off!

Again, a close up of the garland.

  

Our own little elf who was so involved in the decorating process. 

I owe a HUGE thank you to my mother. Without her, we wouldn’t have half the ornaments on our tree, our tree skirt, or our beautiful stockings. My mother is creative, talented, and therefore I am greatly indebted to her! Thank you Momma!