D.I.Y.'ing it Through the Holidays

ONE WEEK UNTIL CHRISTMAS! 

Can you even believe it? 

I feel like just yesterday it was Thanksgiving, and now it's already time to head back home once again for the holidays. I've been listening to Christmas music, adoring all the twinkling lights, and feeling extra spirited this year for some reason. Maybe it's because we're all getting older, but what I'm looking forward to the most this year is the people. Getting to visit with a special lady who now lives in Texas, and a beautiful couple coming in from Delaware (you know who you are!) just makes me giddy, and a permanent smile has been glued to my face all week. 

All three of my sisters are going to be in town for Christmas as well! Hanging out with them is something else I've been craving. Words don't even describe how much watching goofy home videos or just sitting around and talking with them means to me. 

Heaven.

But before all of the crazy traveling and parties begin, there are gifts to be wrapped!

This year I decided to make my own wrappings out of builders paper. We found our as Menards, so for around $11 we got 140 feet of paper! Sound the super savings alarm! Not only will this stuff last us through the holidays and then some, it's perfect to lay on the floor as a drop cloth while painting walls. 

Before wrapping the gifts up, I drew a funky pattern on the paper to make them a bit prettier. This was my absolute favorite part of this project! The variation of patterns you could come up with are endless. Depending on what the occasion is, you could customized each one with different designs. Or even just write the special someones name really big on it. Glue sequins, color a picture, write a love letter, any idea is perfect.

The tags are from a few leftover Christmas designs I did at work. I just printed them on paper, cut each one out with a circle paper punch, another quick punch at the top for the ribbon to go through, and done.

 I also grabbed some cotton string, and a few random spools of ribbon that were at Walmart for $1. They don't have a lot of ribbon on each one, but for a buck, they're totally worth it. 

Hopefully everyone enjoys their presents as much as I enjoyed wrapping them! 

I personally adore getting hand-made presents, it says "You are special enough to me that I took the time out of my insane life to make this for you!!!!!"  

If that isn't Christmas love, I don't know what is.

Anyone else trying to save some holiday green and DIY'ing their projects or gifts this year? 

Kitchen Reveal and Dancing Princesses

Did everyone survive the snow storm Friday? 

We were a bit buried by the end of the night, so it was good we didn't have any plans. 

We DID have a short little list of "must-get-done" items for the weekend though, one being to get those last few cabinets painted! 

Eric didn't have school Friday, so he had the whole day to himself. When I got home from work that day, he was so excited to show me this little cabinet painting system he rigged up in our basement. 

How awesome is this?! He hung the last few doors up with clothes hangers so he could paint both sides at the same time. Making sure to go with thin coats so there wasn't any dripping, they turned out perfect. 

So the moment you've all (OK maybe just me) been waiting for...

WHITE CABINETS!

So fresh and inviting! Such a big difference from when we started. 

I'll have to keep you posted as to how tough they are to keep clean, I'm sure it'll be nothing a magic eraser can't handle every once in a while. Every time I walk into our kitchen I just smile, this was the biggest project we've done to the house so far, and the results make it all SO worth it! 

The rest of the weekend was filled with a bit more house organizing, Christmas decorating, and  I finally updated my chalk-board window for the holiday season. 

Saturday was also the night of the Bella Forza Fittness Pole and Arial Showcase! 

This was the second showcase I've performed in, and this year my whole family was able to come and watch! Even my Grandma H.! It was an absolute rush being able to perform with my BFF friends, and show off what our hard work and dedication is all for! Everyone did an stunning job and I am just so proud of all of us! 

I am so proud of this group! You can check out the rest of the performances from Saturday night on the Bella Forza Fitness Facebook page! 

Hope everyone else had a great weekend, just a few more until Christmas!!! 

Pantone Color of the Year 2014

Pantone has announced their color of the year for 2014, and it is....

RADIANT ORCHID!

Image from www.pantone.com

How beautiful is this color?! The perfect blend of pink and purple that I believe will blend seamlessly from makeup, to fashion, to interiors.  

Images from Here and Here

Images from Here and Here

Images Here and Here

Image from Here

In other color related news, Pantone has also announced their 

Spring 2014 Fashion Color Report! 

Image from www.pantone.com

Just LOOK at that spectrum of  fabulous colors. I can't wait for them to start popping up in weddings and fashion next season. 

Decking Our Halls

I am a firm believer that Christmas does NOT start until AFTER Thanksgiving. No music is played, and not a single decoration is put up until the turkey has been devoured. I just feel so bad for Thanksgiving when everyone else has already  moved on to the next holiday without giving it a passing glance. It's such a fantastic day filled with love from family, tons of food, and the true joy of the Fall season. 

But! With that being said...

IT'S OFFICIALLY CHRISTMAS TIME!!! 

This year I was tremendously excited (as soon as it was acceptable of course) to get started  putting up our decorations. We have a WHOLE HOUSE to fill with holiday joy! 

During the "Must decorate all the rooms!" process, I did come to a few realizations:

1) Old houses do not have NEARLY enough electrical outlets to fulfill my twinkle-light visions.

2) It's not as much fun to decorate rooms that still have boxes strewn randomly inside them.

3) Why didn't the people who built the house 109 years ago think to put electricity outside! Geez.

4) We're going to need a LOT more decorations. 

So even though I could have done with about 10 more outlets, I still had an absolute blast putting up our decor. It has plenty of room to grow over the years, that's for sure!

The first thing I did was put together my new wreath I got at JoAnn Fabrcs. All of the pieces were 60% off, and I just kinda of placed the gold where I thought looked nice then tied it down with some floral wire. 

Of course we had to put up our nativity scene, complete with festive balls. 

Swapped out the mini pumpkins and leaves for some super sparkly ornaments! 

Eric finished putting up our new TV last night just so I could decorate our mantel. And can I add how adorable our little fire looks under the stockings!!!! Picture perfect :)

And last, but of course not least, we finally decorated our tree! 

Yes we have two TVs in our living room right now. 

While all of this holiday cheer was going on inside, this is what was happening outside.

But this is just as exciting because that was the LAST COAT OF PAINT!!!! We even were able to bring in the drawers and get those back in the kitchen. 

So what is tonight's goal?

You bet I went there! 

Anyone else deck out their home with some serious holiday cheer? Seeing every one's lights and decor is one of my favorite things to do this time of year. 

Let the Christmas season BEGIN!