A Christmas wish come true.

Last year I found these slippers on LLBean's website and fell in love with them. This year I found them under my Christmas tree.

My parents got me a pair of my own and once I exchange them for the right size (I guessed wrong) I'll get to wear them all day long. I'm so excited! Maddie ate the pompoms off my current slippers so they just aren't as cute.

I'm no Betty Crocker but...

My mom got me and my siblings silicone baking mats for Christmas and I love love love mine.

I've never used one before and I actually let this one sit on my counter, unopened, for over a week after Christmas.

I whipped it out when making biscuits for a Sunday dinner and I don't know why I was so surprised when the finished biscuits just lifted right off the mat. Wahoo! If there's anything I hate, it's scraping food off pans, and then trying to clean the burned food and cooking spray off of one.

Not only can you get silicone mats for baking, but you can get muffin/cupcake liners made out of the same stuff. Super awesome.

Happy baking!

One of my favorite Christmas gifts.

I don't know why, but I've wanted a globe for a long time. Kev acquired a big map from work this summer that we tacked up in the living room, and it satisfied my globe craving for a while.

Additionally, I picked up a France atlas at WSU's book sale this fall and plan to use the maps for all sorts of projects (in the past I've made great use of maps customizing frames).

For Christmas, I hit the jackpot. Kev did some thrifting and surprised me with this absolute beauty.

Its condition is exceptional, and the globe rotates perfectly on its axis within the wooden frame. I love it so much that I put away the Christmas decorations earlier than usual so I could have space to display this. It complements the existing decor in the living room and it just makes me happy to look at it.

Merry Christmas to me.

A petite Christmas

I was going to be a big scrooge and keep all the Christmas stuff packed up this year because our front room is so full of everything (it's our computer room, our TV room, our hangout room etc...).

But then I realized that I can't do that to Aspen. It's her first Christmas and she deserves to have a Christmas tree and to see ornaments and all that jazz.

I'm not in the market for more decorations, but I still like looking. This trio of trees doesn't take up a lot of space and they would be a great addition to winter/Holiday decor in any home, especially one that's small like mine.

I ran out of store-bought cards and I'm really glad.

To supplement my first round of Christmas cards, I found these on Etsy. How cute are they? I really like that the ornament guys are almost ugly. That's why I really like Hippos too.

It's a trend, I know.

But we all know trends come back into style 20 years later, so it's actually an investment. These pink tabletop trees are so eye-catching to me right now. I think they'd look so great on the shelves in my living room, or on the dining room table between meals.

It's either the pink trees or the white ones. I can't decide.

Most likely replacing the mittens Maddie accidentally ate.

And Kev can pretend they're from him because we've been horrible this year about buying gifts for each other.

Maddie's not spoiled enough to get a gift set from LL Bean

It's cute though.

Life is Good

How great are these "Life is Good" ornaments? I love this brand, and now REI sells ornaments based on the popular face of the company as well as a few other images.
I also love the "Outside Inside" ornaments available at REI. Kev and I have a lot on our little 4 foot Christmas tree every year. My trick for saving money is to buy ornaments after Christmas and tuck them away until next year. They are usually 75% off after Christmas, so it's worth the wait to add to your collection.

Just in time

My Holiday Sale starts tomorrow! Join the Facebook fan page to get the scoop on discounts good December 1st-15th only.

Let your light shine

I've always wanted to try body shimmers. I remember using glitter STICKS in junior high to decorate my face to the max, but I have since matured in my tastes. This Mary Kay shimmer has caught my eye and I've actually added it as the first item on my Christmas list. Actually, it's the only item on the Christmas list I'm making for Kev.

I even have a coupon for him to use.

Deck the halls with IKEA

I promised my dear Kev that I'm not going to buy any additional Holiday decorations this year. We have been gifted many wonderful things from family, and our neighbor just gave us a ceramic Santa for our front porch (it reminds me of the small ceramics my Grandma Fluff used to make). I'm going to use all my resources to make the home feel festive and full of cheer. But that doesn't have to stop you from going to IKEA and purchasing one of these 11 inches wreaths for $3.99. Happy Holiday shopping! Let me know if I can find other wonderful, inexpensive decorations for you.