Making traditions

MR and I had a wonderful first Christmas together & even cooked up a couple of

traditions for ourselves!
The first is our Christmas ornament. We wanted a "1st Christmas" ornament to hang on the tree, and being us... we decided we needed to make it ourselves. After throwing a few ideas around we settled on one we thought suited us, MR sketched it out
& then we painted it together :)
We decided we will make our own ornament every year until there are kiddos in the picture,
and then we'll hang their "creations" on the tree instead :)

The second tradition we began is our Christmas date!
We had dinner at Dominique's on Magazine Street.

It is a quaint little place that you could easily pass up if you weren't paying close attention. I assume it was once a double shotgun home that was turned into one "large" space. Cute, isn't it?

The inside was beautiful as well. There was exposed brick, wooden walls, gorgeous beamed ceilings which were painted white and it was all candlelit. We brought a bottle of wine that my best friend gifted us & had them uncork it for us. Then we ordered... and ordered... and ordered!

We had a cheese board to start, sweet breads for an appetizer, I ordered drum w/ corn risotto & MR ordered duck with parsnip puree.

By the time dessert rolled around we were full, the wine was gone & it seemed like a good time to head out. It was an amazing dinner!

Next we headed down to Christmas on Fulton street, only to find it was all closed down.

It was a tiny bummer, but we were just fine with going home and cuddling up b/c it was c-c-cold.Such sweet little traditions :)

Did you create any traditions this year?

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown

Merry Christmas Eve!
Are you a busy body today?
Me too...

There are still a few gifts left to wrap, cookies left to bake(my "traditional" Jesus cookies), and clothes that still need ironing. Meanwhile, I am so excited for Santa to come visit my nieces and nephews that I can hardly stand it. I think I am more excited for them than I ever was for myself!

[this pic was from 2 years ago]
I'm kind of wanting to make these Smore pops that I made last year though. They are so easy & yummy! Trying to be realistic and see if I have time for any of it without being a crazy lady, though.

I think it goes without saying, but in case you're looking to make them and are clueless as to how...
Melt Chocolate (I do mine in a makeshift double boiler) Dip marshmallow in chocolate Roll chocolate dipped marshmallow in crushed graham cracker crumbs Let them dry on a piece of wax paper Once dry, stick a lollipop stick in it & voile- You did it!

It's been 6 months since my sweet Granddaddy passed. I miss him more than I can explain.
Tomorrow is his Birthday & it is going to feel very weird not stopping in to kiss his face, hug his neck & listen to his stories. I really love this man & I miss him oh so much.
Happy Birthday Granddaddy!

Well, my sweet friends...
I am off to accomplish my last few Christmas tasks for the year!
I hope that these next few days are filled with God's love and a warmth that can only be brought on by the ones you love and hold dear.
Remember what it's all about...

Merry Christmas!
Love y'all!

Christmas mail

Since our Christmas cards have hit the mail and are on there way to family across the land,
I guess I can go ahead and share them with y'all :)

Here are the pictures, since they're itty bitties on the card!

[mr. looks so cute in this one. i love that smile!]

[It was so cold and windy, piling on top of him seemed like the thing to do.]

[this one looks completely staged, but was actually us sneaking smooches between pictures]

Have you posted your Christmas cards? Leave me a link!

National Free Shipping Day- TODAY!

Freeeeeeee?!
You know it's my favorite word!
If you're still shopping, these shops with free shipping guarantee your packages to arrive by Christmas eve!
[must be a home address in the continental US]

Tag!

Tonight I plan on wrapping some presents! I love to wrap presents :)
I like making each package perfectly pretty, topping it with a big ol' bow and tying on a taggy!
Though, I created my own personal tags for Christmas this year, I thought you guys might like some links to some awesome printable tags!?
What's that?
You'd love some?
I thought so!

You can either print them on card stock, cut them out & punch a hole
or
pick up some sticker paper from your office supply store to print them on!

The Black Apple offers these beauties
[I'm very in love with this set]

Lolly Chops is offering up some sweet little birdy tags

I love these in red & teal, but Papercrave offers a couple other colors too

Sweet doodled tags from A fanciful twist

There are plenty more printables out there! Just google "printable gift tags", download it & print! No more store bought tags for you, my friend!

Wednesday Listography

Today:

I made some gift tags to top off mine & MR's gifts to everyone.
Oh, the cuteness :)

I ordered a bridesmaid dress. It's lovely, isn't it? It kind of made my heart hurt a little bit though when(while on hold with the dress shop) I realized how much money I have spent on bridesmaids dresses. Oy. Had I put all the money I spent on bridesmaid dresses in a piggy bank, I could pay for myself a really nice wedding dress one day... IN CASH. Or just taken a really kick ass vacation. That said, I do enjoy the whole bridesmaid thing usually :)

I worked worked worked. Just finishing up the last of the holiday orders!
I have decided to be a bit more zen about things this week. I just keep breathing and telling myself "It. Will. Get. Done." Because a girl's gotta wash her hair and paint her nails, ya know? I can't be stressin' about that! I think my boyfriend just about went insane this season with my busy body ways.

[I was able to snag a picture from Julie to share with y'all!]
Me, Michelle, Julie & Jen after lunch last weekend.
Weird seeing us all in one picture, huh?

I loved hearing some of your gifts for your men yesterday! Tell me more!

Christmas ramblings and gifts

The weekend was busy, but good busy for once this holiday season! I think it's going to really start feeling like the holidays for me now & i couldn't be happier about that!
I got some Christmas shopping done for mine & MR's nieces and nephews and am so stinkin' proud that I'm already almost done(and I really just started)! I think I just need 2 little extra gifts for them and bing bang boom... I'M DONE! I really focused on buying toys that aren't over the top with electronics and all the bells and whistles. I just don't think that's always necessary. I purchased a few Melissa & Doug toys, some wooden building blocks and lace up cards that I think our babes will love! & Of course, each of them will be getting something that I had a hand in creating :). Now on to finishing shopping for MR.
We have decided to spend $50 on one another for gifts and go on a nice little Christmas dinner date instead of going absolutely koo-koo crazy on gifts. My favorite thing in the world is spending time with him, and it's all I really want to do since I've been outta my brain lately.
Speaking of spending time with him... we took some pictures for Christmas cards on Sunday and we got a couple of really cute ones. I will share those as soon as I send the cards out ;)
I can, however, share a picture of just moi that I took for my Grandmother.
She asks for a picture of me every year for Christmas... and this year I decided to deliver the goods! I pulled out a shirt that my Mom has had hanging in the closet my entire life to wear. It was the top to the last outfit my Grandfather bought her before he passed away in 1972.
The photos were taken in front of my Grandfather's barn. I hope she loves them and the meaning :)

Also this weekend, I took a little time-out to grab lunch with the ladies behind
Brown Eyed Belle
Nola Girl
& Dixie Lust
It was so nice to see their lovely faces in person! We took a picture, but mine came out with a weird haze in front of it, so I will have to wait until one of them posts one and snag it!

Back to work & back to figuring out what else to put in MR's stocking!
What are y'all getting for your men this year?

Dear Weekend, you're awesome. Love, Lacey

What a weekend I have ahead of me!

An old school slumber party with my girls Friday

Lunch with some bloggy friends on Saturday
[eeeee! I can't wait!]

Saturday night, I will be strolling through city park with my love and friends to see the decorations & then possibly ice skating

Celebrating MR's adorable niece's 1st birthday Sunday morning

& Then Sunday afternoon, MR & I will attempt to get a Christmas card picture taken

It's going to be a fun weekend & I. CAN'T. WAIT!

I'm hoping this weekend will finally get me in the Christmas spirit! I've been so busy it's been difficult to find time to enjoy my very favorite season! At some point, you just have to make time! I'm glad my time is here :)

What are your plans for the weekend? Any fun holiday things going on?

Oh Holy Free Stuff

Y'all know how I love a good deal, right?

& Do you know what I love even more than a good deal?
FREE!
[free is the best deal EVER]
All that to say...

Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas Cards to Bloggers!

Sahhhhweeet!

Shutterfly has the cutest designs around this year & I'm all about hopping on the Holiday card band wagon! I'm pretty sure I have seen every card design they offer & Hrmmpphh, it's going to be a tough decision.

I think photo cards are the way to go, right?
Who doesn't love a picture?

[Perfect for a few pictures & a family update!]

[Super sweet simplicity]

[Love this one! I've got a mega cute kissy picture of the Mr. & I that could be put to use here!]

Shutterfly doesn't just do cute cards though,
they have some awesome calendars, tons of photo gifts, stationary, prints, canvas, photobooks...
you get the idea:
They've got it all.
& at reasonable prices!
I do a photo calendar for my Mom's birthday every year & will most definitely be using Shutterfly this year. It is so much easier than the company I was using before! You can even start the calendar with the month you're ordering it! Mom's will be February to February this year(b/c her birthday is at the end of January)!

Alright, now that's I've spread the word about the greatness...
I'm off to create a Holiday card!
Why aren't you yet?

xo

Note to self:

Dear Self,

Love,
Yourself

I love December & the feelings it gives me.

But this week... well, I am going to have to remind myself to stop, take a deep breath

& welcome it with open arms... b/c Wowza, am I busy!?

This December I will be:
Snuggling

Celebrating the season in as many ways as possible

Meeting a friend for the first time, who I've "known" for a while (pst, you "know" her too!)

Baking some yummies & creating some cuteness
Laughing a ton
Seeing my girlfriends for the first time in months
Spending Christmas with the sweetest, most handsome man in the world
& thanking God for all of the outrageous blessings in my life