oh, what fun

Putting cards in the tree is something that my Nana used to do every christmas morning. It was such a surprise to see these in the tree, and made it feel like Nana was still with us.

Mom also busted out the dancing Santa. My Nana had one but it died a few years ago. Amazingly enough, my mom found one on ebay. Man, we love this thing!!

After we had Christmas at my mom's, we traveled to North Carolina to see Bradley's dad and my dad. Stell was, surprisingly, a great travel bud!

She loved riding in the front with us, and pouted when we kicked her to the back!

We can't wait for New Years! We have some pretty amazing friends coming in town, and we are so excited to see them and enjoy some time at the beach house!

some more ideas

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1. Bare Minerals Customizable Get Started Kit: I have been using this makeup for 2 years now. I've never been one to put on liquid foundation because I love my freckles. I also don't like the feeling of a lot of makeup. When I tried Bare Minerals, I fell in love! It was the perfect makeup for me, because it could give me coverage on things I don't like (my dark undereye- thanks allergies!) and let me still show what I do like. I prefer the customizable starter kit over their other starter kit. In their other kit, I think they give you 4 small samples of foundation so you can find your best shade. But if you buy it at ulta or another store, they can help you decide what color you need and then you can get 1 big foundation. So you aren't left with makeup that you can't use!

2. Clarisonic Mia 2- Sea Breeze: Now this is on my wishlist this year. I don't have one, nor have I ever used one. But I know a ton of people who do and I have heard nothing but good reviews! I have never had a problem with acne, but I do find that I could use a bit more exfoliating and help with blackheads so I want to give this a shot!

3. Herstyler Grande Curling Wand: This is probably my favorite beauty item! I bought this wand in the mall about 3 or 4 years ago and I had no idea that it would turn out to be such an amazing product. If I curl my hair with a traditional metal curling iron, it doesn't hold at all. Even with hairspray. With this wand, I don't have to use hairspray and the curls last for days. I don't know their secret, but it could have something to do with how hot this thing gets! They include a glove to wear while you use it, which is necessary in the beginning. But once you get the hang of it, you don't need the glove.

4. OPI You're Such A Budapest: This is just a really sweet color that I found this summer. Love it!

5. Moroccan Oil- Light: Everyone knows about this, but I wanted to include it because it's such a great item to get as a gift. It can be somewhat expensive, so it's nice when you don't have to pay for it! This product is so amazing. I have been using it for about 3 years now. My hair has grown so much with the help of this. Normally my hair starts to look very rough after I grow it to a certain length. Moroccan Oil keeps my hair hydrated and healthy. I use the light version since I have fine, blonde hair and I only use it from the neck down- not for your roots!

cheers to 5 years!

How we've made it five years without killing each other is beyond me! See, Bradley and I have that relationship where we can banter back and forth, giving each other a hard time, but we know deep down that we are obsessed with each other. I swear this is the only man who can put up with me. Honestly, we have a good understanding for each other and really know each other's faults. Like I know when he's had a long, hard day at work, I shouldn't nag him even more about the trash not being taken out. I know that will only lead to a bigger argument when it wasn't that important to begin with. And he knows to not make a big deal when our house is a complete wreck. He knows that I know it and don't want it to be, so complaining about it would do nothing but upset me. Ok, sorry for the tangent. This post is supposed to be happy, so let's move on!

We had plans to make a nice dinner at home that night and decorate our tree, but the universe had other plans. Bradley had asked me to pull the steaks out of the freezer early in the day so they could thaw. I did it (shocker that I actually remembered, I know) and put them in the sink. After a few hours they had thawed and I noticed that they had a strange smell. Like possibly they had gone bad. But what do I know? So I left them there for Bradley to inspect when he got home. And no surprise, he agreed that they had spoiled. So now do we go buy some new steaks or go out to eat? We decided to splurge since it was our anniversary and we went out to our favorite Japanese steakhouse. Ohhh and it was so worth it! Here is Bradley stealing picking me a rose from the parking lot of the restaurant! I swear this boy doesn't understand consequences. But I love his spontaneity.

We then made it home and started to decorate our tree! This is my absolute most favorite part of the holidays. Bradley thought it would be sweet to make it a tradition to decorate our tree every year on our anniversary. I love the idea for sentimental reasons, but I don't know if I want to wait until Decmeber 5th each year! The only reason it didn't feel late this year was because thanksgiving was a week later, but next year it might be back to the 3rd week in November. I guess we'll gap that bridge when we get to it.

Bradley always gives me a hard time for how many lights and decorations I like on my tree. I want it to look overdecorated. And I don't know that I've ever been completely satisfied with the number of ornaments! More is more in this case. But obviously that can rack up a rather large charge, so I just keep growing our collection each year!

Thank you babe for five wonderful years! You have truly made me the happiest girl.

christmas lights don't like me

Ahh! It's that time of year again! I was so excited this year to get our christmas tree. It's our first Christmas in our new home, so I wanted to make it extra festive. Bradley works for a landscaping company/ nursery so we got a free tree! I couldn't wait to pick him out. He has to be a little chubby and have some awkward branches that Bradley would want to cut off.

Going through these aisles of trees was a little weird though. I got this unsettling feeling that the trees would all fall like dominoes and I would be burried alive. Haha, so much for it's the most wonderful time of the year!

These lights were my Nana's. I found them after she passed away. The woman kept everything. These are really old and they get super hot. Like so hot, I wouldn't dare put them on a tree. Unless I didn't care if our sweet little home burned to the ground. But I do. So they have a new home, adorning our arch!  

This sweet, little picture is from the third time that I strung the lights. The first time, I included some purple lights that I figured out I didn't like so much. But I didn't know this until they were on the tree. Guess I should have re-read this post! Would've saved me some time and frustration. The second time, I think I connected too many strands together because about 5 minutes after it was perfect, all the lights went out! Talk about a sinking feeling in your stomach! I had no idea what happened and the last thing I wanted to go was take them all off the tree, but that's what google told me to do, so I did. Sure enough, I blew a strand, so they all went out. I was just happy that I didn't have to go buy 15 more boxes of lights. The third time, I strung on all the white lights and plugged it into a power strip. Then I strung all the colored lights, not connecting them to the white lights and plugged them into a different outlet on the power strip. And then I strung all the white globe lights and plugged them into their own spot on the power strip. So far, so good, but I swear if something goes wrong and I have to take down all these ornaments and restring the lights, so help me God.

holiday gift ideas

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All I really want for Christmas is for our home renovations to be over! But there's no way they will be finished by then. So, until then, this list holds some pretty sweet things that I would love to get and maybe they could help you with your gift giving! Happy December!

pine cone garland tutorial

Hi everyone! To cheer up your Monday, I've got a tutorial on how I made my pine cone garland! This is such an easy little holiday project to set your mantle off right. And it's so fast! You can definitely finish it in an afternoon. 

 A few years ago, I collected pine cones from the yard and spray painted them silver. I used them as a centerpiece for our thanksgiving table. This year I had new plans for these sweet little guys. If you haven't spray painted pine cones, it's very easy. I just laid out some cardboard outside and got to spraying! Simply rotate and keep spraying until it's all covered. Allow to dry completely before next step.

Now you need to screw in the screw eyes so you can hang them. These are from Home Depot. Pick a finish that matches what color you are spraypainting so you don't have to paint these, too. This part isn't too hard, but your fingers might hurt by the end. You can always use pliers, or just give them to your big muscle boyfriend/husband and I'm sure he'll take care of it. In the beginning it may seem like they are not screwing in, but you just have to apply a lot of pressure and twist at the same time.

Now you're ready to string them into a garland. You can use anything from ribbon to yarn to fishing line. I went with yarn. I laid the pine cones out on the floor to roughly get an idea of the spacing. You can get really picky about the spacing or just eyeball it. I eyeballed a few inches in between each one. Start with the center pine cone. String it on and tie a knot in the center. Now, work away from the center on each side. And you're done! Hang your garland and enjoy the immediate holiday cheer effect :)

here's some help

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easy holiday manicure

Alright, I know with the holidays right around the corner, we are all trying to make that budget stretch. And of course, those holiday party invitations are stacking up. So I've come up with a really easy manicure to dress up your look.

Here's what you'll need:

• Gray Nail Polish, solid, no shimmer. I used Revlon's Mischievious.
• Gold/Bronze Nail Polish, metallic. I used Orly's Buried Treasure.
• Top Coat. I use Seche Vite, my all time favorite.
• mechanical pencil
• paper to protect table

Begin by painting 2 coats of the gray nail polish. Let dry. Then make a small puddle of the gold/bronze nail polish on the paper. Use the mechanical pencil to make dots. I made 3 dots in a column in the middle of my nail, but feel free to do your own design. Let dry. Finish with a generous coat of Seche Vite and you're good to go! Now, how easy was that?
 

tis the season

The halls are officially decked! Now about this tree, I think there needs to be way more ornaments, but Bradley cut me off. It just doesn't look over-decorated, yet! Guess I have to wait till next year to buy more ornaments! But I do love these reindeer ornaments! His + Hers. And the lights, oh my god. I bought some lights that said "cool white." Turns out I don't like the cool white. But of course I didn't know this until the tree was lit. So those came off, and some "warm white" went up. And then I had some purple lights that went up, as well, but I didn't like those either. All in all I lit and re-lit this tree 6 times in 3 days. Bradley was beyond impressed by my determination.

And can you believe it's December? How did this happen?!

Also, Check back tomorrow for a holiday manicure, perfect for all those Christmas parties!

dear santa

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it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

Oh, here it comes! It won't be long now, before we are ripping open beautifully wrapped gifts and sipping hot cocoa. And we plan on watching Elf everyday in December. We even got a head start in November, decorating our first tree! I'm still slowly acquiring ornaments, though. My perfect tree looks overdecorated. You know, too many lights, ornaments, everything. So I've still got a ways to go. Good thing it's not even December yet!

And this is a real tree, by the way. Honestly, I don't how you fake tree lovers do it? Where's the magic? They come pre-lit, they don't smell, and they are all identical, which leaves no room for those quirky personalities that we fall in love with! Like my tree has a few awkward, long branches that could probably be trimmed, but that's what I love about him. So they are staying. And you know the other day, I saw christmas tree scented "ornaments" that you hang on your fake tree and you can still have the same smell. But see, that's not real. Seriously, who comes up with this stuff? Alright, my rant is over.

Oh and hey! Check back tomorrow for my amahzing (you have to say that like Penny from Happy Endings. Don't know who that is? Google it.) holiday wishlist! You don't want to miss it :)

it is well with my soul: tutorial

This past January, I blogged over here about my Christmas present for my mom. This is one of her favorite songs. I pinned it on pinterest and got a lot of hits! When I blogged about it before, I didn't give a tutorial on how I made it, so that's what I'm doing now.

I want to go ahead and say that this is such an easy project that has a lot of empact! I completed this Christmas eve, in a couple of hours. Also, remember that you can use this tutorial on your favorite song or quote.

Start with 2 canvases. I got mine from Michaels, and went with 22x28 inches.  This is a good size, because when used together, you get quite a large piece.

I printed out the words from text edit. At this time, I just got a new computer, so I didn't have Microsoft Word. Since the song is old, I wanted to go with a modern font. In Text Edit, I chose Bebas New. This is a clean, bold font, so I'm sure there is a similar one in other programs. After printing out the letters, carefully cut them out individually. You are going to be tracing them, so it's important to cut them out as perfectly as possible. Next, I used tape to hold the letters to the canvas while I traced lightly traced them with a pencil. Remove the letters when finished.

Now, it's time to paint! I painted the background first, with one coat, and then the letters, with 2 coats. Looking back, I definitely should have painted the entire background first, then traced the letters and then painted them. I just made more work for myself, so dont do that! :) I used really cheap acrylic paint for the background. I mixed together Americana's "Sand" and Americana's "Terra Coral" until I got a nice warm neutral. The letters were painted with Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color in "Copper". I love this color! It has a great metallic sheen to it that changes with the lighting. I chose these colors, because I wanted to piece to be warm. I wanted my mom to feel alive whenever she saw it.

Alright, that's it! So easy. I hope this tutorial helps you create that piece you've been dying to make. Remember you can change the text, font, and colors, but still follow these simple steps, and you'll get your perfect piece. Let me know if you have any questions!

xo,
Lark