Christmas Traditions

We all have Christmas traditions. And sometimes we don't even realize they're traditions until we miss them one year and it just doesn't feel like Christmas without them. 

For me, it's watching It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas. It's baking cookies with my step mom. It's church on Christmas Eve. It's being woken up by my sweet little brothers who can barely contain their excitement for Christmas morning. It's not-so-patiently waiting for my mom to finally sit down so we can get the party started. It's hearing my Dad's deep morning voice read us the Christmas story before we tear into those presents. It's been homemade cinnamon rolls (for the past six years at least). It's been cold weather for the past seven.

Many of those traditions are from a different last name ago. Being that my family lives out of state and my husband's job doesn't make it the easiest for us to take off time around Christmas and he has a whole family here that we would miss on Christmas, this will be the second year in a row I'm spending Christmas without my dad, step mom and brothers. And with that, comes saying goodbye to and modifying a few of my old traditions, but also saying hello to some new ones.

I still watch my favorite movies. I bake cookies on my own. We go to church. I skype in for Christmas morning in with my family. I still make those cinnamon rolls (the jury is still out on whether it's happening this year...). I learn to appreciate the 72 degree weather on Christmas.

But I also get the Adams' Family Annual Christmas Vacation Party. Complete with ridiculous outfits, Griswold Family Christmas shirts, movie quoting and always. ALWAYS. a hilarious group photo. 

 {last year's photo}

I get time spent with my new family, who I love so much.

And I get my very favorite Adams family Christmas ornament tradition. Every time you go on vacation and for any special occasion you get a Christmas ornament. We are only on our second Christmas and I'm loving the memories we get to cherish and relive when we put up those ornaments. I can only imagine how many more we'll collect over the years.

Our first one was from our honeymoon.

And then as a wedding gift, we received this one from Brandon's parents. Yes, I fully intend to put a picture in there. Eventually. 

For Christmas 2010, Brandon's sister gave us this beautiful Lenox bride and groom ornament.

And then we got this one from our trip this last June to Idaho to see my little brother graduate from high school

This one from our cruise in September 2011.

 

And this one from Brandon's parents for our first anniversary.

Hopefully one year soon we can make it up to my family's home to celebrate with them, until then, I'm happy with my modifications and I'm glad I have the Adams family to share in the new ones. I'm sure we'll make even more traditions as the years go on. I'm so thankful for all the loved ones in our life. We have amazing families.

Merry Christmas!

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Wedding Invitation Ornament and #18 Complete

Today is a two for one post, people! We get one super easy project AND we get to cross something off my 26 before 26 list. Woo hoo! And, if you're looking for a last minute gift for some newlyweds in your life, this would be perfect.

My sweet cousin Melissa just got married this month. I was so sad we couldn't make it out to the wedding, but I knew I wanted to send her something special. I originally saw the project on pinterest, and loved it. It's so simple and so meaningful. Gotta love that.

Wanna learn how to make one too? As with most of my projects, it's so very easy.

Supplies you'll need:

Wedding invitation (or other meaningful piece of paper- birth announcement maybe?)

Scissors

Clear glass ornament

Ribbon

Simply cut the invitation into strips.

 

You want the words to show, so don't cut any lines of words in half. You most likely won't be able to fit the entire invitation in the ornament, so you can put the strips that are blank to the side and only use them if you need them.

 Next, you need to curl your strips. To do this, simple wrap the strips around your finger or a pen in a spiral. Then just take the top off the ornament and feed the curled strips into the bulb. If they aren't laying how you'd like them to, try using some tweezers to manipulate the strips inside the bulb. Tie a ribbon on it and you're all done!

 

And there it is - #18 crossed off the 26 before 26 list! Truth be told, I've actually made a few gifts this Christmas season, but I can't post about those before Christmas because I don't want to ruin the surprise for the recipients. BUTTTT- I officially received news that this gift was received yesterday and now I felt free to post about it!

 I think it's the perfect thing to do with a wedding invitation- don't you? I might just have to bust out one of mine from the overflowing wedding box and do it :)

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Wednesday Words #20 {a grinch printable}

Christmas isn't Christmas for me without watching The Grinch. Love that movie. 

That Grinchy Grinch's heart transformation gets me everytime.

The print above is free to print for personal use!

Set up in 8x10 format

Click here to download the jpg (good for sending to a photo printer)

Click here for the pdf (good for at home printing)

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Christmas Chaos

I cannot believe Christmas is less than a week away. It came so fast! We're mostly done with our shopping, and the tree has been up for quite a while. We've been enjoying the advent calendar I made and I just don't want it to be over.

Up until this week, I've had a pretty stress-free season. And then...this past weekend happenend:

{last minute christmas crafting}

On Saturday I thought we were all done with our shopping, until I realized we WEREN'T, so of course I freaked out on my husband. You know, because all of that is totally his fault. (NOT). Oh, and I also decided I would make an additional small gift for about six more people. (I'm being vague because I'm pretty sure those gift recipients read this blog :) It's funny how everything I do seems to take at least twice as long as I think it will!

 {welcome to my home! hahahah}

I then realized that I desperately needed to get things in the mail if we wanted them there by Christmas. Does anyone else feel my pain on packaging gifts to send in the mail? I feel like I can never find the right sized box and I'm always running low on packing materials. (Plastic grocery bags work pretty good in a pinch!). So of course I left that project until Sunday.

 

 {our apartment pretty much looks like this and worse all weekend. I won't even show you the kitchen}

So on Sunday, I told myself I would take it easy. I'd just go to church, wrap and package presents and then relax until we went to see The Nutcracker that evening. Well. I lasted on the couch for about 5 minutes. It was then that I realized that my days for making the Christmas cookies I've been intending to make for the last three weeks were limited. So, instead of relaxing like I know I should have, I got to baking. Not just one kind of cookie. THREE KINDS. I know. Sometimes my self-induced crazy is just ridiculous.

Considering I didn't start this whole cookie process until after noon, and that I had to make a run to the store for supplies and that we needed to leave for the show at 4:30, I obviously did not get everything done. So of course I was up late on Sunday finishing as much of said cookie making as I could.

Oh well, I can just finish them after work on Monday, right? Wrong. Why? Because I had plans to go to the movies last night with the husband and friends. So with 30 minutes at home between work and the movies I decide to make ANOTHER batch of cookie dough so that it can chill while we're at the movies. Mind you, I haven't even finished baking/decorating all of the other three batches I started. Why am I so insane? Of course I was up until 11:45 last night, which is way.too.late. for this girl. And considering this is the second night in a row where I got less than 7 hours of sleep, I am DRAGGING this morning.

I  just read a great blog post from what I think might be my new favorite author, Shauna Niequist. My friend Nicole introduced me to her. Currently reading her book, Cold Tangerines, and I just love love love her writing.

Anyway, the blog post was titled Present over Perfect. It was probably just what I needed to hear.

 "You can show up with your perfectly wrapped grab bag gift & your perfectly baked cookies...and your perfectly resentful and frazzled self, ready to snap at the first family member you see.

Or you can choose to rest your body & nourish your spirit, knowing that bringing a grounded, present self to each holiday gathering is more important than the gifts you bring. "

What great advice. Now, if only I can make my crazy, ridiculous self follow it. The fact that every picture in this blog post is completely unedited and un-watermarked is a good start, right? Also, some of my cookies turned out -'ahem- less than perfect. And I'm just rolling with it. Resisting the urge to throw three dozen cookies in the trash. Just letting things go left and right over here.

 

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Guest Post : Holiday Slush

Oh goodness do I have a treat for you this morning. We have another guest post today, but not just any guest post. This one is our first EVER male guest poster. Get excited people.

Last week Brandon and I had our good friend Andrew over. We were discussing Creating Christmas week and he wanted to know why he wasn't invited to guest post. I think at this point I almost spit out my water because I thought he was kidding. Apparently he wasn't kidding, because it wasn't long before I had a blog post and photos in my inbox.

Andrew doesn't have a blog, but he's pretty good at taking pictures of the whole process, don't you think? Also, totally jealous of all that natural light in his kitchen. It's kicking my kitchen's florescent-lighted butt.

And just to make it better, I put together this little photo of our dear friend Andrew. Taken on mine and Brandon's wedding day.

I've tasted this slush the past few Christmases, and it's pretty good. Maybe too good.  Just don't overindulge :) 

And with that, let's see what Andrew has for us!

{Side note: Can you find the pictures below with the reflection of him in the teapot?}

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Ok, here is what you need:

4 cups boiling water

1 12 oz container of frozen oj

1 12 oz container of frozen lemonade

3 or 4 tea bags

1 cup of sugar

fifth of jim beam (750 ml) (you can use whatever whiskey but jb tastes best because it's bourbon)

1 gallon container (ice cream bucket is best)

-Steep tea in container for 10-15 min

-Add sugar and stir

-Add containers of frozen lemonade and oj

-Pour in 750 ml of jb

-Finally add as much water as you'd like to help water down the potentency

-After stirring enough to dissolve the concentrates, pop in the freezer.

 Enjoy about 3-4 days later (by putting this is small ziplock type storage containers it will help to "slush up" faster)

 Enjoy!

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Thanks for sharing, Andrew! Hope you readers all have a great day. I'll see you tomorrow with a yummy breakfast recipe.

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Wednesday Words #19

Can you believe we are 11 days away from Christmas? Time just flies by, doesn't it? I'm getting as much Christmas music in while I can! I can never seem to pick a favorite song. As soon as I think, "Oh yes, this is definitely my favorite Christmas song," I'll hear a different one and decide that one is my favorite. But ONE of my favorite songs is
O Come, All Ye Faithful. Especially when sung by Bing Crosby :)

It's free to print for personal use, so click away!

Go Here for pdf

Here for jpg

What's your favorite Christmas song??

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Christmas Cards

Even though this is our second married Christmas, this was our first year sending out cards. Last year I had the best of intentions. I mean, what newlywed doesn't want to send out a Christmas card with their brand spankin new husband and new last name on it? I remember how giddy and odd I used to feel seeing "Adams" next to my name. Sometimes I'd think, "Who's that?" and then would have to remind myself that Lindsey Adams was in fact me. Now, just a year later, it's my maiden name that feels awkward and distant. Funny how things work like that.

So last year, I happily designed our Christmas cards on Costco.com, picked them up from the warehouse, and got on my way to addressing and stuffing envelopes. About halfway through, I stopped to look at one, thinking "I love this card. I love how cute and married we are." I read the caption: "Wishing you a Merry Christmas as we celbrate the birth of our Savior". Wait. celbrate. CELBRATE? Now, you may question this next statement considering there have probably been a more than a handful of mistakes in my writing, but I honestly can't stand typos. Especially when they come from me. And there was no way I was going to send out a Christmas card that had "celebrate" missing an "e". So I did what any sane person would do- I threw them all in the trash and didn't send out cards.

Well this year was different. I proofread, had Brandon proofread and then I checked again. Side note: I almost ruined the cards again because I initially used a font that had marijuana leaves on it. Hahahahahahaha. Thank God Brandon caught that one. I would have DIED. I honestly just thought the font had a pretty design. Sometimes I'm so naive.

Brandon's sister, Heather, snapped some photos for us on Thanksgiving and this one was my favorite. I opened it in Photoshop, made it black and white and then painted the Christmas lights a pale yellow to give them a little glow. Then I added in the text, saved it all and sent it off to be printed. Those last two sentences make it sound like it took me five minutes. But trust me, it did NOT. Between the time it took to agree on a favorite and me changing, rearranging, and changing back the fonts and wording, I'd say I logged at least a couple hours. I'm no Photoshop pro, though, so that could explain why it took me so long.


I only wish I had each of your addresses so I could mail you an actual card, but this is the next best thing. Consider this your virtual card!

I truly hope your Christmas season has been merry and bright. On Sunday, we had an amazing Christmas Concert at church. The musical talent housed in that high school auditorium blows my mind each and every week, but this past Sunday was truly spectacular. We sang songs we've all heard so many times before, but the passion with which they were played this weekend was truly breathtaking. Being reminded in my heart and soul that God sent His son in the form of a helpless, precious baby to save me and the rest of humanity is just beyond words. My eyes were full of tears the entire time. Happy, joyous, thankful tears.

In the midst of my Christmas crafting, shopping and wishlist making, I certainly needed to be reminded of what this season is really all about. I hope and pray that amidst all the craziness this season has become you are filled with the joy and peace that only Jesus can bring.

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Wishlist

I though about creating a gift guide of sorts, but who am I to presume what others want for Christmas? Unless I know your recipient personally, I just can't predict! So, instead, I'm sharing ten things from MY wishlist with you- all $35 and under.
Perhaps someone on your list wants the same things? 

In no particular order....

Tea-And-Crumpets Apron, $32 

 #1What To Eat Pad – Fridge Notepad for Meal Planning by Knock Knock, $8

#2 Louis Armstrong told us so Art Print,  $26
#3 Essential Oil Gift Set, $20
#4 Scales iPhone Case by Steven Womack | Society6, $35
#5 Tea-And-Crumpets Apron, $32 
 #6 Love Life , $10
  #7 Design*Sponge at Home, $23 
#8 The Naturally Clean Home:, $8.76 

 #9 The Help (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)., $25 

#10 Bananagrams $15 

Linky Party! : Creating Christmas : Day Seven

Wow! What a week, right? So many great, fun projects and creativity going on with Creating Christmas. As you know, today is the Linky party I've been mentioning this week. Even if you don't have a blog to link to, be sure to check out the HUNDREDS of amazing projects below. 

And with that...here is a little note from Diana of The Girl Creative:

As we wrap up Creating Christmas week I hope that you have all been inspired to stop pinning and start creating! I’m excited to see what everyone has been working on. This Christmas Linky Party is no ordinary party. This is a blog hop. And what that means is that there are 18 FABULOUS bloggers that are hosting this party at their very own blog. Whether you add your project link here or at any of the other 17 co-hosts blogs, it will show up on one huge party list! Awesome!

If you haven’t already, please take the time out to visit the other co-hosts and go through their Creating Christmas posts. There are some really neat projects!
The Girl Creative, Que Linda Crafts, The Cottage Market, Love Lindsey, Domestic Mischief, Chicken Scratch, Love Sweet Love, Randee’s Organized Chaos, Musings of a Glamour Puss, Anastacia Knits, Southern Scraps, Modern Yet Old Fashioned, Broken Treasures, Alyssabeth’s, Domestic Deadline, Life on Walnut Street, 52 Mantels, The Glamorous Life

The Rules are SiMpLe:

• Add a link to a project that YOU have created!
• Visit the 2 links ahead of you and check out what they’ve got going on. Leave some comment love. Tis the season for giving after all. {wink wink}
• HAVE FUN AND BE INSPIRED!!

Twine Trees : Creating Christmas : Day Six

 
Is anyone else feeling like this week has just flown by? I can't believe it's already Friday. No complaints here, though. I'm excited for the weekend! Don't forget to get your projects ready and link up with tomorrow's Creating Christmas Link Party!

Today, I'm showing your the Twine Christmas Trees that I made. I think they are probably my favorite project of the week.

Aren't they cute? Here's how I made them:

Supplies: 

Styrofoam Cones (I used 6" and found them in the floral section at Michael's)

Twine

Decorations (I used sequins, mini pom pom ribbon, beads and mini star ornaments)

Hot Glue Gun, or other adhesive

Scissors

{I'll let the pictures do most of the talking}

Start by placing a strip of glue along the bottom of your cone.

 Adhere the twine.

Keep wrapping from there. (no glue needed)

...Until you get to the top. Once you're up there, coat the top of the cone with more glue. Adhere the twine. Leave some room for the star.

Stick the star in the foam. Trim the twine.

Repeat for all cones. Then...Start decorating!

Sequins!

Bead Garland!

Cut it up and you've got cute little mini ornaments.

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