Christmas Decorations

I have always been intrigued by tradition, especially at the holidays. Some of my favorites have to do with cooking and decorating. My mom's family is Italian, so Christmas day is all about the Italian feast. Antipasto, ravioli, stuffed shells, etc. It's an amazing tradition that I know myself and my sisters will carry on for the rest of our lives. It's just not Christmas without it. This year, our grandma gave us a lesson in making gnocchi, her specialty. It's one of several lessons over the years, but the first one I really remember. I must say, it's quite the task (spanning several hours), but it's definitely worth it.

As far as decorating, it's a tradition in my family to start decorating for Christmas on the Saturday after Thanksgiving... which usually means getting the real Christmas tree that day. Unfortunately, we get our tree late this year, but it still turned out wonderfully! In my parents' house over the last 15 years or so, we have had two Christmas trees. The "theme" tree in the living room that matches the decor in that room, and the "memory" tree that has all of our ornaments from growing up. I cannot wait to have two trees once our family is more than my husband and I, but for now, we have only a "theme" tree. Here's our tree this year:



My mom does a fabulous job decorating my parents' house - she changes out virtually everything. I love the different feel that it always gives, and I wanted to do something similar when I first moved into my own place. The colors that I chose for Christmas at my house a few years ago were silver, lime green, turquoise and navy blue. This year I decided to transition the house for Christmas, and I will keep these colors in the house through the Winter/early Spring. When it starts to get really hot (or just when I feel like changing), we will go back to the greens/purples/oranges that are typically for our general living space. This pillow below is one of two new pillows I got this year - I love the new addition to the house!


Another important aspect of Christmas to me is gift wrapping... I didn't go all out this year, but beautiful paper and pretty adornments are always important to me. These are just a few of the gifts that I have left to give this year!

Conclusion: I'm sad to put away the decorations this weekend, but at least I know the house will continue to have a little different feel going forward! What traditions does your family observe at the Holidays?

Stationery

I love stationery. I could spend days walking around stationery stores just marveling at the different papers, styles, colors, etc. Papyrus is especially inspiring to me - I love how they use glitter on everything! I was in Dallas last year visiting Kristin and while we were at the mall, I discovered Paper Source. Walking into the store, I felt this wave of creativity crash over me. At that point, I was the ultimate "kid in a candy store."

I have always loved paper, pictures, etc. As a result, I scrapbooked for a long time. I eventually got bored, but had all of the paper, accessories, adornments and glitters left over. Until that moment walking into Paper Source, these goodies remained dormant. Since I love stationery and the idea of mailing notes so much, I decided to start making it! I started small with a few notes, just to see how they came out. I bought some stamps and patterned cards, and then used some plain paper and jewels I already had.

When Michelle and Pete were planning their wedding, Michelle sent me the draft of her invitations, and their monogram was on them. So, unbeknowndst to her, I had a stamp made with their monogram. I bought some flat cards and decorated them all differently, but each had the same stamp on them. Although some turned out well, I didn't love all of them. But, again, I'm just starting...

My latest endeavor was lining envelopes. My sister just moved to San Diego, and I wanted to give her some new low-key stationery that had her first real address on it! So, I printed her name on flat cards and return addresses on the envelopes. I thought they were a little too plain, so I decided to line the envelopes. It was so easy, and it made all the difference.



Conclusion: I would love to start making stationery on a larger (and better) level, so when I get some time, that will by my new goal! It seems like a great gift-giving idea, doesn't it? (I guess it ties into the monogram post below as well)!