3 Things for Christmas

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" seems to be an understatement at the Hesington household this year.

We've broken out the Christmas Decorations, put up the Christmas Tree and all that was left were some quick & easy finishing touches.  It wouldn't surprise Scott if I came home every day with something else to add to our decor, but I've stopped myself here.  Hopefully, you can use these 3 Things to help motivate your Christmas decorating:

1.   Mistletoe Kiss Potpourri.

If you happened to catch my Fall Decor or 3 Things for Fall post, you know I'm a stickler for holiday scents.  I'm not the traditional potpourri lover, and instead go for the seasonal bags that look AND smell equally appealing.

I got this Mistletoe Kiss Potpourri from The Fresh Market for $4.99.  The large glass bowl holding them was a wedding gift from Crate&Barrel, which turned out to be the perfect addition to the coffee table.

2. Christmas Scented Candles.

Whether you have a live tree or not, Christmas Scented candles can bring the holidays to your home in one quick flick of a light. Pictured is Yankee Candle's Balsam & Cedar.

Scott picked this one and a few others up on Black Friday from the Yankee store for Buy One Get One 50% off.  Gold Star!

3.  Ornament Garland.

Scott gets another gold star for this one because he did this all by himself.  I mean...I do all of the decorating while Scott does things like work out and grill steaks...

We picked these strands of colorful Ornament Garland from Target last year in their After Christmas Sale.  You can find versions of it this year as well as the colorful garland from our Christmas tree in stores or online.  Big, bright and colorful ornaments go perfectly with our tree:

More Whoville, go figure.

*TIP: It doesn't have to take an entire weekend and a team of elves to bring the Holidays home to you.  Start with 3 Things, and keep adding to it little by little, day by day!

Playing Catch-up

After a complete whirlwind of a weekend (including yesterday)...this girl is ready for a break!  As I'm transitioning between jobs, performing in The Singing Christmas Trees, working on side projects and keeping up with this blog it's been a crazy ride for a few weeks.

Today Scott left for Okinawa, Japan to go on a military tour to perform for our troops.  He will be traveling with a group of NFL cheerleaders and has an opportunity to show some of our men and women overseas support through entertainment shows, which you can read more about here.

What will be be doing exactly? Lots of skits...and will be wearing something like this:

No, not really.  But he will be dressed up and ready to entertain.  And that mustache?  Yup...he's still got it from Movember.  I thought I would be in the clear by December 1st, but I was wrong.  Apparently if you're going on a trip to Japan you HAVE to go with a fu manchu.

My mistake.

Since he's gone I will have a chance to catch up on my mile-long TO-DO list that keeps getting pushed aside.  I'm going to miss him terribly, but it will feel good to get some things done around here.  Besides getting some much needed R&R, I'm looking forward to being productive around the house but I'm even more excited about playing catch-up.

You know...the usual:
Laundry, clean out my closet, catch up on some organizing, spend some QT with these girls:

and go on a run or two with this guy:

Speaking of Roadie, look what we saw on our way in for dinner at Texas Roadhouse last night :

Apparently, there looking for dogs like him.  Even though we found him wandering aimlessly in our condo's parking lot, you guys had your chances to claim him last year....we're keeping him, Thank you! :)

We've already got our Christmas Decor and our Christmas Tree up this year, but I'm just now getting around to rummaging through our Christmas music.  Between the two of us, Scott and I have collected quite a variety, and I'm determined to find Mannheim Steamroller.  I absolutely LOVE them and it all started with my mom playing it as we decorated our tree each year growing up.

They're coming to Universal this year and shows have already started.

Photo courtesy of the Orlando Informer

I'm keeping my fingers crossed we can go when Scott gets back.
Speaking of music, PLEASE tell me I'm not alone on this one...

I just can't get enough of Linus & Lucy this year! I've always loved the song, but some reason when hearing it this year in particular it makes me stop whatever I'm doing and dance like this:



Personally, my style is like the two twin girls in the purple dresses bouncing side to side.  Besides that, the guy in orange shuffling is my second favorite.  It's just SO good and hearing the song or seeing this video puts me in the best mood.

Beyond Christmas music, I'll be playing catch-up on my blog posting.  Since Scott took the camera this week I upload allllll of the pictures I've been wanting to write about.  I've made a goal for myself to also upload all of the pictures I've been meaning to on Facebook.

No excuses...I'm doing it!

Although I don't have an iPhone right now (you would probably roll on the floor if I told you about my bad luck with them)...I have my beloved MacBook and I'm putting her to good use this week.

Off to barre I go.  See you a lot this week! :)

O Christmas Tree

It's tradition in my family to decorate the Christmas Tree on Black Friday, and this year Scott and I were inspired to keep it going.  Although I had to work all day, I was excited to come home, put up  our Christmas decorations and start on the tree.

Scott and I have decided to use an artificial tree until we move into a house.  Since we live on the 8th floor of a condo (thank God for elevators!) it's a bit of a hassle getting a live tree in and out.  That, and we don't have the luxury of sweeping all of the fallen needles out into the backyard.  They could be swept onto and over our balcony, so I think we're doing our downstairs neighbors a favor.

An artificial tree it was, and believe it or not we got this one two Christmas's ago at K-Mart.  We waited until the day after Christmas when everything was 75% off and got this pre-lighted beauty for around $50!  On top of that, this was the year we got our ornaments, garland, and lights from Target also at a huge discount. 

 *TIP: If you're wanting to get a completely new look and/or a new tree, the day after Christmas sales are totally worth the wait.

We set a similar type of tree up last year, but this year is the start of a new tradition where we are only putting new ornaments up that we've purchased together. 

Without any more babbling, I present to you our very first Hesington Family Christmas Tree:

Just like our other decorations, we kept the fun & funky colors and prints theme going.  I told Scott it everything together looked a little like Whoville, but it's finally grown on me and this year I love it.

Let's start the tree breakdown with my favorite part: the live animal decor.

I don't care if you're a cat person or not...that's stinking adorable.

Next, the lights.  Our Christmas tree came pre-lit, but Scott had a great idea of adding more.  We have the pre-lit multi-colored strands, but then added 3 colored to white dimming sets.  I like how it changes and gives the tree movement.

After the lights, came the garland, again purchased from Target.

More COLORS!

After garland comes ornaments and we stuck to the basics.  Part of our After-Christmas purchasing was a small medium and large ornament set.  All three came in bright colors, funky patterns, and a variety of shiny, matte and sparkles from Target:

To offset the brightness we added a few matte white ornaments:

From there, we are now only allowing ourselves to add ornaments we purchase together.  This ballerina is from our trip to ICE at Gaylord Palms two years ago:

We have also started a tradition of giving each other Christmas ornaments on our dating anniversary, which is New Years Day.  The rule is you have to get it after Christmas on sale, and last year Scott got me this adorable fish ornament from Pier 1 Imports:

And last, but certainly not least another highlight is our Christmas Pickle.  It's been a tradition in my family for years to play "find the pickle ornament" on the tree every Christmas Eve. 

 Whoever finds it first (after it's re-hidden...of course) gets to open a present on Christmas Eve.  It's a great game for a family of all ages, even one like ours that just constists of me, Scott, the cats and this guy:

Roadie's great at games, when he's not distracted by Christmas Tree toys...

(which by the way, has already been destroyed).

Let's finish off our Christmas Tree Breakdown with my favorite part of decorating: the star.

We had it lit up last year, but the base of it that carried the light disappeared over the year.  Somehow, Scott rigged it to stay up so at least we have something up there.

I really want to find a better tree-topper, or even make one of my own.  I have some ideas for a DIY project, but don't want to give too much away just yet.

So that's our first official Hesington Christmas Tree. 

I hope you like it! :)

Off to try to figure the topper out and get more ideas inspired by Pinterest...

Questions:

• Have you started decorating or gotten your tree yet?
• Do any of you play the "find the pickle ornament" game?

Christmas Decorations Time

I've been hearing Christmas music since the end of September, preparing for The Singing Christmas Trees and am excited that the rest of the world is finally on my page of decking the halls and going on sleigh rides.

As much as I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, nothing beats the tradition of decorating at home for the Holidays.  This year we decided to keep it simple, but fun.

You may have picked up on the fact that Scott and I have a decorating sense that you wouldn't necessarily find in a Martha Stewart Magazine.  We like fun & funky colors and prints and share a love for a contemporary dream home made up of unique furniture and pieces.

With that said, I get little approval for anything in the country chic category, so I welcome you to a fun and contemporary Hesington Christmas Decorating Party...

Mini Christmas Trees:

We got the set of teal and mint green mini trees from Urban Outfitters in the After Christmas Sale in 2009.  Last year we decorated them with the mini ornaments, also from UO, but this year we added the mini strands of lights which Scott picked up from Michaels. I LOVE these little guys.

HB&SH Stockings:

We got everything you see in this picture a few years ago from Target.  My favorite part about them is the HB & SH initials, which are really crystal lettered broach pins:

I love the funky JOY & NOEL stocking hangers, also from Target:

Oh, yeah...by the time I got finished taking photos around the house Scott added some white Christmas lights to the fixture.  I thought it turned out pretty cool:

Candy Cane Trees:

Now, this "believe" sign might have been pushing it for Scott's taste, but I fought for it (and won).  I found the sign and the red and white tree cones at Stein Mart last Christmas.  The cones actually came in a set of 3, but I'm still debating on where to set them up.

For now, they're on top of the aquarium.

Kitchen Stuff:

It doesn't take much to add a little holiday touch to your kitchen.  Just like my Fall Decor, I headed to Home Goods to find this set of hand towels for $5.99.

There's nothing more pleasing when you're washing your hands than to smell a seasonal scent.  This Wish Peppermint hand soap was only $4.99 from Home Goods.  It is surprisingly strong, which makes it refreshing...and addictive...believe me! :)

We always display colorful or seasonal napkins in our contemporary napkin holder from Ikea.  They have tons of bright and fun napkins there, but for the holidays I found a the "Plenty for All" Raindeer napkins, again from Home Goods.

We also put our "H" napkins on top, which was a present we saved from Christmas last year.

Lights:

Every time I turn around Scott finds more Christmas lights to put up.  Here you can see our curious kitties scoping out what's going on out on the balcony...

And, of course more lights:

 

Creative...yes...but I'm still not sure about that one.  I love the candle holder though, which was an engagement gift from Pier 1 Imports.

That's the majority of our Christmas Decor, but keep an eye out for even more coming soon!  I'll leave you with a sneak peak at our first Hesington Family Christmas Tree:

Questions:

• Do you prefer a contemporary or more country decorating theme?
• When do you normally start decorating for the Holidays?

3 Things for Fall

I just love Fall.  I love the leaves changing color, I love the smells and I certainly LOVE fall-inspired recipes + food.

By the of September I was already Fallin' on a Budget, getting ready for the season by adding a few Fall touches to our home.  Of course there's other things I acknowledge and eat or celebrate the season with but here is a short list of quick, easy additions you can bring into your home for Fall.

1. Mini Pine Cones.

I picked a bag of this pine cone mix from The Fresh Market for $4.99.  I kept passing them every time I went in and out of the store and eventually gave them a try.  They smell SO good and give the exact natural fall look I wanted on our coffee table.  

The large glass bowl holding them was a wedding gift from Crate&Barrel, which turned out to be the perfect addition to the coffee table.

2.  Cinnamon Broom.

I grew up smelling the cinnamon scent in our house every fall + winter season.  This is the first time I've actually bought one for my own home, since I always thought of it as a "country" accent.

I wasn't sure where I should put it, since I didn't want it to be in our kitchen screaming "hi, I'm a cinnamon broom producing that wonderful fragrance," so I tucked it away in our kitty spare bathroom, which is next to the kitchen.

Now, every time we walk into the house we immediately smell cinnamon goodness.  Cinnamon is a great offset to whatever other smells seem to come from that room...

I got my broom from Fresh Market, but you can find them at most grocery stores like Publix or Wal-mart.

3.  Cans of Pumpkin + Pumpkin Pie.

Anyone who has read my blog or talked to me in person around this time of year knows I have a true obsession with pumpkin.  It all started with trying the ever-so-popular First Watch Pumpkin Pancakes 3 years ago.  Ever since that first bite of heaven, I immediately wanted to add pumpkin to everything!

Whenever I see quality cans of pumpkin I stock up, before they're all gone.  Finding cans of pumpkin in stock is not always an easy task, so it's good to have them on hand when you're dying to make something pumpkiny.

It's really simple to come up with recipes using pumpkin.  Check out my Pumpkin Spice Muffins, for example: only 3 ingredients!

Stay tuned this week for more pumpkin-inspired baking, spreads and side dishes.  Now that I'm stocked up, I'm ready to rock and (pumpkin) roll!

Question:
What are some of the things you look forward to the most for Fall?