Once Upon a Time, I Had a Very Weird Christmas: a recap


Well, I can't say it was the worst Christmas I've ever had, but I can't say it was the best.  Actually, it was cool, other than the part where my car was stolen from the parking lot while I was at work on Christmas Eve.  Which was pretty much the low of my weekend, as expected!  

Yes, I locked my car, no I didn't "lose" my car in the parking lot, yes it was really, truly stolen.  Long story short, I left work in a hurry to get to my Christmas Eve festivities, and then wandered in circles for about 5 minutes before I realized that my mom van was nowhere in sight.  My manager stayed with me for another hour in the parking lot whilst I filed a police report.  It took until the day after Christmas (when they found the car) for me to actually realize it wasn't really my fault, people are just little miscreants.  My parents got a call at 6am that morning that it was sitting in the Family Dollar parking lot, not too far from where it was stolen.  Completely dead, needs lots o' work.

Other than a minor meltdown during the first ten minutes I noticed it was missing, I've been surprisingly upbeat!  I tend to be wildly optimistic about things, like "at least I wasn't carjacked!"  Regardless, there wasn't much else to complain about.  Except when I unwrapped the heated seat warmer that my mom got me for my car that was still missing.  That sucked.

Otherwise, lots of food, fun, and fam.


Isla & I did a remake of our Christmas photo from last year!  Give a dog a year and she'll turn from a little baby into a big one. Aaaaaabsolutely love these super-comfortable-yet-dressy pants I picked up at J Crew during their Black Friday sale.  And these are by far my favorite pair of pumps, by BCBG.

Outfit details linked below:

J Crew: Silk Twill Pant in Wolfstooth // Macy's: BCBG Treasure Pumps in Warm Sand // Nasty Gal: Don't Ask Tie Pussy Bow Blouse


Christmas Eve, this was one of the only photos I got after my super stressful car theft debacle.  We had matching kate pajama sets!

Both our sets of PJs are sold out online, but I linked different prints of the same styles!

kate spade new york: PJ Set and Layette Ready Set Bow Loungewear Set

Other than my Christmas festivities...

I'll do a little recap of what I've been up to over this holiday season.


 I had never done a family Christmas card photo with my parents!  We figured this was our year, as we always have a lot of fun if there is a dressed-up dog involved.  I made the little paper strands of retro lights.  They matched Isla's headband!  The falalalala garland was Spritz brand from Target, last year.

Outfit details linked below:  
Kate Spade: Dorothy Coat (different color, but all sale is an additional 30% off right now!) // J Crew: Topknot Headband in Stewart Plaid (on sale!) // Target: Red Cable Knit Sweater (last year, similar here from Gap) // Charming Charlie: Over the Knee Boots (last year, but they have an almost identical pair here) // Earrings are actual ornaments with a hook ear wire attached!


I made my own gift tags this year, which I was supposed to scan and sell as a downloadable file on my Etsy buuuuut...it didn't happen.  My scanner was not doing the colors justice and I kind of ran out of time.  Next year I have plans to be more on top of the holiday themed art for my shop!

In other news, I got really into building my Christmas decoration collection this year!  I found all kinds of decor in pinks and metallics, so I think that's the direction I'll be going next year.  I found my wrapping paper at Target (how can you NOT be obsessed?) and everything else from craft stores and Pier 1.  

Decor details linked below (if still available):

Target: Flamingo/Peppermints Wrapping Paper (sale!), Marble/Pastel Wrapping Paper (sale!) // Pier 1: Pink Nutcracker // Gold House & White Feather Tree: Michael's 



If you've been following along on my Facebook page, we have been doing monthly photoshoots with my cousin's baby, Addy.  We went with poinsettias for December and it turned out adorably!  


We did some cute little extra shots too, for Christmas gifts to the grandparents.  She's so photogenic!


My dad's a huge fan of anything outdoors: hunting, fishing, camping, etc.  So this year, that was the theme of our tree!  I love a tree that's adorned in ribbons, so I had to add that in there too.  It was all from either Michael's or Hobby Lobby.  For our theme, we had bobber lights, shotgun shells, and tons of outdoorsy ornaments collected from lots of different places.  My favorites were the fox, deer, and squirrel from Crate & Barrel!


I attended another fab workshop thrown by the amazing Mint & Lovely.  Here I am holding the floral bouquet I put together with help from Wood Violet.  Food, stationery, watercolor lettering, and floral were the topics of the workshop, and it took place at Black Swan on Water Street!


For my event planning job, we did a styled shoot with one New Years and one Christmas tablescape!  These are just photos from my phone, but to view the full gallery, visit our photographer's blog: GTB Imagery. (Yes, I made the wreath macarons!)

The shoot was a TON of work, but it turned out so well!  It was completely worth it.  I collected decorations from all over the place and used a lot of borrowed vintage items.  Even my great grandma's handmade ornaments made an appearance!


Finally, I finished another set of hand-lettered wedding invitations!  I was hired by a friend to complete these lovely gold and navy envelopes for her 2017 wedding.  I love being able to use my calligraphy skills to add finishing touches to someone's special day!

I guess looking back, it was a pretty busy holiday season!  I had a lot going on, but I managed to complete a lot of projects that I had in the works.  Looking forward to more in the upcoming year, and improving my organizational/planning skills so it decreases my stressed-out moments!

Even though my Christmas Eve had a bit of a wrench thrown into it, I still count it as a good Christmas weekend.  

Stay tuned for my final posts of 2016, can't believe it's almost come to a glorious finish!  


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