Christmas Prep

As Christmas Day is FAST approaching, so are family and friends.  Lot's of parties and last minute details that need to be tended to before everyone gets into town.  Yesterday my Grandparents got into town from Charleston, SC and I thought I would take the day to spend time with them and do some things are new for them and myself as well.    First stop...Homestead Manor Plantation in Thompson Station.  Drew's Mawmaw and Pawpaw, Bill and Joan, picked out a beautiful tea cup and saucer that they gave me for my birthday which I LOVE so I knew that I was in for a treat!   The great thing and the main reason I took my Nanny and Papa there was because they have over 100 types of teas.  They also have a tea lunch where you get tea, tea sandwiches, scones, and little deserts.  It was fabulous!  Homestead Manor is my new favorite restaurant.  Of course I will visit for special occasions but it will be hard to stay away between visits.  I'm sure to be having a date with mom soon to this great little piece of heaven.  Here are some photos from the day....

 We were in the hat room

The BEST hat, or should I say crown

Our amazing lunch!

After lunch we met up with Drew and took them to downtown Franklin and browsed the shops which is always fun.  I'm looking forward to spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with them :)

The closer we get to Christmas day the more I feel like I am appreciating how God pulls families together during this time in which we celebrate Jesus's Holy birth.  It's time to be thankful for the time we DO have with one another and not be selfish with that time.  If we let it get to us, this time of year becomes stressful and all about impressing others with decorations and gifts when really it should be about letting others know that they are always welcomed into our hearts and homes.

This will be the first year Drew and I will be spending part of Christmas Day away from our immediate  families.  As I talk to friends who are married and whose families may live hours away, I am so thankful that our parents are within 30 minutes of each other.  So, even though we may not get a full 12 hours of Christmas day like we are used to, it's time to welcome change and new traditions we can take form one another and incorporate both into our very own children's Christmases one day.  I can't wait to experience my first Perry Christmas and see how Drew has celebrated for the past 27 years.  I'm sure he is going to be knocked on his face at how different our family celebrations are but I think it's kinda cool to be able to have 2 totally different celebrations, all within 12 hours.  It is truly a blessing, to have not only 1 but 2 wonderful families to share this beautiful season with.

Ill be back in a week with some Christmas Day photos and great stories!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & GOD BLESS!

Thanksgiving and the Beginning of Christmas Season

It's the best time of the year!  The next month is my favorite of the year, Christmas time!  From Thanksgiving with family to decorating, baking, parties, and more family, what could be better?  Not much in my opinion.  Drew and I took a trip to Charleston this year to visit my grandparents.  We dropped Charlie off at mom's house and off we went.  The drive was great and the company waiting for us was even better.  We arrived on Wednesday and on Thursday we grubbed.  My nanny cooked some great sides and deserts of course.  My favorite was the scalloped sweet potatoes made with garlic and sage.  YUM!  But most of all I was Thankful to have my papa there with us for another great Thanksgiving.  There was a lot of football and Christmas movies.  The Perfect Thanksgiving!  We left on Saturday and got home in time to spend Sunday decorating for Christmas! 

Here are some photos of our living room.

For our tree we got a great deal on one at Target!  It's pre-lit and has the pine cones which was perfect for my log cabin plaid "theme".  I bought some pretty plaid ribbon from Trees and trends and just attached it to the bottom of our tree topper and let it drape.  Some of my ornaments are from Christmas village and some I bought at Target.  The best ornaments on the tree are ones that my Mom and Nanny gave us for our first Christmas together.  My mom got us a beautiful ceramic heart with two snowman/woman painted on.  My Nanny gave Drew and soccer ball with a Santa hat and me two white love birds to signify the first Christmas being married.  These are the best ornaments.  There are also two red wooden hearts on the tree that I painted the letter "P" on for "Perry" of course.

 Our mantel is my favorite!  we bought the garland from Target since they had one with holly berries and plaid ribbon already attached, made my life easier.  The two outside matching stockings are from Christmas Village and the middle one is Charlie's.  He has the largest one!  Haha.  It may be hard to see but there are two white reindeer in the center of the mantle that may Papa made from wood and my Nanny painted them an draped their necks with ribbon.  I am all about making things personal and these reindeer sure do mean a lot.  The candle sticks that aren't very visible are wedding gifts.  The holders are crystal.  Beautiful.  I have actually changed the white candle sticks for red.  Finally the stocking holders are just a neat purchase that matched the rest of the decor.

As you can see we had to get a photo of are little (huge) pup.  He is only 5 months, yea he is a heifer.  Some other things that I have done to decorate are tie some of the same plaid ribbon from the tree around some green candles I keep up year round to give it a festive look.  I also bought some Holiday fabric and wrapped framed glassed with it to have some easy Holiday art.  This idea comes from Christine Coates, so I can't take credit!  Thanks Christine!  I have 3 more pieces of fabric to frame and hang later today before I have to go back to work.

I am most excited about spending my first Christmas with my dear husband.  Yes, we are going to have the busiest Christmas of our lives this year with two families to celebrate with and we are attending/hosting more parties and dinners than ever this year but I know come Christmas night when all the fuss is over we will finally get some time together to relax and sit by a pretty fire and toast to the first of many Christmases together.  It's strange to think that by Christmas day last year we had only been on 2 or 3 dates and now we are married.  also this time last year Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You" was all about Drew!  Santa totally delivered on that one!  I'm excited to see what amazing Christmas gifts God has in store for myself and my family this year. 

I hope anyone reading had a wonderful Thanksgiving and may God bless this beautiful Christmas Season.