it's beginning to look a lot like...

december!

happy holidays dear readers!  it's hard to believe it's already december, isn't it?  sorry for the lack of posts lately...i've had some serious writers block and was completely unmotivated to sit in front of a computer racking my brain for things to say.  so i didn't.  hopefully, things should be back on track for a while. :)

somewhere in me, i feel like christmas was just yesterday.  then there's a larger part of me that feels like it was a lifetime ago.  now it's almost here, and i'm super excited to spend all-things-festive with my love. 

this past weekend a. and i spent some time decorating the house.  this was the first time in three years our little home has had holiday cheer.  totally lame, i know.  basically we decorated everything but the tree (since this was decorated right after thanksgiving) using our modest collection of holiday decorations.  i didn't spend too much time on diy decorations since our house is so small (and i'm trying to avoid the "christmas threw-up in my living room look"), but i have a few additional ideas up my sleeve that i'll share as the holidays progress.

one decorating diy i completed this weekend was covering books with gift wrap*.  this added a fun and festive and inexpensive way to add flair to our house- and it only took me 30 minutes to complete.  i ended up covering about 10 hard cover books and placed them throughout the house for pops of color and interest.  

the carnation arrangement was actually leftover from thanksgiving.  i'm not sure if i bought the world's longest-lasting flowers or if the refrigerator-like conditions in our home are keeping them alive, but either way, i'm still enjoying them daily. i pulled them from the old arrangement and using a low vase and floral foam, combined the thriving carnations and a few rosemary sprigs into another pretty arrangement.

last but not least, is my christmas cactus.  so prettily displayed in a little green pot.  i'm hoping i can keep it alive for a while...my mom actually has one that's years old and is huge.  so that's what i'm aspiring for.

so there you go, a sneak peak of our christmas.  stockings still need to be hung (and made) and a few more decorations added to complete the cheer, but with the holidays in full swing and me determined to keep things as low-stress as possible, if it get's done great.  if not, well then, it wasn't meant to be.

here's wishing you a merry and low-stress holiday! xo

*gift wrap is from ikea.