Disclaimer: A portion of this post is sponsored by Sears and I was provided a gift card to purchase items from their holiday collection. All opinions, as always, are my own. Thank you all so much for reading and supporting STSL. It means the world to me! xoxo <3
Well hey there, my friends! How is December going for ya so far? I told you all yesterday that I was going to fill ya in on the rest of our long weekend, so let’s get to it.
Overall, it was a really, really great weekend. I took a little time to unplug, so I didn’t snap a ton of photos, but it was filled with all sorts of good stuff. On Saturday morning, Lucas wound up sleeping in a little later than usual, so Jay and I got up, brewed some coffee, and hung out in the peace and quiet with Cody.
Yes, Cody’s still around and doing well! He certainly doesn’t win the award for the most active in the house anymore, but he’s still a character, that’s for sure. Funny guy, loves his snuggles as soon as Lucas is out of sight.
Saturday, as you may or may not be aware, was also Small Business Saturday. So of course, Jay and I had to do what we do every year…head to one of our favorite local liquor stores and stock up on some booze.
Wine and vodka…should keep us entertained for the winter.
Saturday was also amazing because I had a 90-minute deep tissue massage scheduled. I bought a Groupon a while back and actually almost forgot I had scheduled it for this past weekend. Good thing I use my calendar app in my phone…! It was a good massage but, unfortunately, actually was closer to 60 minutes than 90. That was disappointing, but ahh well.
On Sunday, Jay and I knew we needed to get all of us out of the house so after Lucas woke up from his morning nap, we all headed out for brunch/lunch at one of our favorites: B-Rad’s Bistro (the same place we brought Lucas for his first outing and where my surprise 30th birthday party was).
I ended up getting Maryland Style Eggs Benedict, which was poached eggs with hollandaise on top of avocado and crab cakes. Our waitress said it was one of their best sellers, which I’m sure many people love but, unfortunately, it really wasn’t my thing (I totally forgot about the eggs being runny and I am not a fan of runny egg yolks). I had maybe half of them and then just loaded up on the home fries and some of Lucas’s grilled cheese.
Lucas, surprisingly enough, did amazing the whole time, which I’m sure was mostly due to the fact that we had a table of younger adults behind us who were keeping him entertained by chatting and playing peekaboo.
This little man is a flirt, I’ll tell ya! The little smirks he gives girls sometimes? Oh myyy…am I in for some trouble.
So being the weekend after Thanksgiving, this weekend also included some Christmas decorating!
Decorating for the holidays is one of my favorite traditions—from decking the halls to trimming the tree—and I love how every family has its own unique way of getting their home ready for the season.
Growing up, my mom was always HUGE into the Christmas holiday (and still is!), so every year, it was a tradition to have the tree up the day after Thanksgiving. I’m pretty sure that we used an artificial tree every year except for one; and that year, the tree died about a week before Christmas so we wound up taking all of the decorations off, throwing it out, and putting the artificial one back up with all of the decorations. Needless to say, mom wasn’t too thrilled with how things panned out with that one!
Since moving out of my parents’ house and into a house with Jay, I’ve continued the same tradition: Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, the tree goes up!
Some years, depending on where Thanksgiving falls, I may or may not wind up doing a little decorating around the house a bit early. This year was one of those instances…I was just really in a festive mood!
That’s our tree this year! We attempted to somewhat barricade it in the corner so a certain sticky fingers would have less access to it…
When it comes to my decorating style, well, I’m not quite sure I really have one. I guess if I were to sum it up, it would be something along the lines of “a mix of hand-me-downs, stuff bought on a cheap budget in the early years, and some new pieces here and there.” How’s THAT for a style description?
There are so many styles of decorations that I see and absolutely LOVE, but honestly, until we wind up getting into a home that has a bit more room, I’m probably just going to stick with what I’ve got. Of course, there is always room for something new each year though, riiiiight?
This year, Sears and Kmart were generous enough to give me a gift card to choose some of the items from their holiday collection (we actually bought our tree from Kmart a couple of years ago for an amazing deal!). So on Black Friday, I made my way on out to Sears to see what I could get my hands on.
I went into the store knowing that we definitely needed a new tree skirt. Ours was a few years old, and between Cody’s crazy fur and spit up from Lucas last year (oh, I do not miss those days!), it was time to trade it in for a new one. Thankfully, they had a great selection and were all half off.
I wound up getting some new ornaments, special just for Lucas, since I knew he’d inevitably be trying to pull them off the tree.
It didn’t take long…
Little stinker.
I also bought this beautiful strand of pre-lit garland to decorate our new coat rack shelf.
It was on sale for only $20.99, and if I had more places to put them, I probably would have bought more than one.
I’m seriously in love with it!
And while I was upstairs looking for curtains, I came across this table of stuff so I snagged that adorable snowman floor mat for about $4.
Yeah, speaking of the curtains? I cannot tell you HOW excited I am to have FINALLY found some simple curtains for our kitchen window.
That window has been bare for so long, but I was having the hardest time finding some simple, white grommet valances. These were on sale for only $9 a piece. Score!
But back to the Christmas décor…I’m also loving the rest of our decorations this year, even though there were quite a few I had to leave in the boxes due to keeping the house “Lucas-proof…”
I’ve gotta say…I kinda love having a stocking with “Mom” on it.
I also really love being about to hang the stockings now because when we were growing up, we never hung our stockings on the mantle until a few days before Christmas. I’m not sure why, but my parents just liked to save those until the big day got closer!
So have you guys done any decorating yet?? Sears and Kmart recently conducted a survey and actually found that:
- 1 in 4 Americans will begin to deck the halls one month before the holiday.
- 41 percent of Americans defined their signature design as “classic,” followed by “colorful” (37%) and “vintage” (12%).
- More than half (58%) of participants felt the most essential decoration for the holidays was the Christmas tree
- Nearly 25% of Americans choose decorating as their favorite holiday activity, with listening to Christmas music and shopping as other favorites.
I’d definitely say that I fall into each of those percentages above. So fun! Equally as fun is the Best Dressed Home Sweepstakes that Sears and Kmart launched this year to celebrate the uniqueness of this holiday tradition and capture how you and others across the US are decorating.
Want to enter the sweeps? It’s easy! Anytime between now and December 26th, visit the Best Dressed Home Sweepstakes page, answer the poll questions, and upload a photo of your home all decked out for the holidays!
- (60) people will instantly win $50 in Shop Your Way points—you can enter daily
- (1) grand prize winner will win 1 million Shop Your Way points
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So that’s a very lengthy look at our weekend. Hopefully I didn’t lose too many of you along the way there!
What are some of your favorite holiday decorations? Any with special meanings and/or hand-me-downs? Anything new you’ve purchased and love?
Sara @ Lake Shore Runner says
That eggs Benedict looks delicious. But I can see how you would not like if you do not like runny eggs.
I also love that pre lit garland. I decorated for Christmas (not much because my apartment is tiny) the day before I left to go home Thanksgiving so when I came home my apartment was already in the holiday spirit!
Stacie @ SimplySouthernStacie says
I love the mixture of old with the new too! Now that I’m living in my own house, I’ve tried to slowly get some decorations that are more “my style”, but I still HAVE to have certain older decorations to that I grew up with. It just wouldn’t seem like Christmas without them!
Courtney says
I totally agree! :)
Erica House says
That garland is gorgeous! I’m having so much fun decorating the house this year for the first Christmas with my husband :)
Brynn says
Love that you shopped Small Business Saturday, wine is a great item to stock up on! Your new shelf looks so pretty decorated for the holidays.
Courtney says
Thanks, Brynn! Yes, Small Biz Saturday is the perfect opportunity to stock up on some wine ;)
Gail Welter says
Really enjoyed reading your blog (as always). I love all of your decorations and especially the new lighted swag and those stockings!!! Were the stockings from Sears too? There’s nothing like Christmas traditions to pass down to future generations – like you, I have fond Christmas memories and it is those memories I think that make us so enthusiastic about Christmas. Lucas will be a more active participant this year ;) Children really make the holiday complete! Thanks for sharing yours with us.
Courtney says
Thanks, Gail! The stockings are actually from Personal Creations :)
Lauren says
Where did you end up finding the valance for your kitchen window? I have been looking for several months for one just like that!
Courtney says
Sears! I bought two since I prefer to have a more bunched look.
haley @Cupcakes and Sunshine says
Your stockings are absolutely adorable!! Love this festive time of year!! Yes, we’ve already decorated here. Since we are in college, we decided to start decorating at the end of October since we won’t be in our house much this December after classes. I LOVE it.
Courtney says
Thank you! And ohhhh, college. I miss those days sometimes (but not always, haha!). Enjoy them while they last! :)
Melissa @ Freeing Imperfections says
I really need a tree skirt – period! I use a blanket wrapped up around the base of my fake tree! Kmart looks like they have a really nice selection!
Courtney says
Yes, definitely check them out. They have TONS to choose from!
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers says
Pretty tree but gorgeous mama! ;) One of our cats is a cuddler, and the other isn’t. The cuddly lap cat is sooooo happy that I now work from home while Ethan is at day care. She got her lap back!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says
I love shopping for Christmas decorations. We got new lights and a new tree skirt this year.
Linz @ Itz Linz says
What calendar app do you use? I don’t like the calendar on the 6 – I like being able to see the whole month!
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
Your tree and decorations look great! Good idea to tuck that tree in the corner away from little hands. ;) This is actually the first year I’ve put much money into Christmas decorations. The last few years we’ve mostly just used hand-me-downs, but I had a little fun this year and got some stuff that went more along with my own personal style. I scored some great stuff from Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and The Dollar Tree if you can believe it!
Britt@MyOwnBalance says
I hate it when massages are advertised as 90 minutes and then they talk to you and set you up for like 20 minutes! It’s such a waste of the extra money!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
I LOVE your decorations on your coat rack shelf. Those turned out so good!
Lizzie @ The Magic Tree says
I’ve missed seeing Cody around the blog. How is he around Lucas? I don’t have a whole of Christmas decorations. I’ve always lived in tiny Chicago apartments since moving out of my parent’s house, so minimal room for storage. My favorite items, however, are the ornaments I have from my childhood. <3
Kathryn says
We’re usually not ones to decorate right after Thanksgiving, but this year we buckled down and got it done by the 30th. We’ve got our tree and stockings up, but don’t really have a ton of decorations (we live in a smaller apartment, so don’t have room for a ton of stuff).
Annette@FitnessPerks says
Your tree is so pretty! And I actually love the description, because that’s sort of how I am too- a mix of stuff/decorations and it all ends up looking nice :) And that lit garland over the coat rack?! Loooooove.
Shel@PeachyPalate says
When we were kids we picked one new decoration each for the tree each year (only me and my brother thankfully or it would have ended up mightily full!!)! We even had decorations on their from when my Dad was a kid!
Bethany Conti says
I LOVE decorating with my 101 dalmatian ornaments and treasures :) My christmas tree “topping” is always a dalmatian :)
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says
Massages always seem shorter than they are supposed to be. At least you got one though. :) Makes me want to book one …
Sarah says
My favorite decoration is definitely the tree! I love turning the lights on, drinking hot chocolate (out of a Christmas mug of course), and watching a Christmas movie!
Coco says
I bought one of those same exact rugs on Black Friday at Sears!! They had some good deals — got the hubby some tools he wanted!
Emily @ Sweets and Beets says
Your decorations look gorgeous! I have all “new” stuff this year in my new apartment… but since it’s very much a temporary home, I sort of took the cheap route. Looking forward to both going home to the traditional stuff at my mom’s house, and someday investing in stuff for my own home! :)
Sarah @ Sarah Sincerely says
I love y’all’s stockings! So cute! I’m with you when it comes to putting the tree up. I just can’t bear to do it before Thanksgiving, but the very next day, if I can help it, the tree goes up!
Caitlyn says
Have not tried B-Rad’s yet but I am so close and have heard such great things about their brunch! Must go…
Lindsay @ A Runnaroundd Life says
Such a happy Christmas post–it’s my favorite time of year! I also have to say that I appreciate how you do sponsored content. It’s nice that you mix it in with real life and make it enjoyable to read :)
Crystal D. says
I love your decorations! My son is 20 months old so I understand the “toddler-proof-decorations!” We have a lot still in boxes that hopefully we can put out next year. I love your stockings! What did you get them? We have some that I like but I want new ones. I am not in love with the ones that we have :(
Courtney says
Thanks Crystal! The stockings are from Personal Creations!
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