The Great Christmas Exchange

Do y'all remember when I told you about The Great Christmas Exchange? I loved this idea because it seemed like such a fun way to connect with other bloggers, and I loved the idea of sending a sweet gift to a stranger. I'm always looking for little ways to bless people, so I wanted to join this exchange and send a pretty little gift that might bring some joy to someone's Christmas.

What I sent:

The person I was chosen to send a gift to listed the following as her favorite things:
Anthropologie, The Company Store, Title Nine, anything chocolate and wine, bright colors and shiny objects!

How perfect! I love Anthropologie, chocolate and wine, bright colors and shiny things too! :) I headed straight for Anthropologie and managed to pick up a few really pretty things on sale. Whenever I buy gifts for girlfriends, I try to find things that any girl would love to own, but wouldn't splurge on for themselves. So for my person, I chose a beautiful mercury glass candle (Anthro's candles are so pretty and feel like such a splurge!), a gold monogrammed mug (like this one), and a little hot-chocolate-on-a-stick treat.

I didn't take pictures of the package before I sent it because I was rushing out the door carrying Emmett and a thousand other things trying to get to the post office in time. As it happens, the package has yet to be delivered to my poor person. As I type this my phone chirps out the world's worst hold music from the USPS customer service line. I've spent the morning on hold trying to figure out exactly where the package is and how to get it delivered. I'm so sorry person- I am doing everything I can to get your gift to you!

What I received:

When I opened my gift I found that it was from Jess Vartanian of the Jess Vartanian Illustration + Design Etsy shop! The package included the sweetest little note from Jess, and a hand-made ornament that featured a map of Tempe, the city where I live! It is really sweet and I love that Jess not only made my little gift herself, but she also did her homework and made the gift very personal for me. Thank you Jess!!! I love my ornament.

Our Little Christmas

Our little Christmas, in photos:

So many cool toys!!

Thank you for my beautiful necklace mama!

Poor baby kept losing his pants. We didn't mind, because those knees y'all.

We had such a lovely Christmas week together. Sweet and fun and laid back. Not perfect, but just right. I pray that this Christmas season has brought you blessings aplenty and that this next year brings you only good things. Merry Christmas, friends.

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing you the happiest of Christmases, from my family to yours. 

Quiet

Things are so busy lately. I know all of you can relate. Life is busy, beautifully so, and Christmas adds a new sense of urgency to the mix. One minute it's Thanksgiving- we're all eating and spending time together and giving thanks for the many blessings in our lives- and the next thing you know Christmas is just days away and there's so much left to do. There's shopping to finish and gifts to wrap and cookies to bake and dinners to prepare. There are friends in town and parties to throw and go to, cards to mail and that infernal elf on the shelf to move before the baby wakes up.

I find lately that I revel in the quiet that I find once the day is done and Emmett is in bed. I can't wait to curl up in bed and read, just me and my book (ahem, Kindle app), spending a few quiet minutes before sleep takes me to another day. Sometimes I get in bed as early as 8 o'clock. My friends think I'm crazy- those evening hours are their most productive- and I get that. When there are things to do, I stay up and do them. But I've learned that I need that quiet time with nothing to do, no anxiety and no worry about the never ending to-do list.

Now that Christmas is upon us, and the work is almost done, I'm looking forward to all of the fun! I can't wait to get Emmett dressed up for Christmas Eve Mass tomorrow, and teach him about Jesus's birth. I can't wait to stuff stockings with Ray after Emmett goes to bed, basking in the beauty of our tree and the glow of our pretty red Anthropologie candle. I can't wait to wake up early Christmas morning to open presents with Emmett and share with him all of our traditions. I can't wait to spend Christmas day with my little family. But most of all, I'm looking forward to the quiet moments, the watching and waiting moments. The resting and reflecting moments that really give meaning to all that we do each Christmas season.

A little gif from our weekend! Linking up with Mary Beth from Annapolis & Co.

Photos From My {Real} Camera

I grabbed my "real" camera Sunday as we headed out the door for brunch. I almost never bring it along because my iPhone is always with me, but I need to take better pictures! So after brunch and an impromptu hike, I came home and downloaded all of the photos from my camera. Why didn't I do this sooner! There are so many great pictures from Christmas in Georgia with my family, photos from our first time at the Phoenix Zoo with Emmett, and so many more! I picked out a few of my favorites to share with you here:

Little Santa! Christmas, 2012

Those eyes, those hands, those ears!

With Aunt Lucia at the Phoenix Zoo!

Baby boy loves trees y'all.

Santa!

On Friday, Ray, Emmett and I taking our first family trip to Georgia to celebrate Christmas with my family there (woohooooo!), so we had an early Christmas with Ray's side of the family this weekend. I had so much fun opening presents with Emmett for the first time, even though he just wanted to eat all of them. His grandparents spoiled him of course, but his favorite gift was the wrapping paper. :)

Hangin out in his new BabyBjorn! 

After we opened presents, Santa made an appearance!

Isn't this the cutest hat you've ever seen?

So far so good...

Have I mentioned I'm so excited for Emmett's first Christmas??

Emmett's First Christmas Tree!

This past weekend, we picked up our Christmas tree! This is an outing I look forward to all year, although buying a Christmas tree in Arizona is a VERY different experience than what I'm used to in Georgia. Back home my family goes to this beautiful tree farm in the middle of nowhere, where they drink hot apple cider, take hay rides, and choose the perfect tree to be plucked out of the ground and tied to the top of their car. Doesn't that sound dreamy? In Arizona, we go to Costco... Where we pick up a hotdog or a slice of pizza, drink a Coca Cola, and choose the perfect tree from the back of a semi parked on the side of the building. Then we struggle for an hour to tie the chosen one to the top of our car (in 80 degree heat!). It's different for sure, but it's still fun and I've learned to love it just the same.

Of course this year is even more special, since this is Emmett's first tree! Everything about the holidays is better this year. It's so much fun to carry out our family traditions now that we have a little family of our own.

There are so many things I love about Christmas trees- the smell of pine filling my home, the soft twinkle lights sparkling in the other room as we prepare dinner or bathe the baby, but the thing I love most is decorating the tree. I'm just a tiiiiiiiny bit obsessed with Christmas ornaments, so unpacking all of my favorites is like.. well, it's like Christmas!!

I'm making an effort to take tons of pictures of all of our "firsts" with Emmett, for posterity's sake, as well as for your viewing pleasure. :)

Yes, that's a Jiffy Lube in the background...

Baby Emmett was mesmerized watching Daddy put up lights.

Emmett "helping".

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments!

My sweet friend Bridget made this for Ray and I- she cut up our wedding invitation and twirled the
pieces inside an ornament. Such a sweet gift!

Aren't these guys so cute? My grandmother gave them to us when we were engaged. :)

A souvenir from our honeymoon.

And a souvenir from when I lived in London. 

Merry Christmas everyone!!