Tag Archives: christmas

Only 37 days until Christmas – Holiday DIY

Christmas craft

 

Does anyone else think we’ve just skipped Thanksgiving completely?! Every blogger I follow has been posting gift guides and the stores are inundated with snowmen and Kris Kringle.

I was in the mood to do a little Christmas crafting and thank a coworker who gave me an awesome space heater. She loves decorating for the seasons and I know she will appreciate this little canvas.

This canvas is pretty simple to craft and very inexpensive. The canvas was $7.99 for a five pack at Michael’s and the Santa is from Michael’s as well (and only $1.25). I bought some glitter paint to supplement my reds and greens and that was it! I already had the chalkboard paint (which is super cheap by the way at only 69 cents a small bottle).

santaHere’s a little close up of my jolly St. Nick. Michael’s had a great selection of little wooden ornaments and he was among Christmas trees and gingerbread men. I made his skin color with a mix of white, yellow and pink and added more pink to the mix for the rosy cheeks.

craftA little craft tip I’ve learned is to lay everything out before you start. It sounds like common sense, but I’ve ruined many a crafting project because I got too impatient and tried to YOLO it and failed.

Another thing I always do is trace the lettering. DaFont.com has great fonts on their website. I usually find one that I like and use that for the lettering. After I transfer the letters onto a piece of paper (I don’t have a printer). I pencil the back of the paper. The lead of the pencil transfers to the canvas and then you just trace!

And volia! Finished, cute, Christmas-y canvas.

Christmas craft I know my coworker is going to love it and I really want to recreate it for myself. I have some plans for 2 of the canvases but I have 2 more that I can play around with. Do you amp up your crafting for the Holiday season? I would love to hear everyone’s ideas for the remaining two canvases!

 
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Christmas in Florida

Hello Everyone, I hope y’all are having a great Christmas Eve. It’s a beautiful 75 degrees here in Southwest Florida. If you follow me on Instagram you already know this, but I headed to Captiva Island yesterday to lounge by the Gulf in my favorite beach spot.

Captiva Beach | www.flonmymind.com

I didn’t even touch the water (I knew it was too cold) but it was a perfect beach day. I even feel a little bit tanner. I think Kenny Chesney’s All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan sums up my Christmas list perfectly.

Later in the afternoon, my friend joined me and we stayed and watched the sunset like tourists.

Captiva Sunset | www.flonmymind.com

Tourists flock back to the beach starting around 45 minutes before sunset to watch the sun dip into the Gulf. If you watch closely, you might be able to catch a green flash but I’ve never seen one. I will be visiting Sanibel and Captiva a couple more times before I leave to visit Miami and celebrate NYE with some friends. I’m so thankful for such great weather.

Coastal Living magazine has a great feature on Sanibel Island in their December issue. You should check it out to read more about my hometown beaches. I actually brought the issue with me for some beach reading and it was fun to read about Sanibel on Sanibel.

Merry Christmas from the Beach!

Captiva Santa | www.flonmymind.com

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Holiday Baking Plan

Hi friends! I’m going to tell you all about my amazing trip down to Miami for Homecoming but that will be a different post this week.

It’s COLD in Atlanta so I’m listening to Christmas music and watching HGTV with my electric blanket. I live a rockstar life.

These chilly nights have been great for pinning and I’m starting to cement my Holiday baking plan. This year, I’ve been buying some break and bake cookies and other mixes, when they’re on sale, to have on hand in case I need them.

When I say plan I don’t mean “on week three bake 15 dozen snickerdoodles, on week seven make macaroons”. I’m really trying to say that I’m buying the supplies I know I need in case I get invited somewhere last minute or I think a plate of brownies would be a good gift for a coworker or neighbor.

I do have some parties I know I need to bake for. I’ve volunteered to make something sweet for my sorority’s alumnae association holiday tea and I will make things for the office. With all these possible baking days, I needed some ideas.  I’ve listed just a sample of all the fun treats I’ve been pinning to bake something great this Holiday season.

Here’s what I’ve been pinning for my Holiday baking…

Gooey Smores Cookies from www.kevinandamanda.com

These Gooey S’Mores Cookies from Kevin and Amanda are drool-worthy.

oreosnowmen2I think these Oreo Snowmen from the Idea Room would be perfect for some gifts to pass out at work or to your neighbors.

santa hatPinterest cannot load at this time of year without this picture popping up. These Santa Hat brownies from Daisy’s World are super cute and super simple to make.  I did buy some BOGOF brownie mix so I will have to try these.

Speaking of Christmas, I’ve started my Christmas List pin board. Please tell me that I’m not the only one that does this. I’ve been trying to pin only the things I really would want. I always end up buying random junk with my Birthday/Christmas money. I want to use this board as a reference so I don’t go cray at the outlet mall but instead buy the new Marc Jacobs perfume I’ve been coveting. I also have a board for Christmas decor, treats and fun, if anyone is interested!

What do you like to bake during the Holidays? Let me know in the comments below!

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The Holidays are Coming!

Did anyone else read that post title like Paul Revere or was it just me? I can’t believe the holiday season is coming up so quickly.  I’m already starting to think about my Thanksgiving plans in Atlanta with my family (and more importantly- what to eat!). This year my mom and sister are coming up so I’m super excited and I really want to be a great hostess.

I think the easiest way to have a stress-free Holiday season is to plan ahead. October will be over before we know it.

Right now it’s only…

Fall 513 days until Halloween

chase41 days until Thanksgiving

Thin Mint Cupcakes from Florida On My Mind

63 days until my Birthday!

Christmas68 days until Christmas

I have some Pinterest boards that I’m using to start planning my holiday season. This Pumpkin Spice board is my favorite board every fall. If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving or Halloween recipe look here! I also have my Christmas board for decorating, cooking and crafting ideas. I love coastal Christmas decor so if you want your house to look like a North Pole beach house, check it out!

I already started my Christmas wish list board for this year. I hopefully I’m nice and not naughty this year so I get some fun things off my board.

Do you have Holiday themed Pinterest boards? Have you already started to cement your Holiday plans? Let me know in the comments below!

12 Days of Christmas Day 2: Gingerbread House Tips

I’m sitting here and watching White Christmas as we speak (err type). It was on AMC tonight, still my absolute fav!

My gingerbread house after I put it together but before I started the decoration process.

My gingerbread house after I put it together but before I started the decoration process.

Anyway I was going to post some tips and tricks I learned from my Gingerbread House cooking class.

A View from above.

A View from above.

  • Use a straight edge to create a 90 degree angle when you start the walls. It will make sure everything is even and the sides will connect
  • Don’t scrimp on the icing, it’s the super glue of Gingerbread houses
  • Before you bake off the sides, cute out some windows and put some hard candy pieces inside = stained glass windows
  • Peel and eat twizzlers is a great decorating tool
  • Dont be afraid to use sugars and sprinkles
  • Don’t over decorate the roof, it might fall in.
gingerbread house side

The view of my roof decorations. see how the twizzlers made some fun designs!

I hope this sparks some creativity.

Have you made any sweet treats yet this Christmas season? Let me know in the comments!

12 Days of Christmas, Day 1: Christmas Movies

White Christmas has to be my favorite Christmas movie of all time. I love the dancing and the crooning from Bing Crosby. It’s on Netlfix this year and I’ve already seen it but I know I’m going to watch it again before the 25th. Here’s the trailer if you’ve never seen the movie.

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? Let me know in the comments. 

#InstaTuesday Week 3

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This is a throwback from my Thanksgiving vacation to Sanibel. I took this picture of the seagulls and forgot about it. I then uploaded it with the Kelvin filter.

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First (of many) gifts to myself. My birthday is next week, so I thought I’d add some decor to me room. I got this from My Pink and Green Garden on Etsy.

I went to a cooking class in the Fourth Ward and made a Gingerbread house. There is a post to come!

I went to a cooking class in the Fourth Ward and made a Gingerbread house. There is a post to come!

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We had an Hawaiian themed Christmas party today at work. Mele Kalikimaka to all who celebrate!

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I came back to my cube and I found this as a favor. I love fresh pineapple so I definitely will chop this up soon!

What Christmas songs are on your playlist?

I’ve been listening to Christmas music non-stop and I was wondering what are some of the songs on your Christmas playlist? I love Dolly Parton and some N*SYNC of course. I also have been listening to Lady Antebellum’s new Holiday CD and this song from Sarah Darling a lot (listen to her single “Home to Me” It’s great!)

What Christmas songs always end up on your playlist season after season? Let me know in the comments!

#InstaTuesday Week 2

I forgot about #InstaTuesday oops! so I guess it’ll be a day late but it will have some Christmas spirit!

Christmas

My sister and I went to the Atlanta Botanical Garden for the lights, it was so pretty!

Ornaments

Some Christmas ornaments that were a part of my Christmas decorating for work.

Sweetwater

My sister visited and we went to Sweetwater. It was a lot of fun!