Happy Holidays

I want to wish everyone happy holidays (I know it’s a little late)! I hope they’re filled with love and joy.

I’ve been enjoying my time off from school back home in Colorado, spending every second with my family and pets. It’s been so nice, and I’ll be sad to leave next week! But I am excited to get back to school and see my friends, and get back into that routine again. I’m so thankful to have had this long break to spend with my family, I’ll be much more motivated to kick butt next semester.

I’ll post again soon, I promise! For now, here are a couple of pictures of my fur-babies. They kind of love the holidays.

Ben guarding our Christmas tree.

Elouise got a new box! Cats are such sweet weirdos, they do love their boxes.

Happy holidays!

xo.

Gifting: Gifts in Jars

Gifts in mason jars has gained popularity over the past couple of years, and there are a lot of great ideas for how to fill up those jars! I think these gifts make wonderful little gifts for neighbors, friends, coworkers, or extended family members. It’s a thoughtful way to let someone know you’re thinking of them, and today I’m sharing some of my favorite ideas for how to fill up those jars.

But first, let’s talk about where to get the jars. It’s true, you can buy mason jars at pretty much any craft store. But they’re expensive, and I kind of think that’s a little wasteful. I like to save jars periodically through the year from various food items — spaghetti sauce jars, salsa jars, pickle jars, etc. I wash them out really well, get the labels off (which is a total pain in the butt, I’m not going to lie about that), and then put them away for later. You never know when you might need a jar! If you don’t have any jars that you’re able to recycle, hit up your local thrift store. They usually have tons of mason jars of all sorts of shapes and sizes, and you’re helping to reduce waste. Go, you!

Now, here are some of the great gift ideas for mason jars:

1. Sewing Kits

2. Soup in a Jar

3. Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

4. Tea Set

5. Banana Bread Mix

6. Winter Survival Kit

7. Christmas Shave

8. Christmas is Going to the Dogs

9. BBQ rub

10. Terrarium in a jar

There are so many more ideas, and I’m sure you could come up with your own pretty easily! Other ideas could be a drawing kit filled with colored pencils and other supplies, any type of baking mix, or even a housewarming jar filled with little essentials.

Have you ever given (or received) a mason jar gift? I’d love to hear all about it!

xo.

Holiday Cheer: Decor Inspirations

First things first: I love decorating for the holidays. It’s one of my favorite holiday activities, and I always feel so happy to see little decorations all over the house. It helps me get through the start of winter. I’m not decorating my house in Pittsburgh for the holidays, since I’m flying back home to Colorado in a couple of days (!!!), but I’m hoping to help decorate my parents house when I get back home.

I’ve been looking for lots of decor inspirations this season, and today I want to share some of my favorite ideas. Fair warning: I love non-traditional, modern, and quirky decor.

Holiday Decor Inspirations:

(click through for links)

What decorations are you dreaming of this season? I’m so excited to put on some holiday music, bring out the fuzzy socks, and get some decorating done back home. Tis’ the season!

xo.

Great Gifts for Guys

Sorry for the big lapse in posts–I know I promised I’d do some holiday gift round-ups, and I am fulfilling that promise! It’s been pretty busy with Finals this week, and since my last exam is tomorrow, I am resuming my holiday gift guides.

The post today is all about the guys. I think men can be some of the hardest people to shop for, and I ultimately think you need to know the person to get them the best gift. For instance, some guys are really into Star Wars, while others might be sports fanatics, and others might be really into reading. You kind of have to know your audience to start thinking of some ideas. So this gift guide is definitely not all-inclusive, it’s just a sort of “jumping-off” point. It’s some of the things I would love to give to the men in my life (my brother and dad, don’t get too excited). So here goes!

Great Gifts for Guys

1. A fun mug — I might pair this with a little bag of quality coffee.

2. A mustache pillow — I love making gifts for people, and this is a less-girly version of a pillow that would make a great gift.

3. A guitar pick punch — This would be a cool gift for the guitar player in your life. They’ll never worry about losing picks, if they can just make them with old credit cards or other plastics!

4. A DIY laptop sleeve — I love this idea. An easy (and quick!) DIY gift.

5. A tripod camping stool — I know my dad would love this for fishing. It’s lightweight and while I bet it would get uncomfortable after a while, it would be nice to have so you don’t have to sit on the ground.

Again, it’s a short list. I hope it gives you some ideas to make your list! If you have any suggestions on good gifts for gentlemen, I would love to hear them. I have the hardest time shopping for my brother and dad every year!

xo.