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sleeps till christmas.
Christmas season is in full swing, and while we feel pretty set with decor, we are always on the lookup for simple, authentic, and fun items to help populate the home or replace old items.
While at @Target today, we saw this adorable little countdown calendar which complements our upstairs decor perfectly near the kid’s bedrooms. Now, in addition to moving the countdown calendar, they will have a reminder of just exactly how many sleeps until Christmas.
Three double A batteries power the lights which are adorable in the darkness of the evening.
Feel free shop this sign here.
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red.sweater.day.
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chocolate chip. or butter
Butter. Flour. Eggs. Salt. Sugar. 5 simple ingredients that when measured and combined properly open the doorway to so many good, wonderful treats. The types of foods that make you stop and savor, to relax (a bit) and reflect on the simple, sweet things in life.
Luckily, there is no shortage of sweet treat creation in our home, especially in December. Today was a chilly, perfect day for turning the oven on and breaking out the Kitchen-Aid Stand mixer.
How is it, that after all these years, the simple joys of baking cookies always brings you right back to baking in mom’s kitchen as a child, anxiously awaiting both the end result of the bake and also the end result of the Christmas season – presents!
We have been fans of Williams Sonoma for years, and it was a number of years back that we found these adorable little aprons from the local shop. They had exactly the right amount, and I went ahead and bought Cameron’s apron even though he, at the time, didn’t even exist yet. Planning is fun!
Today, we focused on chocolate chip and butter cookies, with butter cookies ( also known as Sand-Tarts) up for the decorating when wet were are finished our task.
All the kids enjoy the sand-tart decorating (who wouldn’t),, but as for me, I veer towards the chocolate chip.
We typically use Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips for our cookies and wow, what a difference they can make.
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beauty tip. plump lips.
Who doesn’t love plump lips? I often get asked if I’ve had any lip fillers or lip procedures. While certainly, as with any beauty area, genetics does play some part, there are steps you can take to ensure your lips are the poutiest, plumpest (yes) they can be.
Feel free to checkout the below video which can also be found on my YouTube channel – @fashionmeetsjess.
Thanks for your watching. Comment below or leave me a comment on Instagram for what beauty tips you’d like to see next.
Visit shop, my.look above to check out the three features products from the video.
Disclosure: As an affiliate of Shop Style, I may earn a commission from purchases made through qualifying sites like the ones mentioned above.
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red.white.and glitter
So I am absolutely loving the new nails today! Bright, seasonal red flanked by festive patterns makes for a super cute, super fun pop of holiday magic.
Our tree is up, frosted (flocked), lit, and now decorated. I usually love to switch up our tree decorations, except for the family and kid keepsake ornaments. The green Christmas ball I’m holding is actually about 3 times the size of a normal glass ornament, and it’s sparkle helps provide a beautiful reflection when up against the white bulbs currently filling the spaces of the Fraser fir we now posess.
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December.1st
December. It has been a long year, but we have made it to the final chapter. And what a grand chapter it is shaping up to be.
We started off the 1st day of December with the theatrical production of Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, the Musical. We typically enjoy these shows with the kids regardless of the show quality, as just time spend with our kids makes events worthwhile. We, however, were blown away by the show. The acting, singing, costumes, puppeteering, and overall adherence to the original movie was nothing short of spectacular.
The kids had fun taking turns sharing our laps and were enthralled throughout the performance. The show wrapped up with Rudolph flying through the air and the entire crowd and cast doing a Rudolph singalong.
We have lots of fun plans for the upcoming month, so keep tuning in and I will keep you updated on all the latest happenings.
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inspire.play.room.
Christmas decor carries on into a playful, bright playroom for the kiddos.
My style tendencies lean more towards eclectic purchasing, meaning I like to find individual pillows, blankets, and other items from various retailers, rather than finding a uniform set of items sold together. Blending different items into a seamless room tends to give a soft, cohesive flow without feeling disjointed or forced either.
The above pillows were found at Target (of course), complemented with Ikea bookcases, an artificial tree from Target that was green prior to us flocking it in the driveway, and books from various retailers collected over the years.
The bean bag chair is a comfy blue chair that appears red with the addition of a festive red fleece blanket and chunky gray knitted topper.
Subtlety is a difficult process – how do you make a space feel rich and full, without overcrowding it or without leaving it empty and sterile. The addition of a nutcracker at the top of the bookcase by a simple, festive wreath help to define the upper part of the room without overdoing the “knick-knack” style that harkens to an underwhelming yesteryear style.
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cyber monday fav.
With all the Cyber Monday deals, I wanted to call out my favorite site for matching kids/adults clothing and swimwear – Pat Pat. I discovered them years ago, and for some reason, their secret isn’t widely known, as literally every matching outfit we wear people stop to ask, and invariably no-one has ever heard of them.
This Cyber Monday, they are offering up to 70% off. Their prices are super reasonable, and it usually takes about 7-10 days for orders to arrive, so still time to get those matching jammies for Christmas for the whole family!
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beach.coffee.mom.
Waves crashing. Kids laughing. Sand, sun, coffee, fun. This crazy life with busy schedules, activities, school, dance, trips, etc. means there isn’t much time to pause and reflect. Stealing a few moments on the inlet rocks to watch and take in the grandeur of it all was a welcome, albeit brief, respite from the daily circus.
Complementing my jeans by Stitch Fix is a simple, green knit sweater from Target. Gold rimmed Ray-Bans help mute the harsh late-day sun this time of year. Starbucks latte is a welcome companion and always a competent accessory to any cool weather outfit.
What is interesting as I reflect on this picture is how a brief instant snapped in digital form could represent someone’s entire day, gazing out into the ocean, or in my case, maybe a 60-second chance at a breather while Tom chases the kids around the beach. Even though warmer weather is in retreat, there is still much fun to be had being close to ocean, and days like today remind me to stop and smell the salty air more than once in a while.
Kids Christmas outfits are all from Target as well, with Mr. Grinch debuting his oh-so-mean green sweater, and the girls enjoying a festive frolic with coordinating holiday garb. Soon enough we will be trading ocean waves for snow flakes, and sandy beaches for snowy ski-lifts, but tomorrow will be here soon enough, and today is always enough for today.
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deck the house. the beach house.
A getaway weekend to the beach. Windy and cold, even some Grinch! The girls had some extra time off school, and we took advantage with a getaway to the beach house. We usually try for a getaway around Thanksgiving, and this year we were blessed with cold but sunny days to enjoy some Christmas spirit.
Yesterday we spent some time decorating the tree, putting out some decor, and then took a trip down to see the Winterfest lights, a nice 3/4 mile stroll through thousands of lights to really kick things off.
Today, we had a nice, low-key day with a trip to the Inlet and beach where we enjoyed some snacks and played frisbee. We wrapped up the day with a stop at the park and baking Christmas cookies (Sand Tarts / Butter Cookies) to give to the neighbors in our community. The girls always love helping with cookies, especially with decorating the sand-tarts with colorful sprinkles.
Matching jammies, as always, brought to you by Pat-Pat, my go-to for matchy match.
