A little more holiday inspiration...

I'm back with a little more holiday inspiration. The following photos are my current favorites and are pretty magical!

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

And I surely hope when I wake up on Christmas morning, it is as peaceful as this:

(source)

We started decorating the house a little. I finished our mantel a week ago, before the "big flu" set in, and Cory put up our tree...but it doesn't have many ornaments so far. It's a work in progress!

I'm still trying to figure out how I want to decorate the rest o the house...but, white and other neturals have really been inspiring to me this year.

What color scheme are you decorating with this year?



Geez.

(source)

The last few days have been really sort of crazy (in a lame, I've been so sick and my identity was stolen sort of way). I had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday, albeit sick. Let me fill you in on life since last Wednesday when it all started.

As you know, I have had a case of the sniffles for about a week, but it wasn't anything I couldn't control/survive. Whatever the case might've been, I felt like I was always on the brink of a fever, and since I get kidney infections so easily from my Lupus, I carried a thermometer around with me (even though it caused me to be the butt of many jokes lol). Okay, okay, so last Wednesday, Cory and I met up with Rich and Beth and a few other friends downtown for dinner. While I was eating a delicious apple cider spinach salad, I realized how terrible I felt, and headed off to the restroom to take my temperature. Sure enough, it read 101.8 degrees. I took that as a sign to call it an early night and headed right home. I slept on and off throughout the night and Cory ensured I had plenty of Gatorade to keep me hydrated.

When I woke up Thursday morning, I felt a little better, but extremely tired and had attained a really horrible cough. I truly felt as if I saw my lungs on the outside of my body, I wouldn't have been surprised. Anywho, we spent the day at my mother's house taking it easy (ie: Cory playing on my stepdad's iPad and me sleeping on the couch) and then headed over for a quick visit with Cory's family. I made sure to go straight to bed as soon as I got home.

This is where I think I made a mistake. Friday morning I told myself that if I could drive, I would just go to two stores for Black Friday sales. I have been selling 8-12 cowls a week on average at The Muse, so I needed to stock up on chunky yarn and large buttons. I headed out the door at 4:30 a.m., went to Michael's and then to Jo-Ann's, and found myself coughing up a storm back on my couch by 6:30 a.m. So, truly, I wasn't out of the house for too long, but I think the inconsistent sleep wasn't much of a favor to my body. I spent most of Friday napping on the couch off and on. Cory went out and ran a lot of errands, but I kept to myself and my cough syrup.

I was supposed to head on vacation to Myrtle Beach for a fun-filled weekend baking Christmas cookies with Cory's mother and sister on Saturday. I had been looking foward to this weekend for MONTHS. I was even sure to budget my days off at school to ensure that I could go! Long story short, I figured it was in the best interest of everyone that I stay home, instead of  trying to survive an 8 hour car ride with me. This was fairly crushing, but I tried to get over it quickly. Again, I spent most of Saturday on my couch, reading blog posts on my phone (I <3 my Droid Eros).

Sunday was my big extended family Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt's house. Because I hadn't been out of the house in a while, Cory promised to take me for at least a little bit. I'm really glad we did, because it felt great being around family, regardless of how crappy I felt. I really enjoyed spending time with my family, and hopefully they didn't wake up today feeling ill!

And then there is today. I am home from work because I still can't keep my cough under control and I don't have a lot of energy. While I was checking out some Cyber Monday deals on my phone, I decided to switch gears and check out my online banking to ensure that my funds would take care of a gift I had been eyeing for Cory. And as I scrolled through my online statement, I noticed... WHAT?! A $900 CHARGE?!?! So, after a quick call to a local branch of BB&T, we discovered that since it was a pending charge, there was no way to cancel it or to even know where it was being sent from. So I have to wait until tomorrow to go in, file a claim, and hopefully get back a tiny bit of my $900 back! ugh.

So, to say the least, this Thanksgiving weekend will be marked with a sickly residue of identity theft. Fortunately, Cory and I had a lovely first Thanksgiving together as a married couple, even if I couldn't stop coughing through the majority of it.

I truly hope you had a lovely holiday as well. Thanks for listening to me vent for a bit. On the upside, this $900 mystical charge has inspired Cory to agree with me that Yes! We do need internet in the house after all! Secure internet! Finally! The Comcast guy comes Wednesday between 11-2. I am so, so thrilled.

Have a lovely Monday evening.

Liz

CYBER MONDAY STARTS NOW! 25% OFF!

A special announcement:

Discount Code:

CYBERMONDAY



Thankfulness part 1

(source)

I can't believe I didn't lost about everything I'm thankful for. In my book, it's never, ever too late to talk about thankfulness.

A little detail about the school that I work at is that 70% of our 1400 students receive free or reduced lunch. This is a fairly sizable percentage compared to other Maryland schools, and I must say, we are extremely fortunate as federal and state grants offer every single student absolutely free breakfast in the morning and most students a free packed dinner to take home at the end of the day. We work very hard with our students to teach them all the ways they can rise above poverty and the mentality that comes with it. We do this through a myriad of activities, programs, and classes. We are extremely student centered and offer so many opportunities for skill building throughout the regular school week.

One thing, this time of year especially, I like to talk about with my 10th graders is the ability to be thankful when it doesn't seem like there is much to be thankful for. On Wednesday, before we released for break, I assigned a small project to my students to complete within class time. They had to choose between 3 of 6 tasks to choose, all of which had to do with Thanksgiving and being thankful. The first and fifth task were my absolute favorites though. Those are what I want to share with you now!

Task 1:

Document 2 or 3 sentences about each of the following:

-someone outside of school whom you are thankful for.

-someone inside of school whom you are thankful for.

-a personal item you are thankful for.

-something silly you're thankful for.

My answers:

1) I am most thankful for my mother and her sisters outside of school. I can always call these women when I need guidance, an ear to listen to me, or general advice. They are a great source of wisdom and strength for me.

2) I am very thankful for a former student, who is now a senior, Briana. This sounds very silly, but I taught Bri when she was just a freshman and have had the opportunity to watch her grow up over the last four years and mature into an incredible young woman. We do not always see eye to eye, but we converse almost daily, and I really treasure that time. It keeps me focused on how powerful relationships are between teachers and students.

3) A personal item that I am thankful for are the crochet hooks that I inherited from my grandmother. Each time I use them, I feel a little connection with her and think of all the times we sat in her house and back yard crocheting and crafting.

4) Hmm...something silly I'm thankful for? Probably Cory's Jetta. Cory does most of the driving in our relationship. I'm not against driving, but I don't really like to do it. Cory's Jetta has gotten us home in horrible snow storms, to the hospital to visit baby Sloane after she was born in February's blizzard conditions, and all around has just gotten me from point A to point B very very safe. For that, I am thankful.

I'll be back with Task 5 tomorrow :)

P.S. Don't forget our shop sale! 20% off now-Sunday! Just use our Discount Code: HOLIDAY. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good afternoon!

I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful and very special Thanksgiving.

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much this week. I have been struck with a high fever and a pretty bad cough. Most nights when I come home from work, I am so exhausted I just want to go to bed.

Anyway... with that being said... I am at my mother's house today relaxing and enjoying my family and a delicious meal.

Tonight, promptly at 12:01 am, Donna's December's Thanksgiving Weekend sale will commence! 20% off EVERY item in the shop. What a steal!

Discount code:

HOLIDAY

Also, we are adding new products throughout the day.

Be sure to check us out!

Have a wonderful day!

Thanksgiving Weekend Sale!

A very special announcement for you:

'Tis the season for sales!

Discount Code:

HOLIDAY

Enjoy 20% off every item in Donna's December's shop

starting Friday at 12:01 a.m.!

xo,

Liz

hooray!

Way to beat my expectations! Less than 24 hours ago I asked for a little help and boy did I get it!

Congratulations are due to:

Sabrina of The Little Owl

Abbey Schmitt

Dear Keesha

Jessica of Scattered Paper Cranes

Sarah-Rose of Sezasaurus

Yay!

email me your mailing address at donnasdecembers(at)gmail(dot)com so I can send out a little token of appreciation!

A little heads up:

 Donna's Decembers shop posted a few new items today!

Go check 'em out.

A BIG heads up:

 check back Wednesday for an extra special announcement pertaining to Donna's December's shop!

Saturday Inspiration

I hope you're having a super crafty weekend. It's the last weekend before Thanksgiving, which means this time next week, we will be in full-fledge crazy shopping mode. By we, I mean me and millions of other people. So in order to enjoy the moment, here is a little more holiday inspiration. I just can't get enough. Really.

So before I leave you, I want you to tell me what projects you're currently working on. Knitting, crocheting, holiday gifts, sewing, quilting: what are you working on?

(source)

(source)

 

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

Today!

I'm at The Muse in downtown Frederick gettin' my crochet on!

That's right. Come in, check out the AMAZING handmade seasonal merchandise that Whitney has hand selected, do a little holiday shopping, and sign up for crochet classes! If nothing else, you should come in and say hi. I'll be in the shop from 11-2, so be sure to swing by while you're out for lunch :).

xo,

Liz

Lucky 105!

Breaking news... I only need one more follower until I reach 100!

(source)

So what does this mean for you?

The next 5 people who click that pretty little "Follow" button on the left sidebar will get a little present in the mail from me! That's right, let's cross the 100 threshold and get to 105!

It will be crocheted... and cute... promise! :)

Let's get the weekend off to a great start!

Happy Friday!

DIY: Holiday Gifts!

Good morning!

How is your week going? I'm ready for the weekend, but am excited to show you this beauty!

I don't know about you, but I tend to have people on my list who either have everything or who don't have enough space for what I would truly like to give them. When I found this DIY, I thought of a close friend of mine who I really believe it will be perfect for! It would also be great as a personalized gift for children who always need their own "space."

Check out Ashley's beautiful tutorial for this quick and easy project here.

DIY: Holiday for the Home!

So right after Thanksgiving I plan on hanging up my advent calendar. I love the idea of counting down to let anticipation grow throughout the month. Growing up, I always saw the cardboard boxes with pieces of chocolate stuffed inside at my relative's homes, but now that I'm emersed into the blogworld, there are so, SO many stylish/healthier versions of advent calendars that are a snap to make! Here are a few...

LA's Advent Calendar (adorable!) 

Quick 'n easy directions for this pretty thing over at Anna Maria Honer's blog here:

How Martha makes her Advent Calendar:

If you want someone else to do the work for you, check these out on esty!

Moore Magnets

I love this calendar from Sugar Owl Design:

Do you use an Advent Calendar in December? If so, which style do you use? Do you put little treats in them? I'd love to know!

xo,

Liz

DIY: Holiday for the Home!

This year I am focusing on keeping it simple and subtle. I want to have small ways of decorating without it seeming over the top. For example, last weekend, while thrifting, I scored an amazing set of coordinating vintage blue pyrex bowls. I plan on placing them on my mantle with shiny silver ornaments. A simple way to use an element that I love and make it holiday friendly! Here is another element that I love all year round: buttons!

Leigh Ann over at Freckled Nest posted this a while ago, but it would be a great craft for you and the kids (obviously, if they are old enough to handle the push pins) or you and your non-crafty girlfriends!

Dying to make your own? I know, me too! Go here for more details :)

In love and buttons,

Liz

A few fun things...

Greetings!

How is everyone today? Things are good on this end. I finally made it to work today after being sick at home for most of the week (I went in to work on Monday but could only make it until 12). Although it wasn't the easiest day to be back, I made it through and my students were fairly understanding of me still being under the weather.

So instead of being bleh about being sick, I wanted to share with you a few exciting things from blogland that I'm happy to share and really looking forward to.

First is that Becky over at Strumpet Crumpets is hosting an ornament swap! It's a simple give and get set up (you trade 1 ornament which means limited work). I'm not sure if it's possible, but I bet she'd be willing to let you pick more than one name if you wanted to swap more than one ornament. It can never hurt to ask! For full details, go here.

The other cool diddy  is going on over at The Perfect Pear.  Lauren is hosting a challenge from November 22nd (next Monday!) thru December 22nd in which she will post simple items, materials, or prompts for the day. In turn, you use those prompts in a craft of your choice to come up with your own interpretation of the mission. Okay, okay, this is confusing. So here is the example she provided:

Ex. Felt, Embroidery Thread, and a Button. I would create a flower with the button in the middle, and stitching around the edges, then I would add it to a necklace or a headband!

I will also add things like leaves, a house or a flower. And you have to incorporate that into your creation, whether you make it out of felt, paper, use some other material or you get a real one, its all up to you! It just has to have an image of a leaf, or a house in it, how you make that happen is all up to you. Then you must take pictures of it!

Basically, you make something cute with the ideas from the post, snap a photo, email the photo to Lauren and get entered into a drawing to win loads of cute stuff. She has loads upon loads of details and information over at her blog, so hop on over here and check out the details.

Personally, I'm totally doing these. I want to do the mix 'n match challenge just to push my creativity a bit. I'm not here for points, just here for fun and pretty things :)



Go check out the details, sign up, and have some fun :)

xo,

Liz

DIY: Holiday gifts!

Each year I try to spice up my gift wrapping and presentation. I sort of think that's half the gift, anyway. The prettier the better. Well, I try to stay away from your typical mass-produced wrapping paper, and this is the perfect answer!

A DIY Bow using recycled paper from How About Orange!

Perfect!

xo,

Liz

Engaged!

Ahh... this is the stuff my 11-year old dreams were made of...

I don't usually get into celebrity gossip... but the royal family has always been fairly intriguing to me :)

Have a good Tuesday!

DIY: Holiday Gifts!

In a similar fashion to yesterday's DIY: Holiday Gift tea cup candle post, I wanted to show you this adorable idea. Talk about an excuse to go thrifting!

Full details here.

xo,

Liz

"You're Gonna Make it After All!"

Cory and I were doing an impromptu photoshoot over the weekend. I have a new cowl that I need to get into the shop, but is being introduced via a Freckled Nest giveaway (more on that later this month). Anyway, I wanted to get a few shots of it while I was wearing this amazing thrifted ski sweater I scored over the weekend. Here's my favorite shot of the day. It's not a great picture, but I was faking a lot of enthusiasm and channeling my inner Mary Tyler Moore.

More photos from the shoot coming soon... keep an eye out!

DIY: Holiday Gifts!

Remember in October I brought you multiple DIY projects that I stumbled upon in blogland? They were mostly targeted toward Halloween/Autumn but could easily transition into winter. I am hoping to do that exact same thing for you throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas! For me, I just like having so many projects and inspiration all in one place. It saves me so much time and energy trying to think who posted what! Okay... before I keep blabbering on... your very first DIY: Holiday Gifts post!

Over at Design*Sponge, this beauty was posted a while ago. As a person who loves tea cups but just leaves them sitting around the house on shelves and in nooks, I find this DIY to honestly be a blessing! Tea cup candles!

(source)

A little holiday inspiration...

Right now, I can't get enough inspiration. I know I might be overwhelming myself, but I just want to spend all my time surrounded by materials making pretty things. My brain's default setting right now is "create"! It could be worse...

Anyway, as we gear up to head into one of my most favorite times of the year, I wanted to show you a few photos that are particularly inspiring some current projects for me! Of course, when the time is right, I'll be sharing those projects, too :). And just so you know, I have been collecting inspiring holiday photos for months, so this is just the first of many, many inspiration posts to come!

 Enjoy!

(source)

(source)

(source)



(source)

(source)

(source)

Simply beautiful.

I was scrolling through my Google Reader and saw this post from Goodknits.

This picture made me happy. The simplicity is gorgeous and totally what this season is all about.

I wanted to share it with you for a little extra Sunday inspiration!

Oh me, oh my.

(source)

Yesterday evening I got all dolled up to meet up with some pretty ladies for Meghan's bachelorette party. Meghan, Cory's sister, and I are very close in age and get along really well, so I was excited to spend an evening in her honor. Meghan and Sam are getting married New Years Eve and we are so excited for them! In fact, we are excited for the day in numerous ways, because Cory is officiating the wedding! That's right, a few weeks ago he received his license to officiate weddings. Unbelievable...but it's what Meghan wanted! Anywho, last night we went for delicious sushi and then out for drinks and dancing. All in all, it was a really fun evening. Cory ended up meeting up with us towards the end, just to spice it up, and he did a great job hanging out with just the girls. By the end of the night, I was in a good place and happy to have had an evening to unwind.

This morning, however, I did not wake up feeling gross due to anything alcohol related, I woke up feeling gross because I had a full blown cold! Boo! Cory, who is also suffering from the sniffles, has been spending most of the day on the couch with me trying to combat whatever grossness is infiltrating our systems. My body is becoming increasinly achy, so I'm worried this could be a precurser to the flu. I hope not. Too much to do!

Alas, while I sit back and say horrible things in an effort to scare this cold away, I will be bringing really great blog posts to you! Can we say: awesome holiday DIYs, cozy/yummy recipies, great gift ideas, and a few crochet patterns? I think we can!

Check back later tonight for the first... I'm going to head back to my couch and take a little more Dayquil.

In love and tissues,

Liz

Drum roll please...

I am so happy to have woken early on this beautiful Saturday. Cory and I are downtown right now grabbing breakfast at our favorite spot, Cafe Nola. It's a perfect place for us: coffee shop, great place for meals (mostly organic), and transforms into a pretty fun bar at night. Cory is usually up pretty early on Saturday mornings, and while I am a morning person, I try to take my time leaving the sheets. This morning, however, our kitties (who we have renamed as Thing 1 and Thing 2) decided that 6:30 was far too late to sleep in. Alas, Cory and I got ready and headed down to Nola to split a delicious portobello benedict breakast.

Now on to the important stuff: giveaway winners!

Thank you so much for your kind words and entries for this past week's holiday giveaways. It was great to hear from you! Donna's will be hosting many more giveaways as we head through winter (just to spread a little cheer), so make sure you keep an eye out :)

Drum roll please..

The winner of the Winter Wonderland Giveaway:

Leslie Clark!

The winner of the Magical Holiday giveaway:

Carrie Lynn!

Congratulations!

If you're a winner, please email me your mailing address at donnasdecembers[at]gmail[dot]com! I will have these lovely packages to you asap!

 

Happy Saturday! :)

 

xo,

Liz

Hey you

Good morning!

I just wanted to pop in to say hello! I have been away from the blog this week preparing for tomorrow's Holiday show. St. John's has done a great job advertising in the Frederick area, so I had a teeny tiny panic attack that I wouldn't have enough inventory to get me through the show (let alone take me into next weekend's show). However... it's okay. I'm happy to dedicate my evenings to crocheting!

If you're in the Frederick/Baltimore/D.C. area, drop by St. John's Catholic Prep School for their annual Holiday festival tomorrow from 6-9 pm. There will be 25-30 great vendors that have been hand selected, plus food and a family friendly atomosphere! I'm excited to see St. John's new campus, as they have just opened the doors to their brand new school.

In other news, you have until SATURDAY morning to enter the Winter Wonderland and Magical Holiday giveaways (scroll down). I'm planning on throwing in a little Donna's Decembers treat with both packages, so you'll get even more. Don't you just love the holiday spirit?!

Anyway... I'm off to work. I hope you have a great Thursday. I'm pretty sleepy today, so I need to go scrounge up a cup of coffee :)

xo,
Liz

Winter Wonderland Giveaway!

Greetings! There is a lovely chill in the air in Maryland today. It's so lovely that Cory and I have spent our day cleaning, cooking two different kinds of soup for the week, and crafting (well...I have been, not Cory). With that being said, I have been in a fabulous state of mind all day long, which brings me to some awesome news. There will be TWO giveaways today!

 

As I was compiling the goodies for this week's giveaway, I realized that I wanted to reach out to two groups of people: Red & Green Holiday people and Winter Wonderland people. Some people like to go all out and deck the halls with shades of cranberry and pine, while others like to keep the decorations winter friendly and add a bit more glitz and gleam with silver and blue. I'm hoping that you belong to one of these two camps. I like to decorate with both schemes, but in different rooms. There is something really special about those colors, yeah?

 

So here we go... the giveaways will be two different, side by side, blog posts (scroll down for the second one). You can enter BOTH giveaways if you want!

What you need to do to enter the giveaway:

(1) be a follower of this blog.
(2) leave your name, email, and url address for your blog (if you have one) in the comments.

AND you can get EXTRA entries if you blog about this giveaway and post a link to the blog post in the comments of this post!

 

Drum roll please...

This Winter Wonderland Giveaway includes:

*A blank Moleskine notebook perfect for holiday art journaling.
* 6 handmade pom poms in silver, royal blue, and white/gold

* a vintage (1979) copy of Southern Living's Creative Crafts periodical.
*a vintage silver tassle necklace that is the perfect amount of sparkle for ANY holiday outfit!

*Donna's Decembers knitted garland in a creamy white.

*10 different pattern sets of 10 strips of paper perfect for paper chains around your home

*two rounds of winter-blue ribbon that will be perfect for dressing up presents

The winner will be announced this Saturday!

Good luck!

xo,

Liz