Christmas Favourites--Vol. Two (of Two!)

Well, we finally put up the last of the Christmas decorations today. My house looks naked, and I'm a bit melancholy. We did also work on Baby Elle's nursery--which cheered me up! It's coming right along--though still a complete mess. It's hard "decorating" with a three-year-old "assistant." Bless her heart--she's so funny. When I unpacked a tub of Little Leighton's baby clothes, I noticed quite a few had yellow stains around the collars. Apparently this is very common. Pinterest has many, many links to tips on how to get the pesky stains out--most all recommend Oxiclean. So, I gathered up all of the jammies, onesies, bibs and burp cloths, filled up my tub with hot water and several ginormous scoops of the "miracle worker" and dumped them in to soak all day (and subsequently all night now, as I'm just too tired to transfer them to my washing machine). LL was fascinated. She said, "Clothes don't take baths, Mom!" And then proceeded to "watch" them for five solid minutes.

We truly did have a fabulous Christmas. It's amazing to see the difference in LL's excitement this year versus last. She "gets" it all now and loves every. single. second. It makes my heart sing with merriment! I was quite spoiled this year, too, and received some lovely gifts.

From My Two Girls, Hubby and Henry: I opened up the prettiest blue and wine-colored wool scarf from J. Crew and an AMAZING spa gift certificate I'm so thrilled to use ASAP. It's actually a "pregnancy spa" here in the Metroplex, and I know it will be fabulous. I think I'll be booking my package within the next couple of weeks. This ol' gal needs some pampering--pronto!

From ELC and My Sweet Dad: They really surprised me this year! They always have several tricks up their sleeves, and this year was absolutely no exception.

The baking dish on the left is actually part of a set (the other is a bit larger and a beautiful turquoise blue) from the Pioneer Woman's new line at Walmart. I'm simply obsessed with it all and am slowly acquiring quite the collection. I had been eyeing these bakers for awhile now--and had sadly mentioned to ELC (several months ago) that they were sold out in stores AND online. You can imagine my surprise when I opened them up on Christmas Day!

As for the "cookie jar" on the right--this had actually been on my Pinterest "Wish List" board. I was tired of leaving my cookies in an unattractive Tupperware container on my counter. I wanted something fancier! This is from Pier 1--and, ironically, I tried to purchase it for myself the week before Christmas when I went to my local store, but they were sold out! I had told ELC I was going to pop in Pier 1 that day, and she later confessed she had been so worried I would buy it for myself!

I simply cannot believe it is already 2016. The past year was full of many wonderful moments but also came with quite a lot of heartache, too. We cannot wait for a fresh start and the joy this new year will bring to our family. Here's to lots of happiness, health and grace in 2016!