Happy Sunday and Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate! As with every year, it came SO fast and we hope that regardless of your plans you have a happy and peaceful day. Here are this week’s links…
This week’s house tour is the happiest, coziest, most joyful Christmas 17th-century cottage we’ve ever seen. So in honor of it being Christmas Eve, please go check out this truly wonderful decorated home tour.
From Emily: Three years ago, I went full adult and bought the best storage specific to the holidays. As you know our ornaments are very important to me and this one (the big suitcase) can fit so many in these little compartmentalized trays that stack on top of each other. There are a ton of other pockets as well where you can fit tall bottle brush trees or ribbon, etc. It’s HIGHLY efficient and makes decorating and undecorating easier/ takes up way less storage space than just big plastic bins.
I also bought these wreath bags for my faux wreaths and garland and this faux Christmas tree storage bag with wheels (for up to a 9′ tree)! Obviously, you could store these in black plastic bags or in bins (if your wreaths and tree are small enough) but I love having them be red so that I KNOW it’s holiday and I don’t have to open them up to figure out what is inside. I do this with all of my holiday bins actually – they are either clear so I can see the holiday inside them or red so that I KNOW it’s Christmas. I also have orange ones for Halloween). It just makes our basement and garage WAY easier to navigate as I know that ALL RED means holiday and there is no confusion.
From Gretchen: Em and I (and Emily M) finished an awesome feel-good makeover this week–you may have seen it on IG stories–and boy, am I feeling good!! It was so much fun to have a part in transforming this space to create an environment that felt warm, inviting, and inspiring. At first, we were a little unsure of how it would all come together, but two last-minute trips to Target later and BOOM! The space came alive. We brought in a bunch of art to try out in the space and while not all of them were winners, this set of colorful, framed canvases really nailed it. Big box art is tough to get right, IMO, but this pair is dang good, especially for the price, and brought in the perfect burst of color to the space.
From Mallory: I’m about to embark on a VERY long journey from LA to New Zealand to New York and it will be SEVERAL hours of travel. Like multiple days of being on a plane lol. I keep getting recommended this neck pillow from friends and family members who are frequent flyers and I finally bit the bullet and ordered it!! It apparently props your head up perfectly so you can get lots of good sleep on the plane…plus Caitlin just recommended it in her last-minute gifts gift guide as well!
From Caitlin: If you’re the lucky recipient of some Airtags tomorrow, congratulations! They’re SO HANDY and you’re going to love them. But if you’re like me (you know, the type to misplace the Airtag box before you even open it), make sure to grab a few cheap keychains – they’re great for attaching to keys (obviously), but they’re also a nice alternative to just throwing a naked Airtag in your bag and hoping for the best! I like to attach my keychain to a zipper pull on the inside of my bag, so it’s always easy to find.
From Jess: So one of the most exciting things happened to me last week…I won the “BEST TASTE” award at my friend’s The Great British Bakeoff-themed birthday party. To enter, you just needed to bring a homemade pastry and y’all I am NOT a baker of any kind. But my friend sent me Athena Calderon’s Citrus Poppy Olive Oil Loaf recipe and it was so easy and DELICOUS. 10/10 showstopper.
Also From Jess: I know this is random but I was doing my bi-weekly makeup brush cleaning and I thought I recommend the cleaner I use! This cleaner is so easy to use, dermatologist tested, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, and safe for sensitive skin.
From Arlyn: As a petite, large-chested girlie with a lower mom tummy, finding a good T-shirt that looks like an actual “outfit” rather than something I threw on on laundry day is not easy. So I bought this vintage crew neck from Old Navy on a whim one day when I was picking up something else and I LOVE IT. It’s just thick enough without feeling stiff, hits at just the right spot that’s long enough to cover what you want but not so long that it covers what you don’t. It also can still be tucked in if that’s your look and has small slits at the bottom sides so it doesn’t cling. It’s on sale for about $17 now and I think I’m going to buy another one.
OK, that’s all from us! Have a great rest of your day and Merry Christmas Eve!!
Opening Image Credits: Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: Emily’s “Messy” But FULL Of Memories Christmas Family Room
For anyone with little kids, call +1-877-HI-NORAD to track Santa (or go to noradsanta.org).
OK, Jess, I need to know more about the bakeoff party! How did it work? Would love to do this with friends!
Are the links to the ornament storage working? Merry Christmas!!