Real or Fake?

Christmas is only two days away, but I don't want this Holiday Season to end without venting about my dilemma this Christmas.  My husband and I had a debate throughout this Holiday season about Christmas Trees (so petty, right? lol).  I love real Christmas trees and my husband likes fake Christmas Trees, so every year since we've been married we have had the same debate (5 years lol).

I am Team Real Christmas Trees because that's the type of tree I had when I was a child.  My mom and dad would take my siblings and I to the nearest Home Depot, and we would pick out the tallest and widest tree.  It was so much fun spending time with my family and watching my dad scrap the tree to the roof of our car.  I also enjoyed decorating and watering the tree and the great pine aroma that filled our home. There is nothing like a real Christmas Tree that sets the mood for the Holiday Season!

My husband is Team Fake Christmas Tree.  He likes fake Christmas Trees because they are easy maintenance.  He believes that if we get a real tree, there will be Christmas tree needle droppings everywhere.  He thinks our little girls will place the needles in their mouths for enjoyment.  I understand, his point is valid, but my rebuttal is "I will water the tree and sweep up any needle droppings." 

So who won the battle this year?  I'm not going to lie, I put up a great fight lol.  We have two fake trees that my husband took out after Thanksgiving.  I was on Fake Christmas Tree strike! I refused to decorate the trees, they stood in my dining room and kitchen looking pitiful for two weeks!  Ladies and gentleman I was on strike lol! But, the closer Christmas got, the more I felt guilty, because of my daughters.  I did not want them to miss out on the joy of seeing a decorated tree.  So, I swallowed my pride and decorated the Christmas trees.  As I was decorating the trees, my husband came home and was so happy the strike was over.  He cut on the Christmas Carols, and my daughters danced and watched my husband and I decorate the tree.  My girls didn't care if the tree was real or fake, they enjoyed the shiny bulbs and dancing lights that twinkled on the tree.

My husband and I came to a compromise, we will get a real tree when the girls are old enough to know not to put Christmas needles in their mouths lol.  Here are some pictures of my decorations and Christmas projects I created this Holiday Season!

 



If you look behind me, you can see a Christmas Tree with no ornaments! This picture was taken during the strike lol. 

 

 Two weeks later, I finally ended the strike and decorated the tree!

 

The tree is decorated with blue and silver bulbs.

 

My daughters were happy to finally see bulbs on the tree! As long as they're happy, I'm happy!

 

 A poinsettia centerpiece that I made

 

 Normally pictures hang on this wall, but I placed Christmas wreaths in their place.

 

A poinsettia centerpiece that my mom gave me (it's been in the family for 25 years).

I wrapped my pictures with poinsettia wrapping paper.

This cute Christmas bear was given to my daughter by her grandparents on her dad's side.  It recites Twas' the Night before Christmas:)

 

 If you're like me, sometimes my cookies don't come out in perfect circles.  I found a perfect recipe to remedy this problem, Chocolate Chip Blondies!  For the complete recipe, click here.  The only thing different I did from the recipe was add pecans instead of walnuts. 

 

They were placed in the oven for 15 minutes on 375 degrees.

 

Once they were cooled, I removed them from the wrapper.  Here is the finished product, they were delicious!  I brought them to work to give out to my co-workers during cookie elves week:)

 

I also made reindeers to give out to my co-workers!  I used coned cello bags from Michael's Craft Store.  I filled the cello bags with hot cocoa mix and topped it off with mini marshmallows.  I tied the bags with brown chenille stems.

 

After the bags were filled and secured.  I glued googly eyes and red noses on each reindeer.

 

The finished product!

 

 

As you can see, I've been busy!  What type of Christmas tree do you prefer? What Christmas Crafts do you enjoy doing?  Chime in below:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lady behind the Christmas B.H.H Award (my mom) !

Last week I posted Christmas decoration pictures of my sister Renata's lovely home.  She did such an amazing job with her Christmas display that she was awarded the B.H.H (my mom's initials) award for her creativity.  If you did not read the post or see the beautiful pictures click here.  The award is pretty much bragging rights of having the best Christmas display in the family.  I named it the B.H.H Award because my mother has set a very high standard in decking the halls for Christmas.  My sisters and I do not have to shop for Christmas decorations because my mother has a plethora of Christmas decorations stored in boxes, on shelves, in the attic, etc.  If you name it, she probably has it!

Well this weekend, my family and I visited my parent's home to take Christmas pictures for our Christmas cards and boy can I tell you the Halls were definitely decked! My mom never ceases to amaze me!  Her home was immaculate, there were Christmas displays in every room!  My little ones was so impressed at the decorations, they were running and pointing at every shiny, sparkly, and silver decorative detail.  I couldn't blame them because I was mesmerized myself, we definitely had many options to choose from when choosing a back drop for our Christmas pictures.  We also had  fun spending time with my parents and watching them spoil their grandchildren. It's moments like these that brings out the true meaning of Christmas, Faith, Family, and Fun! Check out some of the  moments I captured this weekend!

 Introducing to some Presenting to others....My mom! The Lady behind the Christmas B.H.H Award!



  My mother and I .....love her to pieces!

 My mother purchased these ornaments from her favorite restaurant, Cracker Barrel! If you read my blog about my Mom's favorite things party, you will know that it's her favorite restaurant.  If you didn't read it, click here 

 I love these red cardinal mini pillow ornaments!

 I love this dining room table because this is the same dining room table that my brother and sisters spent many Christmas dinners at.  We eat as a family every Christmas around this table!  I love the Red and Green Poinsettia Centerpiece! 



 These green glasses were given to my mother by her grandmother (my great-grandmother)

The china buffet table was decked out in the dining room as well!

 Another cute centerpiece in the Hallway!

 The kitchen table had a festive Red flower centerpiece with red berries

 Up close picture of the kitchen table centerpiece....love this!

 The fireplace was decked out with tall festive plastic Christmas trees and decorative gift boxes!

Up close picture of the festive trees! I moved some of my mother's decorations to the fireplace for the scenery of my Christmas card photos:) 

 These festive boxes twinkled with bright lights inside!

 There is nothing like a Fireplace during cold weather days!



 I had so much fun spending time with my parents and watching them make memories with their grandchildren:)

 

My girls were so intrigued by all of the festive decorations, especially these frosty the snowman stuff animals! In true grandmother form, my mom gave them these frosty the snowmen:)

 

What is the Holiday Season without Christmas music! My daughter loved the song that was playing so she had to cut a rug with her grandpa!

 

My dad had to school my daughter on some dance moves!

This was definitely a priceless moment, seeing my dad dance with his granddaughter:) She was having a blast!

My dad is an excellent dancer, he did these same moves with me during my wedding reception! I love him to pieces:)

 There is nothing like family! Moments that take your breath away.....LOVE!

     

 Merry Christmas from my Mom and Dad!

I hope you now understand why receiving the B.H.H Award is such an accomplishment! I love my family and I am truly blessed to have such wonderful parents!  What is your favorite B.H.H. Christmas Decorative Detail? Chime in below! 

Mom's Favorite Things Party

The month of July is a month that is filled with lots of summer fun! It is also the month that I celebrate my mother's birthday.  My family tends to have so much anxiety because my mom is the hardest person to shop for.  Anybody who knows my mother will testify that she has a lot of clothes, shoes, jewelry, hats, and purses.  She is a pastor's wife, so she has accumulated so many things over the years.  So when my dad and siblings shop for my mom's birthday we never know what to get her.  This year my dad asked my sisters and I to plan a surprise birthday party for my mom at church.  At first, my sisters and I were skeptical of my dad's idea because we thought she would prefer a more intimate party with only family members. But, the more my dad explained his reasoning behind the party, the more my sisters and I begin to get on board with his vision.  When we started planning my mom's party we could not think of a theme for the party.  We did not have much time to plan and we had limited resources.  We were so stressed out thinking about a particular theme that my mom would love, until my sister Robin said, let's plan a party based on mom's favorite things! We loved that idea and began to brainstorm different things that my mom loves.  After we made our list of her favorite things, we begin to look for items to represent her favorite things from stores, restaurants, and even my mother's house, in which my sister and I had to sneak into her house to get pictures and memorabilia. Once we gathered all the items, we decorated the banquet hall in the church the night before the party.  We managed to surprise my mother, and she was overwhelmed with joy to see all of her favorite things! Here are some pictures of the decorated tables filled with my mom's favorite things.

   This is the Cracker Barrel table! One of my mom's favorite things to do is to eat at her favorite restaurant Cracker Barrel.  The waiters and waitresses know my mom by name, she eats here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The table accessories included items that we found at Cracker Barrel along with southern accessories that I found at Dollar General.

 

Another thing my mom loves to do is teach! My mother was a stay at home mom for over 20 years.  But recently, she decided to make a difference by becoming a substitute teacher.  She loves encouraging students to be the best they can be!

 

My mom is a first lady, and one of her favorite prints that she loves to wear is Polka Dot. We got the collectible doll and some of the polka dot items from my mom's house.

 

Another print my mom loves is leopard! The leopard hats and scarves was taken from my mother's house.

 

My mother's favorite Holiday is Christmas! She loves to deck her home with lots of folly. We decorated this table with my mother's Christmas table runners and ornaments.

 

My mom is from Georgia, so she is a Georgia Bulldog fan. We decorated the table with Georgia Bulldog fabric, hat, pom poms, and tulle.

 

Last but not least, the cake was decorated in polka dot, one of my mom's favorite prints.  The cake was made by The Cake Shop of San jose

 

 

What table do you like the best from my mom's favorite things party?