Sugar and Spice birthday!

My precious girl...

my SUGAR and my SPICE...

is turning two on Christmas Eve!

Yesterday we celebrated with a few family and friends,

and so I wanted to share a little of the party with you!

I couldn't help but think of the Sugar and Spice theme,

because it truly describes my

up-and-coming two- year-old!

We had a great time due to amazing help from my mom, my mother-in-law,

my sweet friend Jessi who came in town, and my hubby!

Lord knows this bout-to-pop preggo mama needed all the help I could get.

I maybe should not have put on a party in my state,

but I just HAD to celebrate my little girl,

and make it all about her,

especially before her world gets rocked with a new baby any day!

we made "sugar skewers" and "spice skewers",

and they were so yummy!!

we also had some fudge, spicy cheese krispies, grape jelly meatballs,

puppy chow, tortilla rolls, sugar and spice pecans,

and of course cake!

some juice boxes, sparkling grape juice, water...

and some vino and beer for the parents!

I put a few sweet pics of her around,

which made my heart just melt every time I saw them.

the sweetest thing happened during the party...

starting with one of her bff's Caden (Jessi's little boy who came in town),

kid after kid came up and gave Abigail a big hug.

it was PRECIOUS!

...lots of birthday love for my sweet girl...

in leiu of gifts,

we asked for people to bring books to donate to a children's hospital,

(more on that in a different post)...

bc we are trying to teach Abigail that "stuff" is not important

and that giving to others IS.

But of course, the grandparents had to bring a few gifts for their baby girl...

she loved opening the packages as much as the gifts themselves!

She got some new "runny shoes"

(running shoes), and just LOVED

trying them on and modeling them for all of us.

(SUCH a girl...look at that little pose!)

It was a SWEET party...

and I can't wait for the actual day on Saturday!

My birthday girl is getting extra special hugs and cuddles this week...

It's her last week of being ONE,

(isn't it cute to say someone is "one"?! we LOVE that!)

and possibly her last week of being MY only one.

{tears!}

Happy Birthday week Abigail!

that was my lovely - here's some more lovely for you:

My Holiday Home Tour!

'Tis the season of Holiday Home Tours...

so I thought I'd do one of my own! :)

Come on in!

my favorite wreath of the year hangs on our front door,

welcoming family and friends!

our tree is next to the TV stand, right by the stairs,

and I added a little "trimming" underneath the TV itself.

I love that we see our tree as we come down the stairs!

I love getting out my Christmasy throw pillows!

(ask my husband, I'm a little bit obsessed with throw pillows),

and I fill my lanterns with tiny pinecones to add a wintery touch!

of course, it's time to bust out the Christmas dish towels

(yes, I have some for every holiday) :)

And I always add red ribbons to the baskets underneath our coffee table.

I can't leave out our FAVORITE candles from Bath and Body Works.

(they should hire me to endorse these bc we love them SO much!)

We always get some for every season, but the Winter ones are the best...

"Fireside", "Winter", and "Fresh Balsam" fill our house with

the awesome smells of Christmas!

I have this vase next to the couch,

that's usually just empty, and was trying to figure out what to do with it...

so I filled it with some Cinnamon Pinecones (2$ at JoAnns),

and added some pretty balsam branches (2$ at Hobby Lobby)

one of my favorite things - our Willow Tree Nativity Scene.

My mom gave me a piece to this every year until it was complete,

and it is my favorite thing to put out each year, such a good reminder of the Reason.

It fits perfectly on top of the (red) cabinet that my great-grandfather built.

our mantle isn't big,

but I love to decorate it!

(I am waiting to change out that picture of Abigail

for when we get new ones done with BOTH girls!)

I decided to put out some cute baskets for Abigail, to keep Christmasy books in,

and also her Little People Nativity Scene to play with.

This is my favorite Christmas platter -

I dont even use it, I just display it!

I took the normal pictures off the wall in the kitchen and made it a little more cheerful...

I always hang an apron in the kitchen, so I put up the Christmas one.

(I keep thinking it will encourage me to cook, ahem. :-/ )

here's a glimpse of our little Guest Bath downstairs.

(gatta make that potty look pretty, right?)

And on to Abigail's playroom (next to the guest bath, off the kitchen)...

you can't really tell, but I hung some pink Christmas lights around her window.

I also put up her tiny white Christmas tree

She says "wooooaaah" every time I turn the lights on! :)

This is a little corner shelf (garage sale, 5$, repainted it)

that sits in the corner at the top of the stairs.

I added some special decorations to it...

those ducks, and that Santa candle were both in my Grandmom's house growing up.

I remember them so well and love that we have them now!

And Abigail's room...

we put her pink Christmas tree up and she loooooves it!

and I also put a little house on her bookshelf, that I grew up with in my bedroom.

It lights up and is the sweetest little thing.

There's not much else from upstairs...

I didnt really decorate our room or bathroom bc we are hardly up there,

and the new baby nursery has stuff everywhere right now as I am organizing! :)

But I couldn't leave out the LOVELIEST part of this Chirstmas decorating...

the little girl that helped decorate the tree, and did SO good at it!

(She WAS born on Christmas Eve you know...

so she adds a little extra Christmas Joy to this season!)

Thanks for coming over!

Our door is always open for you!

I'll put some spiced cider on the stove next time you visit!

I'd LOVE to see how you decorate for Christmas!!!

linking up over here for some more lovely:

PS. WINNER!the Winner of this Giveaway is . . . 5ohwifey!email me girl! yay! {and thanks again Heather and Lisa for doing this giveaway!}
Come Back tomorrow to hear about a Big LINK PARTY I will be hosting soon!You wont want to miss this holiday fun!! LOVE YALL!!!

Fall Snack Mix...great little gifts!

Sharing with you my homemade Fall Snack Mix today...

I made a big batch last week for Abigail's MDO teachers,

just for a little Fall "thank you".

{they seriously deserve SO much -

can you imagine teaching a bunch of 2-year-olds?}

This could be a sweet little gift for anyone...

neighbors, teachers, friends, doctor.

or even just to munch on during Thanksgiving weekend football!

I got the idea from Pinterest

(where else?) :)

You could add anything fall-ish, just be creative!

I used:

Cheeze-its

Salted Peanuts

Square Pretzels

Cocoa Puffs

Honet Nut Cheerios

Candy Corn

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Chips

(or Butterscotch Chips)

Reeses Pieces candies

(yes, please to all that stuff, right?!)

And i found those cute little jars at Walmart for 3$ each!

and had some left-over fall ribbon from some crafting.

Just mix it all together in a big bowl,

add it to the jars and put the ribbon on!

(totally all self-explanatory, I know).

I taped a little note on top of each jar

to say thank you...

Her teachers were SO excited to get them!!!

And luckily I made a bit too much, so we've been munching on it all weekend!

So simple, I know.

But sometimes the simple little gifts go a long way!

Enjoy!!

And come back tomorrow for an awesome

GIVEAWAY!!!

go link up here for some more lovely today...

a lovely Monday GIVEAWAY!

It's a LOVELY GIVEAWAY today!

{my little lovely modeling her bows from Blossom and Vine!}

I want to introduce you today to ALY...

If you don't already know her, read her blog, or shop her shop,

you should. :)

and she has a WONDERFUL giveaway for you today!

hi! i'm aly. i'm a work-from-home mom of a 2.5 year old daughter,

expecting another girl in february.

my handsome hubby and i are high school sweethearts and we've been married 6.5 years.

we live in southern california where he's a football coach and i do my best to try to keep the house clean.

i love Jesus, writing, singing, target, and i might be addicted to starbucks coffee.

i write at The Mommie Diaries and when i have extra time,

i make pretty things at my shop, Blossom and Vine.

my handmade business adventure actually started in 2009,

a few months after my daughter was born.

i started making headbands for her, and after too many people recommended

that I open an etsy shop and start selling stuff, i did!

i'm embarrassed to look back at some of the first things that i sold, but it evolved quickly and the business and my creativity grew.

that first year was such a blessing for our family.

while living with my inlaws for nine months, in the process of buying our house,

i was able to pay off our car, pay for some of the upgrades in our home

and a few other fun things.

the night before we moved into our new house, i closed up the etsy shop,

knowing that i wouldn't be able to manage a home and the 8pm-2am "workdays".

the break was nice, but i couldn't stay away.

so i started selling DIY tutorials of some of the designs i had sold in my shop.

eventually i began to make things again,

so i opened a new shop, Blossom & Vine.

it's stocked with ready-to-ship items:

headbands, clips/brooches,

and scripture prints are some of my favorite verses.

there's even a wreath and some hoop art.

when i have some time to make things, i do.

but i don't have to neglect my family and home to keep a business afloat.

it's perfect for this season of our lives. i absolutely love sending beautiful things off

to their new homes and love that i get to stay sane while doing so!

i still have the tutorial shop, and i call it

"Blossom & Vine DIY"

[in case you're the crafty type].

THANKS SO MUCH ALY!!!

The winner of this GIVEAWAY receives

a generous $30 SHOP CREDIT!!

To Enter::

you must be a follower of my blog {here}

you must be a follower of Aly's blog {here}

extra entries:

add Blossom and Vine's shop to your Favorites on Etsy {here}

follow Blossom and Vine on Twitter {here}

follow me on Twitter {here}

Tweet, FB, or Blog about this giveaway! (1 entry each)

LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY you make

{so, you could have up to 8 entries total!}

Giveaway ends on Wednesday...

Winner will be announced on Thursday November 17th !

Happy Giveaway-ing!

Have a lovely, lovely Monday,

link up here for more:

my girly space....and a winner!!!!

It's where I spend most evenings right before bed.

my girly space.

my mommy retreat.

my smells-pretty spot.

my no-toys-to-pick-up area.

my personal spa (well, minus the massages and facials)

my womanly sanctuary.

It may not be much,

but it is.

It's where I can wind down, and take the day off a bit.

Let loose of the stresses and strains,

pray for peace and rest,

Relax before sleep.

Just BE.

I can catch up on celebrity gossip here,

read my book,

watch sweet girl sleeping on the monitor,

pray, or just sit and close my eyes

and take in the pretty smells of my bath soap.

basically =

take a break.

Like I said, it's my girly space.

It's where my jewelry hangs and my magazines are stored.

It's where I have my amazing prints displayed

(thank you Jessi at naptime diaries!)

to remind me of the kind of woman I want to be.

And of course,

a picture of my sweet angel hangs before me on the wall...

the perfect way to relax.

Where do you wind-down at the end of the day?

do you have a space in your home that makes you feel girly?

Id love to hear! :)

oh, and we cant forget!

The WINNER of the Red's Rosies necklace giveaway is.....

(chosen by random.org)

Kassi!!

email me friend! yay! :)

for more lovely in your Monday,

head over here: