A Very Merry Married Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! This was our first Christmas together as husband and wife, so this will surely be a memorable one. We celebrated Christmas with both our families, and ate way too much food. On Christmas Eve, we gathered at our house, cooked dinner together, baked lemon cookies, then watched Home Alone 2. Sounds awesome, right? Don't worry, it was. This year's menu consisted of prime rib, sweet potato casserole, and mac'n cheese. We feasted for hours. I think we're even going to make that our new traditional Christmas Eve meal, with the addition of everyone that comes over must wear Christmas pajamas. Yep, I won't let you in the house if you aren't wearing those pj's!

Spring Rolls

My last post was about an annual potluck holiday party we went to. The week of the party all I could think about was what to make for that darn potluck. Now I wanted to bring something that was yummy, of course, but I also wanted to bring something that wouldn't taste craptastic if it got cold. After much debating, we finally settled on what to bring. Low and behold, the Vietnamese Spring Roll!

We eat them all the time at my mother in law's, and in many different varieties, but we decided to go the  vegetarian route this time. 

Here's what we used in ours:

-Rice Paper *

-Vermicelli Noodles *

-Fried Tofu *

-Lettuce

-Bean Sprouts

-Cucumber

-Carrots 

*Available at most Asian grocery stores.

A Chicago Family Christmas

It's become a tradition that we get together with some of our Chicago friends to celebrate Christmas together. Instead of our typical potluck sit-down dinner, this year we opted for a potluck tapas style. Everyone brought smaller tasting portions allowing us to graze and socialize around the house while still filling our bellies. 

Our friends Eric & Beth kindly hosted this year's affair, and welcomed us into their newly renovated home. Some of their renovations include the exposed brick wall and the fireplace with built-in shelving unit (pictured below). They exposed that brick themselves, and scrubbed in between each and every brick! And that fireplace/built-in unit, Eric built that himself. Let me tell ya, their hard work is paying off. Their home is not only gorgeous, but oh so cozy feeling too. 

Happy Holidays from Chicago!

Watercolor Walls

I am completely in awe of these walls, and I can't seem to get over how stunning they are. Can you believe they're custom watercolor wallpapers? Major props to the talented team over at  Black Crow Studios . 

New Banner

I've had the same banner up in the Etsy shop for quite awhile now, and thought it was time to change things up a bit. Afterall, sometimes change can be quite refreshing.

Do you like?

Navy

An adorable video by New York artist Chris Silas Neal via Kate Spade.

NEW IN SHOP

Lately I've found the color green to be quite inspiring.....

THE "AERIN" EARRING:  Pretty seafoam green briolettes double draped in delicate gold.

Ornament making

I love West Elm, so I was super excited to find out they were hosting an event near by this week. I hit up the West Elm/Etsy Holiday Craft Event with my friend Alex. A handful of awesome Etsy vendors were on hand selling there goods, West Elm offered 10% off everything in store + free gift wrapping, and there was a Christmas ornament making workshop! Sounds like fun, right? 

 Getting crafty at the table.

 Alex showing off her ornament.

My ornament.

Happy Friday!

Shop Update

So I closed the Etsy shop this summer due to my wedding, but I'm excited to let you know that it's back open!! I have a few exciting things to tell you about. First up, I've been working on some new goodies and I'll be posting soon, so please stay tuned.


Secondly, I'll be offering some sales that will change throughout the month. The first sale, 10% off all rings, starts today and runs through December 8th. Enter promo code "RINGSWK1" at checkout.

Hope everyone is having a great week!