The Advent Tree is Up!

Happy Advent y'all!  Today is the first day of the season of Advent...the time of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas and the start of the liturgical new year.  Advent is the time of spiritual reflection as well as anticipation counting down the days until Christmas.

Today's message at church was Hope...The purple 'Hope' Advent candle was lit...expressing our longing for peace, healing, and well-being of all creation.

Our Advent tree is up!  This is the same tree I started last year.  I added festive numbered treat cones...one for each day of the Advent season.  I added peppermint candy and placed a "Christmas Bucket List 2012" tag inside each one--my list of things I want to do during the season...Attend a holiday home tour, go Christmas Caroling, watch all my favorite Christmas movies, and all the other traditional Christmas holiday activities.

I bought these printable cones on Etsy last year...you can find them here.

Pedro and Pepi have been busy little elves this weekend...baking gingerbread cookies.

So, I've been running from store to store to find the perfect gifts, trying to get them wrapped, finishing up all the Christmas decorations, baking, and trying to pack it all in.  Tonight we are relaxing on the sofa watching our favorite shows...Amazing Race, Dexter, and Homeland.

Y'all have a great week!

2nd Sunday of Advent...St Nicholas Day

It's the second Sunday of Advent and the first and second candles of the Advent wreath were lit at church. The first candle is HOPE, the second candle is PEACE.

And so it is also St. Nicholas Day. He is the patron saint of children and of course, there is a long tradition of gift-giving associated with him. Those who observe St. Nicholas Day know that it is a good opportunity to remind children that Jolly Santa Claus is in fact St. Nicholas and inspire them to amend their ways in preparation for the coming King!
After Church, we had lunch at a fish restaurant by the neighborhood village square. I asked my husband to try and photo the whole gigantic tree and me. He has a thing about "zooming in" so you can't see much of the tree, but it is nice!
"HERE'S WHAT I WORE"

Skirt: Blue tartan plaid by Pendleton

Blouse: White Peter Pan by French Toast
Cardi: Navy by JCrew

The Accessories:
Pocketbook: Navy blue Bermuda bag, monogrammed
Cologne: Ralph Lauren
Lipstick: 'Talisman' by Chanel
Shoes: Navy 'Revas' by Tory Burch

Necklace: Gold beads {I'm actually showing a cardi guard, but wore a necklace instead}
Earrings: Gold monogrammed disks
Wedding band: 'Eternity' by Cartier
I'm showing y'all a casual outfit I wore the other day for a reason...
Slacks: Ralph Lauren

Blouse: Coldwater Creek

Cardi: J Crew
This is why I wanted y'all to see this...Why in the world won't this photo flip the right way? I tried to load it all kinda ways, but no, it just kept loading upside down!

Anyway, I love this new clutch that I got from Marley Lilly! I am so in love with houndstooth this season...some would think I'm even a Bama fan:)

This past week, I've been working on my Christmas 2011 Bucket List...

Remember my Advent tree? Items from my Bucket List are printed on little tags...one inside each cone...stuff I want to do each day of the Advent season!

On Monday I hung Christmas stockings on the armoire with care!
On Tuesday I decorated the front porch tree.
On Wednesday, I donated some of my Department 56 'Dickens Village' houses to the Church thrift store. The Church ladies were very happy!!!
On Thursday I decked out the front door with some Christmas cheer!
On Friday I put together my "Friendship Gifts" for December.
On Saturday I sipped my first Gingerbread Latte of the season!
I hope y'all are having a wonderful Christmas season. Please remember to keep Christ in Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season!!!

Advent Tree

Goodness gracious, I'm kinda grateful this holiday weekend is coming to a close. I have eaten my way through the whole thing! Seriously, it's was wonderful...from the crack-of-dawn Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving morning, to the who-cares that the oven died during the turkey baking, to the midnight shopping on Black Friday! I promise y'all, as soon as I click "publish" on this post, I'm off to the gym for a workout and plan to spend a couple of hours there!

This morning I attended Church..."HERE'S WHAT I WORE"

Skirt: Talbot's
Jacket: Old...Dillard's, I think

THE ACCESSORIES:

Pocketbook: 'Kelly Bag' by Ferragamo
Headband: Black velvet by Bagalicious...It's after Thanksgiving, I can wear velvet now!
Lipstick: 'Star' and 'Miss Fizz' by Chanel
Cologne: 'Mademoiselle' by Chanel
Earrings: Givenchy
Wedding band: 'Eternity' by Cartier
Ponytail bow: Black grosgrain ribbon
Shoes: 'Vara' by Ferragamo
I wore this Burberry plaid silk pochette around my neck...

Today is the first day of the season of Advent...the time of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas and the start of the liturgical new year. Advent is a time of spiritual reflection as well as anticipation...counting down the days until Christmas!

I was thinking of making my own Advent calendar this year, then I decided to decorate an Advent Tree! I used my trusty little white feather tree that I've had for years. Then I added these little festive numbered treat cones...one for each day of the Advent season. I placed a "Christmas Bucket list 2011" tag inside each one...my list of things I want to do during the season....Attend a Christmas parade, attend a tree lighting, bake Christmas cookies, wear Christmas earrings, sip some Gingerbread latte, et cetera. I also added some peppermint candy treats!
I cut out the patterned cones and taped them together in the back, punched a couple of holes on the sides, and used red grosgrain ribbon to hang them on the three. LOVE the designs of the cones!
I found the cone printables HERE on Etsy.

I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend! Let the Christmas season begin!!!