Decking The Halls With King Of Christmas

We moved into this home back in March, so this year is an entirely new challenge for me when it comes to decorating for the holidays. On top of it being a new home, my style has seemed to evolve this year. In our last home, I would say my style was much more "farmhouse-y" with a touch of french country. In this home I really wanted to explore decorating with a more elegant french rustic flare. And that set the theme for this year's holiday decor. Elegant with touches of rustic. I set out to use warm luxe textures such as faux fur and velvet, along with mixed metals and rustic elements.

*This is a sponsored post in collaboration with King Of Christmas

I was fortunate enough to collaborate with King of Christmas and to feature one of their gorgeous artificial trees in our home. We have always been real tree people, each year I look forward to that fresh tree smell and the tradition of picking the perfect tree, but I don't look forward to the fact that having a real tree is limiting on how long you get to enjoy it for, and not to mention the mess they leave behind. Year after year we drop nearly $100-$150+ on a tree, just for it to die in less than 3 weeks. Being a blogger, or just the fact that I am a mom and have a million and one things going on in November & December, I enjoy being able to decorate the tree in early-mid November and enjoy it for longer than just 4 short weeks.

King Of Christmas has a huge variety to select from, they have trees to fit every budget!
The tree that I selected is the 7 Foot Unlit Cypress Spruce
I selected unlit, mainly thinking that I already knew how I liked having my lights strung and woven inside and outside of the branches to really make it sparkle! But... I have to admit, I really wish I had chosen their pre-lit version after seeing the rave reviews on their lit trees. Maybe next time?

Overall, this is such an amazing tree. Like I stated above, I am a real tree girl, but this tree is real in all the right ways when it comes to looks, and without the mess. The detail on the branches is done to perfection. I have had to stop many visitors who have entered our home this holiday season and stop them to tell them it's fake! They have to touch it to believe it!

While I may sound like I am ranting and raving about this tree, I assure you that I am a picky one when it comes to artificial greenery. I only share with any of you, products that I fully love and would purchase myself. While blogging may be my job, it is also my job to bring you the real facts and only back items that I trust in myself.

Let's move onto the rest of the decor...

I really wanted to make the tree and the mantle, the focal point this year, so by placing the sofa at an angle, it faced the mantle straight on and framed the tree perfectly. When changing up your furniture layout to accommodate a tree, keep leading lines in mind, which means: what draws your eye to the tree?

Keeping with the luxurious winter vibes, I made sure to add rich furs and velvets throughout the room. From the ribbons tucked into the tree, the faux fur tree skirt, to the velvet and faux fur pillows and throws. Everywhere you look, the coloring and textures are consistent. Of course it's Christmas so you always have to have a bit of sparkle, so I finished off the design with lots of sparkly ornaments, picks in the tree, and champagne colored elements.

My husband is a hard one to buy for. Each holiday or birthday that comes around, I am left stumped on what to give a man who only likes tools, boots and flashlights. (Seriously though, what is with men and flashlights?) This year, I was determined to find my husband a meaningful gift that would be just for him, not something that he needs, but something that he wants.

This man of mine is a builder. He has served 10 years in the Marine Corps and now serves our community as a Police Officer. He works hard, and in his down time he "relaxes" by doing even more work. Yes, my husband's idea of relaxing is working with wood. While he may say a few cuss words along the way of any project he is working on, he enjoys the process. And what better gift for a man who loves working with wood, than a watch made out of wood.

http://www.woodwatches.com/#jenniferciani

* This post is sponsored in collaboration with Jord Wood Watches - Watch Gifted

I have always been a long time admirer of Jord Watches,
and after narrowing down the options for which style to get for my husband,
I decided to go with The Hyde Series - Ebony & Iron
I loved the dark wood tones and black face of the timepiece.

Upon delivery, I opened the package to find a gorgeous and quite masculine, I might add, wooden box. The box itself has a magnetic closure lid, and a small storage drawer underneath for extra links, and cleaning tools. Then, I opened the lid...

I was blown away by the quality and craftsmanship. Each link is made out of wood and comes tailored to the size wrist that you specify before checkout. They even have a dandy printable ruler that will help you determine the size that you will need.

I was able to gift my husband this watch right after his police academy graduation. I have to say, for the first time in 7 years, I found a gift that brought a tear to his eye... a slight tear, but still a tear!
So if you have a difficult man in your life that is a hard one to buy for, let this be a test drive for you, skip the guessing and go with JORD.

YOU CAN FIND MORE MEN'S WOOD WATCHES HERE
AND SHOP WOMEN'S WOOD WATCHES HERE

Luxury Wooden Watch

Thanksgiving is here! Where did this year go and how is there nearly a month left until Christmas? If you are like me and love decorating for Christmas early, you know all too well the struggle of having one part of your hold decked out in all things Christmas while you table is being prepared for that Thanksgiving turkey. While I am a Christmas fanatic, we cannot just skip over one of the best holidays of the year... This year I wanted to create a simple tablescape playing off of copper and burgundy tones.There is something about that combination that is always so classy and elegant.

The copper bowl I found on clearance from Home Goods a few weeks back. They had a few higher priced real copper pieces in store recently, sadly, all of which are out of my teeny budget. So this $12 clearance find is to be praised! To create the faux floral centerpiece, I used desert dry foam blocks on the inside of the bowl, then placed the evergreen cedar faux greenery stems that I purchased from Hobby Lobby all around the edges and used the smaller pieces as filler in the center.

I really wanted the arrangement to be an eye catcher since it is the only feature on the table. I have seen beautiful tables set up with garland and candles down the center, and while they look amazing, I find them impractical when it actually comes time for your Thanksgiving feast. This arrangement keeps the table clear for side dishes and desserts!

The faux pomegranates, cotton picks, faux green eucalyptus, seeded brown filler and burgundy dried eucalyptus used in the arrangement are also from Hobby Lobby. I then placed the entire arrangement onto a small marble topped cake stand from Home Goods.

So, let me ask you, what is your least favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner? Well, for me, it's the dishes. Those dreaded dishes. And I do everything that I can to cut down on the work that comes along with hosting, so when I found these plastic copper silverware sets from Target, I snatched them in a second. Can I get an Amen for less dishes to wash!?

I paired the silverware with my Classic White dish set from Pottery Barn. It has always been the perfect set to go with any holiday and tablescape that I have created.

For a 2 min. table setting, try using metallic card stock as place cards and napkins tied up with a simple cinnamon stick and greenery! Your Thanksgiving (or any holiday) table doesn't have to be expensive nor time consuming to be beautiful. All it takes is a little creativity!

My floral PUMPKIN CENTERPIECE TUTORIAL was such a big hit that I began receiving requests to teach hands on, how to make them. Teaching classes was never even an idea that crossed my mind. While I can easily write up a storm, would it surprise you if I said that talking to a room full of people simply terrifies me? But... I have been trying to challenge myself over the past few months to step outside of my comfort zone, so once I began getting so much encouragement I was excited to jump in and go for it!

My biggest challenge after deciding to offer a workshop, was where to host it? I have a wonderful friend whom is a local maternity/newborn/child photographer and creates her gorgeous work in her beautiful photography studio. Her entire studio is an old historic home here in the golden isles of coastal Georgia. When I brought the idea of a workshop to her, she was instantly on board and graciously offered her studio and wanted to join in on the workshop! I was ecstatic, as her style and mine blend perfectly and provided the perfect backdrop for my vision.

When planning out my workshop, I wanted my style and "signature" to touch every aspect of it, making the workshop an extension of my home and myself. I am a sucker for details, and when displaying the materials on the workshop table, I really wanted to pay attention to detail, even down to the tape on the packaging.

We opted to keep the class size small and intimate to really provide a fun night of crafting, laughing and snacking with "friends". The result was exactly as I had envisioned and was so much fun! Teaching my first workshop was a pleasant surprise and came natural to me, which was completely un-expected! The turn out was so great that I have now decided to offer more and a few Christmas workshops are already in the works so stay tuned to my blog and Instagram for announcements!