Wrapping up Christmas....

It's finally time to wrap up the Christmas posts. Only a month late.... oops. Christmas was fantastic, and I loved every single minute spent with family. My darling husband and I had a blast on our time off together. I wish Christmas came every 3 months of so instead of once a year. It'd be so nice.

My parents' house is always so beautiful for the holidays. Mom got a new tree this year - flocked for the first time - and it is just so beautiful!

Brett and EB had lots of fun together on the couch while everyone opened presents! EB loves to open presents in bags - tissue paper is her friend....

That's all from us for Christmas 2013! Here's to continuing the wonderful year 2014 has started out to be! Happy New Year, again!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A Tale of Three Trees...

Ermm.... so this isn't behind. At all. Right? But I really did want to share my first year of a Christmas with THREE Christmas trees in our house, so here it goes anyways!

Our main tree is in the living room, and it has been filled with all sorts of ornaments. From childhood ornaments to wedding ornaments to things we have picked up together.... it is full of all kinds of memories! We've had the gold bow for a few years, and I think it may need to be replaced next year. It's rather droopy. But other than that, this tree has been quite perfect for a few years now!

My "pink" tree is probably nearest and dearest to my heart. This tree was put together by my mom and her mother when I was little. I don't remember a year when it wasn't in my bedroom. My dear husband is so sweet to let me keep it in our room during the holidays now. I love going to sleep to the glow it gives off!

Our third and newest tree is in the opposite part of our liven room from the main tree. We bought this tree on clearance at Target at about 70 percent off after Christmas last year, and left it boxed up until the holidays arrived. I made the tree skirt out of a $5 Target tree skirt, then cut out black felt to Disney-fy it. All of our Disney ornaments are on this tree - yep, we really have that many!

Now you have seen each of our Christmas trees - and I shared them before January was over! Here's to a great week!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

My favorite Christmas things...

While my favorite part of Christmas is the free time I get to spend with friends and family, there are always some fabulous gifts involved, so I wanted to share a few of my favorite things from this year with you!

My stocking is always a favorite and Santa (aka Mr. Jones) did a wonderful job this year! How much fun is all of this?!? I am so excited about my Starbucks espresso tumbler - a free drink every day for a month is heaven. And makeup and perfume.... this girl is happy! 

My sweet in-laws sent me the Julep Year-In-Review mini collection as a stocking stuffer, and I was so excited! Twelve new mini Julep polishes to ring in the holiday season! Which color should I use next? I'm thinking the deep bronze shimmer color.

This was my lovely Christmas Day manicure! :-) It was fun and sparkly to celebrate one of my favorite holidays!

My big surprise came from my parents this year... I got a gorgeous black Michael Kors bag and wallet! The bag even has a special spot for my laptop. It's been everywhere with me since I got it. It especially likes to stroll around Target with a Starbucks cup next to it, as you can see!

What were your favorite gifts this year? I still can't believe how fast the holidays came and went!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Creating a Disney Christmas tree...

This year, Mr. Jones and I finally accumulated enough Disney ornaments to set up our long-awaited Disney tree. He even surprised me with a dozen new ornaments as an early gift early on in the month.  As I got ready to set everything up though, I had a hard time finding something to top the tree in Disney fashion.

So, I pulled out my favorite Minnie ears, and went shopping for some red mesh to make a bow. I had no idea how I was going to put them together, but it actually wound up coming together pretty well!

I was so excited with how this tree turned out. While the other two trees will come down, this one will be staying up a little longer in honor of our upcoming trip to the Happiest Place On Earth! :-)

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

From our family to yours, we hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It has been a wonderful 2013, and we are excited for all that 2014 will hold.

XOXO,

Mrs. Jones

25 days of Christmas ornaments (Part 4)

Merry Christmas! Before I tell all of our Christmas fun, and finally show pictures of our actual Christmas trees....

I guess I'd better finish sharing my 25 days of Christmas ornaments! Here are days 21-25, which include some of my favorites!

Day 21: 

This beautiful, fragile glass tube has always been a favorite since I was a little girl. 

Three of them are on my little pink tree.

Day 22: 

My beautiful pink ballerina on my little pink tree. My sister has the matching white one.

Day 23: 

An ornament I painted for EB to have this year! We love our lil pup to pieces!

Day 24:

One of the few ornaments of mine mom has not relinquished. 

She loves my Simba. {Mom's tree}

Day 25: 

One of my all-time favorites, Eve and Wall-E. {Disney tree} 

More holiday fun soon! Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas day with family and friends!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

25 days of Christmas ornaments (Part 3)

Well, this month has been FLYING by, that's for sure. I can't believe how fast the holidays got here. And now it's almost time to celebrate!

To keep things rolling, here's part 3 in my ornament show and tell!

Day 15:

This precious little guy joined our tree on day 15 thanks to dear friends and supper club! 

Day 16:

In honor of Monday morning, it's just one of my lovely Starbucks ornaments today!

Day 17: 

Oh bother... One of our new ornaments this year, thanks to Mr. Jones. {Disney tree}

Day 18: 

Just a little Mickey magic on the Disney tree... This one is a new one Mr. Jones gave me this year!

Day 19: 

My version of #TBT to remember a fabulous trip across France in 2009.

Day 20: 

Five years ago today I married my best friend. Then we went to Disney World. 

Just one installment left! Merry Christmas everyone!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Just a few Christmas questions...

I saw this post over on Kate & Trudy, and thought it would be a fun little thing to share today!

Here are my answers to the 25 Christmas questions floating around blog-land!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Mrs. Jones

***

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate, or course. Egg nog does no sound fun.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
When I was really little, big presents were sitting under the tree unwrapped. But as we got older, more and more of the presents were wrapped!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White lights, always!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope.

5. When do you hang your decorations up?
Umm… Kind of early. They usually go up before Thanksgiving. Yes, I'm one of those people.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert?
My mom's prime rib on Christmas eve is amazing. My aunt's green bean bundles are also a fave!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Honestly, I think there are too many to name.

8. What is on your Christmas wish list?
Not too much this year. Stocking and stocking stuffers are my favorite!

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve?
We always got PJs on Christmas Even when we were kids. Now, we may do that every few years, but not always!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We have three this year - our main tree, our Disney tree, and my childhood tree decorated all in pink!

11. Snow - love it or dread it?
Love it! But probably because we live in Alabama, and never get any!

12. Real tree or fake tree?
Fake. I grew up with one, and my husband had a very unfortunate incident with spiders hatching on Christmas Eve when he was younger….. so it will always be a fake tree in our house!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Another hard one. I remember getting my first CD player, and a Disney CD. Go figure, right? The year my parents surprised me with a pearl necklace was another favorite! But the best Christmas present ever? That would have to be getting sweet Eve Belle just before Christmas from my in-laws four years ago!

14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Spending time with family, and finally taking the time to really relax!

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Cherry pie, but we rarely have it!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Christmas Eve dinner and my parents' house. It's the beginning of an incredible few days, always!

17. What tops your tree?
Bows! I take after my mom like that. But the Disney tree has a bow - and Minnie ears. :-)

18. Do you prefer giving or receiving?
I think everyone likes getting gifts, but the older I've gotten, the more pleasure I take in finding and giving a truly great gift to someone I love. I can't wait to see how much my gifts are loved this year!

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night…. it reminds me so much of the reason this time of year is so special!

20. Candy canes, yuck or yum?
Yum, but I don't eat them that much!

21. Favorite Christmas movie?
I like them all - but probably The Santa Clause!

22. What do you leave for Santa?
Milk and cookies!

23. Do you have a Christmas morning tradition?
It's changed a little over the years. Now it's a little lazier. Get up, shower, head to my parents house if we are in town, or upstairs at the in-laws if we are there. Breakfast. Presents. Lots of movie time.

24. Do you prefer to shop online or at the mall?
A mix. I'm a bargain-hunter.

25. Christmas letter or Christmas card?
Christmas card - with a few paragraphs about our year on the back of course!

25 days of Christmas ornaments (Part 2)

Well, I got a little behind in sharing my daily Instagram posts over here, but I'm officially on Christmas break, and it's time to get caught up! Here is the next batch of my favorite ornaments from this holiday season!

Day 8:

A sweet little wooden pink Santa from the pink tree....

Day 9: 

A beautiful hand-painted Alabama ornament from my aunt! Love how unique it is.

Day 10:

A 30th birthday gift for my sweet husband. Figment, one of his childhood Disney favorites. 

{Disney tree}

Day 11: 

This shiny little ornament is in honor of the first car that was ever 

"mine" - my navy blue VW bug!

Day 12: 

One little ornament, but this place is everything - 

my home, my career and my family. Roll Tide forever.

Day 13: 

Remembering our very first pup, Butterball! This is his ornament.

Day 14: 

Brett's ornament celebrating graduation from college.

He skipped his ceremony in favor of my family's extended Christmas celebration.

Just 11 days left of ornaments! I'll be back with the final installments soon! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A little Christmas pup...

I love December. I love holidays. I love decorations. I love Christmas.

But what I love more than just about anything this time of year? Is my little Christmas pup. We got her on Dec. 18 four years ago. We brought her home on our first anniversary on Dec. 20. So while her birthday is in September, I find myself extra grateful for the snuggles, love and fun we have this time of year with our little EB.

I wanted to share some fun little pictures of our puppy love with her new Christmas hedgehog. Seriously. Hedgehogs are her favorite, so when I saw a Christmas one when I was out shopping with my mother-in-law? We couldn't resist.

Eve Belle is kind of hard to resist, isn't she? Merry Christmas and happy holidays! The countdown to Christmas break stands at just four more workdays for me! Hip hip hooray!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

25 Days of Christmas ornaments (Part 1)

Tis the season to deck the halls, and all that jazz right? But sometimes, I have to remember to take a minute and really remember where the treasures that I have come from, and why I put them on my table or mantel or tree each year!

Over on Instagram, I've been taking a minute each day to share my favorite ornaments and the stories behind them. (You can check it out and follow me here.) But each week, I will pull them all over here and share them too.

So, without further adieu, here are some favorite ornaments of mine!

Day 1: 

The very first Christmas ornament Brett gave me. 

I smile each year when it goes on the tree. {Main tree}

Day 2: 

A sweet little angel from my childhood tree decorated in all pink ornaments. 

So thankful my mom and grandma made this tree for me.

 It's in my bedroom even today. {pink tree}

Day 3: 

This one makes me smile and thing of my "blog girls" each time I walk by it. 

Grateful for friendship!

Day 4:

 An addition to our main tree this year, this Lenox ornament pays tribute to my beautiful 

Christmas china and my sweet Nana Ruth who started giving it to me when I was little.

Day 5: 

One of the many official White House ornaments a family friend has given us over the years! 

Day 6: 

My Lenox China bridal Minnie ear ornament.

 Love this because my mom gave it to me at my Christmas shower. {Disney tree}

 Day 7: 

Wall-E and Eve ear hat ornament on the Disney tree. This one's a favorite.

XOXO,

Mrs. Jones

Next Christmas...

I know it's like, a month late, but I had a little fun at the after-Christmas sale in Target! :-) Next Christmas, we'll have TWO Christmas trees up! This beautiful 7 1/2 foot slim tree will be our Disney tree!

I'm excited - and Mr. Jones is even more excited. This is what he has been looking forward to for a few years, and now we have the tree! I just have to pick up a few more ornaments so it doesn't look bare. But we do have a good group of Disney ornaments already!

Do you have more than one tree at Christmas? Are any themed? Tell me more!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones