it's starting to look a lot like christmas

It is officially my favorite time of the year! As soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers were put away, I was getting the Christmas decorations out of the garage. 

I bought this JOY canvas print while on vacation this summer. I love the reindeer in the middle with a little red sleigh bell as it's nose. It matches the wall paint almost perfectly-which is a bit of a bummer, but i still like the way it looks. Since it is only going to stay up for a few weeks we used the Command Photo Strips to hang each canvas up. 

The staircase garland is from Hobby Lobby and was 50% off a few weeks ago so I picked up two 6' long pre-lit garland. The 12' garland was the perfect size for the bottom half of the stairs banister in our house. There is a plug along the baseboard which makes for easy access to turn on and off.

The final "big" decoration in the house up so far is on the mantle above the fireplace. I got this 9' pre-lit garland at Costco when they started putting up their holiday stock. There is also an outlet above the mantle which makes this piece SUPER convenient to turn on and off. I also put up the stockings and the grey/glittery stocking holders, similar here. 

As far as outside decorations go, I have a pre-lit wreath hanging on the front door. This wreath is pretty cool because it has it's own built in timer for the lights. When the timer is activated, the lights are on for six hours and off for 18 hours. No need to worry about turning it off or on at night. 

We are also a house divided when it comes to lights. I prefer the classic look of all white lights-which match the interior of the house, but my other half prefers the multi-colored "party" lights. Keep in mind we live in a historic district in the city where the homes are old and have a lot of charm. What to do when you have a dilemma like this? You shop at Costco! Costco had these three-way outdoor lights that you can set to be either all white, all multi-colored, or both. We have them set on both right now, but that will probably change once it gets closer to Christmas. 

As you can see something major is missing. We are getting our Christmas tree this weekend. The place where the tree is going to sit still has a hole in the wall so we are hoping to get it fixed before-hand, but if not the tree will reside in the dining room for now. More photos to come once the tree gets purchased and decorated.   

e-reader comparison

Christmas season is upon us and I have decided that I am going to buy an e-reader for myself this year. This is totally out of the ordinary for me, you can read about it here. I am very much a "book in hand" kind of person so an e-reader is very different for me. Since I am new to the e-reader world I have to do some research before pulling the trigger on a purchase. 

Kindle // Kindle Paperwhite // Nook GlowLite Plus // Kobo Glo HD

The O.G. Kindle from Amazon is what I was initially thinking about buying. The battery life is a few weeks and has built in wi-fi which is awesome. The best part of the Kindle is that it is back-lit so there is no glare when you read in the sunlight. 

The other Kindle product is the Kindle Paperwhite. It is a new version with any similarities to the O.G. Kindle. The Paperwhite has a custom font called "Bookerly" from Amazon that is supposed to make reading easier on the eyes and quicker using a more natural font. This e-reader also has a feature that allows you to change the brightness (light-night) reading

There is also Barnes and Noble's version called the Nook GlowLite Plus. The battery life is supposedly six weeks for this e-reader. The Nook is also scratch resistant, finger print resistant, and waterproof. I feel like this is a lesser known product, so it may not hold as many books. 

Finally there is the Kobo Glo HD. I have never heard of this company or this product. This product has ComfortLight which is supposed to distribute light equally throughout the screen. The Kobo Glo allows you to personalize your e-reader with 11 different fonts and multiple size increments. It claims to have a two month battery life depending on usage. 

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When it comes down to it I feel like I will want to hold each on in my hand to see which one feels the best in my hand while reading it. Size is also a big factor, because I want something that can fit in my purse or backpack. Wish me luck while I search for the perfect e-reader!

roundup and resolutions

I am trying to enjoy the last remnants of the Christmas season lingering in my apartment. This was one of the most difficult, yet fulfilling holiday seasons I have ever been a part of. This wasn't the first holiday season without my Granny "mentally" here, but it was my first real experience of the true absence of a loved one at Christmas. It was also the first Christmas morning that I didn't wake up at my parent's house and rush down the steps to open presents that were waiting under the tree. I instead spent Christmas morning with the person who has my heart and enjoyed the simplicity of frozen waffles with peanut butter and maple syrup (which makes them totally taste like butterscotch....YUM). 

The new year arrived in true January fashion, giving us the first snow fall of 2014. Snow is nothing new around here but every time I see it I'm always taken back to my childhood memories. Winters were spent sledding down hills throughout the neighborhood on anything that was flat and fast.

 

Now as an adult snow means trying to get to work on time and avoid the driver's who are terrified of the stuff, but it's still important to stop an catch some flakes on your tongue before heading to work in the morning. Happy New Year.