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The family voted to bring back the snickerdoodle hot cocoa flavor this year for our annual family hot cocoa bar..and I certainly wasn't going to argue. It's hands-down one of our favorite flavors we've come up with.

It's creamy and delicious, and absolutely "cozy in a cup"...or mug in this case.

I promise, once you've had a mug of this...I'm not certain you'll ever go back to classic hot cocoa mix again - recipe linked at bottom of post.

Since I'd done the "Boho Snickerdoodle Hot Cocoa Bar" previously, I knew I had to come up with ways to make this one unique and a little different.

FOUR DISTINCT DIFFERENCES

Four specific, intentional things I decided to do differently this year was the addition of snickerdoodle cookies to the bar, the creation of cinnamon marshmallows, splurging on some beautiful handmade mugs and plates and the creation of a bulk recipe for Snickerdoodle Hot Cocoa Mix - eliminating the need to add brown sugar and ground cinnamon to your mug like we did last time. Bulk recipe linked at the bottom of post.

THE SIGN

Believe it or not, I started designing the background of this sign November 2018...

I just never had time to finish it for our 2018 hot cocoa season. (just one more reason I had my Christmas decor up by Halloween night this year...so I could ENJOY the holidays this go around). Lol.

Anyway, good thing because the whole vibe of the sign compliments the snickerdoodle theme this year. I'm in love with the subtle snowflake details and the Old World charm. (sign tutorial coming)

Framing out the sign with fresh cedar gives a subtle nod to the Christmas season, which I adore.

Knowing we'd be keeping the hot cocoa bar up through February, as in previous years, I wanted something that would transition seamlessly from Christmas and throughout the winter season. (and allow me to use it for Valentine's Day with a few simple changes - that idea is coming soon).

You'll notice in some of the images, I originally only had greenery on the sign and the hot cocoa mix jar but later decided to add it to the glass dome on the cookies and also chose to lay a piece on the small cake stand holding the wood spoons, paper straws, cinnamon sugar shaker, and the cinnamon sticks used for garnish + decor.  It's simple little touches like that that make the overall look feel finished and cohesive. I'm so happy with it.

Sit back and enjoy the imagery...I'm hoping it will inspire you to create your own Snickerdoodle Hot Cocoa + Cookies Bar this winter season. Resources listed at the bottom of the post.

I love when home decor doubles as a family treat - don't you?
But seriously, could you see a version of this used at a wedding. Gasp!!

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OTHER BLOG POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY

Snickerdoodle Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe - Bulk

Cinnamon Marshmallows Recipe

PS - Let's stay cozy + connected in-between posts...find me on Instagram for daily inspiration.

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RESOURCES:
Glass Dome + Cake Stand - TJ Maxx
Small Marble-Topped Cake Stand - Tuesday Morning
Handmade Mugs + Plates
Cabinet with drawers
Table Runner
Sign - Pen + Paper Flowers
Copper Spoons - Tuesday Morning
Striped Straws - couldn't find striped but here's another option
Marshmallow Jar - juicer jar I had...removed the juicing components.
Glass and Wood Jar for Hot Cocoa Mix
Mini Wooden Scoop for Hot Cocoa Mix
Wood Spoons - Amazon

KEEPING IT REAL
I may or may not have devoured sipped on a ridiculous amount of mugs of snickerdoodle hot cocoa during the month of December. It's just sooooo good.

STYLING | Neutral + Natural Gift Wrapping Ideas

I've got 4 gifts wrapped and under the tree my friends!
That's a feat for me with it only being the third day of December.

Admittedly, I'm usually wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve...always with regret for not doing it sooner so I could enjoy all of the pretty details for more than 8-10 hours.

I promised myself to break that unintentional tradition this year and so far so good.

Along with my rolls of Kraft paper and some fresh eucalyptus, I put together a tray of pretty ribbons, tags, strings, twine, yarn, dried oranges, scissors and tape. Having the supplies gathered together makes it really easy, and convenient, to quickly wrap additional gifts leading up to Christmas.

My gift wrapping usually always starts with either brown kraft or white wrapping paper.
I like to keep it pretty neutral to allow the pretty ribbons, fabrics, greenery and tags to be the stars of the "gift wrapping show". I'm using dried oranges again from last year's Christmas decor and gift wrapping. I love them.

TIP: I also love spritzing the dried oranges with orange and clove essential oils. Makes them deliciously fragrant and adds another special element to the gift giving experience.

This year, my gifts will be adorned with an extra special detail...
...these beautiful "fa-la-la-la-la" gift tags hand-lettered by my sweet friend Aedriel.
She collaborated with Sugar Paper LA to create some gorgeous holiday pretties for Target.
These tags are even more gorgeous in real life because the card stock is nice and thick and
the finish of the lettering mimics letterpress. I'm completely smitten.

This neutral style of gift wrapping reaches far beyond Christmas too. 

The combination of cotton lace, sheer ribbon and fresh eucalyptus makes it versatile enough for a wedding birthday, or any other special occasion gift. 

I'll leave you to soak in the rest of the gift wrapping details. 

Look for the resource list at the bottom to find some of the pretties I'm using this year. 

I love gift wrapping.

If you aren't excited about it, I hope this inspires you.

Adding some fresh, natural elements to your gift wrapping is easy, beautiful and fun!

And the receiver will adore and appreciate the extra effort.

Love you guys!!

PS - Let's stay cozy + connected in-between posts...find me on Instagram for daily inspiration.

Subscribe here to have new blog posts delivered right to your inbox.

RESOURCES

Linen Ribbon

Fa-la-la-la Tags

Wide Cotton Lace Ribbon - linked something similar

Dried Oranges

Frayed Chiffon Ribbon

Cotton Twine

Brown Kraft Paper - 2pk

Fresh Eucalyptus - Trader Joe's

KEEPING IT REAL
Don't leave your dried oranges out if you have animals.
I caught my dog, Hamilton, devouring the oranges right off the packages.
But he's 18 years old...so maybe your pets won't be intrigued in the least. *wink*

CHRISTMAS | Pretty Woods + Whites hand-painted ornaments

The reason I chose to have my house decorated for Christmas by November 1st??

Time. 

Time to enjoy the little things the Christmas season brings with it.

I didn't have time last year.

Or rather, I didn't plan and prioritize to ensure I had the time.

Perfect example: these little wood ornaments. 

I purchased these hand-crafted beauties at TJMaxx last year with the intention of repainting them and restringing them. The silver details and red ribbon (see below) weren't the woods + whites I was craving. 

I knew all I needed was a little time to sit down and paint over the silver details and restring them with a creamy white ribbon to make them exactly what our woods + whites tree needed.

I just didn't have the time.

So they sat in the bag, tags still on them, unpainted. 

I resented never having hung them...never having time.

With intentional planning and a little goal setting...they are officially painted...and hanging.

And I love them so much.

It's amazing how much a little paint, a little ribbon, and a little time makes!

I really LOVE how they turned out!

However, I especially love that I made the time this year.

It feels so good.

It feels so right.

I encourage you to find ways to find more time to enjoy the little things that bring you joy this holiday season my friends.

xoxo,

Jess

PS - Let's stay cozy + connected in-between posts...find me on Instagram for daily inspiration.

Subscribe here to have new blog posts delivered right to your inbox.

KEEPING IT REAL

So I still have one left to paint - the one I left unpainted to be able to take these pics to show the before and after. But hey...guess what? I actually have time to do it! *wink*

HOLIDAYS | Simple Woods + Whites Christmas Decor

  
Merry Christmas + Happy New Year friends!!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season and are excited about the approaching new year!

Christmas this year was very different for us.

We are in our new home, two hours away from family and my two older girls...

so I had to let go of some old Christmas traditions and try to start some new ones.

With that said, the biggest change I made this year as far as Christmas goes is I kept things REALLY simple when it came to decor: woods, whites and a little bit of greenery.

I didn't even open my boxes of ornaments. 

Nope. I purchased new ones: raw woods hearts, snowflakes and stars I randomly came across the month before Christmas.

I hung them on the new faux, pre-lit tree we bought this year - forgoing our annual tradition of picking one out together at Santa's Christmas Tree Forest back home. 

Everything just felt so new and different. I believe I subconsciously could not bring myself to open the flood of memories contained in all of the boxes of Christmas decor and ornaments.

I bought a new tree skirt (never even had one - previously used blankets or fabric scraps) and new stockings. I knew out of all of my kids Ema would disapprove of me not sticking with the stockings she grew up with...and it was literally one of the first questions she asked when she walked in the house. 

I wanted the house to feel like Christmas but I didn't want it cluttered. And I also wanted it to be easy to put up and easy to take down. And again...I think I subconsciously avoided unsolicited emotions by dodging anything that could conjure up a memory...big or small.

We also started a new tradition...the 25 days of Christ.

I wanted the season to be as chaos-free and as Christ-centered as possible. 

The new daily ritual of reading a passage of scripture and having Ella hang the corresponding ornament from December 1st all the way up to Christmas Day really added a spiritual + sacred element to our Christmas season...one I had regretfully been looking past for far too long.

Even the cookies I made for our annual Christmas Cookie Baking Day matched my whole Christmas color scheme and vibe this year. I love them so much I may only use white royal icing from here on out. I LOVE the tone-on-tone.

The cookie baking was held at my mom's house this year instead of mine...even though when we bought the new house I immediately envisioned the new huge island covered in Christmas cookies. It's just too much to ask the rest of the family to travel so far...it was easier for Ella and I to go. 

Yep. We traveled the two hours and turned it into a 2 day visit. It was nice.

Although truth be told, Ella didn't even participate because she was spending time with her bestie Elise...whom she misses terribly. And I was sad Clara only got to pop in for an hour after she got off of work. Ema was there though...and she even inspired me with a few of her designs.

I just had to include this giant sugar cookie tree cut-out my aunt Susan created by hand. She thought it looked wonky but I fell in love with it's rustic, authentic vibe and asked her if I could decorate it. I love how it turned out. And see...I even added a few splashes of green in the mix of cookies - but I still love the tone-on-tone. *wink*

This year was the first year I realized after all of these years of having my own home and decorating for Christmas I have NEVER had mistletoe as part of our Christmas decor!!
I'd honestly never even thought about it.

I came home with some unexpectedly this year while Ella and I were out shopping together one afternoon. She spotted a package of it and asked if we could buy it. I may have done an eye roll and almost said no and then all of a sudden a rush of memories about how my grandparents always had it hanging at their front door during the holidays came flooding my mind...and heart. And of course we had to bring some home. I find it peculiar after all of these years I hadn't even given it a thought and now I can't imagine not having it in our home.

The Willow Tree créche I've had for years blended perfectly with my simple Christmas decor. 

I intentionally found a place where it could be the centerpiece/focal point of our home - a daily reminder to me of what to keep my focus on. 

Psst...

Do you like that fancy word "créche" I used? I recently learned it while reading a new Tasha Tudor book I purchased and it sounds so much more...well...fancy. *wink* "Créche" is just a word that also means nativity but apparently speaks more directly to the baby Jesus. You're welcome for that random information. *wink*

You know I love our Hot Cocoa Bars every year. This year's Snickerdoodle theme is one of my favorites. I love having it up during the holidays and beyond...warming our tummies and our hearts. 

I think that's a wrap friends!!

I hope you enjoyed a peek at what our Christmas looked like this year.
As different as it was due to our move six months ago and as hard as it was to let go of traditions I'd come to know and love through the years...I can truly say it was one of my favorite Christmases yet because it was one of the most simple.

I will be back soon with my recap of 2017 and the action word I've chosen to focus on for 2018!!

Also...I just had to share that tonight...New Year's Eve night...we are starting a new tradition!!

I've decided to have a candlelight dinner...using the battery operated flickering candlesticks we've had displayed in our windows this Christmas season. I think it's a brilliant way to transition from Christmas to New Year's. 

Love you guys so much. Thanks for being here.

Thanks for sharing. Thanks for supporting. 

Here's to a beautiful year ahead for us all!

xoxo,

Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Stuart, our elf, was back again this year. I think Ella has a crush on him. *wink*

She said she'd like to marry him. lol

And she cried the day he left...she always cries when he leaves.

It rips my heart out - for a plethora of reasons.

Clara and Ema drove up the day before Christmas Eve and stayed the night with us.

We had a nice dinner together and then exchanged gifts that night - including having all three of my girls open their annual Christmas pajamas together - typically done on Christmas Eve night.

The two older girls got to open their stockings as well...which left Ella a little bewildered as to how their stockings were already filled and hers wasn't...*hand slap to the forehead*

We all attended church on Christmas Eve morning and then enjoyed a nice lunch together at Carrabba's before Clara and Ema made the drive back home.

Although the visit was short, I'm so thankful to have been able to see them before Christmas.

Of course all of this change of Christmas traditions tugged at my heartstrings and I found myself in tears a couple of times. 

We even missed having our annual Christmas brunch with my mom and stepdad too. They decided to head to Ohio to make a surprise visit to his dad. That means I still have their gifts to give them.

Again...I will just need to get creative and come up with new traditions for our new life and more Christmases to come. I look forward to that.