Christmas Preppin'.

Happy Monday, everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  I spent the majority of the past 2 days getting my house decorated for Christmas!  I know there are those of you who are all, "What about Thanksgiving!?".  Trust me, I love Thanksgiving.  But I love Christmas more.  And I'd much rather stare at red, green and twinkly lights for a couple of extra weeks instead of orange and brown.  ;)

I'll do a bigger Christmas decor post once I get my house back in order (glitter everywhere!) and the tree up.  That won't go up until the day after Thanksgiving though since it goes in the dining room and we will need the space on Thanksgiving.  But here are a few pictures from previous years.  :)  I love a big colorful Christmas a tree!

The elf on the ladder is straight out of the '80s and I LOVE it.  We had it climbing our tree as kids and there was just something so special about it.  My mom gave it to me after I got married and I will never part with it, unless it's to hand it down to one of the boys.  

I also love my mantle at Christmas. My Christmas decor style is most definitely not elegant and sophisticated.  It's more Dr. Seuss meets Santa's Workshop.  I am all about fun, whimsy, and color at Christmas.  It's what I remember loving so much from Christmas when I was a kid so I wanted to pass that along to mine as well.  My decor style may change as the kids get older but for now, I like it bright, colorful and festive!

I love that little red truck I got at Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago!

When I was putting up the garland on our little balcony overlooking the foyer, I looked over to see this (toy) snake that has been hanging off of these flowers for almost a year now.

Can you see it hanging down at the bottom??

I never go up to that balcony so I never think to go get it although I do notice the snake from time to time.  It actually looks pretty real when you glance up at it!  I have no idea who threw it up there but I have two guesses...  #boymomlife

After I finally finished up, I sat down on the couch to enjoy the view and watch a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel for a few minutes.  Have y'all seen A Song for Christmas yet?  I really liked that one!  It's got the girl from Glee in it (Kitty) and she's adorable.



  I had planned on heading up to my craft room to get started on this week's orders but decided to move my work to the couch instead.  So I sat here for a few hours working on all the designs and organizing everything that needs to be cut for this week.  I have close to 300 items that need to be made and shipped in the next 2 weeks.  #sweatingalittle

(Turnaround time is now 2-3 weeks so if you plan on ordering, don't wait!!  There's a rush fee available as well if you need it.)

  And before I go, I wanted to mention the MandaStrong Foundation 5K and Fun Run! There was a great turnout on Saturday morning.  The weather was crisp but not freezing and my friend, Meagan and I were stationed in such a pretty spot!  We were in charge of cheering on the runners and making sure they made the turnaround. 

I snapped a few pictures at the end when all the runners had come and gone and we were about to pack it up.

It was such a pretty spot but I definitely wouldn't want to be out there alone.  It looked like prime Dateline material, if you know what I mean.

And Meagan's sweet girl was our entertainment.  Isn't she a doll?!

Other than that, I got NO pictures.  But it was a great event and so many of Manda's close friends and family worked really really hard to plan it.  I may have failed miserably at snapping pics but others didn't!  You can see more pictures from the event on the MandaStrong Instagram @mandastrongfoundation.

So that's it for today!  If you need me for the next few weeks, I'll be the highly caffeinated one covered in glitter and paint in the room at the top of the stairs.  ;)

Have a great day, friends!