Our Christmas with Mixbook

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are your branches??
Joy to the World, the Lord has Come!
Away in the Manger the poor Baby wakes…
Silent Night, Holy Night, All is Calm, All is Bright…

These songs (and so many more) are on repeat in the Glass house and we are watching all the Christmas movies too. Do you know what else we are doing this holiday season? Updating our photos! As usual for our printing needs, we partnered with Mixbook, and I am so glad that we did.

Since our first year of marriage, Asa and I have sent out Christmas cards. At first I think he thought I was kind of silly [they included photos of us awkwardly posing, and our multitude of pets], but over the years, he admits that he loves it just as much as I do. [Wives know best right?]…….#KIDDING

Anyway, Mixbook has always been great and our Christmas cards come out beautifully! When this post goes live, you all will still have one day [by 12/15] to get your photo presents by December 24! Calendars are also going on sale until 12/19, but I’ll get there in a second.

One of my gifts for my mom has always been a 12-month calendar. She has always hung one in their kitchen, right above the small desk and work space. It’s one of the corners in their house, where I grew up, that is sentimental for me in a sense; making calendars for her full of photos from our past memories is something that I LOVE to do. This year was no different. I compiled tons of photos and asked my brother and sister-in-law to share theirs too. I plugged in birthdays and designed each month exactly how I wanted to. When the package arrived I was so excited to open it and flip through each month—the quality is excellent and pages sturdy. I can’t wait for her to open it when we get to visit for Christmas this year!

The last thing we gifted ourselves this holiday season, was an updated canvas in our living room. My sister-in-law takes our photos for us and we haven’t updated it in a couple of years. I love having our family photo being one of the first things people see when they walk in! These too have always had great quality with clear resolution, and accurate colors. You can see in the photos below our living room gallery too, which is full of photos we printed from Mixbook :)

Let’s face it, at the end of the day you know there are a million (plus some) photos on your phones, screaming to get and be printed. I promise you that Mixbook is the company to help you with that. Pictures are worth a thousand words and make the sweetest holiday presents for your loved ones. If you make your own order this year [or ever] let me know! I would love to know what you purchased. Photo books, cards, invitations, and calendars…this company has so much to offer!

Exterior Illumination with Treetopia

“Is your house on fire, Clark?” “No Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.” Raise your hand if you LOVE that movie!! Not going to lie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is basically our kickoff to the Holiday. I swear to you my husband reminds me of Clark, SO much, and he will do just about ANYTHING to have a beautifully decorated, Christmasy home, inside AND out.

It’s a huge thanks to Treetopia to helping us (largely him, not gonna lie) fulfill the vision for what we were lacking. “We just need something right there on the porch,” Asa said. So with some Internet browsing and remembering how great this company is, we (he) did it! These Pencil Artificial Trees are 7.5 feet and really the perfect size for the doorway. We decided not to decorate them, as we’ve had some SUPER high winds recently and we just wanted to be more precautious than anything; however, how cute would they be all decked out?!

Our son Pierson is basically his Dad’s Mini Me. He helped EVERY step of the way and was with his Dad from START to FINISH. Even with a fever when these pictures were taken, he wanted to come outside and show how proud he is of their finished product. Since I am posting this on a Sunday, the day before CYBER MONDAY, you should probably know that Treetopia will be having sales as much as 60% off their products! That sale WILL end December 2nd, so if you don’t get the chance to order don’t panic; they have SUCH reasonably priced trees and so many to choose from. They also have wreaths, garland, and storage for all our Holiday needs!

You might remember that we got our indoor tree last year from Treetopia as well. Asa and I felt like it is such a nostalgic tree for us, reminding us of OUR childhood trees growing up. There is something about the rich color and all the family ornaments we put on, we just love it.

Treetopia has green trees, colorful trees, prelit trees, white trees, and even Halloween trees!! We are so thankful to have partnered with them again this year to aide in our Exterior Illumination (as Asa likes to call it), because really, the company truly is SO good. Check out our link here for the outdoor ones we got this year, these are perfect and would fit anywhere!

Thanks, Husband, for doing ALL OF THIS and so much more to make our Christmas SO SPECIAL. I really am SO thankful for you and how you love all of us. What memories our kids are getting…this time of year especially is so magical!

Holiday Finds for Everyone with Tuesday Morning

CHRISTMAS!! You all know this is the Glass Family’s FAVORITE. With two small kids ages six and seven, we are still at that fun stage of Christmas shopping! And because we recently discovered Tuesday Morning and how much they have to offer in all seasons, we were so excited to partner with them again for our Holiday finds. As soon as we walked in, 1.) our kids were ecstatic and 2.) we knew we could buy for so many on our list! We have avid DIYer’s to think of, entertaining experts, and imaginative little ones and guess what—Tuesday Morning had SO MUCH. One of my favorite parts was that they had so many unique wrapping solutions too.

The kids wanted to help with choosing presents for their cousins and Grandparents; that part is always fun for me as their mama. They actually take time to consider each individual person, and as they walked up and down isles, I could hear them discussing with each other what, “GG would like,” and “Cousin Arie,” or “Uncle Noah,” etc. Reese put a bunch of fuzzy socks in the cart because SHE said, “Mama loves fuzzy socks so we have to get her all of these.” I laughed and told her they could wait on buying for me but that I loved how she thought of me. Both our kids have such a big heart and are showing themselves to be super thoughtful people!

What I love the most about this store is that it really can be a one-stop destination to shop gifts; there is a TON of variety of products and categories, and all for inexpensive prices. We got things like fuzzy socks for family (of course), glassware for the host enthusiasts, remote control cars for some nephews, electronic gadgets for our nieces who love technology, giant Yankee candles, and even some bath goodies. Browsing through the home decor section I found an adorable pillow that I knew would look great on our Navy couch, and then the kids walked past the Christmas ornaments. We love to help them add to their ornament collection so they each chose one which is very fitting in their current seasons: Reese is such an animal lover, so she chose a kitty, and Pierson is obsessed with all things sports, so he found a football player.

Where is your nearest Tuesday Morning? Aren’t sure?? Click here to find out so that you too can enjoy an exciting holiday shopping experience FULL of savings. You will be able to shop for so many people on your list, if not ALL, between the gourmet food options, holiday decor, bath & body, small appliances, stationery, and gift wrap galore!

Why You Should Invite Harry & David to Your Celebration

This post is sponsored by Harry & David but all opinions are my own

If you’ve followed me for any length of time you undoubtedly know my husband does all the cooking. Like seriously. So when he wanted to have a dinner party for his 36th birthday... I was a little freaked out about how I could pull that off. Thankfully, Harry & David Gourmet Foods came to my rescue!

The weather was so iffy (like, rain and temps in the low 40’s!!), so instead of gathering on the deck, we decided to move all the sitting furniture out of the living room and bring our dining room table there to accommodate the extra guests. As soon as the table was situated, the vision started coming together. Fall is great, because bringing in rustic elements like leaves, and live edge cutting boards can really spice up the aesthetic. The table runner was made by my adorably talented niece, lights were borrowed temporarily from another part of our fall décor...In fact, everything we used was already owned, and just moved from their normal spot in our home to complete the tablescape for Asa’s birthday dinner party.

We wanted lots of textures and tones to help fill in the table. But ultimately, once the food was set out, that’s when the party really happened. We love charcuterie boards around here, and these boards from Harry & David were INCREDIBLE. They offered so many options for cheeses and meats that everyone who attended was able to try new things.

The assortment of puff pastry appetizers were so delicious (but yet simple too!) Honestly, the food was delivered to our house a few days before the party, and everything was ready or near ready to eat. Twenty minutes in the oven to finish preparing those apps was literally all it took...umm, hello literal answer to prayer for this non-cooking wife!

Whether it’s a savory side dish, dessert or an entire decadent spread, Harry & David Gourmet has everything for entertaining with elegance and ease, and currently includes more than 200 premium products to serve, share and savor. Our guests had so much fun trying the wide assortment of food this night, and all were blown away that everything had been delivered, and yet was SO fresh! I really can’t say enough about Harry & David coming to my rescue. The party went off without a hitch, and took so little effort from me in the kitchen. Here’s to my husband turning 36, to a lifetime of memories still to be made at this table of ours, here’s to good food and even better, friends! Cheers!