Best. Husband. Ever.

I've been raving about the hubs a whole lot lately, and for good reason. Last night, he stayed up extra late helping me re-style the mantle so I could enter a contest that I likely have no actual chance of winning. If that's not love, I don't really know what is.

Isn't it pretty?

I figured that a photo of the mantle would look much better without a TV as the focal point, so I grabbed a couple pieces of foamcore and we got to work poking holes through it with a screwdriver and sticking white twinkle lights through each one. For how pretty the front of this looks, the back is a total mess of chevron duct tape and wires. Awesome. The original plan was to then cover the board in a thin white fabric, but we both agreed that we liked it good enough without. 

The other star of the display is my lovely owl statue from West Elm that's probably a little big for the space, but he's just so darned classic and wintery looking I had to have him up there. I will likely return the urn thing that my little rosemary tree from Trader Joe's is sitting in, but thanks to me waiting til just days before Christmas it was on super sale and may end up sticking around. And see that fun gold bow wrapped around it? Dan made that for me. See? I told you he was the best.

Now here's where you come in. The contest goes until New Years Eve and here's the best part - the winner will be solely determined by Facebook votes. So even though there's awesome bloggers on there with mantles that honestly blow mine out of the water, if I still manage to get the most votes, I win!!! And the prize is amazing. As in, a vintage brass square trunk that would literally take my living room to an entirely new level. So, pretty pretty please with a cherry on top click on over to Facebook and vote for me! You do have to 'like' Emily Henderson to do so, but she's pretty awesome and doesn't post often, and you can 'unlike' right after voting if you want. 

CLICK HERE TO VOTE! Just find my name in the entries and vote for me!

Happy Holidays friends. I hope you enjoy lots and lots of time with family and friends - which is exactly what I'm planning on myself. :)

If I had a Million Dollars: Christmas Wish List... #2

Dear Sneaky Jesus,
Here's some more ideas. Yay!

(Otherwise known as me online window shopping. Again.)

Fab Ikat Pillow $30  |  Hedgehog Measuring Cups $36  |  San Francisco Matches $5

Flying Pig Jewelry Bowl $9.95  |  Essie Beyond Cozy $8  |  Hello Pullover $35

Nick & Nora Jungle Jim Footie Pajamas (this is not a joke) $24.99

Mini Hot Air Popper $19.98  |  Minnetonka Kilty Suede Moc $41.95

Jonathan Adler My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living $34.95  |  Sweets Pedestal $24.95

My one in six billion

It's been kind of a rough couple of weeks for me. One of my oldest friends passed away from breast cancer (that had spread to her brain) and I road-tripped down to southern Illinois with my mom and Manda for the services. We stayed in a super charming hotel in her tiny little town, and I soaked in the 2 days of girl time with them and my friends Maria and Leslie who were also there for the services. The few days leading up to Eva's passing were tough knowing that she was suffering, but seeing this incredible outpouring of love and support from THOUSANDS of people, many of whom had never even met her was something I can't even explain. I can only hope that I am able to make even a fraction of the impact that Eva made on people.

Back at work last week I watched more than 20 people get laid off thanks to a huge account loss in recent months. There's really no way to describe the feeling of sitting at your desk for 2 hours watching people lose their jobs just a few feet from you (I sit right by several VP offices). Of course, there's also the fear the entire time it's happening that you'll be next, so needless to say my anxiety got the best of me for a couple days there. One of my very best friends was let go, and I'm already bummed being at my desk without her a few cubes away. We worked together at my last job as well, and I followed her here almost 5 years ago now!

So, I'm kind of ready for 2012 to end. I'm hoping 2013 will bring a fresh start for myself and many of my friends who are aching for the same thing. I'm not looking to leave my job or make drastic changes or anything, but I am ready for some major positivity and less stressing out.

Thankfully, I have Dan, who has been absolutely incredible through everything. I could ramble on about how amazing he is, but instead I'll let Pinterest do the talking for me, in the form of this adorable little print I found recently -

Happy Monday friends. Hang in there - one week til Christmas!

If I had a Million Dollars: Christmas Wish List

We decided this year to try out a Secret Santa with the hubby's siblings and significant others, seeing as there's nine of us now and nobody is exactly rolling in money enough to buy gifts for everyone. Dan cleverly renamed our Secret Santa to "Sneaky Jesus", which I found absolutely hysterical for one reason or another. I like to think whoever ends up having to shop for me is kind of lucky in the sense that I pretty much want every single thing I ever see. Walk into a store, close your eyes and point, and chances are there's something I would like. It's a little ridiculous really. Either way, my Sneaky Jesus has it easy if you ask me. And to help whoever that might be (and the hubs, hint hint), I decided to put together a little wish list of sorts. Unfortunately there's not actually a whole lot of things on here under the $30 Sneaky Jesus price cap, but there's a few and I figure it's still a good indication that I'd be happy with most anything. Behold - my 2012 Christmas Wish List!

Oh My Chic Sweatshirt ($55) - This is adorable. And would look perfect with these.

Printed Backup Phone Battery ($39.50) - I cannot tell you the number of times my phone battery percentage creeps down to single digits throughout the day. I blame my addiction to Instagram. Imagine all the extra time I can spend liking photos with this extra battery!

Gold Athena Tray ($45) - This bad boy is all over the blogosphere, and I'm in love. I'm pretty sure it's the one thing missing from my living room.

Kate Spade Jewelbar Stud Earrings ($38) - I have a gorgeous gold Kate Spade necklace that the bestie got me for my bridal shower, and it bugs me that I don't have gold earrings to wear it with. These are also gorgeous in just about every color under the sun.

Lacquer Jewelry Box ($49) - I don't have a whole lot of jewelry, but what I do have is all over the place. Let's wrangle it all in to one pretty box, shall we?

Gold Chevron & Confetti Paper Placemats ($25) - I could see myself encountering great anxiety trying to choose between these two patterns. I'm sure this comes as no surprise to anyone that knows me well.

Kate Spade 2013 Desktop Spiral Calendar ($38) - I've decided that 2013 is the year I will finally meticulously organize my entire life. Twenty bucks says Dan is going to roll his eyes at this news (hi honey, love you!)

Gold Sequin Sherpa Lined Slippers ($16 at Old Navy) - I can't find these online anymore, but I am really hoping they're still in store.

Limited Edition Birchbox Home ($58) - Getting my Birchbox every month usually makes me squeal, and I adore opening up the little box and unwrapping my samples to see what I got. This limited edition home box looks nothing short of amazing, and I'm already imagining all the fun parties and crafts I could use everything in the box for.

Kate Spade Card Case ($58) - What? I love Kate Spade, ok? I also love the idea of a fancy pants little case to carry my business cards around in. You know, for when I need one to drop in the fishbowl at Chipotle to try and win a free lunch. (PS - I've seen these cases in all kinds of colors at the outlet for half this price, and have no idea why I haven't just bought one yet).

DKNY Be Delicious ($45) - My current bottle is almost gone. Probably because it smells so delicious. Hehe.

Bold Legs

I saw this image on Pinterest awhile back and immediately added it to my "I wish I was stylish" board.

If that's not coziness for the winter, I don't know what is.

Regardless of how much I love the image and the idea of fun patterned leggings, they're not exactly a necessary purchase in any way, and certainly not something I would spend a lot of money on. But, when the lovely PLA ladies posted a link to nordic-style sweater leggings in a plethora of colors and patterns on ebay for less than $5 a pair, I figured it was meant to be and placed an order! I snatched up a pair that look very similar to those in my inspiration image, as well as a more fun holiday pair with little reindeer on them. Fingers crossed they arrive by Christmas for me to sport at family get-togethers with a long sweater.

Brass & Gold

I'm sure I'm the last blogger in the world to hear about High Street Market, but boy am I in love. I stumbled on it via Pinterest, and immediately browsed through the entire site looking at all the goodies. As with a lot of other shops I've found and fallen for, their little random knick-knacks are much more in my budget range than their pillows, throws and small furniture (like bar carts and end tables... swoon). I have yet to figure out where people get $100 to drop on a pillow for the couch, but I digress because there are plenty of other little goodies from High Street Market that I'm loving.

As I went through the site and started to pick out some favorites, I realized that most everything I loved was brass or gold. While this isn't a huge surprise to me lately, it's interesting how things change - as early as just a year ago I couldn't stand anything gold, and gravitated towards silvers tones. Now, I find myself adding little touches of gold throughout our home on a regular basis, and wouldn't mind any of these items being added in as well.

gold rope wall hooks (three of these would look amazing in my hallway, just saying)

agate platters  |  faux bamboo brass tray  |  brass pear box

large gold wishbone  |  chubby brass owl bottle opener