Last-Minute Gifts that Can Arrive Before Christmas with Amazon Prime

Are you “one of those” who still hasn’t gotten your Christmas shopping done? 😉 Don’t worry- I’d guess the majority of us still have some sort of shopping and/or wrapping to get done. (I haven’t wrapped one present yet, so I’m “one of those”, too!) Don’t want to leave your couch? I’ve got you covered. Here are some creative gift ideas (that I know I would LUV to receive) that you can order from the comfort of your home (or office) and have arrive before Christmas with Amazon Prime. Because let’s be honest… we all have a “Priming” problem. Happy Shopping and Merry {almost} Christmas!

Click on the links below to take you straight to the products…

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Rent Designer Sunglasses with Ditto & I’m Giving You ONE MONTH FREE

I LUV a good subscription service, but I also realize not all created equal… and this one, well this one is one of my favs. I have quite the sunglasses addiction, but when you’re sporting designer shades, it can get quite pricey to have a large assortment. While I’m pretty good at scoping out a sale, this idea is even more brilliant…

Rent designer sunglasses for as little as $24 a month (including shipping and insurance) and change out your designer shades as frequently as you’d like! And with their virtual try-on technology plus their personal style quizes, finding the right shades for your face has never been easier. And if you LUV your glasses SO much that you just can’t get yourself to send them back, members save 15% off the purchase of their glasses!

Because I LUV you, I’m giving you ONE MONTH FREE! Simply use code LUVBEC at checkout and wear designer shades for free for an entire month! Gift them to yourself OR someone you LUV this holiday season… (Gift hack: Create a membership for a loved one and print and wrap the confirmation for easy, thoughtful, unique gift giving. Who doesn’t want free designer sunglasses?) You’re welcome. 😉

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My Favorite Dress this Holiday Season

Hey y’all! I recently wore this outfit to my husband’s company holiday party, and I LUV’d it so much that I had to share! Bonus… the entire site is 40% off right now, so you can save majorly on this dress and get it for under $60!!

This dress fit like a glove and was the perfect mix of classy and sexy. The peekaboo places were balanced by the sleeve and the longer length, so I think this dress is suitable for both professional/family parties and for the more adventurous occasions. It comes in several different colors, but I chose the green, because it’s my favorite color. And frankly, I think it’s gorgeous.

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I bought this bag at the sample sale that I shared with you on Instagram a month or two ago, and it’s no longer available in this color, but I shared some similar options in the “Shop the Post” link at the end of this post. (Some are on sale.)

I found these earrings (at a totally different store) but you guys… they are literally the PERFECT match. SO… if you’re getting this dress in this color, you MUST get the earrings too! 😉

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Here are the items I’m wearing in this outfit and some that are similar…

Thanks for stopping by!

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An Easy, Super Inexpensive {Possibly Even Free} Holiday Tablescape

I’m all about saving a little here and there, so I’m bringing you this tablescape in hopes that it will inspire you to think outside the box, work with what you have when decorating this holiday season & be creative with natural elements wherever you are…

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I started by visiting my local Lowes Home Improvement. I went to the natural tree area and asked if they mind if I take some of the extra clippings that were laying around. The staff was extremely kind and even helped me and my daughter round up some scraps. Then I found wooden plate chargers in the $3 section at Target and added my everyday white dishes on top. You can also use your china that probably sits around and collects dust! (You’ll notice I used my wedding china in some of these photos to show you that look as well.) I found the wooden chips at Hobby Lobby, but here are a similar option, and wrote names on them to use them as place markers. You’ll notice I tried using a white paint marker but that didn’t show well, so I suggest black or something metallic. In the end, I just used a Sharpie. I found white napkins (here is another option) and some candles at Homegoods. The silver strand of globe lights I also found at Target for $5 in the Dollar Spot.

First, I placed the tree clippings in a thin layer down the center of the dining table. I also added some white candlesticks that I have from IKEA and placed the strand of lights on top of the greenery. I found bakers twine I had laying around the house. (You’ll see half of it was stained with green marker, so I obviously didn’t use that part.) Then I tied little pieces of twine around the white napkins and added a little scrapping of tree greenery to each napkin.

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The wood & marble stands I had in my collection at home. If you don’t have ones just like this, you can also use clear glass or white cake stands you may have laying around in your home. I also have seen little white ones in the Dollar Spot at Target. Finally I added some fur pillows that I already had in my home, and the plaid throw you see on the chair is actually a blanket scarf I had in my closet that I purchased at Target last year.

Listen… The point is- take an inventory of the items you have in your home. What do YOU luv? Incorporate those items. I especially encourage you to use neutral items like white, wood and/or glass. Neutral items can be incorporated easily with almost anything. If you don’t have a set of white dishes already, check out the link I listed in this post. About a year ago, I got rid of all of our colored dishes, and we use the same set of white dishes every day now. They’re appropriate for almost any occasion, affordable, and IMO, there’s no reason to have an over-abundance of dishes laying around taking up cabinet space.

When I used to take clients, I always told them to take an inventory of their items before we started. I told them to go through their items and ask themselves 2 questions with each piece… 1) Does it have a purpose? 2) Do you LUV it? If the answer to both of these questions is “no”, get rid of it. When you do this, it makes decorating SO MUCH easier. And creating a tablescape is no exception. This table setting includes items I use every day, items that I LUV and items from nature. Which made this tablescape cost next to nothing.

I hope you find some kind of inspiration from this post! Let me know what you think! Happy holidays and happy decorating!

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Our 2016 Family Photos with Lydia L Photography

Every year, we get all spruced up and take our holiday photos. My husband and kids are not huge fans of having family photos taken, but they put on a happy face and aren’t allowed to complain ONCE since they know I only ask them to do “official” family photos once a year! (Though as my blogging career expands, that’s changing a little. Sorry guys!) Lydia of Lydia L Photography found me through Instagram and reached out about a collaboration, and I was immediately excited when I saw her work. I LUV that her photo style is both classic and whimsical and was excited to work with her this year.

But when I actually got to the shoot and saw her in action… Well, I knew this was going to be a good relationship. 🙂 Even my husband commented about how great she was at posing us and getting our children to participate! She was completely professional, and she was extremely knowledgable at working with lighting and posing all of us in ways that she knew would look both organic and endearing. Of all of the photos that she sent, here are the ones I selected as my favorites… You’re getting a sneak peak before I’ve even sent out my Christmas cards (which NEVER happens), so I hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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As my kids get bigger (at a pace that makes my stomach hurt), it’s so extremely important to me that I document these years. I LUV having photos taken around the same time each year so I can truly see how much they’ve changed from the photos the year before. It’s amazing to me how much bigger they seem with each passing year, and I know I’ll cherish these photos all the days of my life.

LUV what you see? Here’s some even more exciting news… Lydia will be giving away a FREE MINI SESSION to one of my lucky followers in the Tampa Bay/Sarasota/Bradenton/St. Petersburg, Florida area. Stay tuned to my Instagram and to Lydia’s Instagram in the coming days for details to enter SOON!

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Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide {What’s On My List}

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I’ve sent my list to the Big Guy, and here are some of the items I’m hoping he is stuffing in my Christmas stocking!  Here are the links to what you see above and some of the other items I’m LUVing… Go ahead and forward this to “your” Santa. 😉

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COMFY & COZY Gift Guide

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The holidays give me all kinds of cozy feels. As soon as my tree(s) are up, I just want to throw on some comfy jammies and slippers, light a candle and sit by the tree. If you’re looking for the perfect holiday jammies/robe/slippers, etc… here are some of my favs…

Now go pour yourself a cup of Joe and snuggle up. Give yourself permission to just enjoy life for a moment. After all, it IS the most wonderful time of the year.

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Holiday Home Tour

Welcome to my holiday home tour! If you’re joining me from Ashley’s blog House of Five, I’m so honored you’ve taken the time to make a stop here as well! If you like what you see, I hope you’ll hit “subscribe” and stay with me a little longer. 🙂 This is my first official holiday home tour, and I’m so excited to show you what I’ve been working on for this holiday season!

My home style is fairly simple and minimal, but I sure enjoyed adding soft touches of Christmas. Of course, anything I can do to make my home feel more cozy, is always considered a win in my book. So, welcome in… Kick off your shoes, and stay a while…

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Flowers: Paul & Nate Flowers

First, I’ll take you in my front sitting room… As I said, my home style is fairly simple. However, this room is usually the exception to my style rules when it comes to decor. It’s my “girly” space, where you’ll usually find pops of pink and gold and soft, furry pillows. So, my inspiration in this room this year was a true reflection of this style.

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Flocked Tree: King of Christmas

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Now let’s turn around, and I’ll take you right into the dining room…

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… just around the corner…

I LUV the simplicity of this space. I created this tablescape with some scrappings I picked up from my local tree farm. (Yes, you can do that. If you don’t have a real tree but want some natural pieces in your home, just go to a Christmas tree farm and ask if they mind if you take some of the scrap pieces. I’m sure they’re happy to oblige.) I threw my white dishes on some basic wood charges I found in the $3 section at Target and used some candles I had at the house. I threw a blanket scarf I had in my closet on a chair for a cozy, Christmas feel. I’ll be sharing more on this super affordable, and possibly even free, Christmas tablescape soon on the blog, so come on back, ya hear?! 😉

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Now onto our family room… This is where we spend the majority of our time, and it’s very important to me that this space feels simple, clean and uncluttered. So this year, I decided to go with a decor theme that just made total sense in this space… simple, black and white, with wooden accents. If you’ve been with me a while, this should be NO surprise to you! 😉

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I removed most of the natural greenery I usually have in this space to keep greenery consistent to just the tree, wreaths and natural clippings. But I did plant bulbs of paper whites that I cannot wait to see grow!

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The tree in this room is also King of Christmas, and let me tell you…!!! It is so amazing! Yes, a flocked tree is gorgeous. And yes, they are the “it” tree right now. But THIS girl, she has my heart. This tree is completely authentic looking, comes in only 2 pieces, so it’s super simple to assemble AND comes with a free storage bag. Yes, I LUV her. This tree is a winner. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. OK, rant over.

Crazy as it sounds, I actually put FOUR trees up in our home (5, if you include the little one in my son’s room).

Count em… 1- Family Room, 2- Sitting Room, 3- Play Room, 4- My Daughter’s Room, 5(ish)- My Son’s Room

In years’ past, I’ve been very particular with the decorating of the family room tree, just as I have the trees in the other rooms. BUT, it occurred to me that it had gotten to a point where I didn’t have even one tree in this house that I gave the kids free reign over. After all, Christmas is about traditions and family and the actual enjoyment of the process. As a kid, decorating the Christmas tree was one of my favorite things to do. So it pained me when I realized I was robbing them of this activity and this joy of something that we should be doing TOGETHER. So… this year, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought several packs of unbreakable black and white bulbs and some wooden string garland. Simple.

I actually made a cup of coffee, put on my favorite Christmas music and sat back and let the kids place it all on the tree in whatever fashion they found appropriate. Yes, I eventually adjusted the items around (my daughter actually looked at the tree when completed and suggested I do so, lol). But it’s simple and family-friendly, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. And more importantly, I’m happy we were able to do it together instead of me waiting until they fell asleep to meticulously place every ornament without worrying they’d ask to help! I suggest you have at least one tree (if you do multiple) in the house that you let your kids put their stamp on. The joy of the process has given me much greater joy than that of just looking at a pretty tree. But then again, that’s why I put up 4 others.

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Now on to the kitchen…

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I have new lighting (you’re getting a sneak peek here) and new chairs, but my dining table hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m trying not to share the entire space until it’s complete. Stay tuned to the blog for more details on this space in the very near future…

Lastly, I wanted to share a few photos from some of the other rooms in our house, so you get to see those 5 trees I keep talking about… 😉

The kids’ playroom (tree #3)…

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My daughter Emerson’s room (tree #4)…

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And finally, my son Corbin’s tree #5 (or 4 1/2, if you’d like to call it)…

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Friends, old & new, thanks again for stopping by! The next stop on this blog tour is at Mollie’s of Design Loves Detail. Mollie is literally one of the most talented people I know and I guarantee her home holiday tour is nothing short of amazing! So head over there now and see what she’s sharing! And if you had fun, don’t forget to hit “subscribe” before you go! Muah!

I’m honored to be sharing this tour with some amazingly talented ladies! After you check out Mollie’s page, make sure to visit each of the participants’ blogs to see their holiday home tour as well!

House of Five

Paint the World White

Remington Avenue

Design Dining and Diapers

Beautiful Treasures Blog

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