Blog | Page 11 of 17 | Alexandra Adams

November 28, 2015 — No Comments

Monthly Favorites: November 2015

November is such a waiting game. Halloween is (finally) over, and I am so ready to get in the full-blown Christmas spirit...but Thanksgiving still has to happen. Now, I’m not one to let Thanksgiving get in the way of my holiday celebrations, but when everyone looks down their nose at you for listening to Christmas music on November 5th, it can be a little discouraging. But Thanksgiving is so late this year! And the 24 days leading up to the main event is not enough time to fully appreciate the season. At least not for me, anyway.

That being said, there are definitely a few holiday-ish things that may seem to be sneaking their way onto the favorites list a little early, but that I’ve definitely been enjoying all month.

First up is this weekly planner pad from Sugar Paper’s new line at Target. Y’all know how much I love my planners and notebooks and paper, and this pad is just so great. It has space on the left to plan out things that need to happen at some point over the course of the week, and space on the right to divvy things up between the days. Plus, it’s pink! What’s not to love?

Next on the list is the bread cornucopia my mom makes every year at Thanksgiving. We always use this to display our vegetables prettily and a little differently than a standard tray, and it’s one of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving. The whole thing is made out of Pillsbury breadsticks, so it’s delicious as well as festive!

If you follow my blog at all, you’ll already know this rose gold spray paint is one of my favorite things this month. I used it in several projects for our Thanksgiving tablescape, including these rose gold leaf candles, these napkin rings, and the painted branches. You’d think after using it so much I’d be sick of it, but nope! It’s still as pretty as ever. I’m just trying to figure out exactly how many things I can use it on before it’s considered overkill.

Now we’re really moving into the holiday spirit. Gift guides! These things are everywhere, and I devour them all. I love seeing things organized by color, or personality type, or family members. I get some great ideas from these for others and for myself! Some of my favorite gift guides are made by Lauren Conrad, LittleBlondeBook, and all the gift guides from fashion bloggers on liketoknow.it–they all include direct links to purchase the items, so it couldn't be easier.

Last, but definitely not least, beauty advent calendars. They’ve become more popular over the past couple years, but they’ve absolutely exploded this year. There are an incredible array of them, making it easy to get one (or several) with products you love. My wishlist currently includes Benefit Cosmetics' Party Poppers set, Ciaté London's Mini Mani Month, Eylure's Advent Calendar, FeelUnique's 12 Days of Unique Beauty, and Charlotte Tillbury's gorgeous The Book of Makeup Magic. There are tons of beauty calendars to choose from–they range from nail products to makeup to lotions to body washes to bath bombs and more. You can definitely find one you love–but move fast, they tend to sell out quickly!

What are some things you’ve been loving this month? Have you already been sneaking Christmas into your schedule as much as I have?

Published by Alexandra Adams in Monthly Favorites

November 25, 2015 — 1 Comment

Giving Thanks

I usually try and post something on Thursdays, but since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I knew I didn’t want to try and interrupt my family time that day, and I knew none of you would want to read anything I wrote until the next day anyway! So enjoy your day tomorrow, spending quality time with your loved ones. Here are some of the things I’m most thankful for this year.

My family

This is an obvious one, of course, but that doesn’t make it any less true. My parents are incredible, and I’ve loved living at home with them again during this transitional time in my life. My dad is the greatest; he’s always so supportive of my work and loves to remind me that he loves me best. I love having him on my side. My mom and I are very alike, which is great, because we tend to agree on most things. And we share the same shoe size, so that’s definitely an advantage to living at home. My brother’s been at home too recently, due to an ACL tear, which has made it feel a little like high school all over again, but it’s been good. I also appreciate that he enjoys some Taylor Swift as much as I do. And my sister’s at school in Florida and I miss her a ton, but we still talk every day (and have over 130 day snap streak going strong!). She’s my best friend, and I love that we’ve gotten closer as we’ve gotten older. Of course, my dogs are up there with making me happy, and I love spending time with our extended family over the holidays as well.

My faith

During this time in my life, I'm encountering a lot of uncertainty and doubt, and it's so comforting to know that God is there for me through all of it. I recently joined a small group with some other women at my church, and they've been so supportive and great to me. I love meeting up with them every week.

Netflix

I’ve had a lot of time on my hands the past couple months in between sending out applications and writing cover letters, searching for a full-time position. I’ve discovered a bunch of new shows via the “Recommended for you” feature, and the lack of commercials makes me happy. I also love rewatching shows I’ve seen countless times before, like Gilmore Girls, FRIENDS, and Gossip Girl. This might be a silly thing to be thankful for, but I love it all the same.

Light

Now that Daylight Savings has come around again, natural light is limited during the day, which makes those few hours of sun that much more precious to me. I love using natural light for photos, so I have that much less time to photograph my projects. As soon as it gets dark it feels like it’s 10 pm to me and I lose some of my motivation that I have during the lighter hours, so I try to take advantage of the time as best I can.

Good Books

I recently read The Martian and it was excellent; I highly recommend it. I love books that really make me think; I don't find the same kind of prompt from other mediums the way I do books. I love feeling the suspense and tension and anticipation all from the comfort of my couch. I also have put a couple books on my Christmas list that I'm looking forward to reading (Mindy Kaling's Why Not Me? being at the top of that list).

What are some things you're thankful for this year?

Published by Alexandra Adams in Holiday, Thanksgiving

November 24, 2015 — No Comments

Completed Thanksgiving Tablescape

Today's the day we pull all of last week's DIY projects together and show you the finished tablescape! You can definitely see how all the pieces come together to create a cohesive look. Check out all the posts from last week below:

The pink placemats really help bring out the rose tones in the rose gold spray painted items.

I added a gold candle to the center in addition to the two leafed candles I made earlier. It really helps bring out the gold in the chargers and the pinecones.

What do you think? Will you use any of the DIYs for your table?

And don't forget to download the thankful printable from last week!

Published by Alexandra Adams in Entertaining, Holiday, Thanksgiving

November 23, 2015 — No Comments

Christmas Card Contest Winner!

I am so excited about the great news I have to share today. If you know anything about the scrapbooking world, you know that Becky Higgins hosts a holiday card design contest every year. She then makes the winners' cards available for anyone to download and use for free.

This year, I entered and won!!

The design at the top of this post was my entry. After working on my senior project and learning a ton about scrapbooking, I was really interested in the industry and decided to pay more attention and get more involved. I never thought I would win a contest, especially with my first entry. Guess that graphic design degree is paying off, huh?

Also, something new this year that's particularly exciting–all the cards are available on the Project Life app! You can use any photo off your phone or iPad, insert it into the card, digitally sign it, and even send them to print all from the app. They'll be shipped to you–envelopes and shipping costs are all included. It literally takes less than two minutes, I swear. So cool. If you don't have the app, you can also download them directly to your desktop and can use them that way.

Click here to see all of the winners' designs! I'm so excited I can finally share this with you guys!

Published by Alexandra Adams in Christmas, Design, Holiday

November 19, 2015 — 1 Comment

DIY: Rose Gold Leaf Candles

Just one more DIY with the rose gold spray paint I've absolutely fallen in love with! This gold leafing is super easy and way cheaper than actual gold leaf. The texture really adds a nice element to the table too. This post is similar to the way I dipped gold pinecones in Tuesday's post, so it's easy to do two-for-one projects with this technique!

Supplies:

Container that can hold water (that doesn't matter if it gets painted)
Candles
Rose gold spray paint

To Make:

Fill the container with water.
Spray the water with your spray paint–the color will float on the surface.
Dip the candles in the water deep enough to reach the height of coverage you want.

Dip the candles more than once to get more paint in different areas. Pull them out at an angle to get more paint on the sides.

I told you it was easy. Also, a helpful hint: if you plan on using candles in your centerpiece, make sure they're unscented. If your candles have a strong smell, it can be irritating and interfere with the delicious smells from the food you're about to eat!

Published by Alexandra Adams in DIY, Holiday, Thanksgiving