Merry Christmas from The McAfees!

Merry Christmas from us and the pups! Such a big year, full of changes and new adventures; looking forward to 2018 already. 

Sharing our Christmas card here because I didn't order enough! In some ways, it's a blessing; I didn't realize just how many new friends we've made in the past year. We're so thankful for these new relationships, and all of our older friendships, too.

Lots of love! 

Christmas Kitchen

I love the slightly vintage vibe of our kitchen Christmas decor. Most of it is Dollar Spot finds from Target! Each year they have just a couple of cute dollar items that really end up all working together. Funny story about the Christmas Countdown on the stove: bought that three of four years ago from the T, and could not find chalk anywhere! Ended up finding some right before Christmas, and then have continually hid it from myself such that I find it throughout the year but never in December! So no Christmas Countdown for us...

Tartan & Buffalo Check Christmas

Two words: tree collar. With the recent inclusion of our newest addition, Miss Marble the Kitty, I have quickly learned how absolutely necessary this Christmas decor item is. While the one I really wanted sold out {Hearth & Hand problems, thanks Target}, after fishing the cat out of the tree on multiple occasions, I was half tempted to just go to Home Depot and buy a galvanized tub to sit the base of the tree in. Side note: while writing this, I had to pluck her out of the curtains. The curtains! 

I really didn't love how my main tree turned out last year; it never really felt complete. And this year, I decided I wanted to incorporate a traditional Christmas tartan ribbon in our main tree because it's extremely close to CJM's family's tartan. To somewhat mute the red {I love red and green, but not so much in my house}, I incorporated a beautiful, wide black and white buffalo check. Our tree topper? Big bows with a rack of deer antlers tucked into the top from CJM's first hunt of the season. I guess I'm officially a South Georgia girl now!

Mixing metallics is something I love doing with jewelry, so I incorporated that trend into the other decor throughout the living room, too. Gold balls in the garland with silver stockings hanging nearby, more ornaments in a silver Reed & Barton bowl on the coffee table, and a mix of silver, gold and white nativity and Christmas figurines on the sideboard as well. It's one of my favorite spaces to be this holiday season.

Pink & Gold Holiday Dining Room

It's been so fun decorating our first home for Christmas this year! We've grown to a full four Christmas trees: one in the living room, one on the front porch, one in the guest room, and one in the dining room. Last year, the dining room tree was the gold spray painted one featuring our wedding ornaments. This year, we have two new nine foot trees for the living and dining rooms, so I really decided to change things up.

I've put all of the unique ornaments on our main tree in the living room with a red tartan ribbon in an effort to tie in the McAfee family tartan, and decided to do just pink and gold ornaments in the dining room to coordinate with our funky multi-colored rug. The pink and gold ornaments are a mix of my great grandmother's hot pink Shiny Brights, newer gold Shiny Brights, and pink and gold shatter proof ornaments {thanks, animals}. 

Our centerpiece was an awesome Black Friday find from Kirklands! I thought the gold accented burlap ribbon would tie in nicely with the small bit of burlap on our main tree, and the pair of antlers from CJM's first deer of the season at the top of our main tree...pictures coming next!

Fall Senior Photos

A few weeks ago, I got to take a few senior pictures for my brother-in-law {that sounds way too formal for the now really tall kid I've watched grow up over the last seven years!}. It was a beautiful fall day right as the time was changing. Downtown Dublin has so many great picture places, so we spent the afternoon exploring our little town.  We're planning on doing some more in the spring when he gets his soccer stuff together, and we will highlight some of his band accomplishments too!

Weekend Recap: October

Have you ever had an entire month overwhelm you? *Raises hand*

October.

Everyone's favorite month.

Bye...

Birthday month! So fun, right? My October was too much fun, and I was more than ready for a slow down in November to start this week.  Last month I worked a lot, traveled a lot, and went to a lot of concerts. It was one of the most challenging, rewarding, and eye opening months on record!

October started off with just a lot of preparation for the rest of the month, but things quickly picked up with our trip to Biloxi, Mississippi, for some of our friends from CJM's time in Savannah during pharmacy school. We flew out on the Thursday before the wedding and came back the Monday after. Seeing friends we haven't seen since graduation last year was so sweet. We all danced too much, stayed up too late, and played too hard; but it was a blast!

 

Friday let me explore the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino while CJM golfed with the guys. Such a beautiful place! Great shopping, food, and drinks, and of course the giant casino and clubs, there really was something for everyone. Friday night featured the rehearsal dinner at the Biloxi Welcome Center which was stunning. An evening of dancing later, and wedding day was here! Such an amazing event for an amazing couple.

Dress: Target | Shoes: Sam Edelman | Tassel Earrings: Lisi Lerch 

Dress: BooHoo | Earrings: Lisi Lerch Ginger in Gold 

Sunday CJM and I rented a car and drove into New Orleans. We were so close and neither of us had ever been there before, and were able to meet up with a couple that knew the area incredibly well! We got to see the highlights, and eat our fill of oysters at the Royal Sonesta's Desire Oyster Bar and beignets at Cafe du Monde.

The following week featured my busiest work week of the year including a community event for over 1,000, a music video project, and my birthday to top it all off. But the really icing on the {birthday} cake? The surprise tickets to the Eagles concert on my birthday from my amazing husband! We had so much fun! He sneakily told me we were going that afternoon, and drove us to Atlanta that evening for the best concert. Of course, we had to get The Varsity to eat on the way home.

Eagles at Phillips Arena in Atlanta--thanks, Kim, for the great shot from your amazing seats! 

Chicago at the Macon City Auditorium--thanks to Tara for her awesome pic, too!

The last full week of October saw more work business, a wonderful Chicago concert in Macon {who are we? Two concerts in one week?!} and a weekend visit from the in-laws featuring a football game and oyster roast. Needless to say, we have been practicing for holiday meals and celebrations all ready!

November is going to be busy, too {birthday month for the hubs!}, but I'm looking forward to a little bit 'cozier' schedule heading into the holidays.