A little Christmas Home Tour

December 15, 2015

I didn’t really deck the halls all at once this year. Each day we have added a little more here and there which has been a great way to anticipate Christmas…

{visual signs that little boys live here.}

{Pom throw, patterned throw, pillows, rug}

Stringing up lights and adding the smell of pine just sets the tone for the feeling that something great is coming. My little Veronica has been dutifully attending her advent chain, and all of them anxiously counting down the days till we are reunited with my big family. It’s a magical time of year when you have children who bubble over with excitement over every mention of anything Christmas.

{antler pillow // print}

Gabe and I have never been so excited for the 25th. (We say this every year.) And considering we were all knocked down with the flu last week, I am crossing my fingers for good health. To be honest, it has been some of the most challenging weeks of the year, but I have noticed that in order to appreciate what you have, sometimes you have to be forced to be still. I had to cancel plans, let go of my ideas of how Christmas should be, and simply accept. All I really need to focus on is bringing my family close together, celebrate the gift of each other, and the faith that brings us together each Christmas.

{after spotting a eucalyptus wreath for $150, I decided to just make my own greenery wreaths. A little wire can go a long way.}

As another year approaches I always start to think through the direction of all areas of my life and where it is headed. We will see what January spits out;) Thanks to each of you who visit here each day. I appreciate you so much.

P.S. A little more of our home for Christmas here.

We survived family pics.

December 9, 2015

Every year I have minor anxiety over Christmas pictures.
Does everyone have two shoes on?
Is that peanut butter on your shirt?
Please don’t take out your hair bow!
Hand out of your pockets….
You know the drill.

So one year after tears from more than the children, I decided we wouldn’t do Christmas cards at all. Well, don’t worry Scrooge didn’t return this year, but I realized some of my favorite family pictures are when we are all relaxed in our own environment. I decided we would take pics in our living room where the kids felt comfortable. I was able to find a bunch of good choices from The Children’s Place for cute outfits I know they will use over and over. Veronica got her “swirly twirly dress” and the boys kept their shirts on. Which means, the comfortable knit sweaters did the trick. Rocco requested overalls and a reindeer hat. I don’t know what he was thinking, but you know, I obliged.

I usually do the run around to seventy-two stores trying to find decent, non-stained, maybe somewhat co-ordinated, but not too christmas-y looks for the kiddos, but not this year. It was an easy, under an hour, one stop success.

Not sure which photo we will end up using to snail mail, but I loved the natural smiles that came from this shoot. It was another weekend day enjoying being all together, Gabe being really good at making his kids laugh, and my talented friend snapping away. There were of course still occasional tears, (because it wouldn’t be family pics without them!) but all in all, three cheers and a glass of champagne!

Outfit Details:
Gabriel: Crew Sweater, Playground Pants, Nitro Sneaker
Veronica: Dress (sold out but similar), Tights, Shoes
Max: Crew Sweater, Chino Pants, Hiker boots
Rocco: Reindeer Hat, Overalls

*Photos by Chelsey Heidorn, post in partnership with The Children’s Place, and all thoughts are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.

Christmas Dinner Menu & Place Settings

December 7, 2015

I put together a Thanksgiving menu that turned out a little traditional, a little non-traditional, and a good collection of favorite foods. I am sharing this menu today as a Christmas Dinner Menu idea for those of you who may be hosting. We will be having many of these when we gather around my mother’s table on the 25th. So here are food and table ideas from our kitchen this year:) VIEW FULL POST

6 Advent Calendar Ideas.

December 4, 2015

My sister gave me the idea of wrapping up books as an advent countdown. We put away our Christmas books during the year so they are like new to my little ones when we unpack them each year. So I wrapped up the current stack, added a few new ones, numbered them, and put them above their advent service list. Since we already read books each night, this is a fun twist to December. Some of them are advent books and some are just children’t Christmas books. (Found the wrapping paper from Waiting on Martha)

Here are 10 other advent calendar ideas I thought were really clever: VIEW FULL POST

Reader Q&A Launch. Send us your questions!

December 3, 2015

Good morning! I am working on some new content for the new year, and will be launching a few new features specifically for email! A bi-weekly reader Q & A, surprise content, and occasional spotlight on favorite finds and shops. I would love to get acquainted more! That being said….

Email me any questions you have! (hello (at) inhonorofdesign.com) Little or big questions, doesn’t matter. Style, home, motherhood, fave place to get a burger in Atlanta…you know that kind of thing;) I’ll do my best to answer some through the email Q&A feature and some personally.
Sign up for your content preferences through this link or below! You all have been so encouraging this year, and it always pushes me forward. My family and I are grateful for you!

And I promise you won’t be receiving more emails than you choose to sign up for. This is just some bonus content that hopefully will entertain you once in a while, and allow me to give back to you in some fun content related ways. Cheers!

*If you are already subscribed, you will continue to receive new post updates, but you will have to sign up for the other options if you would like to be included in those!

The Genius Convertible Travel Tote.

December 1, 2015

Does anyone remember the sporty tennis shoes where you could change out the color slots on the sides? I was ready to pull out all the stops to get those shoes and reasoned with my mom that I totally needed them. I was convinced it would save her money in the long run with how versatile they were. Well, I’m still the girl with an eye for smart design and a love for color! I think this is why I fell hard for the new Lo & Sons Seville tote…

This is a convertible travel tote re-imagined to accommodate all of the features your dream tote would have. Or at least mine! Several padded pockets to secure belongings for travel and on the go purposes, organized, spacious, lightweight, high quality saffiano leather that is water and scratch resistant, and the coolest part? An interchangeable shell! You know when you find a dreamy bag and you just cannot decide on what color you will use the most? Well The Seville has an outer shell that you can snap off and swap with another color. You can imagine how this made my fashion and function loving heart beat wildly. I have used Lo & Sons travel bags for several years now, so I have seen how the quality outlasts the rest.

I fit more than I thought was possible inside this tote. Laptop, books, notebook, wallet, phone, etc. with room to spare. It also comes with a complimentary lightweight shell called the Soft Touch Shell, that attaches and slides over a roller suitcase handles for easy carry on traveling. I am looking forward to trying this feature out on my next trip. It is a very easy way to change your tote to your look without the hassle of transporting all of your things into another bag.

These are just a few ways I styled the tote with both black and navy shell covers, but pretty sure this classic design would pair with multiple styles. What would be your number one feature in a tote?
x, Anna

Look One: Seville Tote with Black Shell, Vegan leather panel leggings, Booties, Two-toned blouse, Blazer (sold out but similar)

Look Two: Seville Tote with Navy Shell, Navy Dress, OTK boots

*In partnership with Lo & Sons, photos by Morgan Blake, all thoughts expressed are my own.

Inside our Advent gift box.

November 29, 2015

Every year as my children grow, Gabe and I are trying really hard to be more intentional about the traditions we start with them. There were so many for me growing up that I really loved and carried with me, and now I get to pass those along to my little ones as well as start a few new ones.

Since today is the first day of Advent (which means ” coming”…cool right?), we decided to start a new tradition of giving the kids an advent box the night before. Since Advent gives us four whole weeks to prepare for Christmas, I wrote down a bunch of ideas to encourage them to have giving hearts this season and focus on the significance of the Christmas Story. It’s also an awesome opportunity to teach them about patience….waiting for something great. And while my four year old can barely wait a whole 60 seconds for me to give her snack when she requests it, a whole 4 weeks is not in her realm of understanding. I keep having to remind her that no, Christmas is not tomorrow morning. I totally get her in that regard. I don’t want to really wait either and I’d rather party and celebrate now and all four weeks rather than wait for the 12 days of Christmas, but I know I need this time. I really need this time to learn from the journey part. The part of the story where there is a lot of waiting and hoping and praying for the newborn king.

Here is what we put in the advent box:
Ornaments to decorate their little tree
Lights to string across the mantle
Garland
The Giving Manger
Unwrapping the Greatest Gift (One of the best ways to unfold the story of Christmas. We read this and light an advent candle each night. And here is the book I am reading.)

The Giving Manger comes with the wooden creche, baby Jesus, hay pieces, and a book. For every giving good deed that they do during advent, they get to put a piece of hay in the manger to keep baby Jesus warm. This is a tradition my own mother started when I was young so it holds a lot of nostalgia for me and I was so happy to find the set.

I wasn’t sure how they would respond since there was no sweets or toys involved, but to my surprise they were a few notches above amused and just one or two notches below ecstatic. I’d call it a win.

Here are the items I wrote down for them to choose to do each day:

Write someone a Christmas card and put it in the mail.
Make your brother or sister’s bed for them in the morning.
Donate some coats to the homeless coat drive.
Make baked goods to bring to our neighbors.
Say Merry Christmas to someone you don’t know.
Make some friends at the local nursing home.
Hold the door open for a stranger when we are out and about.
Bring somebody special a Christmas tree.
Make something for the mailman to say thank you.
Buy and wrap some toys to donate or give some of their own.
Gather supplies for a Christmas meal to give to the food bank.
Make a thoughtful gift for their teachers.
Let someone go in line before them.

Any ideas to add to the list? We are all ears. Also, if you are of a different faith, what are your holiday traditions? I really enjoy hearing about them.

Happy Advent to those who celebrate and cheers the start of the most wonderful time of the year!

P.S. A good advent playlist and how I fought for more peace and less chaos last year.

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