Kicking the week of with our Monday Morning Wrap-Up. We kicked the to-do list out the window and focused on ole’ fashioned family time. It was a nice way to enjoy the weekend as my kiddos are still in school this week. We are so sad that their Christmas vacation does not kick off until the end of the week. Even more reason to enjoy some holiday cheer.

I did manage to get a jump on my wrapping. Even though I adore wrapping gifts (it was my first job when I was about 10!) I usually am a last minute girl. So this was big. I lock my door, crank up the Christmas tunes and get creative. You can check out the puzzle piece gift tags I’ve made here.

I am a big fan of papers from HomeGoods. They are heavy in weight and wrap beautifully. I buy three coordinating papers and use a couple on each package. I usually just cut strips of one to wrap around the gift. It’s easy and creates a fun group of gifts. These tags are ones I’ve had for years, but I also used a package of round ones from Target (found in the usual party section, not the holiday section).

These two must have clocked 3-4 solid hours of backyard hockey. Our son is obsessed and despite it being 55 degrees, he still insists on wearing shorts.

On Saturday night we headed out for a family date night. This is the best time of year to do things like that. Every where you go it seems festive and fun. We hit up the Irvine Spectrum and took the kids ice skating. This sweet girl clung to me and my husband for over 30 minutes until she finally was brave enough to let go. She did great. Our son was a different story. He put on those skates and took off. He never looked back. Now he wants to play ice hockey. Oh, boy!

similar boots | jeans | scarf | coat | handbag

Ignore the fuzzy photo, but this captures our California Christmas with the palm trees and ferris wheels. If only we had some snow! After ice skating we ate dinner at TLT (The Lime Truck) and then treated the children to sugar cinnamon pretzels for the drive home. It was a really fun night and we had two tired kiddos when we got home. 

decked & styled living room tour

After tucking the kids in bed, we were able to sneak in some quiet time. I am trying to take in this scene as the tree won’t be up forever. I wish I could bottle the feeling it provides. We are really trying to keep the focus on together time during December.

NEW BLOG CRUSH

And lastly because our weekend was a bit uninteresting to my readers, I’m sure, I have to share my new blog crush. Rachel is a design force to be reckoned with. They just revealed their new kitchen and I am swooning. Look at this! You can see it all here and I am warning you. You’ll be snooping around Rachel’s blog for quite some time. Dreamy.

Have a really great Monday. This time of year can be challenging and emotional so hopefully you can find a moment to find your happiness and take it all in. Wishing you a great week.