Christmas is less than 10 sleeps away! That shows how close it really is (and that it's obviously been a little quiet around here lately). Lots of life has happened since then though. We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary - yay! And with it being Hugo's first Christmas with us, we've been playing Santa for our little pup. I think he's going to love the salmon jerky in his stocking!

I thought it might be fun to share some pictures of what we've done to spruce up our home and get into the Christmas spirit!

In other news, maybe I missed my calling to be a Christmas ornament designer (like my missed calling to name Essie nail polish colors for a living). Anthropologie and Magnolia Market are blowing me away with their Christmas and Winter collections! No surprise there. And in other Magnolia news, I want to buy everything from their Hearth and Hand collection at Target. I ended up going home with the wreath pictured above. I might just keep it up year round!

Merry Christmas!

Hugo

A lot happened for the Nelson family this summer! First up, I'd like to introduce you to our little fur ball of love.

Meet Hugo! This little guy has brought us so much joy since we brought him home in June. A true southern gentleman with an affinity for smoked ham and teddy bears that squeak, he's stolen our affections and I'm quite okay with it. We adopted him from Louie's Animal Rescue in Cincinnati, Ohio. He's a 6 year old corgi mix (we think he's mixed with german shepherd). He's very low key, with cuddles at top priority (we call him our little cuddle beast). But if you start "sqeaking" his mini teddy bear toy, he'll become your new best friend and play with you for hours.

I've wanted a dog since I was a little girl, so adopting Hugo is a lifelong dream come true. And I can confidently say he was well worth the wait! Welcome home, Hugo.

New Job, New House

Shortly after bringing Hugo home, I ended up landing a new job! The only drawback is not being able to work from home and be with Hugo all day, but I'm grateful to do something I enjoy with people who make me laugh every day.

Just in case a new furry friend and job isn't enough change at once, we decided to buy a house! Our search only lasted around a month, but I was definitely ready to settle down and get things moving by the time we found the house we ultimately closed on.

It takes me a little while to really adjust and feel familiar in a new home. No surprise, but walking through our apartment all empty was kind of sad for me. I saw the outlines of where our furniture was just a few days earlier, when things felt pretty normal and in sync.

I'm so grateful for our new home and it's a good change. It's just that walking through it empty brought back a lot of good memories, like sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag the night we drove up to Louisville from Florida with everything we owned. We had our first wedding anniversary there, Christmas days, our first experience living in snow, first classes of Seminary, new jobs, new friendships, new careers even. And lots of yummy meals of course, with either Gilmore Girls, The Office, or Parks and Recreation playing in the background on a regular basis. That cozy apartment with the red door was a blessing.

Here are some photos of the most "done" room in the house so far - our dining room. We bought this antique armoire to help store some of our kitchen appliances and I think it adds to the space in that "Joanna Gaines found this at a treasure trove antique market" kind of way.

The fact that it can be locked with a key makes me feel like it's an heirloom from the Beauty and the Beast set or something. It's easily become my favorite piece of furniture in the house.

Now it's time to focus on learning our new home. It's quirks, charm, potential. My Pinterest boards are bursting with ideas and inspiration. I'm excited to take my time, room by room. Make it ours.