MGL the makings of a good life: Happy Holidays

Hey everyone! So I know it's been almost 2 months since my last post but in my defence, this time of year is always so busy for me. You see around this time of year is when I usually take on another part/full time job to add on to my other one, making me have to juggle 2 jobs plus all the Christmas celebrations. So pretty I haven't had a single day off since December 3rd, but hey that's life right? Come the New Year it's gonna get a lot less intense.

My first Christmas tree

So throughout the season I've been able to squeeze in a bunch of Christmas baking, decorating and of course, Christmas shopping in my schedule and was able to take photos as physical proof of what I've accomplished. (Just as a disclaimer; as this is my first time celebrating Christmas living on my own, I might have gotten a little overboard!)
So first thing I wanted to do to start the season of right was to get a real life Christmas tree. Unfortunately due to my apartments strict no real tree policy I ended up getting a very admirable 6.5ft artificial prelit tree from Superstore at a really reasonable price. At first I was slightly against using a prelit tree but after seeing it all light up, I'm glad I ended up getting one. For the Christmas tree skirt, again I wanted to buy one but after browsing Pinterest for a bit I decided to make my own. Using inspiration from this amazing post: http://cleverlyinspired.com/2012/11/kraft-paper-tree-skirt/ I came up with my own version of it using potpourri, pinecones and burlap that I bought at Michaels craft store.

Next on my to do list was to get an advent calendar! Now typically I would just buy one but this year, I wanted to make my own special one. (Last year, I made a beer advent calendar that proved to be very popular among my friends). This year, I stuck to traditional chocolate and other goodies. The great thing about using mini brown lunch bags decorated is that I can reuse them next year if I wanted to make the same advent calendar.

Target had just finally opened up near me and it was the perfect time to go holiday decoration shopping! This included Christmas tree ornaments, ribbon, candles and even my very own knit stocking personalized with the letter M! So the following photos are what my apartment looks like all decorated and decked up for the holidays!

Above my entertainment unit I got candles and candlestick holders decorated with frosted line and holly alongside several Christmas CDs that I collect once a year (usually it's a compilation CD of some amazing singers and carols). I also like to display and Christmas cards I receive from my friends and family to remind me how luck I am this time of year. Speaking of Christmas cards; I wasn't going to send any cards this year but I ended up sending some after a bunch of my friends sent me one.

My centerpiece for my table this year was a combination of 3 things. A cookie jar with the word Believe written on it. I had gotten that cookie jar last year on a road trip with a couple of my friends down to the Bavarian town of Leavenworth; so it not only holds treats but great memories too. A red candle with sticks around it and some poinsettias in a glass jar. Now you'll notice that this year, I chose specifically to stick to the colour scheme of red and gold. As much as I really like silver, I wanted a more traditional, rustic, vintage vibe to my place- hence a lot of woodsy decor. From sticks, to burlap to pinecones I found using those deep bright red tones accented with gold hues and rich browns from nature really made my small apartment cozy.

I even made my own pillowcases for my pillows! This had to be super easy because I didn't have sewing machine. All I did was gather some festive fabric and basically like wrapping a present I wrapped my pillows and just pinned them, making for a quick holiday switch up.

I used leftover wrapping paper and turned my frames into a real festive treat just by simply replacing the photo with the paper. Again it's something small, but very noticeable in a small apartment and it really adds that extra shot of jolly.
So there you have it, a very quick and hopefully fun recap of what I've done in terms of decorating for the holidays have been. Next year I'll hopefully have more time to go even more bigger, but for now Ill consider this a win. I'll hopefully put up a post of all the Christmas baking I've done real soon!