Gift Wrapping Inspiration: Simple & Pretty

Sometimes the simplest packages are the most elegant and pretty...

Beautiful ribbon is all you need to dress up solid colored gift wrap or boxes. More inspiration here.

Things to Enjoy this Time of Year

Do any of you make a bucket list of things you want to do this time of year?  The month of December usually flies by so quickly that I've found it helpful to jot down a list and roughly plan things out in order to enjoy the season as much as possible.

Here's what's on my list:

Pick out a fresh Christmas tree -did this this past weekend!

Decorate the apartment. Three fourths done with this - will post a few pics on Instagram soon!

Snuggle up on the sofa with the hubs and pup and watch favorite holiday movies. So far have watched: Love Actually, Jingle All the Way, Charlie Brown Christmas, and When Harry Met Sally. Still want to watch: The Holiday (my favorite!), Home Alone, Elf, and The Family Stone.

Sip several cups of hot chocolate.  We picked up some Ghiradelli hot chocolate mix when we went to San Francisco last month, so will enjoy some of that for sure, but also love drinking Abuelita- a Mexican classic I grew up with.

Ice skate - There's a cute little outdoor rink near our apartment that's beautifully decorated with lights that looks magical at night.

Make lots and lots of christmas cookies and treats to eat and to share.

Pull out the winter wear.

Wrap presents - I did most of my shopping online, so once everything comes in, I'll pull out the paper and pretty ribbons, get together with some peeps, and have a little wrapping session.

Listen to Christmas music all throughout the month. My favorites are Michael Buble, Mariah Carey, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, Josh Groban, Joe, and Christina Aguilera.

What are you enjoying this season? What are your favorite holiday movies and songs?

image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Arianna Belle Shop Gift Certificates

If you're looking for a last-minute gift idea, consider a gift certificate to my pillow shop, which would allow the recipient to choose the exact pillows (including something custom) they want for their home. Gift certificates can be purchased in any amount and can be sent as a printable PDF file via e-mail, just in time for Christmas!

Gift Wrapping Simplified

The fabulous Mrs. Lilien notes in this post that she stocks butcher paper as her signature house wrap then adorns her packages with ribbons, printed tape and colorful tissue paper:

Such a great idea, don't you think? Especially in smaller spaces, it's much easier to store and keep stock of one solid plain paper instead of a lot of bulky rolls of patterned paper, and then add color, interest and cheer by creatively dressing it up (for any occasion!) using beautiful little extras like tags, ribbons, sequins, etc., all of which can fit in an organized drawer or box.  These beautiful packages below are convincing me it'd be a good idea to adopt this wrapping tactic:

What gift wrapping supplies do you like to keep stock of? Do you have a signature wrapping style?

By the way, you can find links to my favorite free printable Christmas gift tags here!

image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

December

Can you believe it's December already? Every year, the time between Thanksgiving and New Years always seems to fly by in an instant. I hope to make the most of it by doing my best to stay present and appreciate all the special little things that are unique to this season.

I've loved finally breaking out the warm sweaters, coats, and scarves, going out to get our Christmas tree, decorating the tree, making the house feel cozy with candles and throws, listening to holiday music, and sipping hot chocolate.  What little things do you enjoy this time of year?

Ideas for Holiday Storage

Have you taken down and put away all your holiday decor yet?  For those of you who are like me and haven't done so yet, a few links with ideas on how to neatly store lights and ornaments:

• Wind strands of holiday lights around pieces of cardboard cut to fit in a plastic bin (pictured above left)
• Use apple containers to store delicate ornaments (pictured above right)
• Cut a piece of corrugated cardboard to line the bottom of a plastic storage bin. Then use a hot-glue gun to attach paper cups to the cardboard. Wrap ornaments in tissue paper, and place in cups. Then stack cardboard-and-cup flats inside the container.
• Store holiday lights in labeled plastic bags
• Use wine boxes to store ornaments

Wishing you all the warmth and magic of the holidays

As I sign off for the weekend, I want to wish you very happy holidays! No matter what you celebrate, I hope you enjoy good company, good food, and make tons of new memories! :)

1- eddie ross, 2- via measuring tape, 3-grey likes weddings, 4- via pchela fashion, 5- dreamy whites, 6- via mygirlyside, 7-grey likes weddings, 8-via pinterest

Gift Wrap Inspiration

image credits: 1--house and home, 2-100 layer cake, 3-besotted blog, 4-brooklyn limestone, 5-mr. boddington

Holiday Decorated Chandeliers

Wishin' I had a chandelier so I could hang Christmas ornaments from it. I love the look: Have any of you ever tried this before?

image credits: 1-domino, 2- via pinterest, 3- via decorpad, 4-via pinterest, 5-via country living, 6- via real simple

Happy Friday

Last weekend we put up and decorated our Christmas tree and, now that we've done part of our holiday shopping, I'm hoping to get the gifts wrapped so the tree doesn't look so lonely.  I still have a few more things to shop for but I think I'll wait to do that on a weekday. Super crowded malls tend to put me in a bad mood. Anyone else?

Have a wonderful weekend!

image credit: style at home

Last week of the year!

I'm back from spending a few days in our hometown visiting family for the holiday. How was your weekend?? For those of you who celebrate Christmas, have your started taking down all your Christmas decor or are you leaving it up a little longer? I usually leave mine up til New Years, then pack it up in large labeled plastic containers.
Are you working this week or enjoying time off lasting through New Years?

image credit: 1 via HGTV

10 Things That Make Me Happy During the Holidays

Here's what I'm looking forward to this enjoying this season (in no particular order):

1. Outdoor Christmas Lights

Every year my family and I take a walk down "Christmas Tree Lane" in the historic area of my hometown to see all the over-the-top outdoor Christmas lights and decorations

2. Christmas Decorations
I started taking some out yesterday from their storage box. I can't wait to put them all up!

via martha stewart

3. Warm Sweaters
I particularly can't wait to put Little Foot in one. I'm currently shopping on Etsy --my top picks so far: this one, this one, this one, and this one.

4. Ice Skating
This year we'll probably heading out to The Lakes in Thousand Oaks. I love going in the evening/night -I love the lit up atmosphere.

via allegra tumblr

5. Holiday Drinks
Abuelita hot chocolate, apple cider, all the special Starbucks varieties...

6. Holiday Baked Goods
Peppermint and chocolate, cupcakes, sugar cookies, gingerbread...

via martha stewart

7. Snow (or something like it!)
Someday I'll to spend Christmas in a place where it snows for real (I've dreamnt about that since I was a kid!) but for now I'll enjoy the artificial snowfall at the Americana in Glendale here in Southern California.

8. The Fireplace + Cozy Blankets
I love cozying up by the fire on a cold winter night with a luxuriously soft blanket, my husband and Little Foot :)

via elements of style blog

9. Christmas Movies
A few personal favorites: Miracle on 34th Street, Elf and Love Actually

10. Christmas Music
A few personal favorites: Diana Krall, Frank Sinatra, and Harry Connick Jr

What are you looking forward to?? Share your list with us! Post your own list (short or long -whichever format you like) on your blog and email me your link (ariannavargas@gmail.com). I'll include the links of everyone who emails me in a post early next week :)