Blogmas Day 1: How to make your home festive for December

Happy Blogmas everyone!

Can you believe it's already December?!?! How has another year almost come to a close? I hope everyone is just as excited as I am for Christmas!

For my first blog post of this very festive and fun month I wanted to talk about how to add little touches to your home to make it cozy and festive by sharing what we have done around our apartment and maybe it can give you guys some good decorating inspiration!

There is nothing better than coming home after a long day of work to a beautifully lit Christmas tree. That is definitely the number one thing to put up first! This year was my first year being able to decorate a Christmas tree in my own apartment instead of at my parents house and so I think it made me all the more excited to decorate for the season! My roommates and I picked a woodsy/rustic theme this year and I am in love!

My roommate Booker made our tree topper from elements we bought at Hobby Lobby. He made it from this post on Pinterest (https://pin.it/hafsoo4q744fxm). We got the gingham burlap to "ribbon" around the tree from Jo Ann's. We also got rustic ornaments from Hobby Lobby and Jo Ann's Fabric store to decorate it. I honestly think this is one of my favorite trees I have ever had!

We also added small touches around the apartment to make the whole thing feel more cozy and christmassy! If you don't have the room or budget to do a huge tree like that then you could do smaller things such as a tiny tree on your counter like we have on ours.

We just bought a tiny fake tree, a tube of tiny ornaments, small strand of lights and a small bow and voila! The whole tree was about $20 total. It adds the perfect touch of Christmas without going overboard if you want something more simple or, if you're like us, it just adds another element of Christmas to another area of the house! We got everything for this tree from Hobby Lobby!

Another thing we LOVE decorating is our dining room table. Each holiday we always like to add a little centerpiece to celebrate the holiday and of course Christmas is no different! 

It just adds a nice touch of Christmas to the dining room table since it is one of the first things you see when you walk into our apartment. We added a bit of fake snow, some fake christmas tree pieces, and the cutest bear ornament to tie into our rustic themed Christmas tree. If you want something quick, simple, and festive this is definitely a great idea to consider!

I also added a few cute things from Target to my bathroom. They have some really adorable Christmas bath mats and bath towels so I decided to get them to add a little festive cheer into my bathroom! 

It just adds the right bit of festive and the bathmat was only $7.59! They had two other options and you can shop them all here! 

What are some things you are doing around your house to put you in the festive spirit? Let me know!

Comment down below or tweet me @thejesslauren!

xoxo Jess

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. Everyone is spreading love and christmas cheer and all of the best Hallmark movies are out. During this time of year I spend December reflecting on the past year and cherishing my close friends and family by celebrating the holiday season with them. I love so many things about the christmas holiday and time spent celebrating it.

So much so, this year I decided to do BLOGMAS! This means I will be posting three NEW Christmas themed blog posts each week in December up until Christmas Eve weekend!!!!

I know.... it's SO EXCITING! I'm sure most of you can agree that sometimes google and blog lists are your best friend during the holidays to get inspiration for food ideas, parties, gifting, and more. I know I definitely do! So, I decided to be a holiday guide resource this year! I have a lot of great posts lined up for December and I am so excited to share them with you guys!

I know I have slacked on posting this past year but as I have said in a post before, it has been a very trying year for me in my professional and personal life. I have had to take time away that I had devoted to doing this thing I love to focus on making good career moves and helping my family.  A lot of things got slid off my plate this year because of it so I thought doing Blogmas would help get me back to doing one of the things I love which is writing!

What are some Christmas blogs you want to see? Any topics you want me to cover? (Maybe I already have one you want planned out!) Let me know by leaving a comment or by tweeting me @Thejesslauren with the hashtag #JessicaLaurenDoesBlogmas!

I am so excited to add some holiday cheer to your life each week!

xoxo Jess

Christmas is coming!!!

Hey guys!

I can't believe that November is almost over! Just a few short weeks and then Christmas day is here! Today I wanted to talk about a few things I love to do to get me in the Christmas mood just in time for December!

If you know me you will know that Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year and there is no better way to get into the spirit of the holiday than with some Christmas music!

I listen to Christmas music all year round but if you're not like me and you can only handle a few little doses of Christmas then now is the time to whip out those old favorites and also find some new ones to get you feeling holly and jolly! I have a few amazing albums I would recommend:

The first one is the brand new Pentatonix Christmas album A Pentatonix Christmas! Pentatonix have released Christmas albums for the last few years and they are always one of my favorites to listen to and this year's album does not disappoint! It has a favorite of mine from N*SYNC's Christmas album  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and I no lie have jammed to that EVERY time I've gotten into the car! There are also other amazing classic holiday songs they have covered such as I'll be home for Christmas, O Come all ye faithful, and White Christmas just to name a few! If you haven't ever listened to their other Christmas albums I highly suggest giving all of them a listen!  Here is the link to their newest album if you want to preview a few of the songs or buy it! (it's only $7 on iTunes!) A Pentatonix Christmas Album

The other album that is guaranteed to get me in the holiday spirit is Michael Bublés' Christmas album! I love listening to his music all year round but there is just something about listening to his smooth jazz influenced music during the holidays! It is always sure to get me in the mood for Christmas!

If you have burnt yourself out on Christmas music another way to get yourself feeling ready for the holidays is watching vloggers around the holidays. I like to do this  year round also but especially to get me in the mood for Christmas. If it is not quite December yet I like to watch Christmas vlogs/videos on YouTube from the previous year. Most of the vloggers I follow do what is called Vlogmas where they vlog every day in December leading up to Christmas and they all do such festive things like getting their Christmas trees and decorating them, going to look at Christmas lights, wrapping presents, talking about their favorite Christmas films and doing things with friends like making gingerbread cookies, ect ect. It is just something that REALLY gets me in the festive mood! Besides vloggers looking up videos on YouTube from people who travel to Disney World during the holidays is also one of my favorite things to do. I love watching videos of the Holiday Wishes fireworks show and the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party parades and just seeing the parks decked out in all of ther Christmas best really set the holiday mood for me. It makes me want to grab a hot chocolate, put on my most Christmassy pajamas, and snuggle on the couch while watching Christmas films!

A few of the people I love to watch around Christmas are Zoe aka Zoella (her main and vlogging channels), Tanya Burr, SacconeJolys, and Gabbie. These are a few of my favorite vloggers all year round but their Christmas/December vlogs are my favorite and I love re-watching their vlogmas ones whenever I want to feel Christmassy!

If Christmas music and watching vloggers aren't your cup of tea to get yourself ready for the holidays then there really is only one thing left to do. Full Immersion. One of the things I like to do to get me in the holiday mood  when it is nearing the end of November is to decorate! There is NOTHING more Christmassy than putting up your own tree and setting out all of your festive dish towels and candle stands and decorating the mantel. Along with decorating your house it is also important to don your most festive holiday wears. I like to start wearing my Christmas hair bows and Christmas themed sweaters/apparel as well as use all of my fun Christmas mugs and cups and just surround myself with 24/7 Christmas.

There is something about the holiday season that just puts me in a good mood pretty much all the time and whenever I feel a little down I love doing these things to put me right back in the best of moods. I hope you have enjoyed reading about what I like to do to get me in the holiday spirit and if you are trying to find your holiday cheer I hope one of these things can help you!

Happy Holidays!! :)

xoxo Jess

Christmas Time! (Winter favorites)

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year! So I decided to do a winter favorites blog post to let you know of a few things I am loving this holiday season and every year around this time!

The first thing is Christmas music!
I am currently obsessed with the new Pentatonix Christmas CD "That's Christmas to Me"

I have been absolutely loving this CD and I have been blaring it in my car every time I get in and I listen to it when I'm working on anything as well. It has some really great new twists to some of my all time favorite Christmas songs! The song I am loving the most is a tie between "White Winter Hymnal" and "Mary Did You Know" both are just SO good!

The next thing I have been loving this Christmas season is scarves!

Anyone who knows me will tell you I have a slight obsession with scarves but I just LOVE them especially in the colder months! They are a staple in my winter wardrobe and I am currently obsessed with the sweater/knitted thicker type scarves right now. They just add that nice finished touch to any outfit.

The next favorite I have is any and everything bright and sparkly!

In my wardrobe I have noticed I have been picking up more items that have sparkle in them or shimmer. I have recently just bought a really gorgeous gold shimmer top from Forever XXI (Below)

Forever XXI

I have also been buying really shimmery cardigans and little throw over a shirt type over-sized jackets that I have been in love with ( My favorite online boutique for those is www.mintjulepboutique.com) . I just think it adds just a little bit more to each outfit and helps to add to the feel of the season!

Another favorite this time of year is all things comfy and cozy. I have recently bought a few super comfy and cute Victoria's Secret sleep shirts and I have been living in them during these chilly winter nights! They have the cutest sayings on them and are great for people who get hot at night!

Victoria's Secret

Another holiday favorite of mine is a place in my city. It is Bellingrath Gardens. It is a place where you can go and walk through a beautiful historic home and garden and look at TONS of Christmas lights! It is always a tradition to go with me and my friends and we went this past weekend and it was so magical!

It is always such a magical experience and I love going and having fun spending time with friends and enjoying the spirit of the holiday season.

Another absolute favorite during the holiday season is buying everyone's gifts! For me, I really enjoy buying gifts for my friends and then wrapping them really cutely and giving it to them! I love surprises and giving gifts is just so enjoyable for me! I really love sentimental things and so this time of year really makes me want to craft and make the cutest gifts for friends! I have been really busy this past week trying to get everyone's gifts figured out and bought so that I don't have to worry about rushing around as it gets nearer and nearer to Christmas day!

Some of my next favorites are makeup and skin care products! Some of the things I have been LOVING recently are the really yummy holiday scents and colors!

First is a new fragrance by Bath and Body Works called A Thousand Wishes. It smells so heavenly and it has a sweeter scent but it is still very strong and is something that just smells so great. I also got this in a shimmer body lotion because who doesn't want their skin to glow!

Bath and Body Works

Another favorite I am loving right now is the Urban Decay Naked 3 palate. It just has so many Christmassy colors and festive bright colors and I have been wearing it every day for the past month it is SUCH a good purchase!

Urban Decay

This palate is mostly rosy tones and I am loving that so much right now. It also has some really nice subtle darker colors that are great for blending into your eye crease to make a nice smoky eye.

Another favorite makeup product I am loving is something that I think everyone should have in their makeup drawer! A good concealer is something that is super hard to find and I have been loving the Benefit 'Stay Don't Stray'  in light/medium as an amazing under eye concealer.

Benefit Cosmetics

A favorite winter relaxation product line that I have fallen in love with is Lush Cosmetics. They have some of the most amazing bubble bath and bath bombs I have ever tried. They always smell so good and leave your skin feeling so refreshed afterwards! The best thing about it is they have the cutest holiday themed bath products!

Lush Christmas

Not only are they amazing products but they also are festively shaped and scented! Such a great little gift idea too!

These are just a few of the great things I am loving right now during the holiday season! I have also left links under all of the products I have shared in case you want to go check out these awesome products!

What are some things you are loving this holiday season?

xoxo Jess