Only 5 more days till Christmas! yay! Every year on Christmas Eve, my Mom and Dad come over and we play “Reindeer Games” (card games, board games, or minute-to-win-it style relay races etc.) and the winning team gets a super awesome Santa trophy along with bragging rights for the year, while the losers have to have their pictures taken with light-up reindeer antlers! The lastthree years – it has been guys vs. girls and THIS WILL BE OUR YEAR!I already gave my Mom a pep-talk, because we have never won! Last year, we came close and tied, but it wasn’t an official win and the boys won’t let us forget it! This year I bought a card game that my friend, Elle, from Elle-Talk told me about called Exploding Kittens: A Card Game About Kittens and Explosions and Sometimes Goats! I think it is going to be a big hit and can’t wait for the games to begin LOL.

Affiliate Links: | c/o Sweater | c/o Purse (similar)| Shoes | Earrings (similar)

Photography : Dede Raad

On another note, it has been SO cold here in Houston this week, so I finally got to bust out all the sweaters and have been wearing this convertible sweater non-stop. It can be worn two ways and I honestly can’t decide which way I like better. It can be worn like a regular cowl neck sweater or OTS ( off-the-shoulder,) which has been such a big trend this year! The sweater is also super cozy, comfortable, and comes in several other colors. It is long enough, you might be able to even wear it as a dress with OTK boots too!

You can use my code OURMESSYTABLE15 for 15% off regular priced items until 12/24/2016! In case you missed it, I also shared this Bell Sleeve Lace dress from Anjoulis Boutique last week that I can’t wait to wear again for NYE!

Thank you all so much for stopping by OMT! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy this time with your family. Leave me a comment and let me know what some of your favorite games are to play with the fam!

Note: Many of the links below are affiliate links, meaning if you purchase a product after clicking an affiliate link we receive a small percentage of the sale for referring you, at no extra cost to you. Just something we do to keep the lights on.

| c/o Dress | Shoes | Earrings | c/o Lipgloss |

Photography : Dede Raad

Y’all I have officially jumped on board the bell sleeves train ( what have I been waiting on?!?) I couldn’t help myself when I saw this dress with the lace details! It has been such a lifesaver this month and totally saved me a couple times when I needed to look nice and didn’t want to put very much effort in ( we all have those days, right?) The sleeves just have that dressed up look, where I could just throw on some booties and go. I have already worn this so many times, I have lost count.

One reason I love it so much, is that it can be worn for the holidays, but the color doesn’t limit you to just Christmas time. It gives you more options to wear it throughout the rest of the winter too. Plus it allows me to wear a wine colored lip, which I have been all about this season!

I got this dress and the CUTEST sweater ever ( I will be sharing it next week) from Anjoulis Boutique. I had the best experience shopping with them. My order was delivered so quickly and the quality of the clothes I received werevery nice – especially for the price ( This dress is only $42!) If you still need to pick up a gift or two or if you just want something for yourself, you can useOURMESSYTABLE15 for 15% off until 12/24/16. John and I have been running around like crazy trying to finish up some projects before Christmas! I am honestly ready for the hustle and bustle to slow down a bit and to be relaxing in our PJ’s with hot cocoa watching Christmas movies!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Holiday season!

I found this birchwood ribbon at a local boutique and it was the inspiration behind this tree. Then I found the little birchwood tree ornaments on sale at Crate and Barrel and it really tied it all together.

Cozy socks and Christmas trees are two of my favorite things!

Woodland Winter decor on my dresser. John made this giant light-up snow flake last year. We used the tutorial from A Beautiful Mess. 

Quick peak at my office all Merry & Bright for Christmas!

Adding a wreath around the deer head is so simple, but adds so much to the gallery wall.

Filling a glass vase or jar with pine cones and sparkly glitter ornaments or decorative balls is such a simple centerpiece.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I can’t believe it is already over. I am sad to have to take down my Christmas decor now, but I am excited to try some new decorating ideas and look forward to sharing them all with you in 2016!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Lindsey

John and I had so much fun decorating our new home for Christmas this year! Hope you enjoy these snap shots of our decorations. P.S. Grab some leftover pie – this is kinda long

This topper has lasted for 6 Christmas’! I just fluff it out every year. (Thank goodness for wired ribbon!)

I love this giant gingerbread candy cane ornament, it is one of my favorites to put on the tree.

The tree all lit up at night!

I’m obsessed with this nutcracker and metal light-up snow flake! They were the highlights of my mantle this year. I wish it was acceptable to keep this up all year long lol.

Snap shot of the bottom of the mantle. This box is an old ammo box that I found in my Dad’s garage and I filled it to the brim with Christmas goodness. I mean, what else would you put in an old ammo box?!

Above the entertainment center is always a hard spot to fill. It is so much space! An easy space filler  is to wrap extra odd shaped boxes and add a pretty bow. 

If you read the DIY centerpiece post earlier this month, then this pic should look familiar!

Right now we have a blank wall behind our dining table. We have big plans for that wall, but in the meantime, we just put this wreath up there to fill the space. I actually really liked the way it turned out!

I get to bust out these plates once a year! So, yes – I actually leave them out the table the whole month of December. I just can’t get enough.

The pictures do not do this justice. I love how this looked in person. The Santa Stop Here sign was on sale for $23 at target and was hands down the best Christmas piece I bought this year.

John really, REALLY wants a scooter. So, last year Buddy brought him a scooter for Christmas. John can live vicariously through the adventures of Buddy for awhile

Snap of John’s Christmas village. He gets one new piece a year. I don’t know what we are going to do next year, we are running out of space!

Random dog pic – Lambeau is tuckered out from Christmas and asleep snuggling with his new Christmas baby.

Decided to throw our little family traditions in here. Our favorite Christmas movie is Prep and Landing. ( If you haven’t seen it – it is an adorable short 30 minute movie about elves that prep for Santa’s landing!) We have an ornament of Lanny and Wayne ( from the movie) and we take turns hiding the ornament through out the month for the other to find.

Thats the end of part 1! Stay tuned for part 2 of our Christmas Home Tour.

We would love to see pics of your Christmas decorations and hear about your family traditions! #ourmessytable on instagram or comment below!

Lindsey

Favorites: December 2015

This style top is one of my favorites. I have it in so many colors! I love it, because it can be dressed up for work or casual and paired with jeans.

I have been obsessed with this scarf from Altar’d State.( I couldn’t find the exact one on the website, but I went ahead and linked to their other scarves.) I have worn it with EVERYTHING – from fitted tee’s to dress shirts. I think my favorite look so far was pairing it with a leather jacket.

Speaking of leather jacket, here is my all time favorite leather jacket. Mine is last season, but I linked a similar one from from express. What I like about this jacket is that the sides and the back of the arms are actually fabric, which allows you to move and not feel so constricted. ( Maybe that’s just me, but I’ve never felt comfortable in a leather jacket, until this one!) It takes the basic tee and jeans to the next level!

The Brunch So Hard t-shirt is from target. I’m sad to say, that this t-shirt never did make it to brunch. When we were taking these photos, we missed the “brunch” window, so we “lunched so hard” instead.

I don’t think a day has gone by that I haven’t worn these boots, since I got them! I looked forever for the perfect pair of nude booties and found these at Target of all places.

Another favorite for most of this year actually, are these earrings from Kendra Scott.Of course, I couldn’t find the exact pair ( probably, because I have had mine for a year) but I linked a similar pair and honestly, EVERYTHING she has on her site is gorgeous. So really, this picture applies to any pair of Kendra Scott statement earrings, because they go with any and every outfit.

My sweet friend, Kelsey, surprised me with this vest.I ABSOLUTELY love it. Not only is it comfortable, but it completely transforms an otherwise bland outfit. She gave this to me as a congratulations gift for taking the first steps on launching the blog and really I owe her ( and this vest) a huge Thank You! It motivated me to get my butt in gear and to start taking the blog to the next level.

I had to throw these in here, because John and I use our Swell bottlesALL. THE. TIME.They keep your drink cold for 24 hours! & They come in cute colors. Funny story, I took the sparkly gold bottle to spin class and the instructor literally stopped what she was doing and came over, because she thought I had a champagne bottle in class! LOL

John and I hoard (I mean collect) coffee mugs and when we found this cute Christmas Mug we couldn’t pass it up.

Hope you enjoyed my December Favorites post! We wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Thank you for stopping by!

Lindsey

DIY Tile Christmas Coasters

I have a few ideas for coasters, but since Christmas is right around the corner I thought I’d go Christmas themed to use for a gifts this year. (Spoiler alert to any friends who are reading this and receive these as gifts.) The process is extremely easy for the most par,t but a little time consuming, as you have to wait for things to dry and/or set properly.

What you will need:

• Square tiles from your local hardware store (4.25″ x 4.25″) (Home Depot or Lowes)
• Printed photos – Cut to the size of the tile
• Pieces of felt or cardboard (3.75″ x 3.75″)
• Mod Podge
• Sponge brush
• Glue (fabric glue or strong adhesive)

Varnish and waterproofing:

• Envirotex Lite Pour-on High Gloss – (Michaels)
• 2 Disposable plastic cups
• Wooden stirring stick
• Latex gloves

How to make them:

1.Gather all your supplies

2. Brush one coat of Mod Podge onto the tile.

3. Place one photo on the center of the tile then allow time to dry. The great thing about Mod Podge is that it doesn’t dry right away which allows time to adjust the photo before it sets.

4. Use an old gift card or cup to roll over the top of the photo to make sure no air bubbles are created. I just so happen to have an old chick-fil-a gift card.

5. Brush on another coat of Mod Podge on top of the photo. Allow that to dry and brush a second coat on top. The key on this step is to brush the first layer in a vertical direction and brush the second layer the in a horizontal direction. This will create a cross hatching that will help the Envirotex to spread more evenly. Don’t be afraid of the white layer that the Mod Podge creates, it will dry clear.

6. While the coasters are drying you can now begin to prep for the waterproofing and varnish.

• Set down a cloth or cardboard box on a flat service. DO NOT skip this step or you will ruin whatever table you use for this.
• You will also want to set your tiles on something to allow for dripping. I chose to use disposable cups.
• Put on your latex gloves to protect your skin from the epoxy.

The EnviroTex process:

1. Mark lines on a plastic cup to indicate how much of each bottle to use. This has to be exact according to the directions in the box. I filled a measuring cup with the amount I needed, then poured it in the cup and made my first mark. I then poured more water into the measuring cup and added it to the plastic cup to make my second mark. You will want to dump out the water and then dry the inside of the cup.

2.Next you will want to cover the edges of the base of your tiles with tape, and trim any excess. This will make it easy to remove any drips of Envirotex later.

3. Pour the amount of liquid you need according to the instructions in the Envirotex box from each bottle into your measuring cup. Stir for 2 minutes using a wooden paddle. After 1 minute, pour the mix into your 2nd cup, and stir for another minute. It’s important to use two cups like this, because it leaves behind the unmixed epoxy on the sides of the first cup. (For a more detailed instruction see the Envirotex instructions).

4. As soon as you’ve finished mixing the Envirotex, pour it onto the center of your coasters, then pour in a spiral making your way towards the edge of the tile. Try to divide the mix evenly between all of the tiles. Notice how I balanced each coaster on top of a disposable cup to prevent it from getting glued to the work surface.

5. Make sure the Envirotex spreads over the whole surface of the tile and if you need to help spread it, use a piece of cardboard or something similar and lightly push it around the tile.

6. About 15-20 minutes after you poured the Envirotex, you will notice tiny bubbles rising to the surface. Exhale gently over the surface of each tile to pop the bubbles. It’s like whenever you try and see your breath in the cold. The carbon dioxide in your breath that makes them pop. Ha science. After 30 minutes you will want to wipe the sides of your tiles to get rid of any drips. This is where having something down underneath really pays off.

7. Now you just wait. Give it about 24 hours. I’ve heard to store it under a box to prevent dust from landing and sticking to the tile. I took my chances but you can protect yours if you want.

8. Once dry you can peel of the tape from tiles and use sandpaper on any leftover drippings.

9. As a final touch just cut and glue the fabric or corkboard to the bottom of the tiles and let that dry.

If you are thinking of making these a gift you could tie a set of 4 with twine or some ribbon and then it’s all done.

This was a really fun project and you can even personalize them for the person you are giving them too with pictures etc. We would love to see you diy tile coasters. Tag us and use #OMTcrafts, so we can follow along!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Winter Woodland Wreath

Start with a blank canvas ( or in this case a blank grapevine wreath!) You can find similar wreaths at craft stores like Michael’s Art Supply. I really loved the larger branches in this wreath. It gave it that “woodland” look, I was going for. The right side of the wreath started to unravel – I’ll show you later what we did to fix it.
Supplies:

• Greenery – How many branches you need depends on what size wreath you get. My wreath was a medium size, so I went with two frosted picks with small pinecones (top left)and then two larger picks that had a lot of sparkle and glitter ( on the right!) Check your local Hobby Lobby, Michael’s Art Supply, or design shops to find similar picks of greenery.
• Woodlands Critters – I choose a large owl – that had a frosted, snowy covered tail. I also picked up a snow squirrel ( but didn’t end up needing it in the wreath.)
• Wired Ribbon – I got this ribbon from Michael’s Art Supply. Always make sure the ribbon is wired. The trick to a good bow is the wire that helps it stay in place.
• Scissors, Glue Gun, Wire Cutters, & Wire

Hereis a close up so you can see just how cute this little owl is!

I thought these greenery picks were just gorgeous! I loved thevariety of greenery they had in them and of course I love anything that glitters & sparkles!

This is not a glamorous picture, but it’s real life, behind the scenes wreath making. It’s easier to work & see the placement of everything when the wreath is propped up. So, we used our paper towel holder to prop the wreath up to give us a better angle to work with.

Notice the wire at the top of the wreath. We used wire to tie the side of the wreath that was starting to unravel a bit, to help hold it into place. At this time, you need to look at your wreath and if there are any awkward areas (sometimes the wreath will not be symmetrical) you decide which area will be the top of the wreath and which will be the side that is hidden. ( I chose the unraveled side to hide.)

You want to start with the biggest pieces on the wreath first. So, I started with the larger glittery greenery picks. Once you have found the placement, wedge your pick into the grapevine and then hot glue the jointsto keep intact.

This is the bottom view of the wreath, with the first greenery pick in place.

Then we took the second large greenery pick and put it up high on the left side of the wreath. There will be a gap in the middle of the two greenery picks. (Tip:Set the picks in place on the wreath at the same time before hot gluing to make sure they are not too far apart.)

Now, go back and add your Owl (or the Woodlands critters in) I didn’t mention this above, but since I used a larger owl I only needed one animal as the focal point. If you chose a smaller animal you may need to get two and I would make them different sizes, to give it dimension. Regardless, of what you chose, figure out where you wantit to sitinside of the wreath. This owl had a really pretty frosted tail, so I wanted to make sure that the tail showed and wasn’t hidden in the wreath.

Then hot glue him in place.

The next step is to take the smaller greenery picks and fill in the spaces that need to be fuller. We used wire cutters and cut the branches apart and then hot glued the ends into the areas of the wreath that looked sparse. Once you place the branch, you will need to hold it down to make sure it secured.

Be really careful to not burn yourself – you can use an extra branch or stick to hold down the end, so you don’t accidentally burn your fingers! That glue gets HOT.

Now its BOW time! ( My favorite time) You want to take your ribbon and make sure to leave a tail ( see the piece that is laid flat on the table) about that long. Then create a lope and twist before starting another loop (larger on the outside and as you start to move to the inside of the bow, make them smaller) Once you feel like your bow is full enough, use another pice of ribbon to tie the bow onto the wreath. This is kind of complicated to explain, so I decided I will post a video next week to show how I make the bows, so stay tuned!

Place the bow into the empty space that was on the left side inbetween the two greenery picks. This is a side view of the bow on the wreath.

If you have any gaps left, you can use a smaller piece of ribbon to fillin. I cut a small piece and then used wire to attach the ribbon to the wreath and hold in place. ( Notice the ribbon tails – I like to cut the tails like this)

The final touch was to add even more sparkle and glitter. These little balls came in a pack from Michael’s Art Supply and really were a nice finishing touch!

I just hot glued the little snow balls throughout the wreath.

The snow balls just added that wintery feel, I was going for ! They really made this wreath.

Here is the finished product!

This was such a fun wreath to make! My Mom and I had a blast. She put up with me throughout the entire process stopping to take pictures and to document each step! I hope you enjoyed this diy. If you decide to tackle making a Winter Woodland Wreath, I would love to see pictures. Tag us on Instagram and Facebook and use #ourmessytable.

Lindsey

Here is my simple Christmas centerpiece for the coffee table:

I took a serving tray,  a reindeer,  ( I bought the lime green/red pick seperately and just attached it to the deer to add some pizazz) & put that all in the tray, along with a silver candlestick. Then I just filled the bottom of the tray with leftover ornaments and pinecones! & it is as simple as that.

You can use whatever you want in the tray and get creative! As you start sifting through your holiday decorations, look for a shorter larger piece that can take up a good majority of the tray, then look for taller pieces that can add dimension ( candlesticks, trees etc.) and then surround it with leftover ornaments. I’ve seen some tall, skinny Christmas trees at hobby lobby that would be a nice touch!  P.S. The candle is my absolute FAVORITE Christmas candle . It makes the whole house smell like a toasted S’more.

Hot Cocoa break with Lambeau! (I was paying so much attention to the centerpiece, he thought there was something really good on top of the coffee table!)

Thank you for stopping by!  Y’all stay tuned for the full Christmas tour, should be up next week.

Happy Christmas Decorating!

Lindsey