{"id":17270,"date":"2014-12-11T06:13:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T11:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theenchantedhome.co\/?p=17270"},"modified":"2014-12-11T10:41:16","modified_gmt":"2014-12-11T15:41:16","slug":"ringing-holidays-blogging-friends-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/11\/ringing-holidays-blogging-friends-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ringing in the holidays with blogging friends part 2!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi there, busy busy days around here, tis the season. So here I am with the second round of “ringing in the holidays” with some of my favorite bloggers. I hope you enjoyed the first part and if you missed it,? you can visit by clicking here. <\/a><\/p>\n

This is a continuation of incredible inspiration and beauty…if you have been waiting for the holiday bug to bite, I think this just might do? the trick!? Really fabulous, hope you enjoy….<\/p>\n

So let’s begin shall we…….<\/p>\n

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Hello Jeanne from I? Dream Of<\/em><\/h2>\n

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A FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION?<\/b><\/div>\n

I love choosing and decorating the tree. The smell of evergreen, the lights all aglow. Opening the boxes and rediscovering all the ornaments – it’s like saying hello to old friends. (Especially the treasured ones given to me my parents as I was growing up.) And each year we add a new decoration or two to the tree, knowing that in years to come they will bring back memories of this moment in time.<\/div>\n
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A PERFECT HOSTESS GIFT FOR UNDER $45.00…..<\/b>
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There is an antique mall in south Seattle where I can always turn up a fun piece of blue and white for a great price. Or I like to bake something that the hostess and her family can enjoy for breakfast the morning after the party.<\/div>\n
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BEST UNIQUE GIFT FOR A HUSBAND?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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My husband always tells me not to give him anything! But I love matching presents to people, so always try to come up with an experience for him instead of a thing. One year I partnered with a girlfriend and together we planned a ski weekend for our husbands. Years later they are still talking about it, so I think it was a winning gift!<\/div>\n
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A GIFT ANY GIRLFRIEND WOULD LOVE……
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A girls’ trip to Paris! Or, a little more practical, something with a little sparkle or bloom to it! Her favorite champagne in a vintage bucket. A floral arranging class for the two of you (we have great ones in Seattle at London Plane). Or wrap up some luxury nail polish from Chanel or Tom Ford in her favorite color and tell her you’ll schedule mani\/pedis at her go-to spa. Find her a baby sitter, bring some bubbles and treats!<\/div>\n
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BEST HOLIDAY SONG HAS TO BE…..
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My favorite holiday music is the soundtrack from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I watch it (at least once) every year and it makes me laugh out loud and tear up every single time. My favorite part is when all the Peanuts characters are dancing around to Schroeder playing “Linus and Lucy” and when they sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” at the end.<\/div>\n
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THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS DAY OUTFIT……
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If I could, I would stay in my pajamas all day long on Christmas! There’s a tartan pair at JCrew I have my eye on. Add cozy sweater and I might not leave the house!<\/div>\n
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I hope you are enjoying the holidays so far! I’m sure you are super busy with getting orders out from your shop and decorating your gorgeous house. Hope you are having fun, too. Wish we could share a glass of champagne and toast the season.<\/div>\n
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?Hello Cynthia and Carolyn from The Buzz Blog….<\/em><\/h2>\n
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?A FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION…..
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We grew up in Belgium where one of the traditions we adopted was to end a lavish Christmas Eve dinner with a deliciously rich Buche de Noel or yule log (though we much prefer the name in French!) Fortunately, we have a fabulous French bakery just up the road so we have continued the tradition with our own children and it?s their favorite part of the meal.
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A PERFECT HOSTESS GIFT FOR UNDER $45.00……
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A chocolate gift set from Maggie Louise Confections<\/a> ? after all, who doesn?t love a box of hand-crafted goodness designed to dazzle!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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BEST UNIQUE GIFT FOR A HUSBAND?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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We don?t know any man who would refuse a day of driving in his favorite sports car. Gotham Dream Cars<\/a> allows you to rent one of their fast and furious Aston Martins or Lamborghini for the day and they even have door-to-door delivery. The only drawback is that your hubby might want to buy one!<\/div>\n
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A GIFT ANY GIRLFRIEND WOULD LOVE?<\/strong>A massage. Let?s face it, we all are busy women, managing families, homes and often jobs and we rarely take the time to pamper ourselves. So when we are offered the chance to indulge in a little ?me? time and relax in a spa, we take it.<\/div>\n
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BEST HOLIDAY SONG HAS TO BE?<\/strong>White Christmas! Another one of our traditions is to watch this delightful Irving Berlin musical after our Christmas Eve dinner while we?re wrapping the last of our presents. We see it every year and still get choked up when the cast comes together to sing this song.<\/div>\n
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\"unncccamed\"<\/a>THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS DAY OUTFIT?<\/strong>Since all of our entertaining happens the night before Christmas, we spend the day in pj?s! Our favorite pair are the Asian wrap pajamas from Garnet Hi<\/a>ll ? so comfy and eco-friendly, too.<\/div>\n
\"unnbccamed\"<\/a>Thank you, Tina, for allowing us to be part of your Holiday series and for sharing our thoughts. We love this time of year and look forward to the big day.<\/div>\n
xxoo C + C<\/div>\n
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SAY HELLO TO ELIZABETH FROM PRETTY PINK TULIPS
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A FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION?<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
When my boys were small, a family member gave them each a Reed & Barton silver holly bell each Christmas with the year and their name engraved. I hang them from our dining room chandelier each year and will give them to them when they have families of their own. It feels like “Christmas” once I get these hung.<\/span><\/div>\n
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A PERFECT HOSTESS GIFT FOR UNDER $45….<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Finding a gift that is already packaged as pretty as the gift is a bonus?and these Lux candles are perfect. The candle, $36, inside is green with a small gold Christmas tree as adornment on the container, fitting of its “tannenbaum” scent.<\/span><\/div>\n
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BEST UNIQUE GIFT FOR THE HUSBAND…..<\/strong><\/span>A favorite new find this year is Sword and Plough, a small company with a purpose to repurpose military uniforms, tents, buttons, etc?into great items like baseball caps and backpacks. Really cool, I promise. Their factory employs our veterans and I love a gift that keeps on giving.<\/span><\/div>\n
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A GIFT ANY GIRLFRIEND WOULD LOVE!<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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Pampering and pretty are always good when it comes to our girlfriends. Why not package up a pretty nail polish and package it with a gift certificate to her favorite nail salon. Better yet, book an appointment for the 2 of you right after the holidays for some quality time together.<\/span><\/div>\n
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BEST HOLIDAY SONG HAS TO BE.<\/strong>…<\/span>White Christmas by Bing Crosby is in my head from the beginning of December and I find myself dreaming of a white Christmas!<\/span><\/div>\n
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THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS OUTFIT?<\/span><\/strong>? \"\"Starts with something comfy, as we have a fairly informal Christmas Day. Our big formal meal is Christmas Eve. So, I’d love to start the mornings with coffee and presents in these red pajamas and in my fantasy, I’d come down the stairs in this amazing tartan ball skirt. In reality, I’ll be sporting my red monogrammed apron from Williams-Sonoma!<\/span><\/p>\n
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Thank you so much, Tina, for letting me share some of my holiday inspiration with you and your readers! Wishing everyone a merry, merry holiday!! xo Elizabeth<\/span><\/div>\n
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And welcome Katie from Preppy Empty Nester…
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A FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION…….<\/strong><\/p>\n

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For those of you who don’t read my blog, this is a picture that was taken for one of our holiday cards from Christmas Past. ? I learned a valuable lesson that year: ?the more people\/animals in the photo, the harder it is to get a good picture. ???<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I chose this one because it was cute of me.<\/span><\/p>\n

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?One tradition that we have maintained during the years is to attend Mass on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.? We then come home to open gifts around the fireplace.? Instead of a sit-down dinner, we enjoy wine, and plenty of our favorite appetizers prepared by our in-house Executive Chef, otherwise known as the Mister. ?<\/span><\/p>\n


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Pinterest<\/span><\/p>\n

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?In the old days, the girls would be allowed to open a few gifts from the family and the big ones would be opened the next morning from Santa. I miss those days…<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

E<\/span>veryone is always on their?very best<\/i>?behavior on Christmas Eve.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n<\/i><\/span>What kid wouldn’t be overwhelmed with a trio of glue sticks under the tree?<\/i><\/span>?
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Especially when Big Sis got a stuffed dog and some Mini Milkbones?<\/i><\/span>?
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A PERFECT HOSTESS GIFT FOR UNDER $45.00?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Over Thanksgiving, I asked for assistance from my two favorite personal shoppers.? My #1 told me about about this beautiful book,?Dinner Diaries: Reviving the Art of the Hostess Book<\/a><\/b><\/i>?and I was intrigued.? After reading the synopsis on Amazon, I ordered a few copies for some very special people in my life?including me<\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n

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?BEST UNIQUE GIFT FOR A HUSBAND……<\/strong><\/div>\n
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?Traditionally, I try to give the Mister a bow tie that he doesn’t already own, which is fairly difficult considering how many he has hanging in his closet.? Usually, I try to find something that represents a theme of that year.? Currently I am on the hunt for a bow tie to represent our two newest members of the family, Chowdah and Chili.<\/span><\/p>\n

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?If you ever see these rascals on a bow tie – please email me.<\/span><\/p>\n

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?Along with the bow tie, ?I am planning on giving the Mister an automatic starter for his car.? The two of us have not adjusted to the bone chilling temps at all. We are old and tired of being cold. ? The Mister takes a very early train and I thought is would be a great idea if he had a warm car to get into every morning and night.? He always wants a “toy” for Christmas so maybe this will do the trick. He can have fun all day Christmas pushing the on and off button.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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?A GIFT ANY GIRLFRIEND WOULD LOVE…..<\/strong><\/div>\n
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?Again, I consulted my personal shoppers on staff.? My #2 suggested a planner, which I thought was a good idea.? I know that many people use their electronic devices, but I love writing down things in a pretty little planner.? I love the looks of the?Whitney English?<\/a><\/i><\/b>planner this year.? The signature feature is that each day gets a full page.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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?BEST HOLIDAY SONG HAS TO BE…….<\/strong><\/div>\n
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?Every time I hear this song I tear up. ?<\/span><\/div>\n
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?THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS OUTFIT?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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?I love winter white. ?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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?In my mind I would like this.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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?But in real life it’s closer to this.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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?Thank you, sweet Tina, for asking me to partake in such a fun holiday blog party!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Is this a fun bunch or what? They sure have the right ideas about how to ring in the holidays in style…..between part 1 and 2 I have gotten all kinds of fabulous ideas and hope you have too.<\/p>\n

Thank you ladies for your wonderful and stylish take on the holidays and to everyone else for stopping in. Hope you are getting lots done and it’s not too chaotic, I feel like that proverbial gerbil on a wheel who keeps on truckin’!<\/p>\n

In the end, I know it all gets done….thanks for stopping in. Ho ho ho……<\/p>\n

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PS Be sure to check my newest promotion that just started this morning, on for two days only. Click here for the details….<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi there, busy busy days around here, tis the season. So here I am with the second round of “ringing in the holidays” with some of my favorite bloggers. I hope you enjoyed the first part and if you missed it,? you can visit by clicking here. This is a continuation of incredible inspiration and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1440,1144,1813,1909,1441,1352],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17270"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17687,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17270\/revisions\/17687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}