Golden Bar Cart DIY

My friends always choose my house as the to-go house for any get togethers, and I suspect it is because I am always the one in my friend group who has wine and liquor in stock on any given day. Since, opening the cabinets or keeping the libations on the kitchen counter every day of the week is not very classy, I decided that a bar cart needed to be in my life.

I searched the local antique markets and found this little beauty that just needed a new paint job to bring it back to its glory days.

With the help (and when I say help, I really mean completely fix my first botch job and do it by himself over again) of my boyfriend Glenn, we whipped this bar cart into its new glorious state.

I love the glass layers, that allow you to see everything from the top to bottom in one glance!

My investigative pup, enjoyed the fact that the wine corks were now in prime picking level because she proceeded to carefully take one after the other of her new "toys" out of their location and beg to be let outside to bury her prize.

I can't get enough of my new bar cart and am super excited to show it off at my next event!

Cardamon Bread

Christmas traditions that warm the soul and fill the belly are simply the best kind. Every year my boyfriend's mother, Lauri makes Finnish Cardamom Bread into wreaths to give out to neighbors.

Last year, I came over to her house a few days before Christmas when she was twisting the yeasty treat into the wreaths to bake. I was immediately fascinated, and vowed to come over the next year to see the whole process from start to finish.

The baking extravaganza took several hours, due to the time it took for the yeast to rise, but overall the process was not nearly as intensive as I had thought. And during the wait time, we made chocolate biscotti so fear not!

After kneading the bread, you break off small balls and roll them into long ropes of bread. Then you braid the strands, which Rachel (Glenn's sister) and I did semi-perfectly, and then connect the ends to make the wonderful wreath shape.

Overall the Cardamon Bread to me is better than any dessert I have ever tried. I love a good yeasty treat and the wonderful glaze on this Finnish concoction makes it divine. This is one tradition that I can totally get behind!

Christmas Expressions

The holiday season is filled with wonder and awe.
The unexpected gift, that delivers joy!
The icing of sugar cookies, that prove to be great till the last bite.
The first taste of homemade eggnog, filled to the brim of a glass boot.

These are just some of the wonderful moments I have captured of my beautiful friends faces during this season of love. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks holds.

Oh and the tea party photo shoot that I was asked to take part in has been featured here. 

So check out my expressions!

Revelrey Christmas Giveaway /// Week 3- Closed

The gold chain drifts down to the arrow pointing to the most beautiful blue stone, is this weeks local giveaway! This lovely necklace is made by Courtney of Crafts and Love based out of Atlanta.

I asked Courtney to share what she is passionate about:

"I love creating using my hands to create jewelry, and have loved honing my own style the past few years. But besides jewelry, I am very passionate about serving others - I am pursuing a Master's in Public Health right now and my husband and I constantly dream of packing up and moving overseas to work with and serve others in developing countries. We actually got engaged in Africa, and feel so alive there, and can't wait to get back. That's definitely my biggest passion, and what I work towards every day. Maybe my jewelry business will one day fund those crazy dreams."

To add this brilliant blue necklace to your collection this year (do all three for the best results):

1. Enter a comment below stating what event you would be attending while wearing this necklace!
2. Tweet or post on your facebook about the giveaway, and leave me a comment that you did.
3. Jump on over to Courtney's etsy shop Crafts and Love and tell me what is your favorite item
and leave me a comment telling me all about it!

On all of your comments, make sure to leave your email address so I can get back in touch with you!!!

The drawing will end on Friday, December 21st at Midnight EST.
The winner will be chosen by random.org and is only open to US residents only.

Check out more of Courtney's jewelry on her etsy and facebook!

Thank you for participating in this week's giveaway during:

Week 1 Winner /// Week 2 Winner

The winner of this beautiful necklace is Amelia T.

Christmas Characters

I have never been quite able to put myself in any one particular box. I dress preppy some days and like a hipster the next, depending on my mood. I enjoy reading a book alone in my room or am just as happy to throw a party for friends. So for me Christmas decorations are no different. Some traditional accents and some totally off the wall treasures.

However one thing seems to be a trend with my ever continuing collection of Christmas items. I like characters, and not of the santa variety.

I enjoy my crazy Christmas characters so much! I get so sad when I have to put them back in a box every year!