new year, new space

Hi Friends!

Following in Diana's footsteps, I am leaving Blogger and joining Squarespace!

I will find you at aparalleloflatitude.squarespace.com or aparalleloflatitude.com. They both will work.

If you follow via bloglovin, it should transfer over soon.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you all over there.

december favorites

an early clinique christmas present // emerald polish // terry's chocolate oranges // wrapping presents // comfy over-sized sweaters // beautiful tarot cards 

the wait is almost over

via     

Warning: the following may induce eye rolls or "oh brother" exclamations due to extreme cheesiness  You have been warned. 

I am so excited for the holidays! I've gotten all my Christmas shopping done, which is so unlike me. I usually leave a bunch of things till the last minute so not having that added stress has been nice! My family has a Christmas party every year and my grandparents are visiting from Florida so this is the first year they will be able to join us. We always have such a great time. I'm going to have a week off from work (WOO!) and I've been making plans to see friends during that time.

I never officially announced it here on my blog but William and I have gotten back together! Relationships are so complicated, aren't they? I'm sure from a blog readers perspective, since I don't always share intimate details, my relationship seems very flighty, but I can assure you it isn't. We have discussed our relationship in depth in regards to our decisions and I can honestly say I am SO happy right now (and I'm pretty sure he is too ;) )! I have mentioned some construction going on over here. Well, we are building a mother-in-law suite on the second floor of my mom's house and progress will be a bit slow, but things are going great. I am sure I will be sharing a bunch of before and afters with you all as well.

Sorry if this seems like bragging, but it's just really nice to actually be happy and have so much to look forward to! I hope you all are looking forward to the holidays and the New Year as much as me.

PS. In case the world ends tomorrow, you guys are awesome and thanks for reading. ;)

gingerbread house

I've been trying to get back into the habit of taking pictures. I thought the gingerbread house making date I had with my nephew would be a good time to start, and I was right. I managed to get a lot of cute shots of Josh concentrating on decorating. Christmas activities with kids always get me in the holiday spirit.

I asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he said. "Just one thing! A new bike!" Let's see if Santa delivers.

DIY// a faux fireplace

When I was young, I remember Christmases spent in the living room, in front of the tree and fireplace. In our home, we don't have a fireplace and it's most missed during the holidays. What better way to solve the problem of not knowing where to hang your stocking than making your own faux fireplace?

My supplies consist of a piece of plywood, cut in half. A 2x6 scrap wood from our contruction demolition and a wedge to support the middle. Some trim. Paints, including chalkboard paint left over from this project. And a screwgun and screws which I forgot to add. 

I painted the plywood with the chalkboard paint for the fireplace hole, the trim, and the rest of the plywood with some kind of stone or tile pattern. You can paint it whatever you'd like. 

I screwed the 2x6 directly to the plywood, then the plywood into the wall. Don't forget to add the wedge underneath the mantle for added support. 

Don't mind our messy construction you can clearly see to the left of this wall. If you do this project, or something like it, I'd love to see it!