Sobremesa Stories

Letting stories unfold around the table

Five on Friday: Christmas Decorating And Family Fun

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Happy Friday, friends! We made it through another week and if you’re a teacher like me, we are just two weeks away from Christmas break.  We had such sweet time together and with people we love over Thanksgiving and I’m so grateful for this season that lets us slow down and cherish the people we love.  I hope your bellies and hearts are still full from last week like ours are! Here are some updates from our last two weeks since I took a 4-5 day blogging break over Thanksgiving.

1) Thanksgiving Weekend

That five-day weekend could not have come at a better time.  I had been feeling worn down (mostly physically from this whole pregnancy business and two weeks of a yucky cold) and five days to just rest and be with family was much needed.  We spent Thanksgiving day with Jordan’s family eating yummy food, laughing at silly kiddos, and watching my husband and his three siblings play FIVE HOURS of foosball.  Five hours, people.  What in the world? We hung out with all of his siblings and their significant others several times over the weekend for some family pictures, leftovers, and even one epic game of Settlers (that I WON, I might add).  I’m grateful that Jordan’s family lives close and that they are people whom we love dearly and always enjoy spending time with.  I know that’s not the case for everyone and we are oh so grateful!

I’m green, and my initial placement totally won this game for me. Just saying. #SettlersNerd

2) Moments of Sobremesa

In addition to fun time with family, we’ve had lots of sweet time with friends around the table.  My blog’s name comes from the Spanish idea of sobremesa, or the time spent together around a table with people after a meal is finished (you can read more about my heart behind the blog name here).  We had two couples from our church small group over on Tuesday night and it was so fun to eat big bowls of soup and sit around the table for a few hours laughing, sharing stories about our middle school days, and reflecting on how crazy it is that we are apparently what the world considers “grownups.” Those moments around our table are so sweet and we love when we can open up our home to people!  Check out our home tour from last spring if you want to see more pictures of the space we call home!

Sobremesa Stories Blog - Behr Anonymous Gray Dining Room with rustic wood table, world map, metal orb chandelier

Our dining room!

3) Holiday Decorating

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a lot of fun crafting and rearranging things in our home to be more Christmassy (is that a word?).  I didn’t want to spend a ton of money and tried to use things we already had to create a cozy, warm atmosphere, although I did make a few fun Target dollar section purchases and a statement pillow or two.  I’ve been snapping some pictures of it all this week and am hoping to do a full post with our Christmas home tour this upcoming week! So stay tuned, folks.  Here’s a sneak peek of one of my favorite little spots to rearrange for the season: the strange, angular nook directly across from our front door and next to our dining room.  I love the vintage feel of this little nook and this combo of neutrals, deep reds, and some Christmas trees and green are a pretty good summary of what our whole house looks like right now.  I love it!

Sobremesa Stories Christmas Decor

4) A Mini Pregnancy Update

I’ve been trying to be upbeat when it comes to pregnancy and remember what an honor it is to grow life inside of me. But can I be honest, y’all? This last week has been HARD.  I’m coming up on 26 weeks (about 6.5 months) and I feel like my whole body’s just started aching.  My hips, back, and feet ache by the end of my work day and I’ve started to get really out of breath from super strenuous tasks like walking up four stairs or talking for more than 30 seconds (aka all I do at work).   Combine that with lots of leg cramps and some heartburn and it’s been kind of a disheartening week.  So if you’re thinking about it, want to shoot up some prayers for encouragement and peace in this area? I have so much to be grateful for (like a 26 week doctor’s appointment this week showing Caleb is healthy and strong!) but I also want to be real that lately, my energy and emotional state are summed up pretty well by this picture of Olive crashed on top of my laundry.  The struggle is real, y’all.

Olive on Laundry

5) Baby Black Friday Shopping

Since we knew we had some purchases to make for the nursery, we were pretty strategic with our shopping this past weekend.  We bought a crib and dresser/changing table from Ikea (not on sale, just normal Ikea cheap) and then found some great deals on a few other purchases we’d been hoping to make! I’m so excited to put all these things together over the next few weeks and start to see our space for Caleb develop and feel more real.  It’ll be just over three months before he’s here and I am hoping to have the space done by about 6 weeks before he arrives (because you never know…maybe he’ll be an early bird!).  To see more gorgeous pictures that are inspiring our nursery decor like this one below, check out my post from yesterday with our nursery inspiration. I also have been pinning away on my nurseries Pinterest board, so check that one out if you love dreaming about nurseries as much as I do!

Neutral Gray Boy Nursery Inspiration

Source: Macarenagea

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! I’m grateful for you all!

P.S.  Have you followed Sobremesa Stories on Facebook yet to see posts like the one below yet? I love the community developing on that page and would love for you to come be a part of it if you’re a regular reader here!

Since I may or may not have had WAY too much fun ordering things for our little man’s nursery on Black Friday, I figured…

Posted by Sobremesa Stories on Thursday, December 3, 2015

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Comments

  1. Pregnancy kicks my behind most days! I’m personally counting down to the days AFTER break because all five kids home all the time is terrifying ;). But I don’t blame you for waiting excitedly for that to come! I didn’t realize what Sobremesa meant and I LOVE that. It’s one of my favorite things:)
    Lauren Jane recently posted…Becoming Biblical., part 2: Prayer Box!My Profile

    • Hahaha I can definitely see how break would be the opposite of vacation when all the kiddos are home! I’ll soak up that lazy alone time while I can get it! I need to do another post soon on where my blog name actually comes from. The teacher in me loves the idea of sharing that with people!
      Lauren recently posted…Cozy Christmas Home TourMy Profile

  8. I just found your blog from the link up today and so happy that I did!!
    Love the name of your blog, and that you’ve had people over for dinner–I love having small intimate dinner parties with friends. It’s such a nice way to connect with everyone, while enjoying some delicious food!
    Jenn recently posted…Friday FavesMy Profile

  10. LOVE the wreath and window…so cute. Also love the teacher/snow sign..I’m a teacher so I hear ya AND I love snow:)

    • Ha thanks, Chelsea! I think the further into this whole blogging thing I get the more confident I start to become. It’s been fun to see that side of my creativity grow and blossom! We have a map/travel theme in our whole house and I love it. It’s such a personal and unique way to show what you love!
      Lauren recently posted…Cozy Christmas Home TourMy Profile

  12. I told my husband we should have gone baby shopping on Black Friday but he was out of town! All we have is a stroller and infant car seat! We haven’t even moved the bed from that room to my parent’s house yet! So unprepared! But my goal while I’m out of school for December is to get the baby’s room mostly together. My shower is January 23rd, so I feel like once we have that, we’ll really be able to get organized for Jackson! I’m 27 weeks tomorrow and agree that it’s getting tough. I’m not terribly short of breath unless I bend over, but putting my shoes on is a real struggle. And I definitely feel like a stuffed sausage when I’m trying to work out now. I think it takes me more time to sit down and get up than it does doing half my working out. I had horrible back pain again recently, but it seems to have gone away this week, thankfully! I was hoping it wouldn’t last the entire rest of pregnancy! But my feet are definitely feeling it lately and I’m starting to swell a little more after work. I just looked at your house photos and I LOVE your house! I totally love your style. That’s what my dream house would look like! Bright, airy, clean, and not cluttered!
    Liz recently posted…Cats, Coffee, Crepes, & CrossFitMy Profile

    • Oh girl, you are not behind at all! This past week was pretty much the first time we bought anything for our little man. I’m kind of waiting for showers and such too! I know people will get us lots of cute things so I don’t want to get too much now. Ha YES, a stuffed sausage is the perfect description! Thanks for your sweet words about our house. I really do love how it’s all turning out! 🙂
      Lauren recently posted…Cozy Christmas Home TourMy Profile

  15. I can relate to those pregnancy pains! I would get out of breath just drying off after a shower. But I have to be honest and admit that my body hurts 10 times worse now, and my baby’s 2.5 months old.

    • Oh really? I’m so sorry to hear that, Kelley! I’ve heard that the recovery process can be much longer and harder than people admit (which is why it’s so crazy when women have to go back to work so quickly). I hope you’re able to find some ways to alleviate the pain!
      Lauren recently posted…Cozy Christmas Home TourMy Profile

    • Thanks, Liz! I’m sure once the little ones are actually here it’s a lot harder to keep up with things like that. I’m excited to see some pictures of Sophie’s room once you get it all finished!
      Lauren recently posted…Cozy Christmas Home TourMy Profile