Decor for the Classic Capricorn

Did you all have a good weekend? I'll be sharing more from my weekend in the next few days. In the mean time... it's my LAST Astrology decor post. I've made it through the whole year, can you believe it? I will be creating a post soon with all of my past Astrology Decor posts, so you can check out all of them collectively on one page.

It's nearing the end of December, and that means the start of the Capricorn sign! If you were born between December 22nd and January 19th, you fall under this sign of the zodiac, which is symbolized by the Goat. According to Astrology.com, Capricorns are known for their hard work and determination. They are all about a challenge, success, and achieving their goals.

When it comes to their Style, Capricorns are classic and down to earth. They are all about functionality and classic pieces in their home. Their homes are decorated with earth tones and lots of neutrals and foresty greens, and they collect solid wood pieces and heirloom furniture that can be passed down for years. (Source: Style at Home)

Here is my collection of decor picks for the Capricorn. Enjoy! (Sources at the bottom)

Sources (from top to bottom): 1) Office chair - Horchow 2) Goat pillow - Red in Fred 3) Duvet - Anthropologie 4) Book shelf - IKEA 5) Basket - Target  6) Desk lamp - And George 7) Green throw - Marquis & Dawe 8) Rug - Wayfair

And for my final Astrological Decor Room pick - Here's a lovely, cozy looking bedroom that's nice and neutral:

(Source)

With a mix of both classic and contemporary elements, this bedroom is nice and earthy and the most perfectly decorated space. I would love to have this bedroom!

I hope you've enjoyed all of my astrological decor posts as much as I've enjoyed creating them. It's been fun!

Obligatory Christmas Tree Post of the Week

Like the title? ;) It seems like every few days I've been posting new photos of our Christmas tree, but I can't get enough Christmas tree photos this time of year. So I'm gonna do it anyway. It's pretty much a requirement this month.

It's just so purdyy! All of the twinkly lights...and check out the bazillion gifts we have under there this year! Overflowing with presents.

I also wanted to share this adorable ornament that came in the mail this week...

Isn't it awesome? It's from our photographer, Sarah Sunstrom. Love her. She's given us the most amazing gifts! She is so thoughtful and creative. Can't wait for her to shoot our wedding next summer!

It seems like we've added so many new, cute and sentimental ornaments to our tree this year. Besides this one, there was my new owl ornament, our photo frame ornament, and my handmade rustic ornaments. By now our little tree is looking pretty full! But I love it.

Christmas will be here soon..it's a short work week for me next week, and then a longgg weekend! Looking forward to it!

A Concert to Remember

Finally getting around tonight to blogging about Tuesday's amazing concert! Trent and I checked one thing off our bucket lists this week! We saw the Counting Crows live. And it was pretty much amazing. It was a night I don't think we'll ever forget.

We had amazing seats - so close, and almost dead center. It was at The Adler in Davenport, so it was more of a theater-type venue, rather than a larger arena, which is always so much more intimate-feeling.

Trent and I are big Counting Crows fans and know several of their songs. Alternative rock/pop in the nineties pretty much rocks our world. Third Eye Blind is next for me on the bucket list to see in concert! Of course, Dave Matthews Band is our all-time favorite, which you've probably heard about a million times on this little blog of mine.

To make it even more awesome, Chris Carrabba's side project band, Twin Forks, opened for them. We've grown to really like their music this year, too. He's the frontman for Dashboard Confessional, but the sound of these guys is completely different - a lot more folky, kind of Lumineers-esque.

It was so amazing to be so close and seeing these people that you've only seen on TV or in pictures, right in front of you. Chris was so much tinier than I would have imagined! He's a little guy!

His band was so cute the way they all interacted on stage. Chris's cousin is the drummer and seemed really fun. Then there's two ladies who also sing vocals on many of their songs. I believe there's also one other guy who plays guitar - bass, maybe? (I don't know, I'm not much of a musician!) Anyway though, they were great, too.

But Adam Durtiz and the Counting Crows were really awesome. Adam is such a laid-back guy and a true artist. He tells stories through his songs, which are all really expressive. (btw - I can't believe he's 50! Wow.)

He doesn't sing the songs live exactly how they sound recorded, and he doesn't try to. He sings the songs how he feels at that moment, which makes it harder to sing along, but also makes you want to listen more. O.A.R. is really similar in that way - we saw them live a few years back.

Adam doesn't have an extreme amount of energy on stage either, but he expresses so much just through his hands and facial expressions, so it was fun to watch. We had a really great time.

All in all, it was a great show, and one that we probably won't get to attend again any time soon. I'm so glad we finally got to see them and experience all of their amazing songs live and in person.

Tomorrow is our Christmas gift exchange and get together with my mom's side of the family. I'm excited to get together and exchange gifts! On the other hand though, Trent thinks he has the flu (he's in bed as I type this at 7:00 pm). He had chills and a fever today, so we'll see if he will be able to make it tomorrow. I'm hoping he feels up to it! It's a very rare thing for him to get sick. I think this is the first time I've ever seen him sick before. This is definitely a first.

My Top 10 Christmas Movies of All Time

Who else loves watching Christmas movies this time of year? It definitely helps me get into the holiday spirit. I don't care if it's cheesy Hallmark movies, or the classics. I love them. And I think everyone has their favorites that they have to watch every year. For me growing up, we always watched White Christmas, so I know all of the songs by heart and watch it every year! ELF has also become one of my favorites - definitely the funniest Christmas movie ever! And I have so many more favorites, too! Here are my top ten favorite Christmas movies of all time (links and sources at the bottom):

Movies from top to bottom: 1. White Christmas,  2. ELF, 3. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 4. Home Alone, 5. Home Alone 2, 6. A Christmas Story, 7. The Polar Express, 8. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 9. Love Actually, 10. The Santa Clause


Honorable Mention: The Grinch, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas - Gotta include these classic TV Specials, too!

Oh, and a bonus for today - I stumbled across a quiz from Today.com that tells you what Christmas Movie family yours is the most like. It's great fun! Here is my result:

Apparently we're a pretty "classic clan." And fun fact: I just watched that movie for the first time last Christmas! I know, I'm a little late in the game...Anywho, if you want to know what family yours is most like, take the quiz here!

Christmas Lights by the River

Saturday night we were up in the cities and drove by the river in Moline. The Christmas lights were all strung on the trees in the park, and it was really simple and pretty.

It's the Ben Butterworth Parkway, which is where we had our third (picnic) date. It's also right across from where Trent works. I kind of miss working right by the river. It's always kind of scenic up there.

Over the weekend we shopped all afternoon and met my parents to eat in Davenport, then had to stop back here to pick up Trent's vehicle. He had worked earlier that day, so I drove up there to meet him and we had two cars. Glad we got to drive by the river and take a little scenic detour.

Is there really almost a week until Christmas? This year has gone by so fast! Only 8 months now until the wedding! We've gotten a lot done, but there is still lots more to do...

It's been a nice little break this month though, not too much wedding planning going on in the last few weeks. Taking a little time out for the holidays, spending time with family, doing some Christmas decorating, shopping, and present-wrapping. It's been nice!

I'll leave you with this amazing house in Davenport that we stopped by Saturday night. The Kall's. They decorate like this for Christmas every year, and have an amazing light show set to music, every half-hour. They have a Facebook page too, so you can keep up with the latest on all of their light displays.

We stopped to watch one of the light shows before we met my parents for dinner. It was awesome.

They have over 69,000 lights! Quite impressive.

It's funny, because we had actually drove by this house back in December 2008, and I had taken some pictures of it back then. Here are those photos for ya:

I don't think they had the light show (coordinated with a radio station) back then, and they only had 55,428 lights, instead of the 69,104 lights they have now!

For the most part, it still looks really similar though don't you think?

Do you go all out with your Christmas lights? Is this too much or not? I think it's so awesome! Families drive by with their kids and they really enjoy all of the spectacular lights. It's great that there are some people out there who actually take all of the time to do this so that the community can enjoy it every Christmas season. I don't think I could ever do it!