Good Cheer

There's something about this photograph (from Better Homes & Gardens) that just calls out to us...and begs us to up the ante on this year's Christmas decorating.  That chartreuse wall really sets the stage for some drama, doesn't it?  We hope you are enjoying the cooler weather (we are getting quite chilly weather here in California----well, chilly by California standards anyway...).  With rain, ice, snow, and fog in many parts of the country, we hope folks are using the dreary weather as excuse to stay in and make their homes cozy for the holidays!  We're going to do our very best to keep the posts going this week, but final exams are upon both of us so you may notice "cop-out" posts for the next few days.  (We apologize in advance).  Happy decorating, though---we'd love to see what some of ya'll are doing to make your homes cozy, by the way!  Feel free to leave comments with your good ideas, or---even better---send photos!  We'd love to show off your good ideas to other Babs Blog readers.  We aren't limiting you to just Christmas decor, however.  Recipes, wrapping ideas/tips, etc. are all welcome!  Can't wait to hear from you all!

---Jill & Kari

'Tis the Season...

Christmas gives all of us who might be a tad fickle about decorating a chance to legitimately change things up a bit.  If you struggle all year long because you can't seem to live with the same throw pillows on your sofa for more than a month and a half, Christmas may seem like a great relief because there is a real reason to redecorate.  (And, because Christmas season is brief, you get to change it all up again come January!  Woo hoo!  Yes, there are many a husband out there groaning in response to this logic, but you ladies are with us here, right?!)

If you have read The Babs Blog for any length of time, you know our affinity for Canadian House & Home.  We've selected some of our favorite holiday looks for you to check out below.  To view the entire gallery, go here.

Forgiveness, Please...

We are so sorry for our lapse in posting.  We could regale you with tales of busyness...of how we both are in school, both are behind in housework, both are strapped for time.  How one of us works full-time, one of us in the midst of getting a business off the ground... Or, how we both are involved to the hilt in things like church, community service, committees, party-planning, etc.
All of these things are true, however, we still should be more attentive to this blog and we apologize for our absence!

We both had lovely Thanksgivings and we hope ya'll did, too! And, all of a sudden, we are a week into December already. Whew!
We thought it might be nice to kick off the week with this lovely gem of an article from Real Simple. All of the holiday decor items below came from basic craft store staples. Smart, no? Check out the rest of the ideas here.

Enjoy checking these ideas out.  We especially love how easy on the old pocketbook these ideas are!