Dogs in Christmas Sweaters

I am really happy with our Tiny Prints Christmas card this year - Truly, I think it's adorable. It makes me smile and feel proud of my tiny Family. BUT -- The best part about it is the story of how we got here...

One beautiful Fall morning in Wisconsin, I decided it would be the perfect time to take an updated Family photo. The ground was covered in leaves, it was a great time of day with natural lighting and it was cold but not the good kind where you can get away with just a sweater -- and speaking of sweaters, let's rewind: I had seen a fair isle dog sweater at Target in the dollar section (which at Christmas time, ends up becoming the $15 section because I want it all). I vowed I would never be "that" person who dresses up their dog but standing there staring at this animal clothing with tiny holes for his head and paws, I could NOT pass it up. All the way home, I imagined the disgusted reaction my husband would have which was very accurate because I came home to..."You didn't seriously spend money on that, did you? He's a DOG. That is ridiculous."
Fast forward back to picture day when I announce it's time to take the photo. My first mistake was trying to organize during the Bears game...but begrudgingly, my husband threw on his "blue shirt" I asked him to bring which mind you, was a HOODIE. Not exactly the vibe I was going for...so irritation #2, is me asking him if he has anything else. "Nope - You said something blue." So here we go, me, Mike, the dog and my Mom, off to the my chosen location in the woods.

A few minutes into the process, my vision became a lot more hilarious. I was having a hard time getting the sweater on Fitz so I asked Mike to help and I kid you not, he spent the next 10 minutes trying to get his paws through those damn holes. Twice, he got it all the way on and realized it was on backwards - TWICE. So off it comes and third times a charm, right? Not really. Fitz is a medium size dog but his head is rather large...turns out, TOO large to stretch the sweater all the way over after we got his paws in. Fitz was so patient the entire time, such a sweet boy...all the while my Mom and I are almost peeing ourselves witnessing this situation, in tears from laughing. It absolutely WAS ridiculous, just like Mike said from the start. But wow, I love how hard everybody tried to humor me in order to make my idea come to life. In the end, we got the sweater half way on, Mike wore his BLUE winter jacket and the light was still just perfect...and so are they. These are the stories that make the holidays so memorable :)

Here is our 2016 Holiday Card:

I always have fun assembling them and putting the finishing touches on before they go out. I had no trouble selecting the card design…I really do love their foil cards, but I was more drawn to a more rustic, craft paper style because I thought it was the perfect fit for a photo shot in the woods. Plus, it has equally cute envelopes to match and this year, I decided to make it easy on myself by uploading my address book to have Tiny Prints take care of the printing. I do enjoy the art of handwritten notes but during the holiday season, there’s no extra time, especially to address 40+ envelopes, so I like to be resourceful where I can. I also ordered the evergreen print envelope liners which are adhesive and super easy to slip in. I know everyone throws the envelope away, but I think it really adds something to the overall presentation and who doesn't love opening a cute piece of mail? 

I also had a cute little helper by my side who actually snored most of the time I was hard at work...  If only we all had a dog's life!

And let's not forget a few of  the cute card outtakes... I love Fitz in this first one, he looks like (the most adorable) statue.

Towards the end of our journey into the woods, we stumbled upon a very old wooden boat which looks to have been deserted for years. It was such a cool find and this would have been a great setting for the card but to be honest, the dog had lost his patience by this point and all 3 of us were ready to get back for lunch and more fireplace sitting. Priorities, guys...

Still need to order your cards? 
Head over to Tiny Prints...You will find all their current promo codes here. 

This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints but as always, all opinions are my own.

Thanks for supporting the brands that make Sisters Marie possible!

Festive & Foil-Stamped

As I sit here joyfully listening to Christmas music (thank you 93.9 for flipping the switch), I realize some of you are totally offended by the fact that the Holiday spirit is in many ways, already upon us, but you must understand: I wait all year for these few weeks, few being the key word. I love nothing more than the cozy feelings of the season, and to me, it never lasts long enough. With that said, my husband and I host Thanksgiving at our house so this weekend while I sing along with Bing Crosby, I will also be putting up my turkey and harvest décor. I might be inviting some argument here, but I see no reason the two holidays can’t co-exist…Whether I’m drinking out of a (snowflake-less) red cup or watching Home Alone (again!), I will also be making a list of what I’m feeling grateful for and perfecting this years sweet potato casserole. 
In a world where we are busier than ever and as a result, permanently stressed out, I won’t apologize for relishing in the things that make me happy, even if it’s prior to the suggested date on the calendar...and do we really need more things to complain about? Seemingly, people are never satisfied...if we start celebrating too early, you're ruining Thanksgiving but if Starbucks forgoes the cup's precious graphics, it's an affront against Christian faith (or what he said). 
It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year...so let's let it be. 

Speaking of wonderful, I may or may not have been watching Jimmy Stewart while addressing my 2015 Christmas cards. After my Aunt told me she cut last year's picture out and framed it, it solidified my thinking that Tiny Prints is the perfect choice again for this years festive greeting.
As women tendsto be, I was quite indecisive on the design this year, especially because I am obsessed with the new foil-stamped selection...there were two options I loved and after asking multiple family members and co-workers, I still couldn't come to a decision (first world problems FOR SURE), but with my merry spirit in tow, I decided there was no pressure to just choose one so I ordered half of each...best of both worlds :) 

See both designs here: One | Two
I wasn't sure how the gold foil would look in person, especially on the white background because it seemed a bit light on my screen, but in person, they are even better than I imagined. The foil is embossed on the card stock, giving it a three dimensional element. But let's be honest, is anyone paying attention to the design when Fitzgerald is clearly the center of attention? ;) 
I can't wait to send these out...

Which card is your favorite? 

You can see my previous Christmas cards here: 2014 | 2013

Confessions of a Blogger: Volume 1

Sometimes, you don't want to take outfit photos outside when it's -7 degrees. Sometimes, you don't  have time to blog your look until 8:00PM because you worked out, went to work, threw dinner together and worked an upcoming event until it was time to sleep and do it all over again. 

Sometimes you realize that you've already worn this sweater three times and somehow managed to not snap photos so you have to throw it on and just make it work. Sometimes, you feel so bloated due to so much weekend fun that you can't stand the thought of posing for an #ootd...

Let me back up a bit: Lisa and I spent this evening together getting ready for our upcoming #SwapInTheSuburbs event and decided to squeeze in some outfit photos. I'm not typically a fan of shooting inside (especially so late in the evening with no natural light) but I'm getting real cranky about the wrath of Chiberia, so alas, here I am on my couch. Before Lisa started snapping, I quickly grabbed my favorite coffee cup and started rearranging our PILES of party decor on my table and Lisa said, "wait, what are you doing?!"

Than I stopped and thought for a moment: I don't drink coffee at 8:00pm. My table was nowhere NEAR clean. My dog had dropped crumbs (in the midst of sharing our snacks with him) all over my carpet. And lezbihonest, if Lisa wasn't over, I would have been in a really embarrassing (but SUPER comfy) pair of pj's by this point.

This situation brought up a point I continuously encounter in my head: Why do we as bloggers feel the need to stage every second of our lives? I realize this makes me sound like half a hypocrite because I love lay flat photos and lovely detail shots on Instagram as much as the next #fblogger (and fully intend to continue sharing these because I actually love creating a beautiful picture). 

However, it tends to makes me feel a little fraudulent. Sometimes I question how blogging, which is supposed to essentially read as an online novel about your life, has turned into more fiction than non.

Sweater: c/o Sheinside | Scarf: Target | Jeans: LOFT (similar) | Boots: Sole Society (now just $20!)

Earrings: Kate Spade | Bag: Sole Society | Mug: Coffee Mill | Swap Pillow: custom made on Tiny Prints

So, no...there wasn't coffee in that cup, and while it's one of my favorites, it just didn't serve any purpose in this moment. And while I'm debating whether or not that's okay with me, I'll just continue to let my 50 lb dog sit on my lap, because that IS real life and one of the best chapters in my story ;)

What are your thoughts on staging photos for the blog and social? Let us know...

Tiny Prints, Large Meaning...

“Why do we need to send a Christmas card? 
You post all our pictures on Facebook, anyway.” – My husband 

This is in the same category as the time he suggested we send Evites in place of real wedding invitations. To me, there’s something so special about sharing our first “family photo” because I am so proud of my husband (AND our 4-legged, furry “son”). I also look forward to all the cards we will receive in return - Snail mail is a lost art but there’s still something to be said about rushing to the mailbox with the possibility of what’s inside. When we start to resort to solely sharing our personal holiday greetings via a dot com address, I’ll consider myself a mean one, Mr. Grinch. 

I have always loved the Tiny Prints selection of designs and was very impressed with their impeccable service during our wedding planning process so I didn't think twice about using them for our card this year (especially when I saw all of the foil-stamped cards...so shiny!)

Here are the top 5 designs I felt best complimented our photo...number 5 is the winner!

What do you think of our chosen design? I thought the rustic design complete with pine tree needles matched our photo perfectly.

How do you feel about the Christmas Card tradition? Worth sticking to?