a diy bavarian christmas

OK, so let me clarify… it’s not a traditional Bavarian Christmas, but more like a fun American take on a Bavarian theme!
The past few months living in Southern Germany, I’ve learned a few things… Two of my favorite things are that Bavarian’s really know how to celebrate & they really love their pretzels! They also really love their beer, but I wasn’t quite sure how to incorporate that into Christmas decor {other than to enjoy one while decorating}.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love a little whimsy, so after hearing from a German friend {Thanks Corinna!} that she saw a picture of a Christmas tree decorated with pretzels in a German magazine, the idea really stuck with me! Perfectly whimsical, perfectly appropriate, perfectly budget friendly, & perfect to get the family involved! Of course I totally got into the idea, decided to go one step further & created a big, fun pretzel star for our front door.

Since I didn’t actually see the picture in the magazine, I could totally let the imagination run wild. I knew Maddie Maye would have fun with glitter so I painted dozens of pretzels, 3 different sizes, with craft glue & let her sprinkle away! What’s holiday time without a little sparkle anyway? With all that sparkle I decided to keep the tree simple, just pretzels & white lights!

JD & Maddie Maye, glittering away!
glitter time

Our Tree!
pretzel treeclose_pretzel_tree
Our fun Pretzel Door Star!
pretzel starstar_ptretzel_before
I also filled our giant windows with tons of snowflakes! Super budget friendly, I spent 5€ on a roll of white glitter wrapping paper! I used the entire roll to cut out multiple sizes & shapes of snowflakes {1 roll = 50 snowflakes!}. I strung them up with regular old white thread & translucent tape.

Snowflake fun!
snowflakes

the magical amalfi coast

My family & I were fortunate to take a little November vacay in Italy. It was the perfect time of year to visit the Amalfi Coast! Tourist season had just ended, that means no lines or crowds, & the weather was perfect! We had lots of fun enjoying the black volcanic sand beach in Positano & the incredible beauty of the Island of Capri. We seriously enjoyed everything we ate too! The freshness of the ingredients was something that can’t be experienced anywhere else… takes delicious Italian food to an entirely new level!

Here are some pieces of brightly colored sea glass & tumbled tile pieces that I collected from the beach in Positano. I am so excited to add these materials to my global collection!!

Positano Sea GlassThe Little Beauty in a perfectly beautiful place!
Maddie in Positano

My little helper, Maddie Maye, helping me dig for sea glass!

Maddie Digging for Sea Glass

The Magical Positano!
Positano Beach

I welcome you to contact me if you are interested in having me create something special for you inspired by this beautiful place!