What I Wore Gaudete Sunday

Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Our compromise between throwing up the tree and decorations as soon as the table is cleared after Thanksgiving and somehow trying to magically produce a festive decorated home Christmas Eve is to do the lights and tree Gaudete Sunday (or the eve of). The nativity scenes came at the start of advent, the stockings were added right before St. Nicholas day, and we've gradually been adding seasonal but not expressly Christmas items throughout the house. We decorated with lights outside yesterday, and have a special addition to the Christmas decorations (just wait till you see how high class this is) coming today or tomorrow! I'll post pictures when it's all finished. We also bought a Christmas tree and will be decorating it after nap time today.

I've been enjoying so much all of your (to the interwebs at large) lovely articles about advent and the reflections on the season. I don't have many wise words to add to the collective, but just to say that somehow we've escaped the busyness that everyone refers to. It could be that no one is busting down our doors to celebrate with us, or that we're in a stage of life that skips holiday parties anyway, but there has certainly been a sense of calm and peace in our home that I am very thankful for. We linger over coffee in the mornings, and have our usual dinners together every evening with plenty of time for family prayers and reading stories. I'm greatly enjoying waiting for the Christ child this year, as every year. I hope you're able to experience the same calm in your home. 

That said, here's what I wore to Mass today.

 Notice my newly decorated mantel. (Don't notice the toys stuffed in the corner) I was able to deck my halls on the cheap this year thanks to free fir clippings from the tree lot, and the gracious donations made by our own Nandina, Plum Delight, and Boxwood plants. I was pretty impressed with my efforts. I'd love to tuck in some candle sticks, as seen in Southern Living, but I'm worried it might send the whole display crashing into a pile of pine needles. 

The Deets:

Gold sweater: Ann Taylor Loft

Striped dress: Old Navy outlet

Belt: J. Crew

flats: Target

The Babe:

Chambray camp shirt: Target

brown cords: Sams Club

bare feet, as also seen at Mass: his own doing

Solid B for behavior. He got to feed the fish in the grotto as a reward

Head over to Fine Linen and Purple 

to see what everyone else is rejoicing in today.