holidaze.

is it weird that i’m thinking about the holidays already? when the weatherwoman on the morning news announced that this monday is the first official day of fall (yay!), my mind immediately jumped to halloween, then thanksgiving and christmas.

due to a bunch of factors – my ever-growing love for etsy, my appreciation for all things diy, the purchase of lena corwin’s lovely printing by hand and, um, the usual budget constraints – i think many of my gifts are going to be of the handmade variety this year, and possibly come with a side of those amazing chocolate chip cookies i’m currently obsessed with – a good way to give my new stand mixer a workout, right? (as a side note, last year i whipped up a three-layer coconut cake for my office’s holiday party and it was to die. here’s the recipe if you want to try it yourself.)

i also want to do creative gift wrap, a la nicole from making it lovely. her presents are gorgeous, are they not? you better believe i will be referring to the gift-wrap tutorial in last year’s issue of blueprint magazine (r.i.p.) – the one with the sparkly pink tree on the cover (see below). (full disclosure: i came this close to buying a mini version of that tree from urban outfitters last year, when everything was on super-sale, and i’m still kicking myself that i didn’t. it’s a little gaudy, for sure—but with super-simple ornaments i think it could be quite pretty.)

and you know, i have to say, it took awhile for me to realize that a handmade gift has just as much value – if not more – than a store-bought one, not that there's anything wrong with store-bought gifts. i just feel like this year, going handmade sort of fits in with some of my personal goals: simply, make things more personal, let my friends and family know how much i care about them (read: a lot) – and, of course, if i buy from etsy, support independent businesses.

tell me, do you guys buy handmade? are you going to this year? are you as excited about the holidays as i am, or am i nuts for thinking so far ahead?

have a fantastic weekend, my loves, and i'll see you on monday...the first day of fall! xo

{ images via making it lovely and blueprint magazine. }