getting into the holiday spirit

A much needed break is finally here...and I can't believe it's because the holidays are already here. But I'm so thankful they are! I'm up watching Justin Beiber on the Today Show, drinking hot apple cider and thumbing through some holiday catalogs and magazines. I'm usually already fully into holiday spirit mode by now, but for some reason it's been slow coming this year.

To help get myself in the holiday spirit, this past Sunday I headed out shopping to pick up my favorite holiday candle, Anthropologie's warm gingerbread {I became obsessed with this candle three years ago and get the new edition every year}. The crowds and the Christmas music in the stores definitely help make it feel a little more like the holidays.

I noticed they had changed things up so I took some snap shots of the new decor.

It never fails to impress me how they come up with all this. It's like a little creative museum.

I also went to Lowe's to pick up some chalkboard paint for a holiday project. While I was in line to check-out, I picked up the December issue of Real Simple. The smell of the gingerbread candle while flipping through it quickly made it feel a little more like Thanksgiving holidays are here and Christmas is not far behind. The Michael Bublé Christmas CD I picked up at Target helps too!