OY! KRISTEN

The golden foil. The curly, twirly wreath. The perfectly off-centered photo. The rustic background juxtaposed by the gilded font. The whimsical stamp and the flourished address. I LOVE CHRISTMAS CARDS.

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

I can't gush enough about how much I loved using Minted for our family Christmas cards. This is the second year I have used Minted, and I am still surprised at how quality the cards are and how excellent the Minted service continues to be. Seriously. I've used other services and this one is my absolute favorite, absolutely unparalleled both in quality and elegance.

Truth be told, last year we didn't order enough Christmas cards. So a few days after I mailed out our last card, I placed another order for cards through Minted - but this time for a tiny batch of New Years cards. There were just a few work people and long-distance friends that we really wanted to touch base with and I am disappointed that I didn't get their addresses in time for the first round of cards. However, I'm sharing all of this with you because even though it's too late to place Christmas card orders, Minted has some gorgeous New Year's card designs that have me swooning. You can check out the design I used last year for our Christmas/Baby announcement and, haha, for our last-minute New Years greeting. This year's Christmas card design is one that I LOVE, especially with that gold foil lettering. As I get older, I am becoming more comfortable with the fact that I like things to sparkle a bit. I used to think that made me too girly or something, but I don't think it does anymore. I'm owning it - I just like a bit of gold sheen!

Minted is offering 15% off all New Years cards before the clock strikes 2016 with the code WINTER15. Grab a few while you can!

Also, if you're hosting a New Year's Eve party, be sure to check out Minted's new Online Invitations - FREE for a limited time and optimized for a rich, cinematic experience on desktops, smartphones, and tablet devices. Kind of makes me wish I was hosting a little shin-dig now, but... too late! We are doing a romantic night away for New Years :) And I seriously can't wait.

What service did you use for your Christmas cards? Were you happy with how they turned out? Do you ever send New Years cards? I'm a mail geek, so I'm interested in hearing from you. Also, how cute are this year's Peanuts stamps?? LOVE.

Only a few days until 2016, friends! Live it up!

Sorry, Mayans.

New Years Eve 2013. It went down a week ago (plus two days, but who's counting?), and oh what a mighty fun time. Being that I celebrated with my family in the warmth of a cabin in the north Georgia woods, I rang in the New Year with pizazz. And in flannel. Don't worry, we wore a few sparkles in honor of 2013. We just rocked them along with our pjs and makeup-free faces (I think I accidentally left on an Origins facial mask for most of the day. Ah, the joys of not leaving the house. They were lucky if I even brushed my teeth.) The lovely Spencer family rang in the New Year in our own special way (specifically, my sisters and mom. The men avoided the sparkles, although I'm still not sure why. Steven Tyler has no problem with such things.)

Hello, Jell-O.

My knockout-of-a-model sister Kara has a 3-year old son, so naturally Jell-O is a big part of her world. If you know her at all, you will know that her kind of Jell-O is probably home-made, organic and quite possibly biodegradable. However, she came across this recipe (which can be found on her Pinterest page, Get In My Belly) for Jell-O Champagne New Years shots and couldn't pass it up. She whipped them together for our little soiree (I was the taste-tester.) Yes, we lived it up. We partied like it was 1999. Do you remember New Years 1999? Good times. I was like, 13.

Kara made some slight alterations to the recipe. We couldn't find White Grape Sparkling Jell-O mix (there are some rumors that it has been discontinued), so we went old-school with the Strawberry flavor. That was a win. Even the boys partook. We are pretty lucky we found guys that embrace our shenanigans. Like, really really lucky.

Flannel + Sparkles.

We wore sparkles (duh, it was NYE), but it was a bit chilly so we cozied up in our slippers and flannel as well. My mom, being the classy broad she is, went with a honking-long strand of pearls. I love these ladies. They indulge me in all forms of silliness (evident here and here) and they just know how to celebrate well. We watched the Biebs and T-Sweezy perform on ABC and played poker whilst enjoying our Jell-O. This is my favorite way to celebrate the New Year, with my sweet family, a silly outfit and spiked gelatin. Bring it on 2013. Show me what you got.