Here is our new advent calendar, purchased from the thrift store and upcycled to fit my style a bit more. 
My 9-year-old daughter has talked about getting one of "those calendars that you can open the door and get chocolate from" for some time now. One day, after last Christmas, I spotted one at the thrift store. 
Here's what it looked like when I found it. 
It's not horrible, just not my style. So I gave it a coat of paint and used some number stencils and a sharpie. The sharpie made it go really quick, then I lightly sanded over it all to give it some aging. 
And of course added some goodies in each cubby (4 to be exact), including our favorite Lindt chocolates. I'd say this fits in a lot better now, and we're excited to start counting down the days! 
Also, speaking of Christmas cards, Heather at Life Made Lovely is offering some really cute ones for $15. I chose this design 
{I'll share my final card when it gets closer to Christmas, but isn't that the cutest family and picture you have ever seen?} The best part is, $10 of it goes to help this family get closer to bringing their son home from the orphanage. As bloggers, we often have opportunities to get free Christmas cards, which I am not opposed to at all (I did that last year), but when I saw Heather's post I knew that's what I wanted to do this year. So if you are looking to order Christmas cards soon, go check it out, you'll get cute cards, and help a family in a great cause. keep primping,