have a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

fabulous friday

Hello. Cute!
{and i don't even like red!}

thankful thursday

Christmas is in ONE week!!! I feel thankful that we pushed through our wanting to keep warm & cozy at home & get half of our Christmas shopping done! I am hoping to finish up completely this weekend so I can ENJOY a relaxed, more thoughtful Christmas. I've got some ideas of service I'd like to provide but need to be finished before I can.

This week I am thankful for:

- warm socks
- flannel pajama pants {i still have 2 pair left from the high school days}
- winter weather, mainly rain!
- good friends
- HOT water in the shower
- my sister's curling iron that actually keeps my hair in curls... i've never seen such a thing til' now!
- Christmas cards... we don't get many, but i cherish the ones we do get.
- the cutest nieces & nephews on earth who keep us young at heart
- that megan is coming home for Christmas {it was up in the air for awhile, oh the joys of actually being important at work! lol}

Holy Moly!

Christmas is in 9 days!! That is insane. It seems like it has absolutely flown by this year, faster than normal. I'm not ready to give it up. I think we should extend a few weeks this year!!

I will be spending the next few days baking, wrapping, standing in line at the post office & singing to my hearts content!

Here are a few Christmas images, if I don't start adding them I won't get them all in! This is my "winter" collection of decor! It's in whites & blues... oh so perfect for a calm, relaxed holiday!

Molly's Bridal Shower

When I worked at the Scrapbook Studio I became close with the Penrod family, they owned the store. Their youngest daughter Molly, asked me to help throw her a bridal shower before her upcoming wedding. My sister Amber & a friend of Molly's family Regina helped so much! We had it last week & had a great time!

Her wedding colors are black & green so I stuck with the same colors for the shower. We also wanted to incorporate some aspect of Christmas since it was so close & Regina's house was ready for it. That is where all the wrapped packages came in! I saw the black & white hounds tooth & absolutely fell in love! I think it turned out pretty cute!

We held it at Regina's home, she offered to host it. It was the perfect set up, we put all the food out on the patio & had tables & chairs out there. It opens up to her living room & that's where we had Molly open her gifts.

{excuse the pictures... my camera & i were having issues!}

Girls Only Annual Cookie/Candy Exchange

On December 4th we had our 1st annual girls only cookie/candy exchange for all the ladies on my Mom's side of the family. My Mom has wanted to do this forever but hasn't lived close to us until this year. It was a great, relaxed evening & we look forward to this being a fun tradition in the family, we even want to induct all the 8 year old girls in as they get old enough!!

We went with a hot pink & lime green girlie theme! It was so cute & refreshing! We had yummy food, fun games, door prizes & of course fantastic cookies! The women in my family bake & cook so well, it's almost intimidating! We had a variety of goodies including some favorites like gingersnaps, million dollar cookies, Oreo mint truffles, mud pie cookies, peanut patties, peanut butter blossoms & some others that I can't remember the names of! 

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Thanks to all the ladies that came, we missed the rest of you & hope you can mark it on your calender for next year! You won't want to miss it!

fabulous friday

I've been MIA this past week. I was going to try & play catch up but decided I just better try & get back on my normal routine today & fill in the gaps later! Life has been totally crazy! I co-hosted a cookie exchange & a bridal shower, both of which took w-a-y to much of my time (but I loved every second of it!) & sold my short & spicy cards at a party. Not to mention, went with Tyler, Brooklyn & Carson to visit Santa, watched Tyson & Elise most of a day, had a mini photo shoot for Amber's Christmas cards, have been working on said Christmas cards & helped decorate 2 abodes for Christmas! I still have oh, so much to do this weekend. Mainly CLEAN up my disaster zone of an office & figure out what I'm doing for my Christmas cards, do a little Christmas shopping, Bake some yummy treats, make some thank you cards & update this blog! So much to do, so little time. I love the holidays, I just wish I could get all the "need to" things done so I can spend a little more time on the "want to" things on my list! I'm sure everyone is the same way right now though, so it feels good to know I'm not alone!

Happy List Making, Shopping, Cleaning & Baking Weekend!

I love fresh garlands & wreaths; they smell, look & feel amazing!

Christmas Tag!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping paper. It makes things more mysterious. Plus.. you can put way cooler bows & adornments on them!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial- we don't like the mess & a Gold Canyon Holiday Wreath candle helps it smell like Christmas!

3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving, I would keep it up year round if Clint let me!

4. When do you take the tree down? First week of January

5. Do you like eggnog? NO!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My white porcelain day bed!

7. Hardest person to buy for? Our parents, they have everything & the things they want cost to much money!

8. Easiest person to buy for? Our nieces & nephews, the expectations are low! lol!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, it's beautiful!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11. WORST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED? Can't really remember anything that terrible...

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Hmmm, oddly enough I haven't seen very many Christmas movies. I do love Elf though.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I happen to see something... sometimes summer, sometimes the night before!

14 . Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, who hasn't?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Potato Casserole & Shrimp (can't really have that one in AZ though, it's not fresh enough)

16. Lights on the tree? White

17. Favorite Christmas song? I don't think I could pick one, like my family says "they're all your favorite!", I do LOVE Sleigh Ride though. It makes me really happy.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We usually stay home, but we would really love to travel as we get older & have kids. I think it would be amazing to spend every other Christmas on vacation somewhere.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yep!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? When I was a kid, it was any extended family gifts, one from our immediate family & Christmas pj's on Christmas eve, the rest on Christmas morning. I think I like it that way!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? How crowded the roads get. And grumpy people!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Bright Colors & Whimsical almost candy landish.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Perfume (Calvin Klein- Euphoria Blossom or Lolita Lempicka-Fleur de Corail) {wink wink Clint!}
Dark brown boots from Avenue & Green Loafers from Target
Jewelry (colors: red, black, pink, green & yellow)
Big Hand Bags (colors: kelly green, mustard & white)
Martha Stewart Craft Supplies (glitter, punches, embellishments)
Gift Card to take a class at Scrapbooks Etc.

I tag everyone! Tell me about your Christmas!

thanksgiving week family fun

Thanksgiving week was eventful for us. We had my Mom's side of the family thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday at Devin & Kristina's house. I didn't take to many photos, well I seem to have a few of people eating, but I'm not going to put half open mouths on my blog lol! I did grab one quick on of my niece Brooklyn with the puppy she kept begging to bring home all night! She was SO happy! We had a great time & it was nice to see all my extended family.



My sisters were all in Utah this year so we spent most of our time with Clint's family. We enjoyed a yummy thanksgiving dinner with them & spent the day playing games & catching up. It was nice, we missed Trevor & Whitley. I didn't take any photos on thanksgiving either. I used to be so much better. I need to get back in the habit.

On Friday I braved the crowds & kept my Mom company at our annual black Friday shop-o-thon. I was so exhausted I went out with only about 2 hours of sleep! I met up with Michelle after a couple hours to help her pick out some new furniture for her new place. She settled on a super cool couch & gorgeous crock leather ottoman/coffee table. It looks perfect in her new place.

Michelle & Tommy

Leanne, Meghan & baby Elise

Brad & Tyson

Elise in the middle of a smile!

Tyson wearing Grandpa's "Toro" football hat, he thinks that all hats are Toro hats & all football teams are the Toros & all touchdowns are Toro Touchdowns! It is so funny, because Meghan is not a Toro fan, but her son may be their biggest little supporter! He goes to games regularly with Grandpa & Nana!

Mike & Leanne

Saturday we celebrated Mike's birthday with bowling & dinner at Patsy Grimaldi's. It was fun! The girls didn't take the bowling very seriously though! I think we were all just worn out from the busy week. After a great dinner at Grimaldi's we went to Brad & Meghan's for cake & ice cream. We moved the party to Clint's parents afterwards for one last game of Shanghai... which I won!!! Super exciting. The Kid & Samurai better watch out!

We completed out the festivities with going to dinner with Reid & Erin. No photos again, sorry! I actually got my camera out this time, but didn't end up grabbing any. It was nice to catch up with them. We don't see them very often since they are in Colorado. Clint & Reid seem to make a Filibertos run when he comes to town, but this time we made sure Erin & I came along. It was nice spending time with them!


It's looking like December will be just as crazy as November was for us. We've got a cookie exchange coming up, a bridal shower, a wedding, tickets to see "A Christmas Carol" at Hale Centre Theater, Going to see Christmas lights at the temple, several Christmas celebrations, hopefully a Christmas concert or two & of course Christmas itself, which I wish were a week long!

Happy December!

thankful thursday... a few days late.

As the season of thanksgiving rests for another year, I would like to reflect on those things that I have been most thankful for recently. These are things I've been thinking a lot about, I obviously can't make an entire & thorough list of ALL the things that I am thankful for, so here are the most important to me!

This year I have learned so so much about myself. It has been a very strange year for us. We are in a place in our lives we never would have guessed we'd be a few years ago. Our life is so different than we imagined, however I can't say it's bad. I would be lying if I didn't say it's been a little bit of internal struggle for me, but it has been a year of growth, growth I would never had if I didn't have these experiences behind me.

I have learned to not care so much about how others perceive me. That can be such a long slippery slope & I'm so thankful that I am no longer on it. I feel like I'm a down to earth person but I've also always enjoyed the nice things of life. I am thankful that I realize that it really is about the small things & the people in your life that matter most.

I am stronger in my relationship with Clint, stronger than I think we've been our whole marriage. I am so thankful for him & for the happiness he brings into my life. We've seen a lot together & are both so much stronger because of it. He is so patient with me & always laughs at my dumb jokes. He has a beautiful smile I never get sick of seeing. He says "I love you" more times that I can count in one day & he is a hard worker. I also have developed stronger bonds with our families, siblings especially which has been a complete joy & blessing. They have been so supportive of us & have tried harder to get to know us in the process.

I am more confident. Something I have struggled with my whole life, self acceptance. I don't fit a certain mold, & for that I can't tell you how grateful I am. I watched the Eloise movies recently (loved them, wish there were more by the way!) & I was telling my Mom how cute this girl was, how she was precocious & eccentric. She always seemed to find herself in between a rock & a hard place because of it, but everything always worked out in the end because her heart was always in the right place. My Mom said, "That's it! Your whole life I've tried to explain you to people & that is exactly how you are". It's so true! I am! I love being unique, detailed oriented & over the top, just because. It's so me. I do it for no one else, which I love!

I am thankful for all the little things that make my life easier. All those modern technologies like computers, cell phones, tivo,digital cameras & cars that I utilize daily. I honestly cannot imagine not living in this time where everything is so much more advanced.

I am thankful for music. I love music & I love that I can listen to it all day everyday. It brings me so much happiness. I am so glad that I have ears to hear it & a heart to feel it. I especially love jazz Christmas music, it's SOOOOO relaxing to me!

I am thankful for the health that I have. We haven't had insurance for several years & the Lord has truly blessed us & protected us. We know we are watched over in this regard & I am thankful for this blessing every single day. Especially on days when I'm not feeling well, I know it will pass & it always does.

I am thankful for the few good friends I have. I am not the best friend in the world. I am hard to get in touch with. I am not good at calling or emailing my peeps. I am not good at being available to go to a last minute lunch. And yet, I still have great friends that are there for me. They support me, up-lift me, encourage me, laugh with me & I'm sure they'd even cry with me if I let them!

I am most thankful above all for a loving Father in Heaven who is ever so patient with me. I know I must disappointed him a lot, & yet he always finds ways to send blessings my way. I am thankful for prayer & that He hears me when I speak to him. He doesn't always give me what I want when I want it, but He gives me what I need. He works miracles through those people who surround me in my life & He gives me the strength to have a positive outlook on life, even when others might not. I believe in his power & am so thankful for it in my life.

if our families got dressed up for thanksgiving...

you might find me in one of these amazing outfits!