This year, I thought Christmastime was the perfect time to take new family pictures. H just turned 2 years old and SR was 6 months, plus we really needed photos for our Christmas cards! It was a no brainer who to call. Allison has done all of our family pictures since Hamp was born and she has a way of capturing beautiful photos that are so simple and natural. Here are a few of my favorites:
Photography by Allison Hilyer
I can’t believe we have less than 3 weeks until Christmas! After spending all day Saturday decorating Christmas cookies and the cooler temperatures finally hitting home, it definitely put me in the holiday spirit! If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know how much I love shopping at small shops! Supporting small business owners is so important to my family because many of them are moms just like me who are trying to earn a living from home. I thought it would be fun to put together a holiday gift guide featuring their amazing work! I have had the pleasure of working with several of these this year and it has been so much fun!
For Baby:
Pacidoodle® and Paci Clip and Keep – I blogged about this a while back and SR still loves her. They are wonderful and would make a wonderful gift.
Baby Bows from Meghan and Julie on Etsy
Personalized Baby Blanket – SR still sleeps with hers every night and loves it! It is so adorable and has held up really well.
Monogrammed Burp Cloths – These burp cloths are precious and we use them all the time. I love having personalized one for when we are out and about or with lots of other babies so we can tell them apart very easily.
Freshly Picked Moccasins – These moccs continue to be my favorite baby shoes. SR’s first shoes were the little pink crib moccs and she looks so adorable in them.
A Custom Baby Romper – I had SR’s designed when she was about 1 month and I am obsessed with it! You can choose any fabric and they are beautiful and really well made.
For Her:
Druzy Bangle from Lemon Sweet Jewelry on Etsy
Boss Mug from The Trendy Sparrow
Books + Coffee Tee
Peppermint Bark Candle
Time for Cocoa Top from I Do Declare Boutique – I can honestly say it is one of my favorites and I wear it ALL the time.
Adorable Cardigan from Oakleigh Rose
This post is sponsored by Betty Crocker but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
One of my favorite holiday traditions is baking Christmas cookies. This tradition began our first Christmas as a married couple – 4 years ago and last year we got H involved by letting him stir the dough. This year, since I have my son and nephew, it was twice the fun! Betty Crocker made things easier for me this year. I loved running out and picking up the Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix and making these delicious Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cups. They were a huge hit with my family.
This year, we thought it would be nice to box some up in our Ziploc containers and give some to extended family and friends. I think this was G’s favorite part! Or, maybe it was eating the cookies. While Hamp is still a little young to really appreciate baking, G was so into it. He loved helping me put the Reese’s in the cookies and was so proud of himself. We had so much fun baking these treats, but I will always remember this year’s Christmas with all of our family being together. It is loud and crazy around here, but we are getting settled in and loving all these babies running around!
This is definitely one of my new favorite cookie recipes. Betty Crocker knows her stuff, let me tell you! Her recipe calls for cocktail peanuts, but because I was making them for the kiddos, we skipped that ingredient.
Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
Ingredients
Are you trying any new recipes this baking season?
Be sure to print your Betty Crocker Coupon and enter below to win $10 paypal cash to try a Betty Crocker recipe yourself!
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I scored a few good deals on Christmas presents on Black Friday, but I really love Cyber Monday! All of the amazing deals of Black Friday right from my computer with coffee in hand and PJ’s on. That is my kid of shopping! I am so looking forward to knocking out some more (if not all) of my Christmas shopping today! I sat down last night and made my Christmas list, so here we go! These are some of the deals I am going to browse and some of my picks.
Old Navy – 40% off entire store.
Gap – 40% off entire store.
Nordstrom – Extra 25% off Selected Sale Items
Ulta – $10 off purchase of $50 or more and Free Shipping on orders over $35.
Loft – 50% off everything with code CYBER50
Khols – Extra 20% off + Free Shipping on orders $25 +!
H&M – 20%, 30%, and 40% off + Free Shipping!
Minted – 25% off products and 20% off holiday cards!
ThredUp – Use this link to get $20 credit!
Victoria’s Secret – Free Shipping on Orders $50+ and $20 off $125 or more!
Anthopologie – 25% off every item.
Target – 30% off clothes, shoes and more!
Express – 50% off everything.
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Happy Friday! I can’t believe we are less than a week away from Thanksgiving and exactly one week away from Black Friday! You know what that means? It’s time to start making those Christmas lists! If you missed it, I shared my Holiday Gift Guide for the girls on Monday and now I am sharing some of my favorite inexpensive stocking stuffer ideas!
X Ring
Nail Polish
Wool Socks
Coffee Mug
Candle
Notebooks
Sugar Lip Stick
Kate Spade Coffee Mug
LUSH Bath Bomb
E.L.F. Eyeshadow
Urban Decay ‘Naked Basics’ Palette
Kate Spade Water Bottle
Kitchen Towels and a Cookbook
Kate Spade Earrings
Tote Bag
Books
Make-up Bag
Mini Capri Blue Jar Candle
Kate Spade Tackle Box
…and then there’s always Starbucks!
I’m including a few more of my favorites in the widget below. What are some of your favorite stocking stuffers? Do you have any other ideas I didn’t include?
This post is sponsored by Hallmark but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
A couple of weeks ago, I announced that we had been hit with a couple of big surprises that week. One of them was that my cousin and best friend is pregnant…with TWINS! We are so over the moon for her! It’s kind of crazy because twins do not run in our family and her doctor said this happening was a 1 in 10,000 chance. It is truly a miracle. The other huge news that hit us was that our house sold!! Finally! After 20 months on the market, we are finally moving! The catch? We are moving next week. Yep, right during Thanksgiving. In order to try and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and be able to spend time with family, we have decided to move on Wednesday.
So why is this Christmas going to be so different? Well, we have decided to move into my parents house until we find a house in order to save money. They have plenty of room now that the three of us kids are grown and out on our own, but it will be a huge change during a very busy time of year. It will definitely not be without challenges, but we are so grateful to them to allow us to stay there because we will be able to save a ton of money for a down payment on our next home. We are hoping to be there for only a month or two, but one thing I’ve learned is that you just never know what God has in store for you.
We just got back into town Sunday night from Jacksonville and had been gone for 9 days. I came home to a mess and tons of laundry and I am now in the process of packing up our entire house with only a week left to do it. To say I’m stressed would be an understatement.
While we are going to be going through a big move and hopefully another one soon, I am determined to make Christmas just as special. Change is very hard on young kids. This is probably going to be tough on H especially, so I want to keep things as normal and fun as possible. That means sticking to traditions.
My mom has a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree that she let me borrow to mess with Ryan and the kids. I came home yesterday with it and told them this was going to be about as good as it gets this year. Of course, I was playing with them and Ryan got a kick out of it. I also stopped by Hallmark and bought these adorable Charlie Brown Itty Bittys as well as this adorable little Peanuts Christmas Light Show! I bet you can’t guess which one was H’s favorite! He loves anything that plays music. He just giggled and danced and played it over and over. It made my day that he was so happy over this tiny gift.
While I was at Hallmark, I also picked up wrapping paper, ribbon and tags to start wrapping all the presents I bought in Florida. I was a little bit too obsessed with the plaid reindeer paper. It is adorable and I have big plans to sit in the floor in the middle of all of our boxes and start wrapping a few gifts while watching Hallmark Christmas movies! They are my favorite.
Have you ever had a crazy holiday due to a big life change? What do you enjoy buying at Hallmark?
Hunter Boots
Instax Camera
Rayne Necklace
iPhone Case
Ballet Flats
Pom Hat
Plaid Scarf
Feather Bangle
Layered Necklace
Bucket Bag
Clutch
Fair Isle Pajamas
“Merry” Throw Pillow
Blanket
Duck Boots
Compact
Plaid Blanket Scarf
I actually own a few of these and love them all! I added a few other items that I don’t have that are on my wish list this year including Hunter boots and L.L. Bean Duck Boots. I also just bought my first bath bomb by Lush while I was in Florida and I am officially a fan. I also bought their sea salt spray for my hair and I am obsessed! I love hair products and trying new things! I also own this coffee tumbler and it is a favorite of mine.
What is on your wish list? Have you started your Christmas shopping?
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I can’t believe we are already talking about and preparing for the holidays! This year has really flown by for me. I am beyond excited to celebrate more of SR’s firsts through the season and even more excited to start my Christmas shopping! Because we are on a super tight budget right now, I compiled a list of ways to save money this Holiday Season and thought I’d share them with you!
Ebates is my number one when it comes to shopping online. I love shopping through Ebates because I can shop at my favorite stores and earn cash back with every purchase. Shopping online is so convenient, but I also saved around $100 on Christmas presents last year by using Ebates! I shop through them year round!
Zulily is a great discounted site for kids and women’s clothing and accessories. I have made so many purchases through them since having H! I like to loko at their women’s clothing from time to time, but I mostly shop here for the kids. They have huge name brands that they feature like TOMS and American Girl. I love getting their email alerts for when my favorite stores are on sale at Zulily!
Shop the Sales! During this time of year, it is fairly common to find great sales. In particular, on Black Friday and Cyber Monday which brings me to my next point…
Black Friday Deals! I scored some amazing deals last year on Ryan’s present and even for clothes for the kids! If you don’t want to fight the crowds, most stores now put their sales online, too. Be sure to check them out and shop through Ebates to double the savings!
Amazon is also a great place to save money – particularly on books and electronics. My husband and I are huge readers, so we are constantly on Amazon seeing what kind of deals we can find on the latest novels. Amazon has great sales on electronics this time of year as well, so if you’re in the market for a new camera or computer, be sure to check them out there first before going to Best Buy.
Put a price cap on your gifts. We do this every year and it helps us budget for Christmas. It helps us to know about how much money we are going to spend on everyone to keep things fair and also to keep us from spending a fortune or going Christmas crazy. Not that I’ve done that before.
Well I officially mailed out our last two Christmas cards yesterday morning. Raise your hand if you’re a super procrastinator! Today, I am wrapping a few last gifts and we are heading to a Christmas dinner at Ryan’s grandparent’s house. I can’t wait to see everyone!
Yesterday, my sweet blog friend, Sarah sent Hamp and little sister these adorable “Mommy’s Coffee Date” shirts! She has the cutest Etsy shop – Wake Me Up Designs, and you should definitely check it out! I can’t say enough good things about her and her adorable little girl. Thank you, Sarah!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy time with your family and loved ones. Drink lots of hot cocoa and cozy up by a fire. Open lots of presents, but don’t forget the reason for the season! My family has so much to be grateful for this year and we are looking so forward to welcoming our precious little girl in 2015. I am thankful for all of you who read and support my little blog. I am so grateful to you for taking the time to comment and share my posts, but also to those of you who read along and keep up with my little family. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
