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christmas_parties

We have attended 2 Christmas parties so far this week with a few more coming up! With both of our families living so close to us, there is always something fun going on. The holidays are very busy, but we love seeing everyone and spending time with loved ones that we don’t see as often as we’d like to.

Seeing all of my cousins this past weekend was awesome. I love getting together with them. Our theme this year was “favorite Christmas character,” So Ryan and I went as candy canes (real original, I know) and Hamp was a little Olaf. The cutest Olaf I’ve ever seen. We played games and ate yummy treats (including my Christmas cookies).

My brother definitely won best costume this year dressing up as cousin Eddie. He doesn’t hold back, and I love it! My sister won best hair by far, because look at it! It’s amazing.

Other than our other Christmas party stops, we are planning to relax as much as possible and watch as many Christmas movies as we can over the next couple of days.

How are you spending Christmas week? Have you attended any Christmas parties?

Easy-Christmas-Cookies

Christmas is all about traditions in my family, and I am so excited to establish new traditions in our growing family. This year I decided to have a night (that will normally be on Christmas Eve, but wasn’t this year) where we will bake cookies together while listening to Christmas music (turned way up, because there is no other way) and watch a Christmas movie. This year, I perused Pinterest for easy Christmas cookies to make with Hampton. I found this original recipe here, but gave it my own spin!

Christmas-Cookie-Recipe
Ingredients:
-1 box of Betty Crocker fudge cake mix
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup of vegetable oil
-1 1/2 cup of M&Ms
Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350
-Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and then add in the M&Ms
-Put 1″ balls of dough onto the baking sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes
Hampton had so much fun and made the biggest mess, but we laughed and had a wonderful time. I will always cherish these moments with him. Here’s to making many more memories!

Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie recipe that you make every year? What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I don’t know about your man, but mine tends to be a little picky when it comes to fashion…and food. These gifts have been pre-approved by Ryan and will make any man a happy camper on Christmas morning.

Buffalo Plaid Shirt
PJ Pants
Timex Weekender Watch
Chukka Boots
Wool Socks
Belt
Grill Set
The Man’s Book
Leather Laptop Bag
Gloves
Slippers
Tool Kit
Horseshoes Set
Swiss Army Knife

If these gift ideas don’t suit your man, you can always give him bacon. Every man loves bacon.

If you are having trouble finding the perfect gift for your wife/mother/girlfriend/sister etc., you have come to the right place! I’ve picked out a few things from my own wish list that are also popular this year. I hope this is a helpful Holiday Gift Guide.

Holiday Gift Guide

Blanket Scarf  // Tweed Vest // Gold Bar Necklace // Flannel Buffalo Plaid Shirt // Felt Floppy Hat // Gold Monogrammed Mug // Zebra Dish // Knot Earrings // Pajamas // Slippers // Pom Pom Hat // Throw Pillows // Gold Cuff // Plaid Throw Blanket // Naked 2 Palette // FRESH Sugar Ruby Romance

What is on your Christmas wish list?

See more of my wish list on Pinterest!

Thank you to Mezzetta for sponsoring today’s post.
Holiday Recipes

I don’t know about you, but when I think of the holidays I think of family, reading a good book by the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate and eating lots and lots of food. My family shares the best Holiday recipes from candies to comfort food. We get together every year to throw a big Christmas party and make special treats. To prepare, we decorate, set a theme and prepare a menu. This year, that menu will include my version of a delicious Mezzetta recipe: Pasta Salad.

Mezzetta Recipes

Ingredients:
1 bag of Whole Wheat Pasta
Light Italian Dressing
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Mezzetta Peperoncini Peppers
Mezzetta Roasted Bell Pepper Strips
Mezzetta Castelvetrano Whole Green Olives

Mezzetta Holiday Recipes


Directions:

Boil the noodles and drain. Pour them in a large mixing bowl. Chop peppers. Add the peppers, olives and Italian dressing to the mixing bowl (add as many as you prefer) and stir it all up. Top with Parmesan cheese. Store the dish in the fridge until party time!


Mezzetta Recipes

This recipe is so easy, delicious and it looks so festive for the holidays! This is the perfect side dish to any holiday meal and is a big hit with my family. The Mezzetta peppers and olives make this dish. The flavors are outstanding.

Be sure to enter the Mezzetta favorites holiday gift basket giveaway! There are 31 winners daily. Yes, daily. The basket includes an apron, ceramic bowl, tote bag, metal olive spoon and lots of Mezzetta favorites that you can include in your Mezetta Holiday Recipes!

Also Mezzetta is offering you all a $0.50 off coupon now through December 31st! Be sure to snag one!

What is your favorite Holiday Memory? Does your family have a special Holiday Recipe?

Post may contain affiliate links.

I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving with your family and ate lots of yummy food! We were very blessed this year. Did you go Black Friday shopping yesterday? I racked up on the deals and I am only 2 presents away from being finished with all of my Christmas shopping! Woo Hoo! I’m hoping to finish up with a few of these amazing Cyber Monday deals. These are some of the deals I plan on shopping this year. Did I leave any out?

Amazon:
Kindle Paperwhite 
Nikon D300 DSLR

Ulta:
FREE 19 piece beauty bag with a purchase of $60 or more
$75.95 Ultra Chi (Holiday flat irons or dryers) with free tote

ASOS:
30% off everything with code “ILOVEMONDAYS”

H&M:
30% off entire purchase and free shipping on all orders over $50

What I’m loving:
Black Booties
Mama Treggings (for my preggo self)

For Hampton:
Shell Jacket
Pajamas
Socks

Khols: 
Extra 20% off with code “CYBER20” (now through December 6th)

What I’m loving:
Lauren Conrad Eyelash Sweater
LC Quilted Skirt
Elle Ponte Pants

For Hampton:
Flannel Plaid Shirt
Thermal Tee
Fairisle Sweater

Anthropologie:
20% off all items using code “HOLIDAY20”

What I’m loving:
Monogrammed Mugs
Floppy Hat
Faux Fur Scarf

The Loft:
50% off everything using code “Monday”

My Christmas miracle blessing, as you may have guessed, is my son, Hampton. Last December I had some tests done. Ryan and I had been trying to get pregnant for a few months with no luck and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. On Christmas Eve last year, I got a phone call from my doctor saying that it was not okay. I had not been ovulating. At all. Do you know how devastating it was? After all those months of trying and then to find out it was never going to happen. That something was wrong with my body. That it was me who was keeping us from getting pregnant. I felt like my body had failed me. I started thinking “what have I done to make this happen?” It was devastating.

I remember sitting on the bathroom floor crying that night and begging God for not only a baby but just a little bit of hope. I didn’t want to lose hope. I didn’t want to give up and probably never would. I begged him to give me a sign that things would be okay.

During Christmas I had a very hard time getting through the day and all the festivities. I’ll never forget when my FIL asked when we were going to have kids and I had to all but run to the bathroom to ball my eyes out. It was awful. Of course they didn’t know because we had not told anyone at that time. The thought of me never being able to have children plagued my mind. I have always wanted kids. I love them so much.

At the end of January, I took an ovulation test and got a smiley face! I had ovulated! There was all the hope and sign I needed. Thank you, Lord!

My doctor is a close friend of my family’s. She is a precious woman. She prayed for me daily during those devastating months. She prescribed me clomid and my 2nd month taking it, I got pregnant!

February 21st I saw two pink lines! I cried and cried and I couldn’t wait to tell Ryan so I called him at work and balled/screamed it into the phone. He was in a meeting and had to make a quick exit. He came home for lunch and we danced around all giddy and I cried for probably 2 days straight.

Because I was on clomid I had a greater risk of miscarrying so I immediately began praying fervently. I begged God not to take this miracle from me. I told him I didn’t know if I could handle it but that I definitely didn’t want to have to handle it after everything we had already been through emotionally and physically.

I had to have my blood taken the next day and everything was confirmed. I had to have blood taken every week for the first 4 weeks and then had our first ultrasound. My baby was perfectly healthy! We told our family when I was 12 weeks along.

He blessed us with our sweet angel on October 24th, 2013. My life has changed forever and God’s timing was perfect. I told Ryan that maybe God wasn’t ready for us to have a baby until then. I am holding my baby extra close this holiday season. We are so blessed and God is so GOOD!

Merry Christmas, to all my readers! I have been so blessed by you for the last year and a half and I’m sure I will continue to be.

What are you thankful for this holiday season?



1. What do you love the most about Christmas time?

-I love the music, the Starbucks holiday drinks, the parties, the lights, I mean pretty much everything about the season! Some of my favorite childhood memories are Christmases with my family. I’m especially excited to celebrate with Hamp this year!

2. Do you celebrate the holiday in style or is BAH-HUMBUG for you?

-I definitely celebrate in style! I start watching Christmas movies the day after Thanksgiving (sometimes before) and listen to Christmas music non-stop. I also drink Peppermint Mochas like they won’t be there next month…because they won’t. I love to decorate our house! I normally spend a whole weekend around Thanksgiving decorating and cleaning to get ready for Christmas. It makes it more fun when there are decorations and lights every where.

3. Are you leaving anything out for Santa Claus this year so he remembers to leave your presents?


-I always ALWAYS leave Milk and Cookies. Although I was told last year that Santa would rather have sweet tea…

4. What is the one gift you are most looking forward to giving? {It can be to your kids, another family member, etc- Remember to be discreet if they read your blog!} 


-I’m so excited to give my brother his gift. I can’t say what it is because he sometimes reads my blog.

5.What is our all-time favorite Christmas movie?

-Christmas Vacation. Hands down. I also love A Christmas Story and Elf!

6. What is your all-time favorite Christmas song?


Where are you Christmas” by Faith Hill on The Grinch

7. If given the opportunity would you participate in an “ugly sweater” party and what sweater would you wear? Peruse one on the internet or even in your own closet and show us.

YES! My family always hosts a “Tacky Christmas” party. Not really ugly sweater, but there are always some pretty awful (aka awesome) sweaters that show up. I don’t own one so I normally improvise. This year was a bit of a fail because everyone said I looked cute instead of tacky…I tried. :/

8. Have you started any Christmas traditions this year that you plan on carrying forward?


-Not this year. We do have a tradition we will continue this year with Hampton. We read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve before bed.


9. It’s Christmas morning… What does it look like outside where you live?.
-Who knows. This weekend we had 80 degree weather and today it was freezing. You never know with this crazy Alabama weather.
10. You just found yourself standing under the mistletoe… Who comes up to give you a kiss first?
-I hope my husband!…or Matthew McConaughey.
Thanks for tagging me, Sarah! I probably won’t tag anyone since it’s so late. It was a fun one! Merry Christmas, y’all!

Sunday night, we invited our small group from church for a Christmas party where we ate awesome food (a mousse cake from heaven), played dirty Santa, and enjoyed great company. This year we had a lot to be thankful for including three new babies, and a new marriage. It has been a big year for our group members. We are blessed.