Our Holiday

It was another GREAT but exhausting Christmas for us...especially now that we have a little one. Kenley is obviously too little to understand what was going on but this year made me SO excited for next year when we can start playing Santa and start our own family traditions. 

Our Christmas weekend kicked off on Friday when the Beeb and her hubby Jake came over. Carolyn & I had our 2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Baking Party.

We did 4 all new recipes this year and all but one were a huge hit. 

Chocolaty Melting Snowmen

recipe HERE! 

these did not turn out nearly as cute as the photo showed and they didn't taste the best either. Needless to say they will not be on the list next year. 

Holiday Rolo Pretzel Delights

recipe HERE!

we replaced the pecan with red and green M&Ms to make them festive. They were salty and sweet and a huge hit!

Mint Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

recipe HERE!

these were delicious! We made them a little too big and ended up having to put three kisses on each so that they wouldn't look ridiculous.

White Chocolate Cherry Shortcake Cookies

recipe HERE!

these were my FAVORITES! they were SO-STINKIN-GOOD! 

Sunday morning we went to church to have Kenley blessed. We are baptizing Kenley Lutheran but I am Greek Orthodox, so just like our wedding, I wanted to incorporate my religion. It is a Greek Orthodox tradition to bring a baby to church for the first time when they are 40 days old. Before church the priest did a special blessing and brought Kenley up to the alter. It was very special and meant a lot to me. 

Sunday after church we drove up to Jason's mom and step-dad's to celebrate Christmas with them and the next morning we were at my dad's for a Christmas Eve brunch.

I am embarrassed by the lack of photos I took during all of our Christmases, but after Christmas Eve at my dad's, Kenley had a little outfit change and we were off to Jason's aunt & uncle's to celebrate Christmas with his dad's side of the family. 

Christmas Day we went to J's dad & step-mom's for breakfast and then were at my mom's for dinner. And, of course, Kenley had a different Christmas Day outfit. 

Our Christmas was filled with delicious food, wonderful gifts and our amazing family! It's definitely tough having four Christmases but Jason and I work really hard to make sure we get to see everyone and it makes it really special for both of us to be able to spend time with all of our families. 

I hope you all had wonderful holidays with the ones you love as well! 

xoxo, 

The 12 Days of Husband

I decided I wanted to do something a little different for Jason's Christmas present this year. I saw this super cute idea on Pinterest to do a 12 Days of Christmas for your Husband. 

Her ideas were super cute, but I decided to change it up and get Jason a mix of his favorite things. 

For the purposes of this post (because I already knew all of this) I asked the hubby to list his favorite material things, here is what he said word for word: "Gum, Chapstick, Socks, ummm.... Salt, Booze, Coffee, Deodorant, and Hats! OK, my list is done."

I decided to get creative and get him a number of things to coordinate with the number of the day. I also made little labels to put on each of the gifts:

Then, starting on December 14th, I gave him a gift every day.

Here's what I got him...

TWELVE golf balls. 

ELEVEN packs of his favorite gum. 

TEN pairs of socks. 

NINE chapsticks.

EIGHT dollars to Jimmy John's.

SEVEN dollars to Caribou Coffee. 

SIX pack of Curious Traveler (one of his fave beers).

FIVE essentials for a coffee drinker....

custom travel coffee mug (with a picture of Kenley & Bailey),  Monin Sugar Free Vanilla syrup and three pounds of coffee.

FOUR deodorants. 

THREE new shirts.

TWO things to entertain...

Dark Knight Rises on Blu Ray and Bone Thugs N Harmony Greatest Hits 

(ridiculous, I know, but he loves Bone Thugs)

and 

ONE Johnny Football T-shirt!!!!!!!! 

I had so much fun coming up with ideas for Jason and shopping for all this stuff. It was great to do something different this year and it seemed like Jason really enjoyed it. I think this would be super fun to do with Kenley once she's a little older.

Top Ten...Christmas Movies

Time to get back on track with my Top Ten Tuesdays!

This week's topic is FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES! 

Tis the season to start watching all of these!

#10.

Frosty the Snowman

How do you not love Frosty? I get so excited when it comes on TV! 

Thumpitty Thump Thump! Thumpitty Thump Thump! Look at Frosty go! 

#9.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Another classic that I get pumped to watch every year, I mean his heart grows three sizes! 

#8.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Out of all the TV Christmas specials I get most excited for Rudolph! The frickin' elf wants to be a dentist! It's too cute and I've loved it since I was little! 

#7. 

Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version)

This movie is an absolute CLASSIC and I love it! The remake makes an appearance later on my list, but you HAVE to love the original!

#6. 

Elf

Who doesn't love Elf? This was an instant classic! "Buddy the elf, what's your favorite color?"

So damn funny! 

#5. 

The Santa Clause

Omigosh, I love this movie so much! Tim Allen is so dang funny! Watching this was a tradition with my mom & brother every year! 

#4. 

Love Actually

I could literally watch this movie every day and not get sick of it! In fact, in college me and my roommate had in on constant loop for at least two weeks. It's so cute and funny and I absolutely LOVE it! 

#3. 

Miracle on 34th Street (1994 version)

I've probably watched this movie 50 times. While the original is amazing, this one is just too much! Dylan McDermott is a babe! Mara Wilson is frickin' adorable. I love Elizabeth Perkins and the guy who plays Santa is PERFECT! This is one I will be introducing to Kenley early...like tonight! :)

#2.
Santa Bear's High Flying Adventure

This is an obscure one but is absolutely one of my FAVORITES. This super short cartoon was a TV special in 1987 and came with that year's Santa Bear...remember when Dayton's (back before it was Macy's) revealed a new Santa bear every year? Well, in 1987 he was a pilot and came with this movie AND I WAS OBSESSED! I still love it. My mom used to sing the song from the movie to me and I've already started singing it to Kenley. If you haven't seen it...you need to watch these videos NOW! You are welcome!

#1. 

Home Alone

Home Alone is not only my FAVORITE Christmas movie, but one of my favorite movies of all time. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen this movie or how often I quote it...

"Look what you did you little jerk"

"When I grow up and get married, I'm living alone!"

"This is it, don't get scared now"

"Hi-ya Pal"

"I wouldn't let you sleep in my room if you were growing on my ass"

Seriously, it doesn't get better than this movie! 

What's your all time favorite Christmas movie?

Announcing...

While Lil Miss Thang was formally announced on the blog a few weeks ago, I just had to share Kenley's birth announcement with all of you. 

Pretty darn cute if I say so myself! 

Thank you SO, SO, SO much to Sara Jayne for taking this beautiful picture of Kenley and designing the announcement for me!

Announcing...

While Lil Miss Thang was formally announced on the blog a few weeks ago, I just had to share Kenley's birth announcement with all of you. 

Pretty darn cute if I say so myself! 

Thank you SO, SO, SO much to Sara Jayne for taking this beautiful picture of Kenley and designing the announcement for me!