Love

At this time of year we tend to forget what Christmas is really all about. It's not about the presents, it's not about the parties, it's not about the food. It's about love. No matter what you believe in, love is the reason for it all. Love for your religion, love for your family & friends, love for strangers. Be compassionate, be kind, be loving.

-Best Holiday Recipe-

A few weeks ago, I spent the weekend with some of my distant family in Houston and literally had some of the best meals of my life. This part of the family is full of great cooks-most of which I am hoping to learn something from. But out of everything that I tasted, this was by far the best thing... (or I like wine more than food...don't judge). This recipe is for mulled wine, which is served warm, kind of like a cider. It is absolutely amazing but a word of advice- don't drink this like it's cider. And don't ask how I know.

4 cups of apple cider

1 bottle of red wine (ex: Cabernet Sauvignon)

1/4 cup honey

2 cinnamon sticks

1 orange, zested and juiced

4 whole cloves

3 star anise

4 oranges peeled for garnish

Combine the wine, cider, honey, cinnamon sticks, zest, juice, cloves and star anise in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Pour into mugs, add an orange peel to each, and serve.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!

Fill in the blank friday

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TGIF. Seriously though, thank God it's Friday.


1.) I wish it would snow. I know this would inconvenience a lot of people, but it is so pretty and would give me a good reason to miss work for a day or two. Maybe it would give me enough time to unpack and actually organize my new home,

2.) Yesterday I finally began wrapping Christmas presents, with the cutest gold polka dot wrapping paper that I bought at hoblob. Love that place!

3.) Today I will attend my boyfriends parents annual Christmas party! I've known their family for 10 years now and this is the first time I've been invited to the party so I'm pumped! (A little nervous too, as this is our first time around a lot of our mutual family friends as a couple.)

4.) Tomorrow I will relax, and spend the day being a homebody....possibly go look at Christmas lights!

5.) Maybe I'll get all of my shopping finished this weekend (online of course, seeing as how tomorrow is homebody day).

6.) Someday I would like to have my own annual Christmas party, with all of my friends and their husbands while we leave the kiddos with sitters. Doesn't that sound like fun?

7.) I love this time of year. And I love that I get to see all of my best friends on New Years.



Don't forget.... 15 days until Christmas!!!!

wee bit wednesday

Wee bit Wednesday

1.) If you were granted three wishes, what would they be
-to win the lottery, for both selfish and unselfish reasons. i would like to have enough money that i could choose whether or not i want to work and also to be able to donate loads of money to charities for starving kids
-to wear a smaller shoe size so i could share with my bff haley, who has the best shoe collection evaaa
-to find the perfect man... for my mom. she has been single for years and i really wish that she would meet someone as great as her.


2.) Who is your favorite author?
-jen lancaster. she is so freaking funny. and sarcastic. and kind of an asshole, but in a good way. LOVE HER.


3.) What crowd were you involved in during high school?
-ohhh that's a toughie, i don't think i was technically in a crowd... i just really hung out with my best friends and whoever else was around.


4.) What is your favorite thing to do when you have time to yourself?
-catch up on all of my fav tv shows (so pretty much everything on the cw, abc and then glee). i also love to take a hot bath, drink some red wine and read a book. how i miss having time to myself.


5.) Do you have any hidden talents?
-i can burp on command, but im not sure if that's considered a talent or not. i'm also really good at catch phrase, but again- probably not considered a talent.


6.) Can you fake any accents?
-i like to speak british in the mornings, but it doesn't last very long. i usually forget that im british by 11 am.


7.) Have you ever been mentioned in the paper?
-when i joined my sorority they put it in the college paper... does that count?


8.) Have you ever been arrested?
-negative. nor will i be. (knocking on wood as we speak.)


9.) What is your favorite job you've had?
-my favorite job i had was working for this lady who had a few booths in larger stores that were full of jewelry and purses and basically all i had to do was move around the displays so it looked different every time people came in. fun+easy+money=fav job.


10.) Do you have any scars?
-have you met me? well, if you haven't this is something you should know. i am terribly accident prone. i hurt myself all of the time, i bruise like a peach and i scar easily.


I hope all of you had a much better Wednesday than I did... it felt like a Monday, you know what I mean??

My First Home: Before Pictures

Some of you might know already- but I just recently purchased my first house. The moment I saw it I fell absolutely in love with it. The whole buying process wasn't near as difficult as I expected, but the moving process was much more difficult. I'm about 97% moved in, thank you Jesus.

Here are some before pictures of the house, when the previous owner still lived in it. So if you hate the decor, don't judge... that wasn't me!

One side of the kitchen

Living Room

Master Bath

fill in the blank friday

fill in the blank friday

1. Holiday Spirit: is topping the charts. I just moved and I would rather decorate than unpack my stuff. It's a problem. This is one of the many Christmas trees at my work. : )

2. The holidays are incomplete without: hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps. mmmm.

3. My favorite thing to do around the holidays is: sit by the fireplace with a good book. I'm in need of a new one, any suggestions??? 






4. A holiday tradition my family and I have: we go to church on Christmas Eve, go out to dinner so no one has to cook and then go home and open ONE present. The rest are opened Christmas morning! It's something I hope to carry on when I have kids.






5. Holiday music is: the. best. thing. ever. Nsync's Christmas cd is the light of my life. I've been on the Christmas pandora station since November.

6. This year I'll be spending the holidays: with my wonderful family and friends, making up new traditions as we go.






7. Holiday wish list: I would really love a kindle. Other than that, I'm asking for very practical/boring home items.