Make It {Saturday}

Happy FIRST SATURDAY OF DECEMBER!!!  Are those some scary words or what?  I imagine many of you will be spending these limited Saturdays doing your shopping both in stores and online.  I have a different plan this year for the whole "gift" thing - and it is crafting, baking and making.

Each Saturday I'm sharing three things that I plan to create in hopes of inspiring you as well.


1.  Decor



If you love paper crafts (my bestie, Ashley would rock at this) then you should make some coffee or hot tea and settle down with your craft paper, glue gun and embellishments and make these!  Over at Little Birdie Secrets there is a great tutorial on a paper star wreath!

2.  Easy baking with the kids


Over at Tablespoon.com there is a super cool way to make a package of ready to make Snickerdoodle Cookies a million times better.

3.  A quickly cleaned up house...



This time of year is infamous for "pop in" visitors!  Here's a link from Living Well Spending Less to a quick way to keep your home nice and tidy for when an old friend, group of carolers, or Santa stops by!




There's my three to share for Make It Saturday!  Have a wonderful day :)

H54F: December Began!

Yay for Fridays in December!  Christmas actually falls on a Friday this year so how awesome is that?  Our first week of December was great and here are my favorite things from this week!




1.  Back to school!

I love my babies but I seriously love it when they can get back to their routine (and mama can get the house cleaned up right!)  Red, our elf, returned on Thanksgiving and he got the morning started off right with a sweet note.

2.  Advent is here!

I didn't buy an Advent calendar this year.  Instead I created one!  I featured it in this post.




3.  Christmas Shopping, check!

I'm nearly finished with being "Santa" for our families.  I really have enjoyed shopping this year and normally I find it to be a headache.  I hope everyone enjoys their gifts.

4.  Angel Tree Love!

On Thursday our Advent Calendar said we should recognize our blessings and pass them forward.  We took off to the store, after dinner, and purchased our little angel's wish list items.  This is a tradition that melts my heart and fills my spirit.  To be able to teach our children to pass forward our blessings and be compassionate is a gift unlike any other.

5.  Baking :)

Nom, nom, nom!  I told you I was making these in this post.  We did as we watched Christmas television specials on ABC!

See you tomorrow, loves!

Favorite Things

A list of my favorite things today!  With gift season in full swing I thought I would share some of my favorite little these, those, and that's.

1.  Asheville Bee Charmer Honey - Creamed Blueberry & Pecans and Honey



These two honeys are simply delicious.  The creamed blueberry has a nice-perfect-for-breakfast texture while the Pecans and Honey is heaven in a jar.  Cook with it, bake with it, grill with it, or just dig in with a spoon.  These honeys are my number one pick! Visit Asheville Bee Charmer Now!


2.  K-Cups:  Green Mountain Caramel Vanilla Cream



This is my "go to" coffee for the Keurig.  I love the hint of vanilla and caramel! The smell can quiet my sweet tooth and that means a lot!!!

3.  Elf cosmetics
  

These will not come close to breaking your bank account and they really do a great job.  I love Elf's contouring palate, blush palate, eye make up and primers.  Their holiday special kits are fabulous!  Visit Elf Cosmetics now!

4.  Cozy Flannel Pants



It is cold out!  Warm and cozy lounge pants are a must!  These are from Old Navy

5.  Knit Headbands & Poms


If you grew up hearing your grandma say:  Cover up your head or you'll get a cold - then these are a must!  I really like the headbands myself!  Keep the ears warm and I'm good!  These are from Old Navy as well!

6.  Chapstick!


Everyone needs it!  Some of us are addicted to it!

7.  Tervis!


Two things I always have with me?  My cell and my travel mug!  Tervis is where it is at.  These are great gifts for anyone on your list!  From babies to your great-great-great granny!

8.  Magazine Subscriptions



Magazine Subscriptions = The gift that keeps coming x12.  I am a magazine junkie (SL, Garden & Gun, All You...) and getting my mags is like a present every month in the post!

9.  Spirits!


A good bottle of wine, champs, or something a bit more hard is always an appreciated gift!  You can also find whatever you need in any price range so that's an added bonus!

10.  Planner/Calendar 2016


I love my 2016 planner from Sugar Paper (via Blue Sky).  These are fabulous gifts that most of us need to get through the next year with some structure!  I purchased mine at Target for $9.98!

Tis the season to make merry!  I hope you enjoyed this list.  I would love to hear what are your favorite things.  Please share in comments or over on my Facebook page.  Let's link up!

Hold The Crayons! (Advent Calendar Created)

December 1st:  Time to get out the Advent Calendar.

Unless, like me, you forgot it.

So I made one!

I scored the sweet little bird cage inspired wall hanging for $9 a few weeks back at Michael's.  Of course I never intended to use it for this purpose but hey hey!

Next up I cut out the little "trees", numbered them, and on the back I wrote scripture for my daughter to look up for each day.  Admitting there are a few days where there is no scripture but an act of kindness to do or a special hint of a treat coming to her.

I happened to have some tiny clothes pins from another craft I did and they fit the frame!

I dressed it up with pictures of my babies, a couple of quickie ribbon bows, and accented it with our B and the hurricane vase.

Viola!

Simplicity works for me :)

Have you made anything from stuff you just have on hand?  Share it!

This Weekend in North Carolina (From Benson to Asheville and Points in Between!)

Happy December!  North Carolina is a fun place to be this time of year and I'm happy to be back with a listing of fun things you can add to your "attend" list for the upcoming weekend.

Chapel Hill is ready to celebrate the season at the beautiful Carolina Inn.  From breathtaking decor to handsome horse drawn carriage rides to the smells and sounds of the season the Carolina Inn's 12 Days of Christmas Event is not to be missed.  All through the month the Inn will have different displays and festivities to partake in.  Visit their website for a menu of events and pricing.

Benson's Meadow Lights is home to the oldest and largest light display in Eastern North Carolina.  This event is more than just lights - it is the story of Christ, train rides, a massive candy store, Santa, and a beautiful carousel.  Make this a destination point this holiday season - there is no admission fee and food is available for purchase.  

Greensboro if you're in the Gate City then make plans to visit the Greensboro Historical Museum where Christmas Mice have taken over the exhibits!  

Winston-Salem once was known for tobacco.  The legacy of the R.J. Reynolds' family has left a permanent mark on the Twin City.  The Reynolda House - the home of the Reynolds Tobacco Magnates - is alive with the charm of the holiday season.  Art lovers will enjoy seeing the beautiful paintings that call Reynolda home.  The Gilded Age is celebrated in this home in the heart of Winston-Salem.  

High Point This is a great weekend to take in the High Point Ballet's Peformance of The Nutcracker Ballet.    I very much enjoy the High Point Theater and have enjoyed many plays and music acts there.  Be sure to reserve your ticket for the ballet ($15)!

Pinnacle is home to Horne Creek Farm.  This historical farm allows visitors to get a feel for farming life around the turn of the last century.  At Christmas the farm transforms to allow patrons to experience the food, music, and rural culture at Christmas during 1900.  This event is a reservation only experience and includes your meal.

Blowing Rock is where we spent our meal time on Thanksgiving Day (yummy!).  It is also a beautiful, tiny town in the NC High Country, next to Boone. The beautiful Chetola Resort calls Blowing Rock home and to see it at Christmas is just majestic!  The Festival of Lights at Chetola Resort is free to enter and when you come in to drive through and take in the lights you will be given information on more events taking place this season at the resort.   

Asheville is home to the National Gingerbread Competition and you can already smell it, right?  This competition has been televised on various national cable syndicates and also ABC.  Head to the Grove Park Inn Hotel and enter to view the competition for free.  There is a fee to park ($10) with half of that fee going to area charities.  This is the 23rd year this fun event!

Have a fun and festive weekend ahead!  I'll see you later on with my evening post.

Just Makin' & Bakin'

Good evening!

This is my second two-a-day post.  Yesterday I shared a Christmas Decorating post and then a look at how November turned out and my personal goals for December.  

If you missed it, this morning I recapped our Thanksgiving break.

Tonight, I'm sharing with you the holiday goodness I'm hoping to complete this week.

We are coloring!

I found these awesome Christmas coloring sheets (that you can turn into ornaments) over at Pink Stripey Socks :)  I printed sheets for both kids and myself to color together.  

We are baking!

I love brownies (duh, but that is not where my blog name comes from).  Over at She Knows there is an adorable brownie Christmas tree baking idea.  Last week, Lowes Foods had Duncan Hines brownie mixes for a buck a piece.  I picked up some icing today (no, I'm not trying to be all Mrs. Homemade right now!) and all that is left is letting the kids have a blast.

Mama is shopping!

Between a little mid November deal finding and some great Thanksgiving/Cyber Monday buys my list is nearly all checked off!  This week I'm hoping to complete the remaining gift buying.  My goal?  Have 90% finished by Friday!

We are watching!

Holiday Specials!  Charlie Brown's Christmas came on on Monday.  However, ABC fiddle-faddled around and didn't show the cartoon until 9 PM.  Bad, bad, bad ABC!  My kids just came off Thanksgiving break and had just finished up their first day back to school.  They could not make it through the 9:00 hour!  Thank you DVR!  

Thursday ABC is back at it with Toy Story's The Toy That Time Forgot, Shrek's Christmas Special, and the CMA Country Christmas.  

We are celebrating!

I'm not sure what we're doing this weekend but it is either a trip to a light show or a trip to visit Mr. Claus.  

{Re-Cap} Thanksgiving Break, Day, and Friendsgiving!

It all started for us on Monday.  My Little Man had his first preschool celebration.  My oh my the sweetness was enough to make your heart burst open into a million tiny hearts.  I'm thankful for these early years and all the joy they bring us and many other parents.  It is a gift to be able to give your child early learning experiences, the gift of knowing and learning about Christ, and to be able to enjoy holidays through little eyes again.

Tuesday was quiet.  It was the last day of school for my Diva.  

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Wednesday was awesome!  School was out, my husband began a five day "off work" stretch.  I spent the morning grocery shopping and the afternoon watching Hallmark movies.  The kids had a wonderful time playing and just being in their pajamas all day long!  We had dinner at my mom's house.  Unfortunately, the evening was spoiled by the Diva.  We've had some attitude issues with her over the past few months and well...yeah not too thankful for that.

Thanksgiving Day...Was fabulous!  We woke up and took our sweet time getting ready to go to Boone for the day.  This year we ate lunch at Southern Comforts in Blowing Rock.  We were excited to recognize faces from our old Thanksgiving haunt.  It turns out the place we spent the first 6 Thanksgivings eating at has relocated, renamed, and is a new joint venture for some restaurateurs.  Our lunch was fabulous.

After lunch we headed to Greene Tree Farm (our 8th year) to pick out our tree.  The weather was terrific and the kids had a blast climbing the hill, riding the hayride, and racing through the trees.

Thanksgiving Night...It is only American go do a little Thanksgiving Night shopping.  I enlisted my cousin, Tiffany to help me, we tackled our local Walmart.  I realize I could have done it all from my computer but you know....we are social creatures!  I was able to clear five names off the to buy for list!  Plus?  I was only there for an hour!

Friday, Saturday...We decorated and cleaned out storage (yes totally out), attended a chicken stew, watched a lot of television...you get it, right?

Sunday aka Friendsgiving 2015...Our original RSVP list was 17 but my bestie was hold up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and my other bestie was all locked down with a strep positive little girl.  Luckily, we still had seven other wonderful guests to attend.  The greens, green bean casserole, and sweet potato casseroles were freaking amazing, as was the cranberry sauce (Heather, Keileigh, pass along the recipes STAT!)  It was a pretty laid back and relaxing time (while the kids wilded-out).  Did I mention how good the food was?  Due to the rain we had to eat inside but the kids still managed to get out and run some laps around the yard!

The moral of the story...I am so thankful for this little family of mine.  God has blessed us with some amazing friends near (Heather, Josh, Keileigh, Marc) and far (Ashley, Seth, Jennifer, Josh).  How could the holiday season be catapulted off any better?

I hope your Thanksgiving was amazing.