A Few of My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Somehow this song has become a Christmas classic. I'm not quite sure how, but there is no complaining in my car when this song comes on the radio. Since it's finally this lovely holiday season, here are a few of my favorite things:

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Source: flickr.com via Kara on Pinterest

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What are your favorite things surrounding the winter holidays?

Source: hypebeast.com via Kara on Pinterest

Target Christmas List. Swoon!

It's no question that I'm addicted to Target. But now that I'm moving, and trying to redecorate my color schemes, Target has become a true inspiration for everything I want in a room. Especially their holiday collection. Crazy, right? Who would want holiday decor up all year round? Um, this girl! Check out some of the crazy cute stuff I'm dying to have this holiday season:

Threshold Set of 2 Acorn Votive Holders
But for $18?! I don't think so!

Threshold Embroidery Linen Arrow Decorative Pillow

Threshold Figural Fox Decor
Picture this little fella painted yellow. 

Porcelain Reindeer Pillar Candle Holder
I already have the perfect yellow candle for this cutie!

Tall Silver Vase
Spray painted grey, imagine it with me!
With maybe some cute yellow flowers year round?

Short Silver VaseSuch imaginative titles, right?I imagine this one white next to the
other one for pens and pencils!

White Resin Photo Frame

And my favorite piece of the holiday collection. 

What this has all been building up to. 

What all Target employees make fun of me for asking where its located. 

This cute cutie:

Ceramic Stag Head
And of course I think this would look better in grey, but I'd be so scared to ruin it!

So friends, family members, loved ones, this is the perfect collective list of every Christmas present I would take with a glad smile on my face!

UPDATE: I totally bought the two silver vases. I couldn't hold out on my cuties!

Serious Advice Needed

Alright guys, I have a huge dilemma that needs to be solved by Black Friday. I'm going to give you all the variables, and let you decide what needs to be done. Pretty please.

I have three jobs. Between the three of them, I'd be working 25 hours straight on Black Friday. Crazy, right?! But people have done it before.

So I guess my real question is should I try really hard to stick through all of these hours? Or should I quit the job that won't transfer when I move in a month?

Any and all answers are appreciated!

Free Christmas Cards!

Alright followers, here's the deal. I just moved all of my belongings to North Carolina, where I won't be for a little more than a month. This is the only little Christmas decoration I could contribute to the apartment this year.

So yes, I made the most out of this experience that I could. As I unpacked the little guy, and put him on his tv tray, I was singing Christmas carols, and trying to get my family's attention. We always "trim the tree" together. It just wasn't the same as every other year!

So to get myself a little more into the Christmas spirit, I decided to give my fellow bloggers a FREE gift. That's right, 4 different designs of Christmas cards to print and share!

 I strongly suggest printing these babies on card stock before mailing. They should download as a 5x7, if not, you can send an email to kara@thesnuglyduckling.com and I'll send you the correct file size!

PS And you can email me just to tell me if you used any of them. It'd make my lifetime goal of making Christmas cards (that people would actually want to use) a reality.

High Five For Friday!

Oh, I'm so slow!! Today has just been a little bit crazy. 

BUT here's my high fives from the week:

1. November has been all about thankfulness for me. I've recently started posting on Instagram (@snugly_duckling) the things that I'm thankful for. A different thing for every day, and it's been such a great experience! On days that I forget until very late, I've learned to be thankful for just the things around me.

Use the hashtag

#thankfulduckling

on Twitter or Instagram if you want to join me!

2. I registered for classes this week! That's right, this girl is finally going back to school!!

I had to register at the Apple Store because my phone had bad signal! Thank goodness for Apple!

3. I've started taking Nicole's Classes! I'm planning on doing Graphic Design for all you newbies, and this is the perfect start!

4. I have three jobs.

Don't think I'm crazy, I just love the employee discounts!

I'm so thankful for the three that I have while we're at such a high unemployment rate.

5. I made this fun stamp! I was so proud of my work. :) Check out the tutorial here!

Linking up with the fabulous Lauren as always!!

Best Homemade Hot Chocolate

I have been searching high and low for the perfect homemade hot chocolate recipe, especially just for one serving. Whenever I'm craving it, I'm almost always in my pj's, and going to the store is out of the question. I found a great recipe online, and had to tweak it just a little bit. Here's the original recipe. And my tweaks:

Directions:

1. Mix cocoa, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan at a very low heat, somewhere between 1 and 2. Make sure you are stirring constantly at this point. It will become very thick.

2. After about 2 minutes, add the milk and flavoring of choice.

I chose hazelnut, and it was so yummy! You could use mint, almond, strawberry, coconut (totally want to try this one!), peppermint, vanilla, or pretty much anything. Only use a dash though, it can get strong quickly!

3. Turn the heat up to about 5-6, and heat it up until you are in love with the temperature. :)

4. Enjoy your homemade hot chocolate!

As easy as can be? Heck yeah. I can't wait for winter to try all of these flavors!

I Am Not A Fashion Blogger

It's true! The only way I keep up with the trends is because I love shopping. But I don't repin fashion pins, I don't follow too many fashion bloggers, etc. 

However, I have really come to LOVE What I Wear Wednesday posts and being able to use the #ootd hashtag. The past few weeks I've been taking all kinds of pictures of my outfits, but I haven't posted any of them! Today, my amazing followers, you get to see what I've been holding back. I personally think that yall will love the scarves I've been breaking out (and buying, shhh)! Without further ado, the most fashion this blog has seen in a long time:

Scarf: Some itty bitty scarf store in the mall
Dolman Sweater: American Eagle

Chambray Top and Awesome Mustache Necklace: Forever 21
Ruffle Top: Old Navy
Coral Pants: Charlotte Russe

Scarf, Sweater, and Jeans: American Eagle
Boots: Target

Top and Mint Jeggings: American Eagle
Cardigan: JC Penny
Undershirt: Forever 21
Boots: Target

Scarf (AKA serious love of my life): Aerie
Sweater and Jeans: American Eagle
Boots: Target

Election Day outfit!
Sweater and White Jeans: American Eagle
Undershirt: Forever 21

If you noticed, pretty much all of my sweaters are from American Eagle. They were all on sale this past May for about $5 a piece on their factory website. I can never say no to a good deal!

The Greatest Benefit of My Turning 21

Is being able to vote! Seeing how 4 years ago, I was only 17, this year was just the icing on the cake after seeing all my cool older friends vote. ;)
I was so ecstatic to have this opportunity and responsibility. Instead of going into all the politics and urging you to vote, like every other person in the world. I just want to share my experience, because #youknowyoureabloggerwhen you have an outfit just for voting, and document everything through pictures.

Super Easy DIY Stamp Tute

I've seen so many cute homemade stamps all over the internet. My favorite is the cross stitch one, and let's just say, it's not as easy as it looks. My next thought was, okay, so what's my second favorite trend? 

Mustaches, duh.

Here's my finished product, followed by the tute:

Precious, right? I don't know about you, but I kind of love his little imperfections. It just reminds me that it is homemade, and I put my heart into it! And my absolute favorite part about it, was how easy it was! Just keep reading. You'll see.

First time watermarking say whattt? ;)

Step 1: Draw your shape onto the pink eraser. I chose to freehand mine, but tracing would probably work 100% better.

Step 2: Start cutting all around the shape. You'll want to cut all the way through. Don't worry too much if the base is a little thicker, it actually makes it a little easier to hold! This process probably took about a half hour. Thank goodness the men were watching football, and I had plenty of time.

And that's it! For my fellow paper crafters, this process just makes it so easy. It can be so hard finding the perfect stamps sometimes. I'm seriously considering starting a chevron one later this afternoon. I'll share pictures on Instagram if I do (Follow me @snugly_duckling to see!). 

Have any questions? Ask away! I'll be glad to answer. :)