Christmas Eve

It has been such a beautifully chill day, that I had no problem finding time to write this post. I woke up and watched The Grinch, Rudolph, and Charlie Brown with my family. Then I started wrapping presents when I realized I was a little short for one person's gift, so I ran to Starbucks for a giftcard. And maybe a little hot chocolate for myself. However, I totally didn't need that hit chocolate because its 73 degrees, and I was finally able to take part in Dressember! My second half of the family will be here in a few hours, so we're just relaxing until then. If I don't get to post tomorrow, I wish you a very merry Christmas!

Still Wrapping?

I can't be the only one pushing off wrapping my Christmas presents this late, right? In my defense, I bought them all about a month ago, but have just taken my time with the wrapping. As of today, I have one wrapped. It's obviously going very well. ;)

However, that one present turned out super cute! Aerie is giving away HUGE giftboxes this year, so I'm picking them up for all of my presents. However, it looks kinda silly for the men if it says "Merry Aerie" on it. So I decided instead of wrapping the box, I could just wrap the lid and it'd probably turn out alright. I got a little carried away when I found some extra twine though. And then of course, this graphic design student had to make her own gift tags in Illustrator. Needless to say, wrapping one gift took about an hour, but look at how cute it turned out!

Except for the one stupid piece of tape to keep the bow in place, I'm in love! I found a whole bunch of cute gift tag templates using Google search, and put the chalkboard effect behind it. I can't wait to show yall the rest! 

What I'm Possibly Wearing Not on a Wednesday

A complicated title for a complicated post! 

There's a small chance I'll be going out for New Year's Eve. Seeing how Melissa and I will be making a 12 hour roadtrip that day, I'll probably just want to crash way before this shindig ever starts. However, if I do go out, this is the outfit I have halfway planned in my head. (Yes, halfway. Keep reading, because I need your help!)

Kinda beautiful, right? And for under $50, I'm basically in love!

However, seeing there's a chance it might snow the weekend before, and maybe even that night, I'd pretty much need a cardigan/heavy winter coat. So I've got a few questions for my fellow bloggers:

1. Where in the world does one find a blush cardigan? Seriously, I've looked all over.

2. If I don't find a blush cardigan, would an unbuttoned chambray top be cute or too casual?

3. My peacoat would probably look really silly with this, right?

So many questions for one outfit! I'd appreciate any and all advice. :)

A Blogger Day of Silence

Thankful Thursdays

I love the way that Sarah words Thankful Thursdays on her beautiful blog:

"I feel like it is so important to give thanks throughout the year - not just when there is a designated holiday for doing so.  In fact, it's important to give thanks each day - for all things and in all situations.  That's what this link up is all about, and I hope you'll join in by sharing your "thankful" posts!"

Is she not just the sweetest thing? So make sure you go link up! :)

I'm thankful for

1. The Grinch. 

The cartoon version, or the people version. I love them both! But the poem is by far my favorite.

2. Heating pads. Ohhh yes. They are little pieces of magic. :)

3. Daddies and grandpas to fix dead car batteries. Even if it just got changed 2 years ago. Sighh.

4. FREE Starbucks. :) I have any drink free and I'm stoked! Venti White Peppermint Mocha, here I come!

5. My blogger community! I am SO close to 200 followers, and there's no way in the world I could've done it without my favorite sweeties.

I hope you lovelies have a fantastic and safe weekend!

Sunday Social

Linking up again for the Sunday Social, and am super stoked! I honestly can't even remember the last time I posted three days in a row. Y'all should consider yourselves lucky. ;) Anyways, we've got Ashley and Neely hosting this week's social again! Go check them out, and then totally link up too.

1. Favorite Holiday Movies/TV Specials? Well since I answered about holiday movies, I guess I'll focus on the TV specials. There's so many I love, it'd be hard to name them all! I'm always up for a little Rudolph, Frosty, and The Grinch though!
2. Do you do any volunteering during the holidays? If so, what? I volunteer in my church's cafe all year round, but I try to do a Christmas shoebox with Samaritan's Purse at least once a year. :)
3. Favorite toy received as a present as a child for the holidays? A gigapet. This one to be exact:

4. What was your must have item in high school for the holidays?

That's when I started building up my Christmas village collection. I was such a dork.

5. Item you begged for the most and never got?

I can't honestly think of anything for this one. I was pretty blessed in my childhood.

6. What do you do on Christmas Eve?

Open one present and watch as many Christmas movies as humanly possible with my family. :)

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer...

...is singing loud for all to hear!

While watching Elf and playing with Illustrator, this is obviously the only reasonable thing I could create. Right? Such a great way to spend the morning.

High Five for Life Friday!

I've been super, really far behind on my H54F posts, much less all of my blogger posts. So I figured I'd just give a little update on the exciting things in my life, in high five form!

1. I'm moving in 24 days!

Holy crap, that's sooner than I expected. Thankfully, the beautiful Melissa of Your Perfect Peace is flying down so I don't have to make the 12 hour move on my own. Don't you just love her?!

2. I have a nephew!

Have I told you about him yet? He's barely 3 weeks old, and I don't think I could love anything as much as I love that boy. And let's just say that he's SO blessed, because he literally has the best parents anyone could ask for. They're figuring out parenting so quickly as it's happening to them. It's truly a beautiful experience to watch. I don't know how I'm going to survive living so far from him.

3. I have a puppy!

And by puppy, I mean 3 years old. But he's just about the sweetest thing I've ever met. I can't have him until I move though. It's so hard!

4. I'm going back to school!

That's right! I'm getting my education again! And in something I actually want this time. Don't get me wrong, I still love the education field, and still totally consider it a viable backup option, BUT I love graphic design! (And run-on sentences.) In a way, I'm really happy that I was able to take this time off of school, because if I hadn't my life would've been in a completely different place right now. That's a whole post in itself, so we'll hold off for now. ;)

5. I made the best Christmas present EVER.
I can't go into details quite yet on what it is, but it will seriously blow some people's minds. :)

Tuesday 10: Favorite Holiday Songs!

In an attempt to be a good blogger, I started to write up some great drafts of some posts for this week. I'm kind of sick of writing my posts at the last second hoping for some kind of good quality! I got really far along, until I decided to check the prompt for Lena's Tuesday 10 for next week. Until I realized today was Tuesday, and how in the world could I say no to her perfect prompt of  my 10 favorite holiday songs?! And yes, these are in order. No, I'm not obsessed with Christmas. ;)

1. I am unabashedly proud to say that my favorite song this holiday season is 

Glee's "Merry Christmas Darling." 

That is my number one go to song for driving in the car, and it always makes for a fun time!!

2. Bing Crosby's "The Christmas Song"

3. Dean Martin's "Baby It's Cold Outside"

4. Dianne Reeve's "Christmas Time is Here"

5. Frank Sinatra's "Jingle Bells." 

I may or may not have six different variations of this song.

6. She and Him's "Little Saint Nick"

7. Michael Buble's "All I Want for Christmas is You"

8. Josh Groban's "Believe"

Because who didn't love The Polar Express?

9. "Zat You Santa Claus" by some girl that I wish I knew her name. 

They play it at my work all the time and I thoroughly enjoy it. Sorry Louis. ;)

10. Bing Crosby's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

This is my perfect playlist for Christmas! I cannot wait to go driving again to play it. 

What about you?What song can you not live without this holiday season?

Sunday Social- Holiday Traditions

Do you ever find a linkup and think "Holy crap!! How have I never seen this linkup before? It's totally fine to post twice in a day to be a part of this."? I've only found a few like this, but Sunday Social is 100% my new linkup party. Maybe because they started me out with some pretty fun Christmasy questions, but I'm still super stoked. Check out the sweet hosts Ashley and Neely and see for yourself just how fun this linky is!

1. What is your favorite holiday season tradition?

Painting cookies, without a doubt! I'm now always on the lookout for the most detail oriented cookie cutters that would be perfect for this. You can totally expect to see a post on this soon. 

2. Do you have a certain holiday movie you watch more than others? If so what is it?

Sadly, Elf is pretty much on nonstop in our house. We LOVE it, but we've seen it so many times!! Charlie Brown Christmas is a close second. I have the tree and everything. Of course, he's in North Carolina though. It's so hard having all your Christmas decorations 12 hours away!

3. Show us your favorite decoration or pinterest decoration you wish you could have.

The Grinch wreath I made this year! Isn't he presh?

4. What is your favorite holiday song?

Glee's version of Merry Christmas Darling. I don't even watch the show anymore, but their entire Christmas album last year was spectacular. Anything by Michael Buble (except Santa Baby) is a close second.

5. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Candy Cane cookies. Mmmm. I'm hoping to have the yummy recipe up sometime this week!

6. What is on your wish list this year?

Pretty much everything in the Target holiday section. For a better list, see here. :)

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

He never looks for praises
He's never one to boast
He just goes on quietly working
For those he loves the most
His dreams are seldom spoken
His wants are very few
And most of the time his worries
Will go unspoken too
He's there A firm foundation
Through all our storms of life
A sturdy hand to hold to
In times of stress and strife
A true friend we can turn to
When times are good or bad
One of our greatest blessings,
The man that we call Dad.
Source: Poem About A Silent Strong Dad http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/silent-strong-dad#ixzz2DuQbTRh1 

Happy birthday Dad!!