holiday recap & things I love Thursday

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and still are!  One thing I love about the holidays is they start at Thanksgiving and go through the New Year.  Many families celebrate the week before or the week after, which always extends the joy of the season.  My family tends to get it all done in a period of three or so days, but I love being home.  This is the first time I've been home for more than three days in two years.  TWO YEARS.  It's an amazing feeling, though it has taken the last five days to stop feeling like I was going to have to pack up and go in a matter of hours.  I'm sitting on the couch next to my puppy, and it is wonderful.
My holidays were busy, but grand.  I loved having everyone open the gifts I wrapped so long ago, and unwrapping my own were exciting.  I was part of a scheme to get my sister the Newsies soundtrack and the result was priceless.  It's actually top of my list for Things I Love Thursday.

Sami Reacts to Getting Newsies
It's hilarious, and worth the click.

- One of my favorite gifts was the Kate Spade bangle my mom had gotten for me during one of their surprise sales.  It's the perfect addition to my stack!  They don't sell the one I got anymore, but you can shop their bracelets here to find one to add to your own arm party.

The next few things on my list are a little different than normal.  I'm choosing products that include proceeds that go to charity.  Tis the season.  You can't do a little good while still receiving a little good.

- Harry's
I found this company while looking for a gift for Nathan.  I ended up getting him the Engraved Winston Set and he loved it.  His first comment was that the handle felt like the perfect weight and he couldn't wait to use it.  Fingers crossed he'll be willing to write a review as soon as he uses it!  My hope is that they'll soon make women's razors, otherwise I'll have to start using the Truman on my legs. (Ha! But seriously...)  They have their Give A Shave program that donates 1% of profits and 1% of their time to volunteer to a cause.  Currently, they're working with City Year, a group that prepares people for personal and professional success.

- Warby Parker
I love Warby Parker.  I'm waiting until I get my renewed prescription to get a pair, but I've got my free five on order to try on!  Everyone that I know who has Warby's adores the heck out of them; needless to say, I'm excited.  One of the cofounders of Harry's, Jeff Raider, also cofounded Warby Parker.  This company also has a charity program, Buy A Pair Give A Pair, where for every pair of glasses purchased, funding or another pair goes to non-profit partners.  They also work on training low-income entrepreneurs to start their own companies selling eyeglasses.  As soon as I get a pair, I'll get you a review!

- Laughing Man Coffee
Another one of Nathan's gifts, the Laughing Man Coffee is a little more expensive, but a whole lot more worth it.  According to their story, 100% of the company's revenue goes towards education, community development, and new business development.  It's really a phenomenal program, and Hugh Jackman helped found it.  Who doesn't love Hugh Jackman?

I hope the rest of your holiday season is wonderful!  Did you give or get any gifts that you absolutely love?  Tell me about it in the comments!

happy holidays.

There's a slight change of plans. Originally, I was going to post on Saturday and again tomorrow about Christmas and the holidays, but I decided to do one today instead.

Two posts about holiday memories were redundant, especially since each one up to this point included something about the holidays. I'm laying on the couch in my parents' house and watching Grey's Anatomy (new addiction) while I write this and it's when I truly realized something that I needed to share. I usually dread Christmas, knowing that going to multiple Christmases and driving my sisters around is stressful, that crying is inevitable and that I sometimes forget what it's about. It's about relaxing with my family, spending hours last night with my high school friends and laughing non stop. It taking those moments and appreciating them, taking a step back from the "real world" and going back to everything that matters.

So here is to you and yours.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.

one week til Christmas!

If you can't tell by my holiday series, I love Christmastime.  This Buzzfeed post showed up on my social networks again and I love it.  It gets me so excited for the holidays and the countdown is getting smaller and smaller - one week left!

(Speaking of which, that means only two posts left in my holiday series!  What will I post about next!?)

holiday baking.

who doesn't love to eat goodies on Christmas!?  The photo is of a cupcake I ate at work earlier today - it was a Santa hat, but I ate the frosting dollop off the top as soon as I sat down!

Christmas recipes are treasured and passed down from generation to generation, or they're just wonderful reasons for family to get together and cook or bake together.  My family bakes every Christmas, en masse, and it is a wonderful time.

There have been years when I thought I was "too cool" to be home with my family, and other years where I've pleaded for my mom to take a few hours and bake.  Holiday baked goods trays were given to family friends and teachers, filled with the goodies we'd spent an afternoon baking.  For a few years, my mom was in charge of the annual youth bake sale my church held.  That took more than an afternoon.  I would have a few friends over, and everyone would be baking at my grandma's (who had two ovens!) with Christmas music blaring.

I'm not going to be home for baking this year.  It's weird; last year, I missed a lot of family traditions, but it feels more like becoming an adult when more than one is missed.  I'm hoping to make Nathan bake some things with me (we made Kiss cookies last week) but we'll see if our busy schedules permit it.  I'm almost done with finals!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes!

Dipped Bugles
This one is my personal favorite, and it's perfect to do with young kids!
Just melt some baking chocolate or almond bark, dip a bugle, and add an M&M.  Place on wax paper to dry, and you suddenly have a sweet and salty delicious bite in your mouth.  The Christmas M&Ms are perfect for this.



Pretzel Turtles
I don't personally love pecans, not all the time, but these are my grandfather's favorites.

And here's a couple of gluten-free one.  I have an aunt who is gluten intolerant, so it's nice to have a few of these on hand.

Three-Ingredient Kiss CookiesNathan and I made these on Date Night.  So, so good, and gluten-free.  We cut the 1 cup sugar into 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Fudgy Avocado Peanut Butter BrowniesLet it be known, I do not like avocados.  Yes, that means I don't like guacamole.  Nathan, on the other hand, LOVES avocados.  I found this recipe over the summer, and the author's husband doesn't like avocados, but he liked the brownies, so I thought - why not.  Also.  Healthier.  It's almost like a vegetable/fruit, so go ahead, eat the whole pan.

And I promise, you can't taste the avocado.

--

What do you love to bake!?  Send me some of your recipes, I'd love to try them!

winter weather.

First of all, I'd like to wish my mom and step-dad a very happy anniversary. I think we're up to year 11 now. When you guys got married, the temps were in the 50s and it was beautiful and today I can't feel my toes.

On that note, I'm going to talk about weather today, and weather memories, and holiday weather, because really, they all go hand in hand. I've spent the time between Christmas and New Year's outside of Minnesota twice - once in Florida, and once in Arizona. I'll say this, and probably only once, but I missed the snow. The holidays are not the same without having a "White Christmas" or being able to sing "Let It Snow" at the top of your lungs from November to February (or March, April, or May, depending on how Minnesota is feeling).

One of my earliest memories of snow, is following my dad by stepping into the tracks he made. I was five or six at the time, and without his shoe marks, I would have sank, we had so much snow that year.

My childhood is filled with snow memories; sledding in my backyard, snowball fights and igloo building with the other neighborhood kids. Praying for snow days, two hour late starts, or early outs. My childhood led into high school, where we would fit as many people into one car as possible and go to someone's house, or when my friends who lived in the country couldn't get home so they stayed with me. There was a time or two when we were stuck at school, because they wouldn't let people leave unless their parents picked them up. More than one time we had to shovel out cars, or wave apologetically as we slid through stop signs.

In college, snow days weren't as common, and I was forced to trek through high winds and subzero temperatures to get to class (this last week anyone?). I'd get pictures from home where the snow drifts were taller than my sister, and phone calls that my family got to miss school and work until someone could plow them out. Christmas Eve's were spent snowmobiling, making hot cocoa while everyone else went snowmobiling, and Christmas mornings were spent looking outside for reindeer prints in fresh snow. I can't imagine the holidays without cold weather and fluffy white flakes.

Hope you're all enjoying the holidays. What are your snow memories?

carols and movies

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is singing the songs and watching the movies.  As I write this, I'm definitely watching Chronicles of Narnia, which doesn't necessarily fall under the category of Christmas movie, but it definitely counts as "winter movie".

Anyways.

I've loved Christmas songs for as long as I can remember.  When I played piano, my teacher would take all of her students and we would play Christmas music at McDonalds, and the local assisted living residences.  I loved being able to bring the music to people, and I especially had more appreciation for playing at assisted living residences as I got older.  Now, I just count down the days until I can start listening to Christmas music (it's the same as decorating!).

Last night was my high school's annual Sounds of the Season concert, and I've yet to make it back as an alum.  The special aspect of this concert is that my choir director has directed the same two songs every year, as long as she has been there.  Before the choir sings these songs (Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Let There Be Peace On Earth), she turns to the audience and asks alumni to come down and join the choir.  As I'm from a small town, it isn't rare for her to point at someone in the audience, call them out for hiding, and make them come down as well.  It's truly a special experience, as there are many siblings and parents who come down and sing as well.  I'm crossing my fingers for next year, when I'll get to sing with both of my sisters  while they're still in school!

I have so many favorite Christmas songs, but here are some for you:

1. Baby It's Cold Outside - She & Him


2. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - Michael Buble


3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra


4. Sleigh Ride - Johnny Mathis


5. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee


6. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney


7. Christmas is All Around - Love Actually


8. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives


9. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams


10. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Kristin Chenoweth

I know there are so many missing from this list, but I tried to showcase my favorites from these artists!

--

As for movies, I love them.  I'm essentially a film major, so it is no surprise that I love movies, but Christmas movies are my favorite.  There is only one I will watch year-round, and that is Love Actually.  It is one of my favorite movies, which is why it can be watched year round.  I love all sorts of Christmas movies; the beautiful (Polar Express), cheesy (Holiday in Handcuffs), and the classics (A Christmas Story).  But here are my top three (excluding Love Actually, since it's just my favorite movie in general).

Christmas Classics

This gets to count as one, because I say so.  Nothing beats the classic claymation of Rudolph and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, and Frosty the Snowman just cannot be beat.  I watch this whole set in one sitting, every year.

Elf

This is the Christmas movie of my generation, and it's a good one.  Some people pass over it, as Will Ferrell isn't for everyone.  I get that, but this movie IS for people who enjoy the holidays, so everyone should give it a chance.  The soundtrack is also the soundtrack to Christmas - in my mind - and every year, without fail, I hear people quoting it.  I remember seeing this one in the movie theatre, and it never loses its Christmas magic for me.

Three Days

Three Days is a guilty pleasure of mine.  I can only find it on ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, usually at 3 in the morning.  I have my mom record it on our DVR and it is the first thing I watch when I come home for the holidays.  I cry every single time I watch this movie, but it is the one I'm always most excited to watch this one.

I hope you all enjoy your songs and movies this Christmas.  Watch them while you can!

merry & bright - freebie

This morning, while suffering from a migraine, I was going through my Twitter feed and stumbled across a tweet from Joelle (follow her!) about these backgrounds on fabulouskstyle.  OH MY MERRY GOODNESS.  These are BEAUTIFUL.

I am in love.  I've gone through 2 of the 4 already, and I'm sure I'll go through the other 2 in the next 15 days.  Make sure you snag them while you can!  I also found one of my new favorite blogs, so there's that.

holidazzled

Last night, Loverman took me out on the town.  And tonight, he told me to stop calling him Loverman on the blog.  So from here on out...Nathan.  Here's Nathan and I from last night (sorry for the quality!).

He took me out for Date Night, which consisted of standing outside in INSANELY cold weather.  Do you not remember how cold it is here?  We stood outside for just under an hour to watch Minneapolis' Holidazzle parade, which was just long enough for my toes to get numb and the rest of my body to feel like it was being stabbed by cold daggers and other unpleasant feelings.  Nathan did say he was proud I didn't throw a fit about the weather, as my body is notorious for completely overreacting to the temperature outside and I am notorious for being quite vocal about the state of my temperature.  The parade was beautiful, and I managed to get a couple shots of the lit up floats!

It's always fun to head downtown, and it was so wonderful to spend a Friday night out soaking up the holiday.  We went out for dinner at Devil's Advocate and both had the delicious Natty Burger.  I found nothing wrong with the food, and they have one of the best beer lists in Minneapolis.  Afterwards, Nathan surprised me by getting out ingredients for us to make delicious Kiss Cookies (which happened to be gluten free and delicious!) and then watching a Minneapolis Christmas classic, "Jingle All the Way".  We had a blast trying to spot all the metro locations and laughing at the geographical mistakes.  Overall, it was a wonderful night, and a great way to enjoy the holidays in the place I now call home.

Some more pictures!

Hope you had a good weekend!

the joy of giving.

I have a tendency to give gifts to everyone.  I give gifts to my family, my boyfriend, and my friends.  All my friends.  Not one or two close ones, but all of them.  One year, I believe I gave out 10 "friend" gifts, but this year I've knocked it down to six.  I think.  Instead of spending a ton on each of them, I spent less than $5 on each of the gifts and customized a cute and creative card to go with it (I'll post after I give them all out - I'd hate to spoil the surprise).  For the friends that I remain close with, but wouldn't necessarily give a gift to, I've decided to send handwritten cards to each of them, as they are still parts of my life and I want to do something cute and unique.  There won't be any posed pictures, or updates on what my last year has been like, but it will just be a little holiday cheer that will hopefully bring a smile to the stress of the end of the semester.

For my family, I like to give them each a little something individually.  Now that I'm on my own, I tend to be the one who picks up all the gifts, since my sisters usually are shopping with my parents around.  The three of us all go in on something for each parent (Little Brother is still too little to help with Dad's gifts).  We usually find a store-bought gift for them, something small, but then spend the day doing something of their choice, that they want to do (one year we spent the day helping my mom sort through hundreds of pictures for scrapbooking!).

Once my sisters and I started babysitting and getting money of our own, we were able to buy each other gifts with minimal help from our parents, and we didn't just have our names written in the "From" section of the tag on something Mom picked out.  Last year, I got my siblings all University of Minnesota apparel, and this year...well this year they both got some input on what they wanted for part of their gifts!  The other part I picked up at an outlet mall earlier this fall - it's been SUCH a relief knowing that my presents are done way ahead of time.

Loverman is the hardest to shop for.  There are plenty of great gift guides out there for shopping for men, and the range from a little pricey, to something more on the college budget that I happen to be living on.  (check out this one from College Prepster, for him & her, the one from Design Darling, Cupcake & Cashmere, Real Simple - they have a foosball table for $49! Love them!)  Last year I got him a DIY monogrammed flask and a blu-ray player.  One nice thing about buying for your man, is that they will (should/better) love you whether or not they loved the gift!

I hope this gives you all some ideas for future gifts!  The holidays are officially upon us - let me know if you have any other gift questions in the comments!

holiday cheer.

Part II of my Holiday series brings one of the most widely debated topics of the holidays -- the decorations.  Families coming together find ways to meld their styles and traditions, they avoid phone calls from the parents who passed down the traditions (since they'll be upset tradition has changed), and letters are sent to Targets everywhere that Christmas decorations shouldn't be out yet "because it's barely November!" (...no?  Just my mom sends that letter to Target?)

Growing up, there was a strict rule that no decorations went up until after Thanksgiving dinner was eaten and cleaned up, no music was listened to until the day after Thanksgiving, and you were to be scorned if you even thought about turning on outdoor Christmas lights.  The Friday after Thanksgiving, my day off from school was always spent helping my Gram put decorations up at the family business and at her house - in fact, I got to help again (albeit, two days early, much to my mother's dismay) this year when I was home, which was a real treat.  When I moved into my own apartment last year, I was confronted with my Roommate, who puts Christmas decorations up the moment Halloween is starting.  I went into a complete holiday shell-shock, and at the risk of being a tad dramatic, it did alter how I enjoyed the holidays (they felt too long, and Thanksgiving barely happened).

This year, we compromised and put things up slowly, and we're finally decked out.  We have the upside-down Christmas tree we obsessed about, Leonard the Christmas Pup is out and up, and I couldn't be more happy to come home and see my lights everywhere.

It's weird, learning to decorate on my own.  On one hand, I love being able to do things the way I envision them; on the other, there are certain aspects of decorating with my family that I miss.  My sisters and I would dress up in the lights and tinsel every year.  I had a pair of snowflake ornaments that I made earrings into, and wore them one day a year - decorating day.  We fought each year as to whose turn it was to put my mom's Precious Moments Angel tree topper up, because we could never remember from year to year, and the slip of paper we wrote it on always got lost.

When I was home over Thanksgiving, my mom was seriously bummed that I wouldn't be around to decorate the tree that year.  Before I left, I made sure to put up two ornaments of mine on the tree, with a little note.  She called me later in the day and told me how much she loved it and was glad I could be part of the decorating, if only by sentiment.

Leonard the Christmas Pup makes an appearance every year in my life, and will continue to do so whether Loverman likes it or not.  An outdoor lighting decoration, my Gram bought it on a Black Friday sale in AZ three years ago.  I was slightly heartbroken after having a holiday without her dog, and I was craving a puppy of my own.  She had originally bought the decoration for herself, but I talked about how much I loved it, she re-gifted it to me.  I put him up in my dorm the first year, and he is now up for the second year in this apartment -- he is definitely one of my most beloved decoration items.

Leonard the Christmas Pup

My roommate's cat, Betsey, has her own holiday decor.

Bonus - Christmas card of myself and the sisters at least five years ago.

What are some of your decorating traditions?

early starts

I have a love-hate relationship with Christmas.  I love the magic of the holidays.  Snow falling gently onto empty sidewalks, illuminated by the warm glow of old-fashioned street lamps - coming home to a house dark except for a lit Christmas tree, lighting the way to the closest light switch, one that you don't bother turning on - driving in the dark, listening to Chrsitmas music and thinking of the ones you love - holiday parties filled with laughter and good food and good friends - sipping steaming hot cocoa while cuddled under blankets in a matching set of PJs and watching a Christmas movie - perfectly wrapped presents under the tree.  All of it.  I love it all.

The actual day can be stressful, and then it's as if the pre-Christmas never quite matched up with the sugarplum images that danced through your head.  As I've been getting older and taking ever more control over my own happiness, I've struggled with how to keep myself happy throughout the holidays, instead of loving the day after Thanksgiving as the first day I can celebrate and then slowly slipping into a holiday doldrum that never meets the insanely high expectations I set.  Well this year, this year I'm doing something different.

I had a night to myself for the first time in awhile; no roommate or Loverman to keep my company, no pressing assignments or places to be in the morning.  Instead of simply binge-watching Netflix and lying on the couch lamenting I don't have food, just ingredients, I binge watched my DVDs of House and made an early start.  I sat down with my wrapping paper, scissors, gifts, and boxes, and I started wrapping.

It's no secret from my last things I love Thursday (it was on Friday) that I love gift wrapping.  With the whole night ahead of me, I took the time and I wrapped my presents slowly and perfectly and tied them with bows and made gift tags and had an absolutely low-key, creative and inspired night; taking the first step towards getting myself excited for the holidays.  It was the first step towards being at peace with the pre-Christmas struggle of expectations-set-too-high, and have a pre-Christmas that met expectations that can lead to a joyful holiday for myself and those around me.

Is my holiday going to be perfect?  Probably not, nothing really is.  But I'm going to have an amazing time.  One thing that I keep reminding myself, that has been helping quite a lot, is that when I look back to past years, I can always pick out one of the sugarplum moments - the ones that dance through my head the following year and fill me with a craving holiday nostalgia.  This year, I'm vowing to take control and keep myself in a present mindset to enjoy next year's sugarplum moments this year, as they happen.

Happy start of the Holidays! xx

giving thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving my loves!

Because of the holiday, I will not be posting a things I love Thursday this week. Instead, I want you all to think not of the material things you love this week, but the things you are thankful and grateful for every day of your life.

I'm thankful for the time I get to spend with my family today, for my parents to be able to help me financially so I can drive home to see them for the holiday. I'm thankful for the fact that even though I don't love college, I have the ability to go. I'm thankful for the country I live in and the chances I've had. I'm thankful that I have my best friend and love in my life. I've been blessed time and time again and I try to be thankful everyday.

Give thanks today.

And eat a TON.