Christmas 2020

Time to reflect on Christmas 2020!

Being in our home meant I was finally able to bake again!🙌🙌

I didn't do as much as I would have liked, but there was still plenty to share :)

Special thanks to Mic who handled decorating all the cutout cookies while I continued to bake and whip up batches of frosting :)

Christmas Eve 2020

Santa even got to have some of the goodies we made :)

It snowed on Christmas Eve and made our property look like a scene from Game of Thrones!

This pic doesn't do it justice, but I felt like the White Walkers were going to emerge from our woods at any moment ;)

And on Christmas Day...

This is one of my favorite parts of living where we live :)

Santa came!

But things weren't the same as in the past.

Shipping delays meant some things still haven't made it here :(

This year was rough!

He had a good Christmas, but is still struggling thinking Santa doesn't like him.

All he wanted was a PS5 for Christmas and we TRIED A LOT to get one.

Unfortunately, we couldn't snag one.

However, Santa brought them to a few friends which made things really hard :(

He seriously thinks Santa doesn't like him as much as some other kids.

It just breaks my heart 💔

Hoping we can get our hands on one very soon and this Christmas will fade very fast from his memory.

We enjoyed a small Christmas dinner at home with immediate family and that was just what we needed :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Festive Friday Favorites

Hello & Happy Friday!

Are you ready for Christmas now?

Me neither :/

With that said I am making this post short and sweet,

getting all the office work done that I can,

and then finishing up some last minute shopping before tackling all the wrapping this evening.

I don't have a full day ahead of me at all 🙄

My mom came down to watch X on Saturday evening for us to celebrate my birthday.
Of course X could not wait for me to open this giant box from her!

More on it next week, but she filled it with #allthethings
That means 40+ things from my 40 years!
She is the best!


I shared about turning 40 and my celebration here :)

Those wonderful friends of mine showered me with some gift cards to my favorite places, a spa certificate, jewelry, etc.
Look at this cute thing...

Remember my first ever girls trip earlier this year?
Haley made my card and added some of the photos from that trip!
And she had a magnet made too!!!
So stinkin' sweet!



 Monday I shared some of my favorite songs, movies, and more for Christmas.
Head here to see what that image below is from ;)

Another week, more happy mail!
I just can't get enough earrings from Baubles by B!
These are the silver and gold (2 inch size)that are absolutely perfect for NYE!

I snagged these shiny red ones (2 inch size) too!
I mean red is my favorite color!
And they are perfect for Christmas!

Yesterday, I helped out with X's class Christmas party.
Those kids had so much fun!
They fished for candy canes...

They tossed rings on the reindeer antlers...

 And they played a kid version of beer pong, I mean Jingle Bell toss! 😜

He loved every minute of it!

And I love the fact that I have the ability to be at all these things with him 😍

We finished the party with a little dancing!

 And look at these super cute goodies that came home with X this week!
My very own Elf!!!!

X drew both of these pictures in Art class.

Love these!
We sure love that Art substitute that he has had for the last few months as well :)


More basketball games and practice for this guy this week too!
It is hard to see, but he is super focused with that tongue sticking out 😜

 I will share the recipe someday, but I have to at least share a picture of my favorite Christmas cookies!

They are a cross between a sugar cookie and shortbread with frosting in the middle.
I call them sandwich cookies.
Nothing special, but SO SO GOOD!
These were apart of that birthday box above :)



We settled in last night after practice and watched The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix.
Oh my goodness is it good!

 And that is it!
I hope you all have had a great week!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! 🎄
I'll be back later next week :)

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Linking up with The Blended Blog, Andrea, Narci & Erika!

Jingle All The Way!

Ready or not Christmas will be here in a week!

And for some of you (like me) celebrating Christmas with family and friends starts this week!

Today I am linking up with my friends at The Blended Blog to share some very merry music, movies and decor that give me all the Christmas feels!

Music

I absolutely love Christmas music!

I could, and have listened to it through the entire year :/

Here are some of my favorites..

Don't let that list fool you, I love all the classics too ;)

Movies

Again, here are some of my favorites from over the years :)

Four Christmases

A Christmas Story

Elf

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

And I can't leave out one of my all time favorites and favorite songs...

A Very Brady Christmas!

Decorations

 Growing up I was always a fan of colored lights, but then I married a white light lover.

So for the first few years we were together we would compromise and have a red and green lit tree.

But over time I have switched to all white lights since we decorate so many trees throughout the house.

But I still like colored lights for outside the best!

Here are a few things that I absolutely love from my own decor.

A Big Star on top of the tree

This picture is from a few years ago, so don't mind the fact the top isn't lit up.

I grew up with a star on top of our tree and that is one thing I wasn't going to compromise on!

Well, I did a little since the one we always had lit up.

This one is plain red, but I still love it!

 Advent House

My mom had one that was cloth and hung on the door.

It was so much fun seeing the little treasures left in each slot.
She bought this one for me years ago from Cracker Barrel and I think I like it even more than her cloth one.

When you open each door music plays!!

Santa

Many years ago I mentioned how much I loved Santas.

After receiving so many of them over the years, I now have a pretty large collection that I love displaying each year :)

Smore's Ornaments

This picture is really old, and it is only a small fraction of the ones we have.

Mic and I started collecting these ornaments a long time ago and we have so many now they get their very own tree.

In fact, we have had to switch and give them the BIG tree we have so many :)

This year we only put up a small tree in the townhouse we are in and that is all I have on the tree are the Smore's ornaments :)

Christmas Dinnerware

My MIL has these awesome Christmas dishes that have the entire Twas the night before Christmas story on them.

It is the highlight of Christmas dinner at their house each year for me :)

You can see how I decorated our home in the past here.

Now it is your turn!

Grab the image below and share your favorites on your blog :)

Don't forget to link up with us at TBB!

Or just share some images on Facebook or Instagram and use the #tbbasks :)

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Christmas Wish List

What would you like for Christmas?

That question is always a tough one for me :/

But I did find a few things that would bring a smile to you or your family's face on Christmas morning :)

All the commercials on Thanksgiving morning did me in!

I ordered a Google Home Hub (currently on sale for $99) as a family gift.

We are a google family, so this will work well for all of us!

X loves asking google questions on my phone, so this is sure to be a great addition to our home :)

Another great tech gift that would be great for the whole family...

Gaming systems aren't the cheapest gifts, but if your family is due for an upgrade..this is a great deal in my opinion!

This PS4 bundle is on wish lists for both of the boys in my house ;)

Give the gift of relaxation!

A gift certificate to a spa for a massage, facial, etc. is a great idea for the ladies (and guys) in your life!

It is one of those things that people don't always buy for themselves, but definitely enjoy!

What is on your Christmas wish list?

What is your family asking for?

Linking up today with The Blended Blog :)

XOXO ~ Vanessa

You're A Mean One...

Linking up Andrea, Narci & Erika for...

Happy Friday Friends!

Yes, I know this post is late but I am learning to live in the moment more.

Last night my little guy wanted to watch one of my FAVORITE Christmas movies with me and I couldn't say no!

So that meant this post had to wait until Friday morning :)

Over the weekend we spent much needed time with some of our FAVORITE people for an early Christmas dinner.

I picked up my FAVORITE little guy on Monday from school and he had lost another tooth!

That is FIVE now! CRAZY!!!!

Instagram was killin' it this week! So many FAVORITES!

This tee is so sad, but true :(

#lifeofaClevelandBrownsfan

I may have "hinted" to Mic that I needed this shirt ;)

On Wednesday I joined those beautiful Texas ladies and talked about how I try to stay sane during the holidays :)

I am looking for a new coat that is a bit more casual than my wool ones I wear to work everyday.

Well, someone posted this one on Instagram this week and I knew I had to make it mine!

Camo is my FAVORITE!!!

 But when I got to the site I found this one too!!!

 So I did what any logical person would do when they are on a 50% off sale...I bought them both!

I plan on returning one of them once I try them on, but just for fun...which one would you pick?

 X had  his first snow day of the year yesterday.

While this pic doesn't seem to show it, he was pumped to get to play with his friends all day.

He actually said it was his BEST DAY EVER! lol!

 Last night we had to run a quick errand after work/school and this kid picked up these bagels to have at home as a snack.

He was closing his eyes while he was eating them because they were SO GOOD! 

These are X's new FAVORITE now!

I swear he had 4 of them last night!

Someone finally granted my wish and X asked to watch one of my FAVORITE movies last night!

He has told me for years that The Grinch was scary, and didn't know why I liked it.

So he finally agreed to watch it with me last night for the first time and really liked it!

And on that note I am calling this post done!

Looking forward to celebrating my birthday this weekend with a few of my FAVORITE people :)

I can't believe I am entering the last year of my 30's!!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!