Toddler Easter Ideas

I am soo excited about Easter this year! Cannot wait to fill our little one's basket full of wonderful little goodies for her to discover! Here are a few cute ideas I have in mind!

Loving these cute natural wooden Easter baskets and colored wooden eggs from Etsy shop AppleNAmos

Also thinking about a pair of these Pink Cord Tiny Toms.

Or maybe a pair of these warm, snuggily slippers from L.L. Bean - in rose blossom of course.

Delaney's First Pumpkin Patch!

What I Got for Christmas

Had a very lovely Christmas over the last few days (Christmas Eve and Christmas day) - got to spend lots of time with our families, ate lots of good food and even was able to sit down and play a game of Scrabble with my cousin, his girlfriend and my Dad. It is always so fun to watch everyone open their presents and to laugh and joke well into the evening with people you love!

Uber excited about the nifty things I got for Christmas! My hubby got me a Bella Cucina Rotating Belgian Waffle maker - yum! And a set of Non-stick Hard Anodized pots and pans! He spoils me rotten! He also gifted me with lovely yarn, lots of Victoria Secret lip gloss (my favorite! pretty sure I have ALL the flavors now!), Bath & Body Works, fuzzy socks, new pajamas, a spool holder and a ceramic travel mug (we got each other one without knowing it!).



So we spent Christmas Eve morning nomming down waffles and packing up clothes and presents to travel up to our parents'. It was the perfect way to lead up to the hustle and bustle of going home.

Since we've been back home (came back the 26th) I've been organizing my kitchen fitting in my lovely new glass jars (thank you Mom & Sue!) and switching out my old pots and pans with my new set. I love big glass apothecary jars to store flour, sugar, coffee etc in and the big 2 gallon ones are great for serving drinks at parties (and now I have 3! 4 if you include the one I have upstairs full of our seashell collection)! I always whip a big batch of lemonade or tea for any shindig we have going on at our house - so the jars will definitely come in handy!

My family also got me more fuzzy socks (heaven!), more Bath & Body Works and other soaps and lotions (can never have enough!), a lovely sweater, candles, scarves and gloves (yay!!), amazing Starbucks coffee travel thermos for each Matt and I, a Starbucks gift card, gift cards to Rock Bottom Brewery, lots of yummy cookies and treats, a cookbook, a lovely table set complete with candle sticks and napkins, a sifter, and a senior picture of my brother.

Enough about my loot! I want to hear about yours? What fun things did you get or do for Christmas?

Hot Chocolate on a Stick = Win!

So happy to come across a recipe for homemade marshmallows and hot chocolate on a stick! Just look at my pretty new batter bowl chock full of little individually wrapped and ready to give away hot chocolates on a stick! There's one for the mail-lady, a few for the neighbors and some for family & friends! I'm going to have to whip up another batch after the holidays for the hubby and I to enjoy all season long!



I have to admit, I was a little intimated at first by the marshmallow recipe...but it was really very simple and they turned out fabulous! Next time I'll invest in slightly bigger treat bags because these were just a little too snug. I had a heck of a time getting them each into the bags because they kept catching on the edges, etc.

Luckily two came out kinda wonky so we already have had the chance to try them out - love how rich and creamy the chocolate is - delicious!

EDITED TO NOTE:

Oops, sorry everyone! I forgot to link to the recipe I used!

This post from Foodie with the Family has BOTH the homemade marshmallow recipe and the recipe for preparing the hot chocolate squares!

The Time of Year When I Love What Comes in the Mailbox

This is the time of year (besides my birthday!) when I love what I find in the mailbox each day! Stuffed in with the usual bills and ads there's all these little surprises from those you love! With each card I open I get more and more in the Christmas spirit! Thanks everyone!

Holiday Happenings: Mooresville Victorian Christmas

We kicked off our holiday happenings last weekend and traveled out to a nearby town to partake in their Victorian Christmas festivities! Nothing puts your more in the spirit that hot apple cider and a Christmas cookie!



We listened to Christmas carols being played live and lunched on a cup of hot chili!



And browsed the creativity and talent of competing gingerbread houses! This was one of ourfavorites!



And passed by people in full Victorian costume and even spied Father Christmas as we shopped in lots of tiny warm little storefronts like this one! It's starting to feel a lot of Christmas!

Christmas Trees Then & Now

Christmas Tree Now - 2009


Christmas Tree 2008 (in the house)



Christmas tree 2006 (in our apartment)

It is funny to look back just a few years and see the little, tilty tree and the hodge podge of ornaments. Now, we have the very same tree my family put up for Christmas- ah the memories! The intention was to put the little tree upstairs - but as the days draw on it looks like that isn't going to happen! Only so much energy at the end of the day!

Christmas Cards + Panera = Win!

Matthew and I took advantage of slow, snowy day off this week to cozy up to warm cinnamon crunch bagels and steamy baked potato soup while writing out our Christmas cards at Panera this week.

Panera is on of our favorite places to frequent - it is a cozy little spot for us to pop by for lunch on the weekends. Plus the free wifi is a great incentive! A good three hours, and lots of laughter later, 90% of our cards are written, addressed and stamped! We still have a few addresses we need to locate but it feels good to get it done and to have fun while we're at it! :)

Oh and an added bonus - my bagel (seen above) was heart shaped! :)!

Giving Thanks

Looking at this photo just makes me smile! We all stood there like that for a good 20 minutes as each person's camera was switched out so everyone could take the picture! Thank goodness I remembered to bring the tripod this year - it helped! Though we need 5 more so we could use all the cameras at once!

My Dad's side gathered together this past weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving and my aunt's birthday a little early this year - it worked out in most everyone's schedule to do so. Was able to enjoy turkey and all the fixings plus a lot of good family time - all un-rushed! The holidays are more hectic for us as we always have multiple functions to attend in one day. Having one Thanksgiving ahead of time definitely helps!



If the first pic made me smile, then this one makes me beam! As per tradition, my Grandpa knocks out cold after a hearty meal - hehe!