Getting into the Holiday Spirit!

Well i think i am in full holiday swing and i am loving every minute of it!!! i have been baking nearly everyday (which reminds me i gotta put another batch of cookies in the oven). I have my house all decorated and i have been making crafts and wrapping presents!! i just love this time of year! What are some of the things that get you into the holiday spirit? For me it is a mixture of things.

Downtown Seattle: I always try and make it to downtown Seattle during this time of year, ever since i was going to school at the art institute. It is a sure fire way to get you into the right mood! This year i made it downtown with my girlfriends. We spent a lovely day shopping, ice skating, riding carousels. We ended the day with a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake factory and then watched the 3D movie A Christmas Carol in IMAX. it was a pretty perfect day!

Christmas Movies: Of course everyone loves a good Christmas movie during this time of the year but i think i have gone a bit Christmas movie CRAZY! i typically have nothing on but the hallmark channel, yes i even watch the really horrible movies with the terrible acting. The first Christmas movie i watched this year while setting up all the decorations was "A Christmas Story". Typically I'm not really a fan of that movie but it was the only one we had at the moment. My ALL TIME favorite Christmas movie that i try and see every year is a movie that hardly anyone has heard about but is really great is "One Magic Christmas"! it was lucky enough to catch it on the hallmark channel and watched the first showing then also set my DVR to record the second showing! you should try and watch it some time it really helps you learn the spirit of Christmas!

Baking: i absolutely LOVE baking during this time of year! i bake as much as i can then i divide it all up and give it all away to friends and family! it is a really fun way to give gifts to everyone you care about without having to worry about getting something they'll like! I have discovered that the thrift store next to my house sells old baking tins for .50 cents so i stocked up last year and i did again this year. I'm so excited to have all the baking done so i can deliver all the goodies to my friends at my old store!

There are so many more little things... like shopping and hearing Christmas music where ever i go. I love seeing Christmas lights on the side of the road and seeing people decked out in christmas garb like sweaters/hats/ear rings etc.

November in review

well since i find myself not blogging right after each event i have decided to recap the main events in November into one blog



Laura Lorraine's birthday! my dear friends birthday was on the 11th of November and we had a fun night with the girls! We played old time girly games like candy land, pretty pretty princess and dream date! We also made margaritas and i made home maid french dips with real roast beef i made in the crock pot. Kristin made the cake and then we went andwatched SAW 6 i nthe theater... it was a great and scary movie! i hope she really enjoyed her birthday and liked all her gifts. We do special days with each other and my day with her will be snow tubing and lunch and whatever fun activities i can come up with!



Next in November was NEW MOON!!!! we gathered all the girls and went and saw the movie the Saturday after it came out! it was really fun and a great time spent with my girls. We all met at Claim Jumper and had a really fun dinner. It was also Britney's birthday so we got her a free dessert and we all sang happy birthday to her! After that we drove over to the theater and lined up for the movie. Tara and Val met us there... we nearly took up an entire row! it was so much fun watching the movie with all my friends. Debbie and I both had our Team Jacob (me) and Team Edward (her) shirts on! i was sitting next to Crystal and she cried several time in the movie.. too cute! Over all the movie was great and much better then the first one. Also NEW MOON was my least favorite book out of the four so it was nice that the movie made me enjoy it more!




Thanksgiving was a bit different this year. We usually split the day between the two families but since mat's mom passed away this year we spend the day with his extended family which was very nice. My family actually put our thanksgiving off until the 29th so we were able to work in the morning of thanksgiving and then spend as much time with mats family as we wanted in the evening. I really enjoy spending time with his family and it make it feel so nice because there are always kids around. it was fun i was able to hold Terry Jr till he fell asleep. then i played with Shannon and made her laugh when she was in a grumpy mood. it was a bit scary b/c it really put me into the baby wanting mode! Also i made my jalapeno cheese grits and everyone really liked them! i was so proud!





Black Friday quickly followed Thanksgiving with mat and i heading out to the Seattle premium outlets at 10pm that evening. it was nice b/c the stores opened at 10 so the lines weren't nearly as long ar crazy as they were last year at midnight. After the outlets we headed to walmart and did a bit more shopping. finally we decided we didn't need any door busters so we headed back home and got some sleep . we headed back out around 9am and did a good amount of shopping. i got a lot of shopping done and a lot of great deals! We got home a little later in the afternoon and started putting up Christmas decorations until mat had to go to work. Then my girlfriends called and wanted to go out shopping AGAIN so they picked me up and we headed back out! I got a bit of shopping done for mat which was nice... boy did i spend A LOT of money but i sure as heck wasn't tired of shopping. I seem to be developing a real shopping addiction... it is just too much fun!





On the 29 we had my family's Thanksgiving which also turned into my parents wedding! Yes i said my parents! My mom and Jeff have been together since i was 8 and i have always thought of him as my dad b/c i never knew my real dad and he was always been there for me. even though they have been together forever they never officially got married. They had planned it a couple times but never went through with it for one reason or another. this time they did it and it really turned out nice! It was just a small ceremony in their back yard. Jeff made the cake and i brought the flowers. i also picked out both of their outfits and did my mom's hair and make up. They both looked stunning and it was quite a romantic little ceremony! i am so happy for them and i know that they will be together forever. i can't wait to have kids so that they can be amazing grandparents!