Coolest Birth Date Ever!

Today is seriously one of the coolest birth dates ever! And not just because it's mine, but because how often does something like 12/12/12 happen? Not a lot. So I consider myself very lucky to have such a cool birth date this year! 

That's right, I am a whopping 25 years old today! I am officially a quarter of a century old! That just makes me sound old saying it that way, haha! 

Thanks Mom for bringing me into this world 25 years ago. I have enjoyed almost every second of my life and I have you to thank for that.

And I plan on celebrating this Birthday, the same way I celebrated my 1st Birthday, with lots of cake but in a cupcake form! And with some awesome friends having dinner tonight. 

Me on my 1st Birthday. What can I say, I love cake!

So Happy Birthday to me! 

Weekend Recap

Hello lovelies! These last couple of days have been very hectic, so sorry for the delay on this post. So much happened this weekend though that I knew that I couldn't skip recapping my weekend.

Friday was a big day in my family. It was my oldest Niece's 6th Birthday and my Step Dad's Birthday. So I left work around 1:30 to go pick up some balloons and flowers for my Niece and then met my SIL at their house so we could go up and surprise her at school. We went to her school and took her class cupcakes and of course I gave her the balloons and flowers that I got her. 

While we were handing out cupcakes to her class, her teacher was still teaching, or trying to anyways(the kids were pretty excited for the cupcakes) and he was asking them questions about force. Well he asks them "What force is in our lives everyday?" So my Niece raises her hand and he calls on her and she says "Gravity." Which was completely correct btw, but I don't think I even knew what gravity was as a 6 year old. My Niece is such a smart little girl! 

After we left Kenzi's class, we headed back to my SIL's house to get ready for the actual Birthday party that night. Once everyone arrived, she opened her presents. And man, what a spoiled little girl, haha! She got tons of great games, art supplies and toys. After the presents had been ripped apart opened, it was time to sing Happy Birthday and eat some cake. And of course the cake was delicious! After that Aran and I headed to the gym and then headed home. 

Saturday was a very busy day! I got up and got ready for the day and then headed out to my friend Victoria's for her little girls 1st Birthday party. I got there a little early and helped set up decorations and food. And then the guests started arriving and the party started. She opened presents and of course ate some delicious cake and made a complete mess(that's the best part!) She seemed to really enjoy her 1st Birthday.

After the Birthday party I headed back home to get ready for the Hubby's Company Christmas party. This was the first time that we have ever had something like this to go to so we were kind of excited. So we got all dressed up and headed over to the hotel where it was being held. 

My friend Megan works with my Hubby and one of our other friends, Bret also works there too, so it was nice that we knew some people. We ate dinner and watched some of the other co workers play Holiday inspired games and overall had a really good time. The food was not very good, but we ate anyways because we were starving. We also won a door prize!!!

Sunday was seriously one of the best days ever! I woke up around 6:30 to up 2" of snow! I ran outside to go look at it and our house looked beautiful with the Christmas lights on all covered in snow. So naturally I took some pictures. Everything about that morning just felt like Christmas to me. So I went back inside and I plugged our tree in and I turned on White Christmas(only one of the best Christmas movies evahhhhhhh!) and I cuddled up on the couch and watched it. Everything that happened on Sunday morning just put me in an amazing mood and definitely gave me some Christmas spirit!

We were out doing some shopping later in the day when we got a phone call from our Realtor and long time friend. When I was out at her Granddaughters Birthday party the day before, she had asked me if I was interested in taking one of their dogs. I told her I would have to talk to the Hubs and get back to her. So after talking to the Hubs I emailed her and told her that we would gladly take him if they were in fact serious about wanting to give him to us. 

So....................WE GOT A DOG!!!! His name is Louie and he is a 2 year old Yorkie and just the most adorable thing ever! We love him so much already and have only had him for two days. Our kitties aren't real sure about him yet, but they are starting to warm up to him. I can't even tell you how excited we were and how excited we still are! He is a great dog and an even better cuddle bug!

And that was essentially our weekend! It was very busy, but it was amazing! Oh, and I almost forgot, I finally found another one of the ornaments I was looking for!!

Pretty cool, huh?! I took a sharpie and wrote the address of our house on the back so that we can always remember our first home together!

How was everyone else's weekend? Did you do anything exciting?

Friday Letters

So glad it is finally Friday. Although my day has started off on kind of a sour note, I am hoping it will get better. Any who, it is time for Friday Letters. Remember to head on over to Ashley's blog if you want to join in.

Dear MaKenzi,

Happy Birthday my sweet Niece! I can't believe that you are 6 today!! I am so proud of you little girl! You are growing up to be such an amazing person already and I love you more and more with each passing day! You amaze me more and more each time that I see you. You are so smart and you have such a big heart. I love you pretty girl and I can't wait to come surprise you at school today! 

Dear Brad,

Happy Birthday! You are the best Step Dad I could have ever asked for and I love that you take care of my Mom the way that you do. Thank you for always being there for me and my family and considering us your children. We love you and can't wait to see you guys for Christmas!

Dear New Slippers/Shoes,

I seriously hope that you are at home. Because if not I definitely left you at work in my office and when I came in this morning, you weren't here. So either I am a complete spaz and don't remember grabbing you and putting you in my bag last night, or the people that clean our offices took you. I am really hoping that it is just me being a complete spaz. 

Dear Hobby Lobby,

Why do you have to have so many great Christmas items? Every time I go in there, I end up buying something else. Like these, that I bought yesterday!

Dear Victoria,

I love you so much! Thanks for being such a great friend and a sister! I had a blast shopping with you last night!

Dear Weekend,

Go by slowly please!

That is all that I have for today. Have a great weekend everyone!

Christmas Decorations

Our Christmas decorating is almost complete. There are still a few things that we have yet to put up, but I am hoping to get those done this weekend. But, I wanted to show you guys what we have so far. 

The outside of our house was fun to decorate. We have never had  a place that we could put up lights outside so I was very excited about decorating this year. We wanted to do more, but when you don't have a ladder that can reach the very top of your house, it kind of makes things difficult. So we did what we could and are hoping that my Brother will be brave enough to get on the very top roof and hang the rest of our lights for us. 

I bought the wreaths at the thrift store for a $1 each and then went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of Christmas floral pieces and decorated them myself. I like that they are pretty simple! And not only that, but I can change them next year if I decide to. And I LOVE our Happy Holidays fence sign. I bought this at a craft fair this past weekend. I love all the little details on it. It is so cute!

As for the inside decorations, a lot of them have either come from a thrift store or they have been in my family for years. I need more shelves and spaces to put things though. I am already running out. Or I apparently need less decorations. Nah! I need more shelving!

We don't have a stalking for the Hubby yet, so we only have three up, but there is a spot waiting for his. The little village was made by my Grandma on my Mom's side before she passed away. She made it for my Mom, but being on the road for her job makes it difficult for her to have things like this, so they usually come to me. And the ceramic lamp of Old Saint Nick looking down on a town was also from the same Grandma. She hand painted it and we have had that lamp since I was little. It is one of my favorite pieces to put out each year. 

And of course I have my Scentsy warmer that has the countdown to Christmas on it! It is so cute. And I am in love with the candy garland that I bought at a craft fair, but I can't figure out where to put it. It didn't look right on our tree, so I have to find a new  home for it. And then we have a few other things that have been in the family or that I have bought throughout the years.

 All I know is that I am no where near satisfied with our Christmas decoration collection. I am always looking for new things and new ways to bring the spirit of Christmas into our home. I am sure with each year our collection will grow. 

Do you have some favorite pieces that you put out each year? Have they been in your family for years? Or did you purchase them?

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Decorating the Christmas tree has always been one of my favorite things to do this time of year. I love getting new ornaments. And I love pulling out the old ones and remembering some of the memories that they hold. 

On Sunday when we brought our tree home, I couldn't wait to decorate it. So after we got it in the house, I pulled out all of the lights and the decorations for the tree and started going to town. 

I started with the lights. We decided to do multi-colored and white lights this year. I am glad we went this way. I think it looks great! And then of course I put the star on the tree. This particular star is actually the same star that my Parents had for years and used every year when I was younger. I loved seeing it on a tree again. It brought back a lot of memories. 

It was time for the ornaments!! This is always my favorite part. I like picking out a spot for each ornament. Of course we had to put some of our more breakable ones toward the top since we have two Kitties that love to knock the ornaments off the tree. And this year we have quite a few new ornaments that I would be really heart broken if they were to get destroyed.

We are trying to get a new ornament every year and with us getting married this year, I may have gone a little overboard. I got us a Happily Ever After ornament when we were at Disney World. And I also found an ornament at Hobby Lobby that said "Our Wedding" and had the year on it. And then I also got us a personalized ornament for the year. We try to get a new personalized one for every year, but so far we have only gotten one for '07, '10 and '12. We missed a few years in there. Oops! And I'm still searching for a few other ornaments. Like one to document us buying our house!

And of course I had to show you guys the ornaments we made of our kitties paw prints the first year that we had them. I pulled them out the other night and just stared at them and couldn't believe how little they were. Now they are huge, and are monsters sometimes, but we love them more than we did two years ago.

I love how our tree turned out! It is beautiful and I am so glad that we went with a real one and decided to decorate with the ornaments that we have picked out together over the years. Now, if I can only keep my kitties from carrying out another ornament massacre like the one I woke up to the other morning, my tree will be perfect for all of our Christmas festivities!

Show and Tell: Birthday/Christmas Wish List

Okay, I know I said that I was going to do a post on our Christmas decor, but this link up sounded like more fun today. And once again this link up is all K's fault, haha! She always finds the best link ups and then I feel the need to copy her. I hope she considers it flattering and not stalking!

My Birthday is in 8 days!!! I am really excited for this because I have the coolest Birth date ever this year. That's right, my Birthday is on 12/12/12!! I think they are calling it a century Birthday or something along those lines. And Christmas is shortly after my Birthday. So in an effort to help my Husband out and possibly any other family members, here are a few things that are on my wish list for my Birthday and Christmas.

Okay, I probably don't need another pair(or two) of shoes, but these are so freaking cute! They have them at Target and even though they are technically a slipper, they have a hard rubber sole on the bottom, so I could really wear them as shoes. And of course, I want both the pink and silver ones. That way I have different ones to wear with different outfits, duh!

I love movies, books and games. So any of the below would be amazing to have! And no Husband, I am not asking you to buy me Magic Mike. I say this because I know that you will refuse to ever buy this movie for me. I may have to buy this one on my own. But yes Husband, that is the complete box set of Harry Potter books! I ask that you really pay attention to that one!

I have been doing a lot better about going to the gym here recently, so having cute workout clothes would be amazing! I think having workout clothes that you feel cute in only makes it that much easier to go to the gym. This may only be true for me, but I know that I don't want to go to the gym and feel like I don't at least look decent in what I am working out in. I am already very aware of the fact that everyone stares at me when I am there because my face turns the brightest shade of red it can when I workout, so why not at least look somewhat cute, haha!

 As for this last set of things on my wish list, I am pretty sure that one of them has already been fulfilled! Hello Pink Kitchenaid!!! My Husband really did listen this year when I told him what I wanted!! But there are a few additional accessories that I would like to go with it. And, I am in love with this bed set from Bed Bath & Beyond. It would look so cute in our New York themed room! 

I know that I won't get a lot of this stuff, but I guess that is why they call it a wish list. And honestly, I wouldn't care if I didn't get any of this, as long as I get to spend my Birthday and Christmas with my friends and family, then really I am a very luck girl! 

If you want to link up and show everyone your Wishlist, head on over to Becky's blog!

Weekend Recap & A Request

Hello lovelies! I hope that everyone had a great weekend. I know I definitely did!

Before I get into what I did this weekend, I wanted to ask you guys a favor. Some of you may know Katie from Keep Calm & Carry On. If you don't, you should go check out her blog. She always has amazing posts and she is just such a great person. Well today on her blog, she shared a story about a little girl that is battling cancer. All I am asking of you guys is that you go read the post. If you want to help out and donate, that's great. If not, that is fine too. It is really up to you. I just want more people to read Maggie's Story(click here) and possibly share it with others!

Friday night was pretty uneventful. We made dinner and then sat on the couch and watched Christmas movies. Christmas Vacation to be exact! It is not Christmas without watching Christmas Vacation!

Saturday I woke up and got myself ready for the day and headed out to a couple of craft fairs with my friend Megan and her Mom. I found a couple of Christmas items for the house. I forgot to take a picture though, so I will do that tonight and share them in my Christmas decorations post tomorrow!

After the craft fairs, my amazing Brother came over and fixed our washer! Thanks big bro! We aren't quite sure what is wrong with it, but it hasn't been spinning all of the water out, but whatever he did, it is working now! 

After he fixed our washer, he headed home to go get my Nieces and SIL so we could meet them Downtown for the Festival of Lights Parade. It wasn't very cold, so it was really nice to actually go see the parade this year. We had a lot of fun even though it was really really crowded.

On a side note, we were sitting in the parking garage after the parade waiting to get out of there and the lady that was parked next to us went to go get into her car and opened her car door right into the side of my car. She saw us sitting in the car and didn't even say anything. Really lady? I was so pissed. I mean my car is kind of a P.O.S. but still, it is all that I have right now! And seriously, who does that?!

Anyway, after we finally got out of the parking garage, we went back to my Brothers to hang out for a little while. My 3 month old Niece and I watched football together while everyone else had dinner. She apparently really likes watching it because you turn it on and she calms down. It was pretty funny! But what can I say, we are teaching her early!

Sunday we actually did quite a lot. I got up early again and got ready for the day. I went grocery shopping and ran a few other errands while the Hubby went to Home Depot to get a few things that we needed. Once we were both home we finished hanging our outside Christmas lights. Again, I forgot to take a picture. I will show you that tomorrow as well. 

After that, my friend Megan and her Husband came over to help us go pick out our Christmas Tree. They have a truck and offered to help us get our tree home so that we wouldn't have to go all Griswold style and strap it to the roof of our car. 

We went to the Tree Nursery and picked out the PERFECT real Christmas Tree! The Nursery even cut it and loaded it into the truck for us. We got it home, put it in the stand and put it in the living room and then commenced decorating it. 

I don't want to show you the finished product yet because I want to put that in tomorrow's post as well! But the tree turned out so great. As most of you know I had been debating on whether or not to do a theme tree. After discussing it with the Hubby, we decided not to. As much as I loved the idea, we didn't want to go spend more money to buy all new ornaments. And not only that, but we wanted to be able to put all of our memory ornaments up and we really love all of the ornaments that we picked out together. 

Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell. I hope that you guys had a great weekend and I hope that you have a very quick week ahead of you so that you can enjoy another weekend. And again, please go read Katie's post about sweet Maggie. Even if all you can afford to donate is your thoughts and or prayers, it would be greatly appreciated. Have a great day everyone!