Come on In....Holiday Decor!

Today I am linking up with the lovely Andrea for the last 2014 installment in her Come On In series!  I have absolutely loved this link up - participating and checking out everyone's posts.  A big thanks to Andrea for hosting!

 

 

 

Fist up the kitchen.  Some cute red sparkly snowflakes to jazz up the white cabinets....

The window above the sink gets a little pizazz too!  The ornament banner and shadow box are homemade craft projects.  I love them and the memories of when I made them with friends!
The Christmas tree handprint art is new this year thanks to my sweet little boy.  :)

 

Moving into the family room....

The mantle changes every year as I find new pieces but the ornament wreath has been a fixture since I made it a couple of years ago.

I added some festive pillows and accent pieces to the side tables.  I am also trying out the wreathes for something different this year.

 

One of my favorite parts on our holiday décor, are the little villages we set up in the cubbies in our family room.  These also evolve each year as my Aunt scales down her village and passes the houses on to us.

 Natalie made some special holiday artwork for us this year too! 

The buffet table in the dining room.

 

 

Another view into the dinning room.  

Our entry table by the front door.

Lastly, our Christmas tree.....in a new spot.  :)  And also very real which is new for us too!

Every year growing up my family and I would trek out to a Christmas tree farm about an hour and a half away to find the perfect tree for our home.  I have the absolute best memories from these trips.  Some of my very favorite childhood photos are of us on the hay ride up to the trees or standing in front of the "chosen" tree.  I have wonderful memories snowball fights, arguing over the perfect height/circumference/needle type, and enjoying hot chocolate and kettle corn on the drive home.

With my mom and brother ready to find the perfect tree.  As a side note, how much does Natalie look like me here?!?  She is definitely my mini-me :)

 

A couple years ago I convinced my hubby that we needed to start the tradition with our kids.  We missed last year but I had a great time this year - well most of us did.  ;)  I have a whole post planned about our adventure but I will leave you with these tidbits from our trip.

 I think this picture perfectly sums up our life and family right now.  Matt cutting the tree, Natalie laying on him because she wants to help but doesn't want to get dirty and Chase with a stick annoying his sister.  So much fun! ;)

Lol....this will definitely be a favorite family picture. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello again!

Well, hello there.  Hello to you too, September.  You sure snuck up on me while we were busy enjoying our last month of summer!

 

In August we got a dog....

Meet Kenzie a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. 

 

She likes to snuggle with Natalie ;) 

 

In August, we drove 3 hours to catch up with one of my closest friends and an old college roommate and her family....

 

We introduced our girls for the first time and they just loved hanging out.  It had been 2 long years since we had seen each other but it was like no time had passed.  Love her so much!

In August, we played in the sprinkler in our clothes... 

#yesmom

#toolazytomakethemgoinsideandputswimsuitson 

#keepingitreal

In August, we played dress up in fancy princess shoes...

 

In August, this sweet girl let me curl her hair for the first time...

In August, I was lucky enough to babysit my sweet niece one day...

In August, we wore a lot of our food...

#bananahairgel

 

In August, we started dance and tumbling class...

In August, we posed for random pictures...

 

In August, we celebrated my sweet girl's 4th birthday...

 At a local children's museum on her birthday.

 

Patiently waiting for her birthday brownies

 Celebrating with surprise balloons just outside her room!

 

Showing off her birthday presents! 

(I have had this dollhouse in my basement for MONTHS - I got it for 70% off(!!!) at Target's after Christmas clearance sale!)

#iloveagooddeal

 Celebrating with family with a My Little Pony party

Playing her new My Little Pony game with Grandpa and Bella.

Please excuse the fact that it looks like a tornado went thru my living room....because one did, in the form of a 4 year old opening birthday presents!  Lol!

 

And last but not least, in August we visited Natalie's new preschool and met her teacher...

More to come on Natalie's first day of preschool!!!  Such an exciting time for my sweet girl  :)

 

In August, we also saw a couple of movies in the theater, we went swimming, we had donuts with friends, we celebrated more family birthdays, we celebrated a baptism and we played, a lot!  So much fun!

 

 





Recipe Club - July and a little catch up

Last got away from me a little bit as we had an impromptu road trip for a family funeral and then some catch up time with family.  So I have a favorite recipe for Andrea's monthly recipe club and few fun pictures to share.

 

First up I have my new favorite go-to dinner recipe.  Smothered Chile Colorado Burritos from Chef in Training.  These bad boys are delicious, easy to make and only require a few ingredients.  Plus nothing crazy unusual goes into them - I like this for easy grocery shopping!  The meat is cooked in the crockpot all day and then just assembled and broiled for 5 minutes before serving.  Great for a quick, delicious dinner.  Not to mention the left overs are great for lunch the next day!  :)

Second, I have to share a recipe that changed my life.  Seriously - change my life.  I'm not sure if I am the only one but I do not understand sugar cookies.  Especially hard sugar cookies...yuck.  Not wasting calories on a cookie that does not have chocolate in it.  No way!  So when I found Sally's Baking Addiction's recipe for Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies I thought they looked good enough to pin (and it had chewy in the title) but I didn't make them right away. 

Then came 4th of July and I thought a chewy cinnamon sugar cookie would be a festive treat.  The cookies are rolled in sugar before baking and I had blue and red sugar on hand.  Cute, right?  Well, due to my history of not loving sugar cookies I knew I had to pre-make a batch in case I needed a Plan B. 

My Plan B ended up being a second batch since I devoured the first batch.  #oops

These cookies are so easy to make, ridiculously chewy and DELICIOUS!  Seriously I don't know if it is the brown sugar or cinnamon or something else entirely but these cookies are one of my new favorites to make.  I can just picture them rolled in green and red sugar for Christmas cookies! 

Hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as we do!

Time to catch up on life lately...

My boys hanging at the pool

 

 Checking out the dam that is near our river property

 

Yes, that is a bowling ball she is using as a swing.  I didn't think much about it until someone made a Miley Cyrus reference.  #notawesome #parentingfail

But girlfriend sure thought it was fun!  :)

 I drove up to Wisconsin with my cousin and her little girls.  (Chase stayed home with Daddy and spent some quality time with Grandma Deb)

Natalie and Olivia are 6 months apart and had the best time together! 

 

 Spending some quality time meeting their extended family and learning about bocce ball.

 

 Natalie asked our waitress at breakfast for a bowl of Fruit Loops and this is what they brought her.  You know when you can tell when your waitress doesn't have kids?!?  Yeah, this would be one of those times.  ;) 

Lucky for us we didn't have any spills and she actually ate most of it!  Way to go Natalie!

 

 Since we were right by Lake Michigan in Milwaukee we decided to show the girls the riverfront and let them run off some energy before our 7 hour car ride home.

 

Love this picture of Natalie and my dad checking out the marina.

 

3 generations.

 

 She was a great little traveling buddy - especially when her grandpa spoiled her with ice cream!