Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends over the holiday......and now may you enjoy the best New Year ever.

While I did not post last week I did plan and draft and I am excited about the upcoming year we will have together here on the blog.

Tomorrow I will be at Dillards for their annual New Year's Day sale.  If you have never been, please let me prepare you....it is chaos, it is crowded, it is a madhouse......we love it!

They will open at 10:00 and people will be lined up at all doors, the employees will slide the doors open with a little fear in their hearts because people literally run for it.  I am just always yelling to my crew "Stay upright, don't go down".......trust me you don't want to go down.

Last year they even had people passing out little slips of paper reminding everyone to be kind and safe, to not push or run.  I am pretty sure all those reminders were promptly trampled by 10:01.

The sale itself is good and if you get there by 10:15 or 10:30 there will still be plenty to buy.  We will hang back a bit and let the aggressive folks get in and then we will proceed with caution.

Then back home to cook our black-eyed peas and chill the rest of the day.  However you are bringing it in be safe and enjoy!  I will see you back here on Wednesday.

The Winner is......

Popping in today to announce the winner of our last giveaway of the year.

Congrats to

  Roslin H....

This deliciously cozy throw

is all yours.

A huge thank you to all of you for reading along with me this year.  I absolutely cannot tell you how much it means to me.  In 2018 I wrote and posted 152 blog posts.......how ever many of those  you read, please accept my thanks for taking the time.  

I am taking off next week to complete focus on my family.  I hope you have a Merry Christmas.  I also hope you will meet me back here in January and let's do 2019 together too.

Blessings and love to you all!!!!

Ruana Tutorial

Welcome to Wednesday.  First up let's announce the winner of the Barefoot Dreams Throw from Monday's blog post

Taylor W...

Taylor's favorite Christmas song is Silent Night.....good choice Taylor!

Big Congratulations!!!

No worries if you didn't win......

Make sure you read to the end of this post for another chance to win.

And now, as promised, here are the instructions for how I made the Ruanas.

I simply bought 1.5 yards of no pill fleece that was 60 inches wide.  I folded the fleece in half along the longest side.  Then found the center and marked one inch on both sides of the center line. 

 I cut all the way to the fold one inch on either side of the Center line.  When I got to the fold I simply rounded the cut

Kimberly received one and was kind enough to model it

There are so many pretty colors and patterns of fleece so you are bound to find some you love.  I shopped at JoAnn Fabric.  The fleece was $14.99 a yard but I used a coupon.  Always look for a coupon when you shop there.

Now here's our last giveaway for 2018

It is another Barefoot Dreams Throw

this time in a pretty wine color.  

All you need to do is tell me your favorite dish on the Christmas Dinner table.  Mine is the potato and cheese casserole......yes, please and thank you!

What's yours? Leave a comment here or pop on over to Instagram and leave your comment there.

I will accept comments until 5:00 pm CST on Thursday, December 20th.  Giveaway open to US Residents only.  The winner will be announced here on Friday.

By the way, you guys are really getting good at the Instagram following and comments .....thanks for that.  I know some of you had trouble getting your comment posted to the blog.  We are finding that using the Chrome browser seems to work best.

See you back on Friday!

Party, Winner, Enter

This was a hard post to title because there is so much going on here today.  Welcome to Monday, girls. Make sure you read to the end because there is another giveaway.

First up, let's announce and congratulate the winner of the Favorite Book of the Year Post.  You guys were so split on which book you would choose......they are all good.....hard to choose just one.  But the random number generator landed on

Susan L.

Congrats Susan!!! Susan chose The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.  I have ordered your book and will get it to you as soon as it arrives.  And as a little bonus, you will also receive this book lover's t'shirt.

Now let me catch you up on a little party we had last week.  I posted last year about our Favorite Things Party.  This year did not disappoint.  Basically I invite some of my favorite people, they each bring three of their favorite things and we do a gift swap so each person goes home with three new favorite things.

I prepared a little food

Everyone bought their three gifts wrapped and ready

We played one little short game.  I had everyone stand and I read a list of holiday themed things like

Built a Snowman

Wore a Santa Hat in public

Strung Popcorn for the Tree

Made Hot Chocolate from Scratch

Etc.

If people had never done the item I read off, they took their seat.  The last person standing won a prize.  It was fun and quite interesting to learn some of the things people had and had not done.

There were so many good gifts ....throws, fuzzy socks, photo frames, shower gels, Bible highlighters, journals, books, letter boards, hats, art work, movies, etc.

It is always fun to discover someone else's favorite product and then to find out you too love it.

I had two parties one on Thursday and one on Friday.  For the Thursday party I made a Ruana.......well actually I made three Ruanas.  Here is one of the recipients modeling hers

Come back on Wednesday and I am going to share the simple details of how you can make your own.

The second party I gave 3 sets of my favorite pens

Stabilo Pens

I found a cute little pen pouch and included a journal.

To top the evening off I had a little tote that I found on J. Crew

We made a name tag for each and it was the perfect thing for each guest to carry home their goodies.

I am already starting to think about next year's party.  It is truly one of my favorite things.

Now because you are a favorite, I have another giveaway for you and it is a GOOD one.....

This Barefoot Dreams throw is up for grabs

It is super duper soft and cozy.......perfection

All you need to do is comment here on the blog or head over to instagram and comment there. Tell me your favorite Christmas Song.  I will use a random number generator to select the winner on Tuesday, December 18th at 5:00 pm CST.  I will announce the winner here on Wednesday. Giveaway open to U.S. Residents only.

See you back here on Wednesday.  Have a great week!!!

Taking time......

I do not know how this time of year gets so crazy busy.  I know I start on holiday stuff super early and still I feel like I can barely meet all the obligations and get it all done.  This week has been one of the busiest weeks in a while.....I have been up late nearly every night.  I have gotten up early and headed to work extra early because we are slammed there too.  I mean it has just been a lot.....but I am trying to just slow down a tad, some portion of the day, even if it is the end of the day before I can make it happen.  I am trying to just take some time......

to remember all my many blessings

to pray for those in need

to really listen when others are sharing with me

to whisper thanks to God for ordering the bizillion things that come our way each day

to sit still

Just a quick reminder to you too - slow it down, take some time.

We have a fun week coming up on the blog next week.  I hope you can join me.

If you haven't had a chance to enter the favorite book giveaway, make sure you check out the blog post or instagram for your chance to win. You still have until noon today to enter.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you indeed take a little time for those things and people that are really important.

Favorite Book Giveaway

It is Wednesday, girls, we can do it.  Just keep pushing and we will have another week behind us and be that much closer to Christmas Day.
Today I am revealing my top 3 favorite books of 2018.  Remember there is a label over on the right of this page.  If you click BOOKS it will take you to all the book reviews.  But here are the top 3 from this year and a little about them....






The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.  Now I am a huge Kristin Hannah fan and this one did not disappoint.  The backdrop of the story is Alaska at its finest.  The characters, however, consist of a husband and wife with very interesting definitions of love and their young daughter who grows up in the midst of it.  There are some tough subjects especially mental illness and abuse but the story is wonderfully told and engaging.  Another successful read from Ms. Hanna.





The Wife Between Us by Hendricks and Pekkanen. The plot of this one is so complex that I would be afraid to try to tell you about it for fear of giving something critical away.  I will say this....  I LOVED this book.  Usually when I am reading a book, I am thinking who else would like it......I think you ALL will.  It is very well written and is certainly in the running for my favorite book of 2018.  Read it. Then call me and let's talk about it.




Educated by Tara Westover is another great memoir.  What can I say- real life....you just can't predict it.  This is the story of a girl who grows up in a family who fears the government and spends most of their time preparing for battle.  They don't believe in public education, doctors or pretty much anything that they have to leave their land for.  If you have ever looked back on your childhood and thought how am I not dead......you know from just doing stupid things....well pull up a chair to this family.  Every chapter I kept thinking how are these people still alive.  I can't even explain it.  The fact that this girl not only survives this upbringing but thrives afterward is A-MAZ-ING.  Read this book.  Although it is a tragic story there are some funny parts including the part when the mom is kicking the daughter out of the house and telling the daughter she was married at her age.  The daughter says - you were married at 16?  To which the mom replies - aren't you at least 20?  The mom has no idea how old her own daughter is. When the daughter explains she just turned 16, the mom says -  well never mind then you can stay......WHAT?!!!  Please read this one.  It is unbelievable and super good.

These are three very different but super books.  You really can't go wrong with any of them/

Leave a comment and tell me which you would most like to read.  I will do an instagram post too.  You can also comment on instagram for another entry.  

On Friday at noon I will select the winner using a random number generator.

So which one sounds right for you? Let me know.

I will see you back here on Friday.

November Book Review

This is the last book review for the year.  I hope you have read some along with me and I hope if I missed something good, you will be sure to let me know.  After all I need some good material for 2019

Here is what I read in November

First up, a true story.  Yes, I am totally drawn to these.  I can't help it.  Reality is....well....most times more incredible than fiction.




A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa is the true story of one man's escape from North Korea.  I consider myself fairly well exposed and knowledgeable, but this book showed me how little I really knew about North Korea.  You know how you know this book is a true story? Because you can't make this stuff up.  A young boy relocates to North Korea with his family with the promise of a charmed life full of plenty.  You won't believe all that transpires as he grows up there.  Not an easy read but totally worth it.  Y'all we have so much to be thankful for and shame on us for complaining about anything.

And the trend continued when I read



Educated by Tara Westover is another great memoir.  What can I say- real life....you just can't predict it.  This is the story of a girl who grows up in a family who fears the government and spends most of their time preparing for battle.  They don't believe in public education, doctors or pretty much anything that they have to leave their land for.  If you have ever looked back on your childhood and thought how am I not dead......you know from just doing stupid things....well pull up a chair to this family.  Every chapter I kept thinking how are these people still alive.  I can't even explain it.  The fact that this girl not only survives this upbringing but thrives afterward is A-MAZ-ING.  Read this book.  Although it is a tragic story there are some funny parts including the part when the mom is kicking the daughter out of the house and telling the daughter she was married at her age.  The daughter says - you were married at 16?  To which the mom replies - aren't you at least 20?  The mom has no idea how old her own daughter is. When the daughter explains she just turned 16, the mom says -  well never mind then you can stay......WHAT?!!!  Please read this one.  It is unbelievable and super good.

Then I went to fiction and oh my total fiction



The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni.  Ok, this book is all about a little boy born with red eyes.  While it is interesting it was really so far fetched that I had a hard time enjoying it.  I feel like if you are going to give a character such a major trait, you should do some research and make it realistic.  The story is a lot about bullying, discrimination and the general nastiness of people which are all important messages.  I just didn't think it was very well written.

And one last fiction




Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I think a lot of people wrote books this year about struggling women.  Well this is another one of those stories of a poor family, who abadons their kids to raise themselves and of course they live in a run down little shack in the middle of absolutely no where.  It is well written and kept me interested throughout.  It even has a few little unexpected twists which are always a treat.  Just a good basic read.  I would recommend it.

So that was it for November - a good reading month.  If you missed any book reviews, you can see them all for this year by clicking here.

Now please be sure and come back on Wednesday.  I am going to reveal my top 3 books of 2018 and give you a chance to win the one of your choice.

See you then!

Decor Galore

So how's your decorating going? Great I hope.  I just bought my 2nd pack of forty AA batteries......let's hope this is going to do the trick.  A few friends have been generous enough to share a few photos from their homes. Maybe you will find some inspiration or just enjoy scrolling through.  Put on some good Christmas music and enjoy the scroll.

First up, Taylor.  You may remember her sharing her fall decor with us.  Well she packed up those pumpkins and nailed Christmas
Her table is just beautiful

And check out her overhead shot of her tree

Who wants to spend some time curled up on this sofa with the lights on this tree - yep me too!

And here is a little close up of her tree

So lovely.  Taylor,  if you walk into your living room and see a middle aged lady sitting on your couch, pay no attention - it is just me enjoying the view.

Next up, is Denise

I just love this.  I am a lamp girl.  Love lamps......turn them on and enjoy them.  See how pretty they are on Denise's buffet.

I have to find out how she is doing this beautiful mirror treatment. I just love it.

Then she popped her table with red.  So very festive.

  

Thanks for sharing, Denise!

Michelle is up next

She also brought some magic.  Check out her beautiful color palette

I know....right.  It is so pretty.

I love everything in this room....the stockings, the pillows, the candles, the deer.

A little close up of her table vignette

And a closer look at the gorgeous tree

and lastly check out her dining room

Do you see that table runner.  Just beautiful!

I have done a lot of different color combinations but I have never tried this elegant coloring Michelle is pulling off so beautifully.  Thank you for sharing with us, Michelle.  So very pretty.

I got to tell you, these girls are rocking this Christmas thing.  I mean what do you have in your room with the white baby grand piano and fur rug? Well, Kimberly is showing us how this is done

How pretty is that.  But she is not done.....this is the view from the front door

Why thank you, yes, I would love to come in.

How pretty are all the poinsettias on the stairs

And once you make it to the family room.....there's more

A tree around every corner.....it is just another reason we are besties.

Another good year, Kimberly.  Love it all!!!!

Well that certainly boosted my Christmas spirit!

Big thanks to Taylor, Denise, Michelle and Kim for showing the unique and creative ways to bring Christmas majic.

Have a wonderful weekend.  See you back her on Monday.

Traditions and other funsies

When I think about why I love the holidays so much, I think it is because of the traditions.  I love that we have certain things to look forward to every year.  It's so funny that the kids are adamant about not changing what we do and how we do it. I grew up with certain traditions and then implemented them in my own home with my kids.  I have a feeling some of these will carry on when they have their own families.


I wrote a whole post last year about some of our traditions like how we do stockings, when/how we open gifts and getting new p.j.'s.  If you are interested, you can go back in time and read it by clicking here.

Another tradition from my childhood that we still do is the 12-days of Christmas.  My mom still does this for all the grand kids and great grand kids. I wrote about our 12-days of Christmas Tradition here.

I wrote about our Family Yearbook Tradition here.

I wrote about last year's Favorite Things Party here. I will post how this year's Party unfolds coming soon.

If you have time, I hope you will enjoy clicking through those old posts.

I was clicking around on the internet reading about traditions some other people have implemented

- Make some hot cocoa and drive around to see the Christmas lights.

- Watch Christmas movies together.

- Put together a shoe box for donation or support a charity that supplies gifts for families.

- Have a night for kids to sleep under the tree (don't make this Christmas Eve....that makes things too hard on Santa) or just do what we do and put a tree in every bedroom but we only sleep with the tree lights turned on Christmas Eve.

- Buy a special ornament for everyone each year. This would actually be a good name drawing idea for the family.  You could draw names and exchange ornaments on Christmas Eve.

- Do an Elf on the Shelf......do not enter into this one lightly.  Like honestly if I were going to do this I would start in January scripting my Elf adventures and gathering my supplies so it would just be a matter of executing come Christmas season.  The Elf is a lot of work.

Whatever you plan for the season, just remember to chill out, enjoy your family and friends and don't take yourself or your Christmas execution too seriously.  After all, it is certainly not about any of that.

Do fun things, girls, and then tell me all about it.  I would love to hear what you have planned for this season.

Meet me back here on Friday and let's take a little tour of several homes and how they have decorated for Christmas.

See you then!

Great Things in '18 - December Edition

Well here we are, friends, our last month of our year long challenge.  I have loved us all being intentional and rocking out doing some great things this year.

Here is a reminder of all we focused on



And now we are to our last month.  This is our inspiration verse

A generous person will prosper;
    whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25

If you are just joining us, all the better.  December is a great month to honor someone of your choosing.  Go ahead and just pick someone.  Could be someone who has made a difference in your life this year.  Could be someone who needs a pick me up.  Could be someone you wished you had honored on a previous month but didn't get a chance to.  You pick the person and then pick how you want to honor them.

Wrapping up 2018 by doing something fun for someone..... it just doesn't get better.

Great year! Great things!!!! What fun it has been.  Thanks for participating.

Hmmmm.....what will we do in 2019???? well stay tuned.