Christmas Sweaters

I am not exactly sure how this all came about but I am glad that it did. Several months ago I was together with some of my girlfriends and we got to talking about Christmas and Christmas sweaters and parties and food. One thing led to another and a few nights ago we all got together to celebrate this wonderful time of year.

I have no idea how we all convinced our husbands this was a good idea especially when they found out that we would be going out to eat at a very busy and popular restaurant. We got quite a few looks and laughs when we walked in but we also got a few compliments. I think people got a kick out of it and our waiter actually has a Christmas sweater party every year and gave us some tips on where to find some great sweaters if we ever do this again.

We then headed home for a ridiculous photo shoot. Good times I tell you...good times!
The evening ended with playing Christmas Minute to Win it. Charlie and I spent a good amount of time putting this game together and it was well worth it. With challenges like "Jingle in the trunk", "Deck the balls" and "Christmas nut stacker" we knew we were in for some laughs. I have video but I promised never to share it. I will say however that it is seriously funny to see.
We told everyone that there was an awesome prize for the winning couple. I will let you be the judge of its awesomeness. I personally find it somewhat disturbing but it was fun to make. What is better than snuggling up on a cold winter night under a fleece blanket with two of your friends looking as crazy as possible! I have a feeling this blanket may come back to haunt me one day.

I have to say that this night of celebrating was so fun. I wonder if we could convince our husbands to do it again?

Nail Bling

Just this weekend I was walking through my local grocery store and this stuff caught my eye. I love Essie polish and when I saw the pink glitter one I threw it in the cart and could not wait to get home and give it a shot. This polish did not disappoint.

I have tried glittery polish before and this one by far takes the cake. My toes look like little pink disco balls and I love it. The polish is made to be a top coat over a color or all on its own with a few coats. I used just two coats of the polish on its own and it is a winner. I am excited to try it with other colors as well.

I love it so much that I went back later that day and picked up another bottle of pick and also a silver because as far as I can tell it is part of their holiday line and I am not sure how long they will be selling it for. It is cute even in the winter but I can't wait to get this on my toes with some flip flops and tan feet this summer.

I tried to take a picture of my feet with it on but I just discovered that my feet look pasty white and ugly so I will spare you my photo but trust me when I tell you if you want some bling on your toes this holiday season run don't walk and go pick yourself up some of this today!

Merry Christmas to me!

Christmas came early for me this year. A few days ago we had all new appliances delivered.

We went from this.....To this......
They are beautiful and shiny and fun and they make me happy each time I walk in my kitchen. The only bad part is that I am scared to touch them or cook in them because I don't want to take away their newness.

I actually baked a bunch of cookies this weekend and it was awesome having the double oven. It saved me a ton of time. And the inside of my oven is cobalt blue. I don't know why that is so cool to me but I love it.

I was feeling a little bugged when Charlie wanted to try and sell all of our old appliances. I thought they would sit in my garage for a year and then we would finally have to get rid of them on our own. To my suprise we sold all of our appliances in less than 30 hours. Who knew there were loads of people sitting around to buy old appliances. Charlie has been obsessed with this show called storage wars where people go and bid auction style on storage units that have been abandoned. At one point Charlie had two families in our driveway and a phone bidder all bidding eachother up at the same time for the appliances. Charlie ate it up and loved his real life storage wars auction moment. Craigslist is the best!

So, merry Christmas and probably happy anniversary and happy birthday to me for the year!

Christmas recital

Abby had her Christmas recital this last weekend. She has worked hard for a few months on her piece and it has been wonderful to see her grow and have our home be filled with a beautiful song. { Abby with her cute teacher}




Abby always wishes that extended family could be here to see her recitals but since they are all so far away this is the next best thing. She did a great job at her recital and I was so proud of her and all her hard work.

Christmas Traditions

I think holiday traditions are one of the major parts of being a family. It has been fun being married and blending some of the traditions that we both grew up with as well as create some new ones of our own. I absolutely LOVE this time of year spending time as a family building bonds as we continue these traditions year after year.

One tradition is a visit to the Santa House each year. This is a house in our town that is only open a few weeks a year and is made just for kids to come sit on Santa's lap and gaze in awe of this house filled to the top with an amazing Christmas display. This place is the best and it even "snows" bubbles from inside all day long! Our next tradition is a visit to the biggest Christmas store in the world. We let the kids pick out an ornament each year and they get to decorate their own kid tree. We have started to get quite the collection. I already imagine packaging up each ornament in a special box to give to each child for their first Christmas once they are married. Abby has been collecting birds and Morgan is collecting butterflies...the boys don't have a specific theme but it is fun to see what they choose each year.

This next one comes from my family. It is said to be a German tradition to hide a pickle in your tree. Whoever finds it first in our family gets an extra present on Christmas morning. I usually hide it deep in the tree and the kids love searching for it each year.

This one is not so much a tradition but a decoration. There has been much controversy over this Santa as well as the infamous "fanta" that even though he is just a decoration he has become a tradition because of the great story that comes along with this jolly old fellow. If you don't remember or don't know the story I posted about it I think last year and you can go back and read if you really desire.
This tradition is also one from the Carn side of the family. Also one based on a strong competitive nature of the Carn boys. Diane made an advent calendar for her family and each day the kids got to put up one of the hand sewn objects on the tree. The last object is the beloved star. Over the years it has become quite the big deal about who gets to be the one to put the star on the tree. As grown men now...they are still so competitive that it is usually a race to see who can get to the house first when they visit for Christmas and they will take the star and hide it until Christmas eve when they can be the proud bestower of the star on top of the tree.

Diane who has gotten very wise after the Sata controversy this summer presented each family with an EXACT replica of the advent calendar she made many years ago. She spent countless hours hand beading each object and we will cherish this gift forever.

Funny, that without prompting my kids have already started arguing about who gets to put up the star this year. They definitely have some Carn blood running through them.

This last one is new to us just this year. I have seen this Elf on the Shelf for years but never purchased one until now and boy am I glad I did. It comes with the elf and a book to read to the kids explaining who the elf is and what he does.

Basically he is Santa's helper and watches the kids during the day and reports back to Santa each night if the children have been naughty or nice. The kids get to find him in a new spot each morning when they wake up. They also get to name him. We named our elf Ninny Muggins based of the movie Elf. The line where he calls himself a "cotton headed ninny muggins" is one of our favorites and it seemed to fit him perfectly.

The kids get up each morning and run around the house like crazy looking for Ninny Muggins and have quite enjoyed his sense of humor so far. They have found him sleeping in one of Morgan's Barbie beds, brushing his teeth, hangin' with some of his best pals and they have even found him dangling from a light fixture. This is a tradition that will for sure be a part of our family for years to come.

When I think of growing up I remember the traditions and they warm my heart and bring a smile to my face. It will be fun to see what my own kids hang on to and continue with their kids one day!