12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge Catch Up!

I'm way behind, so I'm going to play catch up real quick!  I think the past few days are kind short entries anyway.  Here goes...

Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a budget friendly holiday season

I'm all about sticking to a budget!  If I don't, I always feel too guilty!  Anyway, I would say the best thing to do is set a max amount you can spend total on Christmas things.  Then break it down into groups, like decorations, gifts for family, gifts for husband, travel expenses, etc.  Then make a list of who you would like to buy a gift for and set an amount per person, depending on how many people you have on the list and how much money you allow for gifts total.  I think that's the best way to not spend more than you plan to!

To save money, you can also keep your receipts and take it back to the store for a price adjustment if the item you bought goes on sale.  Don't spend a bunch of money on wrapping paper and stuff...you can get that cheap at the dollar store--it just gets torn up anyway! ha!  Also, if you need shirt boxes, Kohls lets you take as many as you want.

Oh and it might be a good idea to save a little money throughout the year so you don't go over budget in December.

Day 5: Favorite Holiday Movies

I'm pretty sure everyone has named these already, but my all time favorite Christmas movies are

[1] Elf

[2] Christmas Vacation

[3] The Santa Claus

[4] Home Alone

[5] The Polar Express

Day 6: Gift ideas for myself

I don't like to do this!!  That is just how I am. haha

If I had to make a list, I would say I want...

[1] To go home for Christmas

[2] Photography lessons

Plain and simple.  I don't need anything but my hubs, family, friends, and dogs!

Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY

I haven't made any DIY Christmas crafts yet, so I'll just give you two links.

I found this tutorial for a cheap $5 fluffy wreath.  I love the bright red!

Also, check out this tutorial for a neat book page wreath that my bestie, Lauren posted about last month. I plan on making one of these soon.  I already got my old book from Goodwill.  It's a Russian dictionary! ha!  I like it because the pages were already old and yellow-looking.  And I liked the funky font.  You could hang this wreath by some wide red ribbon and it would look pretty for Christmas!

Day 8: Least Favorite Thing about the Holidays

Hmmmm....I want to say I love everything about Christmastime!  But I guess my least favorite thing would be traffic. eck!  But you just have to remember all those people are probably going to visit family, so I guess that makes it ok! :)  Speaking of...I hope our flights go smoothly!  We've never flown during the holidays before. Yikes!

Ok, so now I'm all caught up.  If you want to join in, head over to Aly's blog and link up!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Wow- I have been MIA for several days, because of the holiday weekend!  It was so nice getting to spend some extra days with my hubs!

Let's see...to start off the weekend, we took a dip in the steamy hot tub.  It was nice!  Hmmm, Thursday, we went to a matinee to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1.  We thought it was really good, if you are into Harry Potter.

Then we came home and cooked our own little Thanksgiving meal. Plain and simple.  Oh, and we made a roasted chicken, not turkey.  I couldn't find a turkey small enough for two.  (Had to open the windows because it was so warm! ha)

We also put up our new Christmas tree.  Our very own!  It was a lot of fun.

Fluffin the branches

Our new ornament for 2010...perfect to remember the year we moved to AZ

Not the best picture, but it's really pretty looking in person!  Don't mind our curtain-less windows...we didn't bother with them since we knew we would be moving soon

We missed being with family on Thanksgiving, but we had a good time still.  We even got to skype with my family for a while, so that made it even better!  Took these pics with my phone..

My brother and niece, but he's not her daddy, he's her uncle!  Her hair is slicked back from bath time.

Little nephew Kai

Moving on...Friday, we got up at the ripe our of 4am to hit up my beloved Target.  We got there at 4:30am and were still able to get everything we wanted.  It wasn't even that crowded.  The electronic section was obviously more busy than normal, but we didn't get in the line for a TV.  We got some bedding items, NBA Jam for Wii, some DVDs, including Blindside for $4, and a few Christmas gifts.  We also ran into Kirklands, Bed Bath and Beyond, a toy store, and Kohls, all before 7:30am.  Kohls was a nightmare.  The line was crazy long.  They were saying it was a 3 hour wait to check out.  No thanks!  Then I went to the mall.  It was also a mad house.  I just wanted to go to Bath and Body Works...and to use my coupon!  Then I spent a good two hours in Hobby Lobby!  Love that place!  Later that evening, we went to Best Buy and Borders.  Best Buy still had TV sales available at like 7pm!  I was surprised by that.  Anyway, it was a successful shopping day.  We got a lot of Christmas shopping done.  We have to be creative with what we buy for people because we have to pack it in a suitcase and fly across a few states with it!  We were pooped by the end of the day, but still stayed up playing our new Wii game and even watched a movie.  I won't tell you how late we slept in on Saturday! haha

Saturday, we just rested and hung out.  We finished up the lights and ornaments on the tree.  We went to Kirklands again to see if they had any new deals.  I think we have decided to wait to buy home deco stuff unil we move in to the house and go room by room.  There are about 20 things on our wish list from Kirklands!  Same for Hobby Lobby.  We also went by two furniture stores to get an idea of what kind of furniture we want to buy for the new house, and to start pricing things out.  Oh, and that night we spent some time and picked out our Christmas card for this year!  I LOVE it and can't wait to share!

Sunday, we woke up to a rainy day :/  It only rains like 40 days a year here, and we had a scheduled tee time for Sunday! Bummer!  We went to church and the parking lot is so big, they have two trollys running up and down the lot to pick up people and take them to the door.  We hopped on and sat in wet seats.  Then sloshed coffee on both of our laps.  It was a mess.  We cleaned up at church and stayed for the service, which was great.  When we walked out of church, it was all bright and mostly sunny, and had warmed up like 10 degrees.  So...the tee time was still on!

Later that afternoon, we headed out to Club West country club at the Awatukee Foothills.  We played about 10 of the 18 holes.  The sun was going down and it was sooo windy up on those hills!  Here are a few pics from the golf course.  It was so pretty there and we had a ton of fun!

If you are a "real" golfer, don't laugh at my form.  It's probably horrible and I'm probably breaking every rule in the book. ha!

The course was so large, it spanned over several blocks, and we got to drive through a tunnel to get to the other side of the road.  I thought it was picture-worthy.  Like my pink clubs? :)

The view from one if the holes.  That's the part of the course on the other side of the road.

This was a crazy hole.  You had to hit from a steep hill, down to that teeny tiny flag.  We just hit some practice balls on this one. haha

Overall we had a great Thanksgiving weekend, but definitely can't wait to go "home" to be with family for Christmas.  We are already trying to plan our days there to make sure we get to visit with everyone.  I am also already thinking about what to pack.  I pulled out our "space bags" of winter clothes and have been going through them and washing everything.  When I opened all of the bags, the room smelled like a big musty fart.  So, I'm washing everything and packing up our t-shirts and shorts.  They won't be packed for too long though.  I'm sure we'll need them, come February!  I figured, it's almost December 1st...time to get out the pants long sleeves! ha!

Hope y'all had a nice Thanksgiving.  We sure do have so much to be thankful for!

I'll be back tonight or tomorrow to catch up on the blog challenge.  I have several days to post about, so I think I'll just do it all in one and get caught up!

What I'm loving Wednesday...

As usual, I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving that tomorrow is Thanksgiving!!  We're sad we won't get to spend it with family, but we will be making our own little Thanksgiving traditions and decorating for Christmas out here in Arizona!

I'm loving that my husband will have 4 days off in a row!!  Then the countdown begins until our Christmas vacation! :)

I'm loving the Black Friday deals.  Not a fan of crowds though. lol

I'm loving this picture of my cubby nephew in his monkey jammies.

I'm loving the photos we took at the park this past weekend.  (oops, I forgot to tell y'all about that).  I think we may use one of these for our Christmas card photo.  Here's a sneak peek.  (Don't hate...I desperately need to get my hair trimmed!)

As always, I'm loving my sweet husband, who always makes me smile!

What are you loving on this wonderful Wednesday!?

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge {Day 3}

Today is Day 3 of the Christmas Blog Challenge.  Head over to Aly's Blog to link up!

Day 3: Meaningful/Memorable Gift(s)

This is a tough one, because I receive meaningful and memorable gifts every year!  Hmmm...

I'll pick two, one from my childhood and one from a recent year.

[1]

I'm pretty sure one of the best gifts I received when I was a kid was a huge pink dollhouse.  It was for my sister and I.  We played with this thing non stop for a solid year.  After that, we still played with it a TON.  It had a jacuzzi tub inside that held real water and had real jets!  We thought it was the coolest thing.  This may not be the exact one, but it's similar.

[2]

Five years ago (almost to the day), was when my husband and I had just started dating.  I will always remember that year!  For Christmas, he gifted me with a diamond charm necklace and matching diamond earrings.  I just knew he was a keeper! haha

I found this blog link through Aly's blog.  It's a sweet story of how a 9 year old spends his year-savings.  It's hard to read it with a dry eye!

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge {Day 2}

Day 2: Black Friday/General Shopping Tips and Tricks

I love Christmas shopping and buying gifts for people.  I also love a good bargain.  I've never done the 3am Black Friday shopping, unless you count the time I was in high school and my friend and I went to JCPenny in the mall at 4am, just to get the free Disney snow globe for being one of the first 25 customers.  Lame. haha  It was teeny tiny.  We were so over Disney at that age anyway.  I think we just wanted the free gift. lol

Last year, my hubs and I went to Target mid-morning and still found lots of great deals!  We bought Heroes Season 1 for like $14, which we just opened last month and have been obsessed ever since...which is a topic for another post.

We have scoured the internet for Black Friday ads this year, contemplating being the door buster shoppers. I believe we have talked ourselves out of getting a second TV this year.  The prices are good, but we don't need it.  We did, however, find some other great deals that Target will be having.  $80 sheet sets for $14, any size.  Pillows half off.  $80 complete bed sets for $50.  $60 outdoor fire pit for $30.  Etc. Etc.  These things may sound boring to some people, but we will be furnishing a new home soon, so we are on the lookout for great deals to save money!  I believe our plan of action will be 6am Target, Kirklands (since it's next door to Target), Kohls, then Hobby Lobby.  I'm hoping to get some good deals on home decor at Kirklands.  They have some wall mirrors and other wall decor that I've been eyeing.

My tips for shopping on Black Friday, or any other time before the holidays...

[1]  Know what you want to buy before you go!  That way, you will have an idea of how much money you will be spending.  Look at the ads and compare prices beforehand.  Take the ads with you incase there are price discrepancies.  Make a list of what you want to buy.  Also take a list of people you need to buy gifts for.

[2]  Know where you want to go first.  Have a plan of action.  If Target opens at 5am and Kohls at 6am, make sure you have that planned out, according to what you need to buy and where.

[3] Go with someone.  Take your spouse (in my case, I LOVE Target shopping with Nathan), or if they hate shopping, go with a friend or a Mom, someone.  That way you can split up if needed, to get a certain item, hold each other's place in line, grab a coffee, etc.

[4] Wear comfortable shoes if you're going to be walking a lot.  And wear closed toe shoes because the stores will be crowded and you might get you feet stepped on!

[5]  Take some bottled water.  You'll probably get thirsty!  I know I will.  And maybe a snack, like a granola bar.  Or plan time to stop for lunch.  Keep your energy up so you don't get all hot, flustered, tired, and cranky.

[6]  Most importantly, don't overspend!!  Know your limits.  No one wants to be sitting in debt because of one day of shopping, just because there were lots of sales!  This may be the tight-wad coming out in me. ha!  Maybe bargain shopper is a better term.

A question for y'all...

Does anyone know of any stores that will have The Office Season 6 on sale!??  It's $39.99 at Target and I don't see it on the pre-Black Friday or the actual Black Friday ad.  Bummer!  Maybe it's because it just came out?  Anyway, if you know if this will be on sale somewhere, pretty please, let me know! :)

Images borrowed from Google Images.

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge {Day 1}

I'm so excited to start another blog challenge!  I have really been getting into the Christmas spirit with all of the Christmas decorations out in stores and holiday music playing.  It is definitely my favorite time of year! I am really looking forward to putting up our new Christmas tree this week!

Anyway, I'm linking up with Aly over at Analyze This for day one of the fun!  Head on over and link up, if you want to join in.

Day 1: Christmas Traditions

Since we have been married and moving around so much for the past almost two years, our traditions have changed slightly.  But I'll give you the gist of it...

Somewhere around two weeks before Christmas, we have a family party at my aunts house.  This is with all of my mom's side of the family.  It's four couples (my mom and her three sisters), their kids (me, sibs, cousins), and their grandkids (my niece, nephews, and second cousins).  Basically, it's a room full of like 45 people.  There is always tons of yummy food and desserts.  The four sisters and husbands do gifts for each other and all the cousins and second cousins usually do a gift exchange.  This year, we are to bring a recycled gift or something that is made (ie, cookies, art project, etc.) to exchange.  We always have lots of fun playing Christmas games and visiting family that we don't get to see very often.

A couple of days before Christmas, depend on what day it falls on, we have a family party at my grandparents house.  This is with all of my dad's side of the family.  There's usually about 30 of us now that almost all of the cousins are married and a few kids are thrown into the mix.  Mamaw cooks for days and always has tons of yummy food.  The past couple of years, we have been alternating the location of the party between my aunts house and my grandparents house.  My aunts and uncles exchange gifts and the cousins do a gift card exchange.  And of course, we all watch mamaw and papaw open gifts.  Again, it's always a fun time and we get to see all the family.

Christmas Eve is usually spent hanging out at my mom's and playing with my niece Alissa.  This year, we will have two baby boys to play with, too!  Nathan and try to split our time with his family and mine.  So, we usually spend half the day at my inlaws house too.  Sometimes, we will travel about 40 miles to see his extended family.  Then, we usually go to the Christmas Eve service at my mom's church.  It starts at 11pm and goes past midnight!  After that, we go home to bed!

Last year (our first married Christmas), we spent the early morning at my inlaws and had breakfast and opened gifts.  Then we headed to my mom's (luckily they live about 5 miles away from each other, so we can split our time easily).  We either have lunch and then open gifts or open gifts first and have an early dinner.  My mom always makes a good Christmas brunch or dinner.  The rest of the day is spent visiting with family, checking out the new gifts, and playing with my niece Alissa!  We always make some time to go through Christmas in the Park (a big drive-thru Christmas light show at the park).

That's about it for family traditions!  Nate and I will be traveling home to Kentucky again this year for the holidays.  We are glad that we will get to spend a lot of time at home, visiting with friends and family!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from last Christmas!

Christmas morning at Nathan's parents house 2009

Christmas tree at my Mom's

Alissa, ready to help pass out presents

Webster "The Dweeb" opening one of his toys

Me and Mamaw

Alissa opening her presents

Riley opening his beloved Beggin' Strips (He also likes to tear up old cardboard rolls lol

Alissa in her new Snow White princess dress from Mama K

Me and hubs at my mom's house...look at Riley in the corner! ha

Me and my buddy Riley

Me and big 'ol Dweeb

We always make time to play games around Christmas/New Years...My mom and Simon love to play games and cards.  We really like this game, Blokus!  It would be a good gift idea for someone who likes games!

What are your Christmas traditions?  Write a post and link up at Aly's blog!

New Christmas Blog Challenge!

Start Date: Monday, November 22nd

{Topics}

Day 1: Christmas/Holiday traditions

Day 2: Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & Tricks

Day 3: Most meaningful gift/best gift you've received

Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday season

Day 5: Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show Special

Day 6: Gift ideas (what do YOU want? We all have family/friends reading our blogs...so let them know!)

Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY  (If you don't make anything, what do you WISH you could make?)

Day 8: Least favorite thing about the Holidays

Day 9: Favorite Holiday recipe

Day 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/Caroles

Day 11: New Year Resolutions

Day 12: Show us your decorations (indoor/outdoor)

Day 13: Favorite Cookie Recipe

Day 14: Oprah's Favorite Things: What item(s) would you want if you were in the audience?

Days 1 -3 are November 22 - 24

**** NO BLOG CHALLENGE ON Thanksgiving! ****

Day 4 will pick back up on November 26th!!

This starts on Monday, so gather your ideas and be ready to link up.  Go visit Aly's blog for more details!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things!

Today, I'm linking up with Melissa over at 320 Sycamore.  She is known for her makeovers, DIYs, and more!  She's hosting a "My Favorite Things" party today.  Head on over to see some of everyone's favorites!  If you want to participate, then post about your favorites, grab the button, link up, and comment on at least 5 others! Simple. :)

A few of my favorite things...

[1] Dogs- any and all!  This is not my dog, I just thought the photo was funny.

[2] Favorite YouTube video:  If you are a dog lover of any degree, tell me this is not the best video of all time! (You will have to mute my playlist at the bottom to hear the music in the video.)

[3] Raw Spinach- Random, but it's my new obsession.  I even like the stems!  I might be a rabbit.

[4] Burt's Beeswax- I like the original the best, but they are all good.

[5] Bare Minerals Foundation- It's the best I've ever used.

[6] Nikon D3000- and my 35mm lens!

[7] Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee

[8] Bath and Body Works Soaps- I think my all time faves are coconut lime verbena and pink grapefruit

[9] Anything Christmas...family time, music, movies, cards, trees, ornaments, lights, etc. etc.

[10] Candles- I like cinnamon apple-type scents.  My current fave is Yankee's Harvest

[11] Gain Laundry Detergent/Dryer Sheets- smells SO good.  I also love the feeling of clean bed sheets!

[12] The Office

[13] My iPhone- I don't know how I lived without it!  Yes, I still have the 3Gs.  I'm waiting until they get the bugs out of the 4 and make a white version, before I get it!

[14] Emergen-C Acai Berry Flavor.  I have a couple of these per week to keep up on vitamin C and others.  It tastes great and makes me drink more water, too.  I prefer this flavor over the orange and lime.

[15] And of course, my blog roll!

OK, so maybe I picked more than a "few," but oh well! :)

What are a few of your favorite things!?

Images borrowed from Google Images