Happy 30th Birthday to my Dear Friend!!!

One of my closest, dearest, and greatest friends turned the big 30 Today. She currently resides in Texas, while I live in California.I really wish I could of been with her as she celebrated leaving her 20's last night at her big 30th Birthday Party.   I wanted to do something extra special to wish her a Happy 30th Birthday. This is what I came up with, wrapped, and took to the post office for delivery! I mailed this off in the middle of the week thinking that it would get to her before her birthday. Just checked the tracking number and it looks like it will not be delivered until the 14th. I am glad I took pictures. This way I can give it to her today through this blog.

1. My friend loves everything about music and movies! I knew that she would enjoy an I-tunes gift card!

2.  I contacted her husband to ask what he thought she would like and one of the things he said was a GAP gift-card!

3. My third gift was a personalized frame  and inside I stated "10 Reasons Why I Love you". Here are my reasons:

1. You can always cheer me up.

2. You and I have tons of inside jokes.

3. You are like a real Sister to me.

4. You are super nice (sometimes), smart, beautiful, great, awesome, and amazingly wonderful.

5. You can make me laugh until I cry or pee in my pants.... or both!

6. You and I can give each other one look and it's just like having a conversation.

7. You never judge me but always try to understand me.

8. You know everything about me.

9. You are Yolanda and you never try to be anyone else.

10. You love me and I most certainly love you too!

I can't believe I met Yolanda when she was 20 and I was 19.  Ten years have gone by quickly.  I guess time flies when you're enjoying each other.  Once again, Happy 30th Birthday Yolanda!

Linking up with: http://everything-underthemoon.blogspot.com/
                         http://weinzapfelbabyberry.blogspot.com/

The Evolution of our Family and Christmas Cards!

Newly Weds and our 1st Christmas as a Married Couple!!!

2nd Christmas and expecting our 1st Baby in 7 months!!!

3rd Christmas and JJ's 1st Christmas!!!

4th Christmas, JJ's 2nd, and expecting next baby...It's a Girl!!!

5th Christmas, JJ's 3rd, and JoJo's 1st....
....This is exactly why I like doing Christmas Cards! I get to see myself, my husband, and my family mature each year. It has been a fun tradition for me. This year the day before Thanksgiving I got  my Christmas Cards in the mail so that they could be delivered the day after Thanksgiving( The official day that the Christmas celebrating starts).  My goal is always to have them delivered ASAP. This way my family and friends get to enjoy them longer, they have a return address to send us one, and I think we get our money's worth!

linking up with:
http://walkwithmebyfaith.blogspot.com/

Homemade and Frugal Christmas Display

One thing I love about this time of the year is receiving Christmas Cards from all of our family and friends. This year I wanted to create a special place for them to reside. I cleared a book shelf and I used recycled vases and ribbon, dollar spot(from Target) bulbs and red buckets, wrapping paper, a brown paper bag, dollar store picture frames, and candy canes. Total was $12 including tax!

Linking up with: Passionately Perfect-Coffee and Conversation
Tiaras and Bowties-All That Shimmers
Katherine's Corner-Thursday Favorite Things 
The Charm of Home-Home Sweet Home 

Candy Cane Twists(Sugar Cookies)

I know I have said this more than once but I LOVE Christmas. I was totally in the holiday cheer and baking spirit this weekend so I made these Candy Cane Twists. They turned out so cute and could also be used as ornaments! FYI: Don't try them with healthy butter spread(smart balance and etc). I tried to make a healthy version and my husband absolutely hated them. If you want to check out more great cookies to bake in this season go to this lovely blog  and this lovely blog for more great recipes. I am linking up with the cookie exchange!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

• 1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon green food coloring

Instructions

1. Using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, cream the butter. Continue beating and gradually add the sugar.
2. Beat in the egg until evenly mixed, then add the vanilla extract, the peppermint extract, and the salt and blend well.
3. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour, one third at a time, until evenly mixed.
4. Divide the dough into thirds. Add the red food coloring to one third and the green food coloring to another, then knead the coloring into the dough. Flatten each third into a K-inch-thick rectangle, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
5. Heat the oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll a pair of tablespoon-size pieces of contrasting colored dough into 8-inch-long ropes. Twist them together, pinch the ends, then bend the cookies into a candy cane shape. Repeat with the remaining dough.
6. Bake the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet until set but not brown, about 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Cool the sheets on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to continue cooling.

Seeing Christmas through the Lil one's eyes!

All the holidays are so much richer now that I have children, especially my favorite one....Christmas! I was so excited when JJ's Great Aunt Kit stated that she got a special advent calendar for him.  Last night JJ paid Aunt Kit a visit in his Christmas pajamas to open the first 4 days. There wasa "surprise"for each 25 days until Christmas. He was anxious to open each "door" but they just opened the first 4. Fun times! So much to learn! You can almost see his brain growing!  Aunt Kit( a retired elementary teacher) was the teacher last night and  JJ was the student with all the fun and educational surprises that were behind the doors! Looking forward to seeing JJ open all the rest! We will definitely do this next year with JoJo too! I also can't wait until  this Christmas because we will read JJ and JoJo the birth of Christ for the 1st time. I love how we are creating traditions for our Lil Family!

What makes me smile...Family Photo Shoot!

I love love love the Christmas Season! I am especially  in the spirit because it will be JoJo's 1st. I wanted to make sure we captured her and the family in this season .  We had a Christmas/Fall photo shoot a couple of weeks ago. Believe it or not this was my birthday gift from my husband. Yes my birthday is in August and I told him I wanted a Christmas/Fall photo session in November. I am so glad I waited patiently for 3 months to receive my birthday gift. Thank you to my husband and once again to our photographer, Melissa! I have already did our Christmas Cards, a Pinterest project, and have a couple other ideas for these photos!