5 years ago today I started this blog of mine. I really had no specific intentions when I started, just thought it looked like fun and wanted to join in.

It is neat to see how much has changed in the past five years - new jobs, new house, weddings, babies, vacations, and fun with family and friends.



And I can't forget the blog friends I've made - the community of blogging is definitely something I enjoy a lot more than I thought I would. The realization that a few people stop by here and read what's going on is still an odd thought to me but I'm glad for nonetheless.


There were also a few blog bonuses this year too - still can't believe I have a Sleep Number bed, fo' free!


Here's to another year of good times on the blog, cheers!

Christmas has come and gone and in it's wake a trail of ugly sweaters and fabulous presents to play with on winter break.

Chris and I spent Christmas eve at my parent's house donning our finest Christmas apparel sourced from Goodwill only hours before. Chris won the title of "Most Authentic". What can I say? The man loves a good theme party. Just wait for new year's eve....it's 90s themed.


We look good.

Santa was very good to me this year.  Either my family knows me incredibly well  or I'm really good at dropping hints. I'm thinking it's the latter.
It was the year of scarves for me - even though only one is pictured I received 5 - I will be quite stylish when I return to school this week. I was most surprised by the Silhouette Cameo. I usually have a pretty good idea of what to expect for Christmas and it wasn't even on my radar. It is amazing!

So far I have used my Clarisonic Mia everyday since Christmas and I'm in love! My skin feels so smooth and I swear it looks better. It probably helps that I haven't worn makeup in a few days too.

Chris outfitted me with a beautiful new purse and an Under Armour hoodie. It is unbelievably warm.

I have firm no makeup policy on Christmas day.

Christmas day was spent eating our way from house to house - breakfast and mimosas at my parents and lasagna for dinner at Chris's parents. We were exhausted and stuffed by the time we got home.

Unfortunately, Chris came down with an awful flu that kept him on the couch from Thursday to Sunday. Such a rotten way to spend a vacation...sick on the couch. Hopefully we will be able to get out of the house and have some fun before I head back to work on Thursday.

Eww...work.

I hope your weekend/Christmas was swell! I'm off to get my house back to normal. There's just something about the week after Christmas that makes me want to hyper organize everything. You can find me shopping for some storage bins and rocking out with my label maker the rest of the week!

I have a confession.

I've lived in my house for two and half years and up until Friday my beautiful basement built-ins (one of the reasons why I loved this house) looked like this:


Empty! For over two years. Unbelievable.

When it came time to picking items to put there or even thinking about what they should like, I was just overwhelmed. It was too blank of a canvas.

But as Chris and I prepare to host a couple of holiday gatherings we decided that built-ins could be bare no more. So over Thanksgiving break, I did my best to fill those shelves with Christmas cheer.


Taking a tip from Young House Love, I lined the back of the shelves with some burlap looking wrapping paper for a temporary change. And then just started putting things up there and tinkering with them until I liked their placement.

How I wish I already owned most of the items but there was a little cost associated with this decorating adventure. Thankfully Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Pier 1 all had great sales and coupons. I also shopped Goodwill and tried to get creative with things I already had - like the green "present" on the top left shelf are just my high school yearbooks wrapped in pretty paper.

Now that the basement is decorated we are officially ready for the holidays - at least decorations wise. Shopping is another story!