Happy Monday friends! This mama is feeling it after a long weekend at Disney World going non stop. I had such an amazing time with great friends and will recap soon.. but I'm wiped. Haha! Keeping today's post short and sweet. :) 

Without further ado, our Christmas card from Dixie Design! 

I am so amazingly pleased with how it turned out! I wanted something really classic this year, red and green, timeless. This card delivered. Love our photo by my friend Nicole and I love that I can already imagine next year's card with TWO babies. I'm kind of overwhelmed at how wonderful it is to receive and send cards each year and look at all the precious families. I wish we had known the gender of baby number 2 before sending so we could put little sister but that's okay! :) 

Can't wait to see all of your beautiful cards and a huge thank you to the amazing Kristin of Taz and Belly for cohosting with Sarah and I today! It's going to be another fun week of our linkup! XO  

Christmas Gift Guides

Y'all are quite possibly sick of reading gift recommendations online by now, but one last roundup for old times sake. While on the topic of gift guides... I know this is very anti-hustle-your-own-giftguides but my two favorite places to get recommendations are from my friend Emily's gift guides, and from Lee at Do Say Give. Emily's blog is wonderful in general, and Lee specifically talks about gifts and etiquette and has become one of my favorites. Two great sources for if you genuinely have some shopping you have to hustle out. I think mine have a ton of great options as well.. but I thought I would shout out the other two also. I feel like for every gift guide you can glean one or two ideas and then move about your merry way. 

First, the gift guides I've done so far...

Want, Need, Wear, & Read

What My Babies are Getting for Christmas 

A Wishlist for Sarah 

Children's Gift Guide 

Women's Gift Guide 

My Christmas Wishlist

Men's

I actually got a very hard to buy for family member these gloves. I figure they're one of those things that doesn't seem like a glamorous present but then they end up being so glad they have them and think of how amazing of a gifter you are. Or that's my hope. :)

Thank y'all again for continuing to link up with us! :) And to Erika for co hosting!

A Christmas Day in the Life

Let's remix this prompt to a Christmas WEEKEND in the life.. haha! We packed in so much holiday fun this past weekend that I need to share it all! It was one of those weekends that went by in the blink of an eye. We weren't home at all really, but it was so full of sweet times! I'm going to need to take it easy after two busy weekends in a row.. last weekend and then this Thursday-Sunday I'll be in Orlando on a girls weekend to go to all the Christmas festivities at Disney World. I'm SO excited! Being away from Beau is never fun, but I can't wait to get him a special ornament and have some mama refuel time.

Friday night we had our Home Group Christmas Party. It was SO MUCH FUN! We ate at a place called Pinewood Grill and it was a really jolly, hustling and bustling environment. We had a long table and everyone ordered a ton of food and it just made it really fun. These people are such an extension of family to us and so it was really fun to celebrate another year together.

Holiday Entertaining Tips

Thank y'all so much for linking up with us for the first day of The Most Wonderful Time of the Year linkup! I'm so excited to read everyone's posts over the next two weeks.

The best part about entertaining around the holidays is how easy it is to make things feel magical. Low lighting with twinkle lights, holiday flavors, and Christmas music.. the mood is instantly set!

I've hosted some laid back Christmas gatherings, but because we host Thanksgiving we usually end up other places closer to Christmas and New Years... so I'm going to share a few random tidbits. An event we hosted for our home group a few weeks ago, my favorite crowd pleasing holiday recipe, and a few random thoughts. Hodge podge post for you today. :)

• On the Sunday after Thanksgiving families from our home group came over for hot chocolate, fudge, cookies, and some sweet time together. The purpose of gathering was to collect toys for a local ministry. We originally were going to make our activity wrapping the gifts, but then they wanted them unwrapped, so we just collected the items for one of our friends to drop off. We had a ton of fun holiday cards printed off for the kids to color and decorate for people in hospitals to receive for Christmas. We found all the information about it on the blog, Momfessionals. It kept the kids really engaged and it was awesome to have them talking about what we were doing. One of my friends' daughters came in with her gifts saying "these are for someone we don't know!!" It's going to be awesome to watch these kids grow in their deepening understanding of these concepts. We had a ton of fun and it was cool to have it for a greater meaning. It felt like a really fun holiday kick off. 
• I'm dying to host a recipe exchange. I've read tons about them online and next year I just need to get my life together and do it! I have so many good cooks in my life that this is sure to be a hit!
• Speaking of recipes.. my favorite holiday recipe. I make fudge every year and it's always a major crowd pleaser. It's also INCREDIBLY easy. Some things just sound like they would be hard to make but this one I can do without thinking. 

Grannie's Fudge via Edie Wadsworth 

2 sticks of butter

6 cups of sugar

1 can of evaporated milk

1 can of marshmallow cream

18 oz (1 1/2 packages) of chocolate chips

2 t. good vanilla

Grease a 10x15 jelly roll pan.

Combine butter, sugar and evaporated milk into a dutch oven or other heavy duty (deep) pot.

Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 6 minutes.

Remove from heat and add marshmallow cream and chocolate chips.

Stir until it begins to thicken and then add the vanilla.

Stir until it no longer pours from the spoon and spead into greased pan.

• I think that any type of Christmas gathering would be a great opportunity for a fun party favor. Whether it's a seasonal soap, tiny present, cookies in a clear bag tied with ribbon, or even just candy canes.. I think this would be a sweet and festive touch! 
• This is probably and hopefully my least meaty post of the linkup.. I can't wait to read y'alls posts on Holiday entertaining experiences and add some tools to my belt! I'm also having issues with the pictures on my computer.. womp womp! Hoping to get this fixed ASAP!! 

Again, thank you for linking up with Sarah and I, and a HUGE thank you to our cohost for today, Catherine!

My Christmas Wishlist

It's so fun that I've shared wish lists each year on my blog.. they're fun to look back on. So many of those things I've received, a few I've gotten and returned because they're weird (looking at you, fridge coasters!!!) and some are still on my wishlist to this day! I'm so excited that Sarah and I are hosting again this year.. and that we're including Emily as a guest host today!

2014

2015

2016

Friday No. 75

No. 1 

We've been living life at a slower rhythm around here recently. I've spent a lot less time on social media, and we've been home a ton. It's been so refreshing. Having Ben home for a full week was so wonderful for our family and I already am counting down until his Christmas break. I haven't been feeling super well the last week or so (just pregnancy headaches and fatigue) and so all the nights at home with early bedtimes have been wonderful.

No. 2

I almost felt like people were expecting me to comment on the Royal engagement this week, haha! A few people asked for my thoughts. I'm THRILLED for another royal wedding, especially so soon after the third child of William and Catherine is born! It will be so fun. I love the whole thing. I didn't necessarily have any thoughts about Harry and Meghan as a couple but this interview 100% sold me. They seem very genuinely in love and so I'm really excited to be able to follow them as a couple. I love that she's bringing a biracial background into the family, too. Kate will always be my favorite but I'm really excited to follow along with all of this! If you haven't already watched  the interview I would highly recommend. 

No. 3 

Ever since listening to the episode of The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey where she interviews Sazan Hendrix, I've followed Sazan on and off. She's having a baby girl any day and I really enjoyed reading her pregnancy reflection blog post. 

No. 4

If y'all have read this blog for any amount of time you might remember that I don't drink.. anything. I only drink water and have a few slushes each summer, and a few winter starbucks drinks each winter. But last week I looked at Ben and was like NEED SPARKLING GRAPE JUICE. So I've been treating it like most people treat a nice glass of wine probably. Curling up at night with my good old sparkling grape (sometimes apple grape, very yummy! haha!) and maybe a chocolate and watching tv. It's felt so indulgent and wonderful. For years I've wondered the satisfaction people get from enjoying a coffee, soda, wine, whatever.. so now I feel like I'm getting my fix haha. My friend said she thinks this might be my gateway into wine but I'm not so sure.. I'm sure I'll ditch this habit in a few weeks. 

No. 5

Don't forget that next week marks the start of the Christmas linkup! :) 

December 4th- Christmas Wish List with A Little Bit of Emily
December 5th- Holiday Entertaining Tips with Classic Catherine
December 6th- Christmas Day in the Life with Nicole Cole
December 7th- Christmas Gift Guide with Whimsical September
December 11th- Christmas Cards with Taz and Belly
December 12th- Holiday Home Tour with Michaela Noelle Designs
December 13th- Favorite Holiday Party Recipe with The Queen in Between
December 14th- Favorite Meaningful Holiday Memories

Happy Weekend!

All of my Friday posts can be found here.

Show & Tell Tuesday: Want, Need, Wear, & Read

I am so excited about the prompt for today's Show and Tell Tuesday! I think want, need, wear, read is such a great concept and it will be so fun to look at what people have chosen. I thought I'd share for every member of our family! :)

Want: I mentioned a while back, but I am interested in growing my collection of silver frames. Right now the ones I have hold two of my favorite photos from the day Beau was born, and his 3D sonogram. I'd love to get a few more to be able to do the same thing for new baby!

Need: A few weeks ago I dropped and shattered one of my favorite pantry containers, spilling chocolate chips everywhere. I would love to replace it!

Wear: I've head this simple tunic is great for pregnancy even though it's not maternity. They suggest sizing down, but as an expecting mama I'd probably stick to my normal size!

Read: This is kind of cheating because I already downloaded this book on my kindle app for my trip next week but I'm so excited for a festive read!

Want: Ben's wishlist this year has several cigar related items.. sigh! Haha!

Need: This is a little creative for a NEED.. but our apple tv has been acting up lately, which makes sense because Ben got it in like 2010, but we've considered replacing it with an Amazon fire stick, a cheaper option.

Wear: An easy pullover like this is a no-brainer male gift.. any man would look great in one and end up reaching for it often!

Read: I got Ben Chip Gaines's new book, and it would make a great gift for so many men in your life!

Want: This is kind of a borderline want and need, but it's something I want him to have so does that count.. haha? We're planning on moving Beau out of his crib in the new year and so I'll be using some sort of railing like this.

Need: This cooling bowl would totally change my life when it comes to morning oatmeal for Beau! He loves oatmeal, but if I don't remember to prepare it a good bit before he wants it I'll skip that option entirely.

Wear: This simple sweater is too cute.

Read: This big brother book is so classic and sweet.

Want: I really regret not getting a bow swaddle for Beau, because I could have had the caption on a photo "all tied up with a Beau"!!! Plus I just think they are really really sweet. But Ben veto-ed for a boy, and said that this time my caption can be "all tied up with a [name]" Cue the eye roll!!

Need: Another item that I didn't get for Beau but honestly needed is a Milk Snob. It's a nursing cover, carseat cover, highchair cover, grocery cart cover... to be honest I almost bought one for Beau a few months ago because the grocery cart cover we got was lame. And there were so many times I wished I had a carseat cover. This time this is a non negotiable for us, and I love the gray stripe!

Wear: I fell in love with several things while looking for one to choose for this. Shopping is about to be a major problem as I fall in love with things for our sweet girl. A little pea coat, and a fur collar sweater for next Christmas both caught my eye... but ultimately just a simple ruffle blush onesie won out because it's just something that's so specific for a little girl!

Read: We actually already have this book, it was a sweet gift for Beau, but it's going to live in Little Sister's room now and I am so excited about it! :) It'd be the cutest little token for a baby girl in your life.. a friend's baby or something like that. I'd love to give it to someone who didn't expect anything from me as just a little sweet surprise!

I'm so excited to announce that Sarah and I are hosting are The Most Wonderful Time of the Year linkup for the second year in a row! This year we're adding a twist.. there will be a co-host for almost all of the days! We're so excited for that fun element and to share this with some sweet friends! I'm so excited to share my posts with y'all, and to read all of yours! Last year I really tried to comment on as many posts as possible, and it's my goal for this year as well. Please join in with us, and we'd love for you to help us spread the word of the linkup. 

December 4th- Christmas Wish List with A Little Bit of Emily
December 5th- Holiday Entertaining Tips with Classic Catherine
December 6th- Christmas Day in the Life with Nicole Cole
December 7th- Christmas Gift Guide with Whimsical September
December 11th- Christmas Cards with Taz and Belly
December 12th- Holiday Home Tour with Michaela Noelle Designs
December 13th- Favorite Holiday Party Recipe with The Queen in Between
December 14th- Favorite Meaningful Holiday Memories

Friday No. 73 + Black Friday Shopping

No. 1 

We put up a sweet little tree in Beau's room last night and it's making my life SO happy. It was so fun for him to come in and look at it and of course try to put his hands all over it, haha! When I told him not to touch he was immediately over the whole experience, haha! 

No. 2

I mentioned the skinny chicken pot pie recipe in one of my last Friday posts and made it on Tuesday. It was so easy and really exceeded my expectations. We ate a ton that first night, and I've eaten leftovers a ton and most of the time I honestly don't want to eat leftovers. This is going to become a staple at our house this winter! 

No. 3 

I've been gathering inspiration for little sister's nursery this week, and really don't know what I want. I have thought about wallpaper but just don't know if I'm ready to rock with the price tag, even for just one accent wall it's really pricey. I'm hoping to go visit the new Caitlin Wilson Design shop in Dallas and check out some samples and get some ideas. I really like the paint color of the inside of the closet pictured below so that's an option too. I just feel like there's minimal inspiration out there that I like. Help! I want to see classy, Southern influenced girl nurseries and everything on pinterest is not really tickling my fancy haha. 

No. 4

I'll probably have more thoughts to share on this at some point, but last Saturday our bulldog, Matilda, passed away. It was honestly really traumatic for me, because she passed away during our neighborhood turkey trot. We think she had a stroke after all of the excitement. It really put us in a sad mood so we set out for a family lunch at East Hampton Sandwich company (lobster mac has healing powers, y'all!) and I snapped this photo of Beau and I. His little profile kills me. Time with my boys made it all better. It's really crazy to me that using "my boys" all the time will soon be something I don't use near as much as I do now.

No. 5

There are so many little things about Beau right now that I don't want to forget. His new thing is wanting to see out of the grocery cart so he flips around every time. It's just so sweet to see him take everything in. I LOVE being this boy's mama!!!

Happy Weekend! I hope y'all had an incredible Thanksgiving and are enjoying a restful Friday- or a crazy one with lots of shopping! 

I don't feel like I ever talk about Black Friday or even really take advantage of it, but this year it's come up in conversation SO much. With all my girlfriends, we just keep talking about what sales we're going to take advantage of, so I thought I would share what I'm hoping to snag/will hopefully have snagged by now haha! I wrote this post before Friday, so I'll update it sometime Friday morning with my actual picks and finds!

Some things I'm buying on Black Friday: 

• Emily Ley Baby Book in Blush for Little Sister Strader! 
• Snagged some MAJOR treasure for her at The Beaufort Bonnet Company. I'll include it in a widget below!
• Some Piper Finn Shoes for Beau
• Big Boy Bedding and sheets (these + these) for Beau (cue the tears!!) 
• Beau's Big boy BED 
• Freshly Picked Moccs are still 25% off- I got a few pairs of the bow moccs and mary janes for our girl! (if you prefer to order from Nordstrom, they are price matched but there's less of a selection!)

Some things I'm window shopping on Black Friday (haha!): 

• LOFT- 50% off
• Baby Gap- 50% off 

All of my Friday posts can be found here.

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Christmas Cards with Dixie Design Collective

First, I'm guest posting on my dear friend Nicole's blog this morning on my heart for hospitality! Go check that out! :) 

I've been counting down the days for Christmas cards to start showing up in our mailbox. I'm the crazy person that will be mailing the day after Thanksgiving, and checking my mail like a hawk. I just love getting photos of our friends and family, and being able to showcase them in our home and think about all of the sweet people we know! :) 

This year I had the privilege of working with Dixie Design Collective on our Christmas cards. I've been a long time admirer of Dixie and their classic, Southern designs. All of the cards are designed by one of Dixie Designs' skilled artists, and they are all so charming! I got to visit with one of Dixie's helpful graphic designers and come up with a few cards that show off my favorite family photo from our fall/pregnancy announcement session with my friend Nicole Cole Photo + Film. The card that I ended up choosing isn't featured below, I'll reveal that as part of The Most Wonderful Time of the Year linkup I'm hosting with my friend Sarah (details at the bottom of this post in case you missed it!) and I'm already so excited to share. It was such a hard decision when I felt like so many of Dixie's card designs reflected my heart and personal aesthetic. Here are the runner ups: 

Blue Nativity

Blue Nativity Mosaic Portrait

Mistletoe Crest

Sprig and Crest Square 

Mistletoe and Plaid Wreath Christmas

Which card design is your favorite? :) I'm hoping you'll like the one we chose even more!

I'm so excited to announce that Sarah and I are hosting are The Most Wonderful Time of the Year linkup for the second year in a row! This year we're adding a twist.. there will be a co-host for almost all of the days! We're so excited for that fun element and to share this with some sweet friends! I'm so excited to share my posts with y'all, and to read all of yours! Last year I really tried to comment on as many posts as possible, and it's my goal for this year as well. Please join in with us, and we'd love for you to help us spread the word of the linkup. 

December 4th- Christmas Wish List with A Little Bit of Emily

December 5th- Holiday Entertaining Tips with Classic Catherine

December 6th- Christmas Day in the Life with Nicole Cole

December 7th- Christmas Gift Guide with Whimsical September

December 11th- Christmas Cards with Taz and Belly

December 12th- Holiday Home Tour with Michaela Noelle Designs

December 13th- Favorite Holiday Party Recipe with The Queen in Between

December 14th- Favorite Meaningful Holiday Memories

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Friday No. 72

No. 1 

I snapped this blurry, flash photo the other night when we were walking to the car.. look at how much fun our boy has with his daddy. These two melt me!

No. 2

I found this recipe on the Sequins & Stripes blog (I've been LOVING her lately) and I'm dying to try it.. Skinny Chicken Pot Pie! Perfect for this time of year, too!

No. 3 

I loved this video SO much and it got me really in the Christmas spirit. I'm so excited to do a few new things with our Christmas tree, and I'm now really inspired to go to At Home and Home Goods! :)

No. 4

Some of our good friends are Korean, and my friend's mom is in town so she hosted a bunch of us for a Korean feast. It was so fun to have the opportunity to try so many different new things and experience a totally different cultural cuisine. We all loved it so much! 

No. 5

Beau and I got the treat of having lunch with my friend Sarah Hunt yesterday... It was so fun to get to enjoy girl talk with this Florida friend, and especially precious to see her loving on my boy!

No. 6

These from Trader Joes have been a major problem lately!! I'm usually not a dark chocolate girl, but something about the dark taste with a more whipped peanut butter than a normal peanut butter cup.. YUM! If you're thinking that these are no big deal just a peanut butter cup I would encourage trying them.. so delicious!

Happy Weekend!

All of my Friday posts can be found here.

Gift Guide: Womens

This widget belowshows a bunch of things that I think would make great gifts at different price points, including a very expensive sweater that I think is adorable and is actually 20% off right now! But I also wanted to break it down a little further and isolate a few gifts that I have received or would love to receive.

First is what my sister in law got me last year- a two year subscription to The Magnolia Journal. If you haven't picked up a copy I would highly, highly recommend. Its fun to read but also always has a lot more depth to it than a normal magazine would, in my opinion. I love getting one in the mail quarterly and just logged on to check when I need to renew and was so pleasantly surprised that I have another year. They even have a little thing you can download and print and give, which my sister in law did.

This necklace from Anthropologie has a sweet twist to it, it's available in birthstones. I think it would be extra sweet to gift to a new mama for the month of her baby's birthday, or you could even do an anniversary month. 

My friend Chandra of C. Jayne Teach is about to release her Holiday collection, and there are amazing things for mama and child! Check out the catalog here.

I feel like all I do lately is talk about Women's gifts, so I'll include a few more links here. I recently put together a wishlist for my friend Sarah, and coming up in the next few weeks I'll have my Christmas Wishlist, as well as a Want, Need, Wear, Read wishlist too!

Our Love Story: Part Six

Part One 

Part Two 
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

Where we left off, Ben and I have just broken up. Sad. Even typing these parts of the story is hard because I remember how deeply this rocked me. I had found such stability and encouragement in our relationship. It was just really hard. I threw myself into personal growth and really grew in my prayer life. I tried to do whatever I could to not be "a girl who was broken hearted over a boy" and begged God over and over daily to remove the sadness from my heart. I knew that no matter the feat He could provide that but he didn't. Summer was approaching quicker than I would have guessed and the last thing I wanted to do was be at home and risk running into Ben or his family members in our worlds that overlapped in so many ways. Our close friends felt torn and divided between us. I should note that my friend Kristen kept a photo of Ben and I together on her bulletin board this whole time because she believed we'd work it out. 

On a whim I got an email about working at a small Christian camp in Colorado, with a hiking and climbing focus. I emailed and told them that I loved the Lord but had no outdoor skills. I went through the interviews and they assured me I would be fine without those skills. So I went to Colorado. My plan was to get over Ben. 

I got there and pretty quickly it became clear that it was ridiculous that I was ever hired. The job was literally to teach children to repel and things during the day. Not going to happen. This girl was not going to repel herself let alone STRAP PEOPLE'S CHILDREN into repels. NOPE! The head of the camp who hired me also thought this and so we talked and he offered me the position to nanny for his sons while his wife could be more hands on with the camp. I thought about it, prayed about it, and decided to return home. I was embarrassed, but I went because it sounded like a good dramatic story. I thought I was going to have this huge life change in the nature. But I didn't want to be there. So home I came. 

I was so glad to be home and with my people. I had to get stronger though, because I was going to be seeing a lot of Ben. Pretty sure he was playing softball behind the taking of the photo above. 

Here's a photo from after serving at Vacation Bible School, shopping for food for the food pantry with the senior adults. Future grandmother by marriage pictured in the green shirt. This is how involved these worlds were, haha. 

I include this photo of my youth pastor's daughter and I from the family night of VBS that week because I remember breaking down and telling my youth pastor how hurt I still was. I remembered him and his wife telling me when the breakup happened that it was okay to be sad, but they didn't want me to be this sad six months later, or a year later. I told them here we were at the 6 month mark and there wasn't a moment that went by that I didn't miss Ben. This was hard to swallow. It just felt immature and foolish and I hated that. Ben and I still spoke from time to time, but it was hard. I actually can't remember if this was before or after this VBS but when I got home from Colorado the opportunity to take a girl's spot on a mission trip to Mexico had come up. I was really excited about this opportunity, and took the spot. It was a small group from our church, including my future mother in law, father in law, and brother in law. That was really hard and broke my heart. 

The trip was amazing and really strengthened my faith. It was a sweet time, but being in close proximity to Ben's family was just hard at times. I tried really hard to be strong. 

Look at these sunburns!

In true small town fashion, literally Ben and his other brother who remained home from the trip were in charge of picking everyone up from the airport. I'll never forget my mother in law awkwardly trying to encourage conversation between Ben and I, saying "why don't you tell Ben about the man in Mexico that you shared the gospel with?" and me like muttering a few sentences and hoping he didn't notice my sunburn. Things like this are heartbreaking but also hilarious now knowing this is the man who holds my hair back when I get sick from carrying his babies. :) Haha! 

To close the summer, I decided to rush and pledge Kappa Alpha Theta. BEST DECISION EVER. This group of women became the source of my community and friendship for all of college. If I had been really dialed into a hometown relationship, I don't know that I would have done it. One reason I'm thankful for that time apart. 

Shortly after the start of school, I told Ben that I needed to know that we wouldn't speak to each other. I said if we weren't going to be together, we needed to not talk for any reason. We both still texted from time to time and it was just plain unhealthy for me. Fall continued and the fire that had been stirred in my heart in Mexico for international missions grew. The opportunity to go on a really small trip of college students to Romania the next summer became available and I thought and prayed about it. I decided to go. I paid my deposit and actually dreamed of a member of the small team, maybe one of the guys from the other schools, would be able to help me get over Ben. When I went home for Thanksgiving, I was at church after Sunday School sharing with our youth pastor (who if you can't tell was a huge source of guidance and encouragement for all his students) how excited I was for the trip. He took my shoulder and asked me why I thought it was a good idea for Ben and I to go on this small trip together. UH OH. Didn't know that information. Yikes.

More soon! :)