What's Up Wednesday ~ December 2018

Even though it's not the last Wednesday of the month, we are posting What's Up Wednesday today due to the Christmas holiday next week. 

What we're eating this week...........

Monday - slow cooker pork chops, red potatoes, salad

Tuesday - father/daughter date & mother/daughter date, so we all ate out!

Wednesday - date night

Thursday - pizza

Friday - have no idea for the weekend....it's the weekend before Christmas!

What I'm reminiscing about...........

During this time, I always reminisce when the girls were younger and when I was a stay at home mom.

What I'm loving...........

This week, I am loving one on one time with each member of my family and time with my greats too!

What we've been up to.............

Walks to the lake, looking at Christmas lights, online shopping

What I'm dreading...........

undecorating :(

What I'm working on............

wrapping presents

What I'm excited about................

I get excited every year for our girls to open their gifts.  As a parent, the best part really is the gift giving instead of receiving. 

What I'm watching...............

All the Christmas movies...On Hallmark, Lifetime, Ion, and classics like Elf along with some classic Christmas shows 

What I'm listening to.................

Christmas music 99% of the time 

What I'm wearing..............

Work attire most days....nothing exciting :)

What I'm doing this weekend.............

Preparing food for the holiday and cleaning the house for guests are on my to-do list for the weekend.

What I'm looking forward to next month.........

Winter cleaning...Instead of spring cleaning, I feel like after Christmas is always a good time to clean and go through things to declutter after the holiday.

What else is new.............

Last weekend, we celebrated my nephew's graduation from nursing school.  It is always good to be with family and see my greats too :).

Happy Wednesday!!

How We Wednesday ~ Christmas Home Tour 2018

Welcome to our Christmas Home Tour 2018!  

Outside our house is a minimal look this year :).

We added this little fawn to our front yard this year.  Maybe next year we will add a doe or buck to stand by her!

We have lights on our front porch railing, a lighted wreath and a small lighted tree in the window.

We have some mistletoe and a lighted tree on a ledge you see from the entryway.

Everyone loves some Christmas pillows, magazines and we have Christmas blankets nearby.

I've said it before, but this fireplace caught my eye when we looked at this house and I really like it at Christmas time.

New this year is the window frame and I added this small decor to it for Christmas.

It is fun to buy small, new touches each year.

I have small nativity sets displayed on this table.

Including this one my parents brought me from Israel over 20 years ago.

I added greenery to our light fixture in the dining room this year.

Some kitchen Christmas touches....Christmas dish towels, mugs and plates.

I had some old, large Christmas bulbs that I didn't want to throw away so I used them for some decorations.

Breakfast area

I added greenery to this fixture and lights draping the window.

In our sitting room, I displayed the girls old stockings and stocking holders for fun.  We all have new stockings this year.

Guest room touches with old artwork of the girls and a jar of more large Christmas bulbs

Also, I have this framed picture of the Rockefeller tree in NYC on my NYC table :).  Maybe next year I can go there at Christmas time.

I have a small lighted tree by our front door, but found one more small tree, so I put it in a corner of the bedroom.  It has no decorations on it, but adds just a little Christmas cheer with its lights.  My girls have trees in their rooms too.  It is always fun to decorate for Christmas and enjoy them during the season.  I love seeing all the other home tours recently as well and thanks for stopping by today!

Weekend Wrap Up

Monday, Monday....how you come so fast.  

Here is a little recap of the weekend and last week too.

I received an update from Spotify letting me know who I listened to the most in 2018.  No surprise here....the winner is Huey Lewis and the News!

Here are pictures from the 2 times I was able to meet him.  So thankful for these fun opportunities!

We took a walk to our neighborhood lake last week and captured this beautiful picture of the sky.

We have spent the last week watching the funeral and many shows remembering the great President George Bush.  Love the Bush family!

Here is the list of George Bush 41's rules for life:

1.  Don't get down when your life takes a bad turn.  Out of adversity comes challenge and often success.

2.  Don't blame others for your setbacks.

3.  When things go well, always give credit to others.

4.  Don't talk all the time, listen to your friends and mentors and learn from them.

5.  Give someone else a hand.  When a friend is hurting, show that friend you care.

6.  Nobody likes an overbearing big shot.  Let others point out your virtues and your strong points.

7.  As you succeed, be kind to people.  Thank those who help you along the way.

8.  Don't be afraid to shed a tear when your heart is broken because a friend is hurting.

9.  Say your prayers!

Friday at work, we had a Christmas luncheon and I wore my Mrs. Santa dress and decorated a cookie inspired by my dress.

Saturday, we visited a local art museum which was decorated so pretty for Christmas.

I saw a picture on Pinterest of adding hooks to a coat closet.  Instead of adding another construction project, I was so happy to find these hooks at Wal-Mart.  This makes hanging up coats much easier!

Saturday night, I had my office Christmas party, which was fun to attend.  I am thankful for a job where this can happen and to be with a nice group of people. 

Enjoy your day and I plan on being back Wednesday with a Christmas home tour.

TBB Asks ~ December Holiday Edition

Happy December!  December is upon us and it is the monthly link up of questions with The Blended Blog.

1.  Candy Canes?  

I enjoy the soft peppermints for my candy cane taste :).  I do like seeing the varieties of them at this time of year and they can sure be cute for decorating.

2.  Christmas morning early riser or sleep in?

I am always an early riser, but on Christmas morning, we are now a little later as a family since the girls are teenagers.   We will have them up around 8:30, so not too late, but certainly not as early as we were 10 years ago!

3.  Did you shop on Black Friday?

Why yes I did!  And I shopped all that week online getting lots of gifts.  This is what my front door looked like most days last week.... 

4.  Christmas Tree up in November?

Why yes again!  Especially with Thanksgiving coming early this year and because we traveled, we put up our tree before Thanksgiving this year.  Typically, we put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving.

5.  Do you get Holiday ideas from Pinterest?

I certainly like to look at ideas on Pinterest, but most that I find are recipes.

6.  Christmas Glam or Ugly Sweater?

I could go for either of these, but probably would lean more towards the Christmas glam.

7.  Stocking Stuffers:  Wrapped or Unwrapped?

99% are unwrapped, however usually one or two small things will be wrapped.

8.  Traditional or Modern Christmas Songs?

I like both.  Some of my favorite Christmas albums from childhood were these:

I also like these from the last 30 years too:

A southern classic!

Josh Groban is one of my favorites and his version of "O Holy Night" is so good.  That is one of my favorite Christmas songs by one of my favorite singers. 

My most recent favorite Christmas album is this one.  If you haven't heard it, go listen!

9.  Fruitcake?

No thank you.  There are so many other good Christmas treats I prefer.

10.  Is your Christmas shopping finished?

Yes, it is!  I started in July with the Nordstrom Anniversary sale and then picked back up shopping the week of Thanksgiving and ended this past weekend.  

11.  Is there snow in December where you live?

It is rare to have snow in December, but it has happened.  Most of our snow comes in January, February, or even sometimes March.  We did actually see snow in November though!

12.  Classic show:  A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph?

I love all the classic shows.  If I had to pick one, I would go with Charlie Brown because it focuses on the real reason of Christmas, the birth of Christ, our hope in life.

These are always fun link ups and hope you have a good Monday!