Ultimate 2017 Christmas Gift Guide: Men

After a quick break for Thanksgiving, we're back for another gift guide link up! I'm honestly really interested to see what y'all put on your guides this week because I have the hardest time shopping for the men in my life.

1. Leather Watch Case: I love the simplicity and clean lines of this case - the perfect gift for any man who loves watches. I also love the beautiful monogram at the bottom,

2. Men's Button Down: You can't go wrong with a classic button down as a Christmas gift. Most guys can use these for work and if not, they'll need one at some point ;) We always find amazing deals on button downs for Stephen in the clearance section of J Crew Factory!

3. Personalized Scotch Glasses: The perfect addition to any bar cart or man cave. Perfect way to add a little fun to your drinks

4. Fossil Mechanical Watch: Watches are usually a great gift - mix things up with a leather vs metal or gold vs silver band. I love the look of the mechanical watches because they're so fascinating!

5. Slippers: Every guy can use a good pair of slippers. This is an easy one because they usually need replacing every year or so anyways.

6. Portable Bluetooth Speaker: I seriously love this one and since this one is weather-proof, it's perfect for the beach or golf course

7. Commuter Weekend Bag: This bag is so neat how it completely unzips and has all sorts of compartments for organization.

8. Bluetooth Thermometer: This is easily one of Stephen's favorite grill gadget - he loves that he can monitor our meats to the perfect temperature and I love that he can hang out with me while he grills instead of staying glued to the grill.

9. Gas and Charcoal Grill: The best of both worlds!! We have one and it's so nice if we want to grill something quick with gas or spend a little more time with the charcoal and smoker.

Ultimate 2017 Christmas Gift Guide: Kids

I'm joining Brittany and Owen today for the beginning of their 2017 Christmas gift guide! Today, we're covering gifts for kids and while I don't have any children of my own, hopefully this guide will at least give you some ideas :)

1. Bath Time Doll Set: Our niece is 2 and is obsessed with baby dolls right now. Someone got her a small baby doll bath set for her birthday this weekend and she loves playing with it!

2. Nerf Guns: These are definitely for the older kids but Stephen and I have these and they're so much fun! We love running around the house shooting each other with these (we are children lol)

3. LEGO Chain Reaction Kit: I saw this and thought it was the coolest thing! Chain reactions seem to be a big rage on the internet right now so why not use this to encourage your child's imagination - especially if they seem to be little engineers. I would've loved this gift as a kid!

4. Baby Doll Stroller: We got this for our niece's birthday and she loved it! Right away, she had her little babies in it and has taken them on walks

5. Foam Bath Letters: We had these as a kid and loved them. They're the perfect stocking stuffers and you can make learning letters and numbers into a fun bath time game

Last Minute Christmas Goodies for Co-Workers

We're finally in the final days of Christmas and I'm on vacation but if some of you are still working, bringing a Christmas goodie to your co-workers will surely bring a smile to their faces! Every year I always make my group a little something to tell them thank you and Merry Christmas and this year Stephen decided to get in on the action too! I love seeing everyone get excited over the goodies they get and even though it's small, it really goes a long way.

Stephen wanted to make his group candied nuts so I ran to Michaels and grabbed some snowflake bags to put them in. Stephen designed his own tags for the gifts which added a fun touch.

Last year, I made my group mason jar chex mix but this year I went with something more sweet - m&m Toll House cookies.

There's another group that I do all my work for and so I wanted to bring them a little something as well since they're always answering my questions and helping out. Since only 3 of them were in the office, I made them Christmas white trash and put it in a cute tin (failed on getting a picture) (I'm still munching on the leftovers and they're so good!).

There are so many fun, small things to get for co-workers to put a smile on their face. Below are some fantastic ideas that I need to implement in the coming years.

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I'm going to be taking a little break from the blog in order to soak up this season and time with family. I'll be back after Christmas to recap our time in TN as well as looking back on our year. I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas! I look forward to reading all about your holiday :)

Linking up with Jessica & Katie.

Our Christmas Weekend

Since we travel to be with family on Christmas every year, Stephen and I like to celebrate our own little Christmas before hitting the road. Friday, we headed over to Disney for our 2nd annual Christmas Disney date. Since we don't have passes anymore, we can't go into the parks so this year, we ate at Downtown Disney - Earl of Sandwich (where else?) - and then headed over to the Grand Floridian to see the Christmas decorations. We really enjoy the Grand Floridian because they have a piano player, a band and a real gingerbread house that they serve treats out of. Unfortunately, my allergies started bothering me Thursday so I was feeling a little under the weather but nonetheless, we had a great time!

I ran by Old Navy during lunch to see their sale and snagged this sweater for $14 and I'm obsessed!

We each got one of these cookies and it ended up being $15... gotta love Disney prices. I'm definitely getting the chocolate chip cookie next time though

Saturday we woke up and had Christmas! We opened presents, made breakfast, played my new board game, took a nap, made dinner and watched The Santa Clause. It was the perfect day and we had such a great time together. Side note - want to add some fun to your marriage? Get some nerf guns for you and your hubby. I got some for Stephen this year and we had a BLAST running around the house shooting each other. I was in stitches the whole time and got a good workout from running around and laughing. 

We decided to go a little nontraditional with our meal - Stephen grilled steaks, we made balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted broccoli and some Greek couscous

Sunday, we went to church and then our friends introduced us to an amazing wing place for lunch. The rest of the day we cleaned and packed because we're heading to my parent's house today for Christmas! I can't wait to see them again and get up to the cold weather!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Linking up with Biana.

Five on Friday

Welcome to another Five on Friday! The official count is 1 more week of work and 2 more weeks until Christmas - I cannot wait!

One
Every year I like to make the co-workers in my group a little Christmas goodie. Last year, I made them Chex Mix in a mason jar - my boss still has his mason jar stilling on his desk lol This year, I made my sister's Toll House Cookies and put them in these little Chinese take out boxes that I got from Michaels for about $.50 each. Even though it's not much, my co-workers always seem to appreciate this little gesture. If you need some other fun options for co-worker gifts you can find some here.

Two

Every year, we also like to give a little something to the mail man. I would love to make him some cookies but I'm just not sure if he'd eat something homemade now a days. We usually go with a candy cane full of candy and a little card.

Three
At Thanksgiving, my SIL had this delicious blueberry vanilla goat cheese that she picked up at Publix. She mentioned that they tried the cranberry cinnamon goat cheese and loved it as well so when I saw some at our Publix, I had to get some to try. It was super delicious and festive, especially with the snowflake crackers.

Four

My company always hosts a big Christmas lunch for everyone that spans over 4 days. We actually waited in line for like 15 minutes to get the free lunch. Ask anyone in the office and they'd confirm that I'm OBSESSED with the corn bread. It's the best corn bread I've ever eaten and even had my friend go back and snag me some more the next day.

Five

Now that Stephen and I live in a neighborhood, we've been walking around to see the Christmas lights instead of driving around. Granted this really only works because it's 70 degrees here and not freezing but we've been loving our time together, looking at lights! We've been counting the amount of houses that have the new fad - laser lights - so far, we've gotten half way through the neighborhood and counted 26 houses with the lasers,

My Christmas Wish List

1. Hunter Rain Boots: I've always liked the look of Hunter Rain Boots but their price tag always had me saying "forget it". When Costco rolled out their Hunter Boots for a lower price, my ears perked up and I figured living in Florida, it'd be a good gift. I may or may not know that my mom was able to snag me a pair and I can't wait to wear them!

2. Rocking Chairs: Since we have a little side porch, I would just love a pair of black rocking chairs to fill the area. Nevermind that there's spiders and bugs everywhere (if you have a way to keep spiders away, please let me know!) but I'd love to spend the nice summer nights out on the rocking chairs. I'm hoping my in-laws will get us these :)

3. Lilly Pulitzer Croakies: Mine are completely calling apart and I'll need a new pair to go with my new sunglasses ;) Lilly Pulitzer always has the cutest croakies and with their new design, they seem super durable.

4. Monogram Key Chain: I love this little key chain and realized that my current one is from high school.... time to upgrade!

5. Savor Bible Study: I've been noticing a lot of people doing this Bible study and enjoying it. I'm really looking forward to having a 365 Bible study and continuing it every day.

6. Ray Ban Sunglasses: I actually wanted to ask for these from Stephen's parents last year and really regret that I didn't. I want to change things up and get a pair of sunglasses that look different than my current wayfarers and don't squeeze my head too much. I've never bought designer sunglasses before and I'm pretty good with taking care of my sunglasses so hopefully these aren't the first pair that I mess up ;)

7. May Designs Planner: I love their planners and this will be my 3rd year getting one for Christmas. Now that I'm not in school, I don't need a bulkier planner and this is super light which is perfect for carrying around in my purse all day. And the personalization adds some bonus points!

Shockingly, this year I don't have too many clothes coming my way (that I know of) which is a huge shift from years past. What are some things you're asking for this year?

Linking up with Annie.

Hirst Christmas Recap

On Saturday, Stephen and I decided to celebrate Christmas since we'll be traveling to his family's house for Christmas this year. Friday we watched Elf and decorated sugar cookies. I couldn't believe how excited I was for "Christmas morning"! I woke up a few times anxious to get the day going. I finally woke up around 6:50 am and Stephen woke up around 7:20 am. Every year it seems as if it doesn't feel like Christmas so I know I won't be as excited, but every year I surprise myself with how excited I am.

Please excuse the makeup free selfie. We were excited!

After opening presents, we made a delicious breakfast and watched "It's a Wonderful Life". The rest of the day was filled with relaxing (a nap for me) and then cooking Christmas dinner. I love cooking Christmas dinner because it's my excuse to make the terrible for you delicious casseroles and turkey. I also broke out my china which I love and can't wait to display once we get a house. 

This year for dinner I made hashbrown casserole, broccoli salad, the best green beans, honey crescent rolls and turkey slices. It was a delicious dinner and I'm so glad we've got leftovers for a few meals. 

We had such a fun day together celebrating Jesus' birth and thanking God for His abundant blessings! Even though I'm a little sad it's over, we've still got real Christmas coming in 3 days! Can't wait to spend time with family and experience a new Christmas this year

Five on Friday: Christmas Edition

It's so hard to believe Christmas is LESS than a week away!

One
Last weekend I finally sent out our Christmas cards! There are so many cards that are adorable from Minted but I couldn't bring myself to pay ~$50 for 30 cards. (Please let me know if you know any tricks to make them affordable!) Stephen's pretty savvy with Photoshop so I figured he could so a small design on our cards but after finding out if we printed them, we'd have to cut them all and buy envelopes, we scratched that idea. I found a Groupon for Staples photo service and we decided to pull the trigger - $10 for 50 5x7 cards with envelopes. We figured even if the design isn't amazing, that's a great deal. When we went to pick out our cards, we realized you could upload a design! So Stephen ended up designing our Christmas cards and I love the way they turned out!

Our 2014 Card: Front

Our 2014 Card: Back

Since I wasn't blogging last year, I thought I'd share our 2013 card. We got this one from Walgreen's... old school. I was surprised they had some more modern designs and it wasn't too cartoonish.

Our 2013 Card

Two

I am so thankful that today is my last day at work until 2015! Hello Christmas Vacation! Soon we'll be heading down south to spend Christmas with Stephen's family. I've never spent Christmas not with my family so this is going to be a huge adjustment but I'm excited to spend time with everyone and see their traditions! Since we won't be home to celebrate Christmas, Stephen and I are doing Christmas tomorrow. I'm looking forward to spending all day in our pj's, celebrating our Savior's birth, doing lots of cooking, watching movies and opening presents!

I'll be doing a lot of this the next few days!

Three

I feel like I'm running out of time to watch all the Christmas movies we usually watch. Stephen said we didn't have to watch them all if I didn't want to but I don't want to not watch them and once December 26 rolls around get all sad because I missed out this year. Thank goodness for no more work, we're going to have to have some Christmas movie marathons the next few days ;)

Four
Ever since I can remember, my mom has always done a little something for the mailman, garbage men, etc. around Christmas. Usually she makes them something but now with how the world is, it's better to buy something packaged and wrapped. I wanted to continue that tradition with my own family so last year I saw this picture on Pinterest and wanted to recreate it as a little Christmas gift/pick-me-up for our mailman. This year we bought him m&ms again but used a label from the Chex Mix gifts I made. We got a Christmas card from the mailman thanking us and he remembered we gave him m&ms last year too! I thought it was so sweet and wanted to share that even the smallest things, can lighten someones day.

Apparently this is for "Thank a Mailman Day" but we altered it for Christmas. I also failed at getting a picture of the one we made for him. via

Five

I have been in a baking mood and have been baking all sorts of goodies. I have decided to make some Christmas Crack to bring with us to my in-laws for Christmas. They're super easy to make and you can't stop eating them - hence the name. Hopefully everyone enjoys them, but if not I'm sure Stephen and his brothers will devour them in no time. 

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