Merry Christmas!

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

It's the last Friday before Christmas!! Only 1 week from today...7 days!! I don't know how it came so quickly, but Christmas is officially upon us! I am so excited today is my last day of work until the New Year and we've got some fun plans this weekend!

One
I'm not going to lie, it really hasn't felt like Christmas too much and I'm going to blame it on the fact that it's still 80+ degrees outside. This weekend, it's supposed to get really cold (like into the 40's which is freezing for FL) but then by Tuesday it'll be hot again just in time for Christmas. I really haven't gotten to wear any of my winter clothes so the fact that we're going to TN this year for Christmas makes me so happy. We also got all our shopping and wrapping done early this year so the anticipation of wrapping is gone, although there's going to be some wrapping waiting for me at my parent's house in a few days :) Now that that rant is over, onto the fun stuff!

Two
On Monday, my group at work had their annual Christmas potluck. This is a big event every year and we always have TONS of food! It's always super delicious and stuff ourselves silly - this year was no exception. I decided to make mini monkey breads and they were a hit! I also decided to be festive this year and wear a fun Christmas-y outfit complete with my new reindeer earrings that I got for free with a Christmas gift from Marley Lilly.

Three

Tonight we're super excited because we're having our annual Disney Christmas date! We did this last year and had a blast! Since we don't have passes anymore, we just like to go and see the decorations at the hotels. I think this year, we'll stick with Wilderness Lodge, The Contemporary and The Grand Floridian. I can't wait to see all the Christmas decor, finally bundle up and have some hot chocolate :)

Four
Tomorrow, we are celebrating Christmas with the two of us before going to TN to celebrate with my family. We've done our own little Christmas every year since being married and we love it! It's a great way to spend the day celebrating Jesus together and relaxing. We plan on making a big breakfast after opening gifts and grilling out steaks for dinner. I can't wait for Stephen to open some of his presents!

Five
Not sure if y'all saw but Will Ferrell is the new Santa. I was getting a big kick out of his interview with Jimmy Fallon. It's so funny how Will will go as a character to talk shows and his t-shirt gun is a riot in this one!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! Enjoy your last weekend before Christmas!

Christmas Photos

Last week I debuted our Christmas card but never shared any of the other pictures we took. Even though these pictures were taken with a tripod, in our back yard and not at an adorable tree farm, I think they turned out pretty well! Here are some other pictures from that day

This was supposed to be one of those cute blanket pictures but the blanket was wayy too big. This quilt was actually handmade from Stephen's home church as a wedding gift

Cheesin' with our coffee mugs in 80 degree Florida

Linking up with Annie.

Mini Monkey Breads

This past Monday, my group had their annual Christmas brunch. I couldn't decide what to make this year and scoured Pinterest until I found a recipe for Mini Monkey Breads. I was sold once I saw this and was excited to try it! Turns out it was pretty easy! I doubled the recipe so I could get more breads and got about 18 total.

Ingredients:

- 1 can of Pillsbury biscuits (I used Southern style but you could probably use any kind)

- 6 tbsp butter, melted

- 2 tbsp corn syrup

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 2 tsp cinnamon

Icing:

- 1 cup powdered sugar

- 1 tbsp butter, melted

- 1-2 tbsp milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Cut each biscuit into 6 equal pieces (the pizza slicer made it super easy!). In one bowl, combine the melted butter and corn syrup while in another bowl, combine the cinnamon and brown sugar and mix well. 

2. Spray your muffin pan with Pam. Dip each piece of biscuit into the butter mixture and then into the sugar mixture and place in the muffin pan. I found that 4 pieces per cup was perfect. Once the pan is full, place in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 min. Cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan. 

3. After your breads have finished baking, combine the icing ingredients and mix well. Drizzle on top of the monkey breads. Serve warm.

These were a hit and I'm so glad I was able to snag a few for us at home before bringing them to work because there were none left!

Linking up with Jessi.

Favorite Christmas Movies

One of my favorite traditions of Christmas is watching Christmas movies with Stephen and my family. I've always grown up watching all the classics and then some. I wanted to share some of my favorite Christmas movies and I want to hear which ones are your favorites!

Jingle All the Way

The Santa Clause 1 & 2

The Grinch (cartoon, not people version)

Rudolph

It's a Wonderful Life

Christmas in Connecticut

Christmas with the Kranks

Christmas Vacation

Elf

Charlie Brown Christmas

A Christmas Story (have to watch the 24 hours on TBS)

Four Christmases

Are these any of your favorite? If not, which ones are your favorites?

Linking up with Jessica & Katie.