Thanksgiving 2015

This year was our year to spend Thanksgiving with Stephen's family and since his brother just had a baby (3 weeks ago) and they have a large house, they hosted Thanksgiving. Stephen's cousins and aunt and uncle also joined us for the holiday (all the way from Nebraska!) so it was a full house of fun. John and Lauren did an amazing job with hosting and making the majority of the Thanksgiving dinner - I don't think it could've gone any smoother. Stephen and I LOVED us some baby cuddles with our niece, Siena and we are having some serious baby withdrawals now.

For the most part, we relaxed at their house but we did run out around 9 pm to go black Friday shopping on Thursday night after most of the people had left. We basically hit the jackpot and was able to get all of our gifts done for family which was a huge success. We were so excited that Target wasn't very crowded since we went a few hours after it had opened.

We got home late Saturday night and spent all day Sunday cleaning and decorating for Christmas - we are pooped. Once we get everything completed, I'll share some pictures of our house!

We needed some Siena time as soon as we arrived!

Stephen is officially a baby hog... and completely smitten

John did a great job with his first turkey!

Even though it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving when it's hot outside, you can't beat this view

We decided to burn off lunch with a friendly couples competition and some football

Thankfully, only the boys had to race in the kayaks

I snagged this onsie from Carter's for only $2!

Before we headed home on Saturday, we went for a walk and found this amazing cheese shop

The boys look so cute walking Siena

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving week - I can't wait to read all about them!! So excited that it is now officially Christmas!!

Linking up with Biana.

Christmas Bucket List 2015

We've been mentioning Christmas-y things that we want to do this December and I wanted to write them all down before I forgot and we missed out this Christmas! Here's our big Christmas to-do list this year:

1. Disney Christmas Sightseeing: Even though we don't have park passes anymore, we still love walking around Downtown Disney and seeing their Christmas displays at their bigger hotels. We did this last year and had a blast!

2. Outlet Mall Christmas Shopping: We also did this last year and found some amazing deals! We had a lot of fun Christmas shopping for each other as well as family. We're aiming to do this next weekend and then meet up with my friend from NC who will be in town.

3. Put Up Christmas Decorations: This goes without saying but it's a highlight to kick off Christmas! We'll be putting everything up this weekend once we get back from Thanksgiving.

4. Mini Christmas at Home: Since we've been married we've had a "mini" Christmas at home a few days prior to heading to wherever we spend Christmas that year. This lets us open all of our gifts from each other so we're not hauling everything to someone's house and spend the day relaxing together.

5. Make Christmas Dinner at Home: This goes with #4 - I like to make a Christmas dinner for the two of us before we leave town. The only problem is I need to learn to cut recipes in half since it always makes a lot and we head out a few days after.

6. Bake Christmas Cookies: So much for watching what I eat... there's so many delicious Christmas cookies (and candied nuts, puppy chow, chex mix, etc.) that I want to make this year. Stephen's favorites are the candied nuts - I make him wait all year since they're so Christmas-y.

7. Spend Christmas in Chattanooga: Every year we rotate between our families and this year we get to spend Christmas with my family in Chattanooga, TN. We are so excited and Stephen's really hoping for a white Christmas since he's never seen snow fall.

8. Rock City Christmas Display: This is one of the main things I want to do after we arrive in Chattanooga and before Christmas. We've also got my dad's birthday and possibly ice skating on the list.

Some of the other little things we can't wait to do this Christmas are watching Christmas movies, making hot chocolate, walking around our neighborhood and looking at Christmas lights, wrapping presents, making goodies for my co-workers and spending time celebrating Jesus' birth together :)

Especially since it's still November, let's not forget about our Fall bucket list.

We were able to get everything accomplished except for going on a picnic and making crock pot apple cider. We agreed that it got too hot in the later fall and a picnic wasn't in the cards. We also agreed that we can still make hot apple cider during Christmas! 

What are some of your Christmas bucket list items!?

As a heads up, we will be heading to my brother and sister-in-law's house to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and our new niece. We can't wait for some baby cuddles - I'm having major baby withdrawals. I will be signing off the blog this week in order to soak up every minute with my family :) Hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving!!

FSU Family Weekend 2015

This past weekend we drove up to Florida State University for our 4th annual Sorrick FSU game. My sister is a senior this year and every year, we've all met up at FSU for a weekend and a football game. If you want to walk down memory lane with me, you can see pictures of all our past visits here. I always look forward to this weekend and we seem to do the same thing every year.

We arrived Friday afternoon and got to see my sister's new apartment which was adorable. We then met my parents at the University Club which is a restaurant that is inside the stadium and overlooks the field. After dinner, we headed to the hotel to relax and get ready for the next day.

Saturday morning, after relaxing at the hotel for a little bit (well, my parents hit the gym) we picked up my sister and headed to grab some lunch and do some shopping. After that, it was time to head to campus. We met up with our family friends (they're basically our 2nd parents) and did a little bit of tailgating. In past years, we've gotten box seats through my dad's work but this year we weren't able to get them. Instead, my parents got us tickets in one of the end zones and it was perfect! We were worried it would rain but it didn't rain until Sunday. We stayed till the 3rd quarter then went to get some dinner at BJ's Brewhouse. After dinner, we were going to play some games back at the hotel, but instead, we got hooked on a PBS show about Queen Elizabeth that was super fascinating. 

Sunday we went to breakfast at a bagel place on campus then headed out in the dreary rain. We were sad to go but we're excited to see everyone again in a month when we go up to TN for Christmas!!

Linking up with Biana.

Friday!

One
Today we're headed up to Tallahassee for our 4th annual Sorrick FSU game! Ever since my sister stared college, we've gone up to see her and go to a football game. I cannot wait to see my family and have everyone together and I can't believe next year is our last (engineering is a 5 year program). This year, FSU is actually playing my parents' alma mater, the place they met and the school I almost went to, UTC.

Here's a blast from the past:

2012

2013

We have a running joke that Caroline became my dad's favorite after she was brave enough to ask for a picture with Jack Nicklaus

2014

Two

We had a few big meetings at work this week so one day we all went out for happy hour and I got the best sans-gria. I'm not a huge fan of alcohol so I always look for some fun, non-alcoholic drink and found a great cherry peach sans-gria at Bar Louie.

Three

Our bosses thought it'd be hysterical if they volunteered my friend and me to be the fire safety people for our group and ensure everyone gets out safely. Needless to say, this is a job no one wants but we're going to make the most of it. We did cause quite the scene with these vests on ;)

Four

At work, they're trying to promote some investment opportunities so how do you get people (mainly men) to an event? Bring ice cream from the most popular place in town. I'm not investing, but I did get some good Italian ice!! Goodness, after taking up 3/5 of this post, work was busy this week.

Five

I don't know how this is the last Friday before Thanksgiving and before Christmas officially begins in our household!! Can't wait to go black Friday shopping and enjoy the start of Christmas! I know a lot of people are boycotting black Friday shopping but we honestly love it (as long as we don't go before 9/10pm). That's also when we get the bulk of our Christmas shopping done since everything is such a great deal. What are some of your tactics if you black Friday shop?

J Crew Wish List

The other day, Stephen sent me a link to the J Crew Factory website because everything was 40%-60% off site wide. Well, I did some browsing and J Crew Factory has some great items! Thankfully for Stephen, I didn't buy anything but I can't wait to hit the store in a few weeks!

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Linking up with Annie.

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