Welcome 2012

How is it possible that 2011 has come to an end?

Christmas is over,

and then,

in the blink of an eye,

you are preparing to say goodbye to the year.

Time goes by SO very fast.

It feels like we were JUST saying HELLO to 2011!

With that said,

I always love this time of year.

A time for change,

prayer and peace,

a new day {a new year}

a blank slate,

a breath of fresh air,

new goals,

dreaming big and making plans.

There is something so exciting about that to me.

So,

bring it on 2012!

I have huge plans for you,

HUGE!

Starting today,

with a clean house.

Christmas decor is down and packed away.

And,

I am enjoying the clean and simple decor in our home.

I have plans to simplify our lives even more this year!

Many home decorating projects are in the works,

that I can't wait to share with all of you!

I am honored to have EACH of you on this journey with me.

I invite you to stay and read this little blog.

I have high hopes and big plans for it in 2012.

{The good Lord willing}

May you embrace the change that the new year brings!

Here's to all of our hopes and dreams for 2012 coming true!

Happy New Year my dear sweet friends.

{HUGS}

Happy Birthday Hubs!

Happy Birthday,

to the most

amazing,

loving,

caring,

hubs this wife could ask for.

You are a great Daddy.

ALWAYS thinking of the kids first.

Giving them EVERYTHING they could ever need.

ALWAYS putting their needs FIRST.

LAUGHING and being silly with them ALL of the time,

LOVING them with all of your heart.

Being the BEST Dad ever!

WE love you SO much.

Happy Birthday!

                       

From Our Family To Yours.....

Merry Christmas!

We have been enjoying some quality family time this week!

We have also been very busy getting ready for this weekend!

 

Baking and decorating Christmas sugar cookies.....

Christmas turtles.....

Candy cane cookies.....

A yummy new cheeseball recipe.....

Crafting with pretty ornaments.....

Chloe enjoying our family Monopoly game.....

and these two, chasing each other around outside!

The little man was FREEZING cold.

{They were all bundled up, it is COLD here in Texas}

We actually have a tiny chance of snow Christmas Eve!

Keeping our fingers crossed over here!

May each of you have a very blessed Christmas!

{HUGS}

Christmas Card Swap

A few weeks ago, I participated in a Christmas Card Swap.

It was hosted by the lovely Kimmie,

over at Sugar and Dots.

I was partnered with Heather.

Boy, I couldn't have asked for a better gal to swap cards with!

She has such a cute little family.

Aren't these cards adorable?

She made the herself,

 SUCH a talented graphic designer.

Heather also has a lovely blog where you can see her designs!

To my surprise,

there were two cards in the envelope.

She designed and made this card,

it matches my Red Barn Candle Company blog!

Is that NOT the cutest!

Seriously, it brought a tear to my eye,

 that she took time out of HER day to design this for ME.

Love it!

Thank you Heather.

I am so happy to have met you, this was so much fun!

Also, the winner of the RBCC giveaway is.....

*Francine*
Yay!

Please email me so when you get a chance!

A big thank you to all of you who entered to win.

:)

What I Wore

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Only a few more days until Christmas.

HOW did that happen?

Tick tock, tick tock.

Thank goodness Mom offered to watch the kids today.

They played all day at her house,

decorated the tree and made cake pops.

Ate whatever they wanted, played outside,

counted the cows and chased each other around!

Meanwhile, the hubs and I had a wonderful lunch.

With fabulous food and conversation.

We also finished up shopping.

Most of my gifts this year for family were handmade,

however, I still needed a few last minute items.

And one LAST trip to the grocery store,

for what the kids and I will be baking the coming days!

Scarf: Girls Night :)

Jeans and Cardi: Target

Boots: Nicole

Earrings: Gift from Mama

I must say, I am lovin' my new boot socks.

Wasn't sure about them at first,

and now, I can't get enough!

I may or may not have bought myself 2 more pair today! ;)

Linking here.

Christmas Hot Chocolate Station

So, my children and the hubs LOVE hot chocolate.

And when I say LOVE,

I mean,

have it everynight of the year,

starting in October and ending in March, kind of love.

Seriously.

A few years back, my Mom gave the hubs the most amazing gift ever.

A hot chocolate maker.

It is AWESOME.

She searched for it high and low,

store after store,

because she knew it would make the perfect gift.

Boy, was she right.

We use it ALL of the time.

I knew this year, I wanted to do some sort of "area" for hot chocolate making.

I had the perfect idea and couldn't wait to surprise the fam!

I had the jars on hand already.

I use these bad boys all over our house.

They can be purchased at Target or Walmart.

I decided on one jar for coacoa,

one jar for marshmallows,

and one jar for sweets.

I had some cute Christmas scrapbook paper on hand.

Hand wrote the labels then glued them on the jar.

So simple!

Now, when it is hot chocolate time,

the kids can create their own special recipe,

adding what THEY want in their cup!

Of course, they favorite jar is the sweets!

Go figure!

I surprised them with the jars last night.

And....

I am pretty sure that if that was ALL they got for Christmas,

I would get the mom of the year award.

They loved it and wanted a cup right away!

I am off to get dressed.

The hubs and I get to have a lunch date today.

And then after that, a coffee date! ;)

So excited!

The kids are going out to Mom's to help her finish decorating.

Linking here.

Chat with you soon my friends!

:)

Christmas Buttercream Fudge {Never Fail}

Hello friends.

I have a new yummy fudge recipe to share with you today.

It is SO super easy to make.

I found the recipe in a church cookbook,

however, after making it several times,

I have changed up the recipe to our liking.

That is what is so great about this recipe,

use what flavors of the ingredients that you prefer.

You truly can't mess it up!

Melt 1 pkg. white chocolate morsels in microwave.

{According to pkg. directions}

You can use any flavor morsels you prefer!

Add 1 tub 16oz. vanilla prepared frosting,

1/2 tsp. butter extract {flavoring} and 1/4 tsp. salt.

Microwave an additional 90 seconds, or until smooth.

Again, you can use any flavor frosting and extract that you prefer.

Pour into 8 x 8 foil lined pan.

Stick in fridge until firm {couple of hours}

Take out and turn onto cutting board.

Cut into squares.

So super easy and yummy too!

Enjoy my friends!

Linking here.

My Favorite Things

Happy Friday my friends!

Not just ANY Friday either,

Kick off to Christmas Break Friday.

Wooooohoooooo!

I thought I would share a few of my favorite things with you today.

Hopefully, you will get to know ME a bit better!

Melissa over at 320 Sycamore hosts this party every year.

I thought it would be kind of fun to participate,

and this is my first year doing so.
Little and simple things in life make me happy.
Not so much the "material stuff"
So, brace yourself,
My favorite "things" are anything but typical,
however, they are things I love!

{Decorating with white}

{My absolute favorite tea, year round}

{Making god smellin' candles for my friends, family and customers}

{Sheet music, letters, white plates and robins egg blue}

{Finding old and unique treasures}

{White chocolate candy cane bark}

{Crafting with my children, especially at Christmas}

{Thrifting and finding great deals}

{Such as these anthro pillows, paid $3 for BOTH}

and.....

{Our couch, by far, the BEST deal we have EVER found}

$30.

Shut.the.front.door.

{Seriously folks, post about it coming soon, stay tuned}

{Anytime, any flavor, any where, LOVE me some Cheez Its}

{Sweet tea, can't make it through the day without this}

{Anything burlap}

{Favorite flavor EVER, but I can only drink it at Christmas}

Yes, I know I am weird like that!

{My latest and greatest discovery at Walmart}

{$2 "fake" bakers twine, used on all my gifts this year}

And.....

the VERY best for last,

although they are not "things"

THEY are the love of my life {along with the hubs}

LOVE THEM,

and they are a huge part of ME,

so I had to share!

:)

So happy you stopped by.

Wishing you peace, love and joy this Christmas season!