Feeling Festive

I know, I know- it's only mid-November, but I am SO ready for Christmas and all it's goodness! I love, LOVE Christmas time.. the lights, music, coziness.. the get-togethers and of course the food! 

I confess- I've been playing Christmas music for about a week now. The Sarah McLachlan Holiday station on Pandora is my current fav. There's nothing like some melancholy holiday music playing while you're snuggled up to the fire! But Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby will need to make an appearance soon.

And yes, as you can clearly see from these pictures- our tree is up! We finally sprung for a larger, fake tree this year, since it's Evie's first (well, actually second) year to celebrate. I want her growing up with lots of great memories from this special time of year. We went with pre-lit, so those are the lights you see. I haven't decorated it yet! But since we bought it, we thought we may as well put it up and start enjoying! It makes me happy. :)

We also put the lights up on our house this weekend. Hubby is thrilled and it looks fantastic! We'll likely wrap the tree by our front door at some point, too. 

I'm excited to start the tradition of an Advent Calendar with Evie this year. Does your family do one? We never did. If fact I had no idea what they were until I started reading blogs! But I think it will be such a fun tradition and I've started making ours, so I'll show it to you guys soon! 

I've also been hard at work on planning out and getting ready for Evie's birthday party. I still feel like I have lots to do, so I better get back to work! 

Have you started decorating your house for Christmas yet?? Tell me I'm not the only one! :)

Family Pictures 2011

A few favorites.. Happy Saturday! 

Thankful Thursday {My Husband}

Have you seen the Thankful Trees people are making? I love this one and this one. In the back of my mind I was intending to make one this year, but time has gotten away from me. But next year we'll definitely put one up- or something like it! I think it's an awesome reminder to really think about what we're truly thankful for in our lives. And it's such a great example and tradition with the kiddos! Last night  as I was getting Evie ready for bed, I started telling her about Thanksgiving and listing things we should be thankful for. :) Such a precious moment.

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Today I am beyond thankful for my husband.

Our wedding day

He is such a good provider, protector, friend. And goodness, isn't he handsome?! I can't really fathom life without him in it.. and thankfully I don't have to. 

We met nearly ten years ago (!) when we were both in college. We didn't start dating until we ran into each other a few years later on my 24th birthday. 

These days, my favorite thing about him is what a good daddy he is to our girl.. He takes fatherhood very seriously and I am forever grateful for that. It's such a joy to see Evie's face light up when she hears her daddy coming in the door.

 

Thank you, babe, for all that you do for Evie and I.. for all that you sacrifice, for all your hard work, for your concern, watchfulness and tenderness. We are SO blessed to have you. I love you.

Cooking is a Crock

Do you cook? I try.. sometimes.

I've always like the idea of cooking, but have found the whole follow-through part of it tough. :) Mostly I never thought it was worth it to spend hours cooking for myself (when I was single) when I was perfectly happy eating a sandwich or cheese and crackers or a bowl of cereal. Since I've been married, I've tried to cook more and more, but it still gets overwhelming for me at times. All those ingredients! Sheesh! 

Anyhoo, one thing I have utilized lately is my crock pot.  I love that I can throw something in there in the morning and come home to a delicious smelling house and dinner basically just waiting for us. Here are a few crock pot recipes I've tried lately that I definitely recommend. Both were discovered on my virtual BFF, Pinterest.

Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

I cut this whole recipe in half- we don't need 10-12 servings around here. Though you could probably freeze half of it... Hmmmm. Note to self.

Ingredients:
- 5lbs Russet Potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves of garlic, whole
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 16 oz cream cheese (I used 8oz regular and 8oz lowfat)
- 1 TBS seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning (I use Aunt Cora's Soulful Seasoning)

Garnishes:
- Crumbled bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Green onions

Directions:
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning and chicken stock to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Remove and puree the garlic cloves along with 1/2 to 1/3rd of the soup, and then reintroduce to the remainder in the crock pot.
- Stir in the cream cheese and allow to melt. Stir every 10-15 minutes until soup is well blended.
- Top with your choice of garnishes & serve!

Yields about 10-12 servings.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken 

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only used 2 chicken breasts)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Mix soup, salsa and taco seasoning in the bottom of your crockpot. Sink chicken breasts into the mixture, covering completely. Cook on low for 5 – 6 hours depending on size of chicken breasts.

2. Remove chicken, shred and return to the crockpot. Add sour cream and mix well. Heat until everything is warmed through. Enjoy.

I served over tortilla chips. YUM!

You should definitely try these out. Perfect for a rainy, fall day like today. Let me know if you do and like them! Any great crock pot recipes up your sleeve that I should try?  Please share- clearly I need help in the kitchen! :)

Friday Morning Thoughts + Insta Friday

That's a whole lotta Friday coming at ya.

We'll start with what's currently running through my larger-than-one-size-fits-most head:

1. I've really been thinking about this, and I think it's high time QT gets on the hopper with a drive-thru.

Am I right?? 

I mean, the money I've NOT spent at QT since I've had a baby is seriously astounding. What I wouldn't give to be able to just run in (or drive thru!!!!) and grab a coffee, especially now that it's cooling down. Don't think I haven't considered leaving Evie in the car while I made a mad dash inside.. 

Oh take it easy! I would NEVER!

2. My BABY will be a year old in a few short weeks. Sniffle. Party planning is in full swing. Nothing huge or extraordinary- she is still a baby, after all- but I'm still looking forward to it! Sneak peek of the invites is below!

3. ENTERTAINMENT NEWS FLASH: J Simpson is knocked up! One of those Kardashian girls is divorced! Shockers all around, and remember- you heard it here first, folks.

4. Any day now I'll break out the Christmas music. It's my fav. I would have done it already, but every night my husband suggests hanging up the Christmas lights on our house (no, seriously) and I keep trying to hold him off. He's mildly pumped about our festive display this year. I think if I start cranking Jingle Bells it will push him over the edge. 

5. Did you like our little Halloween Zebra?? Every time I look at that picture of Evie, all I can think of is my mom singing Bucky-la-beaver when we were kids. It's safe to say I inherited my mom's predilection for making up and singing random songs to her children. It's not a normal day around here if one of us isn't humming the nail-clipping tune I made up, Just a Little Clip Clip Clip. 

The chorus is especially catchy: It's not a big deee-aaal. It's juuuust a little cliiiip-eey. Just a little snipp-ey. A tiny little clippy.. 

You get the idea. An iTunes hit in the making.

6. We got our family pics in! I'll post some favorites soon. :)

7. I am so OVER Google Reader doing all these updates that only delete half my reads and put me in a bad mood. Anyone with me?

8. I came home from work yesterday and my MIL had Evie Girl in a little hat I knit her when I was pregnant (see picture below). SO CUTE! I will now be breaking out the knitting needles to make her more.

That's it. Why try to force it to ten, you know? ;)

Have a great weekend and Happy November!