Saturday

Happy Saturday y'all!  We started decorating the house for Christmas today, and I absolutely love it.  I did the mini tree in the kitchen, and all the ornaments I made on Wednesday looked fabulous on it.

I also enjoyed lunch and coffee with Katie and one of our best friends.

Hope y'all enjoy what's left of Thanksgiving break!

Christmas Printables!

Hey y'all!  Nothing is better than Michael Buble Christmas music playing and a Bath and Body Christmas candle burning.  I'm feeling super excited about Christmas and am already in the holiday spirit.  I decided to get a little creative tonight and am proud to bring you my Christmas Printables!  I'm so excited about these and hope y'all love them as much as I do!  Just click on the links to download the printables!

Christmas Wish List: Everyone has a Christmas wish list.  Here's a cute way to share yours!  Downloads as a PDF.

Gift List: Keeping a list is the best way to keep gifting organized!  Don't forget any friends or family members and remember what everyone wants.  Downloads as a PDF.

Monogrammed Gift Tag: This one is my favorite.  Everyone loves monograms, and personalizing a gift tag is a great way to show someone that a gift is just as unique and special as they are.  Since this one is customizable, it downloads as a MS Word document instead of a PDF.  It looks a little crazy in the Dropbox preview, but downloads just fine.  If you don't already have the fonts Monogram KK or Mountains of Christmas,  you're going to need to download and install them before you start. 

Hope y'all get everything on your lists.  Happy gifting!

Holiday Favorites

Hey y'all!  With Thanksgiving behind us and Black Friday upon us, it's time to start the countdown to my absolute favorite time of year... Christmas! I love the holidays because they are always spent with family and friends, and who doesn't love baking cookies and exchanging gifts?  It's super important to remember the real meaning of Christmas and the true reason we celebrate, but there's nothing wrong with getting excited about decorations and desserts.  That being said, here are a few of my favorites!

Candle- I get my love of candles from my mom, and she burns the Bath and Body Twisted Peppermint candle every year.  Mixed with the scent of fresh Virginia pine in our living room, it smells amazing.

Coffee- I don't drink Starbucks often, but when I do, it's usually during the fall and winter months when all the good seasonals come out.  My absolute favorite is the Peppermint Mocha.  I usually save the calories and get the skinny.  It's merry and light!

Cookies- Lots of people bake Christmas cookies with long, intricate recipes that have been in their families for generations, but nothing beats the Pillsbury seasonal cookies.  I've loved the quick, ten minute sugar cookies with Christmas trees and reindeer on them since I was little, and they're still my very favorite, even though I usually eat half of them before they're even in the oven!

What are some of your Christmas favorites?

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all! I am so blessed and have so much to be thankful for.  I enjoyed the day with my family and had a delicious dinner to top it all off, not to mention an outstanding pumpkin pie with just a little too much whipped cream.  Can't wait to spend the rest of my break enjoying time with my family and friends.  Hope y'all had a fabulous day too!

Thanksgiving Break!

Hey y'all!  Thanksgiving break started today, and I couldn't have asked for a better day.  I spent it baking pumpkin goodies with my mom (pumpkin pies and a pumpkin roll), and doing a little Christmas crafting.  I bought the ribbon, ornaments, and stickers this morning and made ornaments for my family this afternoon.  Mine is monogrammed (of course), but I made my sisters and parents their own with their names.  I have to say, they're pretty adorable, even if my monogram is a little iffy.

I have so much to be thankful for and can't wait to spend the day with my family tomorrow!

Christmas Gift Bags

Hey y'all!  Christmas is just one month away, and I'm so excited to start thinking about what I'm going to get my friends and family this year.  I love giving gifts, so I always get so excited around the Holidays.  One of my favorite things to do for Christmas is make little gift bags for my friends and give them to them the last day of school before Christmas break.  I tie them up with the cutest little bows and get so happy to see the joy on the faces of the people I give them to!  Here's what I usually include:

1. Bath and Body hand sanitizers- We all know I'm the queen of PocketBacs.  I have an Island Margarita on every bag I own and sanitize at least ten times a day.  While I personally prefer summer scents, I usually include seasonals in my gift bags.  One of my favorites is Winter Cranberry!  The great thing about BBW is that they'll include gift bags and bows with the purchase!

2. Lip Balm- everybody loves lip balm, especially when it's cold and windy outside.  All of my friends and I love BabyLips, so it's almost impossible to go wrong with including these!  The new Dr. Rescue has become my favorite... so soothing.  For something a little less pricey, try Burt's Bees or a ChapStick brand seasonal.  These work too.

3. Gum- everyone loves gum!  My favorite kind to include is a limited-edition seasonal.  I'm loving Trident's Candy Cane right now.

Aside from these three main things, I also usually include a couple other little things.  Last year I also added sparkly ornaments.  Christmas is only ONE MONTH away, and I can't wait to get started on my gift bags.  Be merry, be bright, and let it glow!

Rough Days

Hey y'all!  Everyone has rough days, they're inevitable.  On the bright side, there are so many good ways to relax and recover.  Here are some of my favorites:

1. Pinterest- A little Pinning does everyone good

2. Coffee- I don't drink a lot of coffee, but sometimes I treat myself to seasonal treats.  My current favorite is Peppermint Mocha, but getting Starbucks all the time is so expensive.  My family has a Keurig, so popping in a Millstone K-cup and adding a little cream is so quick and easy!

3. Candles- Sometimes, nothing feels better than lighting one of your favorite candles and relaxing after a warm shower.  My current favorite is Bath and Body's "Winter".  I just bought it last week and have burned it every day since.  It smells just like Christmas.

Finally, nothing makes a rough day better than a little uplifting encouragement!  You can find some of my favorite Bible verses and encouragers on my "Fabulous Finds" page.  What are some of your favorite ways to relax after a rough day?

Monogram Monday

Hey y'all, it's Monogram Monday!  The weather in South Carolina is really cooling down, and I'm prepared to face the chill with my new monogrammed Columbia!  I'm obsessed with it.  I got the jacket at Kohl's on a really good sale, and took it to a local boutique to get monogrammed.  It looks so cute with just leggings and riding boots!  Can't wait to get such great use out of it this winter!

Saturday

Hey y'all!  It was another beautiful autumn Saturday in South Carolina!  Such great weather for getting out and enjoying the crisp breeze.

There's nothing better after a long week of school than a relaxing day doing some holiday shopping and drinking peppermint mochas with my mom!

Hope y'all have a good rest of the weekend!  Thanksgiving break will be here before we know it!

Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day, y'all!  We are so incredibly blessed with a freedom that doesn't come free and I am so incredibly thankful for those who sacrifice so that I may have that freedom.  There is nothing more humbling than knowing that each and every day, there are heroes fighting for a freedom we sometimes take for granted.  May God bless the USA and always protect those who serve so selflessly.  'Merica!

Merry and Bright

Hey y'all!  With the Christmas season right around the corner, I was super excited to make this year's Christmas board on Pinterest.  I went with the title "Merry and Bright", which I found on the cover page of December 2014 in this year's Lilly agenda (sorry, this was just too cute to wait a year to use) and instantly fell in love with.  The board is filling up quickly, and the Pins are cuter than ever.  Here are a few of my favorites thus far...

Monogrammed Ornaments: I am just a little bit obsessed with these.  They're absolutely adorable!  I've seen them multiple times on Pinterest, and have two separate Pins for them on my board.  The first one is available on Etsy, but if you're feeling creative, the second one redirected to an awesome link for a DIY tutorial!  Granted, you'll have to order the decal from Etsy or somewhere else to place on the ornament, but the tutorial for actually adding the glitter and making it seems super easy and really fun.  This is one thing on my Christmas break to-do list, and I can't wait until I get to try it out!

The Perfect Playlist: I was absolutely elated to find this.  I've been looking for a playlist with a good list of classic songs and newer ones, and this is perfect.  I've already listened to it a couple of times (judge me), and it give me so much holiday spirit.  I know it's still early November, but in my opinion, it's never too early to start celebrating Christmas.

(If it's too small to see here, click on it.  It gets bigger!)

A Merry Lilly Christmas: I am absolutely in love with these Lilly Pulitzer stockings.  Unfortunately, I followed the links on the Pins with no luck.  I'd love to order one, but I can't find a place to anywhere.  Regardless, they're absolutely adorable, and who doesn't love to have a little Lilly for the holiday season?  Let it glow!

I can't wait to continue the Christmas count down.  I love sparkling lights, the smell of sugar cookies, time with my family... basically the entire holiday season.  I'm getting a great head start on my Pinterest board this year and can't wait to see what else I can add to it as the season progresses.  Be merry!

Gobble Gobble

Happy November y'all!  It's so hard to believe we've already flown through October!  It's only day two, but it's been a pretty fabulous month thus far.  Last night was the classic November Friday, spent watching football under those Friday night lights with good friends.  I can't stress enough how blessed I am to have these people in my life.

Tonight we had the classic Bergey bonfire.  I must say, nothing feels as good as sitting next to a fire on a fall night.  Autumn is in the air, and the weather was perfect. On top of it all, it was a great excuse to wear my new vest, so I was pretty excited.

As for the rest of the month, things are looking exciting.  Thanksgiving break is right around the corner, and that means family fun and Black Friday are soon to follow.  I can't wait for pumpkin pie and super sales, all in a day.  It's going to be great.

Here's to a fun and festive November!  Follow the sun ☀