Happy Thanksgiving Y'all | See ya Monday!

First I want to tell y'all about Walmart clothes. I am never one to stray away from a good deal and Walmart clothes are comfortable and cheap, and as of recent they have been on point with their selections. I am obsessed with this gold polka dot cream top I purchased and at $10 I'm loving it!

I also got a cream top with gold sequins around the shoulder (what can I say, I'm loving gold right now!) and a gray top with silver leopard print...loving their selections right now. If you need a sizing reference I am normally a size small in a shirt, however Walmart tops shrink terribly when you wash them so I always purchase a medium - trust me, their clothes shrink!

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It's the day before Thanksgiving, how exciting!
I am so ready to wake up tomorrow morning snuggled up next to my family watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York. Then head off to our parents to spend some quality time together with each of our families. One at lunch and the other at dinner. 

Once Thanksgiving is over and Friday arrives Tarl and I are having a weekend to ourselves and it's been long overdue. The last weekend we had without the kiddo was when we went to  Florida and it did not go as expected so we are very ready to have this time together for just the two of us. 

Cadence is excited about playing with her cousin, attending a birthday party and getting spoiled rotten by her mema.

I'll be sure and post some pictures on Instagram of our Thanskgiving festivities along with our weekend full of date nights, so make sure you click the mason jar on the right hand side and follow along. 

Friday we have zero plans. We may end up in Charleston, Savannah, Beaufort or just some dirt road riding in the lowcountry - some times those are the best dates!



On Saturday we're headed to our favorite place, Savannah...dinner at the Melting Pot per usual and watching the Christmas boat parade, along with the tree lighting and fireworks.
So excited to officially begin Christmas festivities with the love of my life!

On Sunday we'll pick up miss priss and our Elf on the Shelf, Olly, will finally make his debut for Christmas 2014! Cannot wait! We have a lot of fun ideas planned for Olly. If you need ideas follow my Christmas board on Pinterest - you won't be sorry!

I wish you and your family a very blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

As usual with holidays I'll be spending that wonderful time with family, so no blog posting for me...see ya on Monday folks!

Favorite Things 2014 | Stocking Stuffers | Us, His & Theirs

I'm joining these gals again this week to talk about stocking stuffers.
You can read last weeks Favorite Things here where I told you what I wanted for Christmas. This week we're onto...

Ahh...stocking stuffers. 

The one item that most people wait until last minute to get. 

Think about it. We're all wound up baking, shopping for those big ticket items, listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album on repeat that we forget about those stockings hanging on the mantle. Fear not, here are some great ideas!

Normally I post pictures, but these are self explanatory, easy and the perfect addition to that Christmas stocking.

For Him:

Men, at least mine anyways, are easy to buy for. If you live in the South then most likely your husband is into hunting, fishing, or football. If they're anything like my husband then they like all three. Keep it simple, just how they like it and stuff that stocking full of goodies like...

Fishing Lures

Bass Pro or Dick's Sporting Goods Gift Cards

Collegiate Truck Decals

Golf Balls

Golf Tees

Handmade Coupons (card stock & a stapler...things like a back rub or get more risque with it dependent upon your own personal preferences)

Razors

Shaving Cream

Deodorant

Cologne

Those last little necessities are always in Tarls stocking. It's those pesky little items that they need but forget to buy come checkout time so adding them in his stocking shows him you're thinking of him and keeps his hygiene in tact for the next month or two :)

If you really want to make it fun add a big gift to the stocking and open those last. One year for Christmas Tarl insisted we waited until last to open our stockings. Not sure why because we always open those first, but I was so ecstatic with it being Christmas morning I didn't think twice about it. We went ahead as usual opening gifts, laughing and enjoying our time with Cadence and one another. After all the presents were unwrapped and my living room looked like a wrapping paper massacre we went for the stockings and at the bottom of mine was my "big" gift - Jake Owen concert tickets and a two night stay in a downtown Asheville, NC hotel for one of his February concerts. So if you're husband is wanting that special watch or those really hard to find tickets...add them to the bottom of his stocking. Trust me, he'll be surprised!

For Them:

Kids are cake to buy for. If your children are anything like Cadence then they have no issue telling you what they want, what color they want it in and where you can buy it at. Truth! For Cadence's stocking we keep it simple. We always buy a big box of Crayola crayons, some coloring books and a shit ton of stuff from the Target dollar spot and local dollar store. Items like puzzles, candies, costume jewelry, etc. 

That box of crayons lasts her all year until Christmas time rolls around again and she needs a new box of crayons. Trust me, her box now looks sick (and not the good sick!). Crayons are a must in my opinion. They open a child's mind to a world of imagination and it's a great past time in the car or when you're trying to cook or clean.

For Her:

Keep in mind this is coming from my point of view and interests. If something you see here doesn't suit you, no problem...just things that I enjoy.

Beauty Products - things like lipstick, eyeshadow palettes, lotion, mascara - those little things that fit perfectly in a stocking. If your significant other is like mine and has no clue what kind of beauty products you like, take pictures the next time you're walking around your store of products you wear and text them to him. He'll thank you for it and you'll think yourself when you're not opening a bright blue lipstick or lotion that smells like Bengay.

Nail Polish

Perfume

Her Favorite Candy (Gummy Jolly Ranchers in Wild Berry)

Panties (they are always from VS and fit perfectly in the stocking :) 

iTunes Gift Card

Cell Phone Case

Fuzzy Slippers

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Here are some other websites with a lot of great stocking stuffer ideas!

And remember, if all else fails - get 'em some gift cards :)

Charleston Fun Day

What a fun weekend it was and oh how quickly it passed.

On Friday night our small little town came together on Main Street for what we call the Holiday Merchant Open House, where each local business stays open later than normal and offers prizes, raffles, and goodies. There is also local performers who sing/dance and even Santa is present. It was a lot of fun and my nephew, Dean, sang and played his guitar as one of the singing acts. 

Cadence loved meeting Mrs. Clause! She has met Santa quite a few times but never Mrs. Clause. She was very excited about this because Mrs. Clause is the gal who takes care of Olly (our Elf on the Shelf) all year until he comes to our home for Christmas.

She also got to help decorate gingerbread cookies with her. It was so fun!

While Dean was performing Cadence found some friends from school and went and sat by them. It's such a precious sight seeing them dance and play together. 

All the businesses have amazing window displays ready for Christmas - I can't believe I only took one photo of one store because it was all so festive and colorful.

I purchased this hand painted ornament from a local gift shop in town.

Obsessed with it! Very indicative of the Lowcountry and it now graces our tree!

On Saturday we woke up and decided to head to Charleston for the day.

We adore Charleston and go there every chance we can. 

King Street + Starbucks...yes!

We ate lunch at one of our favorite spots, California Dreaming. The food is delicious but the view is unbelievable! If you can score a window seat when you eat, you have a perfect view of the Charleston Harbor along with all the boats and yachts.

The fried crab claws are a must eat for me every time!

Tic-Tac-Toe is serious between these two!

After we ate lunch we headed to downtown and drove around looking at the beautiful houses on those narrow side streets. Tarl and I dream of owning one some day. 

We parked and walked around downtown and found the neatest little shop right off King Street. Not sure what the little side street was called but it is directly off King.

They sell building blocks but they have tons of displays that they have built inside that are all standing by balance alone, no glue or other support.

They also have a huge carpet in the center with blocks and books where you can build your own. We built a chair.

I also found this glass vanity trimmed in white and wanted it immediately. Too bad the price wasn't in my range, but a girl can dream! Cadence loved it just as much as I did.

We looked around some more before heading home.

Everything in Charleston is now decorated for Christmas and it's stunning!

Coburg even has their Eggnog cow on display - tis' the Season!

I'm ready to tackle this 2 1/2 day work week, then it's Thanksgiving time with the family. 

Tarl and I are also getting a kid-free weekend this Friday & Saturday since my sweet mother-in-law wanted to spend some time with Cadence. I can't wait to share what the two of us have planned with you!

Gingerbread | Pinterest Win | Friday Fun

Yay - it's Friday! I don't know about y'all but I have felt like this week has d.r.a.g.g.e.d by!

It's Friday, my family is healthy, here and breathing (praise the Lord!) and I'm beyond ready to start the weekend with my loves. Not to mention that next week is only a 2.5 day work week! Can I get a Vicki woo-hoo!

Onto the fun...

Christmas cookies - delicious little morsels of delight while making memories with your family with the help of butter, sugar and sprinkles - that pretty much sums up our night last night while making our first batch of gingerbread cookies of the season.

I'll be the first one to tell you that I used to be that person who wanted the cookies decorated perfectly along with matching sprinkles. Now I could care less. See that cookie to the far left with the mounds of icing and 1000 sprinkles? That was Cadence's special cookie she made just for herself and it's probably my favorite because the kid loves icing and sprinkles and I know she made that one just so she could eat it, let's be honest, what kid doesn't like icing and sprinkles?

Pinterest projects most often are epic fails but some times they are the opposite and this project was just that! I love how it turned out and it filled a huge empty space in our living room.

I work in the construction industry so getting an old patina window sash wasn't hard at all. I printed instagram prints at my local Walgreens and used strong adhesive tape to secure them to the window panes. I went over in a dry erase marker first to do the writing, and then when I had it centered and the way I wanted it I went back over it in magic marker. 

It's a lot easier to wipe away dry erase on glass than permanent ink!

This little cutie had college team shirt day at school. As much as she enjoys the Gamecocks like we do, believe it or not she has no Gamecock shirts. She did however have this monogrammed (of course) football shirt with a gamecock colored bow sewn into it and we complimented the shirt with a hairbow the size of Texas! 

Sweet girl also wanted to take some ziploc bags full of the gingerbread cookies we baked last night to her teachers - love this sweet girl of mine!

Tonight is our small towns Merchant Open House which is when the quaint, small hometown stores that usually close around 5 stay open until 9pm. They offer goodies, have raffles, prizes, our main street is decorated to the nines for Christmas and it looks like candy cane lane with all the decor. Santa may also make an appearance along with a line up of musical numbers by local bands, performers, choirs and even my nephew, Dean.

I can't wait to hear him play his guitar while he sings along with Christmas music.

I'll try my best to take a video and upload on Monday - to say he is talented is an understatement! Kid learned how to play a guitar without lessons or reading music. Just hears a song and plays it by ear. Amazing and I'm totally jealous! I don't have a musical bone in my body!

If you're like me and need some nice winter clothes for your children then hit up Gymboree quick - all regular priced items are on sale today for 50% off. Items that were already marked down are 80% off! In my opinion it's Black Friday today for Gymboree!

Off I go to pick out some clothes for Cadence...

Happy Friday friends!