Les Miserables

Sooo I may or may not have been but definitely was more excited to see this on Christmas Day than to open presents. Sorry, Santa. But let me tell you - itwasfreakingincredible. I had pretty high expectations and every single one of them was met. I really can't say enough good things. Go. Now.

Merry Christmas Eve!!

We braved the snow to do a bit of last minute Christmas shopping at Target, which I'm realizing is becoming a Christmas tradition of mine, and treated ourselves to some Starbucks...caramel gingerbread steamer for me and a caramel apple cider for the Mr. Then home for a gift wrapping party. Now the hubby is trying to convince me to brave the snow again for a movie before the evening's festivities begin..... And he's cute enough I am sure he'll succeed. So it's pretty much a perfect day. I hope you are all a having a lovely Christmas Eve as well!

You've sucked us in again, Utah.

For Christmas this year we made the trek out to UT since it's the hubby's year and his fam had yet to see the brand new (and first!) grand baby. We were going to fly, since we've done the 10 hour drive enough times to last a lifetime, but as it turns out, the pups would cost about $600(!) to take with us. So, driving it was! I was hoping H would sleep for 4-5 hours like he usually does in the morning so we'd only need to stop once to feed him. But, alas, on this particular day he decided to wake up every three hours.....making the trip more like 12 hours. It's a good thing he's so dang cute.

We made sure to stop at really awesome places to feed Holden. Like the abandoned building  pictured above that was just off the side of the freeway in nowhereville and then later on a veteran cemetery. We're just rad parents like that.

Traveling with a babe is no joke. Our car was filled the brim and the poor pooches had to make do.

I took on a whole new level of brave by letting the hubby change H's diaper on my lap. Thank goodness the bugger didn't decide that it would be funny to pee on mom. .;

Then, two days later we were heading over to the hubby's dad's house when traffic stopped immediately. We quickly pulled off to the shoulder, and then BAM! the guy behind us slammed into us. Thankfully everyone was okay (Holden even slept through it!), but my back got pretty messed up. Still, knowing it could have been SO. MUCH. WORSE. I'll take the bad back. SO - we're back in Utah until our tailpipe gets put back into it's proper place, which the body shop says will be around Jan 4th. Blerg. But, on the positive side, that means we have free baby sitting for another two weeks - score!

Christmas Wish List

I present my Christmas Wish List. Nothing too fancy here, mostly mom friendly flats (boo) but since all I seem to have is 4" heels they're becoming a quick necessity. Oh, and I listed a steamer. Because everyone should be able to iron without actually ironing.

1. 
2. 

3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
and
 
8. 
9. 
10. 
or

_________________________

1. iPad Mini

2. Leopard Tuxedo Flats

3. Tiny "H" necklace
4. Statement necklace
5. Steve Madden Studded flats (in either the teal above or tan)
6. Hunters boots (in either the green above or grey)
7. DIY gel manicure via this pin (link for products here and here)
8. bareMinerals "The Total Package" kit (although sadly now sold out)
9. Feather pendant
10. Garment steamer (Although I can't decide between the stand up or hand held)

All those items are great, but given the chance to be all mushy, I'd say that I have all I could want this year with a healthy baby and wonderful hubby (and two cute pups).

Merry Christmas!!

Borrowed thoughts

In light of recent events, there's been so much I've wanted to say but didn't know how. I've never been great at expressing myself and especially when something so terrible happens I feel the need to say something perfectly profound. But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to succinctly or adequately do the job. Maybe one day I'll figure it out, but for now I found three quotes from three different people who seem to say exactly what I'm trying to get across.

1. Sydney from The Daybook:

"My heart is broken for the parents and loved-ones of the victims in Connecticut. They are constantly on my mind. The world can seem so dark sitting in front of the computer screen looking at the faces of such sweet, innocent spirits that are no longer on the earth. I know their faces. I see their bright countenances in the face of my own little son every day, and imagining the loss of something so beautiful, and in such an unspeakable way ... it's chest-heaving, throat-constricting darkness. I count my blessings every day that this little baby is mine. He is mine in this life and he is mine in the next. His little hands that wrap their way around me, inspire me to be a better person with a greater capacity for love everyday.

To the families in Connecticut, we love you. We are praying for you and thinking about you. Your sweet children will not be forgotten"

2. Some guy named Mark, that everyone thought was Morgan Freeman:

"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.

It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the k!ller's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the k!ller's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."

3. Ben Stein (heard of this one before CT, but still so relevant):

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

"My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein"

Friday Fave - "Fly My Cape"

Whew! It's been a week since my last post and I am bound and determined NOT to make this a habit. So real quick before I get to finally finishing the cmas presents that need to ship out tomorrow I wanted to throw out a quick Friday Fave. I actually can't remember if I've already blogged about this, but I'm leaning towards no....soo.....

My friend Amber pinned this episode on Pinterest a few months back and since I'm a huge fan of Castle I was curious. It's not the HAHA kind of funny that I'm typically into (in fact it's pretty dang dry) but it seemed to be that when I'd think about it later I found myself chuckling. Which probably made me look crazy to anyone around. Anyway - so far this is my favorite episode (although I really love #3 too - the end kills me).

Favorite Web Series: The Daly Show

(And really the ONLY web series I watch....)

Holden @ 1 Month

So since this is a journal of sorts I'm going to try and document H's progress every month. Just little things, really, but things that I'm bound to forget as time goes on. And this way I'll have plenty of documentation to pull out when he's 16 and I want to embarrass him with his first date {insert evil laugh here}.

 - At your 1 Month check-up you were 8 lbs 15 oz & 22.5 inches, which means you've grown almost a pound & 2 more inches.

 - You have such a strong neck & legs - even the doctor commented on it - which means I may or may not but definitely have already looked into soccer leagues and what age you can start playing :)

 - You absolutely LOVE the map above our couch and stare at it pretty much every day:

 - These days you're babbling a bit, which is so dang cute.

 - Typically you love to sleep at night (4-6 hours at a time!) and at bed time you put your swaddled self to sleep no problem, but not during the day unless I'm holding you.

 - You love your car seat which is GREAT for us since we travel so much.

 - Your eyes are looking more blue every day......which would be great except for the fact that I bet your Dad a week's worth of poopy diapers that they'd be hazel like his.

 - You are honestly one of the best babies I've known....and I did quite a bit of baby sitting in my day! You are usually just happy and content on your own and although you have your fussy/tantrum-y moments, they're pretty rare.

  - Your smile still melts my heart. Especially the other night when we were up at 4am and I was rocking you back to sleep and you were starting to fall asleep on my chest and you spit out your pacifier, threw your head back to look at me and smiled for a good 10 seconds. My mommy tear ducts didn't stand a chance.

Because it blew me away

SO amazing. And the water part - Areyoufreakingkiddingme?!

What a lovely Saturday.

We started our day off right with a fun little brunch with my dear friend, Rachel at Le Pain Quotidien where we promptly stalked from a distance ran into Jessica Alba. Well, "ran into" may be a loose term. We saw her walk in and to the back of the bakery where she graciously chatted with people from the surrounding tables. The same tables we were THIS close to sitting at. But the hubby chose to sit at the front and I am trying uber hard to not hold it against him. I mean, she's only in my top ten of celebrities to meet. No biggie. But really - I'm a firm believer that celebs should have their privacy respected and I probably would have chickened out anyway. But oh man - the food was SO good.

Then that night we went with my sister, bro-in-law & two adorable nieces to the Burbank Nativity Festival hosted by our church. The two best parts were the St. Vincent Catholic Children's Choir's performance and the live nativity. Complete with livestock and a very unhappy until it was tucked safely away in it's owner's jacket baby pig. 

Holiday Treats

It may have actually been October 9th when I wrote this post. I may or may not but definitely was craving the holiday yumminess that begins around December 1st so I decided to write WAYYY in advance the awesome list for December. Thirty-one amazing holiday recipes and treats that I'm pretty sure I'll have already started by the time this post rolls around. Don't judge me - I had a baby in my belly directing me towards all things sweet. So really, this is HIS awesome list post. Man, not even born yet and he's already a blogger. Talk about making his mama proud.

1 - {Salted Chocolate Pecan Toffee}

2 - {Triple Chocolate Covered Peanut Clusters}

....Although I'm pretty sure I'll be making them with cashews instead.

3 - {Sugared Cranberries}

Say whaaat??

4 - {Butterscotch Caramels} 

Caramels have been the bane of my cooking existence for quite some time now. This year that will end. I am determined.


5 - {Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes}


6 - {White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread}
Apparently the best Christmas cookies ever. Which means I have no choice but to make them.


7 - {Christmas Tree Cake}
Although after the epic fail of my 4th of July cake there is no way I'll be putting the ornament inside. I think a simple red velvet will suffice.


8 - {Homemade Marshmallows}


9 - {Ginger Cookies}
These had better be super soft and chewy. Or else you'l be on my list, Ina.


10 - {Salted Caramel Shortbread}


11 - {Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites}
Wayyyy better than making a gingerbread house.


12 - {Chocolate Mint Truffle Biscotti}


13 - {Hot Cocoa Cookies}
I mean, just look at that chocolately goo.


14 - {Pumpkin Toffee Cookies w/Salted Caramel Glaze}
Because apparently I need more pumpkin in my life.


15 - {Rocky Road Chocolate Bark}


16 - {Dark Chocolate & Salted Caramel Shortbread}
Since one salted caramel shortbread recipe isn't enough.


17 - {Chocolate Hazelnut & Caramel Thumbprint Cookies}
Like a caramel loaded Ferrero Rocher - which are always found in my stocking each Christmas morning.


18 - {Pistachio & White Chocolate Mousse Tartlets}
I make these every year because they are AMAZING.


19 - {Cinnamon Roll Wreath}
It's not Christmas morning without cinnamon rolls and although I usually prefer my cinnamon rolls right from the center of the pan for the ultimate gooeyness, the wreath is so festive I can't resist.


20 - {Santa Hat Cupcakes}


21 - {Brownie Peppermint Cookies}


22 - {Mousse Topped White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake}
Holy crap. I'm pretty sure I'm salivating right now.


23 - {Chocolate Snowballs}
Like sandies...but with chocolate...EXCELLENT.


24 - {Candy Cane Brownies}


25 - {North Pole Cupcakes}


26 - {Peppermint & White Chocolate Cream Pie}


27 - {York Peppermint Patty Fudge Cookies}
Does anyone else need a York stat after seeing this commercial? Mad props to THAT advertising team.


28 - {Andes Cupcakes}
Is the Andes at the end of the meal anyone else's favorite part of going to Olive Garden? Well, besides the house salad. And bread sticks. And alfredo sauce. Hmm, I guess I know where I'm going for dinner.


29 - {Melted Snowman Sugar Cookies}
Although I'd use this recipe for super soft & thick cookies.


30 - (Christmas Tree Cupcakes}


31 - {Caramel Corn}
(Photo courtesy of Paula Deen)
Soo.....I'd share a link to the recipe, but I use my mom's - which is super amazing. If you're lucky I'll share the recipe with you later. And if you're even luckier and live around here I'll even share some of the batch I'll be making with you.