Christmas Cheer

Happy Holidays! I hope you all have a wonderful time with your loved ones and thanks for sticking around my little place on the internet, even if I did desert it for half the year!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! I haven't linked up in a while, so today I'm doing two. Coming back strong.

One. 
I know I talked about TV yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to properly talk about Grey's Anatomy Season Finale. Mostly because I don't know anyone IRL that actually watches it. But can you just humor me and freak out with this picture:

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now onto Christmas themed stuff:
Two.
As this year is coming to an end, I'm so Thankful for the ups and downs I've had. But mostly the Friendships that have continued to grow and turn into the biggest support group I can image and, of course, Jason, I feel like we're coming out of our party every night ways and having more fun just hanging with each other.
#blessed

Three.
I"m ready to spend a few hours this weekend baking Christmas goodies. I so badly want to make these:

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Four.
I'm super excited because after Christmas, Jason and I are headed up to D.C. for a few days. Things have been so busy that we haven't planned anything. I need to start gathering suggestions and make a "D.C. Must do list"

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Five.
DAYS until Christmas everyone. Is it me or does it feel like December just flew by? I still feel like I haven't really been in the Christmas spirit lately in order to try, I'm listening to this song on repeat

Finally found a way to catch up on my TV

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bright House Networks for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

You probably already know by now that I'm a huge Reality TV fan

(basically me when there I finally have time to catch up on my shows)

As you also may know, Jason is a HUGE sports fan...and by Sports fan, I mean he likes every.single.sport. Which also means, he can pretty much watch a game every night of the week. And if there isn't a game, well there is ESPN to recap the previous nights' game. So there's that.

When these two worlds collide, it usually leads to us competing for the TV 'rights'. I just found out about a new Bright House offering that can finally solve our problems. Hallelujah!

Bright House Networks TV (BHTV, if you're down) is an app and website, it's free to use and you can view live HD Programming anywhere with your iPad, iPhone and most Android devices. Best of all, you can also view BHTV on the computer.  There's a programming guide to flip through channels, and if a new episode of House Hunters is on when I'm about to go to bed - I can set it to record on my DVR directly from this amazing app/website. How cool!

Obviously it's great to catch a Food Network show, while I'm baking Holiday cookies. But it's also great to catch up on my shows while Jason is watching the last quarter of the game - it works right off the wireless network, so we can even bring it out to the pool deck. It really can Make Any Room a TV Room!

You can download the app and check out the BHTV’s FAQ for more information. But if you have Bright house, I highly suggest you follow Bright House support on Twitter - their customer service is superb

{DIY} Merry Mail

I swear that one of the biggest joys in life is receiving actual mail, that isn't from some business demanding payment. It always makes me so happy and it's like winning the freaking jackpot during the holiday season. The only problem I had was that I own probably 3 magnets. (side note: Where does one buy more "cute" magnets?) So, my christmas cards always get piled up on each other. I saw a pin floating around Pinterest and decided to make my own version on Friday.

via Cute right, but it was also $43.. So I set out to Hobby Lobby and picked up some supplies

Chalkboard, Burlap Flowers, Ribbon and Clothes pins (p.s. this was just over $11) The process of making this was super easy, it took all of 5 minutes. Start by heating up your hot glue gun and gluing the Burlap Flowers on to the front of the chalkboard. As that is setting, cut a few even strands of Ribbon. I evenly spaced mine out (obviously using my fingers) and hot glued them on the back. Flip that bad boy back over and write "Merry Mail" with chalk. Then clip on Christmas cards with clothes pins   To hang it, I used a left over clear command hook that I had from hanging garland. I'm happy to report it's still hanging...unlike my garland. Finished Product:

Eeee, I love it and it's so fun to see right as we walk in the front door.

Proud doesn't even begin to describe it

A few years ago, Jason talked about going back to school. He had the majority of his coursework done at the local Community College and a long trek ahead. He spent the last 4 years building a landscaping business, which while it was a great source for income, was showing to be wearing and tearing his body.
With bouts of Gout, Knee and Ankle problems he decided to re-enroll in school. This Saturday, I was so so SO incredibly proud to watch him walk across the stage at UCF for his Graduation. 

After the Graduation, we of course had to party! It's been a long time coming after all. Grandma got down on some Fireball :)

Getting Hot in herrrre

Please don't take this as bragging, but it's so flippin' Hot in Florida. Which I'm sure sounds nice to the the rest of the country.

But here's what sucks about this weather....
It obviously doesn't feel like Christmas, sure we're used to wearing short sleeves to Christmas dinner, but usually it's a tad cooler. Picking out a Christmas tree and breaking a sweat, should not go hand and hand. On that same line, It makes decorating your house in lights absolutely no fun!    It's not even the Christmas vibe that sucks, it's staring at my pretty boots and sweaters begging to be worn as I'm putting on a maxi dress that has worn out it's welcome. This is a serious issue, Ladies. An outfit can only be rotated so many times before it's overkill, I need to put all of my tanks, maxis and sun dresses (and Flip Flops) on the back burner and wear my sweaters and boots. Also, scarves...I want to break out my scarves SO bad!
Seeing these gorgeous outfits on Pinterest do NOT help

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I'm mildly obsessed with all things Plaid & Aztec, but I just can't justify the purchases when it's 87 degrees out. Someone make it stop, pleaseee!

{DIY} Wreath

I've been wanting to make a wreath for about 2 years now. Procrastinator, I am! I've probably pinned about 1,254 different wreaths in hopes that I would be inspired. I've actually purchased supplies for one of those ribbon wreaths...and well there wasn't enough wine in the house to get me moving on it. So when I saw this Christmasy, monogrammed lover pass through my Pinterest timeline I ran to Hobby Lobby picked up the supplies and started right away.

Red, Green and White Hydrangeas/ Vine Wreath / Single Monogram (and if you need it spray paint)/ Burlap ribbon psst: Fake florals are 50% off this week. The process is super simple. Start with spray painting the Monogram, to get it ready! While that is drying, clip the floral stems and weave through the vine. Once your letter is dry tie that bad boy to the other side of the wreath. After those are secure, follow this smart girl's bow tutorial for a super easy Bow on top. Then hang your wreath and admire it's beauty.

I see your Weekend Update...

and raise you one 6-month update. I admit it, I gave up on Blogging completely...for a few reasons. I was angry because I lost all of my photos - all of them. I was worn out from work and the new position I accepted and I was boring. How do you ladies find fun things to blog about? I doubt anyone wants to hear about me getting home from working, changing to yoga pants, glasses and throwing my hair up in a bun only to watch OINB or some other equally crazy show and falling asleep on the couch in an hour.  #mylife.
So here's a quick 6 month update on this little life of mine. 
June: One year anniversary. We made it a year (well like 7 years, but had to travel back in time cause of the ol' vows.) and we started with Fireball shots and tried our cake.

You should never eat a year old cake
August: We visited Boston and NY. It was basically amazing and I'm already ready to go back.

September: It was my one of my best friend's bachelorette party, we went to her Alma Mater (FSU) for her party. It's a pretty genius bachelorette party. Tailgating is my favorite activity, after all.

The only girl I would wear Garnet and Gold for
October: That pretty little bachelorette from above was wed...

And Halloween

November: Jason had his last birthday of his twenties, complete with moonshine.

Thanksgiving, of course. In which we golfed...cause we're Floridians.

December: Well so far.. We've decorated the crap out of our house. And I actually have a little tutorial on my new favorite Christmas decor And, this guy graduates (finally) from UCF on Saturday. WOO-freaking-HOO

Let's see if I can stick with this whole blogging thing this time around!

{DIY} Crate Bookshelf

Say what? Three times this week and a Pinterest project to boot? I'm amazing myself.  Let's travel back a little bit in time to when I first joined Pinterest and Pinned this gem:

So cute. So rustic. So easy. So me! I started convincing Jason of starting this project with me a few months ago. Two weeks ago, he brought it up and off to JoAnn's we went.  And, we finally completed it this week!

The process is pretty simple.  1. Grab all of your JoAnn coupons (or download the app!) 2. Head to JoAnns and pick up 15 of those bad boys and to Home Depot for the stain 3. Grab some vino and #Backthatazzup Pandora, get to staining 4. Have someone who is capable with a power drill and screw the cabinets together. 5. Grab items from all over the house and fill up the bookshelf. Or something like that. Snap a pic!

TADA

MaryKay goodies

I kind of have a love affair with these monthly subscription services. Maybe it's because getting a pretty box is the mail always brightens my day....or Maybe it's because I have yet to subscribe to one myself so there is a certain level of love from afar going on. Either way it's amore. Several of my coworkers receive them and it's so fun to go through all the products with them. This month I tried out Influenster and lucky me was chosen to receive the MaryKay Glamour Look voxbox this month.

swoon.
This goodie box came with some fun makeup finds, like:

So far my favorite from this group is this lipstick. It's the best shade of pink....ever. I think Woods, Elle herself would approve.
Thanks for all of the pretties, Influenster and Marykay. BRB guys, I'm gonna go play with some makeup. 

Hangin' Tough

In all honesty, my weekend can be summed up in 4 words ditto to Steph's post Seriously, it's sad how much I copy her and want to be her. On Friday night, we went to HH to pre-game for the NKOTB, 98 degrees and Boys II Men show. Truthfully, I never was a 98 degress fan. In my childhood, you had to pick Boy Bands sides. You just simply cannot like them all. I choose NSYNC and everyday I'm grateful for that decision. I made up for my lack of knowledge of 98 degree's songs with what I knew of NKOTB and Boys II Men. 

Yup, I even stole one of those pictures from Steph. That's pretty much what the title of this post should be "I copied Steph"  Anyways, Saturday I received a text from  her that she purchased a new car. It's seriously gorgeous. What does any unstable person do? Start looking at cars of course. Faster than I can imagine, I ended up with this pretty girl on Sunday afternoon

The only thing I didn't do exactly like Steph was hangout with Landyn. Although, I kind of wish I did. That is one cool kid. That's my weekend in a nutshell

Not your average Father's Day

Father's Day has always been a hard day for me.  With Social Media it proves even harder.  I've briefly touched on my family dynamic, but it is still a subject that is hard for me to write about. Every year during Father's Day, I get a little teary-eyed seeing all of the cute little "My dad is my hero" posts. Mostly because mine is far from that. 
I'm grateful that my Father is still alive, but this quote seems to put everything simply

My parents didn't separate until I was in 10th grade, but my dad emotionally left years before head physically left. He was working non-stop, traveling for business every week and then sleeping all day/night when he was home. I wished during the school years especially that I had a father like my friend's dads. They were there supporting them through Sports events, breakups, relationships, college decisions, etc. Mine was not.  I feel that girls learn invaluable lessons from their relationships with their Dads, whether good or bad. Instead of sulking about the day yesterday, I decided to take a look at the things I did end up learning from my Father.
I learned that parents are people too. I say this all the time now, but it was truly a changing point in my life. I always held my parents on a pedestal and could never understand why they would make mistakes. Until one day, I was so hurt by something and realized that Parents can make mistakes. It's okay in the end.
I learned that in addition to them being people, they'll need forgiveness. More importantly I'll need to be able to forgive. Between the ages of 15-20, I refused to forgive. It was just anger that was sitting inside of me. Forgiveness ultatimely hurts the person who can't let go.
(fave LC quote)

I learned to be passionate about work. Be proactive, responsible and successful. At the same time, never let it get in the way of your family.
I learned to always keep on learning. My father is a man who picks a project and masters it. Rebuilding a car, Playing the Banjo, Photography..you name it. He will find something he's interested in and pursue it to it's fullest.
Lastly... I learned that adultery can flat out ruin people. Be faithful in all relationships, hold on to those that are close to you. In the end, they are what matters most.
Case in Point: