Christmas Movie Magic

One of my favorite ways to kick off the holiday season is to snuggle up on the couch with blankets and friends, and mugs of hot chocolate (and maybe a bit of peppermint schnapps) and pop in Christmas movies! There are so many that I remember watching as a kid with my brother, on repeat, night after night. The love for  Christmas movies continues today, as I've compiled a list of holiday movies I plan to watch this year. Some I've seen, some I can pretty much quote line by line, and others I've never seen. Regardless, they are movies I plan to watch this season, and are listed in no particular order. I've put an ** by the ones that hold a special place in my heart. What are your favorite Christmas Movies??


1. Babes in Toyland**
2. A Christmas Carol
3. A Christmas Story
4. Elf**
5. The Family Stone
6. Four Christmases
7. Frosty the Snowman
8. The Holiday**
9. Home Alone**
10. The Muppet Christmas Carol
11. The Polar Express
12. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
13. Scrooge
14. A Charlie Brown Christmas**
15. It's A Wonderful Life
16. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
17. Love Actually
18. Miracle on 34th Street
19. The Night Before Christmas
20. Prancer

Snow!

Some people like to play in the snow...I however, like to put my Legos IN the snow :)

Thanksgiving Centerpieces

In honor of the impending holiday I thought it was only appropriate that I post some of my favorite Thanksgiving Centerpieces and table settings. The rich color tones gives off such a cozy, inviting feeling that brightens up each room. Although I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year and will not need to create any sort of centerpiece, if I did, one of these would for sure be sitting in my dinning room.

I love the simplicity of this one, especially because all you use is
your own linens, fruit and gourds purchased at your local store.
Simple, straight forward, and gorgeous.

I don't think the centerpiece on this one is anything special
but what I do love is that the centerpiece isn't meant to be
the focal point. LOOK AT THOSE DISHES! How fun! This
is a great way to mix it up a bit and still have plenty of room on the
table for all the other "goods" :)

Again, I like the de-clutter look of this one. Who wants to
have to work around bulky centerpieces that block your
view of your loved ones and make it impossible to set
the turkey, potatoes and all the other fixin's on the table?!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! How simple! I never thought about using
nuts to decorate like this. But how chic and simple but gorgeous!

Hands down my favorite! Just think of how versatile this could
be! You could do different plants for every season and it'd be
the perfect accent to your table!

Giving Back

Lately I have had a bit of a heavy heart, thinking about my life and how to make it more meaningful. I feel pretty selfish for not doing more for my community and others around me. Everything that I do revolves around me and what makes me feel good and rightfully so, it is my life, but I feel like there should be more to it. Yes, I give back by teaching young 5 and 6 year olds and really what could be more rewarding than that, but that's my job. I'm hired to do that. And although I love my chosen career, I am beginning to feel a pull to do more. I have been thinking of doing some sort of volunteer work, something that will help me to connect with others in my community and a way for me to give back. My first thought was Habitat for Humanity where I'd help build houses for those less fortunate but my immediate thought was "who would willingly give ME a hammer or power tool?!"....I'm rather clumsy and accident prone!. My second thought was Special Olympics where I could work with people with special needs. Ideally this would be what I'd chose, but you really don't get to connect with people much through that one because it's different people every time. But I LOVE working with people with special needs. Hmmm. 

I need some inspiration...some sort of sign that will lead me to the perfect volunteer situation.

"The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others."

--Ghandi

My new inspiration

I have been wanting to re-do my bedroom and master bathroom but simply haven't known what I wanted. I think I've figured it out. I started off with my master bedroom a pretty, soothing shade of green but I've since decided I want something more neutral. After four years of green, I'm ready for a change. My master bath is pretty small and I had painted it a deep purple...pretty, but it just makes the space seem smaller. And childish.

I'm obsessed with grey. I don't know what's come over me but I LOVE GREY! It's soothing, and simple yet sophisticated and it's just what I've been needing. I want to paint the walls in both rooms grey (they connect so I need to keep it consistent) and accent with a greyish purple, white and black. Here are some rooms I love. Some more overdone than my taste for sure, but beautiful none the less.

Isn't this just to die for! I love the chic simple design
for a babys room. One any little girl could grow into and
love for years to come.

A different view. That mirror above the dresser pulls down
and turns into a changing table! I die! 

Not a fan of the yellow incorporated here
but I like the design on the wall in lieu of
a headboard. 

Although very minimalist, I feel like this is such a serene place
to retreat to. 

Best Thing Since Sliced Bread!

I have literally discovered the best thing since sliced bread. I kid you not! I'm a sucker for searching on Craigslist for household items but hate having to click on every posting to see the pictures. There's a new thing called Craigseasy.com and it's a bookmark that you add to your bookmark menu. Once you search for something on craigslist then you click the craigseasy button and it shows you pictures of the posted items! NO MORE CLICKING EVERY POSTING! It saves so much time and frustration! I am in love :)

So save yourself hours of searching and go to www.craigseasy.com
It'll change your life too :) Happy hunting!

Was I The Same Way?

Two years ago I was with a man whom I thought was the love of my life. I met him at a wedding of a co-worker and he was the best man. I didn't know it, but everyone else had told him about me and it was a secret set up on their part. I met him and was smitten instantly. We were inseparable the rest of the night and well into the after party. I awoke early too anxious to hear from him and when I did, I asked him out to coffee before he had to make a long, three day trip back to Oklahoma, where he was from. Four days later I jumped on a plane and flew down to spend Labor Day weekend with him. It was a leap of faith, one that I never in a million years would have seen coming, but something I felt I had to do. You see this particular summer I had attended a total of 7 weddings and was beginning to wonder when it was my turn. When did I get the happy ending? When was it my turn to wear a pretty white dress and marry the man of my dreams? So when I met Dan, I thought that dreams maybe do come true.

The trip to Oklahoma was one of mixed emotions. I hated the state, but was falling hard and fast for Dan. I loved his confidence, his funny quirky sense of humor, and his ability to set me free. He made me feel like I was the only one in the entire world that mattered. Our relationship turned serious very quickly and within weeks we were saying those three little words that I refuse to throw around lightly. They're sacred to me. We began talking about marriage and children. We looked at rings and talked about where we'd live, and how we'd raise our children. It literally was everything I ever wanted...except for the fact that I lived in Washington, and he lived in Oklahoma. It was an intense relationship filled with extreme highs, and low lows. My family didn't see the man I saw. My friends tried to see the man I saw. His family saw someone strong, and stable and loving...the one for him. I tried to believe he was the man with everything I wanted. Sooner rather than later, I began to notice red flags but I tried to convince myself that it would be ok. It wasn't. I began to realize that I needed out of the relationship, and after 9 months, I did just that. I ended it, and broke his heart, and mine at the same time. I broke his because he needed someone in his life to make him feel loved and I ripped that away from him. I broke my own heart because I ripped out from under me the one thing I wanted more than anything...to be a wife and mother. I was ok. Sure I was sad, and lost, but I moved on. I was happy to be "free" again and not have the burden of his problems weighing on my shoulders and ultimately I was happy knowing that I didn't make a mistake.

4 months after our relationship ended I found out that he had gotten married. 4 MONTHS!!! This shot me into a complete downfall of depression. I was NOT ok. I was a mess. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't stop crying. I felt as if the universe was out to get me. Why me? Why did I deserve to go through this? I sought out counseling because I knew it wasn't something that I could fix on my own and after a few months, I began to heal. I don't think I'm 100% there, and probably won't be until someone shows me what true love really is. But I'm close. I know that I deserve better. I know that I dodged a major bullet by not marrying him, and I know that he couldn't have made me happy.

I write all of this because I have a friend who's boyfriend broke up with her 2 months ago after a 6 year relationship. I see her in a state of depression which has taken her into the world of cigarettes, pot and alcohol to ease her pain. She doesn't care about herself, and thinks that HE is what makes her complete. She thinks that she'll never love again, and doesn't believe in love. Everytime she calls me I hesitate to answer because I know it's going to be a long conversation about him, and how miserable she is. I don't want to hang out with her one-on-one for the same reasons. I feel terrible about this and know that I need to be there for her, but I can't handle it. I can't handle how she isn't helping herself. How she can sit there and email him and tell him how much she is hurting, and expect him to come running back to her. She is sabotaging herself and I can't sit here and watch her do it. It's driving me crazy and I don't know what to do. I want to help her so badly. I then begin to wonder. Was I this bad? Did I do the same things? Were my friends and family annoyed with me??

I just pray that there begins to be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel for her. I know there was for me.