Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Wishing you all a very

Merry Christmas,

 

from our family to you <3 br="">

Autumn To Do List: Recap

Well it's December 21st, which means the end of Autumn.
That means that it's the deadline for my Autumn To Do list.

Did I finish it?

Yep!

So let's get this recap started, so you can see what I did and how I did it!

1.    Visit a pumpkin patch and take a hayride.  Visited Bishop's Pumpkin Farm and took a hayride.

2.    Drink a pumpkin spice latte.  Easy Peasy - went to Starbucks for this - I could do that daily.

 

3.    Make homemade soup.  I made some homemade Chicken soup when it started getting colder.   

       Good stuff!

 

4.    Go on a short hike .  I got to do this when Todd and I went to Fort Bragg...so fun...minus the two

       spider bites that are still healing!

 

5.    Go to Apple Hill.  So fun, we visited Apple Hill after we took our family portraits.

 

6.    Visit three different wineries.  I actually finished this one this past Friday.  I visited Boeger

       Winery,  Hart2Hart Vineyard and Jose Wine Caves.  I really enjoyed all the different

       experiences. Who knew wine tasting was so fun on a cold and windy day.

 

7.    Make S'mores on a bonfire  I actually finished this task today.   I kind of forgot about it.  When I

       was looking over my list I was like "Ooops!"  I couldn't make a bonfire because it's been raining

       like crazy, so I did the next best thing, roasted my mallows in the fireplace and ate my S'mores in

       a nice, dry, warm living room!  Winning!!

 

 

8.   Start a fire in the fireplace and watch  A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  I had an awesome time 

         sitting by the fire, watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and drinking cocoa.  Can you say

         perfect Autumn day?

 

 

9.    Make a DIY pumpkin centerpiece.  I did this when we hosted Thanksgiving at our house.  It

       wasn't perfect, but it was mine.  I learned I don't want to be a florist....can you say no patience!

 

10.  Create a piece of furniture from scratch.  This was actually a team effort.  I found the side table

       plans, Todd cut, I sanded, Todd assembled.  I haven't been able to stain the table yet, but when it

       warms up, it's right at the top of my to do list.

 

11.  Take some Fall pictures with my new camera. Completed this task in Fort Bragg with Todd.  See

       previous blog post.

 

12.  Go on a weekend getaway with my wonderful husband and explore a new town.  Again...stayed

       at a B & B for our anniversary.  While it is near Fort Bragg, it actually is located in

       Westport, a town we hadn't explored.

 

13.  Make an apple or pumpkin dessert.  I made Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip muffins for our

       holiday potluck.  It's a 3 ingredient recipe.  I'll do a blog post on the recipe.

 

14.  Buy some clothes in Fall colors.  No problems completing this task.  It happens to be one of my

       favorite past times, shopping!

 

15.  Make homemade hot chocolate.  I actually made cinnamon hot chocolate.  It was pretty good, but

       I made the drink so rich I barely finished my drink. The drink was made better because I drank it

       in a cute decorative cup:)

 

So there you have it!  I did it.  Wasn't sure if I had the sticktoitiveness, but I proved myself wrong.

Yay me.

 

Now all I have to do is keep making To Do lists so I can actually get things accomplished on an on going basis.

 

So do you have a to do list?

What was your favorite on my list?

Some Christmas DIY Projects

Running low on money,

or just want to make something homemade for Christmas?

I stalked Pinterest for a couple days

and found a couple cute gift ideas.

 

Via

Who couldn't use some coasters for their house?
I know I could.
Plus, how cute...you can customize them
to whatever the recipient likes. 

 

Via

 

How cute is a monogrammed mug!

There is some debate on the

staying power of the markers,

so your best bet would probably be to

just hand wash the cup.

Via

 

So I was really cold when I was on

the computer looking up projects.

In fact, I was thinking I could use those right about now.

You could also supersize these

and make a rice bag.

I have one that a friend made me

and I use it all year long for my migraines!

Via

 

I was never on the sugar scrub band wagon

until I received some.

Oh my goodness, it's like magic.

It evens out my skin

and makes it silky smooth. 

 

 

Via

 

And the final project is a little more detailed,

but how cool is this?

I would so put this up in my house.

I love that it looks well loved.

The awesome part about this

gift is you can personalize it

however you like.

 

So did you find something to inspire you?

Have you already made something for

somebody this holiday?

Your turn to share.

 

 

 

 

The Prayer

I thought this was such a beautiful rendition of

The Prayer

I had to share it.

Enjoy!

 

Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

This is NO reflection on my kids,

in fact, I think my kids are good looking!

 

I know this song has been around a long time,

and you may have already heard it,

and maybe I lead a really sheltered life,

but two days ago was the first time I had heard it.

 

It had me giggling all the way to work.

 

You're the Reason Our Kids are Ugly

Let the Decorating Begin

Lord knows I'm no decorating expert, but I try my best.

I spent a little bit of time on Sunday tweaking our decorations.

So take a look and see what I did

(with a lot of help from my kids).

 

I put our massive candlesticks and little owls

on our newly constructed side table.

It doesn't look quite balanced,

but it's a new piece of furniture, so I need

to figure out what to put on there in the future.

 

This is the only real Christmas decoration

purchase I made this year.

I saw how shiny and sparkly it was and

 I had to have it.

 

Remember Ted the Tree from previous years?

Well...I felt sorry for my kids because

they don't really have any Christmas decorations

and their apartment is down right depressing.

So I gave up Ted.

I was really missing him, so when I saw this

little gem at Goodwill for $5 (in a planter with lights),

I snatched him up a year or two ago.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present

Ted 2.0!

 

I've had this little decoration for years,

and it is still one of my favorites.

It makes me giggle every time I read it.

 

I put our snowflake tablecloth on, but struggled

with a centerpiece.  I have these little snow people,

but I need to spiff this up a little.

Any suggestions?

 

Here's the tree in all its glory...

you remember, the one I forgot to take

a picture of when we went to the tree farm.

Lexx and Aust helped decorate the tree

before they headed back to college.

 

And finally, here is the fireplace and mantle.

We have the lights on and the stockings up.

 

It's no Martha Stewart home,

but it's cozy and we can call it ours.

Besides, it's all the personal touches that

really make a house a home -

like the puzzle piece ornament

your daughter made for you in 1st grade.

 

So have you decorated yet?

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Christmas Tree

Last weekend, the family continued

our yearly ritual of going to a tree farm to get our Christmas Tree.

We always go to North Star Christmas Tree Farm,

and this year was no different.

 

We started our day around 11:30 AM.

Of course we had to go out to breakfast,

so we would have enough energy to hike
 up and down the hills looking for a tree.

 

By the time we arrived at the farm,

it was probably around 1 PM.

The farm looked different then previous years.

The elderly gentleman who owned it

had passed away, and I believe his family has taken it over.

There are new paths created everywhere,

and several of the trees have been cleared/trimmed.

It looked as though they were starting from

scratch in a few places.

 

 

It was a glorious day.

Probably was somewhere in the 60's and the sun was shining.

 

 

The farm was fairly busy,

 

 

and we had a hard time finding a tree.

It had been pretty picked over.

 

 

So while the boys hiked all over looking for a tree,

 

 

Lexx and I stood around and took pictures.

 

 

 

The boys found a tree that was suitable for the

house after about 40 mins., and of course I

didn't get a picture of it because

 I'm a bad blogger.

But I did manage to get a picture of Austin

drinking his hot chocolate while Todd

paid for the tree.

 

 

It's so much fun to be able to spend

some quality family time together.

We don't get to see the kids much

so we try and make sure to do things

that create memories we can cherish.

This is one of those family traditions

that I hold dear, and I can't wait

until next year to do it again!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

I'm finally getting a Thanksgiving post up,

only three days late.

You'll have to forgive me, we hosted

Thanksgiving at our house this year,

and I came down with a bad cold/flu

that has hung on for over a week.

So as you can imagine, I took the

few days I had off to recuperate.

 

Despite being a little sick,

Thanksgiving went off without a hitch.

I decided to try a cheese plate this year,

which was a new adventure.

I had never created anything like it before,

but was inspired when we had one at

our anniversary dinner in September.

We displayed the goodies on our new

homemade side table.

It worked out perfectly

(now I just have to wait for it to warm up

so I can stain the table).

I bought some fabulous cheese throughout

the past month, then added grapes,

candied pecans, prosciutto, crackers,

olives and salami.

 

 

I also made two homemade floral arrangements.

They looked okay, but I have some

things that I would like to change next

year if I decide to make them again.

I made the hole in the top of the

pumpkin too big,

so all the flowers had to be cut shorter

in order to be more compact

and fill the large hole.

It made the arrangement look a little stubby.

 

 

Everyone arrived around 3 PM,

and we were ready to eat by 3:30 PM.

The only thing that held us up was that we

did a second turkey that was deep fried,

so we had to wait until 4 PMish to actually sit down to dinner.

I had the timing of my baked turkey down this year...

that was something I struggled with last year.

And the Thanksgiving meal looked fantastic.

Everyone pitched in and brought a dish,

and let me tell you, we have some fantastic

cooks in our family!

 

 

The gathering was small,

only 11 of us, but it was so nice to be

able to talk and visit with everyone

and not have to worry about making the rounds.

Smaller gatherings are my favorite!

 

We all enjoyed the wonderful food,

 

the great conversation,

 

and being with family.

 

 

I truly do have a lot to be thankful for,

and couldn't be happier to share our

home with the people we love most!

Thanksgiving Funny

Weekend Fun

We had the best Saturday ever!

The kids came home from college this past Friday,

and we had a fun Saturday planned.

We had family portraits planned at 9:30 AM.

This was only the second time we've taken portraits.

The first time we took them, Lexx

was a week old, so it's been a while.

We had so much fun, and are hoping

that we didn't look like total goofballs.

There may have been some Zoolander poses

taken during our hour shoot.

 

After we were done taking pictures,

we headed to The Red Apple Café for some breakfast.

 

 

It was such a beautiful and perfect day

we decided to eat al fresco.

 

I took the opportunity to take

some pictures of my good looking kids.

 

 

Since we were in the Camino area,

we had to stop by Apple Hill's Boa Vista Orchard

and grab some apple donuts and/or apple fritters.

 

We may have gone a little overboard.

We end up getting a dozen donuts,

some dumplings and a strudel.

 

We took our goodies, grabbed a

 picnic table and pigged out.

 

When we finished eating a couple of goodies,

we headed to Boeger Winery. 

 

 

 

The winery looked so beautiful

with all the fall colors.

 

 

There were picnic tables placed

in the middle of their orchard,

so you could take your bottle of wine

and some food/snacks that you brought

and have an awesome little meal.

We obviously didn't picnic, since we had

just had breakfast and treats,

but maybe next time we visit

it might be a nice little option.

 

 

While Todd, Austin and I wine tasted,

 

 

Lexx shopped.

She got the cutest little Christmas ornaments.

 

 

Todd purchased two bottles of Moscato,

and then decided to head home.

It was a pretty long day, and our

 feet were starting to hurt.

 

 

To end the day perfectly,

as we were heading home, 

 

 

 

we saw a stagecoach roaming

around the town of Placerville.

 

It was such a fun day with the kids.

I love spending time with my family

and making memories to cherish.

It doesn't hurt that there was food and wine involved!

Robb & Amber's Wedding

 

The wedding was beautiful,

and very much Robb & Amber. 

 

It was full of love,

 

and smiles,

 

 

and excitement!

 

 

Amber looked like a princess,

and was beaming.

 

It was overcast during the ceremony,

but it made for beautiful pictures.

At one point there was a rainbow

behind the bride and groom.

 

 

After the ceremony,

everybody gathered and the party got started.

 

 

There were lots of pictures taken.

 

 

 

At one point it started to sprinkle,

but that didn't slow any of us down.

 

Most of us grabbed someone...

and then a drink,

 

 

and just enjoyed the beautiful celebration.

 

 

There was dancing,

 

 

and speeches,

 

 

and as usual at most McComb get togethers...

shenanigans!

 

 

My family took this opportunity to snap

a few pictures while we were dressed up.

 

And this is where the pictures started

to become blurry, and were of random objects.

A few too many libations were had.

 

I did manage to get a few pictures

of the cake and venue...

or maybe it was Alexxa who took these,

I don't remember. 

 

 

As the evening progressed,

 

The night became even more magical. 

 

Everyone was laughing and dancing and singing.

 

 

But as all things must,

the night came to an end.

Some people decided to continue the party

at another venue, but my family went home.

It was after 10 PM for goodness sake,

and two of us are over 40..

 

It was truly a beautiful celebration of

two people's unconditional love for each other.

And we couldn't be happier to welcome

Amber and her kids into the family.