Secret Santa Swap Reveal!

Today is the big day and I am so excited to link up with the wonderful ladies who organized this gift swap.  Santa must have been a very busy guy lately because there are so many fun gifts flying around between bloggers!

I had a lot of fun shopping for my recipient, Desiree, over at All At Once.   Desiree lives in one of my favorite cites, San Francisco, and is a mom to 2 cute little boys.  She is expecting her 3rd (another boy!) in a few months! It's been fun blog stalking her and getting to know more about her.

Hop over there to see what I got for her.  :-)  

My Secret Santa came through big time!  This mustard infinity scarf arrived (from Kiki La' Rue!) a couple weeks ago and I have worn it 3 times already!  It matches quite a few of my work outfits PERFECTLY and is really soft, warm, and comfy!   Whoever you are, thanks Santa!!  (Sorry no pics of me in it, I have had a sinus thing for a few days and did not get my act together to model it.) 

 

Big thanks to Janna, Kelly, and Tabitha for organizing this.  

It was a lot of fun!  I hope we can do it again next year.  :-) 

Links I'm Lovin...

 Hola amigas!   I couldn't rouse myself to put together an OHP post today, but I do have a little growing list of links I want to share so...here they are!    I hope you find something you like, laugh at, or want to buy!   :-)  

Also, hop over to Janna's blog to see her (our) Very Elf Filled Blogiversary Giveaway!  

(And read about her soldier finally being home from deployment!)  

Me, as an elf...?  Cute, Janna!

On to the links....

Yes, yes, yes...Book people are good people.  :-)   

 http://bookriot.com/2012/11/28/the-readers-bill-of-rights-illustrated/


Love this!  Hi, I'm 36 and I love Disney.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattessert/high-fashion-disney-princesses-6p54

 

I love this blog! I love these baby names and all the careful thought taken in choosing them.

http://www.girlsgonechild.net/2009/01/behind-name.html
http://www.girlsgonechild.net/2010/05/faq-2.html

http://www.girlsgonechild.net/2011/11/naming-boheme-reverie.html

I keep coming back to this... (MOM, CLOSE YOUR EYES!) for my mom's big bday coming up...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/83885609/hand-stamped-tripple-band-sterling?ref=usr_faveitems


I know this is "so last spring", but this never gets old for me. Ever need a smile?  Check these kiddos out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNtoq6SJ3_A

 

Hahaha  (thanks Jenni!)
http://www.freecrappyportraits.com/

 

I'm a little old for this.  Google didn't even exist when I was 13!!  But still, pretty funny :)

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/32-things-i-googled-when-i-was-13/

 Hahahaha... OMG, so much good/horrible stuff on this website! It's like "Seen on TV" to the hilarious max. 

http://mewanty.net/

  

Two recipes I want to make SOON...

Fried Brie and Cranberry-Pomegranate Sauce

Brie Grilled Cheese w/Balsamic, Prosciutto, Honey (OMG)

Have you found anything cool on the interwebs lately?  

Share in the comments so we can all enjoy it! 

Ornament Swap!

You may remember a few weeks back I mentioned I was participating in a couple of holiday swaps.  One of them was an ornament swap, and today is reveal day!!

 

Erin and Jessah hosted this swap and I had a lot of fun blog-stalking Elise (who I purchased for) and Crystal (who bought for me!).  Is it weird I stalked my gift giver?  Whatever, you can never have too many blogs to read! ;-)  

Both of my swap mates are sweet ladies and I was excited to shop for an ornament.

Elise recently bought her own home, so I sent her a couple of small holiday decorations for her new place, along with the ornament.  I hope she loves it all! :-)  

(Head over to her blog to see what I got for her!)

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Crystal did an excellent job shopping for me.  Is anyone surprised my ornament is green??  Hooray!  :-)  It's a gorgeous crackly green ball with twine around it, it reminds me of one of those glass balls fishermen use.  (Do those have a name?)   I really love the ornament and can't wait to get our tree up (hopefully tomorrow!!) so I can hang it. 

Oh hi, me.

 In addition to the ornament, she sent me a cute little Christmas tree soap, a candy cane, and a lovely card.   

Thank you so much, Crystal! 

 From reading her blog I know Crystal has been going through a lot of tough times trying to have a baby.  I just really appreciate her taking the time to participate in this swap with me.  I'm sure something like this could seem so unimportant and silly when you are dealing with fertility stuff, but I hope it gave her a little time to think about something else.  

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm heading over to link my post up and see all the ornaments everyone else got!  Thanks again to Erin and Jessah for hosting. This is a great way to kick of the season! 

We Gave Thanks

Hello, friends!

And welcome to my new friends from Mish Lovin Life and Messy.Dirty.Hair!

So, I'm still kind of on vacation, which (apparently) also includes blogging the past few days.  Work was really hectic this week (even for only 3 days) and I didn't get time to prep any posts. 
Anyhow, I'm stealing most of this post...from myself. (I wrote a pre-Turkey Day post on my food blog.)  My plans for the holiday turned out pretty close to reality. We ate a ton yesterday and will be having leftovers all weekend! :-)

I decided to try a couple of new recipes, along with all the old (delicious) standards.  

One of the Pinterest finds I definitely wanted to try were these cranberry and brie cups.  There are only 4 ingredients in this one, and they look so yummy.  I love cheese and fruit, and warm brie... mmmmmm.  I don't think you can go wrong with warm brie. (These were a BIG hit and I should have made more than i did!)

Source: celebratemag.com via Cynthia on Pinterest

One of my favorites every year is green bean casserole.  I literally just make it from the recipe on the container of French's Onions, and, actually, I haven't even looked at the recipe since I was a kid.  I just know what goes in it.  I like it to be on the drier side, with lots of crunchy onions. (It turned out perfect, and we never have enough of it.  Maybe next year I'll remember to make more!)

Every year we always have POUNDS of mashed potatoes (and gravy).  My BF and his brother are usually in charge of that.  We make them do the mashing.  (Correct, they mashed 15 lbs of potatoes!)

Another of my favorites (one of my very favorite foods actually) are the sweet potatoes.  This year, though, I really want to try this sweet potato dish I saw on Pinterest.  Roasted grape, goat cheese and honey stuffed sweet potatoes....umm, yes please!!  
(DONE, and excellent!  Next time I might try a different cheese, but the roasted grapes?? TO.DIE.FOR. We actually had quite a few extra grapes and ate them pre-dinner with some Havarti cheese we had in the fridge. OMG.)

Source: howsweeteats.com via Cynthia on Pinterest

We'll definitely have a turkey, but once in a while we also have ham.   Now, as I may have mentioned (haha), I'm no chef, or even much of a cook. The sauce for the ham comes from my Nana. It's just a small jar of grape jelly mixed equally with mustard. It might sound strange, but TRUST ME, it's sooo good!   What I've done in the past is buy a precooked (but not flavored) ham, lay a bunch of slices out on a baking sheet, cover them in the sauce, and bake for a few minutes, just to warm the meat and caramelize the sauce a bit. (No ham this year, but I'm planning to do this ham for Christmas dinner!)

And of course, DESSERT!  I have never made a pie... maybe next year.  But I will buy one, or three. Pecan pie (my fave), pumpkin is always good, and the BF likes apple. 
(Actually... my BF and his mom did the shopping and we had a cheesecake!? Weirdos. It was still delicious, but I need my pumpkin pie!!) 

I hope everyone had a great meal, with great family/friends, and is enjoying a long weekend...Like I am!!  

Four day weekends don't happen very often in my world so I am trying to take full advantage of it!  

See you guys Monday!!   

(Or maybe Sunday for Confessions, if I can get my act together!)

Letters & Fancies (TGIF!)

Hi friends, happy Friday!! 

Before I jump into my letters, 
I wanted to let you know I can be found somewhere else in the blogosphere today!

 I'm visiting over at Across The Pond today, with the fabulous Megan! 
She is one my daily read, and one of the first "lifestyle" blogs I ever got hooked on  
(which led me to all of <---THIS--->!!).  
I really wish I lived in Europe so we could have a blate!
Maybe when she gets back to the States. :-)
She is one genuinely funny and sweet lady. 

 

If you are visiting from Megan's place, HELLO!  
Welcome!  Stick around for a bit. :-) 

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Dear Beautiful Horses... I'm coming to see you!  Apparently you are not only beautiful, but also talented.  I'm excited to find out exactly what that means on Saturday night, at Valitar!

Dear Ocotillo Desert... No crashing allowed for my boyfriend tomorrow, please.  He has to be back in time for Valitar. Plus, I've already been through enough of that crap, right?

Dear Pinterest... I am coming for you this weekend to decide what to eat/make/buy for Thanksgiving.  I'm sure there will be an overwhelming number of ideas, so I should probably narrow it down before I start. ;-)

Dear Christmas Decorating... I'm making some plans for you. OK, the ornament tree might be a bit advanced but I could definitely do the ornaments in the glass jar, and maybe the wine bottles.  Wonder if Gunney would sit still long enough for me to snap a pic like that!  :-)

Dear Readers... I've jumped to 100(+) this week.  Thank you all!  Assuming a lot of you came from my sponsorships recently, we can pretty much agree we will get along , since we read the same blogs. duh.  ; -)

Dear Boyfriend... I'm looking forward to our dinner and a (horse) show date Saturday night. It's been a while since we've done something new. yay! :-)

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Today's Fancies topic was inspired by all the yummy treats that are available in the fall. 

I think I skipped this week in the summer but I know I thought about doing "orange creamsicle 50/50 bars".   :-)

From Alison:   

Winter may not begin until December, but it feels like fall with each passing day. Let's serve up our must-have autumn treats before the season passes on Friday, November 16th. Whether its a snack or a drink, you can have lots of fun with this one!

Plaid Skirt by cynthia335 featuring illamasqua nail polish

Can you guess what autumn treat I chose??  Yep, Pumpkin Spice Latte.  :-)    
I love them.  

I was thinking candy apple, or maybe candy corn?  But when I saw this outfit it just jumped out as PSL!  Even a touch of green, like a Starbucks cup!  

The boots are beautiful!  Unfortunately they are $300. 

 I hope you are all having a great Friday and have some fun plans for the weekend!

Roundup of Links I'm Lovin

Hey guys... Happy Thursday!

 Right at this moment I have this cooking in my crock pot at home. Mmmmmm...

Source: storyofmylifetheblog.blogspot.com via Cynthia on Pinterest

Split pea soup, gonna be so good!  It even rained last night so (hopefully) it won't be like eating hot soup on a summer night this evening!  We'll see.  ;-)   
(Thanks JENNI for the recipe!)


A Few Notes from Neverland: 
 * * * * * * * * * * *

1) The lovely Erica, over at Mi Todo has been writing a Throwback Thursday series, 
to document events/trips that took place pre-blogging.  
We've emailed about co-hosting a link-up!  
I know I have tons of ideas already.  She has already done quite a few fun ones!  
In fact, her trip to British Columbia is what inspired my first Throwback post, and I wrote about Vancouver last week.  :-)  
Erica has kindly offered to make us a button so we should be getting something a little more organized together soon!  
So, if you think that sounds fun... 
a) let me know! 
(so I can try to put you on some kind of reminder list maybe? Am I that organized?? We'll see.)
and b) stay tuned!

2) The typewriter necklace giveaway is still on over at Be Freckled, check it out! 

3) My BRAVE giveaway is still going on, see below!! 

**********************************************

On to some link love... 
I keep a running list of stuff I find online that is fun or interesting, and I figured why not share it with you, my wonderful readers?  :-)  
I hope you find something you like, or a new blog to read, or just a laugh!

1) Ex-pat blogger Lauren and her husband devised an adorably cute plan for finding out (and revealing) the sex of their TWINS!  Too stinkin' cute if you ask me. 

http://www.aspiringkennedy.com/2012/11/guess-what-were-having.html

2) If you liked this post I wrote mentioning The Babysitters Club, you will LOVE this site.  Trust me, just click on it!

http://www.whatclaudiawore.com/

3) I just love these journals, recipe organizers, planners, etc. from Gadanke.
http://www.gadanke.com/product/she-gray-european-paper-writing-prompt-journal-quote-collection-1-0

 

4) Alyx is another momma-to-be blogger.  I seriously love her baby thoughts so far.  
I kinda love her in general, she's a cool/funny lady.
http://www.itsalyx.com/   

5) I LOVE THIS ETSY SHOP (Pretty Whimsical)!!   
Especially these Scrabble tile pendants... I could buy one for everyone I know! 
(As demonstrated below. A few for me, a few gifts.  I think I could go for a baker's dozen actually!  haha)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/prettywhimsical

 #1 for Me, #2 for Gesci, #3 for English 
#4 for Renee, #5 for Me, #6 for Janna
#7 for Gesci, #8 for Kristen, #9 for my Mom

There are also a few new blogs that I have found via giveaways and swaps I've been involved in lately:
Nikki won the yellow/gray earring giveaway on Mish's blog  

Erica won the butterfly earring giveaway on Kristen's blog 
Elise is my ornament swap recipient 
and Crystal is my ornament swap giver via Erin's swap!

If you are on the look out for new blogs, check these ladies out! 

Hope everyone has had a good week so far.  Looking forward to Friday!  

Although I found out this week that my company "accidentally" scheduled our floating holiday incorrectly.  We all THOUGHT we had Monday (Veteran's Day) off, but we don't!  LAME! Luckily I didn't have any real plans but still.. I thought it was gonna be a 3 day weekend!  :-(  Well, at least Thanksgiving is coming up.  ;-)