Resolutions

It's that time again, New Year's Eve is tomorrow. Can you believe it? Seems like yesterday I was in college, or graduating high school for that matter. Yes, I know I sound like an old lady. I just can't believe it's going to be 2013, craziness!

I've never been a huge NYE resolution maker, I did make one last year. It basically involved focusing on me, like getting back into running (check!) and taking boxing lessons (check!)- essentially just things that I had been wanting to do, or always wanted to do and had never done. I didn't get the entire list accomplished, so it's evolved more into a life list as I've added more things to it.

Now I feel like I should make a resolution for 2013 as well. Any ideas? I thought about doing a 365 photo challenge, especially since I bought the Canon. I'm just not sure it's very reasonable since by the time I get off work and finish my run it's dark outside. So, maybe a weekly photo or weekend only? I also thought about doing Instagram only for it, but that defeats the purpose of trying to use my new camera. So what do y'all think? Have you done a 365 challenge before, if so, what was it?

Hope everyone has a very happy and a very safe New Year!! (Remember to call a taxi, don't drink and drive!)

xoxo,
kris

Christmastime

I hope y'all had a great Christmas! Mine was good, the storms blew through on Christmas Eve (late) and early Christmas morning, annnnnd we lost power. But, other than that it was great. We were without power for a couple days so my mom and had to lug our Christmas food to Candy's house and cook there, then lug it back home all packaged up and in coolers to keep it warm. We had Christmas dinner on the coffee table, by lantern. It could have been much worse, though, so we were lucky. The crazy winds knocked trees down everywhere, but we ended up with just some huge branches, no major damage. I was glad I got to at least warm up my homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast before the power went out! :)

Was Santa good to y'all? I got a gift card to go toward a camera (which I bought Saturday!) and Candy and the fam got me a Dremel tool and I'm so freaking excited to start using it on my craft projects!! I almost bought one at Black Friday, they're so cool. They can do all kinds of stuff in one. I also got a couple Hobby Lobby gift cards which will go to great use for my crafting projects. I loved everything and am so thankful for what I received! I also loved being able to give gifts too, that's truly my favorite part. I hope everyone enjoyed their treats!

I don't know about y'all, but I'm so not ready to go back to work this week! I love vacation!!

Hope your Christmas was very merry and your new year is full of happiness and cheer!

xoxo,
kris

Winter Wardrobe

I don't know about y'all, but I love winter clothes! I mean don't get me wrong little dresses and such are super fun in the spring, but the winter means you can bring out the big guns- sweaters, boots, scarves, hats, leggings really the list just goes on and on. In light of my winter wonderland clothing obsession, here's a little peak at some outfits I've found online that I'm crushing on. Most came from Pinterest so they have everything picked out, down to the earrings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several of these outfits could be warn to Christmas parties or New Year's Eve parties, a couple could even be warn to work! I just love fall/winter clothes. Don't you? Hope everyone has a week full of fun festivities with family and/or friends. I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away! Enjoy this special time of year :)

 

xoxo,

kris



I have no words.

Everyone knows about the horrible acts that went down on Friday. I have no words to express my anger and sorrow for those souls who lost their lives. I came across this poem/song via twitter and wanted to share it with you.

Little Wing

Fly, fly little wing
Fly beyond imagining
The softest cloud, the whitest dove
Upon the wind of heaven's love
Past the planets and the stars
Leave this lonely world of ours
Escape the sorrow and the pain
and fly again.

Fly, fly precious one
Your endless journey has begun
Take your gentle happiness
Far to beautiful for this
Cross over to the other shore
There is peace forevermore
But hold this mem'ry bittersweet
Until we meet.

Fly, fly do not fear
Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear
Your heart is pure, your soul is free
Be on your way, don't wait for me
Above the universe you'll climb
On beyond the hands of time
The moon will rise, the sun will set
But I won't forget

Fly, fly little wing
Fly where only angels sing
Fly away, the time is right
Go now, find the light

Written by: Jean-Jacques Goldman and Phil Galdston

Giving

As Christmas is fast approaching, now is when we all get into the giving spirit. We want to donate, volunteer, and just spread joy to everyone. I know I'm definitely one of those people who fall into the category of "being more in the giving mood" around the holidays. But y'all, we really need to focus on this stuff year round. I recently stumbled upon this (Click Here) blog post. Seriously, click the link and read the blog before reading on! She basically decided to make her 38th birthday a day to help others all around her community, by performing 38 Random Acts of Kindness. Brilliant! I absolutely love this idea! I've been racking my brain trying to come up with something fun to do for my 30th in February.. think I found it!

I was really inspired by one of my favorite celebs that I follow on Twitter, Sophia Bush, when she used her 30th birthday for a good cause this summer. She funded an entire school by raising $30,000! It was her 30 for 30 campaign. Obviously, I don't have the followers and outreach that she has, so something more like my homegirl Robyn's RAOK (yeah we're bff now) would be more suited for me. It totally works out since my birthday is on a Saturday, and the following day is the Superbowl, so I can meet my goals on my actual bday and then celebrate the best way I know how- by watching my boys play the game I love the next day. I'm thinking this is the best plan ever.

Now, here is where y'all come in. I need some ideas for my RAOK. There are obvs the staples of making donations and such but I need some others as well, after all I have to do 30 in one day! This is a very small community so I'm going to have to think outside the box for this one. I would love to have some helpers with me to participate and take some pics, so I can share my Big 3-0 with all of you! So, bring on the suggestions for some RAOK in the comments :)

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season and this great winter weather we're having down here!

xoxo,
kris

Holiday Tunes

Y'all, I have a problem when it comes to holiday music. I can't control myself. I start playing it too early and I play it all the time. Seriously, if you get in my car at any point from November 1st through December 25th, there will be a Christmas CD in the player. It just puts a smile on my face and brightens my day, not to mention is eases tensions on the road! If you don't like Christmas music there's something wrong with you. Just kidding! But seriously, you should give it a try in your car if you're not a lover of all things holiday and musical. Those that know me well know that I tend to get angry (really angry) at bad drivers, but this time of year there's a little less of that with my jolly music going on. :)

So to help you expand your song base, or start it, here's my list in no particular order of some favorite Christmastime songs! Some I have favorite artists for and others I just love the song in general, hence the varying degree of artists.

1. Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

2. Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone - Baby It's Cold Outside

3. The First Noel

4. O Come, All Ye Faithful

5. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

6. Amy Grant - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

7. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

8. Oh Holy Night

9. Bing Crosby - White Christmas

10. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Obviously, I could go on and on and on. I decided to cap it off at ten. Ten is a nice, round number. If there's a song you love, feel free to leave it in the comments! I'm always looking to add to my Christmastime music, I mean you can really never get enough of it. All this music talk is making me want to listen to some, I think I'll have to crank up the Pandora in the office today! :)

Hope everyone is having a great day and a wonderful start to a fabulous month!

xoxo,
kris

Top Christmas Movies

To keep with my insanely high Christmas spirit, I thought I'd share some of my favorite Christmas movies with y'all. I seriously love watching holiday movies, drinking hot chocolate and having holiday scent candles burning in the background. It really doesn't get much better than that after a long day of work, especially if it's cold out! So, in no particular order of imporatance here are my favorite Christmastime movies.

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Christmas Vacation is one of my all time favs. It has something for everyone. I think at some point or another Clark reminds us all of our dad at one time in our lives and then there's cousin Eddie, if he doesn't make you laugh, you have no sense of humor. Of all the National Lampoon movies, this one is by far the best.

 

2. Elf

Usually Will Ferrell's movies are super raunchy and ridiculous (all be it funny!) but he hit it out the park when he decided to step out of his box and do this little holiday number. There are so many quotable lines in this movie, just like Christmas Vacation. I adore Zooey Deschanel and their characters combined make this a great movie.

3. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

As a kid, this was my all time favorite movie. I loved all the different characters and the Island of Misfit Toys. Side note, I've been trying to find a Hermey the Dentist figurine for a long time for a friend of mine that's a dentist, so if you happen to come across one, let me know! The ones I've seen online usually just look a tad bit off...

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas

This is another staple from my childhood. We always watched A Charlie Brown Christmas together every year. I loved that little Christmas Tree they get and Snoopy's little decorated house is just so cute!

5. It's a Wonderful Life

I must confess, when I was young my mom always made me watch this and I just couldn't get into it. As I've grown older though, I've really come to love it! So many parallels can be drawn between today's world and when the movie was made (1946!) I guess history really does repeat itself. Plus Jimmy Stewart isn't bad to look at for the duration of the movie either! ;)

"George Bailey, I'll love you 'till the day I die."

6. The Family Stone

The Family Stone is one of my all time favorites, most years I actually end up watching it more than once. I just love how it shows the "real" family. There's no picture perfect togetherness or anything, families are messy and we fight, and the holidays bring us together along with all of our baggage. Wow, that sounds really Debbie Downer doesn't it? It's really not like that, I promise! I just really like that it feels like you're watching a real family, you laugh, cry, get angry and have happiness too. Love it.

7. A Christmas Story

I just love this movie. I think most everyone has watched it and one point or another- if not every year. There is a very good reason they show a marathon of it starting on Chritsmas Eve, it's just that awesome. There are so many quotes from this movie as well. I usually spend the entire holiday season spewing them until everyone is probably sick of them haha! "F-R-A-G-I-L-E, must be Italian"

8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the cartoon NOT the Jim Carrey Movie)

This little ditty is another staple from my childhood. I just loved this cartoon and I'm sad to say, but they ruined with the remake. I did not like the Jim Carrey version. I even saw it in the theater, to get a good viewing and it just wasn't the same as my old childhood friend here.


Well, those are my top Christmastime movies- again in no particular order. I most definitely watch more holiday movies than these, they're just the ones that have stuck with me over the years and I really go back to each and every year, and sometimes twice. What are your favorite Christmastime movies?

xoxo,
kris

Wish List

As you can tell from my previous post, I absolutely love the holiday season and get excited over all kinds of things. I love giving gifts, especially coming up with homemade or semi-homemade gifts is one of my all time favorite gift giving things. I'm a big fan of the gift basket. Last year I gave several of them out that were all very similar, just varying in size and a few contents. The main items last year were cheese spreads, olives, crackers, cheese boards, cheese knives, chocolates and then a personal item for each recipient. There are a lot of places that make baskets like this (or with other contents like wine etc) but I really enjoy making them and decorating them. Making the basket pretty is half the fun! :)  I'm really trying to buckle down this week and get my gifts ordered. I will definitely be hitting up some stores this weekend when I'm in the Woodlands for an appointment.

So to get in the gifting spirit, here is my "wish list" obviously I'm not going to be receiving this stuff, since they're mostly pretty expensive items, but a girl can dream!

I've wanted a KitchenAid Mixer for years now. I know they're not that expensive and I am going to have to eventually man up and just buy one. I am especially loving this color, isn't it fabulous?!

Frye boots. Oh, my word. I just love them. This style in particular. They're super cute, country yet trendy, and from what I've read very comfy. One day, you will be mine!

I recently discovered this designer thanks to a post on A Beautiful Mess and let me just say that Orla Kiely knows what she is doing. Her bags are fabulous! This blue one is from the new collection, I just love the color and the little leaf pattern. Her stuff is a little pricy (hence the reason I don't have this bag in my possession right now) but I think it's definitely worth saving up for! She also has some cute laptop bags and dresses as well.

This is another Orla Kiely bag, because I mean really, we can't always carry a beautiful blue bag everywhere we go! ;)

A big girl camera. This is actually something I will probably get in the near future, maybe not this exact one (although that would be awesome). I have been in desperate need of a new camera and I really want a good one that I can use for better quality pics of my crafts as well as outdoor pictures. You didn't know I was a huge nerd that likes to run around taking pictures outside did you? Yup, that's me!

Ahhh, a serger. This isn't really something I need it would just be super awesome to have. I'm not making a clothing line or anything, but the pillows would go by oh so much faster with a serger. Plus, I could branch out to other things if I had one. The ones in our lab at school (way back when, ha!) were fabulous!

That's my Wish List this year. Obviously, I would love to win the lottery or something crazy like that, but what are the odds? ... probably about as good as many getting this stuff, haha! Have you thought about your Wish List? Hopefully everyone has a little fun with it, I think it's good to dream a little now and then.

I can't believe we're already so close to Christmas! It would be even better if it wasn't 80 freakin degrees outside! Oh well, I'll just have to be bad and crank up the AC to have some hot chocolate tonight ;)

xoxo,
kris

December

I cannot believe that tomorrow is December y'all. Time is flying by at a ridiculous pace. The holidays are my favorite time of year, it's just hard to believe they're already here! I am so excited to do all my favorite Christmastime things like watch holiday themed movies while burning my holiday themed candles. Who am I kidding? I've been burning my holiday themed candles since November 1st! I've already finished off my Christmas Cookie scent and moved on the Cinnamon Stix. Yankee Candle holiday scents are my fav! I love curling up with a cup of hot chocolate to watch a movie and have one of those scents burning. You know you have a favorite holiday candle :)

Next week I'm going to get going on my Christmas shopping. I'm super organized with it this year, rather than simply making a list to highlight (I love highlighting!) I've created a spreadsheet with names, items and prices. A bit nerdy, but I really want to keep track of how much I spend at Christmas and start comparing each year. The following week will be on to one of my other favorite past times of the holiday season. Gingerbread Houses! I love making gingerbread houses. Maybe it's my creative side that can never outgrow it, but I always try to find something new to add to my little house each year. I've already been thinking up ideas. Yup, I take gingerbread house building very seriously.

Just before Christmas, I'll get to do my all time favorite holiday activity. Drive around and look at Christmas lights. I've been doing this since I was kid. My parents took us when we were young and it's just been a tradition I've kept up ever since. I absolutely love this tradition. Listening to Christmas music and drinking hot chocolate while driving through beautifully decorated neighborhoods is just so magical. I usually try to pick a cold night to make it that much more special, although in Texas, sometimes that's not possible so I just crank up the AC and enjoy my hot chocolate in the "cold" regardless of the weather outside.

I always go over to the parent's house one weekend before Christmas and make cookies with my mom. I love doing this too. My brother and I always decorated the cookies when we were younger, now it's just me while mom bakes them all. The my perfectionist/creative side comes out so it usually takes quite a while, but we always have fun and end up eating cookies in the process. We also bake cinnamon rolls just before the 25th to eat Christmas morning. I love this because when I was kid my mom always baked them and I just watched, now I get in on the action and we make them a little more "ooey and gooey and cinnamony". Did you see what I did there with those awesome culinary terms? I also absolutely LOVE eating cinnamon rolls. Or almost anything with cinnamon really. So, yeah Christmas morning cinnamon rolls are my fav.

Hope you're all as excited for December as I am! :)

xoxo
kris

Turkey!

Thanksgiving really can't be just a few short days away, it doesn't seem possible, time could not have flown by so quickly. But, it has. Last year my holidays, starting with Thanksgiving, were a little shooken up and took a different course than usual. This year, while I'm not getting back to the usual schedule, I am getting to celebrate the holidays in a more normal fashion and I'm very excited about it. Last year, I never really got into the spirit until right before Christmas so it was hard for me to enjoy things- there were a lot of issues going on, none of which will be discussed on this here blog, so hopefully with many of those things behind me I can get back to a slightly different, but more normal routine.

I'm going to help my mom cook Thanksgiving supper on Thursday morning (after I wake up early and go for a nice run since it's going to be like 75 degrees outside). I'm really excited! Since I haven't had Thanksgiving at my parent's house in a while, and she hasn't cooked it in a while, we're trying some new methods. Rather than a huge bird for the three of us we're just doing seasoned turkey breasts and some of the usual culprits for side dishes. I'm also going to roast some of my favorite veggies and make cilantro/lime black beans to mix with them. I know you're thinking "what tha?!" but I love veggies and black beans together and we're just having fun this year. Rather than making desserts, I ordered a pie from my little buddy Jayce when his baseball team was doing a fundraiser with Pie in the Sky Pies in Conroe. They were so sweet to deliver the pecan pie I ordered on Saturday (plus I got to visit with Tami and little Miss so it was a win win). I can't wait to try the pie, it looks super delish! My boys are playing Thursday night against the Jets, so I'll be watching that while I'm being lazy from eating all the food. I'm pretty excited. I'm sure the parents and I will get a game or two of scrabble in there somewhere, it's what we always did on holidays. :)

Something not holiday related, but that I'm also looking forward to, is seeing Breaking Dawn Part 2 on Wednesday night with Isabel. We've been holding out waiting for the crazies to get their fix so the theater is less crowded and ridiculous. I'm kind of over the whole series, but I do have to see the movie just to see it. I know, that sounds silly. I have heard they changed some stuff, specifically the ending so I'm looking forward to that. I'm kind of hoping someone dies or something just to really change things up. We shall see!

I'm working through Wednesday, although the students don't have class Wednesday so it's kind of silly for the University to be open, but oh well. I will be the only one in the office that day so I can play some Christmas music and really enjoy being in the holiday spirit this year. The guys in the office aren't really the holiday types. Anyway, I usually get my fix with the music on the way to work, so I'm kind of stoked to be able to listen to it all day long in the office!

What are your Thanksgiving plans? I am very thankful this year, for many, many things so we'll just leave it at that. I am very thankful. My goal this holiday season is to try and spread some holiday spirit/awesomeness whenever possible. I'm going to start carrying Christmas cards with me and anytime I'm at the store (or anywhere really) and someone seems like they could use a pick me up, the cashier looks entirely overworked, or maybe just another patron who seems overly stressed I will give them a card and hopefully brighten their day just a little. I've thought about even putting a little Starbucks card in a few, for someone who seems like they could really use it. Nothing too fancy or expensive just a little something to let people know there's someone out there that cares. Hopefully this will inspirse some of you to come up with your own "holiday spirit spreaders" or you can even use this one, I don't mind! (plus it's not like I invented it or anything hehe) I think we should all focus on getting back to the holiday spirit rather than just shopping and not really focusing on family/friends and what the holidays really mean.

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a tangent. Talking about the holidays makes my head spin into so many different directions... maybe I have ADD. haha. Anyway, hope you all have a very fabulous Thanksgiving with your family, friends, volunteering, by yourself, or however you choose to spend this holiday. Just remember to be safe, especially if you have drinks!

xoxo,
kris

Toes in the Sand

Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been uber busy lately! I know that's no excuse, but there ya go. The first weekend in November I spent running errands and finishing up a wreath that was ordered. And by running errands, I mean running around like a chicken with my head cut off getting everything ready for my vacation/destination wedding in the islands! I was so pumped. Obviously, I was so extremely stoked to be part of Dev's wedding but also to go to Grand Cayman and stay at the Ritz? Who would not be ready to shoot out the door for that?! The weather was perfect, other than a front that brought in some major wind for the majority of our trip. But, the sun was shining the entire time and it was beautiful. The ceremony and dinner following it were both held directly on the beach at the Ritz so it was very fabulous, especially with the sunset in the background. Definitely the most beautiful scene I've come across in real life. The rehearsal dinner was on a deck overlooking the water as well. Everything was really just perfect. We spent the days laying on the beach being waited on with drinks and yummy food. The only thing I wish we could have done was visit Stingray City. It was so windy that it didn't work out for snorkeling over there. Oh well, I'll just have to go back in the near future ;)

 

Laying out at the Ritz

The hotel (just one little part) it was HUGE! It went across the street with a sky bridge and everything.

 

Our travel agent was awesome and requested for my room to be near Dev's, and since they received an upgrade, I did as well! We were all supposed to be "garden/resort view" across the street, but we our upgrad got us beach side with ocean views. (and a living room!) :)

 

Dev had the cutest little bags waiting in our rooms for us and they included this super awesome potholder that her mom quilted. Love it!

 

The ceremony was literally right on the beach. They did a great job with simple, classy decorations.

 

Here comes the beautiful bride!

 

Her flowers were gorgeous! (and there's me holding my dress down in the wind lol)

 

The table cloth blew up right when the picture was being taken, after 3 tries, we gave up haha.

 

More amazing beach. Look at that water! :D

 

I have been converted to a beach person after this trip, however, only clear/blue water beaches. So pretty.

 

The last day I drove around with a couple people that were on my flight to tour the island before heading to the airport. The water/beach was so different on different sides of the island.

 

The water was still clear, but not as deep of a blue and no white sand. We definitely had the best beach at our hotel!

 

Here's our little rental car. It was actually very roomy on the inside. The Caymans are Brittish Isles so we had to drive on the left, so different! I don't think I could have done it, thanks Roger! :)

 

While driving around, we stopped at Rum Point for lunch.

 

They had this hilarious sign hanging at the bar, LOVE IT! Having been in the food service industry for many years, I wish I could have said smartass things like this to people often!

 

 

 

Well that's all the pics I have for now. I still have to load my camera photos to my computer, these are just from my ipad. I really loathe loading my outdated point and shoot photos. Maybe Santa needs to bring me a new big girl camera? haha! Anway, hope you're all doing well and fall is kicking off with a bang for ya. I can't believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I mean really, where does the time go?

 

xoxo,

kris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



running running and running running.

First off, who is not absolutely loving this cold weather we are having?! Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be back up in the 80's by the end of the week, but this first real cold spell has been marvelous! Now onto the part where the cold weather was not my friend....

A few of you already know this, but it's been a goal of mine this year to run a race. Not just run a 5k or anything like that, but something with a little more distance. Well, Saturday my friend and I ran the Huntsville Half & Quarter Marathon! We did the quarter, as this was the first race I have ever been in and his first in a long time. So yeah, the cold Saturday morning was BRUTAL! I can't run in pants, leggings/spandex are included in that category. So I was out there in the 41 degree weather with my shorts on. I did wear an Adidas version of Under Armor with my t-shirt, so that added a little warmth. I also sported a very stylish headband for my ears, circa the 80's. This was my first official race (even though I've been running on and off for years now) and I wasn't about to let some silly weather ruin it! For those of you that don't know, a quarter marathon is 6.55 miles. We ran all through campus and the surrounding area, so there were plenty of hills! :/

I didn't set any crazy expectations about times or anything. I just wanted to finish the race without walking or having to use my inhaler (I have Asthma). Due to the cold, I went ahead and used my inhaler before we started since my lungs were already burning, but it worked out well! I didn't need it again and I really didn't have any trouble breathing throughout the course. There was an initial big hill by the stadium that my legs don't even remember climbing, they were numb from the cold, and then it was kind of rolling with nothing too big until we reached University Ave. There was a long steady incline and it was brutal since it was more than halfway through the course. People were dropping like flies on that thing! Everyone around me was stopping to walk up it, but I just kept repeating to myself (and possibly aloud like a crazy lady) to just keep running. Even though it was more like a jog on that hill, I got up without stopping and was able to resume my pace at the top. I was so proud of myself and knew that I could finish the rest of the race without stopping. Well that, and Bon Jovi came on my iPhone singing "It's My Life" and that accompanied with my happiness of getting over the hill pushed me to keep running for the rest of the race. You know, Bon Jovi is very inspirational. =D

I really had no idea what to expect for time or anything, like I said, my goal was to finish without walking I had no illusions that I would somehow become The Flash and crush everyone. But, I actually ended up getting 5th place for my age group, so I was happy with that on top of meeting my original two goals! After the race we headed over to McKenzies and chowed down on some delicious BBQ! I have been loving their chopped brisket sandwiches, even though I rarely eat them. It was mighty tasty on Saturday!

I think we're going to try to run a 10k, which is just slightly shorter than the quarter, in December. I'm hoping to get to the half by early spring. It's really hard for me to run outside in the warmer months in Texas with the crazy humidity we have and my Asthma. We shall see, it's definitely on my list of things to accomplish that's for sure!

On a much different note, I had several projects I was going to work on Sunday but I had a water pipe bust Saturday night and water was leaking out of THREE different walls! That was definitely not fun. Neither was going without water of any kind from Saturday night through Monday morning. The plumber got me all fixed up though, so now I have water. I need to fix the gigantic hole in my bathroom wall, but that's nothing as long as the water is back! ;) 

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed the little taste of cold weather!

xoxo,
kris

One Week to Halloween!

I cannot believe that Halloween is one week from today. Time sure is flying by! Last year I didn't get to carve a pumpkin (one of my all time favorite things of all holidays) and it's not looking so great for this year either. I guess that's ok since I'm probably not going to be handing out candy or anything either. My neighborhood has just gotten really cranky with the holiday spirit. Annoying right?! Last year I went over to Heather and Ryan's to dole out the goods and it was a blast, but with Miss E getting older they're hitting up a carnival this year. I'm thinking it will be an order pizza and watch a movie kind of night. Maybe a little Hocus Pocus? LOVE that movie. What are y'all doing for Halloween? Working with college students and hearing about all their costumes makes me miss the days of dressing up, kinda. It's always fun in theory, but then I can never come up with a super AH-mazing costume like everyone else seems to have. So yeah, pizza and a movie sound fabulous!

I have been so freaking busy lately! Life just seems to be flying by at an exceptionally fast pace and it's pretty crazy. This past weekend I was back in good 'ol CStation for my dear friend Erin's birthday festivities. It was so much fun seeing her and all the other Cheddar's girls we used to hang out with (and eating at Cheddar's!) we had a blast. Sometimes it's fun to pretend you're still 20 and hit up Northgate and all the old haunts like Gatsbys. We did run into Von Miller outside Gatsbys when we were leaving, that was pretty awesome! Our night wouldn't have been complete without an Aggie football player run-in/hang out... Martellus, Reggie anyone? ;)

A few of us here in the Ville have started a book club, which I've always wanted to be a part of so I'm super excited about! We are meeting Thursday night to discuss our first book, Gone Girl. I had heard so many good things about this book and it's been on the best seller list for a while now so I figured it would be a good book to start with. Let me just say this book is totally CRAZY. The characters are like insane in the membrane out of their mind crazy. Which in some ways is good, it was definitely not very easy to anticipate the direction of the book (which I'm usually really good at doing) but it was also a little hard to follow sometimes with all the twist and turns. I'd say if you like mysteries and are down for a little psychotic twist, then this would be a good book for you my friend. I'm really excited to see what books the other girls pick each month. I'm sort of a book nerd if you haven't been able to figure that out yet. I'll have to start doing a review each month of our books on here, although it'll have to wait until after we meet, just in case some of the lovely ladies are procrastinators with their reading. (not everyone can be as nerdy as me and finish the book in a couple days just because they need to haha!)

 Anyway hope everyone is having a great week, only two more days to the weekend!

xoxo,
kris

Tuesday.

First off, let me just say how extremely excited I am that today is Tuesday and it's time for another new episode of Sons of Anarchy! Can't wait to watch it tonight :D

Ok, now on with the good stuff. Well, I obviously survived Fair on the Square! I was a very long, super awesome weekend. I'm so glad I did it. I slept for about 3-4 hours Thursday night and then didn't go to sleep again until 9:45pm Saturday night. Let's just say I was really realllllly tired. But, it was most definitely worth it. I had a great spot, the vendors around me were totally awesome (for the most part) and there was a steady crowd throughout the day. I was a little nervous as to what to expect, but I ended up doing really well- sold a little more than half my stuff! My neighboring vendors said their first times they barely made enough to cover the booth (which is $150) so I was pleasantly surprised Saturday night when I tallied everything up. If you're interested in anything, check the Facebook page as there are still a few items left (several wreaths, some pillows and a few birdfeeders). It was so much fun, I will definitely be doing it again next year. I would really like to try and make the Christmas Fair this year, I just don't know if I'll have enough time to get things done before then. (I'm booked pretty much every weekend through Thanksgiving) But we shal see!

Here are a few pics from the weekend. If you came out, thank you so much for stopping by and supporting me!! :)

Hope everyone's week is starting out great!

xoxo,
kris

Finally!

Well it's finally arrived. Fair on the Square is tomorrow! Can you believe it?! I'm so excited, tired, and little nervous, but mostly excited. I've been working like crazy to get things ready for you guys and hopefully everyone that stops by the booth enjoys it. Today, work has basically been a blur. You may be asking yourself "Why the HECK are you at work today?!" Welllll, I was planning on taking off, but with the car trouble recently I had to leave early several days and with Dev's wedding coming up soon I just can't take that much time off. So yeah, I'm in a zombie-like state today. I'm going to try to get in a super duper power nap before I continue working this evening, but we shall see! I am definitely pulling an all-nighter, since I have to be up at the square unloading and setting up in the wee hours of the morning (ie 3-4AM) it works best for me to not go to bed than get a couple hours of sleep. Regardless of the sleep deprivation, I'm still so freaking excited!

On another note, I'm going to let you in on the best little secret snack for October. Really, the best ever! Are you ready for this? Candy Corn and unsalted peanuts! Mix them together in a container and eat them at the same time. It. Tastes. Like. Snickers. Seriously, y'all! Give it a try and tell me what you think. I'm not a huge candy corn fan, and by huge I mean I really can't stand it. But, in this combo it really works! I've already turned several of my coworkers into addicts. It's simple and easy to make, festive for the season, and super deslish. Oh, and it's cheap! You can't beat that.

Anyway, just wanted to share that little candy corn tidbit with y'all. Hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday! I'm going to go ahead and get back to work so I can try to cut out a little early so I can get back to work at home. :)

Have a great weekend and if you're in the area, come see me at the Fair on the Square! (I'll be near the Facemaker!)

xoxo,
kris

ps. sorry for the lack of pics, more to come next week of the booth and awesome fair stuff, I promise!

Sneak Peeks!

In case you haven't noticed from the 5,000 times I've mentioned it, Fair on the Square is THIS WEEK! eeeeek! I'm so excited! This Saturday we'll be out all day, so come by and see us while you're busy shopping and enjoying all the awesomeness the fair has to offer each year. The weather looks like it will be amazing, so it should be a great weekend to be outdoors.

I've been working my fingers to the bone getting things ready, hopefully it will pay off and everyone will love our stuff. I have so many things left to do on the list before Friday, but I did make a last minute decision to add some Halloween crafts to the list too. (I know, I may be a tad insane!) I cranked out several of them Saturday and I'm really loving how they turned out.

Don't mind the shelf or random greenery in the background, I just hung them up for a quick pic in the middle of working Saturday night. I have a couple more that couldn't fit on the rod for the pic, but you can get the idea. I'm going to make several more so there will be a decent amount available for this weekend. On a non-Halloween note, I'm also planning to make some Christmas hangers as well... That is, if I don't run out of hours in the days before Friday night!

Here's another sneak peek at a Fall wreath that will be at Fair on the Square.

Please excuse the messy carpet, my shadow and the teeny tiny stem of a flower stem at the top of the pic, oh and the horrible lighting. yeah, I probably should have mentioned the lighting first. I should really learn to take pictures in the day, and not after I've been working for a gazillion hours straight.

And just because it's Monday, the boss it out, and I'm feeling great (all be it exhausted) I'll give you one more peak at another Fall wreath.

Again, don't mind the messy carpet or the edge of the Ruffle Wreath in the top corner or the horrible lighting. I'm making a mental note to take pictures in the daylight hours and only AFTER the wreath is completely ready to hang. HA!

I just get so excited and then once I've moved on to something else, I forget to go back and take another picture. Oh well, we live learn!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. It's October 1st y'all! Here's to a great week and an even better month, loving this Fall weather!

xoxo,
kris

COOKIES!

For those of you that may not know this, I love cookies. I don't just like them sometimes or on holidays, I could literally eat a cookie every single day (especially my mama's homemade snickerdoodles!) but, I digress. Cookies are obviously not a super healthy food and by no means should be eaten on a daily basis. Therefore, I regulate my intake of this purely magical goodness to a sometimes snack. Every once in a while you come across one that makes you say "O-M-G I can't live without another one!" ie mom's snickerdoodles. I'm sure you have all had this experience, even those of who are not as obsessed with cookies as I. Maybe it was a piece of cake, or candy or some other form of delicious treat. You get the picture. Anyway, the point is there are amazing forms of awesome desserts out there and cookies are my fav!

Now, on to the point of this random dessert post. I love finding cookies that taste amazing, for obvious reasons naturally. But, I really love finding pretty cookies! This one is a bit more challenging. There are a lot of good bakeries that make nice looking cookies but to find a place that makes something you are truly proud to have at a birthday party, bridal shower, luncheon, wedding, basically any event imaginable is a tough find. Thanks to Facebook I think I just might have found the future home for all my cookie needs! The other day a friend of mine posted about her friend on Facebook (are you still with me?) so I followed the link to her site and fell in love with all the beautiful cookies she has created! This girl has some talent! You can visit her blog here: Whip It Good Cookies and seriously just take a look at those fabulous cookies she has on there. Oh, and did I mention she is currently in a contest sponsored by Martha Stewart?! That's right The Martha Stewart!

Candy and I are already discussing which football themed cookies we can have for which game next month, haha! Of course my favorite on her site would definitely be the love birds, they are too darling. If you have a chance to check out Erin's blog, you should also try to take a minute and use the link to Martha's page to vote for Erin in the contest. Her stuff is definitely fabulous and deserving of a win! :)

Hope you're all having a great week... It's Hump Day!

xoxo,
kris

Recent Happenings

I have been a busy busy bee lately! This will probably be the case until after Fair on the Square, but that's fine with me, I'm excited :)

Here are a few snapshots of what's been going on the past few days. Most of the time I get bogged down with stuff and forget to even take pictures, for those that follow on Instagram, sorry!

It has been raining A LOT. Which is awesome, makes crafting weekends that much more enjoyable.

I've been working on some tags for an upcoming project, here they are at stage one.

And here they are at stage two. I have one more thing to add, so they're not quite finished yet.

I've also been working on some Halloween projects for Fair on the Square. I'm really excited to show off the new Fall/Holiday items in THREE WEEKS!

My Monday morning didn't start off too great, I had a little fender bender on the way to work. Everyone is fine, however Dottie has some major scrathes and possible other damage, so I'm going to get her appraised this afternoon. Hopefully it isn't too bad, but that's what insurance is for I guess! Here's hoping the rest of the week goes much more smoothly than it started out!

xoxo,
kris