dressember week 3: (december 18-24)

week 3..

day 12- december 18

dress: forever 21

cardigan: loft

tights & belt- target

flats- old navy

day 13-  december 20

 blazer and flats: loft

dress:  rodarte for target

belt, tights and tee: target

day 14-  december 22

dress: tucker for target

belt and tights: target

oxfords: swapped

day 15- december 24

dress & shoes: old navy

tights: target

one week to go...

mommy reads: dear john

dear john

i think i've reached my limit of nicholas sparks books. first i read the notebook- the 2 main characters die together at the end (sad, but happy b\c they loved each other so much), then i read a walk to remember- sad because the girl dies at the end when she's only 18.  then i read dear john.  surprisingly, no one died at the end, but i wanted to kill myself for reading another nicholas sparks book....  read on... unless you're going to read this at some point (which i've already advised you not to)... in which you shouldn't because... spoiler alert.

john tyree bad boy turned soldier meets savannah curtis while on r&r.  she's a college student building houses for habitat with a bunch of other college students, including her friend tim, who happens to be in love with her.  they immediately fall in love- but john's only home for 2 weeks.  savannah also meets john's reclusive, distant father, who she diagnoses with asperger's, much to john's dismay.  john happens to pay more attention to his father after this though and realizes savannah is probably right.  john's father is a big time coin collector, and he used to collect with his dad until they got into a huge fight about it.  after the 2 weeks john goes back to germany and they write letters to each other.  everything's going to work out though because john's time in the army is almost up- but did i mention they met in the summer of 2001?  oops.  well, john decides to reenlist after 9-11 adding another 2 years on- but him & savannah continue to write letters.  he comes home to visit again, and you can tell there is distance between him.  john gets sent to war (i swear i thought he would die, but he doesn't) and while he's gone he gets a real "dear john" letter- savannah is breaking up with him b\c she's in love with someone else.  john reenlists again, but is soon called home b\c his father is sick.  his father dies eventually and john comes home to settle his estate.  while at home he decides to pay savannah a visit, it's there he learns that she has married tim and they are the caretakers of tim's brother alan b\c tim's parent died in a car accident.  tim is no where to be found though... but wait... the next day savannah takes john to see tim- he has lymphoma and really needs expensive experimental treatment that insurance won't cover.  it's obvious that savannah is still in love with john, and we know john still loves savannah, but john leaves, sells his father's entire coin collection (except for one) and anonymously donates all of the money to tim.  in the end, we find out that tim took well to treatment and is going to live.  

seriously?!  all i could think about when she dumped him (in the middle of a war, no less) was that she was such a rotten b.  then, she halfway tries to seduce him, and then he sells his father's entire coin collection and donates it just so her husband will live.  the husband that she fell in love with while they were still together...  

the movie was a completely different story... literally.  it should have been entitled "dear john (very) loosely based on the book dear john."  i mean, some of the details were the same, but so much of it was different- if you don't like the details of a book- then don't make a movie "based" on it.  

disappointments, both of them.  

book 2/5, movie 1/5. 

q&a- christmas style

a little christmas q&a from my friend maegan at chesterrific

i'll be back sometime in the next week or so to share lots of fun stuff!

hope everyone has a very merry christmas remembering the true meaning of this day!

1.  Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?  ho cho or wassail in our house!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?  both.
3. Colored or white lights on the tree and house?  colored.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?  No.  
5. When do you put up your decorations?  after thanksgiving.  we still don't have our tree up!
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?  honey baked turkey (store bought) my grandfather's stuffing (homemade).
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? going around on christmas eve to see lights in different neighborhoods.  you don't see a lot of lights like that anymore.  :(
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?  8-9 ish (i was way old)
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  nope- but dave & i always do.  mostly b\c we get so excited about our gifts that we can't wait
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?  lights, tinsel, my ornaments from childhood and other favorites.
11. Snow!  Love it or dread it?  used to love it.  now i dread it.
12. Can you ice skate?  i used to be able to.  it's been a long time.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?  a doll, but i can't remember what it was called.  it was a mystery doll and you didn't know if it was a boy or girl until you dissolved its diaper in water (that sounds so weird)
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?  Family.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?  peppermint bark, pumpkin pie
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  christmas eve candlelight service followed by mexican food!
17. What tops your tree?  An angel.
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving gifts?  Both.
19. Candy canes ... yuck or yum?  meh.
20. Favorite Christmas show?  how the grinch stole christmas.  my favorite movie- it's a wonderful life.
21. Saddest Christmas song?  i'll be home for christmas
22. What is your favorite Christmas song?  o holy night

dressember week 2 (dec 11-17)

here is week 2 of dressember!!

day 6:  december 11

 top- liz lange maternity (still wear it all the time)
dress: missoni for target
tights & boots- target

day 7: december 12

sweater- forever 21
dress: charlotte russe
tights: target
flats: old navy

day 8: december 13

top & tights: target
skirt & flats: loft

day 9: december 15

cardigan: loft
dress: fishbowl at nordstrom rack
tights: target
flats: old navy

day 10: december 16

cardigan and tights: target
dress: modcloth
flats: old navy

day 11: december 17

dress: modcloth
tights & boots: target

week 3 & 4 still to come....  but for now, we're off to atlanta!!

steppin' out saturday - breakfast with santa!!

while we were at dave's company party friday, we took ian to spend the night with grammy & grampy.  his cousins annie & ellie were there too, so it was a big party.  the next morning, his other cousins christian, jason & gavin joined them for breakfast with santa at grammy & grampy's church.  there was sausage & pancakes and then santa arrived.  ian still refused to socialize with santa- he wouldn't even let me put him down...  his cousin annie however walked right up to santa and climbed into his lap without a second thought.  silly kids.

 this is as close to santa as ian was getting.  notice my nephew jason, (who won't even look at santa) in his mother's arms next to us

seriously, stop taking me to see that bearded guy!

 i refuse to pose for any photos, mother!

 stories!

on ian:  top- carters, overalls- vintage (they were mine), shoes- reebok

on me: dress- modcloth, tights & boots- target.

photo challenge: red

i don't usually do these kinds of things b\c 1.  i don't take very good pictures and 2.  ian refuses to be photographed.  however, today was different.  behold!

look at that little stinker.  not only is he marching around being a totes cutes patoots, but those overalls that he's wearing... used to be MINE (oh, the 80's).  unfortunately, the leather on the suspenders decided to give out by the end of the day, and they'll be unwearable again unless they're repaired, but they are about 30 years old!  i wish i had a picture of me wearing them for comparison, but i'll have to see if i can dig that up while at home.  regardless, this outfit was perfect for our breakfast with santa (he's still scared)...

ps.  when i went to preview this post the "you might also like" was showcasing "week 16: baby avocado" next to a picture of guacamole....

dressember: week 1 (dec. 1-10)

as promised, here is week 1 of dressember- the 1st 10 days.  i don't have 10 days of dresses because i don't get dressed every day, you know since i'm a mom that's how i roll...

day 1: december 1

decided to start out easy here..

dress: old navy

leggings: old navy

flats: old navy

day 2: december 3

look how tall i am...  

dress: old navy

tights: target

heels: target

day 3: december 6

top: modcloth

dress: loft

tights: target

shoes: loft

day 4:  december 8

top: victoria's secret

dress: target

tights: target

shoes: swapped

day 5: december 10

cardigan: loft

dress: charlotte russe

belt: bitten sjp

tights: target

boots: target

wish list friday: foods to make & bake

i love love love to cook.  there are a lot of things that i am mediocre at, but cooking is not one of them.  and while i have the occasional kitchen mishap, more times than not i am making something that makes me say, "dang, that is good."  i'll stop tooting my own baking/making horn and show you what's on my wish list of things that need to very quickly make their way to mah belly, or another reason pinterest should be called "fat-terest."

 (all images credited to the links below)

  looking at this collage is causing me to gain weight

1.  homemade samoas - girl scout cookies are sold once a year so i don't eat a box week... but now you're telling me i can make them myself?  uh oh.
2.  buffalo chicken tacos - you had me at buffalo
3.  cilantro lime chickpea salad - i love salads like this.  it looks so fresh and yummy!!
4.  7-layer greek dip - welcome to the party in my mouth!
5.  christmas cake - a gorgeous, but simple cake from my friend maegan!!
6.  crockpot breakfast casserole - sounds like a great christmas morning meal
7.  malibu pina colada cupcakes with lime cream cheese frosting - love lime & coconut! 
8.  creamy avocado salsa verde - combine 2 of my favorites + i love dips!
9.  gluten-free shirley temple cupcakes - these are just so pretty + they're gf!
10.  red velvet brownies with white chocolate buttercream - uh, yum.  love red velvet- although i used to despise it!

is your tummy growling yet... mine is...  : \  yummmm!

getting into the christmas spirit

we've been hustling and bustling at the mchousehold with all of the christmas to dos!  we finished shopping in early december and now our gifts just await wrapping paper so they can go under our tree that just went up on sunday!  in the meantime we are ready for dave's office party and breakfast with santa this weekend!  i will have pictures of our decorated house (and our new house in general very soon), but first: christmas cards & a visit with santa!!

last year it took us about 100 shots to get this family gem:

look at that sweet boy.

the years before that were pretty easy...

2007. 2008. 2009.

taking christmas card photos with an almost 2 year old who can't sit still even for a millisecond... impossible.  this year there weren't nearly as many takes b\c there was nothing to take a picture of... but we got a really cute candid photo of dave & myself...  too bad we couldn't photoshop baby in...

aren't we sweet?

almost every photo we took that ended up having ian in it captured him either screaming, trying to get away, or moving so much that he's just a little blur...

but we did come up with these 2 gems...  

so

so, i sent these pictures to my friend mel for her opinion on what i should choose...  and she turned it into this magic...

i really need to learn photoshop....

on the santa front- things were also different this year with an almost 2 year old...  walk with me down memory lane?

we weren't sure how ian would react to santa- we knew with him there would probably be no in between- it would be either love or hate.  saturday night we had dinner at chick fil a and the santa cow made an appearance- ian was in love- he was waving at him, giving high fives, mooing...  so we thought the santa thing might go okay...

 

giant cow costume santa = cool.  real guy as santa = not so cool

not so much...  poor ian.  dave & i were in hysterics...  the things we do to our kids.  oh well, better luck next year.  of course, he does nothing now but walk around the house saying "ho ho ho."

do you do christmas cards?

do you take your little one to see santa?  was their reaction as you expected?

linking up here:

and..

harper's happenings santa photo link-up

wish list friday: modcloth duds

all images linked below

1.  look on the bright cider tunic - i have a weakness for bright red, holiday themed sweaters, and this one does it without being ugly sweater party material.  looks warm too, and i need it- it's 26 today!

2.  lieutenant lovely cardigan - love the colors and button detail.  would be cute alone or over anything.

3.  new hire and higher dress - this dress looks slimming and classy.  can't go wrong with that.

4.  what's the peter plan top - adorable top.  i know i'd feel just like madeline!

5.  strawberry waffles dress - adorable dress that could be styled so many ways

6.  freedom of the dress - lovely dress- and it has sleeves!

7.  streetcar tour dress - a classy dress that comes in a variety of colors that's appropriate year-round!  yes!

8.  london collar-ing dress - love this sweet dress.  the color is a winner

9.  loving care dress - another sweet dress.  i think it could be hit or miss on me though!

10.  three square teals dress - knit retro-looking dress.  very cute
11. double your output top - stripes and lace.  i think so
12.  presidio pose dress - cute, but way out of my price range
13.  snow news is good news dress - perfect sweater dress for illinois weather
14.  radiant ruby dress - i'm in love with everything about this gorgeous red dress
15.  evergreen and gorgeous dress - love the color of this pretty maxi dress
16.  brunch date top - i really love this top, can't figure out why it was only available for about a month!

like anything you see?

hair diaries: no heat curls (photos)

one of my dear readers requested that i do another post about my hair.  i apologize for not sharing any fancy 'dos lately- my hair has gotten really long- and when it gets too long and hasn't been cut in oh, say, 8 months (which is torture for a pre-baby religious every 6-8 weeker) it starts to get a little cray-cray.  when it gets too long, i need to start doing as my grandma used to and sleep on a silk pillowcase... but i don't have one, so i wake up with crazy matted hair every morning... therefore, it's lots of ponytails for me.  gosh, this sounds like an argument for more hair tutorials instead of less...

so, the big blog thing this summer in hair that kept catching my eye was the "no heat curl."  i have to admit, i never actually viewed any of the tutorials, or did anything more than look at the pictures of girls with their curls.  of course i kept thinking "no heat curl... isn't that what i do with my hair every day simply by letting it air dry?"  of course, i then realized that not everyone is cursed with has curly/wavy hair.  some people have to work for it...  so i went to the first place that i saw the nhc- the paper mama (view her photos & tutorial by following the link) and realized that this was probably the easiest thing in the world.  it's a style you make simply by sleeping (and i love to sleep).  ready to see how it's done?

step 1

start with hair that is mostly dry.  you can see how long my hair is getting + how it curls on its own.  

step 2

channel your inner mischa barton circa 2008 and wrap a headband on the outside of your hair (i use goody's no slip headbands).  

step 3

 starting from the front and working your way around take strands of hair and loop them around the headband until you're all the way around your head (see video tutorial on the paper mama's blog for help).

step 4.

 go to sleep!!  zzzzz  (bonus points with me if you can name the film whence this mask was originally seen)

step 5.

good morning- time to take the hair down!  (very carefully)

here at is at 1st glance- very curly.  now i'm going to shake it out a bit...

yikes... it got a little pageant-y....

then i had this one crazy piece that refused to curl that i ended up having to pin curl for a few hours

but overall... i'm impressed.  this is something you can tweak to fit your needs- pull thinner strands for more curls and thicker strands for less (i'm trying that next time).

these last 2 pictures were taken around 5:30- so for me it lasted ALL DAY!  if your hair isn't naturally curly like mine, i would suggest that you spray it pretty generously with hair spray and let that dry (i saw that in another no heat curls video).  as far as how you normally style it before you do the curls- i guess that would be up to you.  i stopped using hair products on my hair back last year when i stopped washing my hair for a while- however, i did use a pea sized drop of dave's gel and lightly ran it over the top, since it was a little fuzzy from being slept on.  i'll definitely be trying this again and experimenting with the types of curls i can get and ways i can style it.  

have you tried the no heat curls before?  do you think this is a look that will work for you?  let me know!