Gift Guide for Gals

Less than 2 weeks until Christmas!!! We are definitely getting excited over here! If you have some last minute Christmas shopping to do, I have two more gift guides for you this week. One for toddler boys and today, a gift guide for the gals in your life. These are a few ideas I gave my husband and family ...

Book | Backpack | Coat | Converse | Nail Polish | Lights |

| W A N T | 

Essie nail polish is my favorite! They make the best stocking stuffers or girlfriend gifts. A couple of my tried and true favorite winter colors are Licorice and Marshmallow but Tassel Shaker is on my wish list. I love the gold flecks. If it was appropriate to string lights all over the inside of my house I might. haha Instead, maybe a strand of these would ease the disappointment of having to take down the Christmas tree at the end of the season. The strand pictured above is for outdoor use and would look so much fun on a patio!

| N E E D | 

I have never been a purse kind of girl. It drives me insane carrying one around with me everywhere I go when it constantly falls off my shoulder. Add a child on my hip and it compounds the problem even more! haha That's why I love backpacks and think every mom needs one! The one I am currently using is falling apart at the seams (literally) and I would love to replace it with this one. 

| W E A R |

I love this white coat because it would go with just about anything! Another good one that I was eyeing if you are looking for a wool style. This pair of converse have been on my wish list for a while too. Bonus, they are slip-ons!

| R E A D |

For the party planning gal in your life - Celebrate Everything!

For the all-around DIY friend - The Year of Cozy

For the Young Adult fiction lover - Shatter Me Trilogy & Red Queen/Glass Sword

A few other favorites ... this peplum top. The striped is out of stock but I love the oatmeal color too! I also love this throw and these hand towels!

In case you missed it ... a gift guide for the men in your life!

our weekend in Salt Lake City

Get ready for a novel of epic proportions on this one. I won't blame you one bit if you decide to skip over the story and go straight to the pictures. They might tell a happier tale but I still needed to document it for personal reasons, because it is part of our story. And it ends happily, I promise. :)

Here we are again, a bittersweet Sunday. We just pulled into the driveway this afternoon from a weekend spent in Salt Lake City. I've spent the last month or so thinking about taking Liam to Salt Lake City during Christmas time. There is truly nothing more incredible than Temple Square lit up at night time. After witnessing Liam's reactions to the lights on peoples' homes just in our neighborhood, it convinced me even more that we should go. So we planned this weekend ... booked a hotel room and got excited about the thought of Christmas shopping in a big city, a trip to Ikea, walking around Temple Square, and a fun night splashing in the hotel hot tub. Well, this weekend is proof that things don't always go as planned.

We left Saturday morning and drove right into a torrential rain storm. It was difficult to see much more than 10 feet or so ahead of us as the rain continued to pound on the windshield but we were excited about our weekend plans and remained optimistic. About the time we hit Malad pass and we felt our wheels slide even the slightest bit, we took the rest of the drive slowly. Between the constant pounding rain giving us an equally pounding headache, a restless toddler in the back seat, a crack to our windshield from a semi truck's flying rock (DARN IT!), and a drive that took closer to three hours when it should have been two, it didn't start off on the best foot.

When we finally made it to Draper we were all starving and had plans to stop at Quiznos for lunch, we discovered it was closed down. We scavenged my bag of snacks for a couple of cliff bars to tied us over and headed into Ikea for a few of Liam's Christmas gifts. It had been a little less than a year and a half since the last time we'd been there so we spent most of the time reminiscing about our last visit with a tiny little Liam who I had to nurse in the car! While Nic paid, I took Liam to an area where he got to drive. ;)

After Ikea we found a place to eat and were in better spirits. The day seemed to be turning around! We had an hour to kill before we could check into our hotel at 3. Liam was growing restless from all of the car travel and hadn't had a nap yet so we stopped into a Target for him to stretch his legs, keep him preoccupied before we could give him a nap in the hotel, and finish a bit more Christmas shopping. We rolled out of there just after 3 and still at a 20 minute drive to get back to Salt Lake where our hotel was (parenting fail #1) so Liam was losing it in the car. 5 minutes of crying/driving, 10 minutes of crying/driving, 15 minutes of crying/driving, just when we were about to lose it and were only 5 minutes away from the hotel, he fell right to sleep. It was one of those moments where part of you hears the hallelujah chorus in the background (he FINALLY stopped screaming!) but the other part of you is screaming NOOOO (you know there is a good chance once you get him to the hotel that he won't nap anymore)!

My knight in shining armor checked us in, carried in all of our luggage in the middle of the rain storm, got Liam's pack n' play set up, and held an umbrella over our heads as I carried a groggy Liam into the hotel. The elevator naturally woke him right up (so many fun buttons, lights, and sounds!) but thankfully he was able to be rocked back to sleep and got a little bit more of a nap in before the evening.

Our biggest plans for the evening were to go see the Temple lights but the rain still hadn't let up, not even a little bit, so we thought if we went to the City Creek Mall (covered) across the street and had dinner first it might give the rain time to settle down. When we walked into the mall food court we were immediately corralled into a room packed like sardines. The line to get food wrapped double the length of the ordering counter and there we found ourselves, inching along at the pace of a snail. If you've ever waited in line with a hungry and very wiggly two year old you know what a good time that is (parenting fail #2)!! We breathed a sigh of relief when we made it through the line. Little did we know, our troubles were just beginning. There was absolutely nowhere in sight to sit. We walked and walked and walked around and saw people SITTING ON THE FLOOR eating because there wasn't any room left. The frustrating part, most people who did have a table weren't even eating. They knew what a rare gem they had (a dry place out of the rain to relax) and didn't want to to give it up. So frustrating to see though when you are the one at the moment with an angry toddler who just needs a place to sit and feed their child dinner. A lady stood up from a counter stool and we quickly grabbed it. Nic being the absolute gentleman he is gave it to me. I tried to get Liam to sit with me but NO MORE SITTING he insisted. Nic held him WHILE standing AND eating his pizza. I truly know how lucky I am. I love you Nic Williamson! 

We ate that pizza faster than we've eaten anything in our entire lives so that we could scram. Surprise! It was still dumping down rain. Christmas shopping it was for a bit a longer but with very little success because we struggled to find anything left on our list. Store after store with empty hands. This is right about the time I started breaking down emotionally, Liam was DONE, and Nic was equally frustrated. There was no letting up on the rain so we let go of the idea to see the Temple Square lights and went back to the hotel, ate ice cream, and jumped on the bed instead. The best way to end any day, good or bad. ;)

Our trip definitely had a lot of unexpected downfalls but that's life. It doesn't always work out the way we want it to. Even when you are trying to be on a fun adventure! The good thing is, there is always a new day to start over. We all woke up this morning to clearer skies and happier hearts. We walked hand in hand to Temple Square where I said to Nic along the way, "We had a lot of hard times this weekend but there is no one I would rather go through hard times AND good times with than my two boys!" And there is no better note to finish our weekend on than walking around the incredible grounds of Temple Square, even if it wasn't lit up at night like we had originally planned. It was equally as beautiful with partly cloudy skies ...

Beautiful Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus on the reflection pool ...

A very similar picture of a much smaller Liam here. So much nostalgia! 

He was much happier playing in the fountain (even though it was cold outside) than he was taking a picture with me but I still love this picture anyway ...

And this one too!

A couple of cute Insta Story videos from our trip!

Like I said before, there is no one in the world I would rather spend the hard times and the wonderful moments with than these two! It was a weekend to remember.

P.S. We vowed to never do City Creek Mall on a Saturday in December ever again! ;)

Gift GUY-de

Happy Friday!! Today feels a bit like an extra Saturday for me because Nic has the day off work (high five for an abundance of PTO days left at the end of the year!). We are heading to Salt Lake tomorrow to see the lights at Temple Square and to finish up our Christmas shopping so I thought I would share a few gift guides over the next several days if you have any shopping left to do. 

I don't know about you but for me, one of the hardest people to shop for are the men in my life (specifically my husband) because it seems to be in their nature to go out and get the things they want/need in the moment that they come up with them leaving very few ideas left for holidays. Anyone else have a husband or dad like that?! If you are in the same boat as me, here are a few ideas ...

Wallet | Beanie | Running Tank | Sweats | Blender Bottle | Stress Ball | Travel Kit | Boots

I always forget to check everyone's pockets before doing laundry and I accidentally washed Nic's leather wallet in his jeans. It came out all wrinkled and weathered. I felt terrible. Looks like I need to rectify my mistake with a new wallet in his stocking this year!

Every Christmas Eve growing up my family would open one present, a pair of new jimmies and a book. A new pair of sweats for the guy in your life is the next best thing and if he is anything like my husband, he'll be a fan of the new Harry Potter books. He can't wait to read them with Liam before bed when he gets older!

A new beanie for this snowy weather we've been hit with lately, a stress ball for work, a travel kit for our Boise trips, and a few more blender bottles in a million colors to choose from (because I selfishly hate washing the only one we own every day after his protein drink! haha) will all be in my husbands' stocking this year.

The biggest thing Nic wanted for Christmas is a pair of boots. You can't go wrong with any pair of shoes from North Face.

Both of our dads have birthdays really close before or after Christmas so all of our ideas have already been used up for the holiday. If you have any good ones, I'd love to hear them in the comments below! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

snow day

It has finally been snowing off and on for the last week and for some reason or another we haven't been able to go out and play in it. Yesterday we finally got that chance! And look how happy Ralphie is about it ... ;)

"I can't put my arms down!!!" 

Of course the very first thing he did was try a big bite! I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he liked it based off of the second, third, and fourth bites that followed. haha I think introducing him to our slushy making days from untouched backyard snow like I did when I was a kid are in our near future!

I even taught him how to make a snow angel. Not the easiest to see from this particular angle but that is a baby snow angel on the left and a momma snow angel on the right. :)

He loved every second of being out there. I wanted to make his first snowman with him but the snow was to light and fluffy and wouldn't stick together so I showed him a snowball fight instead! I got the best giggles every time I tossed one at him and it exploded on his tummy! I tried to teach him to make his own snowball and the concept of throwing it at each other but he just kept laughing while picking up big handfuls of snow and trying to throw it back at himself. haha It was the best!

He is obsessed with our snow shovel. Can barely push the gigantic thing but sure gives it his best effort every chance he gets! It is probably wishful thinking but I hope he always feels this way about shoveling snow off the driveway.

I love that snowflake that got caught on the tip of his nose, cutest!

By the way, he at one point was wearing two pairs of gloves like he is in this picture but I don't know what it is about kids gloves, they never stay on. He inevitably lost one of the pairs while playing. Thank goodness for the back up red pair that were underneath.

We played out there for close to an hour which I was so thankful for considering that was about the same length of time it took me to get the two of us dressed.

It was the best snow day with my favorite little snowman! Hopefully next time, daddy can join us!

Deck the Halls

The Christmas season is such an incredibly magical time! Even more so with a child around our home! Last week we brought up all of our red rubber maids from the basement and decorated our house for Christmas. My favorite moment and a picture I will cherish forever from that night is this one ...

He was so proud that he got to be the one to put the star on our tree! And then there's Nic who was living his Lion King fantasy during this moment saying, "Everything the light touches, Simba!" haha That guy always knows how to get a good laugh out of me. :)

Our Christmas tree ...

My favorite ornaments are always the ones with pictures. These are two of my favorites, one from our first Christmas after we got married and the other for Liam's first Christmas only a couple months after he was born.

Inspecting it first ... ;)

One of my favorite spaces to decorate for every holiday ...

I love this picture we had taken of our family last Christmas!

A little bit of mistletoe ;)

Last year I put our nativity on a shelf overlooking our living room and I loved it so much that I did the same this year. 

Look at that sweet baby Liam in a Christmas mug. One of my favorite Christmas pictures of all time! I did it again last year but with a not so asleep baby and although that Christmas mug didn't survive the season (it got dropped), I just might have to find a new mug to carry on the tradition for this year.

We inherited this beautiful Christmas village from Nic's dad that spans our entire living room and kitchen ledge! It even has Waldo. ;) Can you spot him?!

I thought for sure half this village wouldn't survive the unboxing and putting up phase. Liam loved "helping" and things were clanging together and village trucks were being added to his toy box while we worked. It really was a Christmas miracle that none of it broke. haha Christmas with a toddler! But to be fair, he rarely ever touches the tree or any of the presents underneath so I think we are pretty lucky.

There is even a little bit of Christmas cheer in our master bedroom!

All week long I've wanted to spend all of my time in our living room around the lights of the Christmas tree. There is just nothing better and the cherry on top, we even have snow falling out our window! So much magic in the air. I know when we've said goodbye to Christmas and January comes I am going to be sad to take it all down again so I will be soaking up every last second surrounded by holiday cheer. :) 

a festive weekend

I always look forward to the weekends but they are even more fun and special during the holiday season! This weekend was nothing short of that. We finally finished decorating our house last week and just got to enjoy being surrounded by Christmas lights and evergreen garland this weekend! There is nothing better than that evergreen smell at Christmas time. It makes me a bit nostalgic for a real tree in my living room like we had when I was a child but garland is the next best compromise! ;)

On Friday we had our ward Christmas party and among a yummy ham dinner, catching up with friends, and listening to several beautiful musical numbers (Joy to the World is my favorite and I teared up when the primary children sang too) that made me feel the spirit of Christmas, Liam got his second opportunity to see Santa. I mean, the picture speaks for itself so I don't think any words are really necessary ...

Is that not the most awkward Santa picture you have ever seen!? Santa was too freaked out to hold Liam in his lap for a crying picture so he suggested that Nic face the wall while holding Liam and that it be a family affair. We might have to hit up the mall Santa after all. haha

On Saturday we pretty much spent from sun up to sun down baking Christmas cookies. I always forget that every sugar cookie recipe makes about a bajillion cookies. haha On Black Friday I ordered these fun letter shapes to add to our cookie cutter collection and we made a few holiday words out of them to celebrate the season! We might even save "HO HO" for our new Santa plate on Christmas Eve! ;)

We might be finding flour everywhere it is not supposed to be for the next year but it was totally worth it to make memories with our little baker!

Advent Calendars

Happy December! It's the most wonderful time of the year and another year of advent calendars! I shared our advent calendars last year, one of which was scripture based and the other one, a book calendar. We loved them both so much that we decided to do them again this year but with a few changes and added a third calendar as well! 

A few of our favorite Christmas books from our collection for our book calendar ...

A fun change I wanted to make to the book advent calendar this year was to wrap each book like a present. Every day Liam gets to choose a book from his shelf to open and it has been a fun surprise so far to see which ones he has picked!

Liam opened the first book yesterday and found Little Blue Trick's Christmas inside. Not only does it has his favorite truck inside but a Christmas tree lights up and flashes at the end of the book! He already loves it so much! Today he opened Follow the Star. An adorable book from my childhood about the wiseman following the star to Bethlehem.

At the moment, we don't have a mantle in our home. It made hanging the scripture advent calendar I made last year pretty tricky. It fell down quite a few times during the season and with grabby toddler hands, just didn't seem like the best fit this year. Thank goodness for Grandma West, she came to our rescue! She got us this adorable pocket tree calendar and gave it to us when we visited last weekend. All the scripture cards I made fit perfectly in the pockets and of course, we added treats inside to go with it! After mentioning the grabby toddler hands, I feel silly admitting that I hung it low enough for Liam to reach thinking it would be fun to have him be able to reach inside on his own. What was I thinking?! haha I now find the scripture cards strewn about our house and had to take the chocolates out of the bottom part of the tree to keep him from eating them all at once. I think we will be moving it up the wall by the end of the day! haha

Liam is really into numbers right now and points them out on the calendar and traces them with his finger, it is adorable!

Reaching in for his first treat yesterday ...

The scripture we read got me so excited to hear pieces of the Savior's birth over the next 25 days! The activity was to decorate for Christmas but we already took care of that. ;)

Look at that sweet face! He makes the best excited noises when he gets to have a treat ...

Opening it all by himself ...

The third calendar we decided to add this year is called "Light the World - 25 Ways in 25 Days". It is so important to our family to keep Christ in Christmas and our hearts focused on him as he is the reason for the season. What better way than 25 days of service and giving just like he did while he was on the Earth. You can find the calendar here! Happy Advent friends! XO