12 Before 20-12 *Update*

Last week I was guest posting over at Giggles, Glitz and Glam.  I shared my to do list for the rest of the year with you and today I wanted to update you with where I am with my *fun* to-do’s.   

Here are my 12 before 20-12:

1. See snow- I did not see any in Houston, but I didn’t expect to lol.  I have seen some crisp snow back on the coast and I love it.
2. Snuggle up on the couch with my honey watching Christmas movies, especially the old classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and drink hot coc0a.  We have not watched any movies yet, but that’s because we’ve been engrossed in football.  Since I love football, this is NOT complaint. 
3. Wear big soft warm fluffy socks.  Yes!  I have been doing this everyday! 
4. Go to the food court at the mall and people-watch the Christmas shoppers.  Phil and I went to Macy’s in Houston and Pittsburgh to do our Christmas shopping.  We had so much fun!
5. Take Tomlin to Petsmart to meet Santa.  Yep!  We did this the first weekend in December.  I was so proud of Tomlin for being such a good puppy!
6. Decorate our house for Christmas.  Yep I got this done the Friday after Thanksgiving.  You can see our decorations here.
7. Wrap Christmas gifts- Check!
8. Go see the Steelers play the Rams on Christmas Eve- Yes!  And we also surprised my mother in law and nephew with jerseys and tickets.  They are fanatics like us and it was their first game.  Watching their excitement was better than the actual game for us <insert huge goofy grin here>
9. Celebrate my 4-year Anniversary with the Mr.  Yep!  This was yesterday and I can’t believe how fast these years have gone by!  I’m definitely looking forward to this next year with Phil :-)
10. Bake a ridiculous amount of cookies to send home to family- I did not get this one done.  Maybe I will get this done in 2012.  I did however make these pretzel treats:
11. See the Nutcracker- Hubby surprised me with tickets again this year.  While he was supposed to go with me he got called out on a core chase, so I went with a friend.  It was fabulous as always :-)
12. Get all glitzed up to ring in the new year with a kiss from my sweetie :-)  I am going shopping with my sister for a sparkly dress so that I can start the year with sparkles!

I have to say, this sounds like the most *fun* to-do list I have ever made!  I wish all to do lists were this fun :-)  What are you plans for the new year?  Do you have any goals or resolutions that you’ve been thinking about?

image credits

Our Anniversary

Yep, that’s right! The Mr. and I are celebrating 4 years of wedded bliss today :-) We can’t believe it’s already been 4 years! Where does the time go?!

In honor of this special day for us, I wanted to share a little bit of our marriage with you. If you read my post over at Adventures of Team Pancakes a couple weeks ago, this may look a bit familiar, but the message still rings true for us.

Before the Mr and I got married we knew that we wanted to include Christ in every aspect of our marriage.  We wanted to be woven together as man and wife, and completely one with each other and one with Christ.  As a result, we opted for non-traditional vows.  We wanted a scripturally based marriage that was pleasing to God, and to recognize that desire in our vows and covenant to each other. (Just as a side bar, I’m not suggesting that traditional vows are wrong, or not pleasing to God, I’m simply saying that these vows fit US best.) 

 I, Darby, take thee Philip, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward. I promise to give myself to you, out of love and reverence for the Lord, to respect and love you with all my heart, as I do myself, until death do us part, to be concerned about developing Christ-like character above outer beauty, to develop the gentle and quiet spirit that is God-honoring, to provide a home where peace, joy, and encouragement can be found, according to God’s Holy Word, and thereto I give you my promise.

I, Philip, take thee Darby, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward.  I promise to love you as Christ also loved the Church, to give myself totally to you as Christ did for us, to set you apart above all women, to honor, encourage, strengthen, and support you, in all facets of life, to be the spiritual leader in the home, to provide an atmosphere, where truth, hope, and love will prosper, to love you till death do us part, according to God’s Holy Word, and thereto I give you my promise.

God gave us the rainbow as a reminder that the earth would never again be destroyed by water (Genesis 9:15-16).  The rainbow is a sign of His covenant to us.  Marriage is also a covenant (NOT a contract) and the rings worn on our third finger are a sign for all to see of the promise made between a husband and a wife. In our house we have our vows, our covenant to each other, framed and posted for a gentle reminder of the day we became one. I always smile when I walk pass our vows, thank God for the day, and say a prayer for my husband. The Mr and I love this reminder of our covenant to each other.  It’s important to remember our vows of course, but it’s also important to recognize the importance of remembering them.  I’m proud to be reminded of my covenant with Phil on a daily basis, and I love being reminded of the moment when we became one.

Happy Anniversary to you, my wonderful husband, Phil!

Happy Scarfament

I participated in a scarf and ornament swap this year, thus a “scarfament”.  It was my first blogger swap and it was so much fun.  I received this gorgeous ornament and two scarves.

Thank you Jenna Lynn!

New Years *Glitz and Glam*

How was your Christmas?!  I hope it was wonderful, that you ate more than you should have, that you caught up with family, and that you're already looking forward to Christmas 2012!

It never fails, every year I forget about New Years.  How is that possible you may ask? Well, my excuse is that I get so wrapped up in Christmas (haha pun intended) that I completely forget to think about New Years.  Well not this year!

This year is going to be different, and I’m not going to forget.

I’m going to be on the ball and get my party dress ready now :-)

(can you sense my determination?)

This year I'm going for a sophisticated look, with lots of shinnies, because let’s face it, everything better with glitter!  Here are some of the looks I’m shopping for this year:   image source

What do you think about these outfits? Do you have a favorite? What are you wearing this year for New Years?

Sweet Pretzel Melts

Typically I like to bake a ton of Christmas cookies and mail them all over the country to our family and friends.  This year was more than I could handle and cookies fell to the wayside.   The only thing I had time to make this year were these sweet pretzel treats.  They’re super easy and I promise that you can make these too.

You need some pretzels and rolos.  If you want to get really “fancy” you can get some pecans as well.

Preheat the oven to 350, and cover a baking sheet with some foil.

Lay out your pretzels and unwrap some of those delicious rolos.  Eat some rolos while you unwrap; it makes the process extra delicious :-)Place the rolos on top of the pretzels and place them in the preheated oven for 3-5 minutes, or until the rolos are just slightly melted.

As soon as you take them out of the oven either let them cool before eating, or squish a pecan on top and then let them cool.

Now you’re ready to dig in.  A cheap, easy, and fast sweet and salty treat. Ahhhhh yummy :-)

While you’re pursuing those delicious pictures, I just wanted to let you know that with Christmas in a few days I may be a little slow with responding.  I will be spending time with family and celebrating Christmas.   So if it seems a little quiet around here, please know that I haven't forgotten you and will get back with you shortly.  Until then, Phil and I wish you the merriest Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!

Ruby Trees: Tomlin’s Tree

Earlier this week I mentioned my Ruby Trees (click here for the full story).  In short, I make a new themed Christmas tree every year in honor of my grandmother, Ruby.  This year was no different and I had to make a new themed tree.  With the newest member of our family (Tomlin) as my inspiration, I’m excited to share with you our Steeler tree.

I purchased a black and yellow tree and put black and yellow glass balls and football ornaments on the branches.

For the tree topper, I made a Lombardi Trophy. For those of your who don’t know, this is the trophy won at the Super Bowl, named after a former Green Bay Packers coach.  And yes, the Steelers have 6 of these silver beauties :-)  Anyways, I wrapped some silver ribbon around a styrofoam cone and glued a silver ornament on top.  Ta da! Lombardi Trophy :-)

For the tree skirt I used a couple of our Terrible Towels.

We put the tree in Tomlin’s room and she loves it :-)

What do you think? This has got to be one of our favorite Ruby Trees :-)

Snow Candles

I have not added many new things to our Christmas decorations this year; we’ve just been so busy and my time has been extremely limited.  However, one super easy thing I made……well, no, I don’t think I can say I “made”; it was more like I “put it together” were some Snow Candles.  Since the Mr and I are used to snow during December, I thought I would make it look like we had some snow in Houston. I paid absolutely *NOTHING* for this craft; I sure do love a free craft lol. 

All I needed was epsom salt, mason jars, tea light candles and a  red charger.

I filled the mason jars with the epsom salt and placed a candle in the bottom.

I have 3 mason jars sitting on a red charger on the coffee table in the living room.

Easy enough, right? Now it looks like we’ve got some snow luminaries in the living room.  It’s so cozy :-)  You’ve got to try this one too!

Christmas Tour

Welcome to the Hawley’s for Christmas!  Let me take you on a tour around the house and show you some of our holiday decorations.  (Beware, picture overload)

Starting outside, Phil surprised me with reindeer antlers and a Rudolph nose for my car.  I thought it was so sweet that he went to 14 different stores to get this surprise for me.  I laughed so hard the morning I found them on my car. 

My grandmother’s Christmas mice (oh the irony of this foreshadowing lol) are on an end table.

A comfy red throw on the couch.  I love these pillows because they remind me of a gingerbread house.  Do you see it?

The mantle ready for Santa (Yep, this is a TV upgrade for us; I’ll be posting on this soon).  We put red lights in the fireplace for our Houston “fire”.  And yes, I still have pumpkins sitting there; I just can’t find the heart to throw them away if they aren’t bad yet.  Besides, Tomlin loves scooting them around the house.

I put an evergreen swag on the mantle, added some cranberries, and a string of glittered pearls.  Of course I have some birds mingled in there too (You know I just can’t help myself when it comes to birds lol).  On the left side I filled a hurricane with some pine cones, red ball ornaments, and iced twigs.

On the right side, I have a cross and two candle sticks.

There are also some tea lights sprinkled across the mantle in the evergreen.  It looks so pretty at night.There are 2 cotton-glittered snowflakes hanging from the mantle; one on each side.Our stockings hung by the chimney with care :-)

On the corner of the breakfast bar, I have my favorite nativity scene; I love that each “character” has the corresponding scripture on it. Behind the nativity scene, I have hung our Christmas cards.  We call this the “Wall of Love” :-)

On the end of the dining room table I have a ceramic Christmas tree with some Christmas colored tea lights.

On the left side of the buffet sideboard, I set up my Nutcracker collection.  I’ve been adding one a year, and still need to get one for this year.

I set up some reindeer tea lights on the right side of the buffet sideboard.

Our tree is in the dining room this year.  Phil took this picture of me decorating the tree.  Didn’t he do a great job?!

I just put a wreath in our bedroom, something super simple, between the sconces.  I made 2 of these wreathes for Christmas a couple years ago.

I told y’all about my Ruby Trees last year, but in short, I do themed trees in honor of my grandmother (click here for the full story).  These are 2 Ruby Trees from the past, and I will do a post later this week on our new Ruby Tree for this year.  This is a baking themed tree in the dining room.

This is my sweet candy tree on the back porch.Here are some outtakes: I took these pictures of Tomlin playing with all of the Christmas decorations as I was decorating the house.  It appears she is a big fan of Christmas too :-)

Sorry for the picture overload, but I just had to show you how our home is transformed for Christmas.  And since it’s been like this for over a month, it was time I shared some pictures with you, right?  Hope you’re having a great Monday!