Deck the Halls

TGIF!!!

I made that big this week because this really is a happy Friday!  Tuesday night I turned in my final draft of my field project/thesis and have already received great feedback, therefore (drumroll, please!)--I'm done with my Master's!

On top of that, this weekend is going to be lots of fun and the perfect celebration.  AMF is visiting for the weekend and tonight we're going on the Tacky Lights Tour and tomorrow we're going to cook and bake up a storm to prepare for Bryce's and my first annual Christmas party that is tomorrow night!

In preparation for the party, Bryce and I have been decking the halls quite a bit lately...

On the 3rd we got our Christmas tree!

(we also got Bryce's mom's tree, so we had quite the ride home with TWO trees atop the car)

On the 5th we got the tree up and...

put the lights on!

We decided that the sunroom was the perfect place for the tree, because it looks gorgeous from outside when all the blinds are open!

We added a few decorations the first night...

And finished the next night!

Isn't it beautiful?

Finally last weekend, I got the most fabulous damask fabric to fashion into a tree skirt!

Here's a look at a few of my favorite ornaments...

This polka dotted ball adds some snazz to our tree!

When Bryce pulled this Santa and his sleigh ornament out of his box I gasped--it is so beautiful and was perfect for the top of the tree!

Bryce got this ornament last Christmas for his first Christmas with his black lab Honcho...

see the resemblance?

This was the first ornament Bryce and I bought together--a peacock feather!

Bryce is proud to be a VMI grad!

My mom painted this elf when she was a little girl!

I love this regal Santa!

We also did some other decorating around the house and Bryce was the best sport about nailing and hanging things up for me!

I thought the mantel turned out lovely with the ornaments, nutcrackers, and stockings!

Poinsettias!

I love this elf advent calendar!

We've added some more trimmings around the house as well that I'll be sure to snap pictures of this weekend at the party!

Also, get excited for some fun posts next week--a book review, a recipe (or 2), and some fashion!

Are you all done decorating for the holidays?

Have a great weekend!

Great Big Greenhouse

Happy Hump Day readers!

Wow!  I cannot believe it has been almost two weeks since I last posted!  Things have been busy, busy but the worst is behind me!

This past weekend we had Bryce's company Christmas party on Friday and dinner with the Cutie family on Saturday night.  We also got a Christmas tree (post coming soon) and I spent lots of time working on my thesis/field project.  Monday night I turned my rough draft in and today I am in Charlottesville presenting my project.

Christmas Party!

For today's post, I wanted to share a recent adventure Bryce and I had.  The Sunday after Thanksgiving we spent a lazy afternoon together and had a little excursion to The Great Big Greenhouse.  The Great Big Greenhouse is a well-known Richmond nursery and our visit definitely put me in the Christmas spirit!

When we arrived we checked out what they had outside first!

Christmas Trees!

Holly Bushes

Even though these weren't very Christmassy, I couldn't help but love 'em!

Inside was a Christmas, winter wonderland!

Wreaths Galore!

Check out this snazzy Christmas tree!

Ahh, poinsettias!

And more!

I LOVED them in the hanging baskets!

I couldn't get enough of this Williamsburg blue and white pottery!

funky Christmas balls!

Ha, this is too cute!

I love any kind of ribbon and Christmas ribbon is no exception!

YES..that is an UPSIDE DOWN tree!

We had so much fun roaming around the store and just may have brought a little something home...

I convinced Bryce I HAD TO HAVE the blue and white pot--don't the poinsettias look nice in it?!

Also..aren't you loving the monkey salt and pepper shakers I got Bryce last week?

What are your favorite holiday excursions?  What have you done lately to get in the Christmas spirit?

Have a great day!

Thankful

Happy Black Friday my friends!

I might be a day late, but I wanted to take some time to give thanks over here at Sundresses and Smiles.  These days, as y'all know, my life is fast-paced and it is so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day rush and forget to stop and just feel thankful.  So today, I'd like to post my thanks.  This is a long post, but it is truly heartfelt and truly "me."

Thanksgiving yesterday was wonderful.  My family usually does a low key Thanksgiving--we have my grandmothers over and just enjoy a nice meal and time to visit together.  As previously mentioned on the blog, I make an annual dessert for Thanksgiving.  I didn't share the reason behind my annual French Silk Pie before, but I will share it with you now as the opening to my thankful post.  A little over three years ago, my grandfather died.  He was such an incredible man--he was one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever known; he was also smart, witty, and passionate.  One of his favorite desserts was French Silk Pie.  Every year at Thanksgiving we would have a pumpkin pie, a French Silk pie, and another dessert that I would make.  We began to feel dessert overload and I thought it would be smart to consolidate our desserts by making my own homemade French Silk Pie.  It has been a tradition ever since and is now even more special since Grandpa has passed.  Though I miss him often, I am so thankful to have had 20 years with my grandfather--he and I spent much time together and I am lucky that he is one of the people that shaped my life.

Yesterday's Pie--we think it may have been the best yet!

See recipe here!

Secondly, I am so thankful to be part of such an incredible family.  Though we may be dysfunctional and a bit wacky at times, I wouldn't change what we have.  I am incredibly close with my parents as well as my extended family and "framily" (a term we use to describe close friends that are considered family).

Father's Day Dinner 2011

Next on the list are my friends.  I am so lucky to have an incredible group of close friends--the kind of friends I can be myself around, lean on when I need a helping hand, and have fun with.  

ABE & ARS

ARS isn't mentioned on the blog frequently, but she is my true "BFF"--we met when we were 13 and just 2 years later, her family moved to North Carolina.  Now, 10 years, later we are still best friends even though we only get to see each other about once a year!

The list of people I am thankful for, of course would not be complete without Bryce.  I have so enjoyed sharing our romance on the blog with you and I can share with y'all now that it continues to get better and better.  I have never felt this loved in my life and never thought it was possible to find someone so perfectly matched for me.

Our First Picture Together!

I can't believe how far we've come since then!

I also wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all of you, my loyal followers!  I have not been the best blogger over these last few months--living life has gotten in the way.  Your friendship, fun, and passion inspire me every day and make me feel so grateful that I joined this blogging community just over 8 months ago!

 And I'll just list a few more....

• my sweet class of 1st graders
• the beauty of the world around me
• the color pink
• the daily luxuries that I take for granted that so much of the world does not have
• the ocean and taste of salt on my lips
• Richmond, VA
• white wine
• the joy of curling up with a good book

What are you thankful for?

Now for a quick peek into my schedule over the next few weeks:

-Mon, Nov 28:  MY 23RD BIRTHDAY!!!  HIP HIP HOORAY!

-Fri, Dec 2:  My last day of student teaching

-Fri, Dec 2:  Bryce's Company Christmas Party

-Sat, Dec 3:  Crabtree Falls Camping Trip

-Mon, Dec 5:  Thesis/Field Project Rough Draft due

-Wed, Dec 7:  Thesis/Field Project Presentations

-Thurs, Dec 15:  Thesis/Field Project Final Draft due

-Sat, Dec 17:  Bryce's and My First Annual Christmas Party!

All that being said, I am going to be busy busy!!  I am hoping to squeeze in some time for blogging over the next few weeks, but have a feeling my time will be tight.  Wish me luck!

Have a fabulous holiday weekend!

I'm Alive!

Happy Hump Day readers!

Just a quick post to say hello, I miss you all, and I'm alive!

Things have been hectic lately--my thesis due date is looming, the holidays and my birthday (just 5 more days!) are here, and student teaching is coming to an end.

That being said, I've had little free time for blogging.

Today I will quickly share a new song with you that I'm loving:  "Bait a Hook" by Justin Moore.  If I haven't mentioned it on the blog before my type is a preppy, Southern, and outdoorsy man.  My friends have laughed at me for saying "I could never date a guy that doesn't hunt and fish"-- but it's true!  When I heard this song the other day, it brought a huge smile to my face and some laughs.  Lucky for me, I found my perfect preppy, Southern, and outdoorsy catch in Bryce!

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with good food and family!

World's Greatest Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Monday friends!!  Can you believe November is already half-way over?

This weekend I made the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies.  Bryce has been begging me to bake him something for a while and he was gone all week for work, so I thought that a great surprise for his return would be some of these cookies I've been telling him and telling him about!

This old Betty Crocker recipe is a favorite in my family.  My godfather, Uncle Ed, and I have been making them together since I was a little tot and they are his specialty.  The two secret ingredients that make these cookies so good are:

1. Salt--they have the perfect mixture of sweet and salty
2. And OF COURSE, lots of love!

Ingredients: (yields 7 dozen cookies!!)

2/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup butter (softened)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Heat over to 375 F

2.  Mix shortening, butter, granulated and brown sugars, eggs, and vanilla

ready for mixing!

mmmm!

3.  In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt

4.  Stir flour mixture in with other mixture (Uncle Ed's trick for this is to add the dry ingredients in, little by little--he also clears a hole in the wet ingredients that you can fill with the dry ingredients which helps decrease the flour from flying into the air and all over the place!)

see hole in center!

filled with dry ingredients

Another key part of this step is not to over-mix the batter--the dough should be thick!

5.  Stir in chocolate chips

I can never decide which I like better--the dough or the cookies!

6.  Drop dough by rounded teaspoon fulls 2 in apart on ungreased baking sheets

Uncle Ed is very meticulous about this step and always has exactly 7 dozen cookies--I, on the other hand, am not and also tend to snack on the dough, so I usually end up with about 5 dozen cookies of varying sizes!

7.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown (9 minutes is perfection when I bake them!)

They're crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle...yummy, yummy!

8.  ENJOY!!

Ready for Bryce!

In other news, this weekend provided the perfect rest and relaxation that I needed.  Saturday I went to see Cuties A and B play in their basketball games and spent the afternoon with the Cutie family.  Aside from that, I spent lots of time reading, relaxing, and spending time with my family.

Cutie B ready for action!

Check out Cutie A's jump shot!

Are you a fan of chocolate chip cookies?  What are your all time favorite desserts?

How was your weekend?

Have a great day!