Today I’m over on Every Day Cheer sharing my mom’s amazing cranberry orange relish recipe that is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Head on over there and pin this recipe!
Orange Cranberry Relish
Nov102014
Local Friends: PJs With Santa Giveaway
Nov82014
Okay, y’all. Today’s post is for all of my local readers. If you live in Columbia, South Carolina or within reasonable driving distance of Columbia, South Carolina, this post is just for you!
One of our favorite holiday events every year is PJs With Santa as part of the Junior League of Columbia’s annual Holiday Market. I did the decorations for Holiday Market for a few years and then worked on the PJs with Santa committee last year, so this event is near and dear to my heart.
First of all, Santa is the real Santa. Seriously. He has the most beautiful beard and the prettiest Santa suit and this incredibly regal chair. He is just Santa! And my kids love him! Just look at my boys with him over the past couple of years.
In addition to having the best Santa in the world, this event has tons of fun activities for the kids like cookie decorating, balloon artist, Little Gym, Tag it Art, watching classic Christmas movies, and a scavenger hunt around the market! It’s always such a fun night. I can shop a little bit, the kids can do fun Christmas activities, meet Santa, and we get a fantastic photo!
The photo is taken by Jennifer Gray Photography and is a high quality, high res photo.
This year’s event is on Friday, December 5 at from 5-8 p.m. at the Cantey Building at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds.
Tickets are $8 per child/adult and children 12 months and younger are admitted free.
You can find more information about Holiday Market and PJs With Santa here, and purchase tickets.
But today, I am giving away 2 tickets to PJs With Santa!
To enter, just leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner before November 14.
Books I've Read Lately
Nov72014
When I found out I was pregnant, my reading pace slowed down drastically. I read 15 books in the first five months of the year and then pretty much stopped. (My reading lists from the beginning of the year are linked at the bottom of this post.) Napping was preferable to reading for a while there!
Todd and I are flying out of town next week, and I am seriously looking forward to being able to quiet my mind and read on the plane. Or maybe I’ll take a nap there, too!
But I have read a few more books and thought I’d share them with you.
Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty
This was by far my favorite of all the fiction I’ve read recently. I loved the little bit of mystery. I loved that it was about moms of kindergarteners. It was a lot of fun to compare their school situation with my kids’ school situation. Obviously our school situation is nothing like the one in the book. I read What Alice Forgot earlier this year and it was one of my favorites all year. I also enjoyed The Husband’s Secret. I highly recommend Big Little Lies.
In This House, We Will Giggle
by Courtney DeFeo
My precious friend Courtney is one of the best moms I know. She is all about having fun with your kids and teaching them about the Lord and about virtues and loving people well. Her new book is one of my favorite parenting books because it’s all about teaching our kids through laughter and not lectures. She’s a super fun mom and I have learned so much from her. This book is fantastic!
Let’s All Be Brave
by Annie Downs
The incredible Annie Downs wrote this fantastic book that encourages you to life your bravest life and to live life with everything you have. Gosh, I love that! I don’t want fear to hold me back from anything- especially the things that I know God is nudging me toward. I highly recommend it!
The One & Only
by Emily Giffin
Despite lots of mixed reviews, I liked this book. It was a little different and it had a relationship that was a little more non-traditional than we’re probably used to from Emily Giffin. But I think all of her books have a little bit of a non-traditional twist to it. I couldn’t put this book down. I read it in 24 hours at the beach. I recommend it, but I also know that some will love it and some will hate it. But you won’t be able to put it down!
The Cuckoo’s Calling 
by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)
This book was interesting. It was written by JK Rowling under the Robert Galbraith pseudonym. It’s about an investigator who is looking into the case of a model’s suicide when her family members suspect that it was murder. I loved the story and loved the characters. I just have a hard time with the way JK Rowling writes. It’s not easy for me to read. But I did like this book.
Panic
by Lauren Oliver
Panic is a young adult novel, and it was fast paced and a really quick read. It’s about high school seniors in a very poor, very small town, who compete in a game called panic where players fight to the death. It’s not my favorite young adult novel, or even in my top 10 favorite books all year, but it was an easy read.
I’d love to know what y’all have been reading! Check out my reading lists from earlier in the year if you want some great suggestions.
Baby Boy Nursery Inspiration
Nov62014
Baby Boy Nursery Inspiration
I have been pinning nursery ideas like crazy and shopping around for unique pieces. (Are you following me on Pinterest?) It has been so much fun to start working on another nursery! When Hayes was born, we moved him into the nursery we decorated for Hudson and moved Hudson to a new big boy room. When we sold our old house, we sold the custom draperies that were in the nursery and I don’t have the crib bedding that Hayes and Hudson used anymore. But I still have all the furniture, which is a huge blessing. We’ll recover or slipcover our rocker and just touch up the paint on our changing table and crib. (Hudson and Hayes both chewed on the crib when they were teething!) We don’t need to get much at all!
But it has been fun to find new things to personalize the room like lamps and crib bedding, a pillow for the rocker, mobile, and the J.M. Barrie “Peter Pan” quote. I also have an antique trumeau mirror that I’m so excited to put over the changing table so baby boy can see himself in the mirror. I still can’t believe we’ll have a baby here again!
Hudson and Hayes’s nursery was bright and cheery and I loved it, but for our third baby boy I wanted to do something a little bit different and a little more my style. I want it to be calming and peaceful with sweet “baby” touches. I also plan to frame and hang some sweet newborn photos after he’s born.
Now we just need to get to work and get the room ready! I can’t wait!
Source List:
Pom Pom at Home Bunny Comforter and Pillow
Bla Bla Kids Mobile
