New Traditions.

I don't know about you, but I am so excited for the upcoming holidays. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and then the madness of Black Friday and Christmas shopping starts. I love buying the perfect gifts for my family, but sometimes it makes shopping overwhelming. Now that Joe and I are married and my other sisters are grown, my family decided to do something different this year for Christmas gifts..

This year we are doing a secret Santa with our family. I'm excited to do something new and fun this year. I have also been hunting on Pinterest for some new Christmas traditions that Joe and I can start this year and years to come.

I'm the kind of person that loves Black Friday, not about getting the best thing or fighting with someone over an awesome deal though. It's just been a tradition to go out with Joe and my sisters and even if we don't find much it's so much fun. We always put our Christmas tree up on the Friday after Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to putting that up!

It's such an awesome feeling to know that soon enough (no, not yet) we will start our own family and get to make new traditions. 

Next month marks Joe and I being a couple for five years and getting engaged last year. We have a lot to be thankful for and I can't wait to keep old traditions, and start new ones.

This holiday season I want to...

Bake a lot. Pinterest has me pinning alll of the sweets.

Decorate Christmas cookies.

Take late night drives to see all of the Christmas lights.

Revisit the Christmas Town event where Joe and I got engaged last year.

Celebrate being a couple for five years.

Watch Christmas movies with hot cocoa. ALL the time.

Buy each other pajamas to exchange on Christmas eve and wear.

Donate toys or clothes to people who need some uplifting.

Send out Christmas cards as a married couple. Still need to do this ASAP!


I hope you all get to spend the day with your families tomorrow! Have an amazing Thanksgiving! What are your plans for the holidays? Are you doing anything new or different to start traditions? 

Blogger Men Tell All | November

With Thanksgiving only two days away, I loved the questions for this months "Blogger Men Tell All" Joe has been asking me quite frequently when the next one is, and we completely forgot to do last months link up. So here we go...

Last Thanksgiving

1. What food do you look forward to most at Thanksgiving dinner?

Deviled eggs and ham roll ups. (ham roll ups - cream cheese spread on ham and rolled up with a pickle in the middle then cut and kept together with a toothpick) 

*He legitimately is excited for the appetizers people.*

2. Do you ever go shopping on Black Friday?

Yep. Because you like it, and therefore I go. I remember last year you were really excited about a vacuum and I got McDonalds breakfast. 

*This is very true, I was so excited for that vacuum, and I bribed him with McDonalds. I must say though, he is the best Black Friday shopper ever because he doesn't complain, and he gets me coffee*

3. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

We don't really have any that we have made of our own yet, but we always go to your moms and take family pictures. You usually get really excited for Black Friday shopping too. 

*This is true.*

4. Do you travel for the Thanksgiving holiday or do you stay close to home?

We always stay close to home. 

*He's just excited we get to go see the Lakers on Sunday*

5. What are you most thankful for this year?

My wife and my dog.

*Best answer ever.*

Monograms for the Holidays | Marley Lilly

I have always been a monogram fan. Now that I'm married, I just want to monogram everything with my new initials. Marley Lilly was kind enough to send me two items that have my brand new monogram on them.

Gifting something that is monogrammed gives a gift such a personal touch. I think these would make amazing gifts for anyone. Newly married friends will gush over the fact that you got them a gift with their new last name initial on it. With the holidays coming up, you should definitely keep them in mind when shopping. They have gifts that are very budget friendly. From bags, clothing, hats, and so much more, and of course - everything can be monogrammed!

Monogrammed Luxe Cross Body Clutch This beautiful bag can be used as a clutch or a cross body bag. This makes it so versatile. I already know that this bag is going to be my go to for the holidays this year. It fits so much in it, which is a must for someone like me who carries a ton of stuff around. You can get it in so many different colors and the monogram is able to be customized as well.

Monogrammed Tassel Bracelet  I have been eyeing this bracelet for such a long time. I am in love with the orange color of the tassel, it is perfect for fall. This bracelet like everything else on their website can come in so many different colors.

I have to say that not even the shipping of their products goes without a special touch. Everything came wrapped in lime green paper with a signature sticker. 

Check out Marley Lilly and tell me what you are putting on your wish list. Keep your eye out for a future giveaway! 

* I was sent these items courtesy of Marley Lilly for an honest review, all opinions are my own*

Ramblings.

Life after work looks something like me cooking dinner and watching Netflix or Son's of Anarchy until I take myself to bed (around 9 every night). Blame it on the time change.  P.S - When will I finally be okay with it being dark so early?? I think never. Whatever the reason, I think I need to find some inspiration. Sitting at home after a long day at work, isn't very inspiring. I want stuff to write about. When I was planning our wedding I had so much going on that I didn't have much time to just binge watch my shows. Therefore, I had more ideas for blogging and I felt more productive. I'm ready to find something I'm passionate about and work toward that.

On another note...

I am pretty excited though, that next week is Thanksgiving! We can finally put up our Christmas tree on Friday. (note...after Thanksgiving) In my family we have always put our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, and I'm sticking to that tradition. It seems as though Thanksgiving is being completely overlooked, and I feel sad for it. So we still have our pumpkins and autumn decor out. Probably the only one but since it's still at least in the 70's every afternoon, it doesn't seem like California is ready for winter yet.

We also have a fun trip planned for the weekend after Thanksgiving that I cannot wait for. If you didn't know, Joe is a major Lakers fan. I'm talking obsessed. Even though we only live a couple hours outside of Los Angeles, he has never been to a game. For our wedding, one of his good friends got us tickets to see a game! He actually cried, but don't tell him I said that. So...Thanksgiving weekend we're going to LA to see the Lakers play, and we decided to do the whole buy a day get 2015 free at Universal Studios Hollywood.

We're calling this a mini honeymoon until we can go on a real one. I'm totally okay with that because I love theme parks, and I can't wait to see Joe's face watching his favorite team play.

When the DVR fails.

You know when all your favorite shows come back on and your DVR is so full and happy? Yeah, well ours was at 78% a couple days ago when our DVR all the sudden had a complete meltdown. This thing started counting backwards on the screen in numbers and letters, and I was sure some type of technology apocalypse was happening. So of course we turned everything off and unplugged it, and it just wouldn't work.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you would know that Brighthouse and I do not have a good relationship. Long story short, a very rude customer service guy made me cry and now I detest calling them. So Joe got the pleasure of calling them. Of course they couldn't come out until the next day. And when they finally made it out to our house, our DVR was pronounced dead. Say goodbye to a 78% filled box of all of our shows we hadn't watched yet. Two episodes of Grey's Anatomy, one SOA, three How To Get Away With Murder episodes, two Real Housewives reunion specials. All gone.

You said it right Derrick..

I'm pretty sad about it. Thanks a lot technology for failing me. So since I didn't have my recorded shows, I bounced on over to Netflix, because who is gonna sit and watch a show with commercials? Not me. I opted to watch a few of my most favorite Gilmore Girls episodes, you know the ones with Jess in them of course. Not having to take out all of my seasons to watch on the DVD player is awesome, and makes me so much more lazy. By the way, how could anyone like Dean??? It doesn't matter how many times I watch this show, I still can't stand the guy. I'm team Jess all the way. Thanks Netflix for keeping me entertained when cable fails.


Anyway, now I get to have a scavenger hunt to watch all of my shows that are now gone. We haven't had a 0% DVR since we first got cable. Maybe this is a hint to quit watching so much freakin television. But, maybe not.


Are you team Dean, Jess, or Logan?? I will only judge a little bit if you say Dean. 

November Goals

Happy Friday everyone. Today, I'm here to share my goals for this month. Last month went by so fast, that I don't even know if I had any goals except get my assignments done, and finish planning the wedding. Now that things are starting to slow down, I have some goals that I have set for this month.

1. Faithfully start saving money for our honeymoon. Since we didn't get to take one right after the wedding due to work and school, we have got to start saving so we can take that vacation.

2. Try five new Pinterest recipes. I have tried two new recipes lately and have loved them! I feel like I am learning more and more about cooking. P.S I made this a couple nights ago, and it was amazing.

3. Make a new dish to take for Thanksgiving dinner at my moms. Joe and I usually make my Granddad's potato salad recipe for the holidays, but in addition to that I want to either try to cook or bake something new.

4. Post at least three times a week and get a blog makeover this month! I have officially changed my last name, and I need to update pretty much everything on this blog.

5. Once I get all of our wedding photos, who knows when that'll be (seriously, it's been a month) I want to at least have all of the wedding posts drafted and ready for the upcoming Wednesdays. I cannot wait to see them and share with you all!

6. Have a garage sale! This is a big one. I have been wanting to sell so many items like old clothes and shoes, but hate dealing with Craigslist. November is the only month that won't be too cold to do that. I have a major urge (hate that word) to de-clutter everything!

What are your goals for this month?

October Favorites

Hello November! I am so happy it's here. We finally got some much needed rain, and the weather is finally cooling off. October was an amazing month, obviously because we got married! The last three months of the year are my favorite. I keep seeing how excited people are for Christmas, and don't get me wrong.. I am obsessed with Christmas, but let's not forget about little old Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving and all the warm and fuzzy feelings it brings me. Black Friday being one day after Thanksgiving makes me even more excited, because who doesn't love good deals??

Anyway, I've rambled on for too long. I had a lot of favorites in the month of October, that I'm here to share with you guys today.

Before I get to my number one - the wedding was my over all favorite of the month of October! We are still waiting for those pictures and cannot wait to see them!

1. My girl T. Swift with 1989 takes the cake for the month of October. I had been listening to RED non-stop before this came out in anticipation of 1989! I love this new sound, and I love that each one of her albums has a different sound and each are so amazing.

2. Gone Girl - This was the only movie I saw in the month of October, and it really was worth the hype. It kept me thoroughly entertained, and made me think. Although the ending wasn't my favorite I still give it two thumbs up!

3. Drybar Detox dry shampoo - I splurged a little at Sephora after trying this in store. I cannot say enough good things about this product. For one, it smells amazing! It does't leave any residue in my hair, and it makes it look like first day hair.

4. LUNA bars - I have one seriously almost every single day. I love the blueberry bliss and s'more flavors.

5. Scarves - I can finally wear scarves, which is basically what I live in when the weather is cool enough.

6. This month I have hit pan on so many of my favorite shadows in my Naked palette from Urban Decay. I got this last year for Christmas, and I have been eyeing the other two since then.

7. Son's of Anarchy - GUYS!! I finally am on the final season of SOA. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I won't say much..but what the heck??? Juice and Gemma......I just can't.

I am on the first episode of season 7, thank God for DVR!


What were some of your favorites from October?