Blog Roll Monday: La Vie Petite



Happy Monday friends! This week bring lots and lots of Christmas parties and festivities! All of which I am very, very excited for.

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Today, I want to share with you Cori's blog. She blogs over at La Vie Petite! She's guest posted here before, remember here?

Here's a few things I love about reading her blog:

She's a mom.

She's witty.

She likes clothes and she's not afraid to tell you about just how much.

She's a bargain hunter, thrifting kinda girl!

She tells you all how to make the most from your outfits, and your budget!

She loves her life, and shares it accordingly.



So, when you need some read fashion advice from a real girl she's your gal. When you need a good laugh and reminder it's ok to be lady like to, see her.

When you wanna curl up and read a good blog, she's got one of the best!

If you haven't visited her yet, go today!

12 in 12: Book #12 & What I Learned

This is my last book of my 12 in 12 Challenge:



Something Blue

by Emily Giffin

After Something Borrowed you really don't like Darcy Rhone, but by the end of this book you're reminded that people can change if they want to.

Here's what I really loved about both Something Borrowed & Something Blue; both books take a real look at friendships and relationships and how sometimes things aren't always cut and dry. Sometimes they are complicated, messy, and not picture perfect.

And that my friends is real life.

I think this book was about change. Darcy changes as a person, and it allows her to become better in every area of her life. And, of coarse there's a little love story mixed in. The book gives you just a little glimpse into the lives of the character's and where they are now from Something Borrowed but the main focus is on Darcy and her life now. 

By the end you kinda fall in love with her too. Or at least I did.

I'm a big Emily Giffin fan now after reading these last two books. She's sparked my interest in reading fiction again so it's kinda fun.

{***** my rating}



So what did I learn from my challenge this year?

I started out the year just wanting to read more, for myself. I used to read all the time and sorta just stopped when I didn't feel like I had enough time. I've realized that there's always time to make for something, we make time for the things we want to. {this is a life lesson} It was true in this case too.

I made more time to read. I found time on my lunch breaks, at night when the baby was in bed and hubby was watching t.v. I read. I read a lot of books that fed my soul, made me laugh, cry, think and ones that challenged me.

My sister bought my a Kindle for my birthday, and it made me want to read more. I found myself reading books faster than before. It could be purely psychological {I'm sure it is} but I like it!

I really want to continue to read just as much as I did this year, and hopefully push myself even more next year in 2012!

What about you? Any challenges you completed for yourself this past year? Tell me about it in the comments below!

What's next for 2012's challenge? Well, it has to do with turning 30! Stay tuned for the first of the year when I reveal next year's challenge for myself.

My Stuffing Recipe

I didn't cook at all for Thanksgiving, since we went to a friend's house for dinner. But, a couple days after Thanksgiving my Husband requested that I make my stuffing recipe. I had most of the ingredients on hand, but quickly ran to the store to get the rest. I make it now from memory, so I had to stop myself to write down all the measurements to share with you.

It's the best, hands down! We love it so much in our home, it's the perfect "comfort" food I thought I needed to share it with you too!

Here's what you need:

1 lb. pork sausage

1 yellow onion chopped

4 stalks of celery chopped

2 cans chicken stock

1 bag Pepper ridge Farm Seasoned Stuffing

Here's what you do:

Brown the sausage in a large stock pan, adding the onion and celery as well. Stir until meat is completely browned and done. Next add in the chicken stock and stir ingredients. Add pepper to taste, I don't add any salt since the sausage already is salty enough.

Next stir in your Pepper ridge Farm bread crumbs till they are evenly coated with the liquid mixture. Spread into a 9x12 baking dish, cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Top should be slightly brown and crispy.

Take out, and serve.

That's it, so simple and good! You'll probably want to make this any time of the year, it's that good.

psst....want more cooking today? I'm sharing one of my fave cookie recipes today over at The Small Things Blog with Kate! Check it out here. 

{Our Home} Holiday Table Scape

We got a new dining table last month, it was a really big purchase for us. We graduated ourselves from my tiny Ikea table that I had since before we got married to a real life grown up table that seats 8! It's amazing how a piece of furniture can change your outlook on entertaining and make you feel a little more like an adult.

Since then, I've been having a lot of fun decorating and making center pieces and coming up with cute table scapes.

Here's what it looks like for the Christmas Holiday;



It's simple but I love it! All the items I used we already had, I didn't buy anything new I just "shopped" the house till I found pieces that I liked and thought would work. Here's a little run down of where things came from:

The table runner we've had since we got married, it was actually used in our wedding for the unity candle table. It's from Michael's.

Latern & Candle: Cost Plus World Market {2011}

Gold Pillar Candles: Crate & Barrel {2009}

Pine Cone Berry Garland: Down East Home {2011}

Glass Vase: Ross {2010}

Red Ornaments: Ikea {2007}

Gold Berry Ornaments: Crate & Barrel {2009}

Candle/Cupcake Stands: made by me here

Sharing today with:

Decorating with Down East Home

You all know how much I love Down East Basics for clothing! If you don't remember you can see my love for them here.

Did you know that they also have lovely items for your home too? I recently had the opportunity to review some products from their home line. Here's a look some of the home products I choose to review and decorate with in my own home.



Pine Cone Berry Garland

Sequin Pillow

Ceramic Dove

I love trying new things, and being intentional about my decor. Here's how I worked these pieces into my own home. 

I picked up the white sequin pillow there in the back and added it to my chaise lounger. I love that chair, these cozy pillows make me love it even more. It adds just the right amount of "sparkle" to my living room.

Next, I used the Pine Cone Berry Garland to create a Christmas table scape on our dining room table.

I love these two new pieces, I loved finding a way to work them into our home. Down East has a great line of home decor items, they are always getting new items too! Here's a few other items I really like too; pearl garland, dome bird cages, and I really love this leaf pillow too!

Now through December 9th Down East Home is having a contest, one lucky winner will win $500 towards a holiday home makeover! All you have to do is "like" them on Facebook and be entered to win! Go here to "like" them on Facebook for your chance to win!

Down East Home doesn't have stores here in AZ, so I did all my shopping online in their home section. For a complete list of their store locations, click here. Save 20% on your purchases of $50 or more using code: CHEER at checkout!

Find them on Facebook here.

Follow them on Twitter here.

What new decor items have you added to your space lately? Tell me in the comments below!

Happy Shopping & Decorating Everyone!

This post was sponsored by Down East Home, in return I received products or compensation. All opinions are 100% mine though.

Blog Roll Monday: The Dating Divas



Happy Monday Friends! How was your weekend?

Ours was good, we'd planned to go up North to visit friends but due to the snow and driving conditions through the mountains we decided to stay home. Instead we did some Christmas shopping, and decorating!

Can I tell you a secret? I wasn't going to decorate anything this year since we're going to be in Iowa for two weeks at Christmas time. My husband was kinda feeling like I was sucking the Christmas spirit out of it, since I didn't want to put up the decorations this year.

Sunday, he started pulling out boxes and I agreed to put up a few decorations. Just not the tree. So that's what we did, I decorated the mantle and hung our stockings. Hubby wanted Ava to have a little Christmas cheer before we go off to Iowa for Christmas.

Okay, now onto what we're here for, right!? I want to introduce you to a blog I really love..........

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When I found this blog, I nearly jumped for JOY! I mean, a whole blog about date night ideas, and stuff to nurture and spice up your relationship with your Hubby?!

Hello, sign me up as a faithful reader!

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ideas for date nights, and creative ways to nurture my own relationship with my spouse. This blog is full of ideas for just that!

No matter where your marriage is at, I think we all can agree that sometimes it's hard to sneak in that extra needed time together. It's easy to do when you're dating, and before you're married it seems. But, after you say "I do" it all seems to get a little harder, and take more effort.

Anyone with me?

Written by a collection of women who post weekly about dates with your Hubby, creative gift ideas, and more! Meet them here.

They have date ideas for just two people, or double dates, theme dates, and more! Check them out here.

Their tag line: Strengthening marriages, one date at a time! I couldn't agree more, check out their full site here.  

Jump on over, and give them some love. And while you're at it start planning your next date night!

{Christmas} Gifts for The Kiddos

This is not my own idea but and idea that I read about from Andrea on her blog last year. It's a simple idea/ method of gift giving for your children. I just loved the idea so much that we started doing it last year for Ava's first Christmas. You can read more in her post here.



The idea is that each of your children get 4 gifts at Christmas time. Something........

they want

they need

to wear

to read

Ava is still too young to tell us really what she "wants" but I still really love the simplicity of this. Last year we got her a new book for us to read to her. She got clothing as part the "wear" gift. She got two toys for the other two gifts since she couldn't yet tell us what she wanted.

Source: francineclouden.typepad.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Here's a couple reasons why I really love the idea of this;

- It helps keep everything even between children. No having to worry how many gifts each child got, or if 1 child got more gifts than another. Less fighting over this too.

- It helps with your Christmas budget. If you already know each year that you're only buying 4 gifts per child you can budget an amount for each thing.

- I think it also provides an opportunity for parents to teach their children that Christmas isn't about gift getting or how many gifts you get.

- I think it allows children to really value their gifts, knowing that they get to voice their desire for 1 gift they really want and make it something they really enjoy and would love to have.

So what is Ava getting this year? Something......

to wear: a new outfit.
to read: a new Christmas book.
she wants: a toy.
she needs: a winter coat; since we're leaving AZ this Christmas and heading to chilly IA she'll need this.

Do you love this idea? Hate it?

What about your family? How do you approach gift giving to your children at Christmas time?

Source: thecraftingchicks.com via Andrea on Pinterest