Friday Favorites #143

Happy Friday! It's a working Friday for me, boo. But Mr. is getting home tonight, woo hoo! It's been too long, I hope he dosen't have to travel again for a while. So let's get started with my Friday Favorites!

In case you missed it this week:

Monday:  Stocking Stuffers For The Whole Family
     Bonus Monday: TBB Asks: December Style
Tuesday: Cute Way To Store Your Christmas Cards Each Year
Wednesday: Blush Pants and Over The Knee Boots
Thursday: Sentence a Day
     Bonus Thursday: Out Traditional Christmas Tree

I also videoed us decorating our tree. I'm glad I did this while the kids are small, so I can look back and see it.

Last week I talked about our trip to Arizona to the Polar Express, so this week I thought I would share all the other stuff that has been going on around our parts for the last couple of weeks. Let's talk Thanksgiving first. We went to our cousins house and as usual they did a fantastic job hosting! I mean look at these tables?

Next year I am bring my tripod so I can get in the picture

All the food...yum.

Cousins!

When friends become family.

You start to dress alike

I took the kids to ice cream after school on Friday. I was all set to get some of my own ice cream and they were out of the chocolate peanut butter, say what?! How is that possible? Oh well, saved me some calories.

I went to a a 4 year old birthday party, and I knew this was going to be the only time I saw my girls, so I gave them their Christmas gift. I was so excited that I was able to make these for them. It says "wines well with others"

I totally admit, it was sort of fun riding on this with Mini Fox.

Matching Jammies, it doesn't get any better than this.

And they have one more pair of Christmas Jams to wear still. It's so cute to hear them yell to each other while changing, I'm going to wear the doggie jams! And the other one say, okay! I'm going to enjoy these days of them wanting to wear matching jams.

 

As always linking up with The Blended Blog for some Friday Loves.

Whitney, along with some other bloggers are doing a Holiday Series, this week was Christmas decorations. Go take a look at Whitney's decorations, along with a bunch of other bloggers, lots of Christmas decorations all in one place? yes please!

How awesome is this gift guide from Anne? I mean really, so much work went into this. Love it!

Carrie made an appetizer that I need to get in my belly STAT! How good do these Stuffed Gouda and Crab Mustrooms look?

Bonus one today! I just uploaded my video on what I got in my FabFitFun Winter 2017 box, so much fun, and I do believe that it was the BEST box I've ever gotten in the year I've been doing this. If you have never tried this, you can get $10 off by clicking my affiliate link here.

Linking up here

Christmas Trees On Parade

Hey Foxy Friends! I know I'm on a roll! Two posts one day, say what?! But, I couldn't pass this one up! Terri from Christmas Trees Lane organized this Christmas tree parade. So take a look at some other bloggers and have fun!

Today I'm going to show you our Traditional Tree, in the sense this is where we put all of the random ornaments we've collected over the years. This tree is upstairs and where Santa leaves all of his goodies. Although Baby Fox is starting to think it's creepy that Santa is walking around our house leaving gifts, cause it's in a room that is furthest from the fireplace. So this is our tree, full disclosure, we did this on November 12th. I know super early, but we were traveling the following weekend and then Mr. was traveling for the two weeks/weekend after that. So no time like RIGHT NOW to start.

So here is the tree all finished.

It's a scrawny tree, donated to us by my parents back when we first got married, and they had it for a while before that, so I think this tree is pushing 20, if not more...It's been good to us. I'm thinking next year I might upgrade to a better one...we'll see. Anyway, this is the tree that we put all of our ornaments that we've collected over the years on.

Gotta have candy canes right? For whatever reason the kids wanted them up high...

Tip: Let the kids do their thing and put the ornaments where they want. Yes it's not probably where you put it, but it gives the kids a sense of pride knowing they decorated the tree.


Each year we head to Hallmark and let the kids pick out one ornament...it's fun to see what they chose each year.

Here are a few favorites this year:

Mini Fox: she LOVES this ornament. Any time she walks into the room, she has to turn it on and dance to it...see video below, minute 2:30. She got this one last year, and it remains her favorite. Although a close second is a tea cup and tea pot, which she pretends she pours and drinks AFTER she dances to the ballerina.

Baby Fox loves this Batman car, it does light up, but it's out of batteries right now. Darn.

This ornament my grandmother gave to me before I came to America. Acutally I was suppose to come here in November, but they didn't put me on the plane, my parents showed up at the airport, thinking they were getting me, to have to go home empty handed and wait another 1.5 months for me to come. My grandma had already bought this. I'm so happy after I got married my mom gave me this.

I think this is Mr.'s favorite ornament. I made this for him with Baby Fox when he was 1. Being born on Christmas just makes this that much more special.

So that is our traditional Christmas tree. Stay tuned, in a couple of weeks I'm showing the rest of our Christmas decorations, actually if you want to join in on the fun, join us at The Blended Blog for a Christmas decoration link up, December 19.

For those that like videos, I put together a video of us putting all of the ornaments on...in fast forward of course.

Thanks Terri for hosting! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Sentence A Day: November Edition

1- Let Mr. go home to watch the Dodger game, so I skipped working out and picked up Baby Fox from practice, too bad they lost, boo!

2- Yay, finally got to watch Grey's Anatomy from LAST week, great episode getting background on Hunt and his sister.

3- Man Mini Fox's preschool is canceled, I had to work while the kids were in school, thankful parents come to the rescue.

4- Man late soccer games stink, the kids are tired.

5- Plans got cancelled, so instead I decided to make stew yum!

6- Mini Fox's favorite day, Gymnastics and Chick-Fil-A day.

7- Considering I'm feeling crummy that 2 miles felt pretty good.

8- Sick, so I had to skip the gym, boo!

9- Dinner and Bad Mom's with my girls...I needed that.

10- Soccer clinic, Baby Fox loved it!

11- Last soocer game of the season, the other team didn't have enough players so we gave them goalies, Baby Fox did great with his first goalie experience.

12- Yep we just put up our first Christmas tree, plus got a lot of other stuff done thanks to Mr.

13- Just signed up Baby Fox for trampoline class...hope he likes it.

14- My godmother and her hubby are just the sweetest people ever, so happy to have them in our lives, even if they live on the other coast.

15- Baby Fox's soccer end of the year party, it was such a great year of soccer, will definitely miss this team next year! (side note: They changed the rules of the age groups for soccer and Baby Fox ages out of the kids he's currently with, even though he is only a month or two older then them...darn.)

16- We leave tomorrow, we leave tomorrow, we leave tomorrow!

17- Well apparently the Grand Canyon is only an hour drive away from where we will be, guess we're doing that.

18- It's Polar Express time, such a great day, minus losing the hubby and the daughter minutes before the train was suppose to leave and them holding the train while we searched for them.

19- The North Pole Experience in Flagstaff, Az is probably one of the coolest things I've ever done with the kids...seriously mind blowingly awesome.

20- Driving home from Arizona, the kids did great and we made great time and I got a lot of the laundry done before going to bed.

21- Only day in the office this week, it's going to be a good week.

22- Working from home on one of the worst traffic days was a good idea.

23- Happy Thanksgiving, such a great day with family and friends, so much to be thankful for.

24-Lazy, lazy day, just what we needed, did I even leave the house?

25- Gym, then getting stuff done around the house.

26- Decorated the fancy tree before Mr. left, that was nice to get that done.

27- Baby Fox loved the trampoline class, he's so dang cute.

28- It's only day 3 of Mr. being gone...3 more days..I can do this.

29- Finally after taking a month off, back at R.I.P.P.E.D!

30- One more day and Mr. is back!

Thanks for continuing to make this link up a success! Join us each month where you document your month one sentence at a time.

An InLinkz Link-up

Blush Pants and Over The Knee Boots

Happy hump day Foxy Friends! I am so excited for this outfit, I can't even begin to tell you. I found these blush pants while in Canada with The Blended Blog ladies, back in 2016, I know, forever ago and this is my first time wearing them. What took me so long? Not sure, but you can't stop me now.

*Some of the links are affiliate links and I will  either receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you click on it or if you make a purchase from one of these links, I may also receive a commission on the sale of the product. Click here for my disclosure page.

These boots, you guys...I can't even begin to tell you how much I love them! They are from Target, and under $50, say what?! I have super wide calves (even some wide calf boots don't fit me), and these fit like a charm. According to the reviews, they also fit skinny calves too. It's like they are the Sisterhood of the Traveling Boots. I didn't think I would ever find over the knee boots that fit over my calves AND didn't make me look short...

In case you were wondering, I'm wearing Lipsense in Mulled Wine.

And a silly shot...cause I know you wanted to see it. I think these boots make me feel sassy.

Don't forget to enter out giveaway for $1500 worth of prizes!

An InLinkz Link-up

Best Way To Store Your Christmas Cards

Happy Tuesday Foxy Friends! Today is day 10 of  Blogmas, and today we are talking about whatever Christmas-y thing we wanted. I have so many DIY's in the works that I thought I would share a fun DIY project I thought of last year, but didn't get around to doing until this year.

You know all of those Christmas/Holiday/New Years cards you get every year? Well I keep them all, anything anyone sends me I keep. I mentioned that in my Why You Should Buy Holiday Cards Every Year and now I'm going to show you how I am going to keep them from now on. Originally I was going to put them in scrapbooks like this...start with our Christmas card and work from there.

In this book I was able to get 4 years, but those were years that we didn't have as many cards as we receive now. I realized that was going to be a lot of books, of which I store in a cabinet and never bring out. I just love looking at old pictures, so I wanted them to be accessible. So I thought, hey let's put them on a ring, put them in a cute box, display for Christmas Decorations. Done. Super Simple DIY

*Some of the links are affiliate links and I will  either receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you click on it or if you make a purchase from one of these links, I may also receive a commission on the sale of the product. By purchasing through Foxy's Domestic Side, you're helping me to continue creating fun things for this space.

What You'll Need:

Cute Box To Store Cards In (I found mine at Hobby Lobby last year, and I saw a similar one this year too, this one and this one is personalized, that's pretty cool)

All of your old Christmas Cards

Binder Rings (originally Mr. bought me some cute red ones, pictured, but then I quickly realized those were too small, so I bought 3" ones, which are way too big, so I would go with 2" ones)

Directions:

Step One:

Punch holes into cards. I tried to get them so they all faced the same way, so position the cards accordingly. But ultimately even the ones I did horizontal instead of vertical, still worked out, So really just have at it and get it done quickly. Took me about an hour to get through 5 years worth of cards.

Now repeat 100 times.

Step Two:

Put cards through the ring.

Step Three:

Put all the cards in a box

I think it is so super cute! I sort of even like the bigger rings, as you can grab them to pull them out of the box. I haven't decided on how I want to designate the year. Right now there is a piece of paper on the back with the year...but a lot of the cards have the year on them, so I think I will be able to figure it out, even without a card designated.

So if you ever want to send me a card, know I'm keeping them all, and if you want to know what card you sent to me in 2011, I have that, 2017, yep have that too.

Take a look at the other Blogmas bloggers and what they are up to today.

The Tastiest Homemade Hot Chocolate
Gift Guide For Beauty Lovers

Don't forget to enter out giveaway for $1500 worth of prizes!

Linking up here

TBB Asks: December Edition

Hi, hi Foxy Friends! I know two posts in one day, but I couldn't pass up the monthly #TBBAsks with The Blended Blog. So here we go.

1. Real or Fake Tree? Always Fake. Growing up my parents always had fake...and now that I'm an adult, still fake. I had to convince Mr. to get a fake one. I am super allergic to Christmas trees, so that was the ultimate reason he gave in and we got a fake one when we got married. But now he loves it, he loves not having to deal with a real one. I sort of love it too, plus I can breathe and stuff.

I just did a video on how we decorate our Traditional Christmas tree.

2. Favorite Christmas Cookie? I had a lot of food allergies before, and now that they are gone I am slowly making my way through all of the good things to eat. But so far my favorite Christmas cookies are the Spritz Cookies I make. I think mostly it reminds me of my Grandma and growing up. So I guess it's more of a sentimental thing.

3. Home on Christmas Morning or Travel? Before kids we always went to my parents, we went to my parents when Baby Fox was 1, and then we decided it was too much work to bring the baby plus all of the gifts...so we started staying home, and I love it!

4. Clear or Colored Lights? Both? I like clear lights on the fancy tree, and colored lights on our family tree. Mr. and the kids prefers colored lights.

5. Send Christmas Cards? Always send Christmas cards. I'm pretty sure Mr. likes it almost more than me. I have mine, just need to seal all of them up. I wish they came with the self sticky envelopes, I would pay extra for that.

6. Favorite Christmas Present Received? Does Baby Fox count? He was born on Christmas morning...so I'm going to count that, a gift from God.

7. Favorite Christmas Present Given? So many, like many others, I always take time to think of things for each one of my friends and family. I won't say giving Baby Fox to Mr...cause that's like cheating. Actually this year, I made some of my girlfriends a sweater that says "Wines Well With Others" They all loved it.

8. Stockings or No Stockings? Yep definitely stockings. I think that's my favorite part of Christmas.

9. Christmas PJ's? We used to do family PJ's, but one can only buy family PJ's for so long before the Mr. gets tired of wearing them...so now we just buy copious amounts for the children to make up for it.

2015

2014

10. Favorite Christmas Carol? Silent Night by Christmas Carolers.

11. Favorite Holiday Tradition? So many to choose from. I love watching the Polar Express at the start of the Christmas season. It just makes it feel like Christmas, this is only the second year we've been doing this, but if you do it twice that's considered a tradition right?

12. Early Shopper or Last Minute? I like to try and be early, but mostly I get it done the weekend before Christmas. I buy some stuff in July at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. This year I didn't have as much luck as I have in the past though.

13. Favorite Christmas Movie or Show? Love Actually, it's just the perfect movie. Oh and The Holiday, totally predictable but super cute.

14.  Favorite Holiday Beverage? Does hot apple cider count? I'm not much for drinks...and don't havea spirited drink that I like during the Holiday.

15. Cookie and Milk for Santa? Oh course, how he is going to keep going throughout the night? Back when Baby Fox was about 3, we told him to put milk and cookies out for Santa and he took it to the front door, cause duh there is no way a fat man is fitting down our chimney, haha.

Thanks for linking up with us and continuing to make it a success!

Best Stocking Stuffers For The Family

Happy Friday Foxy Friends! Today is Day 9 of the 12 days of Blogmas! We're talking about stocking stuffers. I know sometimes it's so hard to find something for everyone, but I'm here to share what you should be getting everyone for their stockings.

*Some of the links are affiliate links and I will  either receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you click on it or if you make a purchase from one of these links, I may also receive a commission on the sale of the product. Click here for my disclosure page.

We'll start with the ladies...here are 5 stocking stuffers for the woman in your life.

1. Nailpolish, Top Coat, Nail File - All ladies love some good nail polish. You can't go wrong with Essie and the Seche Vite top coat...man that stuff works wonders, makes my home done manicure look like the real deal, plus it's quick drying too!

2. Brush Cleaner - I've always wanted one of these, and at $4.99 it makes for the perfect stocking stuffer.

3. Liquid Brush Cleaner - Clean brushes, nothing is better, I pretty much clean mine after every use...mostly because I only have one set of brushes I like, so if I don't wash them, I don't get a good eye look the next time. But having a brush cleaner is always nice.

4. Too Faced Eye Shadow Primer - My favorite eye primer of all time. End of story.

5. EcoTools Eye Brush Set - I love that this is for eyes only. And you can't beat the price, makes for a great stocking stuffer!

So there you have it 15 ideas for gifts for the beauty lover in your life! Plus most of these things goes over $38 so win in my book, the mirror is $102, but worth every penny. Now to get Mr. to buy it for me for Christmas...Hey Mr. are you listening?

And for the men, gotta put something in there for the men, why are they so hard to shop for?!

1. Mr. loves, I mean LOVES these chocolates. His mom brings them every time she visits, and we pretty much demolish it within a week. So dang good.
2. If anyone you love, loves hot sauce, you have to try this one. Mr. loves it and so do all of the guys at work.
3. Oh my gosh I need these in MY life...while I might not use the profanity cards, the other ones, heck ya!

4. I've never heard of this, but while looking around, how cool is this grilling mat? Something unique and it fits in a stocking, perfect.

5. Nothing says love like a scalp massager right?

Last, but not least, the kids. Cause they need more stuff right? hehe.

1. My kids love paint, and what kid doesn't want to add a little glitter paint to their lives?

2. Everyone loves a good game of Uno...this is the perfect stocking stuffer for your kids, hours of run.

3. How cool is this notepad. I know both of my kids will love this! 

4. I think a slinky is part of being a kid, and then getting it all tangled and trying to get it untagled, it's part of the kid code right?

5. My kids love this game, Right Middle Left, it really doesn't get any easier then this. When Mini Fox was 3 she played and LOVED it, and to tell you the truth it was fun for the adults too. 



Have a teen in your house? Take a look at Phyllis' list for stocking stuffers for teens

Don't forget to enter out giveaway!

A special thank you goes out to all of our 12 Days of Blogmas sponsors who contributed to this giveaway! We have some really fabulous prizes this year, and the winner of this giveaway will be set with a variety of gifts to share with their loved ones.  

12 Days of Blogmas Sponsors:

Please note that products will vary based on size, style, color, quantity, etc. The retail value of this prize is approximately $1500

$200 Paypal Cash

DIFF eyewear Sunnies

Torani Syrups

Raw Spice Bar Subscription

Cameron Hughes Wine, Case of Wine

It’s a 10 Products

L’Occitane:

Lavender Gift Set:

Terre de Lumiere Gift Set

The Gratitude Gift Journal Set

My Amelia James Gift Card

CaseApp 2 Cases

O Necklace Gift Card

James Avery Artisan Jewelry Charm

Canvas Factory 16×20 Canvas 

SprezzaBox

GOTRAX Hover Board

The Beach House Group Toys

Pieces of Felt Play Food

Market Shelf

Cash Register

Fresh Face Botanicals Set

Lilla Rose Hair Clip Set

One Thing Lockets

A copy of The Nightingale book

Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette

Kylie Lip Kit

How to Enter the Giveaway

To enter, please complete the information in the Rafflecopter below.  All of the emails entered into this giveaway will be shared with the sponsors so that you can get updates from them about their amazing products. In addition, the more you come back to enter, the more chances you have to win!

To reach you before Christmas, everything will be shipped out the beginning of December. Unfortunately, this is not an international giveaway and is only for residents of the US and Canada.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linking up here