Christmas Slideshow.

We had an amazing Christmas this year! We headed to MissionViejo on the 23rd. We spent the day relaxing and watching Christmas movies. On Christmas Eve we watched more Christmas movies and relaxed. That night we had a delicious Turkey dinner with the missionaries. We opened up pajamas that night and went to bed. In the morning we woke up by John's little brother "Skyping" us around 8:00 A.M. It's a new rule that they can Skype on Christmas! It was really fun to see him on his mission in North Carolina. Then we went and looked in our stockings. There was also a note from "Santa." It was so fun to feel like a kid again! The Crisps really made us feel special and loved! Then we saw our gifts from "Santa." Santa had left mini remote controlled helicopters! They were a huge hit! We then opened up presents and had breakfast. That day we watched like 4 movies that they had received for Christmas and ate some more... It was a wonderful day and I'm so glad I got to spend it with family. I missed being with my family, but my mom, dad and grandma will be here Friday to see us! John and I stayed in Mission Viejo until yesterday. It was such a fun little vacation. I hope your Holiday was wonderful! What was your favorite thing you gave/received? I made a little slideshow of the Christmas photos. P.S. I think I seriously gained 10 pounds over the Holidays. Yikes! I sure had fun getting fat though.... Ha.Ha. I know what my New Year's goal is! Sorry for the crappy iPhone quality pics. If you want to see it bigger, just hit the 4 arrows in the bottom right corner to make it full screen.

Merry Christmas!

Today has been an amazing Christmas! It has been so nice to spend it with family. I feel so blessed! I hope you are all having a great day as well! I saw this video last night of the Christmas story and had to post it here. It's some kids from St. Paul's church. They have the cutest little accents ever. Cheers!

Carlyle Photo Shoot...

The other day Carlyle was just being extra cute, so I snapped some shots of her with my phone. I also made a silly Holiday card with a faux Santa hat. Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday with your families!

Celebrity Sightings Round XXV...

Today I served Cedric the Entertainer and his family. He was nice, but not the greatest tipper. Oh well. Fun to see him still. I guess Kortney Kardashian walked through the restaurant today as well, but I didn't see her.

Candy Cane Lane.

Tonight for "Family Home Evening" we went to Candy Cane Lame, I mean Lane in Woodland Hills. It was just okay this year, but we had fun. A lot of the houses go all out and decorate with lots of twinkle lights and decorations. We got doughnuts and milk and drove around the different neighborhoods in the rain. I took a couple videos of the houses with my phone because it was too hard to get good shots with the camera because we had to keep on moving because there was always someone behind us. I'm so excited Christmas is this week! I just wish the rain would stop. It kinda sucks doing laundry every day out in the rain! Haha.

Cat in a Jacket.

She loves the "toys" on the tree...

Carlyle was caught red-handed tonight. I happen to be holding my phone when we busted her swatting/chewing on the ornaments! She is very naughty. We just couldn't help but laugh. We just happen to be watching a Charlie Brown Christmas. The song that was playing in the background was perfect for the video. This was not the first time she's done this, it was just funny to catch it on video. I don't blame her though... it's basically a tree full of "toys."

Flower Earrings.

I got these flower earrings the other day and thought I'd share them with you. I think they are so cute! They were inexpensive and right now she is having a promo: By 3 pairs of earrings, get 1 free! I got them from Goodie Jar on Etsy.

Brownie Covered Oreos.

I love me some Oreos and I love Brownies. I saw a recipe for them on a blog and decided to try them out. They were super easy and tasted delicious! I bought the Holiday Oreos with the Red filling like she did. I used the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix cause it's my favorite. I didn't put frosting on them but that would probably make them look prettier. Powdered sugar sprinkled on top would be a good idea too! I think these would be perfect for a Holiday party treat. Let me know if you have any questions.

Oh Christmas Tree...

So John surprised me and came home early a couple night ago and we went out and picked a tree! I was so excited! The first couple of places we went to were too expensive, but finally found the perfect little tree! It's small, but it's ours. I think it's just right for our small apartment! We washed it and put it outside over night to dry. Last night John put the lights on it and I put the ornaments on it. It's a very eclectic tree. It's very random, but fun! It makes it smell good and feel a little more like Christmas time around here; even if it was like 75 degrees and sunny yesterday! Here are some shots of the decorated tree. Carlyle has already started to be naughty and chew on the lights and try to knock the ornaments off!

I love this one of Carlyle getting caught being naughty under the tree!

I just barely added these birds that I printed off our computer and cut out.

This is from a few months ago, but we looked festive in this shot...

Christmas Decor.

Unfortunately John doesn't have time right now to go pick out a tree and trim it with me, so I'll post pics of that later when he's done with finals! Poor guy, he's been at school all day until almost Midnight EVERY night! It sucks! He's such a hard worker! Anyway, here are some random shots of some Christmas decor in our casa. We got some really cute ornaments when we lived in London and haven't gotten to use them yet, so I'm excited to decorate our tree with them! I love Christmas time! It makes me feel Merry & Bright! Are you all decorated for Christmas yet?

I got this Vintage Father Christmas from a Consignment shop in Utah over Thanksgiving break. I love him. Isn't he cool?

My sister Haley made this adorable rustic frame! So fun!

Holiday plates from Target.

Here is that Holiday Subway Art (post below) I printed out and put in a frame. It would look better in White, but that's okay.

I love Christmas lights, so I put some up under our kitchen counter.

Sparkle, Sparkle!

John's parent's gave this to us when I got Carlyle for Christmas 2 years ago!

Collection of ornaments we got from around the World last year.

I just love this pic of Carlyle peeking over the edge to check out the ornaments!