Holiday Happenings

It is hard to believe Christmas is over. You spend so much time preparing for, getting excited about & trying to soak in every single happy moment & then it all comes to an end far too quickly! It was absolutely a Merry Christmas full of family & lots of laughs. Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite things to do. Hunting for the perfect wrapping paper & gift tags & making them as pretty as possible then watching everyone rip them open. I made a mental note to only get Joey a roll of wrapping paper as a gift since he loved tearing it apart.

 Nate finally got his beer brewing kit, I got my pretty white dish set, my youngest sister gifted the entire family with a DVD of family videos, my other sister gave everyone handmade gifts & hopefully everyone loved their presents just as much as we loved ours. My uncle also gave the entire family shirts for the Omaha Storm Chasers since my cousin just got his first grown up job with them! :)

Most serious dog ever...

(My parents tree)

I was given the game Cards of Humanity & was excited, mixed with a bit of nervousness to play it. The nervous feeling went away rather quickly as it became apparent that my family is a bunch of naughty minded individuals. It was one of the funniest games to play & we all highly recommend it to anyone who is not easily offended.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday & has an even happier New Year! Nate & I are traveling to New York City for New Years Eve & we are sooo excited!

Happy Monday friends.

Fun Gift Guide

I have always loved giving gifts more than receiving them. I enjoy the challenge of finding the perfect gift that is unexpected, unique or sentimental & I love watching faces light up when they are opened. But there is also nothing I love more than giving a gift that will bring a good laugh.

Mini Beer Pong | Poo-Pourri | Selfies Photo Album | Beer Beard Prank Box | Cards Against Humanity

What fun gifts do you have up your sleeve this year?

My gift to you all this Christmas? This FREE print that is sure to add that extra touch of holiday cheer! :) Simply save it to your desktop & print.

This is a 5x7 hi-res JPEG, but you can print it larger. This is for personal use only please.

Happy Friday!

Our Weekend

We had such a festive weekend getting ready for the holiday! Friday night we went to get our Christmas tree... in the rain. We usually cut our own tree down, but since it was rainy, muddy & cold we opted for a pre-cut tree instead. The proceeds went to scholarships, so that made us feel a little better about the whole thing! Saturday morning we did a 5K run that benefits the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. It was still raining, but we dressed up in our holiday finest & ran our butts off. It was a fun time & the first run as a "family". Later that day we went shopping for gifts & got a good dose of Christmas music along the way! On the way home we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner & to watch some football. When we got back we watched more football, while simultaneously listening to more Christmas music as we finally decorated our tree! 

The most serious dog EVER.

Sunday we did a little more Christmas shopping & made our own little Thanksgiving-ish meal. We do it each year since we get a free turkey from the grocery store. We also did Christmas word searches & cross-word puzzles for our advent activity to top off the weekend!

I may hold off a few more days on making Christmas cookies after watching those gorgeous women on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last night... #guilttrip

Hope everyone's week is great so far. :)

Advent Calendar

Since we are officially in the countdown to Christmas I thought I would share the activities we will be doing for our advent calendar. This is the first one either of us have ever done & I decided to make my own calender. I found some super cute ideas on Pinterest (obviously), but then I totally ditched those since we're short on space.

I planned these activities in advance, knowing some plans we had going on during the month. I simply bought some miniature envelopes & printed each activity on a slip of paper. Here is our list! :)

25. Make a Christmas chalkboard

24. Make paper snowflakes

23. Drink hot chocolate

22. Decorate outside

21. Listen to Christmas music

20. Get our Christmas tree

19. Get Christmas cards ready for mailing

18. Do a Christmas word search

17. Shop for charity gift

16. Make peanut butter pinecones for the birds

15. Eat by candlelight

14. Wear ugly Christmas sweaters

13. Go to Hershey Sweet Lights

12. Make Christmas goodies

11. Package Christmas treats

10. Visit animal shelter to deliver goodies

9. Make Christmas themed breakfast for dinner

8. Walk around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights with Joey

7. Go to the bookstore to pick out a Christmas book

6. Camp under the Christmas tree (for real)! 

5. Read our Christmas book

4.Open our stockings

3.Drink holiday coffee

2. Attend Christmas Eve mass 

1. Kiss under mistletoe

Sometimes we just get so busy & forget about the spirit of the season. Nate & I don't have any kids at the moment (unless you count fur babies), but I hope some of these activities bring the magic of Christmas into our home this year! :)

Merry Tuesday! 

Our Holiday Weekend

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We had such a nice weekend with family! Friday we just relaxed since we were so stuffed from all the yummy food the day before! We watched Christmas movies & ate leftovers all day while snuggling with all the puppies. :) Saturday Nate & I went on a wine tasting with our families (minus a couple). It was such a fun time! :)

Now we are back in Hershey & finally starting on our own Christmas decorations! So excited! Nate & I fill mini stockings for each other each year before we travel home for the holiday. It's a little something special that just the two of us get to do. I have put together a few his & her stocking stuffer ideas.

Bottle Opener // Socks // Whiskey Rocks
Candle // Lipstick // Ring Dish

I just ordered one of those candles in Amaretto Nog & I can hardly wait to get it in the mail!
Plus you can't forget about your pet for the holidays! I know Joey loves opening gifts!

Happy Monday! :)

PS. today is the last day to use code BLACKFRIDAY in my shop for 25% off your order.

Thanksgiving... is for the Bird(s).

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is already upon us! We will be traveling home tomorrow for the holiday & we can hardly wait (although there is now snow in the forecast...). I love watching the Macy's day parade each year! A few years ago my family and I went & it was such a great experience, but definitely more cozy to watch in the comfort of your home! Each year Nate & I have to stuff our faces twice at each of our family dinners. It's a lot of running around, but so worth it so that we can see everyone! I am baking pies this year for each of our dinners. Pumpkin for my family & apple for Nate's. My pumpkin pie was a hit last year, but this will be my first time baking an apple pie! 

We will have a gigantic turkey to accommodate everyone, scalloped corn, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows & cinnamon & a relish tray. We always have a relish tray at all our holiday gatherings & I probably fill up way to much on them! I love pickles & olives & cream cheese filled jalepenos! Yummy. 

For anyone interested in some last minute Thanksgiving decor, here is a free print! You can save this file directly to your computer & have it printed at a photo shop or at home on cardstock. This is NOT a hand drawn chalkboard, but I think it will do just the trick! :) Plus, you can always check out my shop for Thanksgiving prints. They are sent directly to your email for download! :)

What are your favorite Thanksgiving dishes? I hope you all have a wonderful, family filled, turkey stuffed Thanksgiving day!

P.S. follow my instagram feed @meggie.ann for a special treat on Black Friday! 

Holiday Style

I can't believe how quickly Christmas is approaching! With holiday cheer having filled the stores extra early this year, I've been thinking of the holidays non-stop for a few months now. I've already started listening to Christmas music daily & I've been tempted on more than one occasion to watch Christmas movies! Once that big beautiful turkey filled holiday is over, Christmas will be in full swing! :)

One of the seemingly big trends this year is buffalo check. I personally love it & would buy everything imaginable in that pattern if I could afford it. This style is perfect for holiday parties & the night before Christmas!

Skirt / Pants / Coat / Shoes / Blanket / Pajamas / Slippers 

I'm absolutely obsessed with the pajamas at Victoria's Secret. They have onesies & leggings galore. I would love for my husband sisters & I to be matching Christmas morning & I think those PJ's above would be just the fit.

I also found these super cute festive sweatshirts. The best way to spread Christmas cheer....

What is your favorite holiday trend? I will be sharing some stocking stuffer ideas soon!  And don't forget I have stocked my shop full of Christmas goodies! Be sure to check them out! :) 

Lazy Weekend

This weekend was a nice, lazy weekend full of warm coffee, snuggles & soup.
White chicken chili has been on our soup list for quite some time. We finally took the plunge & it was absolutely worth it! I had found a recipe, but sort of was winging it on measurements.

Here are the basics.
Ingredients:
1 lb. Cooked Chicken
6 c. Chicken Broth
1/2 Onion chopped
1/2 Green Pepper chopped
2 Garlic Cloves minced
2 cans Cannellini Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1/2 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 c. Sour Cream
1 c. Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
Salt & Pepper
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp. Chili Powder
1/4 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Cumin

Directions:
In a large sauce pot, simmer chopped onions & chicken.
Add minced garlic & chopped peppers; saute a few more minutes. Salt & Pepper.
Pour in chicken broth, beans & seasonings. Bring to a low boil to let the flavors simmer.
Stir in heavy cream, sour cream & cheese until melted.
Serve with a dash of oregano & shredded cheese.

We took our Christmas card photo over the weekend as well! I'm wayyyyy ahead of the game this year & pretty darn proud of myself for that! We ordered them from Minted & I can't wait to get them. Typically I print them myself to save money, but they were having such a great deal on their holiday cards I just couldn't pass it up! Joey didn't make the process of these photos these easiest, but we got a few good shots!

It was such a nice weekend for us, the NY Jets even won a game! :) Hope you all had a great weekend & if you try the soup I hope you love it! :)

P.S. - new prints are in the shop!

Our Halloween

I can hardly believe it is already November! Craziness. October flew by, but it ended on a really fun note! My sister had a Halloween themed party for her birthday & it was a great time! Nate & I went as a cowboy & a leopard. My sister Mckenzie & her boyfriend went as Amy & Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory & my sister Whitney (the host) was a Sugar Skull. It's always so much fun to dress up! :) It'll be nice to have kids someday, so we can actually go Trick-or-Treating without getting any funny looks! Plus the free candy... SCORE!

Mckenzie & I baked some festive cupcakes

Hope you all had a fun Halloween! Let the holiday season officially begin! :)

...by the way... the CMA Awards are tonight! I'm so excited! I'll miss my girl T. Swift, but hello, Luke Bryan!

Love & Football

A while back I won tickets to the Penn State vs. Ohio State football game from the company I work for. These were not just any tickets... they were suite box tickets with a prime parking spot! Needless to say it was a pretty suite sweet experience! There was endless amounts of food & drinks, cushioned seats & it was a televised prime time game which neither of us had ever experienced. PSU lost the game in overtime, which sucks, but it was a really great game & a fun time for both of us!

Sunday was our first wedding anniversary (& 10 years total together)! :) Since we didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning from the game we just relaxed the whole day and made dinner together. Our wedding cake was surprisingly delicious a year later! The first year wedding gift is "paper." So, I did a little watercolor portrait of Nate, Joey & I as my gift to him & Nate wrote me a really sweet poem. He also attempted to get Taylor Swift involved (since i'm a HUGE fan), but so far it seems that didn't work out. It's the thought that counts though! :)

My favorite part is his ears... :)

We also carved our pumpkins over the weekend. I think they're pretty kick ass; the best ones we've ever done! Joey insisted his pumpkin needed to be a cat. How ironic. He also felt it was necessary to lick the entire thing multiple times.

We are going to a Halloween party this weekend & we're super excited for all the fun ahead! It's clear Joey has absolutely no idea what he wants to be.

He takes it very seriously.

Happy Halloween week! :)

Cold Weather Favorites

Things are going to start getting busy over here. Nate finally had his test. After over a month of studying every day for hours & hours... it's over! YAY! But now all of his residency interviews start, which means a lot of traveling for him & a few days alone for me for the next few months. On the bright side it is my favorite time of year & I have a lot of fun things planned!! :)

 It has been getting a little cooler here lately. We had our first frost the other day & it has been so windy. We run/walk outside practically every day, so when it is entirely too chilly to handle we bundle up with our hats, gloves & scarves. I am a scarf obsessed person. I buy a new one every year & of course I have to buy a hat that matches. With even colder weather just around the corner I thought it would be fun to put together some favorite cold weather accessories I've stumbled across.

Scarf // Boots // Socks // Red Hat // Gloves // Striped Hat

I saw these boots on Pinterest with red laces & I died. I'm typically not a "red" person, but I have found myself so drawn to it lately. I am in desperate need of a new winter boot, so I will keep my fingers crossed they make their way in to my closet. :)

Hope you all are having a happy week! :)

Our Weekend

Happy Wednesday! We are halfway through the week & that is a win in my book. We had a busy weekend over here. We traveled home to see Nate's brother's soccer game. It is the only game we were able to see this year & probably the last since the kid is a senior! Craziness I tell you. Then we went to a friends house for a little party. It was nice to see people we haven't seen in so long! 

Sunday we left a little earlier than normal to travel back to Hershey. Nate has a big test coming up that he needed to study for. Needless to say he will be cramming hard the rest of the week. The weekends with our families always go so quickly, but we will be back to visit again in a few short weeks! 

We are in the last couple of weeks of October & there is a lot coming up! We are getting our Halloween costumes finalized & party plans in order, our anniversary is approaching fast & I'm in the beginning stages of holiday chalkboards! I'm sooo looking forward to sharing those with everyone. All of this is going to fly by, but we are so ready for all the fun ahead! :)  Sidenote: Taylor Swift is killin' it with her newest song.
Just sayin'...

Yes, it has gluten in it!

It was Nate's birthday this week so we went to a new restaurant in Hershey called "The Mill." It was an old feed mill (hence the name) & everything is open beam with old wood & brick. The food was pretty good, but it was a little too high class for Nate & I. But in a couple of weeks we are thinking of going back for trivia night in their upstairs bar.

I made him his favorite large cookie "cake" with a boat load of icing on top. I beautifully sang "Happy Birthday" & Joey tried to lick/paw the cake so that he could claim it for himself (no such luck). I got Nate a pour over coffee maker that he is now infatuated with.

I hope it was a great birthday love :)

Last Sunday we continued our tradition of "Soup Sunday." We decided on french onion since I have never had it. It was really easy & delicious. Although our apartment still smells of onions.
You can find the recipe we used here.

There is a new print making its way into the shop this week. Be sure to check it out!

Happy Wednesday! We're almost to the weekend! :)

Happy October!

October might be one of my most favorite months of the year. It's out anniversary, it's Halloween & this year we get to go to the Penn State vs. Ohio State football game. It's pretty much perfect!

This month we will watch scary movies, cover our eyes because of all the creepiness, then put in Hocus Pocus. It may be on our movie list only once, but I'm sure I will watch it 8 million times!

We will go apple picking, carve pumpkins & have pumpkin beer.

 There is no doubt we will eat our weight in yummy Fall foods, including everything pumpkin spice.

Eggo | Starbucks | Thomas' | Shipyard | Sam Adams | Nestle | M&M's | Noosa


Don't forget today is the last day to get 31% of your order with coupon code SPOOKY in my shop!

Happy October to you all!

Soup Sundays & Other Shenanigans

We were outside as much as possible this past weekend since the weather was so beautiful! Saturday we went pumpkin picking & maybe stole picked a few apples along the way. I found the prettiest greenish/blue pumpkin & a mini white pumpkin to complete our fall decorations. They're gems. Absolute GEMS! We took Joey to the park on Sunday to run off some of his energy & so we could soak up the end of summer.

Although it was quite warm out we were eager to start our new fall/winter tradition: Soup Sundays. We kicked it off with Sweet Potato Chowder. It is super easy to make & really delicious. It may be my favorite soup. You can find the recipe below. :)

Ingredients:
1 celery rib, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
4 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 large sweet potato, peeled & cubed
2 cups ham, cubed
2 tbsp. minced onion
1/2 tsp. each garlic powder, dried oregano & parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. each pepper & crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute celery in butter until tender. Stir in broth, water and chicken bouillon. Add potatoes, sweet potato, ham & seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover & simmer for 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Combine flour & milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.

Happy Fall to you all! (at 10:29 p.m...)