a sick little girl and NYE.

oh hey there, friends!!
i cannot believe it is already wednesday and i'm just now getting around to showing this blog of mine some love! 

i'm blaming it on the fact that home girl had strep throat all weekend and slept more than i ever thought was possible... truth.

luckily i work for an amazing agency that allowed me to leave work friday and not come back in until today- 

that right there is a blessing in itself! 

my work load today is kind of out of control at this point, however,

it was nice to have had plenty of time to rest, relax, load up on meds, and drink plenty of hot tea.

the one time i did get out this weekend i should have known would turn out to be a disaster. 

the roommate and i drove to asheville for the evening on saturday and since i was all doped up on pain meds and antibiotics, mary agreed to drive her car. 

little did we know that the weather was calling for snow all night...

needless to say we got stuck in her little baby acura about 15 minutes from home 

and had to have our friend brian come rescue us in his 4runner.

lesson learned: always check the weather.

oh well, at least we got a good picture out of the whole ordeal. snow and all.

by monday night i was bound and determined to feel well enough to go out and celebrate New Years! 

i went out, i danced, i ate amazing food, and i was home and passed out by 1am.

thank you strep throat, thank you.

at least i was surrounded by some pretty amazing people, it was a win win in my book.

Happy New Years, friends!!

i hope it finds you well!

xoxo

Christmas iPhone photo bomb.

i've had a hard time this morning getting myself back in the swing of things.

after having 5 straight days off of work and doing nothing but eating, snoozing, and spending time with family... 

it's hard to imagine actually being productive at this point.

especially when i have another 4 day weekend coming up.

helloooo New Years!!

so instead of going into crazy detail about my Christmas holiday i'm just going to let my iPhone do all of the talking

and give you some pictures to look at.

because let's be honest here...

you've probably already read ten million blog posts about the same thing.

this little lady became a tourista in my hometown and admired the pretty downtown decorations!

i spent LOTS of time with my sister and her babies.

they left for Naples, FL Christmas day though so i made sure to spend every second i could with them beforehand.

friends are family, just the same. 

and i got to catch up with some of my favorites.

1. me, katie, and jennifer. this was another wine and hot tub night, duh.

2. erika and myself. this little lady just got back from india and was in town visiting before she headed back up to brooklyn
(her new home for now!)
3. and matthew came home from Cali for the holidays! home boy is in the Navy!

 1. new north face jacket- it's a 3 in 1 and my most favorite thing in the world... along with the scarf my friend erika brought me back from india! such special prezzies!
2. a morning drive- i love all of the snow capped mountain tops!
3. bowling in sexy fuzzy socks and leggings.

my Christmas was nothing short of amazing!
spending time with my loved ones is by far the best gift in the world!
i hope you are all getting over your food hangovers and getting back in the real world!
this big booty judy is headed to the gym asap!!
xoxo.

give me some suga, baby.

the older i get the more fun i have buying and giving gifts to my family and friends.
i get so much joy out of watching people open the presents i have bought or made for them!

this year i made all of my family and friends something special.

i discovered this little slice of heaven online and actually ate at a restaurant a couple of weeks ago that had some in the bathroom.

once i used it i knew i had to not only have some for myself, but i also had to figure out a way to make some for others.

it's the most amazing thing you will ever put on your hands.

except for maybe fuzzy gloves, those are nice too.

anyways, this little slice of heaven i'm talking about is a sugar hand scrub.

a homemade, cost efficient, easy as pie, sugar hand scrub.

and today you get to find out how i made it.

Merry Christmas to you!

what you'll need:

6 mason jars (that's how many jars i got out of this recipe)

1 5lb bag of pure cane sugar

1 large thing of 100% vegetable oil

1 jar of scented oil-

your choice of scent, i used vanilla

1 yard of fabric

i picked out a few different styles

rubber bands- to make her dance (haha kidding)

and ribbon.

and that's it!!

what you do:

fill your mason jar halfway with sugar

fill the rest of the mason jar with vegetable oil

mix together

add 2 large drops of scented oil and mix again

put the lids on those babies

cut out your squares of fabric (you'll top the jars with these)

sidenote: i didn't have a ruler so i kind of just winged this part-

a ruler would have been nice though

put your fabric on the top of the jars and hold it with a rubber band

now add pretty ribbon...

and voila!!! you're done.

daddy got marine corps fabric, of course.

when i say that my family and friends loved this... i mean it!

don't be surprised if it ends up all over your body and not just your hands.

that's a normal side effect.

now let's go make our New Years plans!!

are you there, world?

the world's not ending on december 21, 2012.

we have all come to realize this, or i at least hope so.

and i'm sure you're all sick of hearing about it- i know i am.

thanks facebook, you're super annoying today.

i knew this whole time we would be fine.

i trust a GOD that has promises, serious promises for His people.

so i have known that i have had absolutely nothing to worry about.

not today, not ever.

but still, i went to bed last night reading this scripture and praying.

and i felt a lot better.

and i woke up this morning truly happy 

and without care or worry about what may or may not happen.

the snow outside of my window didn't hurt either.

now, if it would only snow a few more inches and my work would let me leave...

my happy dance would be out of control.

but then the snow has to leave by tomorrow morning...

home girl has a hair appointment and Christmas shopping to take care of.

important stuff, people.

happy weekend, friends!

xoxo

toys for tots.

sorry, party people... your girl's been somewhat MIA this week.
or maybe it's just felt like that because i didn't post yesterday. whatever. 

i volunteered to help run the Toys for Tots Toy Store for the third year in a row.

DSS partners with Haywood Christian Ministries and the School System to provide needy children and families with clothing, shoes, and toys for Christmas.

and the past two days are the "pick up" days at a local church.

so to say that i am busy would be the understatement of the year... TRUST me on this one.

even though my feet are killing me from running toys around,

and even though my arms might fall off from loading and unloading bikes, toys, clothing, etc.

my heart is overwhelmed with joy.

this is, without a doubt, my favorite time of the year!!

knowing that these families that have walked through the church's doors are getting the only Christmas for their children through this program warms my heart more than anything. 

i know that this is making a difference and giving children something to look forward to.

my advice? go help someone in need this holiday season.

whether it be donating old coats to the homeless, helping serve food at a soup kitchen, donating toys to Toys for Tots, dropping a few pennies in the Salvation Army's stand outside of wal mart, or adopting a family for Christmas-
you can and will make a difference even with the smallest effort!

believe me, you will!
plus- it's not OUR birthday we're celebrating at Christmas time.
it's Jesus'. so celebrate the reason for the season, ya'll!

Merry Christmas, Love Bugs!!

for you, Sandy Hook.

instaweekend.

ugh, hey monday, how ya doin?

home girl isn't a fan of you, but my guess is you get that a lot.

sorry i'm not sorry.

this weekend consisted of my work Christmas party at a place called Frankie Bones... 

hello new favorite restaurant, ever!! y'all it was good... so good!

if you're ever in the Asheville area i highly recommend you checking it out.

i mean come on, s'mores are offered as a dessert, what more of a reason could you need?

after the Christmas party i did a quick change and headed out with girlfriends.

these girls are amazing.

Saturday I ran all over town hunting down a tacky Christmas sweater for a party that night.

dude those things are NOT easy to come by for some reason.

I did end up finding one though, thankfully.

and a tacky sweater/engagement party ended up in full swing.

lots of fun... trust.

sunday this girl was one lazy lazy bum. and i loved every last minute of it.

especially because i had this cutie pie to snuggle with.

don't worry, i didn't give into my puppy fever just yet.

the roommate and i are puppysitting her for the week though. 

so i would anticipate lots more of these pictures showing up on your instagram newsfeed.

i did make some ballin Christmas gifts in between my laziness however! 

i'll share my "recipe" later this week for the sugar scrub i made all my favorite people!

it's like heaven for your hands and body.

a.maze.balls.

have a wonderful monday!

or at least try to.

xoxo.