Things We Love Thursdays: Rold Gold Peppermint Snowflakes

My friend introduced me to these delectable little treats. I picked them up from Costco, but I'm not sure where else you can get them. They are snowflake shaped pretzels dipped in peppermint white chocolate. They are soooo yummy! They satisfy my craving for a salty/sweet treat.

Do you have a favorite treat you can only get during the holidays?

-marie

Christmas Bucket List

It's no secret that I love doing fun things to celebrate the holidays.  I've seen a ton of cute advent calendar ideas on Pinterest, but THIS one stuck out to me.  I like the idea of doing activities during the month of December but without being tied down to doing one every single day and without being tied down to what specifically we'd do each day.  A bucket list gives us the flexibility I need but also provides us with lots of opportunities for FUN!

The kids and I came up with a list of things we want to do this Christmas season.  Most of them require little effort on my part and are low-budget.  I'm hoping this will be a fun family tradition.  I printed and laminated the list so we can cross things off as we go and can reuse it again next year.

You can download my version HERE or if you're computer savvy you can get a blank version and add in your own list. 

What are some of your favorite things to do as a family during the Christmas season?

-marie

What I Read: November

I only managed to read 4 books last month but I LOVED all of them so it's okay. :)

These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a good book!!! It was easy to read and easy to get sucked into and I couldn't put it down. It was heart breaking and thought provoking and made me want to reevaluate my life. It made me more grateful for the things I take for granted every day and made me think about what is truly important in my life. I fell in love with Sarah and loved watching her through the trials and joys in her life. I adored Jack and couldn't help but smile whenever she talked about him. Beautiful, beautiful story!!!



Finale (Hush, Hush #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a great ending to the series. I loved that there was plenty of romance, action, and twists. My only complaint was that the ending seemed a bit rushed and the epilogue was a bit cheesy. Other than that I really enjoyed the book and the series over all. Can't wait to see what Becca Fitzpatrick writes next!




Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven #3) by Brandon Mull
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great book in the series.  I am thoroughly enjoying reading these with my daughter.  Brandon Mull is such a fantastic writer and I love that he's not afraid to use "big" words.  My daughter and I have had many discussions on vocab words from this book.  ;)




Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3) by Kiersten White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the perfect end to the series. There was so much that happened and it was such a fun ride. Evie is one of my favorite characters ever. She is so fun and witty and I love her voice and all the emotions she feels. And the supporting characters are just as great, too. Such a fun series and I am truly sad to see it end. Time for a re-read. :)

-marie

WIWW: Fun Pencil Skirt

I've been loving pencil skirts lately. They are so diverse and knit ones like this can be dressed up or worn casual. Love it!

skirt: Target
shirt & belt: Kohls
necklace: Rue 21
shoes: thrifted

-marie

Linked to: Rae Gun Ramblings, The Pleated Poppy, Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled Up Pretty & Transatlantic Blonde

Christmas Mugs

This was such a fun project to do! I found these cute mugs at the dollar store and had originally planned to do this project with vinyl, but when I was asked to try out these Martha Stewart products I knew they would be perfect for my mugs. Every year, on my husband's side of the family, we do a siblings gift exchange and these mugs are what I chose to make for their gift this year! When I got the box in the mail this is what I found:

Im not sure who was more excited about what was in the box, my kids or me. I told my kids that they could decorate their own Christmas mugs and they wanted to get started right away. They were disappointed that when I told them they had to wait til December to make theirs. Ok, so there are endless possibilities to the things that you could make with what was in the box, but I decided to keep it simple and stick to my original plan.

Step 1: Clean off the surface that you will be painting on. I used alcohol as the products recommended.

Step 2: Place the letter stencils in place where you want them.

Step 3: Run a line of paint across the top of the letters and use a glass paint squeegee to drag the paint down.

Step 4: Choose an embellishment and place it on. I used a paint dauber to apply the paint for these.

I found these stencils very easy to work with and the paint was very forgiving. When I found smudges and bleeding, I took a toothpick and was able to clean it up easily. I had used a more fancy font on a different mug and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, so I left it until the next day. I decided I didn't like it so I took a spatula and was able to scrape it off easily and start over. 

Step 5: Let the paint dry over night and then bake it in the oven for 30 min on 350. This will keep the paint from chipping off.

I made 7 mugs and I love how they have turned out! I love this little reindeer that I used on Brandon's mug. I plan to make more for my kid's teacher gifts and for friends.

These are fun gifts to give out and you can put anything inside such as candy, hot chocolate, and maybe a little gift card.... so many options!

These were such fun and easy products to use. I was very impressed with their quality. My favorite product was the adhesive stencils, it was easy to use on the mugs to help them stay in place. 

I can not wait to make more crafts with the Martha Stewart products that I received! Marie is gonna fly out and spend a weekend with me to see what we can come up with together! 

What would you make with these products?

-chelz

If you want to find out more about Martha Stewart Crafts and Plaid be sure to follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

I received product and payment via The Blueprint Social (www.theblueprintsocial.com) for this post, however, opinions are 100% my own.

Linked to: Fingerprints on the fridge

What I Read: September & October

I haven't had as much time to read lately so I combined the last two months in one post. :)


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Of all the books and series I've read, Harry Potter is, and always will be, my favorite. There is just so much depth, character development, and pure magic woven throughout the series. I've said it before, but J. K. Rowling really is a genius and master story teller. It amazes me how much she wove through each of these books and how everything comes together in this final book. I have loved listening to the audio books this time around. Jim Dale is absolutely amazing. I don't know that I can go back to just "reading" the books now! I took my time getting through this last one because I knew it would be bittersweet and I'm glad I did so that I could enjoy it longer. I have that feeling I had when I first read the series -- happy that it was such a great ending and a great journey, but so very sad to say goodbye to these characters and their stories. Is it too early to start another re-read?! :P


The Kill Order by James Dashner
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I can't quite decide how I feel about this book. I am a huge fan of the Maze Runner series and was so excited to get this book to see how it all started. It didn't feel quite as gripping as the Maze Runner and I was not as fully invested in the characters in this book. It took about 3/4 of the way through to get to where I couldn't put it down. It was quite gross and disturbing, which I really should've expected since I know what the virus does to people. It was interesting to see these characters experiences through the flashbacks of when the sun flares happened and their journey a year later when the virus was released. But it was all just so .... sad and depressing. As interesting as the prequel was, I'm not sure the trade of was worth it. I dunno, still on the fence on this one! 3.5/5 stars

Intrinsical by Lani Woodland
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

It took me about a week to read 60 pages -- never a good sign for me! The main character, Yara, just really grated on my nerves. I think the author was going for witty/sarcastic, but she came across as bratty and obnoxious. The boy love interest was just as bad. I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading a book I was NOT enjoying. :/



Hidden by Sophie Jordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a great end to the series. The romance aspect of it got to be a little too much for me at times, though. I found myself rolling my eyes and wishing they'd get on with these life and death situations already! :P Overall, a fun series to read.




Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wasn't expecting to like this book. I didn't really care for the second in this series and it had been so long since I read it that I couldn't remember what happened. I was surprised to find that I couldn't put it down! Nora has lost her memory at the beginning of the book so she was just as blind as I was while trying to piece things together. There was so much happening in this book and I loved the way the revelations and memories came back to her (and me!). I also fell hard for Patch in this book. I've loved his story and transformation even more than Nora's. I'm so glad the last book comes out in a couple weeks because I am dying to see how it all ends!


11/22/63 by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I kind of had a love/hate relationship with this book. I went into it having absolutely no clue what it was about and I was instantly intrigued. I loved the writing style, I loved the main character, I loved the narrator (audio book), and I loved the concept. There were times when Jake was in Derry and it was so intense and I couldn't wait to find out what happened. But once he left Derry, I found it to be a little slow. There were some interesting things going on and maybe it's my aversion to politics, but I didn't really care too much about the plans to stop the assassination and I found my interest waning. There was also a lot of adult content and language, much more than I am comfortable with. I finally decided to stop reading and read a synopsis online. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to finish it because it sounds like some really good twists happened. At the same time I'm satisfied with what I did read and okay with my decision to stop. A good book if you don't mind the content (and the length of the book). It was just a little too much for me. :/


Flesh and Bone by Jonathan Maberry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a little disappointed in this final book in the series. Most of the book felt long and drawn out, mostly because there were so many things happening at the same time with different characters. The entire book only takes place over the span of a day or two. There was a lot going on but I just didn't feel the "on the edge of your seat" moments like I did with the first two books. And then everything just ended so abruptly. I'm one who likes all (if not most) ends tied up and I definitely didn't get that from this book. I just had a feeling of sadness and disappointment. Overall I enjoyed the series and would recommend it, but I just wish that after I had invested so much into these characters there was a little more hope at the end. :/

Update ....Whew, I just saw that there will be a 4th book in the series! If Flesh & Bone wasn't the ending to the series then maybe it wasn't so bad after all. As long as I get more closure in the next book then I can live with the ending of this book. :)


My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is becoming one of those series I don't really love, but can't seem to put aside. I don't like Kaylee and I don't like Nash. They both just kinda bug me. I'm also not crazy about the writing. Yet I still find myself wanting to read the next one! Maybe they'll grow on me as the series goes on...

-marie