My Latest Obsession

GMC and Santa talking it out

Off to the Nutcracker 

Happy Friday! This morning the gals were getting ready for their last day of school before winter break. They have their holiday concerts (LOVE) and parties today. We leave SUPER early tomorrow morning for AZ. We are all so excited to spend Christmas in Arizona with JuJu and Grandpa T. We are looking forward to some quality down time w/ one another. I imagine we'll be watching lots of movies in our pajamas and playing board games.

Now it is back to packing!

Have a fabulous weekend and wonderful Christmas! XO - D2

Some of my latest faves...

• So, it looks like Ryan will be coming back to Parenthood after all. Interesting. 
• WOWSER, the season finale of Homeland was VERY intense. Sad too. So curious what Season 4 will bring. I'm hopeful we'll see more of Quinn. Love him. I'm going to miss Brody but it was time for him to go. I will for sure miss Saul though. 
• Homemade fudge w/ just 4 ingredients = MUST make soon. Maybe my youngest sister and I will make this for my mom's party that she always has after Christmas. YUMMY! 
• This viral Christmas Card is pretty hilarious. Gotta love their Christmas jammies! Love it. 
• Some gorgeous wedding dresses. 
• Town Hall Bingo = perfect family gift. 
• I saw these pretty Chindi Reindeer at a friend's house. I love them. Festive and colorful. Here's a DIY Chindi Reindeer. This would be a fun project! 
• Pretty gold rimmed dinnerware. 
• My sister had a baby boy this past weekend. He is adorable! Great name too = Hunter Robert. Here's a fun Hipster Baby Name Generator. I tried it out. Some of the following names popped up = Roderick Rickey, Adolfo Brady, Leona Miriarm, Crotts Cottman, Wales Schoen. Hilarious! 
• Some etiquette guidelines for Black Tie. And a helpful dress code decoder. 
• Helpful secrets of a home baker. 
• I love calligraphy. I love a handwritten note. This is a cute calligraphy starter kit. 
• Awesome little letterpress quilt tags. These printable holiday tags and wrap are fabulous. 
• GMC is obsessed w/ transformers. He carries Heat Wave around w/ him everyday. Heat Wave goes w/ him to school (in his backpack) and comes w/ us on errands (along w/ his fire hat). We picked up one of these cubebots the other day and it is GMC's new fave. He named his cubebot "Ruda" - a variation of Rudolph. Cute. 
• Santa is bringing me these sparkle knit leg warmers. Love them. I saw them on someone the other day in a workout class. Perfect way to wear my shorter cut workout pants during the winter! No more gym class draft! 
• PFC and I are sneaking off to Sedona for a night while we are at my mom's in AZ. She and Grandpa T will watch the kiddos for a night. We are heading to L'Auberge for the night. Super excited! Anyone have any Must See or Must Do items in Sedona?! I've been before but PFC has not. 
• I haven't been to Eataly yet. I plan on getting there after our trip. The fine dining restaurant, Baffo, just opened. 
• This year we will be having a relaxing NYE at home in AZ. Maybe we'll catch up on some movies we haven't seen yet! Here are some trends to try this NYE. My personal fave = the full skirt. And this glitter garland would be perfect for a NYE party. 
• Totally digging John Legend's song All of Me. I love him. 
• Babykins = cute nickname that Prince William has for Kate. Probably sounds even cuter w/ an accent! 

My Latest Obsessions

CMC and MMC (photo by Alma Veliky Photography)

G$

Happy Friday! The countdown is OFFICIALLY on = 12 days until Christmas! And we leave the Saturday after next for AZ. Super excited. We haven't spent Christmas w/ my mom in a long time so we are very excited to spend some time w/ my mom JuJu and Grandpa T! And GMC is excited to go flying through the sky!!!

This weekend will be filled w/ more holiday parties. Tomorrow morning we are having breakfast w/ Santa. GMC is very excited to wear his new holiday bowtie that PFC splurged on yesterday. So cute. GMC loved that it had trucks all over it! GMC is following in PFC's footsteps = rocking the bowtie! I love it and the girls squeal w/ delight when they see GMC dressed up (especially when he is wearing a bowtie).

And Sunday I'm taking the girls to see The Nutcracker. I told them last evening that we were going. They are beyond excited. They have been talking about seeing The Nutcracker since last Christmas. AND Sunday pm = the season finale of Homeland. OMG, it has been a great season. Super intense. I also need to catch up on Thursday evening's Parenthood. So curious what happens w/ Ryan and Amber.

Have a fabulous weekend! Stay warm. XO - D2

• This two bean soup with kale is super tasty (and great for chilly winter nights). I added 4 links of Trader Joe's Andouille Sausage (totally gave it a little kick). I also doubled the carrots, celery and onions to make it a heartier soup. I brought it over to a girl gathering Wednesday evening. It received a thumbs up! 
• I adore my group of girlfriends from college. We have done a great job of staying in touch through the years. I cannot wait for our trip together in the spring! Wahoo! Here is a cute article about friends that have traveled together for 20 years. 
• I'm sure a lot of you have seen the WestJet Christmas Surprise. I LOVED it. I even teared up a bit. Brilliant marketing! 
• Wouldn't this soft serve ice cream maker be a great gift for a family? Or what about a popcorn maker? 
• That thing called juggling. Great post on juggling work, kids, husband, life. Everyone has different things they are juggling and we all do it differently. 
• What a cute flippy little skirt. Very versatile. 
• Holiday parties call for a little sparkle or plaid. I saw a friend wearing these tartan wool pants at holiday party last weekend. Love them! PFC is excited to bust out his holiday blazer this weekend! I've gotta say that my green flannel shirt from Target has definitely gotten its cost per wear the last couple of weeks! 
• I think I'll always be a coffee drinker. I start every morning w/ a cup of coffee. However, I would consider starting my morning w/ some lemon water too. 
• I appreciate things that are personalized and monogrammed. Here are 35 personalized and monogrammed gifts for folks on your list. You can never go wrong w/ a golden monogrammed mug. 
• We taught the girls early on that they needed to stay in their rooms until 7 am. They could wake up earlier than 7 but they need to hang in their rooms as to not wake the rest of the house. They have had a digital clock in their room forever (for that reason). Here is a great digital clock for a kids room. 
• These are the most adorable owl mugs. Perfect for your hot chocolate! 
• GMC had curriculum evening at his school last night. At one of the stations they had the kids stringing cheerios and fruit loops. So simple and easy yet GMC loved making his strand. What an easy activity to do at home. 
• This Vanilla and Smoke Mast Brothers chocolate bar is the perfect little hostess gift. I love Mast Brothers for their beautiful wrapping alone (and the the chocolate itself is fabulous).  Love this Cocoa Nibs bar. Read about the brothers behind the chocolate bars. 
• These peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies look AWESOME! We'll definitely be making these over winter break in AZ! And they are only made w/ 6 ingredients (no flour and butter)! 
• I cannot wait to head over to West Elm after the holidays. I'm hoping to snag some of their holiday decor on sale! And I love their collaboration w/ Baggu on these great dipped totes.
• A pretty throw to curl up under. Give me the throw, a book, and some hot chocolate and I'll call it a night! That totally plays in to my introverted side! 
• This Claire Vivier clutch would definitely add a little punch to an outfit. 

My Latest Obsessions

Polar Express - Chilling w/ Santa. LOVE GMC's intense stare. 

Kiddos left out their slippers for St. Nick

Happy Friday! I cannot believe that it is the 6th of December! Wowser. That means 19 days until Christmas. Yikes! Thanksgiving was super late this year. Speaking of Thanksgiving we had a wonderful time last week. My mom (JuJu) and Grandpa T were in town along w/ my youngest sister and my two stepsisters and their families. We had not all been together in a VERY long time. It was super fun and especially great for all of the kiddos to get together. They had a ball! And this year PFC's birthday fell on Thanksgiving. We had a yummy german chocolate cake on hand to toast PFC. 

The countdown is on until Christmas. Lots of upcoming holiday parties and concerts. This weekend we have holiday gatherings Saturday PM and then Sunday I'm heading to The Drake for a holiday tea w/ some girlfriends. Tis the season!

Have a wonderful weekend! Stay warm. XO - D2

Some of my latest faves:

• The world was saddened yesterday to learn about the passing of Nelson Mandela. His impact on American activism, politics and pop culture. 
• Okay, so I tried a new brussels sprouts recipe out on Thanksgiving. It was a HUGE hit. It has been added to our Christmas Eve dinner menu. I polled folks on FB for help w/ a new brussels sprouts recipe. You MUST try these = Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots. DIVINE! Other winners included these creamy mashed potatoes (from The Pioneer Woman) and this traditional sweet potato casserole. 
• 10 modern holiday wreaths. My fave = this antique bloom wreath. 12 modern Christmas stockings. Love the Otomi ones. 
• Okay, I saw this amazing a capella group on someone's FB page. They are AH-MAZING. Check out their version of Drummer Boy. Here is the group's official website. 
• I bought a pair of these fleece lined handwarmers last year at Anthropologie. I LOVE them. Super cute too. I bought the multi-colored pair. Great gift item for a friend. 
• This article made me really think = Milestones that Matter. 
• My stepsister's little gal was wearing these cute jeans. Adorable. 
• My sister in law came over the day after Thanksgiving to hang w/ our crew. She brought her famous Salsa-Baked Goat Cheese Dip. It goes fast! Super fast. Here is a version of it. 
• My youngest sister's architecture firm was tapped to help out Detroit's downtown. Pretty neat. What a cool project to be on. 
• I love tiramisu. I've never attempted to make it. Maybe I will! 
• NPR's list of best books of 2013. Speaking of books I'm supposed to be done w/ And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini by next Thursday. I have yet to start. Yikes! I've been hearing great things about the book Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. Anyone read it or heard anything about it? I need to add it to my list. 
• An article about PFC's uncle. Great guy and he does amazing work. 
• Three great party dresses to wear to all the upcoming holiday parties! Great price on this cute one! Or if you aren't much of a dress gal check out this festive shimmer tee. 
• I'm super anxious to check out the highly anticipated Eataly that opened this past week in Chicago. I think they had me at Nutella Bar. Enough said. 
• How cute are these mini wreath gift tags?! Love them. 
• I've gotta get started on our Carr Christmas Cookies! We make our own holiday version of these Cowgirl Cookie Mixes for friends/family. 
• I'm looking forward to afternoon tea at The Drake on Sunday. A great way to get in to the spirit of the season. 8 places to take afternoon tea in Chicago. 
• Kickstarter is such a cool concept. Check out Andreagems. Very unique jewelry. 
• Wouldn't this Vosges Advent Calendar be a treat?! Yummy! Here is a neat DIY Pantone Advent calendar. 
• The sides of Paul Walker you may have missed. So sad. 
• And I'll leave you w/ some yummy hot chocolate recipes.