12 Days of Christmas: Holiday Cheer in the Home

'Tis the season for holiday decorating! Whether its a Ryan Gosling mural/portrait (life size) in a Santa hat or a homemade nativity set your cat made your out of pasta and pine cones, ITS ALL SO WONDERFUL! Holly and berries strung over mantles, sparkly Christmas trees with bright stars on top, Christmas bowls set out with your favorite candy, and a wreath from the local Christmas tree stand hung right on your door.. me oh my, I'm practically an arctic puffin ("Not now, arctic puffin!") but I just love decorating for Christmas. Here's what I've been able to muster up for my home sweet apartment on a dime's budget.

Wreath made from old book pages and three pom-pom holly berries! After a viewing of 'Something Borrowed' and halfway through 'Elf",covered in hot glue strings, help from a BFF, (and a Poinsettia cocktail), the wreath was finally finished! (And so worth it)! The perfect addiction to my living room along side my pom-pom garland so when I'm watching 'Love Actually' for the 1000th time I can remind myself that at least I have crafts.

Sparkles and pine cones and trees and deer, yes that's what I like to have accompany me whilst I eat my homemade spaghetti o's (when I'm being civilized and not eating them on the couch and watching Real Housewives on Bravo)!

Last year I did a snowflake making tutorial because the folding of the paper IS THE CRUCIAL PART!! And everyone deserves to make at least one paper snowflake in their life that isn't a rectangle with holes cut out of it! And with the leftover pages from the book wreath that I had, I just HAD to make a bazillion snowflakes for my little apartment so when its 50 degrees here in Tennessee, I can pretend its a giant snow storm (you just need a glass of wine and to squint your eyes a bit and shake your head and it looks exactly the same)!

Cranberry and popcorn garland!

Easily brings cheer to any place in the home instantly. Also a quick snack for my cat if one night I accidentally go visit Santa at the mall instead of coming home after work. It's like a break-in-case-of-an-emergency/great holiday decor snack for Wensley.

Can you bottle up Christmas stockings, peppermint hot chocolate, mistletoe kisses, buttoned up jackets and mittens, cookie baking and present wrapping?? Well no, not yet (the elves and I are still working on that) but this candle is as close as you can get! Served with candy cane kisses (YES THIS IS A REAL THING AND YES THEY WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!) it basically creates the perfect cheery atmosphere. (Sufjan Steven's 'Come on let's boogey to the elf dance' playing in the background is optional but highly suggested!)

Even Sir Wensley has gotten into the Christmas spirit even if he didn't know it because he was too busy being paralyzed with fear with all his ho-ho-holiday cheer! He's all like 'OMG Mom is singing 'Where are you Christmas' as loud as she can again!" But its whatever, I know he believes in Santa Claus because I found his letter to him behind the couch! (He's asking for Meg Ryan and a bottle of whiskey, by the way.)

Hope your day is filled with holiday cheer!

Halloween Pa-AHHHHrty Mix

If there was a way you could bottle up friendly ghosts, glittery pumpkins, and candy corn galore and then ask a 6 yr old dressed up like the genie from Aladdin to turn it into something delicious, you would get this party mix. Like the moment you figure out the perfect costume to getting your first bag of Halloween candy for the season, this mix is OUTTA CONTROL good. Peanut buttery Ritz Bitz, salty pretzels, and crunchy peanuts all coated in sugar and then coated again. I still remember the first time my mom made this for me as a kid, its up there with the one day I had Cap'n Crunch Just Berries for every meal when I was 10. As a matter of fact maybe I'll ditch my ideas to be the solar system or Mrs. Fox for Halloween and just be this party mix. Either way, blast some monster mash and whip up a batch!

Halloween Party Mix

1 pkg (11 oz) pretzels

1 pkg (10 1/2 oz) mini peanut butter Ritz Bitz

1 cup dry roasted peanuts

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 Tbs vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 pkg (10 0z) M&Ms

1 pkg (18 oz) candy corn

In saucepan: combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda. Pour over pretzels, ritz bitz, and peanuts. Stir till well coated. Pour into greases 15x10 pan. Bake at 250 for 45 mins. Break apart while warm, toss in M&Ms and candy corn.

Best served in your favorite Halloween mug. Serving suggestion: refill, and refill again untill you've watched 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' 100 times. And then when that happens bake another batch, put on some cat ears and start 'Hocus Pocus'!

I've already packed my lunch for work.. a honeycrisp apple and a bag full of this party mix. And then for dinner I'll pretend I haven't had in years and I'll be as emotional as Snooki when Jionni came to Italy. (Wahhhhh!) Hope your day is filled to the brim with candy corn and October cheer!

If You Were Here.

so while we were away I turned a year older.
yes, the rumors are true. no longer can I blast blink 182 while wearing my nirvana shirt and simultaneously complaining about how my parents suck. yup... I'm 20!
NO MORE TEEN ANGST!?
I mean really, I don't wanna talk about it... no more SNACKXXXXS after sch00l?! no more yelling about chores and auditioning for DANCE TV! tis rough, knowing you can never be qualified as a "teen" again. but it is fun quoting teens... you know on the bookface and when they twat. what the hell... I'm one bad pair of ultra white keds away from being a senior citizen**... can't wait for that movie ticket DISCOUNT!

I don't care what you say. growing older doesn't mean less presents, smaller portions, or no cheesecake at all. special screening of 'Paul'... you got it. {even if i do spill the entire bucket of popcorn on the stranger next to me....} oxford shoes {done}, floral skirts and polka dotted shirts! {CHECK!} spoiled rotten on my bdayzzz.. who am I!? a real housewife?! go 'head and give me my overpriced trashy bedazzled watch!


Ended the birthday celebration with The Graduate, Sixteen Candles, best friends, lemon bars, cheesecake, and Simon&Garfunkel. March 4th... what a freaking glorious day. And not just because it was my b-day yo. but because I felt so much love from all my friends and family that my heart nearly exploded... okay because it was my birthday. but ADMIT IT... MARCH 4TH IS THE GREATEST DAY EVAAA!

If You Were Here-Thompson Twins
{scene where Jake Ryan pulls up. did I slay your heart yet?!}

**I'm a 20 yr. old in 60 yr. old body.
except I can still run on the treadmill.
{But only when I'm watching Food network while I do it... so you decide my "real" age...}

christmas eve baking.

christmas eve is spent baking all day, eating ourselves into a sugar coma {dough for breakfast, lunch and dinner anyone!?}, a quick trip out to church for the candlelight christmas eve service {where my sisters always play with the wax and i shamelessly partake in the fun too... woah wait whats my age again!?}, a dinner of chinese deliciousness, and a combo of too much sugar and wine that makes me and my too-many-cookies sister go on a grinch quoting rampage. {some people might have been something elegant in their past life but i was definitely jim carrey's relative in a past life.}

chocolate crinkle master.

making oreo balls.
a tradition i forced upon our family because they are just so good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS BROWNIE!
griffith girlz style.
aka homemade.
aka unreadable.
aka Jesus still loves us despite the brownie diaster.
rolling out the dough like a pro-ugh.
putting me to shame.
what can i say, girls got skills.
sneaking in bites of the dough!
TYPICAL.

SUGGGAHHH COOKIES!
the trees and the candycanes are always our favorites to decorate. you gots to grab those fast before they go!
looking adorable as ever.
decorating christmas cookies.

CHRISTMAS COOKIES!
allll donnnnne!!!

signed sealed delivered. bringing you your christmas cheer way past the expiration date! {I CAN'T BE STOPPED! JUST TRY AND MAKE ME EBENEZER!}

12 Days of Christmas: 3rd Annual COOKIE PARTY!

every year i have a little cookie swap party extravaganza where everyone brings a platter of cookies, sccchwaps with everyone else, and then leaves with a platter of different cookies! {of course not before we have a major tasting session. my goal is for everyone to walk out of there five pounds heavier with holiday cheer!} i spent the whole day baking with my friend... pb kiss cookies, puppy chow, oatmeal scotchies, cupcakes.. you name it, we baked it! and after we spent the whole day eating raw dough {which i always promise myself i won't and always end up doing anyway} we had a healthy dinner of cookies galore!

PEANUT BUTTER KISS COOKIES!

1 c. sugar
1 c. butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
2 (10 oz. pkg.) Hershey Kisses
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. milk
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda

Mix all ingredients above except kisses. Shape in medium size balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, place 1 kiss on each blossom.

whats that crazy eyed girl doing on this blog...
oh wait, thats me!
TOO. MUCH. SUGAR!!!
{also my OHMYGAWWWSH-ITs-CHRISTMAS FACE looks more like a come-here-little-child-i've-got-candy face.}MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES!

OREO BALLS!
NUTELLA COOKIES!
ESPRESSO COOKIES!!

and after we ate ourselves into a sugar coma we went to the midnight premiere of black swan.. because nothing like a pyschological thriller to put you in the holiday spirit!

CUPCAKES, and COOKIES, and SWEET TREATS... OH MY!

hope your holiday eats were wonderfully sweet and shared with delightful friends!

12 Days of Christmas: Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas time!

officially, christmas is over. {WHY GOD WHY!?!?!?!?!?} unofficially, i'm going to hold onto to it as long as i can. {where are you christmas why can't i find youuu?!} so get ready for some jam packed christmas posts to come! {that's what she said.. NO TIME! its almost another holiday!}

christmas lights in franklin.

cookie baking and sweet treats making.

franklin's version of the rockefeller center's christmas tree.

ANTLERS, YO!

"alright, you're a reindeer. here's your motivation. you're a freak with a red nose and nobody likes you. then one day santa picks you and you save christmas!"

dickens of a christmas!

in the middle of a snow storm!

holly jolly holidayzzz.

CANDY CANE KISSES!

you could say i am just a little bit obsessed.

just a little bit.

oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree.

pretty tess next to the pretty tree.

usually i am very picky about which christmas tree we get.. the bigger, the better {i mean i am american..am i right or am i right?!} but i didn't go to pick it out this year. but tess did me proud. ITS GINORMOUS!

it's a wonderful life at the belcourt with wonderful friends.

"What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary."

hope everyone's christmas was MERRY and BRIGHT!!

*all pictures are from a disposable camerea. i can't get enough of them! apparently its the 90s again! quick someone grab jelly sandals and my tamagotchi pet!

12 Days of Christmas: Come on let's boogey to the elf dance!

oh christmas music, oh christmas music.

when i'm not listening to mix 92.9 {our continuous christmas music station here in nashville. that conveniently plays DELLLIILAHHHH as well. who doesn't love a little delilah* driving home from work on a cold winter's night} you bet your frosted bottom dollar i'm listening to one of my favorite christmas albums.

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU FROM PHIL SPECTOR

my love for 60s music and my love for christmas come crashing together like santa's sleigh collides with central park when there isn't enough children believing! enjoyed while sipping on some egg nog and wearing your comfiest of sweaters while twisting and shouting it and dancing the night away to sleigh ride by the ronettes!

SUFJAN STEVENS presents songs for Christmas!

wearing your favorite chunky scarf and cuddled up with your luvv-ah all warm&toasty. listening to sufjan. tis christmas cheer perfection. and when Come on! Let's boogey to the elf dance comes on.. you might just move from the couch to the dance floor.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE BEACH BOYS!

put on your holiday best, you know that shimmer sparkle dress you bust out but once a year.. paired with your faux fur coat {impulse buy.. but oh so worth it} break out the reddest of red lipsticks and celebrate the season with the beach boys and friends and holiday cheer that would put the whos down in whoville to shame. what can i say? their version of merry christmas, baby?! candy-caned, mistletoed CHRISTMAS PERFECTION!

and my three favorite christmas songs not on these albums:

wonderful christmas time- paul mccartney

what christmas means to me- mandisa

christmas time is here- vince guaraldi trio

honorable mention goes out to amy grant. i was raised on her christmas album and i can still hear "tennessee christmas" playing as i ripped open my christmas gift to find out that i did indeed get the shiny blue discman that was on my christmas list! {a*teens cd not included}

HAPPY HOLIDAY SINGING TO YOU!

*if you listen to delilah too, watch out for a kooky gal calling in... i mean i only call every night!!

12 Days of Christmas: Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

remember as a kid when you sat down to make paper snowflakes.. you'd cut and cut and then finally after what seemed like hours of careful cutting, making tiny triangles and diligently zig zagging your scissors, you'd get ready to open it up to see your masterpiece {and i swear sometimes i could hear the chariots of fire theme song playing} it was like a mini christmas morning, quickly ruined when you see that you've created a giant square with holes cut out every which way! and as i cursed the high heavens, my sister would weep on the floor holding her sad square piece of paper.. WHAT WERE WE DOING WRONG!? well its been a journey to get here.. here being profesh paper snowflake making skillz that is.. but i finally can make a snowflake!

all you need is paper and scissors! i love how magazines and newspaper turn out. and if you have an old christmas themed magazine its even better!

the key is all in how you fold it!

take your paper and fold it diagonal to make a square. then cut off the excess paper. you should have a triangle! then fold it again to make a mini triangle. then hold in half and overlap the paper. cut off the excess paper.

now the fun begins. go on with yo bad self and get to cutting!

VIOLA!

i even made pink and green snowflakes for the bakery i work at!

and mini teeny tiny ones for the register and tip jar {anything to draw people's attention to the tip jar... am i right?!}

buddy the elf ain't got nothing on me!

alright who am i kidding.. i stay awake at night dreaming of having the decorating skills he's got. in another life i was an elf!

hope your day is filled to the brim with holiday cheer!

outta this world pumpkin bread.

the famous pumpkin bread {round the griffith parts that is} that gets made but twice a year. the pumpkin bread that my older sister who is in the peace corps in africa skyped in to say to send her a loaf {okay so she skyped to say happy thanksgiving..} and the pumpkin bread that is going to get shipped to said sister. yeah its that good. that or caitlyn and i just have a strange and what some might say unhealthy obsession with? nahh, its just that good.

choco-chipped-o to the max-o.

let's pause for a second to recognize the wonderfulness of libby's pure pumpkin in can. its a holiday baking staple.. OH THE POSSIBILITES with one little can! dollop on my oatmeal? don't mind if i do. swirled into homemade cheesecake? you best believe it. spooning it out of the can with joseph gordan-levitt.. i didn't say that...

libby, girlfrand.. you know whats what!

oh look it's my family's loaf and my loaf {you think i'm kidding but...}

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

{recipe makes 2 loaves}

2 1/2 cup sugar

1 stick of butter

16 oz. can pumpkin

4 eggs

3 1/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cinnamon {but let's be honest, 1 tsp is never enough of the world's greatest spice.. go on ahead and double that. gettin crazzzy up in hurr}

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

soften cream cheese and butter at room temp.

cream all wet ingredients together.

mix all dry ingredients in another bowl and then pour slowly into wet mixture and beat together till mixed well.

pour into two greased and flour pans and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

and now i'm off to work with a packed lunch that consists of 2 slices of pumpkin bread. and maybe a half slice for a snack... if there is still any left!

hope your day is incredibly and absolutely wonderful!

tanksgivin' dinna!

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

the time where everyone gets together and designates a day where calories don't count and if you eat less than 5 dinners than you should be ashamed of yourself! but really, what a swell day. macy's day parade? check. jimmy fallon and the roots in macy's day parade? {swwoon} check! forgetting to go on a run? check. GRANDPARENTS!? check, check! top secret homemade pumpkin bread? chhhh-heck! cooking enough food for the state of tennessee for 6 people? you bet my bloated bottom dollar. {every year my family tries to cook less and less food. and i take it upon myself to do the exact opposite} oh yes, thanksgiving day in all its glory. kicking off the greatest 30 consecutive days ever. happy happy joy joy!

THE PLATE.

WHO SAYS YOU NEEDS MEAT!?

i've got the three main food groups.. BREAD, STUFFING {aka more bread}, and a dollop of veggies!

now this is where the real fun begins.

enter the main course.

that's right folks, DESSERT!

homemade cheesecake {like you gots be kidding me}

pumpkin pie.

apple crisp.

a more than generous serving of each that would make paula deen proud. and whilst we eat ourselves into a coma we turn on It's a Wonderful Life and revel in holiday traditions. which of course turns into getting on my mother for quoting all the lines and then fast forward ten minutes later and i'm quoting them with her.. ahh #family.

"HERE THEY COME!"

"MY LIPS BLEEDING BURT, MY LIPS BLEEDING!"

"SHE'S JUST ABOUT TO CLOSE UP THE LIBRARY"

"ZUZU'S PETALS ZUZU'S PETALS!"

"HOT DOG!"

in a state of total stuff-ation nation and pure sugar high we elfed ourselves and laughed for hours while pretending our dance skills were this good. also i do believe my calling in life was to be an elf. and also it should be noted that tessa's skills are that good! hip hoppin' dancing diva extraordinaire who can whip her hair like woah. {i'm not bitter. she just stole all the cool genes in the fam. its whateve.}

hope everyone's thanksgiving was button poppin', delish food eatin', and good time havin'! {also it seems i'm country now... so that's excitin'... okay i'll stop with that...}

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!