Holiday Bucket List

Oh my goodness!  Where has the time gone!?!  There are 7 days until Christmas and I have not even done anything with my Holiday Bucket List.  With my new job getting ready to start, I have been getting things ready to move to a new school, while getting everything together for my sub as well.  Not to mention I had the flu yesterday which I haven't had since I was about 8 years old.  I don't have one present wrapped!  I am not even done with my presents! Ahhh! 

 

Luckily I have been able to mark off a few things off my bucket list by pure coincidence. 

Source: google.com via Mcp on Pinterest

Elyse's Holiday Bucket List 2012

1. Watch Christmas movies.

2. Make Christmas cookies.

3. Shop til I drop.

4. Look at Christmas lights.

5. Listen to Christmas music.

5. Play in the snow (if it snows).

6. Read Christmas stories.

7. Do something nice for someone.

8. Make crafty Christmas things.

9. Drink peppermint hot chocolate.

10. Spend time with family.

11. Wrap presents.

12. Try a new Christmas recipe.

13. Drink Christmas cocktails.

1. Watch Christmas movies.

Two weekends ago, we took all of the decor off of the big wall in our living room, turned the couch around, and watched Christmas movies on our projector.  We watched some old clay-mation movies, like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph, and the old Frosty movie. 

We also watched A Christmas Carol, which I love.  It was about 5 hours of movie watching fun!  I still want to watch The Holiday and Elf, but we couldn't fit them in that night.

9. Drink peppermint hot chocolate.

While having our movie night, I made myself some lovely peppermint coffee/ hot chocolate in my new mug.

 I combined 3 cups of peppermint flavored coffee with 2 TBS. of peppermint mocha creamer, and a pack of regular hot chocolate, and I topped it off with some peppermint marshmallows.  It was delish!
 
2. Make Christmas cookies.
5. Listen to Christmas music.

On Sunday my mom, sister, and I had our annual session on Christmas cookie baking.  We made 9 (9!) different kinds of cookies.  Fortunately for me, I didn't eat too many because I wasn't feeling well and came down with the flu shortly after. 

We did all of this while listening to Christmas music!  Love Pandora! Love Josh Groban and Michael Buble!  And I love that we remembered that bowl trick! (Where you put your phone speakers down into a ceramic bowl, who needs an iHome when you have a bowl!?!)

That's all for now!  I have 7 days to finish the rest!



Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

What I'm Loving Wednesday and OHP!

Did you miss me?  I've been gone for so long that I actually had to LOG IN to Blogger!  GASP!  I have had so much going on with Christmas coming up and MY NEW JOB!  Huh? Yes, you heard right...I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB! 

It is a temporary art teacher position at another elementary school in my area.  Their art teacher is retiring at Christmas break, and so I will start the new semester there!  It is only temporary, so I will have to reapply at the end of the year for the "real" position, but if all goes well then it shouldn't be a problem! 

In turn, I have been super stressed out, sad to leave my current school, excited, overwhelmed, on the verge of crying....I didn't really know how to feel about this, but I went to the new school on Friday, so I am feeling a lot better about it!

So that is what I am loving on this Wednesday!  I'm linking up with Jamie @ This Kind of Love and What I'm Loving Wednesday and Michelle @ The Vintage Apple and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday! 

 

Here are some other things that I am loving:

 

I am loving that we are having a cookie swap party at school today.  It has been a little difficult to coordinate, but hopefully it will go smoothly and people will participate!

 

Here are the cookies that I am making:

 

Source: recipe.com via Unhipchickblog on Pinterest

Although they never look as pretty as the picture!

 

I am loving this Christmas song!

 

 It's totally fitting for me this year!  Made me cry!

 

I am loving that I am going to the Nutcracker on Sunday with my mom and my sister.  It doesn't matter how old I get I still LOVE going to the Nutcracker!  Nostalgia!

 

I am loving that the Christmas party for the Salon is on Saturday.  It is always SO fun!

 

I am loving Pinterest!

 

Source: etsy.com via Elyse on Pinterest

Love this! 

 

Source: jamhands.net via Elyse on Pinterest

Carrot Pineapple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  I die.

 

 

Source: thepeacefulmom.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 My sweet tooth is having some cravings right now!  Cranberry Bliss Bars.

 

Source: cookingwithkrista.blogspot.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 Crescent rolls with Crab and cream cheese...yum!

 

Source: thedatingdivas.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 Take a kiddie pool, fill it with pillows...instant snuggle time.  Perfect for a movie night!

 

Source: ussery3.blogspot.com via Elyse on Pinterest

I'm in love with this door!

 

Source: heart-2-home.com via Elyse on Pinterest

I really need to learn how to make these kind of wreaths!

 

Happy Wednesday! 

 

Only 13 days until Christmas! 

 

5 for Five

The start of a new week means that I have to check to see how well I did on my goals with Jessica @ Fantastically Average and Jenn @ Party of One!

I thought I did really well...thought.  Turns out I did not do so well.  I half-way did most of my goals but none of them were completed 100%.  BOO to that! 

 

Here were my goals for last week:

  

1.  Schedule 3 blog posts at least the night before.  Negative.  I just can't ever get this done at night!

 

2.  Finish at least 2 craft projects.  I finished one completely and the other was started but I had to wait for the paint to dry!

 

Here is the project that I finished. 

It turned out really well I think!

 

3.  Make an additional payment on my credit card.  I was waiting on a check, so I am doing this today!

 

4.  Workout 6 out of 7 days.  I forgot my shoes on Thursday night and Friday my mom and I decided to get some shopping done.  But I did have a longer than usual workout on Saturday morning, and I took the dog for a pretty long run/walk yesterday.  I am pretty sore.

 

5.  Put the finishing touches on my Christmas decorations.  This goes along with the second craft that I didn't finish.  The paint is drying. 

 

0 out of 5 goals!  I am a 5 for Five failure!

 

Here are my goals for this week:

 

1.  Start working on some Christmas presents.  I have a few that I have to make!

 

2.  Workout 6 out of 7 days.  Trying this again!

 

3.  Schedule at least 1 blog post the night before.  Maybe I'll just try for one this week.

 

4.  Finish my bulletin board at school.  I have to get my Christmas board done before Christmas!

 

5.  Fix my Cricut.  I will no longer work because it has to be updated, and I can't get it to update. 

 

To end with something positive, I had a great weekend!

 

Friday we ordered pizza, watched a movie, and I drank wine and made the above wreath.

 

 

Saturday afternoon, I cracked the screen on my phone. Total fluke, I barely even dropped it.  :-/  Saturday night we went to an Icemen hockey game.  Lucky for us it was Star Wars night.  Brought out some of the "different" folks, but it was cute.

 

Two of the liuttle league teams played at an intermission.  It was so cute!

My favorite part of the night was when all of the characters danced to Gangham Style.

 

We finished off the night at Bar Louie, my beloved loaded tots, and this guy.

 

Salted Caramel Martini.  OMG so good.

 

Have a great week!

 

 

 

Holiday Bucket List

I love the idea of having a bucket list for each season.  I made one for the fall, and it really made me do a lot of things that I wanted to do, but probably would have pushed aside.  Crazy what this little blog will make you do for yourself!  Now that it's Christmas, it's time for a Holiday Bucket List!

Source: google.com via Mcp on Pinterest

Elyse's Holiday Bucket List 2012

 

1.  Watch Christmas movies.

2.  Make Christmas cookies.

3. Shop til I drop.

4. Look at Christmas lights.

5. Listen to Christmas music.

5.  Play in the snow (if it snows).

6.  Read Christmas stories.

7. Do something nice for someone.

8. Make crafty Christmas things.

9. Drink peppermint hot chocolate.

10. Spend time with family.

11. Wrap presents.

12.  Try a new Christmas recipe.

13. Drink Christmas cocktails.

 

Now I have 26 days to get all of this done!

 



Happy Wednesday!

Oh how I wish it was last week!  Then today would be the last day of school before having 4 days off!  I'm so tired this week!  But at least it is Wednesday, so I get to link up with  Jamie @ This Kind of Love and What I'm Loving Wednesday and Michelle @ The Vintage Apple and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday! 

 

I am loving all of the Christmas decorations!  I am done decorating, but I am not satisfied with all of my stuff yet.  I am thinking I need more!

 

I am loving that Kelly and I are going on an official date this weekend to a hockey game!  We haven't done this in a little while, so it will be nice to spend some time together with no t.v.s or computers.

 

I am loving that I have my lessons plans done through December!  Oh yeah!

 

This is what I am loving on Pinterest this week:

 

Source: lh3.ggpht.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

 

Source: etsy.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

Source: rantapallo.fi via Elyse on Pinterest

Source: heart-2-home.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 Love this scarf!  Who wants to make me one?

 

Source: ebay.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 Love these leggings!

 

Source: personalpizazz.blogspot.com via Elyse on Pinterest

Someone can also make me one of these for Christmas if they want!

 

 

Source: howsweeteats.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 Sesame Ginger Salmon!  YUM!

 

Source: mytastytreasures.blogspot.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 Honey Roasted Red Potatoes

 

Now I'm hungry.

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

What are you loving today?

Fall Bucket List Finale

Even though Fall is not technically over, let's face it, Fall is over.  No one wants to give Fall another thought until next year.  It's all about Christmas now!  I need to finish up my Fall Bucket List, so I can start my Holiday Bucket List!  I didn't get to mark everything off but I was really close!

Elyse's Fall Bucket List 2012

1. Go on a nature walk (take the camera!)

2. Bake apple dumplings.

3. Eat caramel apples.

4. Bake yummy pies.

5. Drink hot chocolate.

6. Go to a football game.

7. Go to a soccer game. (My family is definitely a soccer family)

8. Make chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

9. Paint and decorate pumpkins.

10. Have a bonfire with s'mores.

11. Go to the Fall Festival. (That's a big one here).

12. Have friends over for chili.

13. Drink apple cider. Maybe spiked? Hehe

14. Try a new fall recipe from Pinterest.

15. Make a fall wreath.

16. Wear a fall scarf.

17. Get out and wear fall boots.

18. Count my blessings and give thanks.



4. Bake yummy pies.

 

Thanksgiving was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this one.  We always have pecan pie and pumpkin pie.  I had a hand in making the pumpkin pie, which turned out like this:

 

 

Fail much?????

I tried to get fancy and braid the crust on the top.  Then while baking, part of it fell in.  I also added some decorative crust leaves in the middle, which were added before it was firm enough, so they started to sink.  Try not to be too jealous of my baking skills.  It was tasty though!

12. Have friends over for chili.

Although we didn't have chili, we did have friends over a few times.  I made little snacky foods instead of chili.  Forgot to take pictures though. :-/

13. Drink apple cider. Maybe spiked?

Check!  And check with the spiked also!  I have a feeling this is something that will carry over onto the Holiday Bucket List because it is so yummy!

16. Wear a fall scarf.

17. Get out and wear fall boots.

Check!  Check!  I have been doing both practically every day, but I am not a big fan of taking pictures of myself in the mirror, and I can't find any other pictures that show my feet, so you will just have to use your imagination!  Here's my favorite fall scarf:

It's very fall-y. 

And last but definitely not least:

18. Count my blessings and give thanks.

I have so much to be thankful for this year.  My awesome family, my amazing boyfriend, my friends, co-workers, students, my job, my family's new dog, my new car (which I have been paying for myself since I bought! I know, I'm growing up.), my cozy apartment (whose days are numbered)...I could go on and on.  God is so good to me!

Here are the things that I didn't get a chance to do this fall season:

6. Go to a football game.

7. Go to a soccer game.

10. Have a bonfire with s'mores.

I missed high school football season...and soccer season.  It went by so fast!

And I live in an apartment, so it's kind of hard to have a bonfire in your backyard.  My backyard is an interstate.  So that one was out of my control!

 

Stay tuned for the Holiday Bucket List!

5 for Five

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  I will share more about mine later, but for now I have to see how I did on my goals for the week!  So I'm linking up with Jessica @ Fantastically Average and Jenn @ Party of One

 

Here were my goals for last week:

 

1.  Schedule 3 blog posts at least the night before, if not earlier.  Eeek.  I totally forgot about this one.  I actually only posted twice last week and only one of them was scheduled!

 

2.  Finish the wreath I started working on.  CHECK!  The wreath was for my sister so I had to finish it before she went back to school!

 

 

She added the letter.  Isn't it cute!?!

 

3.  Help my mom cook on Wednesday night.  CHECK!  That is my favorite part of Thanksgiving!

 

4.  Slow down and enjoy the holiday.  CHECK!  I even did a little shopping on Black Friday!

 

5.  Count my blessings.  CHECK!  I have so much to be thankful for!

 

Here are my goals for this week:

 

1.  Schedule 3 blog posts at least the night before.

 

2.  Finish at least 2 craft projects.  I have to get started on Christmas gifts!

 

3.  Make an additional payment on my credit card.  I charged some extra stuff to it this weekend, and I want to get that off of there!

 

4.  Workout 6 out of 7 days.  I got off track due to the holiday.

 

5.  Put the finishing touches on my Christmas decorations.

 

Have a great week!

WILW and OHP- Thanksgiving

Last day of the work week!  Wahoo!  I'm so glad to be back for my fav link up of the week!  So Let's get to it with  Jamie @ This Kind of Love and What I'm Loving Wednesday and Michelle @ The Vintage Apple and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday! 

 

I am loving my parents new doggy!  We haven't had a dog for probably almost 10 years, so we are excited!  His name is Dierks after Dierks Bentley.  Isn't he cute?!?

 

 

I am loving that Thanksgiving is tomorrow!

 

Source: craftily-ever-after.blogspot.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

 I love Thanksgiving because it is pretty much the same type of gathering as Christmas only without all of the hustle and bustle! 

 

We will be having our celebration at my parents house, as always. 

 

Some things on the menu include:

-Turkey (my least favorite)

-Mashed Potatoes

-Corn Pudding

(some would call it corn casserole, but we call it pudding.  Why?  I don't know.)

-Sweet Potato Casserole

-Stuffing

(Of course! Only it's more like reincarnated bread with some vegetables because if you "stuff" that stuffing in the turkey, I'm definitely not eating it!)

-Broccoli Casserole

-Strawberry Pretzel Salad (Another fav)

-Pumpkin Pie

-Pecan Pie

-Oatmeal Cake

 

So much food!  Which beings me to my next thing that I am loving...

 

Cooking with my mom, sister, and even my brother.  We all help out! (My dad does the yard).  This year I am excited because my brother's girlfriend is helping us cook too!  And my Grandma is bringing over some wine and cheese to snack on while she helps us!  We will be spending lots of time together this holiday weekend, while we are still mourning the loss of my grandmother.  We will have lots of love, support, and comfort food to go around, and I know God will always help us through the difficult times!

 

Here are my Thanksgiving finds from Pinterest:

 

Source: modvintagelife.blogspot.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

Source: wholefoodsmarket.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

 Pumpkin Praline Dessert

 

Source: tablespoon.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

Yummy drink.

 

Source: eatthelove.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

Hot bourbon apple cider.

 

Source: pastryaffair.com via Jane on Pinterest

 

Cute little turkey treat.

 

Source: cookiesandcups.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

 

Pumpkin shaped dinner rolls with pecan stems.

 

Source: beyondkimchee.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Smelly-good stuff on the stove. :-)
 

Source: pin2fun298.blogspot.com via Maegan on Pinterest

Oh Friends...

 

Source: google.com via Elyse on Pinterest



Phoebe: Joey, those are maternity pants."

Joey: "No, these are my Thanksgiving pants."
 

 

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Elyse on Pinterest

 

Source: twicsy.com via Elyse on Pinterest

 

What are you loving on this Wednesday before Thanksgiving?

 

Stay tuned tomorrow for MORE about what I am thankful for.  There are just so many things, and I know you are so curious!