A Look Back On 2013

I seriously can not believe that another year has flown by. My mom always used to tell me "wait till your older, time will go by so fast" but of course I didn't believe her since I was a kid and time seemed to just creep by...now I get it! It seems like every time I blink another month has come and gone.

2013 was a tough year for me. I almost lost my mind between learning that my Grandpa's cancer treatment was no longer working and that there is nothing else he can do but live his life, finding out my dad will have to have open heart surgery and my husbands semi truck getting hit by another truck which gave him a severe concussion and a neck strain causing him to be out of work for 3 months now...all these were pretty hard for me to handle.

But not everything in 2013 was a negative, we did have a lot of awesome times too! I think this year was the year that I spent the most time with my family in the last 5 years, I explored more of Colorado then I have ever before and my husband and I finally made our relationship totally official!   

Here's a look back on our 2013...

 My son and I went to our first Monster Truck Rally in January and had a blast. My son even took home a checkered flag signed by all the drivers.

Our friend bought us a little pet rat which we named Buddy. Unfortunately he was a feeder rat and only lasted two days...sad!

In March my son and I made our first trip of the year out to Oregon to visit my family.

Spring in Colorado was super snowy which was awesome.

At the end of April we took a family trip to The Middle Of No Where Wyoming to visit my husband's grandmother.

In May my husband adopted a cute little lap dog for me for Mothers Day. He is now my baby and my shadow and he has helped me get through some hard times, the love from a dog has amazing healing powers.

In 2013 we went to the Denver Zoo....a lot. Its our home away from home for sure.

In July we took my mom to the Colorado Renaissance Festival when she came out to visit us. It is one of our favorite things to do.

Towards the end of July my husband and I went to his 20 year high school reunion! How time flies.

We started out August the right way by going with a group of friends to the Kid Rock, ZZ Top, Uncle Kracker concert and were given front row seats. It freaking rocked!

 The only bad part was it poured and we got soaked. It didn't stop us from having a blast though, I mean I did grow up in Oregon so rain doesn't even faze me!  

August was the month that I finally reached my first weight loss goal. I weighed 155 pounds which made my total weight loss 53 pounds.

Also In August my dad came out to visit us. He doesn't get many vacation days so it was pretty awesome having him here.

Not long after my dad left my son and I took a nice long road trip from Colorado to Oregon. 1,288 miles in a car with a toddler and a dog...not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I had the very best visit with my family in Oregon. I spent almost all my days and many of my nights at my grandparents house talking and playing games just like I used to when I was younger.

 In September Colorado was almost washed away! My son and I were in sunny, hot Oregon when all the flooding was happening in Colorado which I thought was ironic.

While in Oregon I went to my very first Oregon State game with my brother.

Also my brother and I went on a 14 mile bike ride. I was so proud of myself and it is something I will always remember. Next step Tour De France!

Towards the end of my trip my best friend and I explored Oregon's Oktoberfest...we had a blast and drank a good amount of seasonal beer. 

On the last day of my visit I went to a Western Oregon football game with my dad which brought back a lot of memories.

 A couple days after we got back from Oregon I was woken up by a phone call at 5:00 in the morning which is never good. My husbands semi truck was hit by another truck and him and his partner were being taken to the hospital. Oh the life of a truck driver.

October was the month that I started my Thrifted Twin Threads. I love doing them and they are now one of the blog posts that I look forward to the most.

Also in October I won tickets to the 30 Seconds To Mars concert from Twist & Shout which I was so stoked about. They have been one of my favorite bands for 9 years now but I hadn't seen them live until this concert.

October 19th would of been my Grandmama's 92nd birthday and to honor her on her day I made some French crepes and had a glass of Champagne.

After knowing each other for 7 years, being together for 5 and being common law married for 4 my husband and I made it totally official on October 28th which was the anniversary of our very first date 5 years ago!

  For Halloween my son decided to be Michaelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and I decided to get in on the fun. This was my attempt at being Donatello in regular clothes.

December 22nd was our Fantasy Football championship and after winning 6 games in a row then losing 4 games in a row I some how managed to win the whole thing which I have never done before. I have been playing Fantasy Football for 5 years now so I was pretty excited that it was finally my year.

For Christmas my brother-in-law gave my son his first dirt bike...we are in trouble! 

On December 25th myself, my husband, our son and our 4 dogs had a relaxing Merry Christmas at home! 

And last but not least we are having a fun little camp-in at our house with our nephew for New Years. Its going to be such a great way to start 2014!  

Ultimate Breakfast Skillet (Village Inn Style)

When I ask my husband what he wants for breakfast his response is almost always "the Village Inn Ultimate Skillet!" After a couple months of this I figured I would try and make my husbands favorite breakfast meal at home...such a good wife right?!

Ingredients:
4 Russet Potatoes pealed and cubed
1/2 a Green Bell Pepper chopped
1 1/2 cups Diced Ham 
(I used Turkey Ham since I don't eat pork...the hubby didn't even notice a different!)
1/2 cup sliced Mushrooms
1/2 a small Onion chopped
Cheese
Eggs and bacon for the side

 Boil the potatoes in a pot until they are fork tender, about 10 minutes.

While the potatoes are boiling chop up the ham, mushrooms, green pepper and onion.

When the potatoes are done boiling drain the water from the pot then place the potatoes in a bowl lined with a paper towel to help soak up excess water.

Once the potatoes are fairly dry brown them in a pan with 1 tablespoon butter and a bit of vegetable oil. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
Once the potatoes are browned place them in a bowl and set them aside.

In the same pan add a bit more vegetable oil then saute the ham, mushrooms, green pepper and onion until the onion is translucent and the peppers are soft which will be about 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes back to the pan and gently mix everything together well. Let this sit in the pan on low heat while you make the eggs and cook the bacon.

After everything is cooked plate the potato mixture then top it with a bit of shredded cheese and your eggs. Serve with bacon on the side and a nice hot cup of coffee! 

Ultimate Breakfast Skillet....Village Inn Style! Enjoy!

A Traditional Christmas Eve

I love passing family traditions on to my son, it just warms my heart to see how happy and excited he gets for everything we do on Christmas Eve. 

Such as...

First things first we finish up our advent calendars! When I was little I would make a Christmas ring calender out of construction paper, which I want to do with my son next year, but for this Christmas we made a fun Christmas Tree Advent Calender and on the morning of Christmas Eve we put the star on the top of the tree!

A little later on in the day we make cookies to leave out for Santa. This year we made some seriously yummy Snickerdoodles! Before we go to bed we put out a glass of egg nog and a plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.

After we set out the plate of goodies its time for all of us to open our Christmas Eve gifts which is always a nice new pair of Christmas pj's, my mom still sends me mine! This year my son also got a Christmas book. We all got dressed into our pj's, cuddled up in bed and read the new book.

After everyone was asleep Santa came and left my son a gift and a little goody which he set out in front of the tree.

He also left some big foot prints on our carpet! Messy Santa!

On Christmas morning, after we open up all our gifts, I make us a Christmas breakfast.

This year I made cinnamon roll pancakes, green and red eggs, bacon and a cup of hot coco with mini marshmallows! Yum!

These are our families Christmas traditions...what are yours?!

Happy Holidays!

We Wish You A...

And A Happy New Year!

Christmas Thrifted Twin Threads

I found this outfit on Pinterest and fell in love with it! I loved the black, white and red! I thought it was perfect for Christmas!

So cute and it is pretty formal for me! 
I did my hair in a half up hair bow which you can see in my Holiday Hair Guide.

If I would of bought all the pieces of this outfit new I would of paid around $185 but since I bought everything thrifted I paid about $15.

Merry Movie Night...How The Grinch Stole Christmas!

"On the fourth day of Christmas Dr. Seuss gave to me...the How The Grinch Stole Christmas Movie."

For dinner we had Roast Beast (roast beef) and Who hash (sweet potato hash).

For dessert we had green Grinch pudding, Max cookies and a glass of egg nog!

Sparkley Holiday Spirt Nails

Its almost Christmas! Its almost Christmas! Its almost Christmas!

You cant tell I'm excited at all can you?! Christmas is my very favorite time of year, the lights, the snow, the scents....ugh I just love it all! As usual I had to get my nails holiday ready, this is the look I went with this year:

The Colors I Used:
Jessica - Merlot, Sally Hansen - White On, Del Sol - Heart Breaker and Sally Hansen - No Chip Top Coat

So Christmasy and so much fun! Loving the sparkle on my middle finger nail!

(Click here to see how I made the candy cane stripes on my ring finger)

Skinny Peppermint Mocha

I love when my coffee goes with the seasons! Pumpkin Spice Latte in October Cinnamon Dolce Latte in November and Peppermint Mocha in December. Here is my skinny version of Starbucks Peppermint Mocha.

What You Will Need:

 1/4 cup Stevia

1/4 cup Water

1/4 teaspoon Peppermint Extract

3 tablespoons Fat Free Hot Chocolate Powder

3 tablespoons Warm Water

1/2 cup Hot Coffee

1 1/2 cups Warm Fat Free Milk

In a pot pour in the 1/4 cup water and the Stevia stirring until Stevia is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer then add the peppermint extract. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.

In the bottom of your mug mix the hot chocolate powder and warm water. Add in your coffee and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the peppermint Stevia mixture. Stir everything together well then add in the warm milk and stir again.

So delicious on a cold winters day!

Merry Movie Night...Mickey's Christmas Carol

"On the third night of Christmas Disney gave to me...the Mickey's Christmas Carol movie."

For dinner I made Mickey grilled cheese and festive fries.

(The salt I used to season the fires was green and red which I made with food coloring.)

For dessert we had coal rice crispy treats and chocolate gold coins.

DIY Gift Guide

I love gift giving but every year my list of friends, family members, neighbors ect. gets longer and longer which means gift giving is getting more and more expensive. So this year I want to start giving little homemade gifts instead of store bought ones. It will save a lot of money since I can make multiple gifts for multiple people with a few supplies and it makes the gifts more personal. As usual I have been searching the heck out of Pinterest for ideas and these are some of my favorites!

For The Kiddos

Fort Kit

Activity Book

Glitter Playdough

Car Activity Mat

For The Guys
Shaving Cream
BBQ Rub
Bottle Opener

For The Pamperer

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

Manicure In A Jar

Chocolate Mint Body Scrub
Bath Melts 

For The Sweet Toothed

Cup Cake Candy Jar

Kissmas Tree

Candy Sleigh

Santa & Snowmen Bars

For The Baker

Cookie Mix In A Jar

Brownie Mix In A Jar 

We Whisk You A Merry Christmas

Banana Bread In A Jar

For The Drinker

Baileys Hot Coco

Hot Chocolate Cones

Candy Cane Vodka
Sock Coffee Sleeve 

Mulled Cider

For The Home Body

Christmas Potpourri
Doorknob Reminder Caddy
Snow Globes
French Vanilla Candles

For The Pet

Tasty Dog Treats

T-shirt Chew Toys
Cat Treats 

Felted Cat Toy

Have fun making and giving your DIY gifts!

Festive Foods

For the whole month of December our house smells like cinnamon and its not due to me burning those yummy cinnamon scented candles! Its because almost every day I bake something that uses cinnamon because 1. we love the taste of cinnamon and 2. cinnamon makes us think of Christmas and smells so freaking good! Today I am sharing some of my favorite festive snack foods that I love to make in December.

Cinnamon Apple Chips

Ingredients & Supplies:

Sweet Apples

Sugar

Cinnamon

Large Zip Lock Bag

Mandolin Slicer

Slice the apples into thin slices using the mandolin slicer. Cut out the cores of each apple slice then place the slices in the large zip lock bag. Pour in as much cinnamon and sugar as you like. Shake the bag really well coating each slice of apple in cinnamon and sugar. Line a baking sheet with wax paper then line up the coated apple slices. Bake the apple slices in a 225 degree oven for an hour. Flip the apple slices then bake for another hour.

"Fried" Honey Cinnamon Bananas

Ingredients:

2 Bananas

2 tablespoons Honey

1 tablespoon Water

Cinnamon

Canola Cooking Spray

Slice the bananas. Mix the honey and water together into a bowl then set aside. Spray a pan generously with the canola cooking spray. Turn the burner on medium heat. Place the slices of bananas into the pan. Once the bottoms of the bananas are browned, this should only take a couple minutes, flip over the banana slices then turn off the burner. Pour the honey water mixture onto the banana slices then sprinkle the slices with cinnamon.  

Mini Apple Pies

Ingredients:

1 Tart Apple

3 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Cinnamon

1 tablespoon Melted Butter

1 package Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon into a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lay each crescent roll out on a pan. Brush a bit of the melted butter on each slice. Sprinkle each slice with some of the brown sugar cinnamon mix. Slice the apple. Roll each apple slice up in each crescent roll slice. Pinch the ends of the crescent rolls shut over the apples. Brush a bit more of the melted butter on top of each apple crescent roll. Sprinkle with more of the brown sugar cinnamon mix. Bake until the crescent rolls are browned.

Cinnamon Baked Almonds

Ingredients:
4 cups Plain Whole Almonds
1 Eggs White
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Mix the egg white and the vanilla together in a bowl. In a bowl with a lock on top mix the white sugar, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon together. Place the almonds in the bowl of egg white and vanilla and mix until all the almonds are coated. Then place the almonds in the bowl of sugars, salt and cinnamon. Lock on the top and shake the bowl until all the almonds are coated. Place wax paper on a baking sheet then pour on the almonds. Spread the almonds out evenly on the pan. Place the pan in a 250 degree oven and bake them until golden, about an hour, stirring occasionally.

Caramel Almond Apple Bites

Ingredients:
Almond Slices
An Apple
Condensed Milk
Tooth Picks
Zip Lock Bag
The first thing I did was make the caramel. Here is how I do it, caramel recipe. Just make sure you make it the day before you make the apple bites because you need to let the caramel cool over night. Place some of the almond slices into the zip lock bag then crush them, I used a rolling pin. Slice the apple. Cut the apple slices into bite size pieces. Stick a tooth pick into each bite size piece. Dip the apple into the caramel. Turn the caramel covered apple pieces in the almond crumbs. Place on a wax paper covered baking sheet. Refrigerate then take out of the fridge about a half hour before serving.

Baked Cinnamon Banana Chips

Ingredients & Supplies:
Bananas
Sugar
Cinnamon
Large Zip Lock Bag
Mandolin Slicer
Slice the bananas using the mandolin slicer. Place the slices in the large zip lock bag. Pour in as much cinnamon and sugar as you like. Shake the bag gently coating each slice of the bananas in cinnamon and sugar. Line a baking sheet with wax paper then line up the coated banana slices on the wax paper. Bake the banana slices in a 200 degree oven for an hour and a half to two hours.

Thrifted Twin Threads (Emma Stone)

I love Emma Stone and I love her style so when I saw this I knew it had to be my December Thrifted Twin outfit!

The colors were great for this time of year and the jacket kept me nice a warm.

If I would of bought each piece new I would of paid around $108 but since I bought everything thrifted I spent about $13.

Merry Movie Night...Arthur Christmas

"On the second night of Christmas Sony Pictures gave to me....the Arthur Christmas movie."

Towards the beginning of the movie you see Arthur and his family at the table eating a Christmas dinner which consists of turkey, potatoes and carrots so we decided to have the same thing for our dinner.

And for dessert we had a nice hot cup of coco with a peppermint candy cane and mini marshmallows, some of which were dipped in chocolate!

November Favorites

November was busy! I helped a lot of my friends get their houses cleaned, decorated and ready for the holidays. When I wasn't cleaning, my son and I took a lot of adventures around Colorado to see all the fall colors, have some fun and get some fresh air! Then my son got sick...again...so we spent a bit of our November curled up in bed watching cartoons! But here are some of my favorite things from November:

Random: My amazing friend Erin totally shocked me with a Surprise Party! My husband and I were common law married for 4 years and at the end of October we finally made it totally official and got married at the court house so she threw us a surprise party to celebrate.  

We love you Erin! Your the bestest!

TV/Movie: I rented White House Down from Redbox and now I am obsessed. As soon as I have a bit of extra cash I am going to buy it so I can stop renting it from Redbox!

Style: I have fallen in love with doing my Thrifted Twin Threads posts. I love finding an outfit online, duplicating it, then getting to wear it.

Food: The end of November was full of Turkey Recipes since we had a bit left over from Thanksgiving.

Music: My husband and I can't stop listening to this song, Passenger - Let Her Go, but the one we listen to is a cover by Jasmine Thompson.

I have also been listening to Ariana Grande - The Way ft. Mac Miller a lot. So cute!  

P.S. When I first heard the song I totally thought it was Maria Carey.

Need To Know: My dad told me about a band from Spain called MetroPol and sent me the link to their song My Own Gravity. This band is great so please take a listen and tell your friends! 

Where to find them:  

Website 

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

November Disappointment: My husband was in an accident at work at the beginning of October and is now dealing with massive head aches and dizziness and all of his doctors say its from a severe concussion which you cant do anything about! We just have to wait it out which is getting a bit frustrating!