O Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas decorations up last weekend! I'm just now blogging the photos because I was hit with some kind of plague this last week and barely had enough energy to make it through the work days. But I think I'm finally on the mend now, thank goodness. Hopefully I'll start feeling like myself again by Monday.

Christmas decorating is always my favorite. This year we put on Miracle on 34th Street and Tim made us our favorite crockpot soup while I decorated away. My favorite part of the whole process is the finishing touches. I love making sure every ornament is placed perfectly, the stockings are hung, and little extras like candles and pine cones are in their perfect place.

The best part about decorating the tree is going through all of the ornaments. So many of them hold sentimental memories from throughout the years. A few of my favorites are pictured below.

The glass ball was a gift to us from my mother-in-love(law) for our first Christmas as husband and wife. It has our wedding invitation inside!

The car ornament is part of Tim's collection. When he was growing up, him and his siblings each had a theme (his was cars) and every year they would receive a new ornament for their collection. Such a cute idea! My mom does something similar for us kids - she sends us snowflake ornaments every year. One of my favorites is pictured above on the right - the green glitter one deserves all the heart-eye emojis ;)

Tim's mom also gave us our first nativity set. We absolutely love it! It's the perfect size. And we can't forget about the stockings! I'm obsessed with this plaid pair. Although I'm pretty much obsessed with any and all things Christmas decoration-related ;)

How did you deck the halls this year? I want to see photos! Feel free to link me to your blog or social media channels below so I can check out your cute decorations.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

This was a very different (and very happy!) Thanksgiving for my side of the family. Meet Mila, our newest niece. She came into the world on November 6 weighing 6lbs 11oz. She is a teeny tiny bundle of pure joy and sweetness. If I could add the heart-eyes emoji to a blog post, you know I would.

It was so special for Tim and I to meet miss Mila this Thanksgiving. To top it off, we arrived about 9 hours before my mom, brother, and brother-in-law, so we got her all to ourselves the first day (more heart-eye emojis). At just over 2 weeks old, she was the sweetest little snuggle bug the whole time we were there. I loved holding her while she was sleeping and "talking" to her while she was awake. 

Tim and I arrived on Wednesday morning and helped my sister and brother-in-law do some Thanksgiving grocery errands before heading back to their home. When we got back, my sister dove right into Mila's routine - feeding, burping, changing, sleeping, and repeat. Ah the life of newborns ;) It was so special getting to spend some one-on-one time with my sister before the rest of our family arrived. We caught up, talked about life and motherhood, and doted over Mila, the nursery, and all of Mila's cute clothes and accessories.

That night after my family arrived, we ate our traditional night-before-Thanksgiving meal: crockpot soup (a delicious, organic red pepper tomato soup) and a spread of breads, cheeses, apples, and crackers. It's always one of my favorite nights of the trip.

Thanksgiving morning arrived and we watched the parade (and football on split screens), cooked breakfast, relaxed, and prepped for dinner. We also snuck in the cutest photo shoot of little miss Mila in her Thanksgiving outfit. I can't handle the cuteness!

On the left: the first family Thanksgiving photo with the beautiful mama and papa <3

On the right: Our family has so many wonderful and talented cooks in it. Lucky for us, that means holiday dinners are always perfection. And this year was no exception! Just look at those delicious plates.

And for dessert we had homemade ice cream, made by my brother-in-law's sister, Rebecca. She made pumpkin pecan and coffee ice cream flavors. Holy moly, you guys. They were both amazing. I think an ice cream maker will be one of the next gadgets I purchase for my KitchenAid mixer.

Black Friday consisted of more baby cuddles and a visit to what I like to call our family's gathering place, Yard House (we hit one up almost every time we're together), before heading off to the airport. We, of course, did another photoshoot with the babe before leaving the house.

Three generations: Grandma (or Glamma as we like to call her), my sister, and Mila

Auntie Bre (me!) and Uncle Shawn

Uncles: Shawn, Manny, and Tim

It was indeed a very special and happy Thanksgiving this year. I hope yours was as well!

Peppermint Essential Oil Cookies

Who doesn't love chocolate peppermint anything? We can't get enough of it, especially during the holiday season! I decided I wanted to try out baking with my peppermint essential oil from doTERRA® for the first time and it turned out SO well! I highly recommend this super easy recipe - it's cute, simple, and absolutely delicious!

To make these cookies, I purchased a pre-made sugar cookie mix from Betty Crocker, followed the instructions to a tee, and then mixed in 5 drops of doTERRA's peppermint essential oil. I rolled each cookie into a one-inch circle and baked as directed. The small amount of peppermint oil added huge flavor to the cookies - Tim and I both definitely overindulged. ;) Once they came out of the oven, I let them cool a bit and then placed candy cane Hershey's Kisses in the center of each one. Warning: allow the cookies to cool completely before trying to move them or you'll have melted candy cane kisses spread across the batch.

Full disclosure: I made two batches of these because the first ones didn't turn out so well! I took the first batch out of the oven, immediately placed the candy cane Hershey's kisses in the middle of each, and then left them on top of the hot oven while we were cooking dinner. I quickly found out that's a no-no ;) The kisses melted all over the cookies and ruined what I thought was going to be quite the photogenic batch. Luckily the second batch turned out much better!

If you try out this recipe, let me know what you think! Make sure to bake extra because they'll go fast. ;)