Holidays Organized!!!!!

Happy Tuesday Friends!!!

It is getting closer to my FAVORITE time of year!!! I can hardly contain my excitement!
Those who know me KNOW I have a HUGE love for some Christmas ..and in honor of Christmas nearing our way I found these memes which completely describe my spirit this time of year :)

Yes pretty much this is me around Christmas time. 

However this post isn’t about my love for Christmas it is about BUDGETING for Christmas!! A skill I have refined over the years and saves me ( and my husband) ALOT of headache and stress during the holiday season!! 

Nobody wants to be strung out and stressed so that your Christmas looks like this

So here is the guide I have followed for years and let me just say IT WORKS! I am not stressed out during December over who gets what and rushing to buy last minute trinkets. No.. I am completely enjoying the holidays and savoring every moment with my friends and family. Here is how I do it:

September:

Make your budget

List of stocking stuffers

Christmas Card List

Out of the September List these are the main points I follow. First and foremost it is SO important to make your budget! Alot of us ( raising my hand ) tend to get realllllly excited during the holidays which can make it easy to over spend. Creating a budget and writing down the amount of people you are shopping for really helps to dictate exactly how much and on who you are spending for. I tend to write out everyone I buy for and next to their name create a dollar amount of what Brandon and I feel is appropriate. Then we add it all up. ** Sometimes are there last minute gifts that I grab if I forget to add the people to the list...yes of course BUT my budget list helps me stick to what we decided on and is very helpful!

Stocking Stuffers!!! These are FUN!!! If you are an Ipsy subscriber save a few of your boxes to dole out goodies to some of the women in your family for an easy stuffer!! I love to grab things all through out the year for stockings..things like nail polish, lip glosses ( sephora has those boxes of gloss for 20 dollars and includes at least 10 glosses) I will just pop one in each ladies’ stocking!) face wipes, pretty chocolates, mini wine bottles, lottery tickets the sky is the limit! I keep a box on hand all year and toss items in there. 

Christmas Cards: OH MY!!! This MAY be one of my favorite things about the holiday season!! I love love love family christmas card pictures. I love receiving them from all my family and friends and I LOVE taking them and watching my sweet family grow and change each year. My tip IF you are planning on doing family portraits for your cards is to first find a well known photographer in your area and check with her schedule ( photographers get BOOKED Oct.-November due to the Christmas sessions so its always best to check EARLY) I always book my sessions with my photographer in September to ensure a good early November spot. After your photographer is booked make a list of who you will send your cards out to. I typically send to about 50 of our closest friends and family. Minted , Shutterfly, and Tiny Prints are amongst my FAVORITE websites to design cards. Seriously the SKY is the limit with so many cute designs!!! If you are not doing family portraits but plan on sending out Christmas cards I would make my list in September, Shop for the cards in October, and address/ stamp them in November and send first week of December. I love to have my cards out by December 5th. 

October:

Start Shopping: Brandon and I typically start shopping mid october. We pick a weekend and one Sunday after Church we get the base of our gifts DONE. Remember we have already budgeted in September :)----> Some of my friends have asked me “ Well how do you know what people want this early?” Fair enough. September is pretty early for people to start thinking about Christmas. In fact some people want to run away from the thought of it! After doing this for 6 years my family now expects me to exchange Christmas lists in September ...( so I promise they will get used to it!!) but in the beginning I would just ask them what they are interested in this year. What have they been eyeing? Is there something they wish they had but don’t? Then I make a list...before I go shopping I call and ask to make sure of their gift suggestions. 

* You can expect a gift guide for the family coming up soon!!!* 

Get inspired for PICTURES:  Once again if you are planning on doing family photos NOW is the time to be thinking of your outfits :)! This is one of my favorite parts!!! I love the gorgeous deep colors for fall: Think mustards, cranberry, deep greens, royal blue, aubergine, winter WHITE. All gorgeous! Also think of your family and what they will wear. Its cute to coordinate but NOT to match.. I like to figure out what I am wearing first and then lay out Brandon and Jaxie’s outfit next to mine to see if it works well for the picture. Not everyone should be wearing patterns...if one or two people have a small print on their shirt try and opt for a solid. Also be thinking of your picture destination!!! This year we are doing our family photos at the infamous Pearl Brewery and I am so excited!!!!!

Think of or/ Do any crafts:

Ahh crafts. As a former teacher I LOVE crafts. I always pin a million ideas for Christmas crafts and then when Christmas rolls around guess how many I have completed. None. So now I pick ONE or TWO crafts and stick with it. Now that I have a baby, handprint crafts on canvases are my love language. I love to send them as an * extra* gift to a family member since it costs you basically nothing. Or create an ornament to tie onto a beautifully wrapped gift would be such a special touch. Not into crafts? Get your baking ideas ready!!! Start pinning those delicious Christmas cookies or plan your Holiday supper.

November:

Decorate the house!: Some of y’all won’t agree with me I KNOW. However here is my reasoning for decorating the house in November. I personally do not host Thanksgiving...so since I do not need to worry about turkeys adorning my home I like to go ahead and bust out the Christmas boxes. IT IS a lot of work..so why not enjoy it for an extra month???

Get those photos taken and Christmas cards ordered:

YES! Order your cards and start addressing them!! Take your pictures and design your card:)

Start wrapping: This is a HUGE time saver for Christmas...especially this year for me since we are planning a move early December ( Lord help us!) I love to get my wrapping paper and bags from pleas like Home Goods and Hobby Lobby. They always have the cutest Wrapping and for like a DOLLAR!

Finish Shopping: If you haven’t already wrap up those last gifts on your list for your loved ones!!!

Plan Holiday Menu: If you are the one who hosts Christmas or a party ( I host Christmas Eve and my mom hosts Christmas Day/Dinner) Start planning your menu! I typically do a themed dinner party each year on Christmas Eve and it has always worked out great! I start with the main dish and sort of go from there. This year it is Italian Themed!!!

DECEMBER:

WHOOO!!! ITS HERE FINALLY!!! THE MONTH WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. 

for the grand finale’ you will want to:

1. Send out all Christmas cards

2. Holiday Baking

3. Visits with Santa

4. Christmas Concerts

5. Christmas lights

6. Have all gifts wrapped and under the tree

7. ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!

A few photos for fun :)

Life Lately

Happy Friday Eve!!!

Here in San Antonio we have been graced with some COOL weather.. I was able to pop on a scarf the other day without even a hint of feeling flustered. We have spent a lot of time at the park, outside at Stroller Strides, our very first Pumpkin Patch, and cooking lots of yummy fall food!!! Fall is my favorite time of year..it is the calm before the Christmas Storm and it greets you with the anticipation of the cozy Winter Season.. plus I really love Pumpkin Spice anything.

Here is to our life lately!!!

Farmers Market Saturday

I love being his Mommy

Hat season!!! Side note.. I sweated so bad in this hat so I was forced to take it off :( SO cute though!

That cheesy grin 

Saturday evening at the Pearl

Our first pumpkin patch of the season!!!!

My precious pumpkin

perfect fall morning for some outdoor play at stroller strides

Park dates with mommy are the best!!!!

Smoked Gouda Chicken Apple Burgers

The weather may not be cooperating but my culinary cuisine is SCREAMING fall!!!

Ya’ll I came up with THE BEST burger!!

I love to make turkey meatballs/ Turkey burgers weekly in our house because they are something versatile that I can throw different veggies in or theme them to match a certain type of food ( mexican turkey meatballs coming up:)! I have recently started purchasing ground chicken for something a little different and came up with a wonderful fall burger recipe!!! I love to serve these open faced ( or bunless) along side a great yummy green salad or some sliced avocado. I typically make 6-8 so I can also have quick and easy lunches to go!!!!

Nothing is better than a little smoked gouda and apple..

SO FALL!

Here we go!

Shopping List:

1 LB ground chicken

1 apple shredded 

1/2 cup smoked cheddar or gouda cheese shredded

1 yellow onion chopped

1 cup spinach chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1 cup breadcrumbs

Procedure

Start by sautéing the onion and shredded apple in a little bit of olive oil. Add the handful of spinach and cook well. While the spinach is cooking pour your ground chicken in a medium sized bowl along with one cracked egg, 1 cup whole wheat or ( plain) breadcrumbs,  and some salt and pepper to taste. Once the onion, apple and spinach are done cooking add them to the  mixture. Mix VERY well with hands and finally add your shredded smoked cheddar cheese. Form into medium sized patties ( OR meatballs:)!) and cook at 400 for 25 minutes. 

SO YUMMY

and SO FALL!!!

** serve alongside roasted sweet potatoes and a big green salad**

Quick and easy Salmon!

Happy Monday Friends!!!

My mom and I decided to take our little pumpkin to a pumpkin patch and while it was SO much fun... 

we were dying  very hot..

I keep wondering when we will be graced with some cooler weather..perhaps just a cool breeze to wipe the flush off of our cheeks from summer. I know we don’t live in a state where there are leaves to crunch and sweaters to adorn during October but I AM glad about the pumpkin patches here in San Antonio! I have never been to so many sweet little pumpkin patches with a ton of activities for kids of all ages!!! 

So onto the Salmon!!

Let’s talk fish. 

I love a good beautiful cut of salmon. It can be hard to find the right salmon at your local grocery store..I almost ALWAYS ask for wild caught and my *tip* is to ask your fish monger to smell it before purchasing it. Many times stores will freeze and refreeze fish and then put it out for people to buy. When smelling your fish MAKE sure it does not have an ammonia tinge to it. If your fish smells fresh ( little to no smell) then it is good to go! 

I love a wild caught sockeye salmon! It is amazing for you, rich in Omega 3s, great for hair skin and nails!!! 

One of my favorite and EASY ways of cooking salmon is like this:

Shopping List:

1 large salmon filet cut into 4-5 portions ( depending on how large of a cut you get)

1 bottle of lawrys teriyaki marinade

S&P to taste

Procedure:

Marinate the filets of salmon in the marinade for about 1 hour before cooking.

lay the salmon on a lined baking sheet and salt and pepper them to taste.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Ya’ll The salmon comes out to PERFECTION!!!

I almost always serve mine with roasted asparagus :)