The Thanksgiving Questionnaire

In honor of Thanksgiving (tomorrow), I decided to partake in a Thanksgiving Questionnaire that both Jenn and Biana posted within the last week. Enjoy.

Favorite part of the Thanksgiving Day meal.
Easy...pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie, but I rarely get to have it. I love spending time with my family and friends eating a big delicious meal and catching up, but I savor the time when pumpkin pie and a nice big dollop of whipped cream is served. It is even better with homemade whipped cream.

Favorite side(s)
I love mashed potatoes and gravy. It is another thing that I rarely eat unless I am at a steakhouse and then I don't get the gravy on it. I could drink the gravy, it is that good. Yes, that is gross, but gravy is soooo good.

I also love stuffing if it is done right. I don't like stuffing that has been cooked in turkey since it is all mushy. But if you make the stuffing and bake it in its own dish, it is really good. I love the crispy top and it is even better with gravy.

Have you hosted before?
No I have not. I have hosted Christmas dinner plenty of times, but never had an oven big enough for a turkey and the sides. But now that my kitchen is almost complete, game on...for another year. We are hosting Christmas dinner though.

Favorite decor for Thanksgiving.
I love all of the Fall decorations. I keep it simple with my pumpkins, a cornucopia, a festive table cloth, Fall candles and thankful signs. Unfortunately, this year, I don't have much up since kitchen renovations.

Tree up before or after Thanksgiving (if you celebrate).
We put ours up a few days after because it is a tradition to cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. While a bunch of people are fighting over Black Friday deals, we are knee deep in snow finding the perfect Christmas tree. And then by Saturday, I have the tree and all the Christmas decorations up.

Gravy or no gravy?
Ummm give me all the gravy!

Smooth or chunky cranberry sauce.
I used to love the smooth sauce, but now that my sister makes a mean chunky one, I prefer that one.

Pumpkin pie or another.
As I said in the first question, bring on the pumpkin pie. It is the best pie....during the Fall.

Biggest thing you're thankful for this year.
Having a happy, healthy and beautiful family. I am so thankful that we are all healthy as I have had several friends that have recently had cancer diagnosis or another major health related issue. I hope they all have speedy and healthy recoveries.

What are you looking forward to this holiday season? What is your favorite thing(s) about Thanksgiving?

If you partake in this questionnaire, please let me know. I would love to read all of your responses.

Uncommon Goods - Christmas Gift Ideas for Everyone

Can you believe that Christmas is a little over a month away? I can't. I can't wait to decorate (my husband won't let me until after Thanksgiving) and introduce my girls to all of our Christmas traditions.

But in the meantime, I have been getting a jump on our Christmas shopping and making lists of gift ideas.

I was recently contacted by Uncommon Goods for a collaboration that I couldn't pass up. They have so many unique gift ideas. They have unique jewelry, designer decor, kitchen and bar goods and handcrafted gifts. I am even eyeing a few things that I would love to receive under the tree. They have something for everyone. Even for the babies in your life.

FOR WOMEN

Whether you are shopping for your wife, girlfriend, mom, sister or grandmother, they have you covered.

I have picked out a few items that I have in mind for the women in my life. I also wouldn't mind receiving any of these either.

One Two Three

The bracelet has the stone made from sand. Either sand that you choose from their list of beaches in Christensen's Sand Bank or you can send in your own sand. So if you went on a vacation to Costa Rica and kept sand from your trip, this is the perfect time to transform it into a keepsake.

The coasters are made from agate from Brazil and they are beautiful.

The wine glasses remind me of some we got when we were in Mexico. They are thick and have the beautiful ombre coloring.

FOR MEN

I always have a harder time shopping for the men in my life because my father and father-in-law have everything they want or they go out and buy it. And my husband is a tricky one to shop for. But I have went through Uncommon Goods and found some items I know they will like and the man in your life will too.

One Two Three

The city map glass is perfect for the traveler. When I saw that they had the New York city map, I knew this would be perfect for my husband. We love traveling and NY is one of our favorite places to visit. The map is pretty amazing and a fun way to show off your city love.

The rain gauge is for someone who loves following the weather and tracking the snow and rain. We got my father-in-law a weather gauge a few years back and this would be perfect to accompany it. You can see how much it rains during any storm. Plus it is super easy to use and clean.

The yard dice are fun for parties. We plan to have a lot more parties at our house since we remodeled our kitchen. Yard dice allow you to play drinking games and just games for fun. It is the perfect item to add to your growing list of yard games.

FOR CHILDREN

I have an ever growing list of items for my girls and for my nephew. As my girls get older, shopping for them gets even better. 

One Two Three

The Sleeper Hero gift is pretty cool. You can read the book to them before bedtime and then the doll signals when it is time to sleep and when it is time to get up. My girls are still a bit young for the light part as they may not understand it, but it will become very useful in the coming months.

The personalized book is just fun. Growing up, I always wanted things personalized and I think having books personalized to the girls with their names will make it even more fun to read.

The taco booties are just way too cute. I plan on getting my nephew either these or the hotdog booties. I can't wait to see him in these.

FOR THE HOME

These are gifts you can give a friend for their housewarming, to a family member who you aren't sure what to get but want to impress or for a co-worker or boss. These are items that anyone would want to receive.

One Two

This candle is pretty cool. It allows just a bit of wax to burn at a time. This allows you to get the most out of the candle. A three inch piece will burn for an hour. The design is unique and even has refills.

This cutting board is beautiful. I love serving cheese, crackers and meats together and this just add the nice touch to it.

So whether you are shopping for yourself, your spouse, your partner, your children or a friend, Uncommon Goods has something for everyone.

What is on your Christmas list?

Weekending

Wow and just like that it is Monday. This weekend flew by in an instant and I think I need another day off just to recover and sleep. Yes, Sutton is getting her two year old molars and life in the Butler household is rough....sleep wise.

But let's get down to it anyways.

Friday, I worked all day which is unusual since I have half days. It was only me and another agent in my division plus bosses. So so so quiet. After work, I picked up the girls and headed home. I inspected the work that was done on my kitchen and found some flaws that need to be addressed, but was overall happy with the progress.

Rory had a Nevada basketball game that evening (3 and 1 baby), so I watched the girls. They were pretty good until Sutton woke up screaming owie due to her teeth hurting. Needless to say, we didn't sleep much Friday night. But I did catch up on some tv shows while I had the house to myself.

Saturday morning, we headed out to an early breakfast and then my sister came over. We showed her the progress on the kitchen and then headed to the last game/tailgate of the year. The chili cook off. It did not disappoint even though I only tried 4 chilis and they were small bites.

 Pre-game walk

The band always visits our tailgate

The game was a good one actually. But it was really cold out. Don't let those sunny blue skies fool you. At half time, we were invited into the Coaches Club to hang out and keep warm. This was the way to watch the game when it is that breezy out.

The Pack squeaked out a win and then we were off to relieve my sister of babysitting. The girls had a blast with their auntie.

We got home and I hit the store for a few items and picked up salads for dinner. Then after building a fire and watching some football, I headed out to hang out with my girlfriends...at 9:30 pm. When did I get so old that 9:30 was late to go out? Ha. But we went to a local bar and caught up. It was the perfect ending to the day.

Sunday morning, we headed to breakfast and then to Home Depot for painting supplies. Yes I had more painting to do. When will it ever end?

We headed home for a few to give the girls a snack and some milk and then we took them to get haircuts. We were told this was the place to go for kids haircuts and get there when they opened on the weekends. We were there 10 minutes after opening and there was a huge line. But since they had toys galore for the kids to play with, we stuck around. We waited for almost an hour, ugh, before Avery was called back.

This is when her meltdown ensued. She did not want to sit in the chair and was scared. After trying to bribe her with a lollipop, we took her down and put Sutton up. Sutton was scared and cried for me, but she was doing better than Avery. We wanted to get their bangs cut and a trim around the sides. I wanted to keep their curls intact.

We tried Avery again and she was still fussy, but she managed. The girl next to us was talking to her and calmed her down. These pictures were at the beginning of her second try. 

They both ended up getting their haircut and all is better now. And we saved a snippet of hair for their baby books. They look so cute. I will have to snap the after pictures this week as they were not having it last night.

After haircuts we went home and put the girls down for their naps. Sutton did nap very well due to her teeth, so she was up pretty fast. I went grocery shopping and then came home to paint our mud room. The mudroom took longer than planned and Rory had to take the girls on an impromptu walk around 3:30. The girls wanted to go outside and play and fortunately there was a break in the weather. About half way, I grabbed Walter and we met up with them for a short walk.

After getting home, it was dinner time for the girls (early) and while they ate, I finished the last coat on the wall. Rory left to another basketball game, so it was just me and the girls and Walter. After dinner, I gave the girls their bath and then we played for another hour and a half. The girls were tired and wanted to go to bed early, but 5:30 is too early, so I kept them playing and they helped me with the fire. And by help, I mean they watched me and oohh'd and ahh'd at it. 

I put the girls down to bed around 7 pm and then watched the rest of the Packers game. Rory came home with dinner after the game and we watched more football before calling it an early night.

Sutton slept until 2 am which was a god send since she has been waking up way earlier with her teething problems and we have had to bring her into our bed a few times. We tried calming her down, but she wasn't having it. We let her cry it out for a half hour and then she was out again. I crashed out hard again after that and now we are here in Monday land.

I only work two days this week and then have Wednesday off to get stuff done around the house. Plus a million errands. And you best bet that the house will be partially decorated by the time Rory and the girls get home. 

I hope you had a good weekend.

I am linking up with Biana from B Loved Boston.

Friday Favorites

It's Friday and I have a long day ahead of me, but at least it is Friday. Bring on the weekend.

ONE. Tomorrow is the last home game of the season for my beloved Wolf Pack. While this season has been quite the failure (too many loses to count), I still enjoy going to the games and tailgating. And this is one of my favorite tailgates of the year. We have a huge chili cookoff and are always stuffed to the brim come game time.

This year we will not be participating in the cookoff with our own batch of chili, but we will bring some sides, toppings or corn bread in lieu of the chili. My kitchen is coming along, but I don't have enough of it together to make a huge batch of chili. Next year.

Let's just hope this weekend's game is a lot warmer than last weekends game. And for a win please and thank you. We could use a big win because we have our rivalry game (UNLV) next week and we will see if we can take the cannon home and paint it blue again.

TWO. I am apparently late to the game and haven't bought my girls Christmas dresses yet and everywhere is sold out of the ones I had chosen for the girls. So I have narrowed it down to three. Which one do you prefer?

Dress Tights Shoes

Dress Tights Shoes

Dress Shoes Tights

THREE. When I flew to Las Vegas on Tuesday, I got a lot of questions on the dress I was wearing. I bought this dress about two years ago and love wearing it. I wore it while working in England and have worn it on several occasions...mostly for work. But since I got such a great response from it, I wanted to share it with you all. It is the most comfy dress. It is retro looking, but brand new. It hits at all the right spots and has been a favorite of mine. Even though it wasn't one of my readers who complimented me, I wanted to share it anyways. And no, I am not being paid to put this up. I just love the dress.

Sonnet James - Coco Dress

FOUR. Speaking of Christmas and how excited I am about this upcoming holiday season. I wanted to share with you all three sweatshirts that may make an appearance in my life soon. Ok, maybe one of them will because my husband would kill me if I bought all three of them.

Left Center Right

FIVE. One week from today, I will be watching Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life of. I hope to binge watch it all once my girls go to sleep for the evening. Reviews came out saying it is everything the fans want for an ending. Bring it on. I. CAN'T. WAIT.

Have a great weekend all!

I am linking up with Karli, April and Erica.

Confessional Thursday

It's Thursday and I have a few confessions for you today.

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I CONFESS...

/ that I wrote a lot of my confessions on Monday while I was still in the office. I wish I had more time to blog at home, but kitchen renovations.

/ that tomorrow we are having the tile sealed and then in about a week everything else should be done....completely. I can't wait. Yes we are sort of using our kitchen, but not really.

/ it was a good thing that I wasn't the driver of the rental car the last couple days because shopping in Vegas would have been disastrous on my wallet. Give me all the things, but not really because Christmas is coming up. I have got to save my money for gifts and not buy myself all the things. But shopping in Vegas is glorious when they have it ALL.

/ that it has been HOT in Vegas all week. Ugh. No Fall here.

/ that I had a ginger ale on my 6 am flight to Vegas. I have been craving them since my last flight and still hadn't had one single one. So yep, instead of coffee, I got a ginger ale. #freegingeraleisthebestgingerale

/ that I made my co-worker drive us to Starbucks before our meeting for a coffee.

/ that I can't stand when people smack their food around me. Chew with your mouth closed. Gross.

/ that I can't wait for my really short week next week. We have family time, Christmas tree cutting and Christmas decorating going to happen. Bring it on.

Book Reviews

I get into big reading kicks and I knock out two to four books in a month and then a month passes and I hardly touch a book. It comes and goes along with the season of life. Recently, I went to Europe (September) and I had a bit of a lull at work before that, so I read quite a few books. Here are a few that I read recently and my review of them.

The Girl You Lost

Eighteen years ago, Simone and Matt had a baby girl not long after they were married. Matt's mother took her to the park and Helena went missing. They searched and searched for her, but she was never found.

Fast forward eighteen years and a woman by the name of Grace appears in Simone's life telling her she may be her long lost daughter. Grace fears for her life and needs help from Simone. Simone brushes it off and moves on with her life. But the small details about Grace's story reveal that maybe Grace really is Simone. But by the time Simone finds this out, Grace has gone missing.

Is Grace really Helena? What happened that night Helena disappeared?

This story had a lot of twists and turns and kept me wanting to read more.

I would rate this 5 out of 5 stars.

No One Knows

This book came recommended by Emelia at Dream Big and Buy the Shoes.

Aubrey goes to a bachelorette party at a hotel while her husband attends the bachelor party at the same hotel. Aubrey takes a little detour and ends up in a different bar at the hotel. Someone sends her her favorite drink and she knows it must be her husband, but he never shows up. She sends him a text and later tries to find him. But she finds out that he never made it to the bachelor party and he is missing.

After checking their house, she and Josh's friend find a large amount of blood there. Josh has been missing for five years and they have declared him dead. But as she moves on, signs point to him possibly being alive.

I really enjoyed this book. I saw some of the mystery coming, but not all of it.

I would give it 4 out of 5 starts. Maybe even 4 1/2.

The Good Girl

This book came recommended by a few bloggers. It has a Gone Girl feel to it.

Mia is kidnapped by a man named Colin after she goes home with him after a night of drinking. You really feel sorry for Mia as she is taken to a remote cabin in Minnesota. She is losing weight, they are stuck in the bitter cold all the while trying to figure out who paid Colin to kidnap her.

Mia comes from a wealthy family, but is an outcast from them as she went the course in life as a teacher. Mia is well liked by everyone and no one knows why she would be kidnapped. Well maybe her father, the judge in town, has some enemies.

The book grabbed me and I didn't expect the ending.

I would give it 4 stars out of 5.

The Luckiest Girl Alive

Ani went to a public school, but was transferred to a private school where she had to make new friends. Ani was a smart girl. She was befriended by the popular group at school and the boys humiliated her after a party at one of their houses.

Ani spent the rest of her life re-inventing herself to be "the best". This comes off as very egotistical in the book. To the point, I didn't like Ani at all. I wanted to stop reading the book, but I had to know what the mystery was. So I read on and the book does get better.

The book goes back and forth from present day back to high school. Something big happened during Ani's high school days because her and her classmates are being featured in a documentary. It is Ani's chance to show them what she has become (engaged, successful and beautiful) and set the story straight.

Once the book got to the mystery, it got a lot better. So if you do read this book, just hang in there until the end or email me and I can give you the condensed version of what happens.

I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

And there you have it. I am still trying to read Pretty Baby which is the same author as The Good Girl. It isn't because the book isn't good because so far it is. It is just been a lack of time with kitchen renovation projects. But I am in Las Vegas for work part of this week, so I am tackling my book. Any good recommendations for when I finish this one?

I am linking up with Jenn and Jessi.

Weekending

I can't believe the weekend is over and it was a long one too. We kept ourselves pretty busy as usual. We painted, went to a football game, had crazy toddlers running around, went to the park and on several long walks.

But let me back up. Friday, we did have work as we had the day off for Veteran's Day. We also had the crew over at the house trying to finish up the kitchen. Spoiler, they didn't get it done. While they worked on the house, we went over to my cousin in-laws house for an engagement brunch. We drank mimosas, had frittata, french toast, potatoes, sausages and peppers and a blueberry compote casserole. It was all heavenly. Plus I talked to the bride on vendors in the area (they don't live here, but are getting married here).

After brunch, we headed up to my in-laws house to put the girls down for a nap. While they napped, we drank some coffee, took Walter for a walk and hung out. After the girls got up, we played a bunch. Around 4:30, Rory and I left to get some take-out from a little Italian place that we love. While we waited, the owner gave us a caprese salad to try since they were just adding it to the menu (they haven't been open that long) and it was really good. I also had a glass of wine while we waited.

We got back to my in-laws house and indulged on pasta, cheese bread and salads. It was the best. We took the girls home to put them to bed and we watched South Paw which was really sad and emotional, but very good.

Saturday morning, the crew came over again to tackle the rest of the kitchen, or what they can do until our appliances come in. Rory grabbed us some breakfast to go and we watched the crew work. I also had to empty our fridge so they could move it to the garage since we don't want the delivery people ruining or damaging our tile floors when they bring the new one in. We also had Walter home, so he was panicked with all the people there.

The crew left around 11 am and we headed to Target to get a few things. I didn't get to browse the dollar section since everyone and their moms were there and I had two crazy toddlers with me. But we did get the girls some Christmas pjs, some snacks and a few other items. We stopped at a ice cream shop on the way home to get some milkshakes and fries.

Once we got home, it was nap time for the girls and relaxation time for Rory. Ha. I had to touch up the paint in two areas because it was scraped when the crew put in the leftover quartz counters into our cabinet and indoor pizza bbq.

After nap time, we took Walter and the girls on a walk while we waited for my parents to get to the house. They were watching the girls while Rory and I went to tailgate and then the football game.

The game was fun, but it got really cold and I was bundled in two blankets. We brought one blanket and bought another at the game which was definitely needed. There was barely anyone left in the stands during the 4th quarter, but we stayed for almost the entire game. We left with a couple minutes left to get home and relieve my parents of babysitting duty. Plus the Pack lost and we just wanted to get home. But on the way out there were a ton of cops at our exit. We later found out that a pedestrian was hit and is in severe condition. And this comes 5 years later to the day that a person was killed in a hit and run in the same place. Very sad.

Sunday morning we got up and took the girls to breakfast. They were a little unruly there. After breakfast, Rory wanted to take the girls to a nature park to let them play.

The girls decided they didn't want to walk anymore, so we had to carry them part of the way back. We headed home and the girls played while I painted the inside of a cabinet in the kitchen and touched up the whitewash on the brick wall. I also did some house cleaning while they were outside playing.

Once the girls had lunch and went down for their naps, I headed to the grocery store. I was even able to get something to make for dinner. Sure it was for the bbq, but it felt good to cook at home.

After naps, we went on another walk and this time we stopped at a park along the way. The girls had a blast playing in the playground and Walter ran around sniffing everything.

The girls didn't want to leave, but we wanted to give Walter a proper walk. We finally got the girls in their wagon and continued on for another 45 minutes.

Once we got home, we watched more football, had dinner and gave the girls their baths. After bath time, we let the girls play a bit and then we put them down. Rory and I bbq'd dinner and watched the Pats vs. Seahawks game. We ended the evening with an episode of Parenthood and went to bed.

How was your weekend?

I am linking up with Biana from B Loved Boston.