my boyz are comin to town {hot-dog!}

i just got off the phone with  lee and my nephew angelus. they will be in wednesday. i. am. SO. excited! i took this picture back in September when i was there for family our vacation and angeluses 8th birthday. the sun was setting and it was our last night on the beach with the fam. it turned out amazing. it's in a huge frame in my living room that i had blown up for christmas. 

oh how i love these two boys.

kitchen gadget gift exchange {new christmas gift tradtion}

every year since i can remember, me and my fellow girl cousins have given each other

gifts each year and exchanged them on christmas eve. 

carrie, alexa, melanie, and myself have always done this. 

so this year were changing things up. 

we are doing the kitchen gadget swap. all four of us have written down items 

that we need for our kitchens but just never seem to remember to buy.

the deal though is that we can only spend up to $5 dollars or less.

when buying presents for all of us and our extended families, presents can defiantly add up.
this way, this year, we are keeping things simple but yet practical. 

after all...don't we all think of some item we need in our kitchen but for some reason,
we just seem to forget to buy when were at the store?

as an example, my list goes:

 1. measuring cups { i lose them or the numbers fade
and i'm always needing the 1/3 or 1/4 cup}

 2. apple cutter {you know, the one that slices them evenly
down the center of the apple?}

 3. potato peeler {during the holidays,
you can never have to many!}

my cousin carrie sent her list and her's  are things like spatulas 

and cookie cutters and measuring spoons.

if you need a new tradition or a a new gift idea that's simple 

and inexpensive, i say try this. 

you can always jazz it up too.

want. need. wear. read. {new christmas gift tradition}

for the past year, i have been following this lovely woman and her beautiful family on her blog. her name is Danielle and her blog is dandee. you can see her sidebar button -----------> over there somewhere. not a day goes by that i don't check her blog. she is absolutely charming with her simple yet sophisticated style.

in her home every year for her children, for gift giving she goes by these 4 word rules. want. need. wear. read.

for my nephew, i fell in love with that idea. you can read her post about it here. I highly recommend it and her.

so this year, that is just what i have done for my nephew. under the tree from me and his granny are our gifts that go by each word rule. 

for the want, straight off from his list to Santa is this.

for the need, since he is moving back from the beach, he will need this

for the read, i chose this {this was my favorite to pick out, I'm all about giving him something to read}

and finally for the wear, he will be getting this {also his Christmas pj's}

all of these items i found onsale during the christmas holiday, so don't be fooled by the prices!

i'm so excited for my nephew to open these! i hope that as the holidays approaches, christmas traditions new and old are in full swing.

now excuse me, i need to go blow dry my hair before going to work! it's a lovely 15 degrees outside. BRRRR!

cookies, decorating, and messy kitchen...Oh My!

the night after thanksgiving, turkey & pie leftovers were still going fierce in my household. so, angelus and i decided to decorate some sugar cookies {well, i decided and i made him he followed. the kitchen was a mess and yes, there is even a chocolate pie leftover plate in the top corner of this first photo. oh well! oh and my camera lens had a smudge. such is real life, right?

anywho, my baby was going to be heading back to the beach the next day and i decided that since he wouldnt be back until a few days before christmas, we were going to just speed up holiday funs in one day!

i have decided that i can't stand the taste of my own homemade sugar cookies. i just can never get them right.
so whats a girl to but head to wal-mart and buy the toll house pre-cut christmas sugar cookie pack and frosting in a squirt can. WHALA! brilliant is what i say. i discovered the easiest trick to frosting is by taking ziplock bags and squirting some frosting into each bag with a few drops of different food coloring and let my nephew squeeze and mix each bag with his hands. then i just cut a small whole at the end of each ziplock bag and i had NO MESS of frosting in bowls to clean up. srsly. people, just spend the $3.48 of frosting in a squirt can and its saves a TON of mess all around.

tierra's insider facts to the photos
 {a} tierra hates her counter tops and cabinet handles. like majorly! 
 {b} tierra's family are all coke a cola-aholics.
 {c} the ceramic turkey in the corners name is Georgie

need a little eye bling? {ring a ding ding!}

this week i discovered the wonder of fake eyelashes. so random, i know. but it's true. i took my christmas card pictures this week (thanks allison!) and the night before, i picked up a pack of these little babies. i. am. hooked.

in fact, i've been wearing them everyday since. need a little "eye pop"....don't be intimidated....be bold! 

an go forth. that is all. LOL! goodnight.

around here {3:28pm}

today at 3:28pm, my world looked like this. christmas tree shopping at my favorite christmas tree farm lot. 

they have the biggest, fullest trees and they home deliver just for me.

smelling everything equal pure christmas magic!