Words To Get You Through

For some of us, the Christmas season marks a time of both great joy and great sadness. For those of you who are currently going through a rough patch, for those who are wishing a certain someone(s) was there to celebrate with, or for those who are feeling nervous about the year ahead, this post is for you. I've been saving these little sayings for awhile now, just waiting for the perfect time to bring them out. They all mean a little something different to me, so hopefully at least one will resonate with each of you who sees this.

Decking the Halls

Christmas is almost here! Woooooooooo!

In the meantime, I have been daydreaming about how I will decorate when I get a place of my own someday (can't wait!). Here are a few of the ideas already making me excited for next year's holidays.

Merry Christmas! :}

{white + silver+ reindeer + branches + mini trees...love it all}

{a great way to add some Christmas to the bedroom}

{the perfect front door set-up}

{the front door from the inside}

{a genius tradition: hang stockings on mum and dad's bed, so Christmas morning the kiddies come in to snuggle then open up their stockings}

{pinecone trees}

{and finally, a great way to decorate for New Year's: silver ornaments hanging from pretty ribbon}

Some Lovely Things

Hello there, folks! I'm back, and I hope everyone is as excited about the holidays as I am! Here are a few of the [many] holiday-ish things brightening up my world lately.

S'mores Bars

Happy Thanksgiving! 

So this is what I made for Thanksgiving 2012: this s'mores bars recipe. Man, they were good! But man, they were soooo rich! 

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 king-sized Hershey's milk chocolate bars 
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix at a low speed until it's all mixed together (we'll call this your "dough").

Cover the bottom of the pan with an even layer of your dough. Place chocolate bars over dough. Three king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. (This part is a little tricky...we tried placing the dough in small globs on top of the marshmallow, then spreading the globs into each other. It sort of worked, especially once we decided to grease the spoon we were using). I'm not sure if we just did a bad job of splitting the dough in half, or if the recipe did not create enough dough, because we did not have enough dough to cover the top. Sooo, improvising, we sprinkled on some more graham crackers. 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

The Wrap

Well hello there folks! Can you believe it is Thanksgiving week? I am flabbergasted that finally I can say "it's the holidays"! I love this time of year...the malls are decorated with over-sized Christmas decorations, public places are starting to throw in a Christmas song or two, people are starting to string up Christmas lights, and there are holiday inspired treats and scents to be found everywhere.

So here you have it, an update on all things enjoyable that I'm thankful for this past week or so.

{an awesome note some strangers left on my car}

{a Starbucks date, complete with sweets and a gingerbread chai}

{a super fantastic view on a fun night out}

{nothing like a not-so-healthy late night snack with friends}

{and last, but most certainly not least, an ode to the struggle of a loved one to keep cherished memories close by}

Happy Thanksgiving week!