A Very Merry Grinchmas.

Christmas time in Florida is pretty amazing. It's the second week of December and we're walking around in tank tops and flip flops over here. While some cool weather would be nice for Christmas, I don't mind the sunshine one bit. 

We may not have snowy landscapes or cold weather when it comes to our Decembers, but we do have one thing: Grinchmas. 

It's one of my favorite holiday traditions and I was so excited to take Jack this year. And although his face may not look like it, I promise he was excited too. It's gotta be confusing to fall asleep in the car and then wake up to snow everywhere. 

Jack's experience meeting the Grinch: 

1. Laugh a little bit at the green fuzzy guy, because he looks funny and he tried to sit in your stroller. 

2. Realize that you are, in fact, standing next to the Grinch, and realize maybe you should feel a little panicky about this situation.

3. Promptly burst into tears. 

4. Hold on for dear life in case the Grinch tries to snatch you away. 

He was much happier after we got him away from the Grinch. It was hilarious and I'm so glad we waited in line like tourists to see his expressions. 

Universal puts on their very own Macy's Day Parade and it's so adorable. Jack loved it so much. I'll never forget the look of awe on his little face while he watched all the floats and saw all the characters dancing around to Christmas music. 

His first Santa sighting!

I love Christmas. I love Florida life. If you're ever in the sunshine state in December, you absolutely must go to Universal and experience Grinchmas for yourself. 

Did you do any fun holiday things this weekend?

December Traditions: Old & New.

December is my favorite month of the whole year for so many reasons, but traditions are at the top of that list. It's a month just so full of tradition...old traditions that you probably have no idea who you inherited from, new traditions you found on Pinterest that you want to try out, Instagram and facebook filling up with pictures of other people enjoying their own traditions. It all feels so rich and festive.

My three favorites:
Celebrating Christmas Eve. If you know me at all, you know that I freaking love Christmas Eve. Growing up, my family had our own Christmas Eve traditions that are my favorite. When we got married, Chris and I decided we'd make our tradition Chinese take-out and a movie. I'm not sure what exactly we'll do this year, but now that we have Jack, it's going to be that much more magical. PS: Tell me any fun Christmas traditions to do with an almost-one-year-old. 
Turning Christmas shopping into a date. Chris and I have been doing this ever since we were dating. It's a weird thing to call a tradition, but I love it. We get Christmas coffees and go to the nearest festive mall, where we split up and finish up our shopping for each other. It's so much fun being sneaky and trying not to run into each other. Then, since we usually do this just a few days before Christmas, we meet up and pick out any gifts for anyone else we still need to get before we go to dinner. The stores are so festive this time of year, it's easy to make running errands feel like Christmas fun.

Grinchmas. I know I've said this before, but if you're in or around FL, you neeeeed to go to Universal in December. They go all out for Christmas Grinchmas and everything is so fun and festive. The parks are decked out with Christmas decorations, their shows are Christmas-themed, everything is just perfect. And at the end of the day, they do their own Macy's Day parade (with some of the actual floats from the parade!) and it is just the best. Put this one on your bucket list. 
Three new traditions I want to do this December:
Go see Santa. I'm so excited to take Jack to see Santa. He met the Grinch yesterday and it didn't go so well, so stay tuned for funny pictures. 
Go to a Christmas lights festival. We drive around neighborhoods and look at lights every year, but apparently Gainesville takes their lights seriously. There are several light festivals around that you can walk around or drive through and I'm so excited to see them!
Bake Christmas cookies. I bake almost every day in the fall, but weirdly enough, not so much in December. We always make cookies on Christmas Eve, but they're just store-bought cookies. This year, Chris actually has some time off for Christmas, so I want to bake a few fun things. 
What are your favorite December traditions?

Our Thanksgiving: Just Us (Plus One)

Every year, the day before Thanksgiving, Chris and I take the night to have our own little celebration. It's one of my very favorite traditions (I've written about it here and here). We always go to Whole Foods (which, if you've never been to Whole Foods the night before Thanksgiving...it's about as crazy as you'd imagine it to be), pretend we're rich, and buy the fanciest dinner. Appetizers, dessert, the works. Then we go home and cook, laugh, and just have the best time ever. 
Thanksgiving is a holiday that centers a lot around family and friends, and I love that so much. But we also love having our own little Thanksgiving, just the two of us. 
That is, until this year. 
This year, we live in Gainesville, where there is sadly not a Whole Foods yet. Fresh Market it was! And, due to residency, we celebrated on a different night than usual. 

Oh, and it wasn't just the two of us this year. 

And it was absolutely perfect. 
Every year I've spent with Chris, I'm so thankful on Thanksgiving. But this year, there just aren't words to say how thankful I am for this life we've built together. 
I'd venture to say that this has been the hardest year of my life so far. I've been stretched and pushed and honestly, run over with a proverbial mac truck on quite a few occasions. Isn't it strange how a year can simultaneously be the best and the hardest? But this is the most thankful thanksgiving I have ever, ever had. 

Happy Thanksgiving, you beautiful people. If you have a significant other in your life, try to take a minute to remind them just how thankful you are for them.
And if you're wondering just how to do that...might I suggest a trip to Whole Foods tonight?

Fall Traditions You Should Try This Year.

Candy Party. 

My mom and I host a make-your-own-candy every October and it always goes down as one of the best nights of my year. If you've never done anything like this, it's definitely the tradition you should add to your fall.

What it is: A DIY party approach to all the Halloween candy that you no longer get showered with as an adult.

How to do it: Look up recipes for your favorite candy. We always make reese's cups, gummy worms, almond joys, and tons more. Yes, you can actually homemake these things. 

Pre-buy all the ingredients, print out all the recipes, and invite your friends over for a night of candy-making. Start the night off with soup and cider, and then hit the kitchen! It's so messy, but so much fun. Chances are, only about half of the candy will actually be edible, but you'll have an incredibly fun time making it.

Once everything is made, pack everyone their own trick-or-treat candy bucket to take home!

Tip: Last year, we pre-measured all the ingredients and put them at separate "stations" with the recipes--this cut down on time and mess by a lot! Also, don't forget any extra pans, spoons, plastic wrap, etc. that you'll need!

Visit a Pumpkin Patch. 

What it is: You, visiting a pumpkin patch. You're welcome.

How to do it: Look up a pumpkin patch near you, plan a day to go, and make the most of it. Some of them will have hot cider and donuts, and you should definitely participate in that.

Spend entirely too long looking at every single pumpkin to pick out the best one and take way too many picture. Then swing by Target on your way home and pick up a pumpkin carving kit, and have the best night ever. Put on a fall movie or some autumn music, drink apple cider, and carve your masterpieces.

Tip: Check the weather first. Try to go on a day when it's cooler, but if you live somewhere warm like I do, then make sure it won't be raining. Because 1) That's gross, and 2) They usually shut down when it rains.

Fall Date.

What it is: A date night full of your favorite things to celebrate fall!

How to do it: Pick a night that works, and plan your date before...don't just wing it! We always go eat somewhere fun, go pick out pumpkins, and carve our pumpkins while we drink apple cider. It's simple, but it's one of my favorite nights of the year, because it's us celebrating fall together, and I love that.

Tip: Don't put too much pressure on this one. If all you can afford is having a picnic in the park, then do that and make it the best freaking picnic you've ever had.

Personal Thanksgiving. 

This is one of my favorite days of the entire year. Chris and I started doing this two years ago, on our first married Thanksgiving, and I think we'll do it forever. It's so important to make time to celebrate important things together, and a family holiday like Thanksgiving can sometimes be over before you even got a chance to be together, just the two of you.

What it is: Celebrating Thanksgiving with your significant other, just the two of you.

How to do it: You can really do this one however you want, but the way we celebrate is my favorite. The day before Thanksgiving, we go to Whole Foods (yes, it is chaotic and we are crazy, but that's the fun of it!) and pick out things to cook that we normally wouldn't buy--because, you know, we don't tend to usually spend $50 on cooking dinner for just the two of us, even though that's insanely easy to do at Whole Foods.

We go home and cook our dinner together, which is so much fun. And then we just spend the night eating and drinking fancy things and talking about what we're thankful for together. It's so special.

Tip: We go to Whole Foods because they have a lot of almost all-the-way-made things, so the actual cooking we have to do is minimum. If you don't do this, still make it different than a normal dinner, but don't pick out extremely complicated recipes you've never tried. You want the focus to be on each other, not on how frustrated you are in the kitchen.

I just love fall! What fall traditions do you have?