Merry Christmas

Sorry it is a bit late- it has been an eventful several days! I'll let you in on some of the fun Christmastime happenings ... (prepare for an outrageously long post)...

Started off at the Christmas Tree Farm...

Aptly named "Santa's Forest"

Lots of holiday baking... LOTS

Delicious Peanut Butter Choc Chip Cookies via Epicurious

Made sure all gifts were wrapped...

Pets opened their stockings :) Dan likes his new sparkly jingly toy!

Zoe got some yummy tuna

And Ponce was very excited about...

A huge, new bone!

Off to Ponca City with the fam (cats were upstairs...)

Ponce loves company...

Although giving so many kisses can sure wear him out (wearing his new jacket he got for Christmas!)

Hanging out with his uncle Dallas at mother-in-law's house

Jackson. Such a sweet cat :)

We had a great time with both of our families... I can't believe it was over so fast! Can't wait for next year :) Maybe I'll consider these great ideas in 2011...

01 & 02. Bespoke Press 03 & 04. Dobbin Mews Holiday Shop 05. Garnet Hill 06. Hooray Blog

I love pets.

They make me feel warm and fuzzy all over. (Ok, so that sounds a bit silly, but it is totally true.) I have to post this adorable pic I found via Martha Stewart.

His name is Chewbacca :)

Cozy Up...

I love having free time to spend relaxing with my pooch by the Christmas tree. I'm so excited it is nearly Christmas… 4 1/2 days off of work and 2 weeks off of teaching and rehearsals. This will be much needed :)

Austin didn't have to work today, so since I had to work my normal 8 hours, he got everything done for the day:

. Cleaned the shower

. Dropped off dry-cleaning

. Made vet appointments

. Washed sheets and towels

. Took out all trash/recycling

. Grocery shopping

PLUS he pampered me when I got off work with fresh hot cider. Yum.

Plus, so far he has all A's from this semester! He is pretty great.

Winter Cider

(add ingredients to taste)

100% pure pressed apple juice

cinnamon sticks

orange slices

ground nutmeg

ground cinnamon

whole cloves

allspice

I really need to blog every day… I have so many things to update you on! Like the delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I made, visiting Ponca for Aust's mom's birthday, exchanging Christmas gifts with Aust, grad school auditions, events with good friends, holiday happenings at work… oh goodness I'm behind!

Holiday Happenings...

It has been wonderfully busy lately. Ok, so a little stressful as well... but most of the busyness has been fun busyness :) We have our tree decorated:

I had a fun time at Erin's baby shower:

I had Christmas cards printed and mailed:

I got to wear my new favorite dress at a Recipe Club gathering:

And I had a great time at the Indie Craft Bazaar. Here are some finds:

I also got to see friends and family, eat yummy food at Sophabella's, and see OKC Ballet's rendition of The Nutcracker!

Season of Giving ...

I am nearly finished with this year's holiday shopping! Only 1 more gift to track down and I can avoid all malls until after Christmas :) If I had more gifts to give I would consider these neat-o ideas:

Festive Glittery Nail Polish from Butter London:

A cute recipe card holder from Rifle Designs:

Crafty trinket boxes, handmade:

A colorful journal by Vellum:

Beautifully wrapped tea by Yauatcha Tea:

Oh, how I am ready for the snow... bring it on! I loved the beginning of 2010 when we had a huge snow storm... see:

It was lovely! All it makes me want to do is cuddle up on the couch with my hubby, my pets, and some blankets, and drink fresh, hot cider!

In other news, yesterday was very eventful! Schedule as follows:

9:00am piano festival

11:00am Quenby's 3rd birthday party

11:30am Staff Christmas pottery-painting party

4:00pm Erin's baby shower

Pictures to come! Today I had Perpetual Motion rehearsal and now I'm going to get my sweet potato fries out of the oven for Recipe Club!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday :)

Holiday Attire...

I am so excited to wear the new dress I bought at Anthro. It was on sale PLUS I had a gift card and 15% off for my birthday... pretty awesome :) I think it will be great for Christmas!

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I made and ordered Christmas cards over the weekend. I'm excited to get them and send them out... you'll see :) Until then, here are some cute cards I found through Real Simple that I'd send out if I hadn't have made the ones I did.