The Christmas Tag

Hello friends! I'm in full festive mode now, so I thought I'd do The Christmas Tag to spread the joy. Here we go!

1. When do you start getting excited about Christmas?
     Usually late-August to mid-September is when I start thinking about it, and then by my
    birthday in September I'm in full gear. This year it came a bit early, and I may or may
    not be guilty of listening to Christmas music in August...
2. Do you still have Advent calendars?
    Yes. Chocolate every day for 24 days? Count me in.
3. Favorite Christmas film?
    Hands down, Elf. It's a classic. I can quote pretty much the whole thing.
4. Any funny Christmas memories?
    My family has this tradition called The Can, and someone new gets it every year. It's an
    old popcorn tin filled with gag gifts and a whole story to go with the gifts, and when it
    gets passed, the story is read by the giver as the recipient open the gifts accordingly. It
    doesn't matter what's inside, it's always hilarious.
5. Any Christmas traditions?
    Other than The Can, my family gets together on Christmas Eve, and then just my
    immediate family spends Christmas Day together. We also spend December 23rd baking
    cookies, and pretty much eat cookies all day Christmas Day.
6. Favorite Christmas songs?
    I love all of Pentatonix's Christmas songs, but my top three are "Mary Did You Know?,"
    "O Come All Ye Faithful," and "Joy to the World." They're great spins on classics that
    everyone loves.
7. Real or fake Christmas tree?
    Fake, my dad loves having a giant (nine foot) tree that doesn't leave needles
    everywhere.
8. Favorite Christmas treat?
     We have our set cookie list every year, and I can't get enough of the potato chip
    cookies (yes, don't judge, they're amazing) and the graham cracker cookies (basically
    the ever-popular Pinterest "crack toffee" on grahams instead of Saltines).
9. Giving or receiving presents?
    Giving. I love picking things out and making things personal, from the gift to the
    wrapping. It's so much fun.
10. Dream place to visit during Christmas?
      Colorado. I adored it in the summer, and I cannot wait to see it in the winter. I may
      not ever leave.
11. Ever had a White Christmas?
      Yes, not recently, though. It usually snows a week or two after Christmas where I
      live. It's kind of sad, really. I love snow.
12. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
       Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph. I didn't
      spend my childhood choir days learning those for nothing!
13. Favorite festive scent?
      I love spicy scents and the smell of baked goods, so my guilty pleasure, I-have-to-
      ration-this-it's-so-good candle is Bath and Body's Cinnamon Sugared Donut. It actually
      smells like heaven.
14.What tops your tree?
      For the longest time it was an angel, but she melted and we could only find stars. So
     it's a star, but it's a cool wire one so the lights reflect off of it. Very pretty.
15. As a kid, what was the one gift you always asked for but never received?
      Like every other kid, a puppy. I finally got one in the summer about seven years ago,
      but he wasn't a puppy. I just want a cute, wiggly little furball.

I wish you all the best,
Erin

Sense of Self

Hello friends! This week's post was inspired by a series I watch on YouTube called "Sense of Self." If you're not familiar, it's a series Ingrid Nilsen does where she goes to people's houses and asks them to share something that evokes each of their five senses. I love learning about people and I think the things they pick are interesting ways to get to know them, so I thought I'd do my own "Sense of Self."

Sight - For sight, I'm choosing my scrapbooks. I love making something that is exactly how
          I want it, and of course, I love looking back at the memories made. This picture is
          of the scrapbook I'm working on at the moment, which is a whole book dedicated to
          my Colorado trip, which has been my favorite trip I've ever taken.

Smell - For smell, I have to share my Bath & Body Works Cinnamon Sugared Donut candle.
           I'm the kind of person who associates smells with memories, and to me, this candle
           smells like fall days spent at pumpkin patches with my family, where we would
           stop at the little stand with the cinnamon roasted almonds before we went home.

Sound - My sound object is not the typical pick for this category; most people would pick
            a song or a record player, maybe a music box, but I'm picking the floors of my
            house. I've lived in this house my whole life, and the creaks the floors make are
            the most familiar sounds I know. I can walk through this house with my eyes
            closed and still know exactly where I am by what the sound of the floor is.

Taste - Thanksgiving at my house is a big deal; we go all-out with more food than you can
           imagine, and some of the dishes aren't your typical Thanksgiving food. My favorite
           of these is "Thanksgiving rice," with is rice with bacon and onions. It's the most
           simple thing, but it tastes like home, and I think everyone should have a food that
           takes them back home, no matter how far they may be.

Touch - My touch object is more of a collection of things. I'm choosing my Christmas tree
            and all of its decorations, from garland to skirt to ornaments. We have a fake tree
            because some of us have allergies, so the feeling of the fake needles of the tree
            is so familiar, as are the textures of the ornaments and the cushiness of the tree
            skirt. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I love that I have things that are so
            familiar that make that time of year feel really nostalgic and homey.

I wish you all the best,
Erin

Fail-Proof Gift Ideas

Hello friends! With the holidays officially upon us, I wanted to share my tried and true, fail-proof gift ideas with you. These are my go-tos when it comes to buying for people I don't know that well, and perfect for things like grab bags, Secret Santas, or even fun little gifts for people close to you, and you can adjust them to any budget. I hope you can find inspiration within some of these, so let's jump right in!

• The Traditional Movie Bucket - This is probably the most generic of all the gifts, but it's a classic. I like to go to Target's $5 movie section, pick a few classics, then put them in a big popcorn bucket (you can find them at party stores and dollar stores). I stuff tissue in the bottom to lift everything up, then I fill in the space with boxes of candy, bags of microwave popcorn, etc. It's adorable and everyone loves it.
• The Amped Up Movie Bucket - In high school, I was in a small choir that had an overnight trip every Christmas, and we always did Secret Santas. My last year, I had absolutely no idea what to get my person, and then it struck me: the Amped Up Movie Bucket. I took my absolute favorite Christmas classic - Elf - and went with that as my theme. I bought the DVD and ordered a mug with the saying about the elves' main food groups, and then bought one of each of those things (candy [any kind will work], candy canes, candy corn, and syrup [I found a tiny bottle at Target]), and that was the box. It was a hit.
• The Sundae Kit - This is great for anyone who loves ice cream (most people) and is super easy, one-stop shopping. I went to the grocery store and picked up things to make sundaes, such as caramel and fudge sauces, maraschino cherries, sprinkles, brownie bites from the bakery, etc. Of course, you can't really gift ice cream, so I also threw in a gift card to an ice cream place.
• The Warm & Cozy Kit - This was another creation that came out of the Secret Santas I've done. I figured that I couldn't go wrong with a cozy theme, so I picked up a fleece blanket (it was super cheap at Old Navy the day after Black Friday), fuzzy socks, a travel mug, some fancy hot chocolate mix, and peppermint lotion and lip balm. My person loved it, and I think she used everything I gave her on that one overnight trip.
• The Spa Basket - Another traditional gift, but so much fun and you can get so creative with it. I like to choose my favorite things to put in it so I know it's a good basket - a face mask, a sugar scrub, lip balm, hand lotion, nail polish, tea, magazines, etc. There really are no rules with this one.
• The Man Box - For me, the difficulty of buying a gift like these doubles when it's for a guy. I like to make it fun and stereotypically "manly" - the guy always gets a kick out of it. I like to put in things like sports magazines, bacon-flavored snacks, pocket-sized tools or desk games (Kohl's and Target have great selections of these every year) - all practical but fun things.
• The Non-Foodie Box - We all know someone who can't cook to save a life, and this is the perfect box for those people. I like to start with a takeout menu organizer, fill it with menus of places around where they live, and then I'll throw in a few non-perishables like a packet of Ramen noodles and some crackers, and I finish it with some small gift cards to different places like coffee shops, sandwich places, etc. They always love it.
• The Emergency Kit - We all know someone else who is always a mess and isn't prepared for a whole lot. This is a funny take on helping them out, while still being a good gift idea. I like to stock up on essentials (Tide-to-Go, Band-Aids, Kleenex), and then some funnier items (for a new mom: surgical masks for changing diapers, for someone who has a hard time saying "no": a voice recorder with my voice recorded saying "no", etc.), and I like to label each thing with funny descriptions. This gives everything some entertainment value, which is always a bonus.

I wish you all the best,
Erin

Stuff I Love Fall 2016

Hello friends! As it is currently snowing outside and I am freezing, even under four layers of clothes and blankets, I figured it's about time to put these fall favorites away and start up a new round for winter. These are the things I've been loving throughout fall:

• Blankets - I recently ordered a new blanket my bed, because the one I had and loved so much was falling apart and I was holding it together with duct tape. I'll link the one I found below, because everyone needs a warm, cozy blanket for winter.
• Sugar Cookie Coffee Creamer - We all know how much I love my coffee, and one of the seasonal creamers that's out right now is sugar cookie flavored, and it's amazing.
• Worst Bakers in America - This is a show on Food Network, and, being a baker, I found it to be the cringiest, but funniest, food show. Those people were so bad, but I couldn't watching it.
• Christmas Music - Honesty hour: I've been listening to Christmas music since August. And I have no shame. My favorite albums at the moment are all the Pentatonix albums, Peter Hollens, Damian McGinty (especially if you like Michael Buble), and Home Free. They're all amazing.
• Target Tumbler Cups - Around September, Target had tumbler cups in their dollar section (technically the cups were $3 each, but still), and I love them for my iced coffee. They're a good size, and didn't cost me an arm and a leg like any other cup would.
• Singing - When I'm not listening to Christmas music, I'm listening to showtunes, and more than likely singing along, loudly. I've been singing and in choirs since I was little, but haven't done it in a while, so it feels great to be back at it again.
• Christmas Shopping - Guess whose Christmas shopping is done! I went hardcore this year, and I love that I don't have to fight crowds or worry about shipments coming in time. I can just enjoy December now.
• Nameberry.com - I recently made an account there, and the forums are just so much fun. I like the advice giving, but I really love it for the tags and games.
• Chestnut Praline Lattes & Hot Chocolate - 'TIS THE SEASON!!! Starbucks' Chestnut Praline flavor is my absolute favorite, and it's back. I love it.
• Christmas Decorations - And of course, I can't do this post without talking about Christmas decorating. My family does it the Friday after Thanksgiving every year, and now my house is festive and I live for it.

My fluffy blanket: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KFZ4GS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

*Sorry for the lack of pictures this time, I only have a few tangible favorites that aren't very exciting to look at.

I wish you all the best,
Erin

The Mega Orlando Post: My Disney World & Universal Studios Tips & Experience

Hello friends! I was in Orlando to go to Universal Studios/Harry Potter World and Walt Disney World over Christmas, and I figured with summer coming, I'd write up a post sharing my experience, as many people will be headed there to vacation. Here are my tips, tricks, and highlights:

Day 1: Traveling to Orlando My biggest tip is to pack light. I brought multi-use products and bare minimum-type things to keep as much space as possible for souvenirs, dirty clothes, etc. For clothes, I packed the essentials (camisoles, underpants, etc.), no-show socks, a shirt for every day, and three pairs of pants plus the leggings I wore on the plane both ways. (Pants are multi-wear items if you ask me.) I also brought a light zip-up hoodie, a light jacket (mainly for the home traveling), two pairs of pajamas, extra socks, a pair of black tennis shoes, and a pair of nicer flat shoes. For toiletries, I packed travel shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel, razors and a toothbrush I could throw away at the end of the trip, toothpaste, travel hairspray (shared with my mom), minimal makeup, deodorant, a brush and comb, facial cleanser, moisturizer, and micellar water to take off makeup. I also packed minimal jewelry, some hair accessories, and a flat iron (also shared with my mom, and can be used to curl hair too.) I was also sure to pack sunscreen and an umbrella, as well as my "park bag" - an Adidas drawstring bag where I kept the umbrella, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, tissues, Band-Aids, a camera and batteries, etc.  Another tip is to dress light for the airport. I wore no jewelry, no belt, easy shoes, and minimal layers for security. For entertainment, I cracked open a new book and had my Disney and Christmas playlists on full blast.

When we arrived in the afternoon, we were able to check into our hotel early. After figuring out a game plan, we decided to walk over to Disney Springs, which was five minutes away from the hotel. Disney Springs is like an outdoor Disney mall, so we walked around the shops and saw the decorations up for Christmas. We went for dinner at the Rainforest Café, which looks like a giant volcano from the outside and is very cool at night (out hotel look out onto Disney Springs). What we did not plan for, however, was after dinner. We decided to find ice cream or a bakery before we went back to the hotel, and as it turned out, it was the premiere night for Star Wars. And because Star Wars is now owned by Disney, and Disney has a movie theater in Disney Springs, there was a red carpet, security with light sabers. etc. It was crazy. So we made our way back through the mob, got some Ghirardelli ice cream (highly recommend), and went back to the hotel, where I fell asleep immediately.

Day 2: Universal Studios Day 1 Let me just say, I was extremely impressed with Universal. I had never been, so I had no idea what to expect. When we walked in (arriving earlier is better, trust me), we went through security and then we were on the City Walk, which I had no idea existed, but was super cool. It's like an outdoor mall, similar to Disney Springs, with a few shops and lots of places to eat, and is open to the public, no tickets required. We entered the actual park, and our plan was to the right side of the park up until Harry Potter world on the first day. We stopped in the Dr. Seuss park, which was favorite because I'm an absolute baby and can't handle any rides beyond kiddie rides, which is all that was there. I loved it. We kept going around, and there's sort of a mythology/Mt. Olympus-type park, so we saw a show there, and then we went to the Jurassic Park park, where my mom and brother went on a roller coaster, and then, the promised land, the whole reason for the trip: Harry Potter World. The first thing we did was see the show at Olivander's, where the cast pulls someone from the audience to essentially be Harry Potter in the Olivander's scene from the first movie. Now, I hate being chosen for those kind of things. So naturally, they chose me. It was all fine, and then we went back outside, where it was pouring. So we took the opportunity to try the infamous butterbeer. If you like ridiculously sweet things, then that's the drink for you. After the rain, we made our way over to the main ride, the one inside the Hogwarts castle, which is a mix of roller coaster, 4D show, and animatronics. I was so sick after, as was my dad. So we sat out the other roller coaster, and when my mom and brother came back, we headed for the Hogwarts express, which takes you from the main park to the Islands of Adventure park, granted you have a park hopper ticket. This train is the coolest thing. It looks like the train from the movie, and when you get into your booth, a video plays that looks like you're going from Hogwarts to London, with character and chocolate frogs and everything. When you get off in the next park, you're in Diagon Alley, which is also very cool. Again, more rides that I did not go on, and a fire-breathing dragon that scared the living daylights out of me. At this point, we decided to scout out the rest of the park for the next day, and then we took the train back and walked to the City Walk for dinner. Word of advice: do not go to Margaritaville. The service was so bad (nonexistent, actually) that we left. We went over to the NBC Sports Bar, which was delicious. And then we all exhausted, so we went back to the hotel.

Day 3: Universal Studios Day 2 Because day 1 was just wandering and figuring out what we had to see day 2, we knew exactly what we were doing. We started at the Marvel park, made our way through the comic park, which was very cool but all water rides, and then my family wanted to do some of the Harry Potter rides again. We took the train over to the other park, and that's where most of the shows are. We saw The Terminator, Shrek, Minions, ET... some other ones I can't remember... and had lunch at the Simpsons food trucks. Universal also has very cool themed gift shops for almost everything, so we spent a lot of time in those, as well. There was a Christmas parade this day, so we walked back to beat the crowds, and ended up spending the rest of the day on the City Walk, and had dinner at NBC again. Yes, it really is that good.

Day 4: Hollywood Studios The Disney magic begins! We went to Hollywood Studios first, and I was very impressed. The last time I was there, there wasn't much to do. They've built it up a lot, but I will caution you: if you're travelling with little kids, this is not the park for you. It's really all shows, except three rides. We saw a ton of shows, and went on the Star Wars simulator ride. The highlight of this day was the light show. Every year for Christmas, they decorate an entire block of the park entirely in Christmas lights, and when it gets dark, they have a light show, where the lights are synced up to Christmas music and they have fake snow fall, and it was great.

Day 5: Magic Kingdom Day 1 Oh Magic Kingdom... to be honest, I was pretty disappointed. I still love the idea and the magic of it, but there were just to many people to enjoy any of it. We went early this day, and we really didn't see much. I think all we did was the Tiki Room (ancient, but good for nostalgia), the Country Bear Jamboree (also ancient, and don't see it; it's the creepiest thing there and is very sexual... not what I'd expect in Disney), and then we took the train over to Tomorrowland, where we drove the racecars and rode the teacups. We were starting to get cranky but still weren't willing to give in, so we went back to the other side of the park for the Hall of Presidents show. By this time, we were all so done that we took the Monorail to the Contemporary for lunch. We spent the rest of the day hotel hopping and at Disney Springs. Top tip: do not go to Disney the week before Christmas. It's insane.

Day 6: Magic Kingdom Day 2 But if you do, PLEASE do yourself a favor and go at nap time. We were smart about it this day; we had a big lunch at Disney Springs and then went to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon, when all the little munchkins were headed back to the hotels for nap time. This gave us a better shot at seeing more because the lines, albeit still ridiculous, were shorter. We had fast passes for a few things, so we saw shows and made it in time for our fast pass rides, and we were pretty lucky with what was available around where we were waiting. My favorite by far was Tomorrowland. I refuse to go on Space Mountain, but there are so many fun shows (and The Carousel of Progress- I love it, but it's probably the most boring thing at Disney), and the People Mover is also very fun and fast-moving, so it's a great time killer. Because we started the day late, it was around sunset at this point, so we walked over to Frontierland and found a table outside a little waffle stand (Nutella waffles: life changing). We stayed there and watched the Frozen show, where the characters come out and freeze the castle for Christmas, and the laser light show, which was amazing; they project different movie scenes onto the castle, and it's actually magical. After that was the fireworks show, which was also magical. After that, we had done everything we wanted to do, so we took the Monorail to the Disney bus station and headed back for bed.

Day 7: Traveling Home Our flight was in the morning so this day was really just traveling. I made sure I was as packed as possible the night before, and stuck by the same minimal rules for the flight home. I was able to finish my book, and even though leaving the Happiest Place on Earth is always sad, the fact that it was CHRISTMAS made it okay. As soon as we landed, we rushed home to bake cookies out the wazoo and get ready for
Christmas Eve.

I wish you all the best,
Erin