Christmas 2014

Well Christmas has come and gone and I'm actually really sad about it. To my surprise the season flew by so fast. Now it's time to take down the decorations and turn off the Christmas music. Two things I am pushing off for as long as possible. My dorm room is still decorated with Christmas decorations that we'll have to deal with when we get back.

I wanted to do this post a little different than my others and do a bullet post rather than a paragraph style post. 

My bank

The watch

• I told my family I wasn't getting out of bed until it was a double digit number. They thought I was kidding and didn't move until 10 am. 
• I received many, many gifts and am so thankful for everything I was given. 
• The only present I freaked out about was a Tangled bank. There's a video of that floating around somewhere.
• It was a very tangled Christmas for me. Besides the Tangled bank I also got a Tangled Alex and Ani bracelet, a book, Pez, and two little wedding dolls.  
• I put a puppy on my Christmas list so my parents got me this remote control dog. It was probably one of my favorite gifts. 
• I can't wait until it rains so I can wear my new rain boots. 
• I got a watch that I surprising love. It's super cute but not great for telling time. There's no numbers!
• We had pancakes with white chocolate chips and they were so yummy! 
• The turkey for dinner never thawed so we couldn't eat it. Thank god my mom got a ham. 
• My aunt Terry, Uncle Chal, and cousins CJ and Hayley came to visit. It was nice to have them around. 
• I survived the day with no tears even though I missed my grandma very much. I think it was mainly because I was busy. 

Here's to a good end of the year and a even before beginning of 2014!

xoxo,
Lauren

Santa is coming tonight tonight!

Merry Christmas Eve! I'm sitting here watching Christmas Vacation and writing a nice blog post for all my fellow blog readers. I couldn't let today end until I watched Christmas Vacation. We just walked in from 3:30 mass and won't be leaving for my aunt and uncle's house until 7:30. 

One of the few tradition, I guess you can call it that, is to go to my aunt and uncle's house each year. In all my life there was only one year we didn't go to their house and it did not feel right. We exchange gifts between the kids from the adults.

This will be the first time in months I am seeing my dad's side of the family. It's exciting and exhausting all at the same time. I know I will get all the questions about grades and school and boys. 

I don't know if I will be on tomorrow but I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope your day is filled with love and family. Remember that the day is not about the gifts but about family and friends. Enjoy every minute of the next fews days.  

Xoxo, 

Lauren 

Apple Pie Crescent Rolls

I saw this fun, easy recipe on youtube and had to try it. You can also find it over on Pinterest. It's an apple pie crescent roll. And in true blogger fashion I had to stop baking and take pictures for you. I'll tell you the problems I ran into and give you some tips along the way.

If you aren't a baker or just always mess something up like me than this is perfect for you. There's hardly any real baking involved.

Supplies

1-2 Apples

1 Pack of Crescent Rolls

1 Tbsp of Sugar

1 Tbsp of Cinnamon 

3 Tbsp of Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp of Butter, Melted

I started by peeling and cutting the apples into slices. You don't have to peel them I just wanted to. I used red apples. 

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon. I cut the recipe in half and used 2 tbsp of each but it was way too much. I would recommend 1 tbsp of each.

Spray your baking pan with non-stick spray and lay your crescent rolls out. 

Put a little melted butter on the crescent rolls and try not to over do it. 

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mix on the crescent rolls and than the brown sugar. I didn't put a whole ton but wish I had put more.

Add the apples and roll them into crescent rolls. 

Put a little more butter on top of the crescent rolls and then some cinnamon sugar and brown sugar. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 13-15 minutes. I tried 15 minutes and had to put mine in for another 5 minutes until they were done. 

And I didn't take a picture of the finished product! Everyone ate them before I remembered I need a picture. The apples were soft and juicy and the rolls were crispy. It was so easy to make and they turned out so good. I would make more than one pack because 8 really isn't a lot. I would also recommend getting the bug and fluffy crescent rolls instead of the original ones. 

If you try this recipe let me know. I would love to see what you did and how yours turned out. 

Surviving The Holiday Season Without A Loved One

My grandma, mom, aunts, and uncles on Christmas a few years ago

Like I've said in a previous post, this is the first Christmas without my grandmother. She passed away 8 and a half months ago in April. Its been hard ever since and even harder in the last fews weeks. To be honestly I would be completely ok with skipping the how holiday and just having the time off. I can feel the difference in the house and have noticed that everything is really delayed with Christmas. We took a while to put up our tree (not like us), and no one really wanted to prepare for it.

Every single Christmas Day my grandma would come to my house and we would open present and see her. It was the one day of the year, no matter what, that I got to see her. I couldn't tell you a year that she wasn't here. Except for this year. 

I am dreading it more than anything in the whole world. If I get through the day in one piece it will be a miracle. I know I will be subconsciously waiting for her to come the whole day. I can already feel it. One of my ways of coping is to not believe she is really gone and keep assuming she will be at family parties and I can just call her. 

The good news is I am not the only person to have to go through the holidays without a loved one. More than just my family is suffering this season. Since this is my first year without a loved one I am not an except on how to deal but I have learned a few things I want to share. 

Me and some of my cousins 

1. Spend a lot of time with family. 

They are most likely experiencing the same thing as you. Everyone is feeling the same upset as you. One of the amazing things is they will cry with you and than cheer you up when you're done crying. Don't try to be alone because it will only make things worse. Your family can distracted you and help you so much,. 

2. Cry and let it out. 

You have to cry and let it all out at least once during the season. Its ok to cry and its ok to be sad. Just don't stay sad too long. It will be bad for you! And if you have to cry more than once no one will judge you. 

3. Find ways to remember/honor them. 

Maybe make an ornament or a picture. One thing that I loved my family did at our annual Christmas sing-along was a tree that had the ornaments with names of people that have passed and won't be there this Christmas. I loved that idea. It would look cute one a little tree. 

4.  Write about your feelings. 

I am a true believer that writing, whether in a journal or not, helps so much dealing with your feelings. Just write and write and let it all out. I'll probably end up doing that sometime soon. Another writing idea is to maybe write a the person even though they won't be able to get it. 

5. Remember that they would want you to be happy. 

I know everyone says that but its the truth. My grandmother would want me to be happy and enjoy the Christmas season. I'll try my best to be happy for her. 

I hope everyone will is missing a loved one this season gets through in one piece. Know you are not alone.

xoxo,

Lauren 

Little Things of Christmas

I love looking for the little things in life. Really, it's the little things that make up the big things in life. You have to start small to get anything else in life. I thought looking at the little things of Christmas would be perfect and really make me see what important during this season.

Christmas cards from far away relatives

Christmas lights at night, especially while you lay in bed

Excitement on little kids' faces

Santa Pictures

Traditions both big and small

Cookies and cakes and sweets and treats 

Giving both gifts and kindness

Shopping for others (Christmas is a shopholics dream!)

Family, especially the ones you don't see often

Love 

25 days of Christmas on ABC Family

Decorated houses

Caroling and well known songs

A little time off

The butterflies you get on Christmas Eve

What do you love about Christmas? What are the little things you love? Take a minute to be thankful for the little things about the season in the next few days. 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Intangible Christmas Wishlist

I saw this amazing idea over on Kate the (Almost) Great and just had to do my own post. To me the Christmas season is not about the gifts that you give but rather the more important things. The things you can't buy or see.

1. Peace and comfort to my family during this holiday season. This is the first Christmas without my grandmother and already it's been a hard one. I just want us to get through this in one piece. 

2. Healthy pregnancies to everyone becoming pregnant in the last few weeks. I've noticed a lot of people are pregnant and all I want is happy, healthy pregnancies for them. 

3. Justice to everyone that deserves it and peace for the families of everyone who has been killed in this past year. All of the deaths by police need to stop. It just keeps getting worse and worse. 

4. Strength to get through nursing school. I know this next semester is going to be hard and all I want is the strength and motivation to get through this semester and the years after that. 

5. Some sort of fix in my relationship with a cousin. We've had such a falling out in the last few months but in the last week it has been extremely bad. I don't want to fight and I don't want to be like this with a family member but I try to fix things and it doesn't work. 

What is everyone else's intangible Christmas list? Anything similar to mine?

xoxo,
Lauren

Underrated Christmas Movies

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year and I always get so excited for ABC Family's 25 days of Christmas. The channel is on my tv from the time the movies start at night until they start playing the 700 club. I watch some of the movies over and over again but there are some movies that just don't get enough love. Here is a list of my top 15 underrated Christmas movies.

1. Prancer (1989)

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Who doesn't love a movie about a reindeer? Prancer is the heartwarming story about a little girl who finds a hurt reindeer in the woods and nurses it back to health. I hardly ever see this movie played and many people have never heard about it before. I'm still waiting patently to catch this movie on tv.

2. Eloise at Christmastime (2003)

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Yes this is a Disney movie and yes it is for little kids but nothing is for children at Christmas time. Who doesn't want to be this little girl with a whole hotel at their hands and all the money they could ask for? I know I do! This was the first Christmas movie I watched this season and you can usually find it on Disney Channel.

3. The Christmas List (1997)

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The Christmas List is about a store clerk who gets everything on her wish list and learns a valuable lesson in the process. I see this movie maybe once a season but its such a nice and meaningful movie. Everyone should know what Christmas is all about.

4. Frosty Returns (1992)

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Frosty the Snowman is a extremely popular Christmas character and everyone knows his story but I don't think people know he has more than one movie. Frosty comes back during the winter to visit his old friends. Frosty Returns is one of my favorite cartoon Christmas movie and I actually think I like it more than the original.

5. Jack Frost (1998)

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Although the snowman in this movie may be scary I still find it extremely cute. A dad is killed in a car accident and comes back as a snowman on his front year. I really wish it was played more often because its just so cute!

6. Snow Globe (2007)

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You'll find this movie on ABC Family sometime during the holiday season. This is a great movie about a woman who is transported into a snow globe where it is Christmas everyday. The movie is so cherry and uplifting with a  little romance involved. 

7. Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

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I have to say I have never seen this movie played on tv over Christmas time. I honestly can't even remember the last time I saw this movie but its still such a great movie. A bunch of kids are snowed in an airport over Christmas time. 

8. Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

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I wish I lived in a neighborhood like this! After a couple decides to skip Christmas this year because their daughter is no going to be around they get a shocking surprise that she will be home for Christmas. Watch what the neighborhood does to help. This is one of the comical Christmas movies out there.

9. Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

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After a woman has to go home for Christmas she kidnaps an unsuspecting man to pose as her boyfriend. Of course there is a little romance and a little Christmas cheer. I'm always a sucker for romance movies.

10. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and The Island of Misfit Toys (2001)

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This Rudolph is a much more modern movie than the original. Although I like the older movies a lot more this will always be a favorite of mine. Its really cute with all of the little toys running around.

11. Rudolph's Shiny New Years (1976) 

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A much older Rudolph and not the original story but still a great one. Rudolph has to help find baby New Year after he runs away. I think my favorite part is the different time periods they go to looking for the cute little baby.

12. Deck the Halls (2006)

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Deck The Halls is about two fathers who start a competition to see who has the births and most light house. It ends up driving their families away. I love how into the lights they are and I find myself laughing at parts.


There's a nice list of Christmas movies everyone should check out! If you have any suggestions for me leave them below. Have a happy day!

xoxo,
Lauren

Dream Christmas List

Everyone has that Christmas list of things that they want but know they aren't going to get. I have a list of things that I would really like but never put them on my actual Christmas list. The reason I never put these things on my list is because my list would have been really expensive and I can't justify asking for them.

Hunter Boots

Medium Longchamp

J.Crew skirt

Jack Rogers 

Tory Burch Bristol Riding Boots

Tory Burch Halle Booties

Sperry's

As you can see more than half my list is shoes. I never realized I loved shoes that much until I saw this list. Do you have a dream Christmas list? What's on it? I would love to see it!

xoxo,

Lauren