Christmas...Out!

Wow. I have been away from the blog for a while!

It really is a busy time at work for me around this time of year.

I already worked Christmas Eve and Christmas last year and did the same thing this year.

Ah life as a nurse. And no overtime. But it isn't about the money right?!

On those days they were only eight hour shifts so I still got to spend time with family.

My parents and my youngest sister came for the weekend before Christmas and Kevin's family and grandma came for Christmas. It was busy hosting our first Christmas, but very fun!

Here are some looks.

 Lots of presents under the tree!

Must Love Presents.

Over exposed Christmas table being set.

The stockings were hung by the chimney foyer table with care.
Not a lot of chimneys in hot Tucson!

Lots of prime rib, lots of wine, lots of work, lots of being tired.
Very nice way to close out a very great year that I am thankful for!

The Thompson House According to Gus

Hello readers of Life Love Lauren! My name is Gus! Lauren occasionally calls me Gus Gus in a baby voice. I think it is slightly annoying, but oh well, I do what I can to make Lauren happy.

I have been with Lauren since college. I have been in four different houses, but this is the first one that feels like home. It is the second one Lauren has actually put me up in. But she just wants me to be perfect.

Lauren put an assortment of ornaments on me. She has a great aunt that I guess has gotten her an ornament or so every Christmas. Some made them out in the living room on this other Christmas Tree who thinks he is bigger and badder than me. Whatever. Does he have a taco?

Didn't think so sucker!

Next year she claims she is going to give me a facelift. 

Maybe a boob job and brow lift if I am lucky!

Does this view make my butt look big?

I can't wait. Until then, I will just enjoy the view of her room....and my reflection!

Just ignore the chair. He is mad that I pushed him out of his spot!

HA!

Oh and Lauren says today is the last day to enter her Christmas Giveaway.

Gosh, all this promotion I am doing for her!
I should have charged her for this guest post. But she claims she is poor. I guess Christmas, a new fuel pump, new tires, and needing a new car are all pretty expensive...
Thanks to Amanda for getting me the guest post job!

I Need to Learn to use my Camera

True story.

Cause I decorated my house all pretty and the pictures are not coming out the way I wanted. Oh well.

Here is some of my cheer..

I wasn't much better inside...

Notably there is one decoration missing. He will be guest posting on the blog tomorrow.
Got ya confused? See you tomorrow! ;-)

Tag You're it--Christmas Edition

One of my blogger friends Sara tagged me in a Christmas Questionnaire!

I love Christmas so why not partake in as much Christmas as possible!

one: What do you love most about Christmas time?

I love the decorations, music, buying gifts, and all the yummy food and drink!

two: Do you celebrate the holiday in style or is it Bah-Humbug for you?

Christmas is my favorite so naturally I would say in style! Not that I am necessarily looking stylish, but I have fun!

three: Are you leaving anything out for Santa Claus this year so he remembers to leave your presents?

One day I will when I have kiddos. If he comes he is welcome to just open up my bar and leave me millions of dollars in return....

four: What is the one gift you are most looking forward to giving? 

All of them. I am a much better giver than receiver. I never know how to act when I get a gift. It just doesn't come naturally to me....

five: What is your all-time favorite Christmas movie?

Christmas Vacation!!

six: What is your all-time favorite Christmas song?

Oh do I really have to pick?!?

seven: If given the opportunity would participate in an Ugly Sweater party and what sweater would you wear?

I went to one on Saturday night in which I did not partake since I embarrassingly did not have time to go get one. I did one with my girlfriend in College and I have no idea what I wore or where it is. 

eight: Have you started any Christmas traditions this year that you plan on carrying forward?

Well my family has always done Christmas Eve mass and dinner in front of the tree as all appetizers and not a dinner. I hope to start my own version of that this year. 

I also started my Twelve Dates of Christmas with Kevin.

nine: It's Christmas morning, what does it look like outside where you live?
Like it does all year round. Brown with a little bit of green!

ten: You have just found yourself standing under the mistletoe...who comes up to give you a kiss first?

I have no idea. I have never found myself in such a situation. Let's hope it is Ian Somerhalder Kevin.

Alright I will tag:

Lisa

Amanda

Allena

Jenn

Rachel

Courtney

Kenzie

Oh and check out the Christmas Giveaway I have going on! I am on a roll this week posting all Christmas stuff...I must be in good cheer!

A Christmas Break

It is TEN days until Christmas. It is complete madness for me and most other people.

I love Christmas! There are tons of fun and good things to do but sometimes you have to give yourself permission to take a Christmas break. Say no to some things so you can say yes to what this season is all about.

-Don't worry if you didn't send out Christmas cards on time.

-Don't stress about your white elephant gift.

-Store bought treats are okay.

-Skip that Christmas party if you need a night to yourself (okay not that popular, but some of you I clearly see are!)

If you are like Kevin and I, the holidays are manageable. Our gift list is on the smaller side. Our obligations are doable with somewhat flexible jobs (Kevin more flexible than mine) and no kids yet.  If this is the case for you, take advantage of this opportunity to help someone who doesn't have time.

I think we all have seasons of giving and receiving and sometimes I feel too busy and other times I feel refreshed and can give easily. If you are in the giving season, I hope you find people to bless today!

And I shall bless all of you with....a giveaway!!!

Snowflakes and a Giveaway!

I don't usually post on weekends, but here I am with a Sunday treat!

I love Christmas! Sure I don't get snow, it is a pretty brown Christmas, and sure I don't have a fireplace for Santa to come down, and sure real Christmas trees don't last very long here....

Despite all of that, I always feel Christmas around Christmas!

And this year! I am going to feel it with snow!

I am now the proud new owner of some beautiful embroidered snowflakes from Eva Kuno!

Eva Kuno is run by three generations of Lithuanian women who enjoy handcrafting. It has always been a very important part of their life and therefore handed down generation to generation.

I looked at their shop and was blown away by mad talent!
Then I was sent in the most beautiful handcrafted card, six beautiful handcrafted snow flakes.


You can use them as a gift tag, but I may use them on my tree since I seem to have a little snow flake theme going on....oh or one on each stocking as a charm! The possibilities are endless!

There are so many ways you can use these snowflakes this Christmas, and one of you will be going home with them for free! This is a short giveaway, only lasts till Friday! Enter now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Twelve Dates of Christmas

This is Kevin and mine's second Christmas together. But this is really the first that we are celebrating.

 {Here} is what we spent last Christmas doing...

Christmas is such a fun, romantic time with so many things to do, and it's important to make time for each other amidst the holiday craziness! So each December we will plan 12 special dates to do together. This year we've already done most of ours, and still have some left! I'm posting this now, because there are officially 12 days and then Christmas starting TODAY...so you can still fit this in! I love this tradition and hope you will join in! Here are the 12 dates we chose this year......

On the first date of Christmas... 

We went on a shopping trip to pick out our very first ornament together.

On the second date of Christmas... 

We put tons of lights on our house! Kids in the neighborhood love it!

On the third date of Christmas...

We decorated our home while listening to Christmas music. 

On the fourth date of Christmas... 

We stuffed, signed and stamped all of our Christmas cards to send out! 

On the fifth date of Christmas... 

We went to dinner and a movie.

On the sixth date of Christmas...
We finished paining our dresser together.

On the seventh date of Christmas... 

Tonight is my company Christmas party!

On the eighth date of Christmas... 

We I will be making cookies for the neighbors

On the ninth date of Christmas... 

We are going to Winterhaven!

On the tenth date of Christmas... 

We Kevin wraps gifts. Which is good because he is a better wrapper than me.
But I do all the rapping...
punny.

On the eleventh date of Christmas... 

We watched Christmas Vacation!
One of my favorite holiday movies. Also on the list...Christmas with the Cranks, Home Alone 1 and 2.

And on the twelfth date of Christmas... 

Our home will be decorated and we will celebrate Christmas together going to church, opening presents, and spending time with family that we love.

Thanksgiving Recap

It is entirely too late to be attempting a Thanksgiving recap, but here I am doing it anyway. Eleven days into December already...

Right before Thanksgiving I managed to walk down the stairs wrong and sprained my ankle. A third degree sprain. That means it is a bad sprain and I should have just fallen down instead of letting my ankle take all of the weight.

So I got to deal with pain and crutches for my Thanksgiving break. But still thankful to be healthy otherwise....oh wait. I ended up getting a massive cold.

We celebrated Kevin's birthday with his family on Friday.

Then on Thursday we celebrated my sister's 18th birthday and Thanksgiving with my family.

My talented sister made the centerpiece in her high school horticulture class!

Friday we continued to hang out with my family and Saturday we did Thanksgiving with his family. 

Since we have been back from New Mexico, Kevin and I have been decorating the house for Christmas. It has been a lot of work. The best kind of work in my opinion. I have quite a few "Charlie Brown" ornaments as I like to call them, but after this Christmas when I hit the sales I figure my decor for next year will be even better!

I think before Christmas though I need to get a tree skirt and trust all the wrapping of gifts to my husband. I am terrible!!

The Magic of Christmas

With Christmas around the corner I thought I would link up with Helene and Taylor!  Christmas has always been my favorite holiday.

When we were young, my mom would dress my sisters and I up in matching outfits!

Then on Christmas Eve after we sang as Angels in the choir at church, we got to open up one gift. It was always my grandma's gift of homemade pajamas!

The warm family time, the good food, the excitement of gifts

Then you just pass out from all the excitement! It is a great holiday!

Even today I still manage to pass out from all the excitement! It is just the sheer holiday spirit that gets me giddy like a kid each and every year!!

Also my new blog design gets me giddy! You guys like?? Mad talented and super easy to work with is Alli. Go check her out if you are in the market for a blog design!

Christmas Wish List

So turns out I do have a Christmas wish list this year.... hint hint!!

Jewelry
Dearest Santa those bracelets look nice. Stacks are in!





Shoes
Also lots of colorful tennis shoes on my list. I wear then to run....at work.
Oh and boots! Flat ones. I have enough heels.

Make-up
Gotta have some good black eyeliner, good black mascara, and an awesome bronzer and foundation.



Clothes
Black leggings and a fur vest are at the top of my wish list.







Random
Always on my list will be money and things for my home!


What is on your Christmas List this year?
Not gonna brag or anything, but I think Santa reads my blog...



{DON'T FORGET} 
Make sure you are shopping through Ebates before you make your final purchase, so you can get cash back {for free} for shopping online. No gimmicks, just free money for things that you are already going to buy anyway! 

Trust me, I am not about gimmicks and I am loving it!
When you sign up with the link above they start off by sending you a ten dollar gift card!
Then you can start referring friends and making money that way too!

It is that simple!
Do it now!!

A Christmas Gift Idea for You!

I love my home. I love constantly finding new and neat ways to decorate!

Art is a great way but so expensive most of the time.

For the guest bedroom I want tons of color.
A bright welcome to all of our guests!
Orange has been my color!

So with the help of Easy Canvas Prints, I was able to add a dash of color to my work in progress guest bedroom!

The website was easy to work with and gives you everything you need to customize your print the way you want. When it arrived I had exactly what I wanted: a great quality canvas from them!

I love it!! It pops that orange out I am looking for!

This would be a great Christmas gift for someone or even for yourself!

Now at Christmas I am always looking for deals, so here is a deal just for you!

Three great deals! Use them up!

Oh and if canvases are not your thing, you can also get some great family shirts!

I was compensated for this print, however all opinions and expressions are my own.

December!!

I can't believe that it is already December. It seems like certain times of the year go by faster than others (where as February and March sometimes feel like they're moving backward), but I'm embracing the upcoming holiday season with open arms. It will be busy, but I'm a firm believer that the more time you set aside for the little things, the more you'll enjoy the best parts of each season.

Here is to Christmas carols, decorating the house, lights, snuggling under the covers, and looking at the snow (in pictures, on the internet)! Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!!