Showers, Sweets, and Santa!

Happy December!  Much like the Christmas elf I am at heart, I have been running around decorating, making Christmas goodies, and trying to find the tackiest Christmas outfit possible.  These past two weeks have been anything but calm, but thankfully, I love being busy doing the things I love, and especially having time to do some of the million crafts and recipes I have on my Pinterest boards!

On the first day of December, I got the opportunity to throw my first-ever bridal shower!  My good friend Brooke is getting married this New Years Eve to my other good friend Deepanshu, and I am always up for a celebration!  This also marked the first time that I have made cupcakes since I moved to Tuscaloosa in May, which is a BIG DEAL for me.  Ask anyone from the Delta State Alumni Association :)  Since a lot of my decorations were already pink, I decided to make a white cake with whipped strawberry icing and marshmallow fluff filling.  OMG.  I will brag a little, and that's okay. They were good.  Aside from the cupcakes, I was honored to share one of Brooke's special days with her, and can't wait until New Year's Eve!  I got to meet some of her really fun friends, and we all had a great time being silly :)

The next day, we did a little Christmas decorating, and put up our "big" tree, our baby silver tree, and our stockings.  My goal one day is to have a tree in every room, and to have a white tree with blue ornaments.  I don't know why, but Justin doesn't seem as excited about the idea as I am.  Maybe I have made him watch Elf five too many times.  He is just lucky I haven't stuck with my original goal for this season, which is to watch a Christmas movie every day until the 25th.  Compromises.  Blah.  I still love him.  I digress...

Yesterday afternoon, I threw on my standard Sunday afternoon outfit, which includes no makeup, hair in a ponytail, and a big ole sweatshirt, and hopped over to Target to load up on some Christmas baking supplies.  Christmas and other holidays or special occasions are typically the only time I utilize the kitchen, and utilize it I do.  And by "utilize" I mean use more dishes than humanly necessary and leave behind an ingredient crime scene.

I say it's all worth it for some Reindeer Chow, right?  Right!  Justin helped me double a regular batch of Puppy Chow and add in some red and green M&Ms, which officially makes it Reindeer Chow!  I got the recipie from the Urban Daisies Blog.  Sooo good!  And I had some leftover mason jars, which I filled up with the chow and labeled them for our student recruitment group for the art department, the Art Ambassadors.  These little decorative touches can make anyone look like Martha Stewart.  That is why I love Pinterest!  And mason jars. A lot.

Up until Christmas break, I have three holiday parties to go to, and all of the chocolate chips, almond bark, and powdered sugar will be made into cute desserts that I will have to exercise my best will-power to stay away from (or just have one or two bites!).  Unfortunately, when you choose to have a March wedding, bridal fittings start in January which is RIGHT AFTER my most favorite holiday of the whole entire year, and the time when faculty members decide to gift you packages of Lindor truffles that you can't eat!  Why do you hate me, Christmas gods?!  Sorry for the rant.  Just know that on our honeymoon, Justin Quinn better buy me my own whole package of Lindor truffles which I will polish off in one sitting with no regrets at all.

Also, tomorrow it is this little one's birthday.  She's NINETEEN!  If you see her, make sure you give her a hug or some chocolate.  I love you, Kater Tot!