Friday, December 30, 2011

soon it will be christmas day

rewind...

new year's eve is around the corner, but i haven't gotten to share some cute xmas photos from last weekend.  my family got our first christmas with little madeline - we hung out at the house, went to christmas mass, had a big dinner and stayed up talking.
but first, let's take a look at my mom's subtle hint that she needs another grandchild, shall we?

notice the gaping hole the perfect size for a sixth stocking?
very clever, mom.

here is my mom reading 'twas the night before christmas' to madeline.

 the fam hanging out in the living room

madeline and brian playing

ronnie and i with our dogs on the couch.

christmas morning came around 7:30.
madeline was up and so were we.
we had fun opening packages, eating breakfast and getting ready for the extended family to arrive.

jaime and brian - christmas morning

mom and madeline

 dad surprised mom with a pearl necklace.
she wore it with her jammies all morning.

and then it was time for the doggie stockings...


and for the first time in forever my mom's whole family was in town.
my grandma, all the aunts (my mom is one of four girls) and their families.
it ended up being around 30 people.
and it was hectic.
so much, that i didn't take one photo.
(enter bummed face)

but it was a great holiday.
and i have the new clothes to prove it.

hope everyone had a very merry christmas.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

new year's eve suggestion

my sister-n-law introduced this wine to our family a couple years ago.
since then, it's my go-to wine.
probably because it's freaking delicious.
i take it to people's houses for dinner parties.
i take it to work parties.
and now i'm sharing it with you.

buy it.
enjoy it.
and ring in the new year with it.




moscato d’asti
sparkling white wine

it's only about $14 and i can always find it the italian wine section at hy-vee.
you. are. welcome.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

home for the holidays

the first thing ronnie and i did over the christmas break
was hang out with old friends.
the holidays are always fun because people that are normally not around, are back in our hometown to visit family.  so i get to see some of my girlfriends that i've known forever...



and a couple of super cool bros from high school...


along with about 500 other people that we grew up with.


and
it
was
fun.

warrensburg will always be home.
and i was glad to be home for the holidays.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

christmas vacation

sorry about the lack of blogging...
i'm taking advantage of my last day off to take care of this:


lots of unpacking, laundry and presents to put up.
plus, i need to wipe down my house.
a layer of dust has seemed to have settled while we were gone.
but i'll be back tomorrow with a christmas weekend recap.

oh what fun...

Friday, December 23, 2011

xmas cards 2011

you remember my sneak peek?
we finally picked my favorite picture and ordered our cards at shutterfly.
last year, i didn't do cards,
which i hated,
since it's one of my favorite parts of christmas.
getting mail everyday is so fun.
and i love hanging them around my doorway so all my guests can check out
all my beautiful friends and family. 


so i'm very happy that i got these bad boys out last week.


hope you have a magical christmas!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

illini

i mentioned that ronnie and i went to illinois over the weekend.
his mother and grandma live in the small town of wyoming, outside of peoria.
we love going to visit.
we get to sleep in
and watch movies
and have long talks with his mom. 
sometimes its nice to get away and do a whole lot of nothing. 
but we did manage one big get together while we were there.
ronnie is lucky enough to have several cousins our age,
so we have a built in group of friends.
they had a big christmas celebration for their family.
the aunts, uncles, cousins and lots of children were all running around. 
there was a lot of laughing, eating and drinking going on that night.
and too soon,
we were headed home.
in the rain.
it was a long seven hour drive.

but it was a nice trip
and i'm glad we got to celebrate christmas with the other half of ronnie's side.



the farm where we had our big family xmas party

driving into town
train depot

down town

water tower
Wyoming Water Tower - Wyoming


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

light bright

last night my family met up for dinner and drove through
and i think madeline loved it.


all of us packed in the car.

the light display.



it's nice to get together with family and let my mom have her way
(she would prefer to see us everyday).
family is what counts.
especially after some news we got yesterday - -
ronnie's dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. 
we're still learning all the details, but he will start his treatment
by going through radiation treatments everyday for the next 8 weeks.
 
family is what counts.
so keep ours in your prayers.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

up up and away

this has been a long time coming.
and even though i love my office,
and i can't stand the thought of not working with my bestie everyday.

yesterday, on the way home from illinois,
i got a call from a local bank in lee's summit.
they offered me a position.
which i gladly accepted.
and this morning, i met with my boss,
and let her know that i will be starting 2012 on a new path.
and i'm freaking excited.
ronnie is counting our pennies while i dance.



Monday, December 19, 2011

midnight rider

ronzo and i went to illinois this weekend to visit his family.
hence the late (and short) blog post.

this was a pic i took driving home.


but we're back.
rested.
relaxed.
and
really excited for christmas.

stay tuned.



Friday, December 16, 2011

bundle up

i wouldn't normally do two days in a row of me standing in front of my bedroom mirror taking crapping pictures.  but i am in love with my new coat.
i got it 70% off.  um, yay.
kohls, baby.  it's all kohls.


Thursday, December 15, 2011

would you like fries with that?

job interview number two.
this is good, folks.
but i feel like i should update you on my current situation.

everyone knows i am ready to leave umkc.
as soon as possible.
i think crying in my office is where i draw the line.
so ronnie and i had a long talk about it.
we had to discuss the importance of money vs. happiness.
i voted to be happy.
ronnie voted for the paycheck.
in the end, i won.
so while this next job might not be what i had planned.
the perfect career move...
but it's a move.
and right now that's the only thing that counts.
this is also fair warning that ronnie and i might be on a budget for awhile.
i'm hoping that the next job will lead to another position where i can use my degrees.
so i might have to start low.
and i might have to take a couple years to learn the in's and out's.
and i might take a pay cut. but at least i'll be smiling.


what i wore to interview #1:
cranberry shirt dress - banana republic
brown corduroy blazer - no clue, super old
patterned brown tights - target
madden brown heels - zappos



what i'm wearing to interview #2:
black shift dress - banana republic
white long-sleeved shirt - target
gray tights - target
mary jane black heels - target
(i'm also wearing a black blazer over this (forever 21) - but just not to work)
here goes nothing.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

i believe in christmas

even though i might have stopped believing in santa in the 2nd grade, (ahem, my aunt accidentally spilled the beans) i still believe in christmas.  it is a time when people are are at their best.


i know this is true because ronnie sat down with me to help wrap our presents.
sure he complained, but it was still sweet. 
we had a nice evening of ribbon, paper and christmas music.




may your days be merry and bright.

 

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

oh the feather outside is frightful

my white feather wreath.

so this was the easiest wreath/craft i have ever done.
i bought a foam wreath and three white feather boas.
and started to wrap.


 at the ends of the boas there was a rope attached which made it really simple to keep connected.


here it is with two boas on and one to go.
if i were to do it again, i would buy four boas so it was tighter, but three definitely worked too.


wah la.  finished and hung.
my back door wreath.


done in about 5 minutes.
not kidding.



Monday, December 12, 2011

season of parties - part 4

monday = appetizer recipe.
ready?
this one i kind of made up, but i'm sure someone else thought of it first.
my familia loves chicken spinach alfredo pizza.
so i turned the idea bite size.

you will need:
a sheet of puff pastry
fresh spinach
2 chicken breasts
1 jar of alfredo sauce
shredded mozzarella
mushrooms
onion

boil your chicken and then shred.  in a pan, saute onions and mushroom.  chop up your spinach. lay your puff pastry out on a cookie sheet.  spread the alfredo sauce over the puff pastry.  sprinkle chicken, onions, mushrooms and spinach over the sauce. roll up the pastry and cut into pinwheels. top with shredded cheese.  bake at 200 for 15-20 mins.  


for all the recipes go
and

Friday, December 9, 2011

shop shop shopping!

my family goes christmas shopping every year.
it's a big deal to my mother.
you can read more about it here,

but this year was fun because i got to hang out with this little girl.


which makes my parents extra happy.
and my mom and dad have an excuse to ride the rides at the mall.


while the cool kids watch with our extra cool barbie cart.
haters gonna hate.


what i wore, you ask?
my new cardigan that i asked for my birthday.
charcoal gray [over the] knee socks from target.
brown old navy cotten dress
my steve madden boots.


but it was a bad move on my part because my feet were killing me by the end of the day.  next year? it's sweatpants and tennis shoes all the way.

hope you got your shopping done too!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

diet be damned

it's our annual family christmas cookie exchange day.
we like to go for the long titles.

one of my aunts made over 1,200 cookies.
it's my family's version of extreme sports.

but when the day comes everyone already has their cookies baked and ready for the exchange.

so we spend most of the day making the candies.
dipped peppermint.


divinity

a lunch break

brownies

and dipped pretzels


don't mess with cookie day.