pandora me christmas

It's that time of year...again! Can you believe that we are back to the holidays already?! It's crazy to think that another year has flown by and we are all another year older. 

I don't know about you, but Christmas always makes me sad. I love it as a holiday, but it makes me sad to think that time is going by so fast and sometimes I don't like being older! All the bills and responsibility! Who wants that? Yuck! What I'd do to be a kid again...

Anywho, because I don't anticipate a "17 again" moment, I guess I have to embrace the present! And presently I'm listening to Christmas music!! Whoo hoo! I love, love and I mean, LOVE Christmas music. It always puts a smile on my face. Right now? Brad Paisley is serenading me into winter wonderlanded bliss. Not to shabby considering I'm an old school holiday tunes kinda girl. Nat King Cole and Amy Grant have my heart at Christmastime. But sometimes I have to step out and see what other classics are being covered. Who knows, I may discover another "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Lady Antebellum. I could also listen to that one on repeat for hours. <3 it!

Now, if any of you are like me, I'm sure you're stressing out about what to buy who, and thinking to yourself "do I really need that bite of cake?" Well, all bets were off concerning my diet for Thanksgiving so it's crunch time until I slack off again at Christmas. But something I can't slack off on is my gift buying! What a chore! Thankfully my family is blessed with everything we need and more, so the task of gift giving is extra difficult. So to take my mind off of what everyone else needs, I decided to do a little shopping for myself :). And boy did I score!

Last weekend I snagged several clothing items at Goodwill and yard sales. It was the Ebonn jackpot!

Let's see, we have a cute animal print jacket, a painted picture, I got two of those cute pillows, a shirt from target, some Pine Cone Hill curtains, ikat place mats, a Carolina Herrera scarf AND vintage Hartmann luggage! Such a success! I even scored a few Christmas presents (which is about the only way I can afford to pay for everyone in my family!). I love finding a great deal.

After my bargain finding, I was fortunate enough to take the week of Thanksgiving off in preparation for the holiday AND, like all great South Carolinians do, for the Carolina/Clemson football game. We had a great time, with lots of food (allow me to share a killer recipe - see bottom) and friends. And to top it off, my alma mater won! The Fox wasn't too happy about that, but he'll live. The house shall be divided till the bitter end...

Here's our group at "Twilleygate."

And us at halftime.

On Sunday after the game, the Fox and I made a road trip to the mountains to find the perfect Christmas tree. And boy did we ever! It's beautiful! Big and plush and smells wonderful!

Back to SC it went, and now it's in the galvanized tin we bought at goodwill and decorated to the max! Now onto the outside decorations...the Fox tends to get a little excited about this part, so stay tuned...

I'm excited to spend time with family and friends this season. Oh and the food. I love the food :). Speaking of food, like I promised, you must try this killer recipe:

Chocolately Pumpkin Cake

Get 1 package of spice cake
Get 1 can of pumpkin
Mix the two together
Then add one package of milk chocolate morsels
And a few tablespoons of milk (just enough to make the dough moist)

Then put it in your favorite pan, casserole dish, bundt pan or cupcakes and bake as the spice cake package recommends.

This stuff is amazing! Pair with a little ice cream (might I recommend Kroger's Toasted Coconut Carmel - and hold onto your seat!)

Oh and also speaking of living in the present, presently I have a leftover mashed potato cheese soup ready for the crock pot tomorrow. Fingers crossed it turns out!

Happy giving season, y'all. And don't forget my online store at www.bumbleanddola.storenvy.com!

mountain-land!

My day off Friday was in preparation for my and the Fox's trip to the mountains. The western part to be more specific.

The drive up was exactly how I pictured it. Beautiful and colorful. As you make your way up 26 and 385, the colors become more vivid and you can physically feel yourself becoming more relaxed.

When we finally arrived to our destination, it was perfect timing for the evening sun to bounce off the transitioning leaves of the trees. As we rounded the curvy, mountainous roadway, I had to take a few pictures.

 

It was just too beautiful not to photograph. The colors, the way the leaves were falling. It was just breath taking. Such a beautiful place. Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to visit it as often as I like. But until then, there are working vacations in our future.

But hey, if you get to eat like this (see below), then I can't have many objections.

Homemade potato salad, grilled corn on the cob and smoked ribs. Yummmeee! Can't beat a homemade dinner in the fresh mountain air. Just grab a cold beer an make yourself a plate. We sat by the fireside and had the best time.

The craziest thing? We all survived with zero mobile devices (well until we were able to get to a place that had service). But overall, it was wonderful! Little to no contact with anyone for 48 hours - it a wonderful thing to have a restful mind...even if it is for a few hours.

After dinner we decided to hike up the very steep hill behind us. So we each grabbed a stick (some of us also brought alcoholic beverages to keep us hydrated.) and off we went!

The view was beautiful. Had we been able to hack down the trees around us, it would have been even better. But alas our hands were already full and we had to settle for looking through mother nature.

The way down was much easier than the hike up, but somehow we all survived (empty bottles in hand).

The best view during our entire trip? This guy:

It was at someone else's house, but we couldn't help but take pictures. We even got one of us (don't judge, it was early after a day of hard work...)

Just wonderful. And on our way out, we snapped just one more of the rather gloomy day ahead of us.

It was a great trip. We had a great time. Laughed a lot and just enjoyed each other's company. We anticipate several of these trips so stay tuned for lots of pictures!

Happy November everyone - where has the year gone???