I am Obsessed With Shoes

I hope everyone is having a great week! Yesterday we went shopping in the mall in Knoxville and the Dillards had shoes galore. As y'all know, my mom had a thing for shoes and I have to admit that I have a bit of a shoe obsession myself. I was trying to resist the urge to look at shoes and hurry past them when I happened to glance over to my left and see the cutest pair of nautical rope flats. I love anything nautical so I immediately stopped and looked at them. And guess what? They were my size! I can hardly ever find my size in the store because I wear a 5.5 and stores don't order a lot of that size. Needless to say, I'm wearing my new shoes today. Hopefully they will wear as comfortable as they look.

We're going to a cabin in the mountains tomorrow for 2 nights and I'm super excited. I can't wait to post pictures for y'all to see!

I hope everyone has an awesome day!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I am so thankful for the time I was able to spend with family and friends. It's weird that when you get older time spent with family and friends means so much more than what it used to. I had a blast with my family on Christmas Eve. We ate way too much, as usual. I had such a good time with my Granny. She has a wonderful spirit about her that I hope I can have when I am her age. There is never a dull moment, that's for sure. One of my favorite presents that I got for Christmas is a beautiful picture of my mom when she was engaged. My Granny enlarged a wallet sized picture she had and gave this to me as my gift from heaven. It is by far my favorite gift. It was good to spend time with my dad and pets at home. I am an animal lover so I love it when I can go home and spend time with my "babies".

Everyone loved their gifts that I gave them. It's sad that they are all gone though! I loved watching everyone's faces as they opened their gifts. Nothing could compare to Tyler's face when he opened his gift though. I gave him a Nikon 500 camera for Christmas! He was so surprised. Tyler works for Lumina News and Wrightsville Beach Magazine as a reporter so I knew it would come in handy if he was ever doing a story and wanted to take a picture. He is really talented with photography so I know this camera will get good use out of it.

I tried this yummy recipe I found on Pinterest for one of our side dishes for Christmas Eve dinner. It was the best creamed corn I have ever had. Here is the recipe if you want to try it out (it's super simple).

4 lbs frozen sweet corn
2 packs of cream cheese cut into 1 inch squares
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Toss into a crockpot on low heat for 4 hours and serve!

I'm on the way to Knoxville, Tennessee with Tyler's family until Saturday. We have 2 cars, 5 people, and 2 chocolate labs with us. The views of the mountains are gorgeous. I will be sure to post pictures from the trip.

Here are some pictures from Christmas-

Home Sweet Home

It's almost Christmas and I couldn't be more excited! I just got home tonight and now Elizabeth and I are on our way to Greenville to spend time with our friend Sara. Elizabeth and Sara are two of my best friends and they have been since high school. Elizabeth and I live together in Wrightsville Beach. I haven't seen Sara in months so I'm so excited to see her. We're going to eat dinner then open presents and have a sleepover like old times.

I've spent most of the day baking. I attempted to make cake pops. I definitely need practice but I think they were okay for my first time. My family celebrates our Christmas on Christmas Eve so when I come back tomorrow I will be getting everything together for dinner at my Granny's. I'm going to go to Raleigh on Christmas Day to do my Christmas with Tyler. I'm so excited for everyone to open their gifts!

Here are some of the sweets I made today :)

Lasting Memories

Hey Y'all! I hope everyone had a wonderful day today. I've been busy baking for Christmas and working at The Wright Shop. It's a really cute gift shop near the Wrightsville Beach bridge. I love baking and I'm going to attempt to make cake pops tonight. I'll let you know how they turn out. I've bought the food coloring and cute baby bags for each one to be wrapped in so let's hope they turn out good! I've also been busy the past few days trying to finish up my Christmas shopping. It takes me a little longer because I have to buy gifts for my dad since he struggles in that area :)

I always love Christmas time and the time I get to spend with family and friends. It is also a time when people are reminded of their lost loved ones. I always think of my mom a lot this time of the year. She passed away in July of 2009 to cervical cancer. She loved Christmas and I miss her dearly all the time and especially at Christmas. My Granny and I try to keep the memory of her alive at Christmas by putting little shoes on the tree and her grave. My mom loved shoes and there is a funny story to go along with Christmas shoes. Every year my Granny's boyfriend, John, would give my mom a pair of shoes for Christmas but he would first give her a baby pair of shoes as a gag gift. She would laugh so hard every year. My Granny and I keep the memory of her alive and remember the good times we had with her every Christmas.

My heart goes out to my big sister, and dear friend, Kristin this year. Her mother passed away a couple weeks ago to cancer. I know she and her dad will have a very hard time this Christmas.

This Christmas, I hope that everyone can cherish each memory they make with the ones they love and to remember those who are no longer with us.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Happy Monday Y'all!  Tyler, Lilly, and I had such a good time in Raleigh this weekend.  We got a lot of Christmas shopping done but still have a few last minute things to pick up.  It wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't wait till the last minute to get a few things.  I've spent a lot of the day wrapping presents that we bought.  I am obsessed with wrapping Christmas presents.  My roommates call my room "Santa's Workshop" because that's exactly what it looks like right now.  I am so excited about giving Tyler his Christmas present!  I love giving Christmas presents and I can't wait to see his face when he opens up his gift on Christmas day.  I will post pictures as soon as he opens up his gift and let y'all know his reaction. 

Tyler and I are going out to dinner tonight with Kevin and my little sister in Phi Mu, Kayla.  I tend to refer to her as only "Little".  We are going to eat at Terrazzos which is my absolute favorite place to eat in Wilmington.  We usually go at least once a week.  I am so excited because I haven't seen them in a while and they just went to Charleston, SC for the weekend so I am eager to hear how their trip was.  Kevin and Little introduced me and Tyler to each other so I'm very thankful for our great friendship with them. 

Until later, here are some pictures from Phi Mu's Mistletoe Madness to get everyone in the holiday spirit. 

I'm convinced Tyler and I are the Griswold's from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Seniors

I am Absolutely in LOVE With My Present!

I can't believe I am posting my first post on my very own blog! Tyler is the most thoughtful person for making this for me. I've been talking about wanting one for months but I just didn't have the time or talent to make it. I think he did a pretty good job- don't you?

I'm officially on winter break from school and loving every second of it. It's been a pretty busy semester for me so I'm enjoying relaxing before my student internship starts in January. We're currently on our way to Raleigh to spend the night with Tyler's parents and hopefully finish up our Christmas shopping tomorrow. Of course, we have Lilly with us which is quite the adventure in itself. Lilly is our 9 month old chocolate lab. She is sweet as a button but she is in the crazy stage of her life. I'm sure this car ride will be very eventful to say the least. Two of Tyler's friends from high school who are in the Marines and the Navy are also home. I'm really excited to meet them and finally put faces to all the hilarious stories I've heard.

Hope y'all are enjoying your Saturday!

Merry Christmas April!

I know April was skeptical when I told her that I was making her christmas present this year, so I hope she won't be disappointed when she opens her computer Christmas day. She is always talking about starting her own blog to post her great ideas and funny stories for her friends and family. It seems that everyday she has so much to share, from the hilarious kindergarten classroom tales to new recipes on Pinterest. I hope that this blog will be a place for her to share her life and its many blessings.

For those of you who know April, she gives 110% to everything she does and her loved ones are her top priority. No distance is ever too far and no request is too great. Her heart is in everything she does. From school to work and from her sorority to her friends, she gives of herself selflessly.

So with each post, I hope that the readers of this blog will get to see the beautiful, caring and fun southern girl that I love so much.

Love,

Tyler
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