Generation Gap holiday party 2017

We planned the running group holiday party at Sharon’s house right after the Saturday morning run to keep things simple and save time. Sharon and Greg made a yummy breakfast and it was fun to visit with each other especially those we don’t see as often. The party ended with a white elephant gift exchange and donations to the local homeless shelter. 

Beauty Time Tuesday-November Empties

Most of my empties this time were Bath and Body Works, Big Sexy Hair, and Clinique. 

Clinique clarifying lotion/toner-love

Bath and Body Works body cream-love. use daily. 

Big Sexy Hair Spray and stay-a little too firm hold. 

Bath and Body Works shower gel-always have in the shower-often use to shave

Bath and Body Works foaming hand soap-love 

Intuition razor refill-love

Big Sexy Hair dry shampoo-love. gives great texture. 

Clinique concealer-used forever and loved. switched to another brand. 

Clinique mascara-love

Anastasia Beverlyhills brow duo-love

One Little Word-December

2018 is right around the corner. 2017 has been a good year, but in a lot of ways I feel like it has flown by without me even noticing. I’ll do a full recap on my word EMBRACE at the end of the year. As we approach the end of the year, it is something I have been thinking about a lot.

via she's just smitten

my overall goal and theme for the year is EMBRACE even though my monthly goals don't always match that theme.

YEARLY GOALS

*nightly gratitude journal-better-i'm still using my commit 30 planner. i am either really good or really not good. i had good intentions especially with the month of Thanksgiving, but I did not do so well   

*do something that scares me/pushes me out of my comfort zone-✓

*attend temple 12 times-i visited the Meridian, ID temple open house. i need to go one more time this month.

*monthly journal-just caught up

*csatt/fitness goals-i signed up for csatt again. i really love the accountability of the group, and it's nice to have a set plan each day. so far i'm really liking it and doing well with my goals. 

NOVEMBER GOALS
I am keeping things pretty simple this month.
*NO SUGAR NOVEMBER-no treats/avoid added sugar. Thanksgiving is an exception. I did really well before Thanksgiving and things haven't been great since.
*50 burpees daily (except Sunday)-I ended up deciding to do Monday-Friday with running on Saturdays. I did the burpees everyday except one when I totally forgot.

DECEMBER GOALS
*finish all Christmas(cards, gifts, mail, etc. by Dec 15)
*read daily Christmas scriptures
*100 daily abs
*gluten free for 21 days to support a friend recently diagnosed with celiac
*follow #lighttheworld campaign

It's the very end of the year. Are you still working on goals? How are they going? 

Weekend in Boise

Ever since Jen told us they might be moving to Boise, Mandi and I have been so excited to visit. We took a quick weekend trip a few weekends ago. We had the best time catching up with Jen and seeing her new home. 

We took a spin class. I forgot how much I love spin. It was a great workout and so much fun. 

Jen made her famous meatloaf. I have never tasted such delicious meatloaf in my life. It was amazing. My favorite part of the meal was Henry asking if he could have a banana instead of brussel sprouts. 

Our trip was the same weekend as the Meridian temple open house. It was beautiful to see and such a great opportunity. I loved the chance to share something with Jen that’s so important to me. 

We took a drive and saw the beautiful sunset and the city below. 

We went downtown for dinner to celebrate Jen’s birthday. We had a delicious dinner and a fun evening and didn’t take any pictures. 

We went on a hike before we left town. Jen has beautiful trails in her neighborhood. The top overlooks the city and it was beautiful. I was sucking wind the whole time and was a little discouraged at how difficult it was for me. I hung back and had time for a lot of reflection. I ended up getting sick a few days later so maybe that was part of it and/or hiking is one of the hardest exercises for me. I enjoy it, but it’s hard for me even when it’s not hard for others. 

The weekend was so much fun. Jen and her family were gracious hosts. It was fun to visit Boise-a place very similar to SLC. The drive wasn’t bad at all and gave Mandi and me a great chance to catch up. It was the perfect weekend getaway. 

Happy Birthday Wild One

Celsey planned the cutest Where the Wild Things Are 1st birthday party for Remington. He is a busy boy and the theme was perfect.
She found an inspiration photo on Instagram for this balloon arch. Once we figured out what we were doing, it was so easy and so cute. We will definitely do this again.

The food was so delicious-cheese and chocolate fondue, meat/cheese and crackers, and treats.

Rem wasn’t sure what to think about the cake and needed a little help. He didn’t love touching it, but he did enjoy eating it.
Celsey had a few cute games and other things. We were too busy eating and chatting and didn’t get around to them. We all had a fun time celebrating the cute little dude.

DIY tips for the holidays

*sponsored post

Anyone who knows me very well knows I have a severe case of I can make that syndrome. I do enjoy making things, but sometimes it gets me in a little trouble. This article features some great tips to successfully do it yourself.

Do It Yourself Gift Ideas for Christmas

By Aurora McCausland

The Holiday season is definitely one of the best times of the year. The weather gets a little, or a lot, colder and makes you want to stay inside with a cup of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, snuggling under a warm blanket with your loved ones. It’s also the season of giving. Planning the holiday season and the gifts you’ll give to the most important people in your life is one of the best, and most exciting, parts of the holiday season. Having a lot of people to love is such a blessing, but it can end up being a bit of a financial burden when the holiday season comes around. The impending financial investment can put stress on a lot of people and take a lot of the joy out of the season.

Do it yourself

If you find yourself falling in the category of people that are struggling to find a way to afford all of the gifts you want to give the people that you love, consider a do it yourself route for some, or all, of the gifts you’ll be giving during the holidays. When people think of a “DIY gift” they often think of refurbished gifts that are lopsided and wonky that will gather dust in your basement from going unused, until you throw it away a few years later. Or they imagine the infamous “love coupons”, redeemable for back rubs and coffee runs. That isn’t the way that do it yourself gifts have to be, though. You can easily create something that will last a long time, will be cherished and appreciated by the recipient, and will bring you a great amount of joy during the process. Making something yourself makes it mean a lot more, and the people that receive your gifts will feel the same way upon receipt of their diy gifts.

Repurpose what you already have

Perhaps the most inexpensive diy gift idea, can also be one of the most difficult to figure out how to do effectively. We tend to think of the things that we already have as “junk” or unusable. This just isn’t true. The beauty of repurposing something that you already have is that you’re giving something a new life. Great things that can be repurposed include any sort of hardware or wood leftover from projects that have either gone unfinished. Or perhaps, you bought a little bit too much wood when you fixed your fence over the summer, leaving you with the perfect materials for a diy gift for someone that you love. The things that you can create with wood are endless. If you’re particularly ambitious, you can try and create something like some simple furniture, such as a new bed frame or a small coffee table for the living room. These are gifts that don’t take very much experience or knowledge to make, but are incredibly useful and will be loved for a long time. If you feel like choosing something a little bit more simple, go ahead and try your hand at making wooden wall decor.

Restoring antiques

One great resource for DIY gifts, is antique shops, thrift stores, and yard sales. You can often find unwanted gems that you can restore into something new and beautiful. Think things like reupholstering old and dingy furniture, painting over old and ugly canvas paintings, or using old bedding for the fabric, if you happen to be handy with a sewing machine. It’s important to keep in mind who you’re making a gift for. Your husband may not appreciate a new sign for the kitchen, but your mom or mother in law would. Knowing your audience is important when preparing gifts for the holidays, whether you’re making the gifts yourself or not.

Take care of their chores

Is there a task that’s been lingering on your loved ones’ to-do list indefinitely? It might be a matter of cleaning out the garage, getting new tires on the car, or fixing a dilapidated fence. Taking care of something like that might seem obvious and mundane, but for many people it’s an amazing gift. It shows that you cared enough to invest some time and effort. It also shows that you notice what they do and what they need, which makes it beautifully personal.

Think about what your friends and family really need

One of the best things about do it yourself gifts is that you can really cater to exactly what the recipients of your gifts need. If you have a family member who needs a new tv stand, you can make one much more inexpensively than you could purchase one. If you have another member of your family who is crafty, finding some vintage fabric that they could repurpose themselves could prove to be an invaluable gift.  

Holiday Shopping

*sponsored post-all opinions are my own

Let's talk shopping. It is cyber Monday so there's all kinds of shopping talk happening on the internet today. I'm far too late to talk cyber Monday deals. There are plenty of posts with those. I am still looking for a few gifts and hope to make a few more purchases today.

images via uncommon goods

Are you a Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopper? I don't really consider myself a super shopper on either day, but I do tend to buy a few things here and there. The big rage last year was the instant pot, and it seems like it is still pretty popular.

I totally missed Small Business Saturday this year, and I am really sad about it. I like supporting small businesses especially local businesses. The day got away from me, and before I knew it, it was over.

There is still time to buy unique gifts including jewelry, tabletop gifts, and other handmade items. I recently discovered Uncommon Goods-a privately owned retailer based in Brooklyn, NY. All products are safe to the environment, people, and animals so you can feel good about purchasing their products. They aim to give artists and designers a platform for their work. Many of the items are handmade, and many are made from recycled and upcycled materials. If you're like me and still looking for a few Christmas gifts, this is the perfect spot to shop. They have jewelry and apparel for women and a lot of great options for men of various ages. 

I have a handful of things I still need to buy, and I am definitely looking at Uncommon Goods for some of my gift giving needs.

How is your shopping going? Are you taking advantage of any deals?

Thankful 13

I’ve always wanted to do a turkey trot on Thanksgiving, but I typically travel that weekend. Since I stayed in town this year I decided last minute to run the Thankful 13 half marathon. ReNae, JoAnn, and Mike decided to join me. 

packet pickup 

getting ready to start

The weather was amazing. It was pretty sunny most of the time. The mile markers had gratitude quotes and all along the way there were signs of what people are grateful for. 

I was not feeling well at all so I was especially thankful it was a half. I like to keep a pretty decent base mileage so I can decide last minute to do a half. ReNae was so great and stayed with me the whole way. 

San Diablo Churros were at the finish line as well as pumpkin pie and rolls. 

I spent the rest of the day with the Reeds. We had a delicious dinner and then went out shopping. We stayed out until 2:00am. It was so much fun, but I was so exhausted. 

It’s always hard not being with family on holidays, but I am so lucky to have great friends that treat me like family. I went to bed feeling very thankful for all I have. 

Wear it Wednesday-Warm Fall

We are having the most beautiful fall weather. The mornings and evenings are a little cool, and the afternoons are warm and sunny. Layers have been the key to dressing for the weather. 

I went to Boise a couple of weeks ago knowing the weather was similar to SLC but also knowing it could change to winter any second. I packed clothes with layers, and it was perfect. 

Cardigan/button down-Gap outlet. Skirt-Target. Booties-Toms from Nordstrom 

I packed tights thinking it might be a little cold. The ripped while I was putting them on, and luckily it was warm enough without them. 

I know I’ll be bundled up in winter clothes soon enough, but for now I’m enjoying these warm fall days.