Merry Christmas!!!

December 25th!

Christmas Day!

Yippie!!!

Now that I've sent or given out all my homemade cards this year,

I will leave you with a quick look at the cute ones I came up with!

Wishing a very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!

I hope your day is wonderful and spent with those you love.

4th of July: Friends, Food, Fireworks & Fun!!

Hope you all had a GREAT 4th of July!

This year, I had a very relaxed holiday hanging out with friends,
eating lots of amazing food and of course watching fireworks!

Check out my fun day in a few pictures below!!

Getting ready for the feast on the 4th!

I got in the spirit with a little red, white and blue!

My contributions to our feast!

Homemade soft pretzels and dip, farm fresh corn, watermelon, 

red white & blue rice krispy treats AND cheesecake stuffed strawberries!!!

Not pictured - chips and dip, homemade pasta salad, smoked ribs and chicken.

Wow - it was all so so so good, but let's just say I am STILL full!

 Fireworks, fireworks and MORE fireworks!!!
I was like a child and couldn't stop saying "WOW!"

And this little guy made the holiday extra fun!!!

2013 Christmas Decorations

If you haven't figured it out yet - I really like to decorate for the holidays!

I think Christmas is my favorite holiday and this year I've gone ALL OUT! 

My parents will be here for almost a week and I couldn't help but make my place pretty festive. 

I'll have to say - I'm pretty happy with the outcome and I am quite certain that I this year's decorations are my favorite yet!!! 

Take a look below at all the fun things I have around my place.

I got my FIRST real Christmas Tree as an adult! 

This beauty is a little over five and a half feet tall and smells quite delightful.

After having a real tree, it's going to be quite difficult to go back to an artificial one...

The front door is pretty decorated! 

I, of course, have the my homemade yarn wreath hanging on the outside.

Along with some other cute touches - lights, cinnamon pinecones and a Santa decoration!

Inside I have my Dear Santa list on the chalkboard wall.

The Christmas bible verse is framed and placed on the table my dad made me!

(I got this and other fun FREE printables online, but now I can't find the links for the life of me. I'm sorry!!!)

This view is one of my favorite view this season. 

The top left picture is what you see while standing in my kitchen - and I do that quite often!

I made the "Believe" banner and it was 100% all me!

No online inspiration for this fun DIY decoration. :)

Some more fun Christmas touches around the living and dining areas!

I bought the Santa printable from here, but the "Hark the Herald" one is another FREE printable that I can't find. 

Again - SORRY!

I painted the smallest nutcracker years ago and decided this year that I need more nutcracker decorations.

I could use some more snowmen and Santa decor as well!

(Hint, Hint!)

Another favorite view right now is my TV stand. 

I love the pinecones, I love the red holly berries and I especially love my nativity!!!

My grandma painted the nativity just for me and I am SO happy to have it.

This tree is about three years old and I bought it when it was less than a foot tall! 

I can't believe it's still living and it's SO big!

The garland at the top is new this year and right over the den's french doors.

I think it looks great and can't believe I haven't done this the last two years!

The rest are garlands/banners that I either made this year or last year. 

I have a thing for these kind of decorations, can ya tell?

Bathroom, bedroom and kitchen decorations!

I am SO happy I finally switched to flannel sheets. My bed has been extra toasty!!

I adore the wine bottle that lights up, but I cannot take credit for it.

I received this as a gift a few years from one of my oldest friends. 

That's it! 

Well, that's it for now at least.

I really think I'm done decorating, but you never know...

I added a red poinsettia to the front door display today and that's not pictured,

so who knows if I'll do anything else.

I'd love to see your decorations.

I need some inspiration to create for next year! 

Thumbprint Reindeer Ornaments

As I mentioned in this post, I've become a HUGE fan of DIY decorations. 

And because it's the holidays, what better time to give some DIY decorations to my friends and family?

When looking at fun Christmas DIY ideas online, I saw multiple examples of "thumbprint reindeer ornaments",  and I thought they would make great gifts!

I decided to just do my own thing while sticking with the original thumbprint idea. 

These were SUPER easy to make and I'm really happy with the outcome. 

I'm even tempted to make more to either give out more as gifts this year OR keep them for 2014!

White Yarn Wrapped Wreath

I've been on a homemade decorations kick since Halloween and I have to say that I'm really starting to love DIY decor! There are so many fun homemade things out there and it's so easy to customize everything so it looks exactly how I want!

One of the fun things I found was a White Yarn Wrapped Wreath. I knew I wanted a wreath for my front door and after looking around for a bit, I couldn't stop thinking about this one! 

It didn't look too hard to make, so I got the supplies last weekend and went to town wrapping and wrapping and wrapping. Yes, it took forever to wrap. Hours in fact! Yes, folks, that's dedication! Even though it took so long to get the straw wreath wrapped, I was SO happy with the outcome. 

The only thing left to do was make the felt flowers and add everything to the wreath.
That was a cinch compared to the wrapping!

Check out the wreath making fun below.

I LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE my wreath and am thinking I want more yarn wrapped wreaths for other seasons.
We will see... 

Halloween Fun!

Last year, I had an AMAZING time celebrating Halloween in the Kansas City area with my brother and his family. It was so much fun to relive my childhood and go trick-or-treating with my nephew, but I have to say that this year was equally as fun with a little more of an "adult" Halloween!

This year, I spent the night at home with with a few very close friends. It was a low-key night, but still quite festive and I had a SUCH a great time! Who knew that fog machines and dry ice could be that much fun?!?!

Instead of a big meal,  we had a bunch of tasty appetizers and drinks that everyone contributed to.

Caprese Salad with Buratta, Bacon Wrapped Bleu Cheese Stuffed Dates, Brie Cheese and Blackberry Jam Pockets, Zombie Eye Deviled Eggs, Mini Mummy Dogs, Chips, Salsa, Guacamole, Pumpkin Beer and last but certainly not least - Blackberry Moonshine! 

YUM!!!

And because Halloween just isn't Halloween without dressing up in SOME way, 

here's a look at a few of the costumes I wore this year!

Devil Robyn and Devil Ming while prepping the yummy apps, Toga Robyn for the fun Halloween night festivities, and Black Cat Robyn for work!

Labor Day Food!

Since I just got back from Kansas City, I just wanted to stay in LA and have a fun and relaxing weekend at home. And what long holiday weekend would be complete without some delicious homemade food? Not one that I'm part of, that's for sure! 

Last night, I had a few friends over for an assortment of tasty appetizers. It was a great time with lots of amazing food. I knew it was a success because we were ALL stuffed by the end of the evening.

Deviled Eggs, Caprese Skewers, Bacon Wrapped Bleu Cheese Stuffed Dates and Fresh Melon!

But wait...there's more!!!

Homemade Soft Pretzels, Sriracha Fried Pickles, French Macaroons and M&M Cookies!

Hope you all had an amazing long holiday weekend! Back to work tomorrow for me, but check back soon for other tasty treats!!

Happy Birthday Alison!

Today - August 4th - just so happens to be one of my BEST FRIEND'S Birthday's! I couldn't wait to celebrate with her and snapped a few shots to document our amazingly fun night!

We started off the evening by opening presents and I'm SO happy that she loved what I got her. She immediately was asking to take pictures to send to her sister. Success!!

Elephant Necklace - SO cute!!

After presents we finished getting ready and headed to dinner at King's Fish House.

We took a few quick photos before starting our FEAST! 

The Birthday Girl!

And ME!

Crab cakes, Shrimp Cocktail, Fish and Chips, Soup, Salad, Wine, Beer and of course...

Delicious Birthday Cake!

Can't forget to make a wish!!!

I had a great time celebrating with this amazing lady and I wish her nothing but the best in the years to come!

Happy Birthday, Alison! I love you and am SO happy to have you as a friend!

Happy 4th from Los Angeles!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness!"

This year, I got a little crafty before the holiday and put together/made these fun little holiday touches I added to my apartment. 

Sunflowers just SCREAM Summer and 4th of July to me!

I've always loved arranging flowers, but this may have sparked a new fun hobby - wreath making!!!

So easy and so festive!!!

I'm planning to head to a girlfriend's place soon for some Independence Day fun. Whatever you plan to to, I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday, filled with fun, food, family and friends!!!