Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year's Eve | 2014

For me, 2014 has been an amazing year filled both challenges and amazing experiences. It has been a wild, crazy, and unexpected ride that turned out to be one of the best years yet-- Seriously I hit the Jackpot! I would like to thank all of my family and friends for making this year wonderful-- I could not have done it without you! I am forever grateful for your love and support. I encourage everyone to take a look back and reflect back on your year. 

In no particular order here is a slice of my 2014.

I celebrated life with friends and family,laughed, and loved, saw my brother & cousin graduate from college and high school, watched the panthers make it to the playoffs {hoping for a win this Saturday!!}, enjoyed the HUGE snow storm that shut Charlotte down for a few days, put on a Go Kids Go event with Junior League of Charlotte, traveled--basically every weekend, had lots of Girls Night Out with my favorites, crossed some things off my bucket list-- flying in a helicopter & walking over the Brooklyn Bridge,  Winston entered my life {thanks Sara!},  spent time with besties, got back on my gym grind, turned the big 25! & celebrated my grandfathers 94th! plus many others, saw friends get married, engaged and have babies, went through my first corn maze, dressed-up, cheered on team USA in the World Cup, went to sporting events, ate TOO much Chick-fil-A, did the Ice Bucket Challenge, snow skied, got a promotion at Family Dollar, threw parties, played on the roof, started A Frayed Knot-- first post 10/27/14, and ohh so much more.

Cheers to the new goals and accomplishments for 2015. Wishing everyone good heath and success in 2015!



xoxo



Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas Eve | 2014

Merry Christmas Eve from me to you and yours!! I hope that you are spending your Christmas Eve the same way that I will be—enjoying the true meaning of Christmas. We will be going to Christmas Eve service, eating a delicious meal, skiing/snowboarding, hanging out, watching Christmas movies, playing games, and jumping into our matching pj’s before bed!

Each year when we get to Snowshoe for Christmas we stuff our wooden tree with presents & wrap it with lights and a few ornaments. This year Alex 3D printed white snowflakes to add to our tree. I love how large the snowflakes are. They really pop out in photos & will be something we will use for many years to come. It might not be your traditional tree but we sure do love that it’s easy clean-up and involves no watering!
Can you spot the snowman?

For Christmas Eve I wanted to finally share our 2014 family Christmas card. It was hard deciding on what pictures and memories to put into the card that we could have honestly send out a photo album…but we didn't! This year’s card highlights our family {photo cred: Jack Gillespie}, Alex’s College Graduation, our 16 year old puppy Cricket, and crossing one off my Bucket List: Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge! 

Merry Christmas Eve!

xoxo


Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Welcome to New York






































Today I left Charlotte on a 6 am flight heading for NYC ... need I say more?

My Tips for this awful early flight {besides the Starbucks & Chick-fil-a}

1. Jamming to Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York". 


2. Live Updates: Prince William and Kate during their NEW YORK CITY tour {planning where I am going to catch a glimpse}.

3. CARRIE UNDERWOOD's celebration of her Decade #1 Album Release Party today at the iHeartRadio Theater in NYC. The show will also be broadcasted on a jumbo screen in Time Square. {hoping to run into her too!}


4. Lunch @ Shake Shack. ALWAYS a must!

5. Getting to see the Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas Light Show + all the other wonderful Christmas windows & decoration!!! Check out the 2013 show below. It was even more amazing in person last year & I cannot wait to see the 2014 show!


xoxo








Monday, December 8, 2014

Simmer Pot



A few weeks ago as the Holiday's were inching closer and closer I decided it was time to throw together a simmer pot to make my home smell of Holiday goodness. Although there are many recipes I could have used, I decided to make up my own recipe. My own recipe was extremely easy and all I did was gather ingredients from what I already had.  Some common ingredients that are found in simmer pots are cinnamon sticks, apples/ peels, oranges/ rinds, cloves, apple juice, vanilla, anise, and nutmeg.

Instructions: Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. Add ingredients, either from your favorite recipe or some of the common simmer pot ingredients {I used apples, oranges, plumbs, and cinnamon}, and continue to boil for a few minutes. Then turn the heat down to simmer. Then enjoy! Be sure to add water as needed, usually every 30 minutes or so. 

Tip: Get into a habit of saving (rather than tossing out) your fruit peels when you know your going to be making a simmer pot.

Plum, Apples, Oranges
Finished product. Next time i'll be sure to add some cinnamon sticks for texture and prettier appearance

xoxo


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Hello {HECTIC} December


December, you're the last one so your supposed to be the best one!! I was so excited you finally arrived until my world turned into a blizzard.

Yes, I'll admit this time of year is often hectic with shopping, cooking, traveling, but add about 100 projects on top of that and welcome to my December. The below depicts what I thought the rest of 2014 would look like.. a little up hill and easy, but in reality it is all over the place.


I know that I am not the only person that feels this way during this season and I hope that through the midst of all the chaos you can find time to laugh, relax, and enjoy being with others. Here is some comic relief from the office today... clearly they have had a hectic December too!

#findtheERROR


xoxo