christmas recap

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We left for Salem on Tuesday afternoon to spend the week at my parent's house. They were gracious hosts and fed us, entertained us and fed us some more!

On Christmas Eve we got an early start to our day and met my two best friends from high school (and their fiancé's) for breakfast. It was so good to catch up with them and see them again. I wish they lived closer and that we could be together more often. They have and will always have a special place in my heart! After breakfast we picked up my dad and went to see The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies. My mom was very glad that he had someone else to go with because she does not enjoy any of the LOTR or Hobbit movies (she's lame, but we love her). After the movie, we got to go to the Christmas Eve service at FCC. It was great to be able to worship and celebrate Christ's birth with a community of believers. It is one of my favorite things about the Christmas season.

Me, Megan and Amanda at breakfast

 We were ready to see The Hobbit with our 3D glasses

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When Christmas morning arrived, Alex's head popped of his pillow like a first grader's. He was so excited to get up and give each other our gifts. I was a little less enthusiastic and slept for another half hour... After we were all awake we enjoyed sausage twirls and sticky buns, which are a mandatory tradition that I make sure my mom and aunt don't get complacent about. We opened our gifts and just enjoyed each others company. It was a fun, relaxing morning. That afternoon we went to Alex's sister's house to celebrate with his family. We had a good time and all ate way too much.

Jansen is at the perfect age right now (14ish months) and is so fun to watch play, walk and try to keep up with everyone else.

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On the 26th Jim and his family all arrived in Salem (Becky and crew came on the 25th later in the evening) and we did our family gift exchange with the kids and played. The on the 27th my Grandpa and his lady friend Jeanne arrived and so did my dad's brother Bruce and family. Before we could do any gift exchanging, Alex and I enacted a new family tradition:

The Blair Family Ping Pong Tournament  

It was so much fun and everyone played (not all played well, but they played). We played doubles to 11 and then the championship round was played to 21. Becky was my partner and we were out the first round. I was a little disappointed, but we had fun regardless. The champions were my mom and Jared!

Alex and I headed home Sunday afternoon and were exhausted, but I don't think either of us were as tired as Moose...he hasn't done anything but sleep since we've gotten home. We had a great Christmas and are so thankful for our family and friends and for the opportunity to get to spend time with them. Now we're getting ready to ring in the new year.

santa hustled

Christmas is less than 24 hours away!! We wanted to celebrate the holiday all week so we started last weekend with Josh, Libby and Alaina. We drove to Indianapolis for the Santa Hustle on Friday after work. On Saturday we slept in, ate,  then shopped, ate, shopped some more and then we explored downtown Indy. The race was on Sunday morning and we were up and at 'em bright and early.

Libby ran her first 5k and did fantastic! We are all very proud of her and her willingness to train and endure the cold. Alaina ran her very first half marathon and she did great too! I had my best time so far and am pleased with our results. I don't think I'm going to hang up my running shoes just yet, I still have a few more races left in me.

Our official time was two hours and 16 minutes and our pace was 10 minutes 28 seconds. We had so much fun training and I really enjoyed this race. I listened to Christmas music the whole race and my favorite song that came up on Pandora was Run, Run, Rudolph (I thought it was quite applicable)! We headed home on Sunday after the race a little more sore than we started but glad that we ran.

(We don't know that other neon man...just a coincidence)

life lately

I have been so excited for Christmas since August. Why? I do not know. I always love Christmastime, but this year I've been especially excited. We completed all (well, 98%) of our shopping within the first week of December and all of our gifts are wrapped and ready.

I'm ready to run my Santa themed half marathon on Sunday and we've been listening to Christmas music since December 1st. Last week we went to see Straight No Chaser perform at the Fox for our annual Christmas culture.

Every time we drive by a house that is decorated, we slow down to gawk. Christmas movies are on a constant loop and our little tree twinkles at all times.  To say that this is my favorite time of year is probably an understatement.

Merry (almost) Christmas!

what can brown do for you?

There is so much happening in our world that the news doesn't always cover the seemingly mundane, that's what I'm for. I stumbled across this article and video and thought it would be worthwhile to share. It's heartwarming, sweet and it makes me wish our UPS man was Mr. Ernie.

Enjoy!

Click to read the story behind Mr. Ernie and Carson

conflict

Recently I mentioned that a new Charlie Brown movie will be released next year. Now I may have a conflict next November 6th...Charlie Brown and a new Bond movie! What's a girl to do?!? 

Click for the link

santa hustle update

The Christmas season has officially arrived!! I have been excited about Christmas since August, when I first signed up for the Santa Hustle Half Marathon. Now the race is in 20 days!

When Alex hung up his medal after the Port Angeles half, he was done running half marathons. I was sad to think that I'd have to go it alone but, my wonderful friend Alaina wanted to try her hand foot at running a half marathon, so now I have a new running buddy.  It's been fun to get to run and talk (as much as one can talk and run) with her. Alaina has been a great running partner, encourage-r and motivator. Just a few more weeks of training and then it will be time for the most festive, jolly race yet.

Wish us luck!

Don't these runners look so happy, jolly and festive?! 

(I don't know these people...I took this image from this website)

the great debate

It's been a longtime struggle for those who get cold hands during the winter months: mittens vs. gloves. Personally, I prefer gloves for their accessibility to my fingers, but mittens are much cuter. I found this article nestled between an article about Obamacare and the Ferguson updates. It provides a nice solution for those who struggle. Please enjoy all of this useless information...you're welcome.

Image source
If you'd like to get me the pictured gloves, I wouldn't turn them down :)

being thankful

Have a very happy, safe and thankful Thanksgiving. 

1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV)
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast loves endures forever!

God Of This City

If you have turned on any major news outlet you know that Ferguson, Missouri is the topic of conversation. Right now our city is hurting and the only thing that I can think of is Chris Tomlin's song, God Of This City. 

Please pray for St. Louis and the surrounding communities because, right now, that's all I feel like we can do. 

two days + pumpkin fluff recipe

Just in case you have been living under a rock, Thanksgiving is in two days! Although it has been a topic of conversation for quite a while, I still feel like it's snuck up on us. I bought my bag of potatoes to mash and the ingredients for my pies and pumpkin fluff, so I'm ready with the cooking part. All I've got to do now is cook. I'm looking forward to spending time with our families and friends!

I thought I'd share my favorite thing to make for Thanksgiving with you, Pumpkin Fluff. It's pumpkin-y, fluffy, delicious and low calorie too!

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!!

thanksgiving truths

noteworthy

Happy Friday!! I thought today would never arrive but alas, it's 5:45 on Friday night and I have a comfy couch and some slippers calling my name. We don't have any big plans this weekend, just a Netflix marathon of Blacklist and a girls movie night on Sunday. If we get wild we may do a load or two of laundry and some Thanksgiving food prep. We're in charge of stuffing at my family's Thanksgiving and still undecided as to what we'll take for Alex's family, but anywho...

This week I learned some incredibly noteworthy information. I feel compelled to share it with you because this is important not only for our generation, but for our children's generation and our children's children....big stuff here. Next year, on November 6, 2015 to be specific (that is my sister Becky's birthday to be even more specific) The Peanut's Movie will be arriving in a theater near you! AHH! I love the Peanut's Gang and I cannot wait for more trailers to come out, let alone the movie!! I stumbled across this gem of information and couldn't contain my excitement. I've watched these trailers several times and I'm sure I'll be watching them a few more times between now and next year....

Have a great weekend!

Friendsgiving

This month Alex and I have been excitedly looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving. It is Alex's favorite holiday, so I try my hardest not to gloss over it and skip straight to Christmas (like the rest of America). To celebrate, we are trying to eat as much delicious food and spend as much time with our friends and family as possible. 

Last Saturday, Alex and I got together with three other couples and celebrated Friendsgiving. It was such a great night of talking, eating, laughing and playing Balderdash. Since it's November and Thanksgiving is looming around the corner, I've been reflecting a lot lately about what I am thankful for. At the top of the list are the friends that we are so lucky to have.

As I have gotten older (and I'm 92% certain everyone feels this way) it has gotten more difficult to make new friends. Not new acquaintances, those are a dime a dozen. I'm talking about real friends, the ones who have seen your ugly cry and still want to be around you, the ones that care about you just as much as you care about them, the ones who will text you late at night just to see how your day was; those friends. God has richly blessed Alex and I in the friend department and I am so very, very thankful. 

Happy Friendsgiving!

p.s Friendsgiving 2 is happening tonight...I said we are trying to cram a lot in this year!

fall retreat

Last weekend Alex and I, along with Brian and Melinda, took our high school youth group on a fall retreat. We drove through the winding back roads of Missouri to Koinania Family Valley Ranch. We had a great time digging into God's word, playing silly games and enjoying the beautiful weather.

We are already looking forward to next year and we're excited to see how God continues to move in "our" kid's hearts. We are so grateful to be a part of their lives and look forward to watching them grow in their faith. 

look up

I created a new page to follow along with my challenge to complete twenty five items/tasks before I turn twenty six! Just click on the twenty five by twenty six tab and you can see what I have completed so far.

happy halloween

It is October 31st and all that means to me is: tomorrow there will be discount candy! I don't buy into all this Halloween business. It's not fun for me to be scared so I just opt out, although I do watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown every year. As as kid, I had a friend that would have a haunted hay ride for her birthday and I made sure that my mom was there to pick me up before it started. I didn't care that I looked like a weenie, I did not want to go into the woods!

This weekend we are taking our youth group on a fall retreat, so I have a fabulous excuse to skip Halloween. But, that doesn't mean that Moose got to skip out on dressing up. He was not the most cooperative little fella, but the bribe of a few treats got him to hold still.

Have a happy, safe and not too scary Halloween! Don't forget to brush and floss after all that candy!! 

Minnie Moose

Doesn't he look thrilled to be a girl?! 

it's a mystery folks

On Friday night Alex and I hosted our second annual murder mystery dinner party. Last year's mystery was so much fun that we decided to do it again. Alex wrote the script again this year and poor Mrs. Plum was offed, but by who?! and what weapon did they use?! Was it Professor Plum?! Or maybe Ms. Scarlet or possibly Mr. Green?? As we ate dinner* we watched the mystery unfold.

The Suspects

(top left to right) Alyssa, Amanda, David, Maggie, Kraig, Matt and Corey

(bottom left to right) Kyle, Lori, Melinda, Brian, Clint and Kassie

The maid and butler at your service

As expected, the story took on a life of it's own and each character added so much to their role. Everyone stuck to their rules/roles, which made for a great night. There was a powerful psychic, a couple of scandalous lovers, a nosy neighbor, a stuttering detective, a terrible gardener, a flamboyant baker, a sad friend, a pharmaceutical rep, an angry teacher and his sweet wife, a doctor, his nurse and a corrupt Colonel.

Alex made a few typo's but they were perfectly placed and added a dramatic plot twist. We all laughed so hard that our faces hurt. In the end, Colonel Mustard commandeered a bread truck and forced Mr. Green, at gun point, to run over poor Mrs. Plum.  Such a tragic end, but her murder is no longer a mystery and all of the suspects can resume their daily lives. It was such a fun night and I am already looking forward to next year.

Mademoiselle Rose channeling the spirits to talk to Mrs. Plum

Mr. Green defending himself 

Mr. White trying to help Inspector John solve the mystery 

The mastermind murderer Col. Mustard and poor Mr. Green who got roped into the murder

and one more before you go....because it's too good not to share

Professor Plum and Mr. Green

I assume Prof. Plum isn't holding a grudge that Mr. Green had to run over his wife....

*Menu and recipe links:
Appetizers: sausage twirls and  spinach twirls
Garden Salad
Main Course: green beans, roasted potatoes, ham and rolls
Dessert: mini apple pies and vanilla ice cream

happy birthday

Today is Alex's birthday and he is a whopping 26 years old! All that he has requested for his birthday is to a) go to a haunted house or b) watch a scary movie. I hate being scared, I purposely don't watch scary movies, tv shows or even the commercials. But, I'd rather be scared on my own couch than out at some creepy haunted house, so we're going to be watching a scary movie tonight...because it's his special day.

I am excited to see what 26 has in store for Alex. We are in a really fun season of our lives and I love getting to spend so much time with him at work and at home. I hope that this year brings just as much excitement and adventure as the last. I love you Alex and I hope you have the best day!!

october + arkansas visit

Even though we are 20 days into October, I haven't had a spare second to post in 15 days. We have been busy but in a good way, not in a whiny, stressed out way. I think we've had something going on every night of the week this month and it doesn't look like there will be a change until after Christmas. I love this time of year and I love the hustle and bustle that seems to start, without fail, on October first.

Last weekend, we closed the office on Friday and drove south to Little Rock, Arkansas to see my Grandpa. It had been too long since I'd been down to visit, we were overdue for a visit. We loaded up the car at 3 am and arrived at 9 am, just in time for breakfast. After catching up and lunch, Alex and I headed down to the Arkansas River Trail. We'd read about it in the St. Louis Post Dispatch and it piqued our interest. We rode the 16 mile loop. It was a fun ride and good way to see parts of Little Rock that we wouldn't see otherwise.

Of course gnome came too  

After our ride, we spent the evening chatting, eating and playing domino's with Grandpa, Jean (his lady friend), and my parents.  Saturday, after my parents left at around two we were pretty lazy. We watched the Razorback's lose, napped, played cards and munched our way through the day/evening/night ;).

Me and my Grandpa

I've been chasing this cat since my Grandma and Grandpa brought him home nearly 17 years ago. 

Sadly his age is beginning to show and I finally caught him!

Sorry for the blurry nature of this phone picture, but it's just too good not to share

I am so glad we had the opportunity to visit my Grandpa. I think the world of him and I'm fairly certain he's the best Grandpa on Earth. We really enjoyed our trip and look forward to going back again sooner than later.

highlight

We occasionally teach the five year old class at church on Sunday mornings. Each week we start by asking the kids what the highlight (best part) of their week was. This week when it was my turn to share, I got to tell them that my sister had a baby! Not that there was judgement of who's highlight was brighter than anyone else's, but I'm pretty sure mine trumped the tooth fairy and eating pizza for lunch.

Does anyone else remember the commercial about the guy calling his parents to tell them they'd had a baby?
(click here if you don't, it'll refresh your memory) Wehadababyitsagirl! Becky and Jared welcomed Atley Jane into the world and their family (now of five!) Tuesday, September 30.

Wednesday morning Libby, Katie and I were very excited to drive up and meet miss Atley. We had a great day and I can easily confirm that I love Atley just as much as my 12 other nieces and nephews, but she's the littlest and doesn't squirm away from me, so for now she's my favorite ;)

Collier family of five (minus Max)

Me with three of my babies, now if I could only get a picture with all thirteen...

Ethan and I were trying to just get one good picture, it took us a few tries...

Katie wanted very little to do with this baby that was stealing her mother's attention...so just a picture of Libby and Atley. 

A side-by-side of Nora and Atley at the same age and in the same outfit too! Familial resemblance?

sprinkle

My sister Becky is expecting her third little one any day now and to celebrate, we put together a little sprinkle honoring her and the babe.

Libby and I decided that the most fitting theme for this sprinkle would obviously be sprinkles! I ordered seven pounds of sprinkles and went to town! I had a lot of fun planning and organizing, while Libby put together the a very fun baby shower themed game of Jeopardy. I hole punched confetti and we dipped virtually everything in chocolate and sprinkles! We joked that it was good that Becky had already taken her glucose tests.

It was a good weekend and a fun party. Nora was a little confused about why we were giving her mom a baby shower- there was no baby yet and no shower. But, she managed to eat cake, sprinkle covered pretzels and chocolate/sprinkle popcorn all out of a sprinkle dipped waffle cone bowl. 

Our incredibly talented Mama made the baby this sweet little quilt!

We filled the balloons with confetti to continue the sprinkle trend and mid party my 6 year old nephew, Josiah, was playing with a balloon when it popped and covered him in confetti. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. After the other kids saw this phenomenon, they too wanted to pop the balloons. After the party ended I took the kids and the balloons outside to let them go to town; my parents now have a very festive backyard.   

twenty five by twenty six

On Tuesday I will be 25 years old, it seems a little odd to me to say "twenty five". I've always thought that when you turn 25 you've got to have it all together and you have to be a real, mature adult-y adult. I'm living proof that that is just not the case. For Alex that number is 28. I'm sure I have matured and that I am somewhat adult-y, but I just don't quite feel like it... 

Anyway, this year I've compiled a list of 25 items/tasks that I would like to complete before I turn 26. I hope to chronicle my progress here so you can see how I'm doing. Without further ado, my twenty five:

1. Start a daily journal
2. Cook more often
3. Run another half marathon
4. Learn to knit or crochet
5. Go to Arkansas
6. Volunteer somewhere
7. Practice and become a better faux-tographer
8. Go to Kentucky
9. Host a dinner party
10. Celebrate Friendsgiving

11. Go to Oregon
12. Try sushi
13. Plant a lemon tree
14. Learn to hula hoop
15. Play sand volleyball
16. Learn to golf or at least play putt putt golf
17. Plant a real garden
18. Read 1 book per month (at least!)
19. Eat at a new restaurant

20. Go to Indiana
21. Finish our basement!
22. Ride on a tandem bicycle
23. Write and mail more letters
24. Redecorate a room in our house

25. Go to Tennessee

I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish everything, but I hope to cross at least most of them off! Wish me luck! 

friday's finds

Friday has finally arrived and I could not be more excited for this weekend to begin, we have some exciting plans and this weekend is the kickoff for my birthday week!! To start the weekend off right, I have a few video's I've stumbled across this week that I wanted to share. The first one, although it's "old", is my favorite... 

Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend! Which video was your favorite?

this week...

Alex has been gone since early Sunday morning to Erie, Pennsylvania for business meetings with Erie Insurance. They flew him out, put him up in a nice hotel and fed him three square meals every day. He's been living quite the high life this week, while I've been a little bit lonely. Yesterday I had no eye to eye human interaction until my sweet friends Amanda and Alyssa asked me to come over for dinner, I happily (maybe too happily...) obliged. On Tuesday my Mama, Linda, Libby and Katie came over for lunch and that was the highlight of my day! I didn't want them to leave...I wanted to cry.

I had great plans of things I would accomplish while Alex was away, but so far I've only done one load of laundry and it still needs to be folded and put away. My nightly entertainment has been binge watching Hallmark channel movies, you know the uber cheesy, predictable, girly, sappy ones.

I don't think I was made for singleness, not that I'm unable to survive on my own but I just really like need company and human interaction, Moose is good but he's lacking in the thumb department. This week I've learned that I really do need Alex in my life and now I appreciate him more (personal and professional) than I already did. His flight lands tonight and I could not be more excited!!

Happy Thursday!

brrrr...

I don't know when it happened, but all of a sudden it's like a switch was flipped and it's fall! We we're at the Cardinals game tonight and it was chilly, like I'm wearing a jacket and I'm still not warm, chilly! But don't get me wrong, I am super excited for fall's arrival! It is my favorite time of year, with the exception of Christmas. 

All of my favorite things about fall include, but are not limited to: scarves, pumpkin spice lattes, sweaters, Cardinals post season baseball (fingers crossed), pumpkin decor, boots, crunchy leaves, cool mornings, my birthday, Alex's birthday, pumpkin scented candles, college football, I think I could make this list go on and on... 

Hopefully we have a long lasting fall so we can enjoy every bit of golden sunshine before the short days and dark nights of winter arrive. Happy fall and have a wonderful weekend!

weekend recap

We had a fabulous holiday weekend including two Cardinals games with some of our favorite people, donuts at Strange Donuts, lunch at Dewey's, loads and loads of laundry, Alex mowed our jungle yard, we shopped some of the Labor Day sales and we managed to watch the first four Harry Potter movies...all in three and a half days! Phew, I'm worn out typing that.

Now for the details:
Becky and Jared came down on Friday evening to go the Cardinals game with us, unfortunately the Red Birds lost but we had fun nonetheless. After the game at 10:45 we decided to get some donuts and I wanted to try Strange Donuts, so it was the perfect opportunity! We got a dozen donuts in a variety of flavors: PB&J, Maple Bacon x2, Lemon, Gooey Butter x3, Red Velvet, Sprinkle, Glazed, Chocolate Custard, and Grass Hopper. They were delicious and did not disappoint!

On Saturday morning we did a little bit of local shopping in Edwardsville and then met my parents, Ethan, Nora and Josh & Libby for lunch at Dewey's. We had a lot of fun talking and eating. After lunch Becky and crew said their farewell's and headed home while Josh & Libby, Alex, my parents and I all headed to Run Well. Josh and Libby are running the 5K at the Santa Hustle, so they needed the appropriate footwear and I needed a new pair of shoes too. We all left with new kicks except my mama. After shoe shopping we made a quick trip to Kohl's and then my parents headed home.

Sunday was our second ballgame of the weekend, Cardinals v Cubs. We went with our friends Clint and Kassie, they are Cubs fans but we still make our friendship work ;). It was a close, exciting game to watch and thankfully the Cardinals won!! After the game, Alex and I made a quick trip to the outlet mall for some Labor Day sales. Alex is going on a work trip soon and needs to look spiffy, so we got him some new dress shirts, pants and my favorite: a bow tie (which I can successfully tie!).

Monday morning we slept in and then went on a jog to break in my shoes. When we got home we nestled in to watch a mini Harry Potter marathon. While watching, I multi-tasked and did quite a bit of laundry (I know you were dying to know when I squeezed the laundry in).

Now we're back to reality and I need a nap. Have a happy Tuesday!

dance party

I have been known to have a dance party in our kitchen (Alex occasionally joins in) while I'm waiting for dinner to finish cooking or while I'm trying to avoid cooking. However, I have never claimed to be a good dancer. Taylor Swiftypants has a new song out and subsequently a new music video and her (endearingly sarcastic) dancing is reminiscent of my smooth moves. Check it out!

video via

best friends

I have been incredibly blessed (and lucky) to have some amazing friendships present and past. However, these fella's have lived a much longer life and are still best friends and they're quite funny too. Enjoy this video I stumbled across on youtube. 

santa hustle half marathon

Christmas is my all time, hands down, no doubt about it favorite time of year. I look forward to it all year, every year and this year is no different. Although is it August, I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the hap-happiest season of all. And this year I'm adding a new Christmas event, The Santa Hustle!

I have signed up for my third half marathon and it's scheduled for December 21st (the Sunday before Christmas)! I am so excited for this race and I think it has something to do with the music to be played, the cookies to be served and the fact that everyone will be given a Santa hat and beard to wear (if they choose) during the race. Alex hurt himself training for our last half, so he won't be running by my side but, he'll be cheering me along. Wish me luck and a Merry Christmas if you see me training, I may need the motivation until the Christmas season arrives!

sunscreen, you scream, we all scream for sunscreen

As summer wraps up and everyone is eagerly anticipating the cooler weather, sunscreen is probably the last thing on our minds. I am notorious for forgetting sunscreen at the beginning of the summer and getting an ugly burn (shame on me, I know). However, by the end of summer it is usually the first step of my beauty routine, especially if I'm going to be spending time outside. I found this video and am vowing to be more diligent with my SPF. Watch it all and see the difference a bit of sunscreen can make!

Enjoy!

video via

rap songs + road trips

Alex and I enjoy taking road trips; we like the idea of packing up and driving into the wild blue yonder. It's as much as of an adventure as the trip itself. On our latest road trip, we were driving behind a nice, big, white Cadillac Escalade which got us thinking...

Escalades rose in popularity, in part, due to the rap industry. So, we decided that if rappers would rap about driving their electric cars or their Prius', they would be doing the world and environment a big favor. Gone would be the days of boasting about how big and flashy the Escalade is, but rather how quiet and efficient their Prius is.

I think we're going to take this to a record label and see if we can get some traction with this idea. We'll keep you posted. But, if you hear a new song about a compact electric or hybrid, it was our idea.