Becoming Christmassy

We were able to spend Christmas with Landon Paul's family and New Year's with mine. I learned I have a complete obsession with potato chips and dip, and now it's time to get going on my exercise resolutions. :) We had a blast and hope you did, too. Here's some photos of us at the Botanical Gardens. 

mi familia

with my little sis

us

my parentals

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Today I'm guest posting on becoming Christmassy at Emily K Designs. Check it out here.

Guest Post: Becoming Christmassy by Becoming a Baker, by Andrea: 23

Andrea and I have been best friends since we were FOUR YEARS OLD. She was awesome enough to guest post on how she's becoming Christmassy and show us her sweet baking skills. Thanks, girl!

I love to bake and what better excuse than Christmas? I love having an excuse to bake all the time, and believe me I've been milking it for everything it's worth. 

Here is just small sampling of a few of the baking projects I've taken on over the last little while. 

J Biebs cake for the sister. 

A...swirly cake? for the other sister. Happy 14th! 

Delicious chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. 

Some tasty chocolate peppermint cupcakes topped with candy cane kisses (favorite!)

And finally we spent a whole day in the kitchen making these delectable plates complete with mini chocolate-kiss peanut butter cookies, mini chocolate peppermint jr. mint topped cupcakes, and chocolate walnut fudge. We have some lucky neighbors.  

Hope you're having as much fun this holiday season as we are! Merry Christmas! 

...hope this works! love ya girl! 

Becoming a Mother

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! We'll be with our family and friends. Doesn't get much better than that.

Will you do something for me before we all go into Christmas hibernation? Like our adoption page on facebook. Many couples are chosen for adoption because friends of friends know people who are looking to place. Liking our page helps to spread the word, and we could really use that right now. Please know I can't thank you enough for what you've already done to spread the word. Your support has meant the world to us. Thank you so much!

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The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

I come from a family of singers. Every year at Christmastime my family carols to friends, neighbors, and those in need as we deliver gifts. It usually takes several nights, but we have a blast. All parts are sung in our (originally 6, now 8-person) a cappella choir. It's one of my very favorite Christmas traditions.

This year we were able to go carolling with our Church's youth group. We all piled into a trailer and sang Christmas carols in the freezing cold and had a a great time. (We even got to play indoor soccer afterward, so it was basically the greatest night ever).

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Guest Post: Becoming Christmassy, by Emily K (21)

Emily K. from Emily K Designs for guest posting for us today! I just love this idea! Thanks for sharing with us (And well done on that fort)!

I'm really really excited to be guest posting about becoming Christmassy! I love Christmas and while my family has a few traditions, I'd like to start a few of my own. Have you ever seen The Holiday with Jude Law and Cameron Diaz? I swoon every time I see the little girl's fort. So... boyfriend and I decided to make a little fort of our own.

Made with an embroidery hoop, twin sized bed sheets, and lots of pins, I'd say it was pretty successful. We snuggled in to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in our cozy fort.

And, of course, no fort would be complete without mistletoe...

This may or may not become a tradition but it was definitely a lot of fun! Come visit me over at http://www.emilykdesigns.blogspot.com/ for some photography, fashion, and everyday life. Sometimes there's some giveaways too!

Guest Post: Becoming Christmassy, by Abbey (20)

A big thanks to Abbey for sharing her Christmas Eve traditions!

On Christmas eve in Andy's family they always get together with another family and eat homemade huevos rancheros. THE best I've ever had! We then do our own production of the nativity and chat until Santa comes. In my family, we have party with the extended family eating yummy food, do our nativity production then we get Christmas jammies! I always looked forward to new jammies every year.

Guest Post: Becoming Christmassy, by Jennie (19)

Thank you, Jennie, for sharing some of your Christmas traditions!

We make holiday trains out of Grahm Crackers and icing and decorate them with candy and small Christmas decorations and then give it to a family. We also do a HUGE white elephant gift exchange Christmas Eve and look at lights. We don't give Christmas Presents to each other, instead, we pick a family and get them Christmas presents or do Toys for Tots. We are going to start doing Humanitarian Aid things Christmas Morning as well...just so we remember that Christmas is about GIVING and not receiving.

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There's something so magical about Christmas lights. I love turning the house lights down and the decorative lights up each night. This weekend Landon Paul and I decided to have a a Christmas sleepover (Watch Elf and fall asleep under the twinkling Christmas tree). I thought it sounded pretty perfect, but unfortunately, execution was amiss.

1. I fell asleep during the movie, so Landon Paul turned it off halfway through.
2. Our air mattress has a leak in it, so in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself struggling to stay afloat as Landon Paul cozied up below in the middle.
3. I finally quit and moved to the couch but couldn't fall asleep with the blasted Christmas tree lights on, so I turned them off.

Major fail but fun in concept. We'll try watching Elf again tonight, cause it's my favorite.

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On Saturday night, Landon Paul and I saw the Christmas lights at Temple Square. It's my very favorite Christmas date.

The lights are spectacular, but nothing can beat the view of the Salt Lake Temple. It takes my breath away every time I see it.

We also got to see the temple replica and heard some local groups singing Christmas carols. It was perfect.

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I got to be the narrator in the ward Christmas program today at Church. The program was beautiful. There was an adult choir, testimonies of the Savior, and children singing. I love Christmas.

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Landon Paul and I went to my company Christmas party last night. It had all the essentials: Great people, great food, great gifts...and great photo booth.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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For the past few weeks I've been getting things ready for Lifestyle Crafts to be on Studio 5.

 My lovely coworker Laura did an amazing job. We had a lot of fun.

 The theme was last-minute neighbor gifts, and the table was covered in fun projects we made. Are you making any of your gifts this year?

Pictures via

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Last night for mutual the young women and I made Christmas ornaments and delivered them to the elderly in our neighborhood. We had a blast. One couple we visited said they had been married 65 years, and the husband was 92! I hope I can be that awesome someday, and I love working with the youth.

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Christmas is coming early! Make a facebook status about the Lifestyle Crafts contest (and comment on the L Blog that you did), and you'll be entered to win a $500 Lifestyle Crafts shopping spree! To see the things I've made with Lifestyle Crafts product, click here and here.

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How to shop for a man 101:

1. Have him make a list of exactly what he wants.
2. Take the list to Cabella's, Sportsman's Warehouse, & Sears
3. Ask the employees to find the exact items on your list (If they can't find it, look for a swarthy dude. They seem to know the store better than the employees).
4. Ask male employees in their 20s and 30s what THEY want for Christmas. Landon Paul is always the most thrilled with the gifts that come from these recommendations.

For more man gift ideas, check out this hilarious guide.

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Ebelskivers (Eh-bull-skee-burrs) were a Christmas tradition in my mom's house growing up. They're like a pancake in a ball. It doesn't sound delicious, but it really really is. Landon Paul made them with this gluten-free recipe from Bread, Love, & Chocolate. (His dinners always seem to turn out better than mine, just an observation). We dipped them in powdered sugar and strawberries, and let me tell you, mmm-mm good! Have you had ebelskivers?

AND we ate them while watching Home Alone. That movie never gets old.

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One of my favorite things about Christmas is the delicious food and treats.

This is my first gluten-free Christmas, but I'm determined not to miss on the deliciousness, especially when it comes to sugar cookies. Thank heavens there are gluten-free bloggers out there! I found this gluten-free sugar cookie recipe from Delish, and it is nothing short of amazing. I've eaten way too many already, and I think I'll go have another. Happy day.

Guest Post: Becoming Christmassy, by Katelyn (8)

Thank you, Katelyn for sharing one of your favorite Christmas traditions:

I wanted to share a simple Christmas tradition I had growing up.  At the bottom of our stocking every year we would always receive an orange.  I thought it was kind of weird at first, but when my mom explained that an orange used to very hard to come by at the time of year and be considered a treat (especially by my British grandmother... she was born in 1907, so definitely prized oranges in her stockings) because they were expensive and rare.

I want to continue this tradition with my family.  Even though it's just an orange in a stocking, it is also teaches us about Family History.

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What are you doing to become Christmassy? E-mail me at im.becoming.someone@gmail.com to guest post about it!

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I went to see The Nutcracker with some of the lovely ladies in Landon Paul's familia. The music and dancing were just incredible. It was so much fun.

Random but does anyone else feel bad for male ballerinos? They're just as talented as the girls, but they always play second fiddle...and don't look as good in the tights. I feel for 'em and make sure I clap extra loud each time they do a lift. They earn it.