A Long Holiday Weekend

What a great long weekend! I am so sad that it is over. We really got in the Thanksgiving/Christmas mood over the weekend, far more collectively than we ever have. It was amazing and I wish I could hit the rewind button. 

Iphone photo

My daughter had Wednesday off from school so we decided to go have a mama & daughter date. We were supposed to see the 3D version of Trolls at what I thought was 10:30AM, but I read the time wrong. Apparently they decided to show a 3D kids movie at 10:30PM...anyways, we decided to stop by Books-a-Million and grab some festive drinks and look for Christmas Presents while we waited for the next available movie time. It was so much fun looking through all their cute holiday stuff with her! It makes me so happy she flips out as much as I do over Harry Potter & Disney stuff.

The movie was too stinkin cute! I could seriously go watch it again. I loved the music! There are so many great movies out this year. I think whatever money we had leftover from Christmas presents has gone straight to our local movie theater.

We started off Thanksgiving morning with biscuits, coffee, & mimosas while we watched the amazing Thanksgiving parade. Why can't every morning start that way?! It was so nice! The only thing was missing was my daughter because she spent the night (probably getting spoiled haha!) at my mother-in-laws.

We spent Thanksgiving at my mother-in-laws house! It was so nice seeing everyone, especially my adorable niece & nephew! They always make me swoon.

My daughter has done that growing thing again. Moms know what I'm talking about! You blink your eyes and suddenly they are a few inches taller and just all around feel more grown up. That is where I was at. Luckily before I turned into a hot mess, because I cry at things like that at a drop of a hat haha, she cuddled with her stuffed animal Zero & made a silly face. It reminded me she is still little and has a long way to go.

After we enjoyed our meal and talked with family for a bit, we headed over to the theater to go see Moana! Which was amazing! What a cute movie, highly recommended to those with littles.

Saturday night was a dream! After we put up Christmas lights outside, we all cuddled around the fireplace and watched clayamation movies. All my candles were lit, the Christmas tree was a'glow, and adults had hot glasses of gluhwein. It was perfect! If I dare think about it too long I bet I would once again turn into a hot mess! It was just so warm & fuzzy, everything Christmas is truly about, I couldn't of asked for a more perfect night.

Well I hope everyone had a long, relaxing, & festive weekend! I know we did!

Annual Mini Thanksgiving

I'm semi-finished decorating last week. I still want to stop at Target and see what I want to add to my collection. I'm still deciding on getting a third big tree, but I have a feeling that will have to wait a year (insert sad face here). I want one of the trees with the fake snow on it. Those are so beautiful!

My pups are always so curious to find out what I'm doing. SO nosy, I swear. There is always one peeking around the corner to see what I'm doing. It is even worse when I open the freezer because I give them frozen green beans as treats haha!

Is it just me or is it even easier to keep a clean house around the holidays? I don't mean that it doesn't become a mess, which it does, but cleaning it isn't so bad because I want to keep the house cozy. I just turn on daytime tv which is full of Holiday stuff right now and mindlessly get things done. Why can't it be like this all year long?! Great time of year to be productive though, so you burn through those high calorie feasts lol!

I don't always love cooking, but I DO love holiday cooking! Since we mostly go to relatives houses during Thanksgiving, it doesn't give me much of a chance to work on my culinary prowess. So we always have a specific day before Thanksgiving where I whip up my little family a semi-feast.I stick to the main plates, and I'm able to stick with my inflammation diet for my chronic illness. Which is nice, so I'm not experiencing an increase in pain for a week after eating.

I made everything wheat and dairy free (besides butter, because it doesn't seem to effect my body too much). Pamela's gluten free flours & cashew milk are my saviors! The biscuits, gravy, and mashed potatoes turned out so good, I can't stop eating the leftovers. I hadn't had a biscuit in over a year ( I love biscuits...) and being able to have one that was absolutely delicious made me so unbelievably happy.

I did make a turkey! I always get a pre-brined turkey (out of laziness haha!), herb butter under the skin, slathered in olive oil over the skin, and cook it Good Eats style! It never fails! Done within 4 hours, practically falling off the bone and crispy skin!

I did not get a picture of it because I didn't tuck the wings properly and it looked like it could of taken off in flight HAHA!

It was nice sitting down with my little family. My wife & I had wine and big platefuls of delicious food and my daughter stuffed herself on rolls & sprite (never fails). Then we went around the table sharing with one another what we are most thankful for. One thing was for sure, we are definitely thankful for each other and the joy we each bring to each others lives.

After we gorged ourselves on the delicious meal and my daughter with her rolls, we headed to the theater to see Fantastic Beasts. Which was not only fantastic, but also a fantastic way to end an amazing evening.

Delivering With Love

I love, love delivering my prints all pretty and done up...with a bow.

I blame my love for Christmas...

Prints are so important to me and my business. I love having something physical that I can deliver to my customers instead of being all digital. I also think it is important that they get prints from a professional lab first before going to a normal consumer lab. When going to a normal consumer lab you can see a decline in quality with the prints including the color, sharpness, contrast, and a wide range of other things. I want them (you) to get the quality of print your session is worth!
I want to deliver something that shows the hard work I put into a session and give my customers something they can be proud of.

How cute did those Christmas cards turn out?! I'm dying over here, over the cuteness and I had to get some for my own family.

It's not too late to have a session and get prints for the grandparents for a Christmas present! Christmas cards will also be available for full sessions for another 2 weeks!

Decorating With Joy

Despite the doom and gloom the past few weeks, the round of colds went around the house, & my chronic illness kicking me back down.... the house is full of that warmth I love this time of year! The decorations has made it our sanctuary as it always has around this time of year. Things can't be so bad if you are surrounded by twinkling lights, bath&body works winter plugins, & cuddling up to fight the cold, right?

I love tealights! LOVE LOVE LOVE. I go through many this season every year. I barely touch our light switches. My wife says downstairs is too dark, but pft I can barely see in the dark & I can see just fine ;] haha. Last year I found some on Amazon that light for 7 hours and they are reasonably priced because if you have ever bought tealights you know that their price tag can be hefty. 100 for $15 that last for 7 hours? Yes please! Watch their price because sometimes they go down to $10! You can find them here, www.amazon.com

But yes, here is to be the crazy families who decorates in November! You guys are the real mvps!

Christmas Mini Session - The Roo

I had a very, very important session today! It was with my most favorite little girl & doggies ever! My ROO! & my Delilah! & my Ellie! Everyone was really cooperative, which was REALLY surprising. 

  

- Even though Christmas Minis are done, I will have Christmas Cards available for purchase if you book a full session! Please visit my website for more details www.herdreamsoftomorrowphotography.com -

Christmas Mini Session - The Killmans

AH! I love me a Christmas mini session, especially with two adorable amazing little girls! They had so much fun looking at ornaments and reading Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Now that Christmas mini's are done, I kind of wanna leave that tree downstairs even though there is literally another tree up 20 feet away....It makes my house look so merry & Christmasy. I tried to talk my wife in getting another tree for upstairs (which that tree originally is for), but she didn't go for it. She did admit though she loves it there...so there may be some wiggle room left for discussion on that subject.

- Even though Christmas Minis end tomorrow, I will have Christmas Cards available for purchase if you book a full session! Please visit my website for more details www.herdreamsoftomorrowphotography.com -