Favorite Thing Under $10

After telling you about the Favorite Things Party, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite items under $10.  These were all in my arsenal for the party and decided on the Bath & Body Mentha Lip Tint for my item.

This is super handy for helping you keep track of what you need at the sto'

This saves your life wrapping all those presents!! I love it. I buy the refills after Christmas when they're on clearance!

 

Move over Caramel Macchiato - Hello Caramel Brulee Latte

Mrs Meyers Geranium Liquid Soap - YUM!

Bath and Body Works - C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint

So what your favorite items under $10?  There were so many good ideas at the party and I've already gone out and got a few of the items that were there.  These would be some great items just to keep on hand in case you need any hostess gifts on the fly!  Maybe you got some wonderful items in your stocking this year??  Do tell!

Merry Merry ~ Happy Happy!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

♥

The Leischner's

A few of my favorite things… and People!

Every year around this time I enjoy hosting some kind of event.  Last year I did a cookie swap, remember?  This year I wanted to try something a little different.  I had read about the idea of a “Favorite Things” (F/T) party on some blogs:  The Nester’s.  Brooke’s.  And Katie’s take.   I thought this was the perfect excuse to bring my friends together.

The general gist of the party

• Bring 3 of your favorite items (3 of the same items)

• $6 – $10 price range

• You’ll present your item and give it to three different people.  So you’ll end up going home with three different items.

So once I knew that I wanted to try this F/T party, it was time to figure out the invitation.  I checked out the normal options (evite, etc.) and couldn’t find anything that was quite right.  I came across the site Paperless Post and really liked their options.  And this was the end result:

So we had the date.  Invitations sent out.  What’s next??? The To-Do List & the menu of course!

I had been “pinning” ideas on a board specifically for the F/T party. You can check it out here.

Menu:

Prosciutto Cups	Layered Greek Dip
Asian Spring Rolls	Jalapeno & Raspberry Jam w/ Cream Cheese
Caprese Skewers	Bacon & Peach Pinwheels
Raspberries filled w/ Lemon Curd	Peanut Butter Cup Bark
White Chocolate Pretzels	Fruity Water
Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider

Everything turned out pretty tasty although there were some “challenges.”  Alton Brown’s recipe for Lemon Curd didn’t thicken up like it was supposed to.  The filling for the prosciutto cups left a little to be desired so we had to doctor it up a bit.  And there’s one whole recipe I’ve left off the list because they may have burnt over-cooked.  But all in all good stuff!

Of course we weren’t here just for the food…  we were here to share our favorite things!  And this is where the pictures fall short.  I was partying with my girls and didn’t take the opportunity to capture shots of all the favorite things.  But I can show you what I got:

Book & muffin mix     •    Mug with tea    •  Sam Adams Berry Wheat & Spicy Almonds

There were so many good ideas!  We had a total of 16 people so we learned about LOTS of Favorite Things:

Curel Extra Healing Lotion • Scarves • Vanilla Cinnamon Candle • French Press • Key Chain • Ped Egg • Gloves • Post-it Dispenser • Wine • Hand Soap • Snazzy Chocolate Bar •

So all in all – I do believe a Favorite Things Party may be my Favorite kind of Holiday party around!!  You’ve got to try it!  If you have please tell us about it!  Or if you’ve blogged about it leave a link for us to check it out!!

Winter Getaway…

This past weekend Joe and I headed to the far hills of Snowshoe, West Virginia.  We had an awesome getaway but as always it’s good to be back home. 

Thought I’d share our weekend through pictures…

Ahhhh… what a great time!  It’s a bit of a drive but totally worth it.

Joy & Love… or something like it…

We’ve been talking a lot about pictures recently.  We talked out my Aunt Uncle and cousin’s pictures, then we saw the shots that Elizabeth took of me and Joe.  And today I thought I’d share some shots from a little photo shoot with Julie’s girls.

Thanksgiving weekend the girls came over one afternoon for a little impromptu photo session.  Now we obviously don’t have children but I have experienced the impossible task the challenge of getting a photo where everyone is smiling, looking at the camera and seem at least somewhat happy.

But all that being said – we actually got some pretty good shots.  Yes there are some where everyone is smiling but they’re even better ones that truly show the girls’ personalities’.  Some really fun ones!  Julie made the call to go with those “real” ones which made some super fun Christmas cards!  Let’s take a look at some of them!

   

**priceless**

 

 

he-larious!

And the final card:

Beautiful precious girls!  But can I just say… when did they get so big?!?!  Ellie’s wearing one of my hats – can she really be that old?  And sweet Emily and those pigtails- be still my heart!  I love these girls so much!  I can’t wait to see the Christmas card in the mail – a perfect way to say

Merry Christmas!

Banner Holiday!

I wanted to show y’all how I made our banner for our Christmas cards.

Remember these uber cool inspiration pictures:

I really liked this banner idea but couldn’t find one in a store so…  what do we do when that happens?!?!  We make our own!

So I grabbed some supplies from Michaels:

Letter stickers, tags, and leather string

I applied one sticker per tag.  Then cut short strings and tied them with a split knot.

Next I attached each word to a long string – attaching them to their own string

Super simple right!

And just in case you didn’t see some pictures with the banner – here’s how it turned out…

Love this shot!  She’s such a kooky girl!! Love her!

Oh and I’m sure this cute little banner will be making into our Christmas décor!  Score – double duty!!  Merry merry, happy happy, ya’ll!!

Holly Jolly Photos

So…  I’ve decided to take the plunge and send out photo Christmas cards.  I feel a bit silly sending out a picture of just me and Joe…  I know, it’s probably not weird but for some reason I think couple shot = just married or engaged.  And obviously we are neither of those.  But I got over it and decided to take the plunge. 

I needed to do some research on ideas for poses.  Nothing that looked too “we just got married.”  So off to Pinterest I headed…  making a board of ideas.

Here are some of my favorites… (click on the photo to take you to the source)

So with these ideas in mind…  we headed outside after Thanksgiving lunch with my sweet cousin as our photographer. 

And the winner:

I’m hesitant to show the actual card cause I want it to be a surprise for those who will be receiving it in the mail!  So what do you think?  Does it look like we’re trying to be a newly engaged couple?  Ok good!  Have you taken your photo yet for your cards.  Check back for our adventure of taking pictures of Julie’s girls for their card!  Too fun!!