Friday Favorites: February 5, 2016 Edition

Happy Friday, everyone . . . enjoy!

Stacey's Favorites:

So one of my favorite laughter go-to's (and the one responsible for coining my favorite phrase, "Difficulty is inevitable; DRAMA is a choice!") is Anita Renfroe (seriously, I even bought the shirt). She is so unbelievably talented, funny, and so on point! For women and mothers everywhere--she's got you covered! The first time I got to see her live was at a Women of Joy conference in Myrtle Beach, SC. Of course, along with her comedy, she has numerous books and DVDs. One of her books is co-authored by her husband, who is a pastor (the fact that she was at one time a pastor's wife is quite humorous to even her!) He is now by her side as they travel the globe making women laugh in Jesus' name.

This book is one of their couples' devotionals. It stuck out to me when she spoke about the book to the crowd because she mentioned its very intimate possibilities. She told ladies who were interested in purchasing it that they would be checking for wedding rings at the book table--it was hysterical! Check it (and Anita) out at http://www.anitarenfroe.com.

I'm on a book kick this week I suppose (I love a theme . . . just can't help myself . . . ask my friends).  In thinking about Valentine's Day--my favorite holiday--I would be remiss if I didn't share this one! The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Jan Brett (if you're a children's book nerd like me, it really doesn't get much cooler than these two together!) is such a sweet story of a bear couple who share their first Valentine's Day. Of course, bears always sleep through during hibernation, so clocks are set to wake up for the special day. I love the underlying theme of pure love for one another by both husband and wife. My copy is a little more than worn as it was also my mother's favorite read-aloud to her kindergartners for so many years.  Just pure sweetness!

Andrea's Favorites:

Seven years ago today, I became a mother for the first time. As with many women, I anticipated a quick and easy delivery and a short hospital stay . . . I'm sure you can guess that THAT was not the case, so I was glad to have this packed in my hospital bag:

My sweet grandmother bought me an Aimee nursing gown and matching robe. Girls, you know those promises that you hear that you know are simply not true? ("See, you'll be able to wear this bridesmaid dress again!") Well, miracle of miracles, I can tell you that their claim that you can wear these gowns long-term is true. Now, I am not willing to tell you how much weight I gained during my little boy's incubation time, but I will tell you that my size fluctuated quite dramatically and quickly after delivery, and I still love and wear this gown and robe. These sets are soft, comfortable, flattering, and forgiving. The gown is perfect for nursing (no nursing bra needed--a nursing pad stays put fine), but even now that my nursing days are in the past, the gown is still pretty and modest. By the time I had my daughter, I had acquired three of these gowns and two robes. If you are planning to have a baby or if you're looking for a gift for an expectant mother, she'll love these pretty gowns.

So now that Mr. Groundhog is ready for spring, you might be too--and if so, you'll need a bottle of this at your kitchen sink:

I was at Bath and Body Works earlier this week with the intention of buying some hand soap and a candle . . . I walked out with a heavy bag and more than $40 poorer, but I could not resist this scent. Blushing Tulips and Peonies is a clean, fresh floral that shouts a big welcome to spring. It begs you to put on a yellow dress and go sip tea on your porch. (It has a lot to say.) Besides the foaming soap, they also have this scent in the hand sanitizer.

Finally, like Stacey, I love Valentine's Day. Not only does the day provide an occasion to romance your partner, buy treats for your friends, and break up the boring mid-winter, but it also provides a great opportunity to talk to your children about love and friendship. My daughter is in kindergarten and my son is in the first grade, and both have at least one classmate who isn't a favorite to play with; yet, both children know that it's important (well, okay, it's also mandatory) that they share a Valentine card with those children. We'll be working on those cards this weekend, and we'll talk about friendship as we decorate cards.

It won't be all about them, though . . . after more than 17 years with the same man, I still dearly love to flirt with him. Here's how I do it:

Love is in the air, everyone . . . celebrate!

--Stacey and Andrea

A Hubby's 12 Days of Christmas

A few years ago, I ran across a very cool idea: 12 Days of Christmas gift giving for your husband. I thought it was neat because I had never heard of it. Of course, my bubble was quickly burst as I logged onto Pinterest and found a ton of ideas . . . who ARE these people with all of this insider information? Anywho, being the nut that I am, I thought, "How fun would it be to do this for my kids' teachers too!?" And as it would happen, in that same year, I had bought Advent style boxes for both children and had them paint the boxes as a fun Spring Break project. I then filled those for the kids to open each day! Everyone had a little something going on!


Now, before you roll your eyes, just know this little burst of freakish energy was short lived, and this "perfect storm" of Christmas tiding never rained down as a group again.


Like most new things (at least for me), I was all over it! The ideas and gifts just fell into place . . . I was so stoked! Just ask my co-director at the time. I had wrapping junk and gifts shoved in every corner of my office and under my desk so that my husband wouldn't happen upon them at home. I scoured Pinterest for ideas and ran across everything from candy to fit the "numbered" days, socks and drawers and the like for each day (which just seems wrong--how boring), just plain ole surcies that had nothing to do with the numbers . . . uh, no . . . if you're gonna do a theme, DO a theme. And of course, several Pinterest promoted the naughty, freaky, sexy "doing" the 12 Days of Christmas. While I'm sure that one would have been received with great enthusiasm, I throw my back out doing the laundry, so a crotchless panty Christmas, it was not.


I have kept up with this tradition for my beloved, and he LOVES it! He won't say it, but when that first gift day rolls around, he gets a lil giddy . . . around day four, he'll say something along the lines of "Oooh, another gift!"


My man of few words tells much with so little. I think--well, I know--that I love doing this for him so much because he ALWAYS knocks it out of the park when he gives me a gift, and I have had more gift fails in our nearly 19 years together than I care to mention. Knowing that he loves it and looks forward to it, and knowing that I can make him smile--this man who gives so very selflessly all year long--just makes my heart burst!


I like to end with the 12th day falling on Christmas Day, so I begin on December 14th. I start thinking and planning usually around the end of October. I buy/make, wrap, and tag all twelve gifts before the 14th--that makes "delivery" each day so much smoother, especially with so much going on right in heat of the holiday season. So here are my gifts from that first glorious year:


1st Day of Christmas

Season ONE of Once Upon A Time on DVD - RIGHT!? So perfect! We love this show but came upon it really late in the first season.


2nd Day of Christmas

TWO tickets to see Michael Buble in concert - My husband has a December birthday, so I'm killing two birds here, people! Michael Buble is one of our favorites, and having seen him in concert before, this was just too awesome, especially so close to home.


3rd Day of Christmas

THREE days in Greenville - The concert was IN Greenville, and we NEVER go anywhere, so a three-day excursion was just right! Btw . . . concert wasn't until January. I definitely wouldn't be THAT foolish as to try and do all that in December.



4th Day of Christmas

FOUR wine glasses - Bless that man. Ours all seemed to be broken. He's a bit of a wrecking ball with anything made of glass, plastic, broth . . . (see the incompatibility list).




5th Day of Christmas

FIVE GOLDEN DOLLARS!!! (and a new wallet!) - I learned that you have to go to the bank to get these . . . aanndd you might have to go to a couple of banks. He really needed the wallet, so the five gold dollars just made sense . . . and again . . . peeeeerfect!



6th day of Christmas

SIX chocolate-covered strawberries - Now this one I had delivered from Edible Arrangements, so scheduling was a definite so that it would arrive on the right day. Very yummy . . . he shared.




7th Day of Christmas

SEVEN cards a 'coming - I bought and wrote/signed seven different Christmas greeting cards (the good ones from Hallmark, even) and strategically placed them for him to find during the day. I have fond memories of watching my mother do this very thing for my dad on like a random Tuesday, so this one was sentimental for me.




8th Day of Christmas

Dinner reservations at EIGHT pm - Like I said, this perfect storm never happened again, but this particular year, the 8th day fell on a Friday night, and the kids' Advent boxes held a "coupon" to rent a Redbox video to watch with the sitter while we went out. Everyone was super stoked! And we got a little down time for just the two of us.




9th Day of Christmas

NINE kisses - Simple enough. But change 'em up . . . keep your man guessing! Wink. Wink.




10th Day of Christmas

Top TEN List - Very David Letterman style here. I typed a list of the top ten things that I love about him, and I used the coolest font and the best clip art I could find; I printed it in color and framed it. Interesting side note: this one has stayed the same for day ten each year, but the list is ever changing.




11th Day of Christmas

"Heaven" at ELEVEN - Okay . . . so maybe there weren't novelty undies involved, but I figured that since we would most likely still be up at 11 pm on Christmas Eve, why not a little Mommy kissing Santa action?




12th Day of Christmas

Modernist Cuisine Book - This was the only one that didn't have the number associated with it, but it was a book that he had seen featured on a cooking show, and I FOUND it! I really wasn't willing to give up the day one spot, cause . . . duh . . . perfect! So this was his "big" gift, and appropriately so on Christmas morning.


It was a fun experience! Of course, the tags were all rhyming and could be sung to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas." Years following haven't been quite this over the top, but like I said, I was on FIRE that year! Whoop! Whoop!


I highly recommend doting on your man a little this season . . . and be sure to throw in a little lovin'! ;)


--Stacey



PS - If you'd like to see the lists from other years or if you'd like my 11 days of teacher gifts ideas, let me know! I'd be happy to post.