Stop it Target!

Hat & Sunnies: Target, Vest: Gap, Blouse: JCPenney, Skinny Jeans: Charlotte Russe, Booties: Maurices, Oxe Blood Socks: Herberger's, Purse: Thrifted!

Let me just say it, "Stop it Target!"  Every time I enter those store doors, my eyes catch a new beautiful piece of art.  Can I call accessories art?! Well, I'm going to!  Accessories that are on the clearance rack and less than five dollars = My Weakness!  I have to say that I am definitely getting more selective with my purchases, but the inexpensive, adorably fun hats.....you make me want to take you all home and fill my closet with one in every color.  Okay?! Not really, because that would be selfish and foolish of me to spend all of my "hard worked for" paychecks on such things.  Hmmm...........maybe I'll leave with just one...or none.  Whatever.....just stop it before I have to go to TSA.....Target Shoppers Anonymous, okay?! Okay! :)

 

 

XO Tiff

I hope your Christmas week went well and your New Year is a celebration!

Woot! Woot!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 



Would you take my hand and skate with me?

 James and I found a night this week that was emptied of plans and full of time together.  We stirred with ideas in our heads, but wanted to do something we don't have the chance to do on a regular basis!  So.............of course SKATING was it!  It was cold enough but not too cold, and the earlier in the season we skated, the better!  When it gets cold in northern Minnesota IT. GETS. COLD. I tell ya!  We dusted off our skates and headed to one of the area's public ice rinks.

 

It was intimidating to see kids 15 years younger then me twirling and cruising on the ice like it was nothin'.   I was lucky to have not fallen and bruised a hip or something!  Those kids......the dedication and time they practiced to be better on the ice!  Their parents and all the time and effort they put in to help their kids along with their passion of skating (or hockey) was evident. 

 

Though I was never a skater, it reminded me of all the trips, time, and money my mom and dad put into my passion of volleyball.  If only I understood that back then....would I have thanked them more and appreciated them more?  I guess that is what growing up is all about...learning to appreciate people more.  It is never too late to appreciate someone and that is what I get to do now.  Thanks mom and dad (& sisters too!) for encouraging me and my passion of volleyball, and all my passions today!  I'm thankful for James too and how he encourages me in our marriage and ministry that God has called us to!  James, thanks for taking my hand and skating with me. 

I appreciate it!

 

XO,  Tiff

 

P.S. SOOOOOOOOOO appreciating the chance to head home to Wisconsin this weekend. 

I am looking forward to Christmas with those I appreciate! :)

 

 

The Games of Traveling

James and I have the privilege to travel back to Wisconsin this year for Christmas family time!  We are very happy and excited!  If only we could blink and then we would be at our destination.  Instead we must travel on snowy roads and it takes about 4 hours.  To some that is nothing, to others that could seem like forever...especially with families that have youngsters in the back seat saying, "Are we there yet?!" at least a bazillion times!  Traveling is already a game in itself: packing luggage without bringing too much, not forgetting extra socks, packing a tooth brush (especially when you are eating all the sweet treats)...the list goes on.  For us, we usually take the time to listen to music, dance crazy with seat belts on (kinda of hard to explain) while listening to music as passing tavelers get freaked out and think we are weird!  I thought about some games we could play, just the two of us, & Rainey (oh yes....she is coming too).  When you have one person driving in snowy conditions, a dog in the backseat, and the other one searching through all the Christmas CD's we have, there doesn't leave much time (or space) to pull out the latest game of Monopoly or Twister (that one would especially be difficult). 

So, here are some suggestions for the two or three people traveling together:

 

1.  I Spy - We all know the I Spy books from when we were children, at least I hope you were able to enjoy that in your childhood.  It is really fun to play on the road.  Just pick something you see - in vehicle or outside of - and have your fellow passengers try and guess what the object is.  Make it more challenging by only allowing 4 to 5 guesses!

 

2.    The Alphabet Game - You have to find letters on road signs by starting with A all the way through Z (in order).

 

3.  Twenty Questions - One person thinks of an object or person, and the other people have to ask questions only that have an answer of "Yes" or "No."  The guessers have to try to figure the object or person out before they ask twenty questions.

 

Now, for those who are traveling in a larger group, here are some great games to put in the your vehicle and they're travel size!

 

Mini Chess & Checkers from Restoration Hardware (Now On Sale! Why not gift it!?)

 

Travel Scrabble from Restoration Hardware (Also On Sale!)

 

If you know the roads will be bumpy and your driver is rushing through traffic (safely) in time for Christmas celebrations, maybe try a Tile Locking Scrabble game like this one, instead! ;)

 

Settlers of Catan Portable Edition found here 

(James and I have brought this one along on multiple occasions!)

 

 

So, there you have it, travelers of all ages!  Make sure to make the most of your time on the road and never play the last three games if you are the driver!  Seriously, I am a firm believer in safety first! :)

 

How far do you have to travel, this Christmas!?

 

 



The way to his heart...

So, poor James ended up getting the same severe cold I had.  Sad, yes!  Friday night, all he needed was some down time.  With this down time, nothing feels better than taking care of him....maybe it is just a wife thing....I don't really know?!  The care he needed was to fill his stomach with comfort foods and give him the comfiest spot on the couch. 
So this is what happened!!!!:

1.  Chicken in a Biskit,  
2.  Chicken, Bacon, & Ranch pizza and................
3.  Enough Dr. Pepper to last the weekend (more than two glasses were required!)

You know how they say it, "The way to their heart is through their stomach!" 
Let's just say I made it straight to his heart as fast as you can say, "Honey, look what I brought you!"  ..............He was smitten!

"the one" all bright!

Here it is..........the beautiful tree of ours.  I thought I would try some new manual focusing on my camera to get the Bokeh effect. Bokeh is the fuzzy or blurring in the out-of-focus areas of an image.  Blah, blah, blah.......................now let me reveal our tree slooooooooooooooooooowly to you, 'cause it may be too intense all at once!!! ;)

Tada!

We went for "simple" and "white lights" look this year, with absolutely NO ornaments!  Yikes......it's naked!  Call us crazy, seeing as I just received all of my ornaments from my parents and I'm not using a single one!  It's okay though, 'cause I hope to have many Christmases in this home of ours and who knows.........next year, I may just go crazy and pile them all on! 

 

For us........simple is good!

 

Have a blessed weekend!

 

XO, Tiff

We found "the one"

 We searched far and wide; deep into the forest.....okay, more like we drove down one road for a few miles and stepped maybe 30 feet into the woods & ditches...........but we found it!  Ain't she a beauty?!

 

She's James' and my very first, real Christmas tree!  James and I never expected to be able to take an afternoon with the family and pick out our very own!  There were so many options but we went for her.  And by the sounds of it.....I guess it's a girl!  Who ever knew that trees were boys or girls....I must just have this thought in my mind that our firsts are going to be girls:

1st dog - girl

1st tree - girl

           1st kid - hmmmm....

We must be having a girl.........HOLD UP....not until I get impregnated! 

....And we probably will have at least a couple Christmas trees to find before that little girl (or boy) comes along! ;)

Someday pretty baby........someday!

 

Until then, I hope to have more "Christmas tree searching" days like this one...with "the ONES" I love:

 

 

Check back in later, as I share a picture of "the one" ......all beautiful and bright! :)

 

xo, Tiff

 

 

The first thing I saw...

Well hello there family and friends! How I have missed you! 

This gal has been recovering from a long, lingering, head cold.  You know the kind that makes you want to just curl up on the couch and literally do nothing!?  Well, that's what it felt like for me, but I am so thankful I am feeling so much better now! 
I'm back and with a lovely outfit just for you. 

 

The day that I did run some errands, I threw on the first thing I saw in the closet, literally.....and THAT. WAS...................
James' sweater (of course)!

 

Not my sweater, but his!  What can I say?! It was the first thing I saw and I liked it! 

It was the perfect mix of casual and comfy...but not totally "Hey, I'm sick" looking!  I paired it with my current favorite boots, cuffed denim, and a checkered scarf.  I even tried this braid I found on Pinterest to get the messiest braid ever! 
Remind me to try this braid again, now that I'm not reaching for a Kleenex every five minutes!
It gets kind of difficult when your holding a Kleenex in one hand and three sections of hair in the other! Agreed?!

 

 

Have a Happy & Healthy Wednesday........no Kleenex needed! :)

xo
Tiff