Taping Up The 2019 Box...

Bang the pots and pans, it's a NEW DECADE! Happy January and Happy 2020 friends! And just like that, 2019 is a thing of the past. Twelve months that were faster than hair growth for some people. I'd ask you how you spent your New Year's Eve, but you're going to have to reply down below in order for me to know. Here in KY., Bill and I decided in favor of our traditional celebration of staying home 🤗 It's way safer and much cheaper. Earlier in the day I went out and bought us each a slice of cheesecake (one was Oreo and the other White Chocolate Raspberry) from the Cheesecake Factory to eat instead of a toast at midnight. And don't judge, but we spent the evening finishing up the final season of Vampire Diaries! What a way to bring in 2020!!❤️

I guess I should back track a little. Just a little over a week ago was Christmas. It almost feels like weeks ago to me because, well...all my Christmas decor is back in storage! Yes, two days after Christmas I spent the entire day taking everything but the tree down. The tree came down 3 days after Christmas lol. I can't make this up, I seriously am done with Christmas the day after! As much as I love all the decor, I feel smothered when Christmas is over. I literally have thoughts of a simpler decorated Christmas for 2020 and I'm really hoping my kids can someday use all the decorations I have. I don't know if it's an age thing for me or the fact that it just seems overwhelming with all this "stuff". However, one thing I do like to do is this...

These poor dogs. They don't stand a chance with me as their mom. Kimber (in the Santa suit) is the most lovable and tolerable sweet girl. She just sits there just to appease me, I know it. Karma on the other hand, loves to dress up! She marches to her own drum, (until she hears another one) and evidently the little sweater I bought her ended up fitting her like a speedo. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Here's the picture that went out in Christmas cards this year. I'm telling you, Karma loves to dress up! And I'm happy to oblige!

We're fortunate that neither dog is interested in the Christmas decor. They have the run of the house except for the Living Room. We gated the room off when they were pups which helped train them to stay out. The living room houses the main Christmas tree and is the room where company gathers.

We have two large couches and two oversized ottomans spaced out in the room, but come Christmas, we have to scoot them in a bit so the chosen tree our family cut down can stand. It gets nice and cozy 😍

And speaking of tree, I mentioned in my last post we were going to cut one down. Well, we went to the tree farm we have been going since my 24 year old daughter was a baby. It's located in southwestern Indiana, about 45 minutes from our house in Kentucky. When we pulled in, there was a sign that said, "Last holiday tree sale" followed by another sign right behind it that said, "Thanks for the memories"...😲 So I asked a parking attendant what that all meant and he said it was the final year for Christmas trees....🤭🥺😥 My emotions were everywhere. This was the tree farm my kids grew up going to. I wanted to make memories with future grandchildren at this tree farm...😥 But now it looks like the new decade is having us start our family tradition somewhere else. All good things must come to an end...which just means, time to start fresh again!

And as usual, there I was with camera in hand watching the tree go up. When we first got married and for several years following, we used to hold our breath and cross our fingers the tree wouldn't come down. And yes, we did have one come down. I remember we had to use twine to string around it and close the twine in a window right next to the tree to hold it upright! Tree stands have come a long way and we no longer have that worry, thank God! My dad, my son, and Bill are all in charge of putting up the tree. Ever since the kids were babies, my dad would come over for dinner and after dinner everyone would work on the tree. Us ladies stay out of the way until it's time to put up ornaments. I personally like knowing that if something goes wrong, it's not my fault! Evidently so does our daughter who is plopped all snuggly on the couch.🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank goodness we finally got a December snow! It gave me a reason to go outside and photograph the house looking in the windows. It's fun being a creeper to your own home! Below is a picture of the dining room tree which is just a little white tree (the dogs posed in front of above)

But the snow!☃️ It was so pretty and it made the house look so inviting!

I prayed we would have a white Christmas! The snow made it so festive and made me want to bake cookies...so I did...like a lot of cookies!😂 Our youngest daughter found out she wasn't able to come home for Christmas after all, so what does a good mom do? Bake cookies and send them to her!

I made chocolate chip (with and without nuts), peppermint, snickerdoodles, blueberry crumbles, and sour cream cookies (her favorite)❄️ I also made candied pecans and homemade hot butter rum batter to give as gifts. Have you ever had hot buttered rum? OH MY...think butter rum lifesavers...❤️ Makes a wonderful alternative to hot chocolate. Both the hot butter rum batter and the candied pecans are super simple to make, but you do need a good hour for the pecans to cook.

So, like MOST Christmas lovers, I was hoping for a white one, but in Kentucky fashion, we ended up with a sunny and 60+ degree Christmas which meant our fur babies got to chill on the deck while we prepared for company. The night consisted of some extended family enjoying some good food, exchanging gifts and playing an INTENSE game of Family Feud. (with the word INTENSE being a polite description).

However, while everyone was playing games and cleaning up, unbeknownst to us, Santa's reindeer was doing surveillance in our back yard! Needless to say, we always miss the big boys! Zoom in if you can!

To round out the year, Bill and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary on the 29th❤️ This incredible man took me to a favorite Italian restaurant and it was so low key and wonderful. I'm still trying to come up with something to do for our 30th this year. I need to plan and save now being we weren't really thinking straight 29 years ago getting married at Christmas! Anniversaries are almost an after thought with Christmas just days before.

And here he is, the one who holds my heart... I have to admit, I think this is my favorite picture of him❤️

Well friends, that's the end of my 2019! Just want to say THANK YOU for following along these past couple of years. It's been such a learning experience and a lot of fun blogging and meeting new friends via my blog, instagram, and facebook. If you'd like to follow FB or Insta, the logo links are located at the top and bottom of the home page.

Wishing everyone a beautiful memory making 2020...