I've been doing a yearly recap post for as long as I've been blogging, but I decided to do something a little different this year. We all agree that 2017 was one of the best years we can remember, so here's to talking about all of the best bests we've had this year! The Best of January January of last year was quiet. It was hard for me to believe how quiet, as I looked back through the blog posts, but we were just settling into life in our new home and getting ready for a big trip the following month. We spent a lot of time at home together and that is exactly how we plan to spend this January, too! We made progress on Sophie food aversions with a gastro clinic appointment, enjoyed our last circus ever, went on an indoor climbing adventure and tried our hand (or feet) at ice ...
Best Christmas Cookies Ever
I've blogged about these cookies before, but with only a few days left before Christmas, you need them in your life! I'm not kidding you when I say that these babies are in high demand. My mom has baked them so many times this month -- to give to family and friends, to carry to Christmas parties, for Santa -- and this probably wasn't the last time we'll make them before the end of the year. My mom had all four grandkids over for cookie baking this afternoon and we're doing our best not to eat them all before Santa's arrival! Gran's Famous Christmas Cookies Ingredients: 2.5 sticks of butter 3 cups of sugar 3 eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 7 cups of all-purpose flour 7 teaspoons of baking powder 1 box of sifted confectioner’s sugar 2 tablespoons of ...
Christmas Things
How about a good old fashioned, catch me up, post?! December has been full of so many fun and memorable moments, but there is no way to devote an entire post to each one. Here are a few of the things we've been up to in the last few weeks -- it has been holiday central in our home! Last Tuesday was Sophie's Christmas Program at school. Can you spot her there, on the top row, wearing reindeer antlers? It was a multi-grade program, so her class at on the bleachers across from us until it was their turn. She was the cutest on stage -- grinning from ear to ear, every time she caught us looking. We don't have nearly enough photos of the girls with my grandparents, so we grabbed a quick snuggle with my Pop. He was especially proud that day -- he had sold one of the girls' ...
Collaboreads | The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. Today's post is a little sad, because it's our last month of the Collaboreads Link Up (maybe ever sadder because I didn't even add a linky widget to the post?). Rachel and I have loved hosting and sharing our books with you this year, but we're ready to try something new for 2018 and to invite you to come alongside of us! Just in case this is your first month to find Collaboreads, here’s how it worked! We picked a general theme for each month — this month it was to read a book you could find for free, then you pick a book that fits the theme (we all read different books, which means you weren’t roped into ...
Christmas Garland Tutorial
As much as I love living in our new home, sometimes I still miss the Rock House. It was quirky and, like all old homes, had it's flaws (like the cracks in the stucco that I artfully cropped out of these photographs), but it was so bright and was the most fun to decorate around the holidays. Last year, we put up a tree and added a few holiday touches to our kitchen, but it felt more like a transition than a settling in. This year, we're embracing our not-yet-renovated forever home, but I'm taking plenty of inspiration from our previous one. One of my favorite things we ever did, was to add fresh garland around our windows and the archway in our living room. Sure, we started with an inexpensive, wire garland from the dollar store, but you'd have a hard time spotting it beneath all of ...
The Daily Dime | December 2017
Let me preface this post by saying that it never snows in Alabama. We might get a dusting or two during a season, or an ice storm that shuts down transportation, but we never get anything measureable to play in. Twice in my life can I remember enough to build a snowman and my girls have never seen a snowfall in their life -- our flurries almost always happen overnight. Friday was a bit of an anomaly. We knew to expect some flurries, but I didn't expect for school to close, nor did I have any plans to stay at home. When I woke up at 5 o'clock (to watch Call the Midwife), there wasn't a flake to be seen. At 6 o'clock when I stood up to refill my coffee cup, the ground was almost completely covered and the flurries were falling so furiously, that you could barely see the ...
Our Holiday Home
I’m sharing a Holiday Home Tour and linking up with Victoria and Sarah as a part of their Christmas link party! Admittedly, I haven't shared much about our home in the last year. It's not that I don't love it or that it's not beautiful, I just had this idea in my head that it had to be finished -- or even started! -- before it was ready for the internet. I've learned a lot in the last year, but the thing highest on my list is that I love my unfinished home and I want you to come over and enjoy a cup of coffee and sit in the floor (because we still lack furniture) and chat about all the things. But, for now, let me take you on a tour of the common spaces, all gussied up for the holidays! I got a ridiculous number of questions and comments about this wreath, when I posted it on ...
Christmas Cards + Family Photographs
This is a sponsored post written on behalf of MPIX. All opinions and text are mine alone. I’m so excited to share my Christmas Cards with you today, and to be guest hosting with Victoria and Sarah as a part of their Christmas link party! Be sure to visit them both today and check out all of the other bloggers linking up with their holiday cards, in the widget below. I had big plans for our Christmas Cards this year. We had just finished our camper renovations this summer and had planned to have a big photoshoot while we were on our summer vacation. Instead, we spent much of that trip inside of Opal, battling a tropical storm, and our fun family shoot never happened. Obviously, I can't complain -- my sister is a miracle worker and managed to squeeze in an amazing family ...