oh hey, friday | all things december

Happy Friday! We have been all about that Christmas vibe since the day after Thanksgiving and I'm loving every minute of it.

{ONE}

Our elf, Red, came back yesterday bearing gifts! Donuts and milk and new Christmas jammies for the girls to kick off the month. He magically brought a new book with him, too, seeing as how Gracyn ripped up every single page of our first book last year. This book will be kept high on the shelf away from tiny hands because they cost, like, 30 bucks and and we - I mean, SANTA! - doesn't have time for that every year... ;)

Call me crazy, but this was the first time we've tried Shatto milk. I love milk but I'm kind of weird about what brands I'll drink. I know - super strange. But some brands just taste off so I stick to the ones I know and love and don't tend to stray.  Shatto has some crazy flavors (banana and cotton candy!?) and I've always wanted to try a few so it worked out for Red help us out. The chocolate was delightful and I even tried their coffee milk, which sounds terrible, but was sooo yummy! I put a splash in my actual coffee this morning, too.

Leighton was a little monster all day yesterday but G kept running to tell the elf how good she was being. He might take up permanent residence if her stellar behavior continues... :)

She wanted to eat lunch with him, along with the letter Santa left about behaving!

{TWO}

On Saturday night we're meeting up with some other Kansas City Moms Blog families for Downtown Dazzle. If you are local to Kansas City, check this out! It was so fun last year! There is a free trolley that runs from Crown Center/Union Station down to Power & Light and takes you on a tour of all the holiday lights in the heart of KC. Crown Center and Union Station alone are breathtaking during the holidays - we finally went down and spent a day in the area last December and it's one tradition that I want to keep up with. So many lights and trees decorated for Christmas, along with the mayor's tree and ice terrace at Crown Center. It really is beautiful.

{THREE}

So far, most of my holiday shopping has been done online. You just can't beat the sales and convenience. One major downfall? It's wayyyyyyy easy to spend a crap ton of money buying all the things. Then you get mail day like this and have a mild heart attack when you check your bank statement...

But, I'm ALMOST done shopping for Justin and the kids but have a few other people on my list still. I may have to break down and go to the actual mall for a few things here soon.

{FOUR}

Justin said the first year in our new house would be a "test run" for outside lights but they're looking good! He keeps adding random strings here and there an making sure all the white lights "match" but I love it. It's so festive and fun.

{FIVE}

Have you seen these cute little rustic deer at Home Depot? I saw them in their Black Friday ad and sent Justin to the store to pick up a few for our front stoop. They're so cute and only $7 each! I think it'd be fun to paint or stain them some day, too.

I think that's enough Christmas cheer for one post. I miiiight (meaning, I will..) put together a little holiday home tour next week because I have no shame in thinking you'd actually want to see the rest of my home decorated for this joyous holiday...  ;)

Hope you have a good weekend!