wreaths.

trees.

ornaments.

cookies.

wrapping paper.

twinkle lights.

stars.

sitting around the living room, laughing at the latest hallmark movie. they all seem to have the same plot at this point, but we really don't mind. the living room is warm and the tree is sparkling and we are happy.

driving around town, looking at all of the different Christmas lights. projections seem to be in this year, which we all agree isn't our favorite decorating technique. we dance in the backseat despite the fact that no music is playing, and laugh over things that aren't even funny.

cookies upon cookies upon cookies are baked. too many to count. six hundred? seven hundred? who knows. the counters are covered in flour and the kitchen is filled with music as we bake and bake and bake for hours on end.

we anxiously watch the weather report, only to sigh in disappointment. once more, it looks like there won't be a white Christmas here in the south.

alone in my room, the tiny tree twinkles. i like to refer to it as my charlie brown tree. i don't care that it's small. it's cute, and i happen to think it's the perfect size. the dim light fills my room as i read about Jesus's birth for the millionth time- it never ceases to amaze me.

a message pops up on my phone. soon, the doorbell rings, and a friend comes inside. we exchange Christmas presents and laugh over jokes that we hadn't thought about in months. i'm sad to see her go- our time together grows less and less frequent, and neither of us likes it.

the floor is littered with wrapping paper and bows. tape sticks to our fingers as we wrap the piles of presents and stack them underneath the tree. the paper makes me happy- snowmen and candy canes and snowflakes. everything is so seasonal and cheery and i love it to pieces.

Christmas music fills the air constantly. familiar songs that we've heard all of our lives, so beautiful that we can't help but sing along.

i pour over the lists in my notebook for the umpteenth time. making sure that i've remembered everyone's gifts. they have to be perfect. as usual, i can't help but wish that i could give more gifts.

as i'm writing this right now, white christmas is playing. it will forever be my favorite movie-no matter how many times that i watch it, it never gets old. bing crosby's voice is unmatched by anyone.

red. gold. glitter. tissue paper. music. laughter. stockings. elves. nutcrackers. sweaters. joy.

i just love Christmas more than i can possibly say.

~~~~~

I hope that you all have the most wonderful Christmas. I love you all so much. ♥

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hello, lovely humans! Goodness, I haven't done a Weekly Wrap-Up post in forever! My last one was at the end of October, that's so crazy. I don't know if y'all enjoy reading them, but I just love writing these posts up, they're so much fun!

My week has been pretty typical, a good week overall. Everything has been super busy lately, which has been kind of stressful. School, rehearsal, friends, life- it's craziness! It's fun though. To add more excitement to the mix, we've finally gotten snow! I shared that we got some snow flurries on Wednesday afternoon, but then last night we got actual snow! As in, my backyard is currently white. Oh my gosh, I love it. Waking up to everything being white is so much fun, and it's so beautiful. Plus, it got us out of a three hour rehearsal first thing this morning, which certainly didn't hurt my feelings haha! It's been nice to have a day at home to do school and just get caught up on life.

Lately rehearsals have gotten intense, with rehearsals three times a week. These rehearsals are for my sisters' show, but I'm the dance captain, so I go to every rehearsal along with them. It's a lot of work, but it's fun. I'm also doing crew, and hair and makeup for the show, so that's going to be a lot of fun. I love theatre, and even though it's stressful, I can't wait for show week! It's seriously the best.

Oh! Here's a good story for you all- I ended up teaching some dance classes this week! At my fine arts group, I'm in the dance company. There's one teacher for the company, and then there's another teacher for the high school and middle school dance classes. I've taken a class with the other teacher before, and she's also the choreographer for the show I'm helping with, so I know her pretty well. On Sunday, I found out that she was sick and not going to be able to teach her classes on Monday, so...she asked me to teach her classes for her! I was really nervous (some of the students are older than I am!), but it was SO much fun. I really enjoyed it a lot! I expected to be freaking out practically the whole time, but honestly once I started I wasn't nervous at all, and I was able to enjoy it. It was a super fun experience!

Made Me Smile:

SNOWWWWWWWWW

Fun Bible studies

The whole teaching thing was so much fun, and I seriously love everyone in those classes so much, they're great. 

Writing almost three chapters of my novel! It was getting really frustrating for a while, but I finally worked out some issues and now I'm really happy with how it's going. 

I finally got my room cleaned up too, and I'm a lot less stressed out now that it's actually semi-organized.

DID I MENTION SNOW IT'S JUST SO WONDERFUL

Ugh:

Cold weather. When it's not snowing, the cold and I do not get along. 

Drama. I really hate it. 

Anatomy and I are not friends. I get grossed out way too easily. My teacher has a ton of really awesome stories, but some of them freak me out a bit too much...

Loving:

PANDORA. I literally just got it this week because I needed music for the dance class, and I'm kind of obsessed. 

The Sensitive Jack Kelly Twitter account. If you're a Newsies fan, it's honestly the funniest thing in the entire world. 

My 5 year journal. It's so much fun, and I'm really proud that I haven't missed a day yet!

The fact that Carrie St. Louis and Ally Fox are going to Wicked on Broadway!! I saw them when they toured and they're both so phenomenal, I'm so excited for them. 

The song "Drops of Jupiter". I know it's old but it's been stuck in my head all week and I just really love it. 

Pinning:

My friend showed me this quote one time at school, and I've loved it ever since. It's just so beautiful. 

This outfit is impeccable.

Pride and Prejudice is life, guys..

Her hair is legitimately perfect.

These made me laugh so hard...if you understand this, you are an amazing human and you deserve a cookie.

I'd love to make a headboard like this. 

~~~~~~~~~~

How was your week?

GOOD Things About Winter- Wait, They Exist??

Guess what happened today.

IT FINALLY SNOWED!

IN THE SOUTH!!!

Granted, it was for less than an hour. Tiny flurries. Still, it was so much fun to see snow. I really love it. Apparently my cat does, too.

It's really kind of hilarious how the South freaks out about snow. It literally snowed for an hour, and they were talking about closing schools tomorrow. Gosh, I love where I live.

It's been soooooo cold lately. Well, cold for here. It was in the thirties and I was dying. I've been cold basically all day, I'm just now actually warming up after having a shower and curling up with a Hallmark movie. (It's really cute, by the way. It also may or may not be a Christmas movie. Don't judge me.)

There's been a consistent thought running through my head today. Elsa lied. Sorry Elsa, but the cold does bother me. A lot. So could you warm things up please? I am not a winter person. Y'all know that. I legitimately have gone around my house with three pairs of socks on, yoga pants, and a giant sweatshirt on top of my regular shirt. I get cold SO easily. Winter and I are not friends.

But I was thinking- there's got to be something good about winter. (Well, actually, I was thinking, gosh I need to blog, but the winter thing was next.)  Thus, I am creating a list.

Good Things About Winter

An official list by an extremely anti-winter Southern girl

1. Hot chocolate

Because yes, technically you *can* drink hot chocolate in the summertime, but it's 10x better in the winter. 

2. Big sweaters

They're comfy, they're cute, they're warm. What's better?

3. SNOW

I think that this one's kind of self-explanatory. 

4. Christmas, New Year's, and Valentine's Day!

Holidays certainly make everything a bit happier. 

5. Curling up under a blanket with a good book

There's nothing like spending a cozy afternoon inside with a book. : )

6. Days spent at home

I love winter days where there's nowhere that I have to go, and I can just stay home where it's warm and comfortable. They're the best. 

7. Fuzzy socks

I literally live in them during the wintertime.

8. Sitting next to a roaring fire

The sound of a crackling fire, and feeling its warmth...I love it. 

9. Comfy winter pj's

I have so many amazing winter pajamas. It's a miracle I ever get dressed in the wintertime. 

10. Fun time with family and friends

Even though it's cold out, there's still lots of fun and warmth indoors. : )

-------

I'm not going to admit just how long it took to come up with that list..but I did it! A list full of GOOD things about winter!

-------

What do you think of wintertime? Do you like it, or are you longing for warm weather again? 

Winter Tag!!

Disclaimer: I did not create this tag! All credit to @macbarbie07 , also known as Bethany Mota! :)

So, I decided to do the #Winterliscious tag! I figured hey, it's winter, I might as well do a Winter tag! So, without further ado, here we go!!

Questions!

1) Favorite Winter Nail Polish?

Hmm. I really don't know. In the winter, I really like pale blues and deep reds. I also really like metallics, like silver and gold. 

2) Favorite Winter lip product?

Either EOS or Baby Lips, I can't decide. I'd probably have to go with the Sweet Mint eos.

3) Most worn Winter clothing piece?

Oh goodness...this is pretty boring, but yoga pants. I LIVE in them in the winter. I also really like big comfy sweaters, because they're really cute and warm. :)

4) Most worn Winter accessory?

I really don't know. Probably my scarves. I absolutely LOVE warm infinity scarves!!

5) Favorite winter scent/candle?

I'm not really into candles, but I adore anything that smells like peppermint!

6) Favorite Winter beverage?

This is easy- hot chocolate!! I'm not really into coffee, but I drink hot chocolate basically every day!

7) All time favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?

Oh gosh, I don't know! It would have to be between White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, Christmas in The City, or The Christmas Box. I know that's kind of a bunch of options, but I just love all of them!!

8) Favorite Christmas/Holiday song?

Oh no. I don't know!! I LOVE Christmas music, and I really can't decide. Pretty much anything on my Holiday Playlist, which you can see here.

9) Favorite Holiday food/treat?

Cookies!! My family bakes a ton of Christmas cookies, and they're all so delicious!

10) What is your favorite Christmas Decoration this year?

My favorite Christmas decoration..probably my little Christmas tree in my room. It just makes my room feel so much more festive and cozy. :) We've also decorated the whole first floor of our house with fairy lights, and it's so pretty.

11) What's at the top of your Christmas list?

It's really late to be saying this, but I just don't know. Everyone's been asking what I want for Christmas for weeks, and I just can't come up with a good answer. It's a lot more fun to pick out presents for other people! 

12) What are your plans for the holidays this year?

Well, every year, we spend Christmas morning at my house, and then we spend the rest of the day at my grandparents with my whole family. It's so much fun!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this winter tag! If you're reading this, I nominate YOU to complete this tag! If you do, leave a comment with a link below, I'd love to see it! <3

Happy November!!!

Wow! I can't believe that it's already November! I'm kind of sad to see October go, to be honest. I love all of the Halloween preparations in October, from the costumes to the food to the crafts. It's all just so much fun. My Halloween yesterday was super fun, with dressing up, and waaaay too much sugar! ;) I ended up going as Cruella DeVil.

Do you like it? I changed it a bit from the fifteen minute version that I posted yesterday, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I have to say though, there was one part of yesterday that wasn't quite so fun.
I was betrayed.
Yep, I was completely and utterly betrayed by some of my closest friends yesterday. So that hurt. I'm sure all girls reading this blog know exactly how that felt. I thought that we were friends, guys. We spent so much time together. Did that mean nothing to you? You deserve to be punished.

By this point, reader, you're probably laughing at me. But booties, I am hurt. After wearing you for the last month, you betrayed me. My feet now have SIX painful blisters from you, one of which was to the point of bleeding. So yeah. That was fun.
Anyway, I swear, I AM sane. Somewhat. ;) So, back to November!!!!!!
I've got a bunch of fun posts lined up for November, and I'm really excited about them. I am determined to become a good blogger this month. I'm trying really hard to get my posts lined up IN ADVANCE, so I'm not scrambling around trying to put something together for you lovely ladies. :)
Like I said back in my first October post, this isn't exactly my favorite month. I just can't quite get into fall as much as I can, say, July. BUT, there is one thing that November has in its favor.
HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!
I admit it. I was already singing Christmas carols today. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!" We've had a really cold day where I live today, and I'm in a very Christmas-y mood. The air is brisk, and it just smells like the holiday season outside. I'm starting to work on Christmas presents for my friends and family, and brainstorming Thanksgiving recipes. What can I say? I love the holidays!
Gosh, I'm rambling today. Sorry about that, girls. So anyway, all this to say, Welcome, November!!! Stay tuned for some wonderful November posts!! :)

~Grace Anne