Our 2017 Christmas Card

A few weeks back Scott, Fiona, and I met up with amazing photographer and one of my dearest friends Brittany of Brittany Blake Photography at the most darling Christmas tree farm in Hillsborough, NC! 

Brittany always seems to capture "us" and I am so thankful for these images that made the most perfect Christmas cards and for her talent.  

Ok...prepare to be overloaded with a whole lot of Gaither Family Love!  

Outfit Details

 

The Gaither Kitchen: Cinnamon Toast

We have been under the weather here at The Gaither House for the past week.  It honestly seems like everyone has had their turn at this nasty head cold that is going around.  Yuck!

This past weekend I was on the the tail end of my cold, but Scott was just really starting to feel bad.  On Friday night he started to reminisce about when his mom would make him cinnamon toast.

So, I started asking questions because I could tell immediately this was a childhood fave.  Basically, "Mama Gaither" would take a piece of toast, cover it with butter and sprinkle with a cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Then pop the toast in the oven under the broiler, where Scott said they would then stare at the oven to make sure it wouldn't burn! So cute! 

As Scott was taking in some much needed extra sleep Saturday morning, Fiona and I were up with the birds for playtime.  Then it hit me, I can totally make cinnamon toast and hopefully make the husband feel a little better.  Now, if you know me, I always have to mix things up a bit.  So, I of course turned to Pinterest to check out a couple different variations of this much talked about Cinnamon Toast.  I decided to go with a variation from my fave Ree Drummand of The Pioneer Woman.  She's pretty amazing in my book!

Here's what you'll need!

2 Sticks of Butter

3 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

16 Slices of Bread

Now, let make some yummy Cinnamon Toast!

First, soften your butter!  I just popped the two sticks of butter into the microwave for about 15 seconds.

Then just helped the melting process a little with a fork. 

Next, mix in your sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.

Once you have all your ingredients in your mixing bowl, give them a good stir until all are blended. 

Next, you guessed it! Lather those pieces of toast up! 

Once you have your toast covered in this sweet goodness, pop into your oven to bake on 350 for 10 minutes.  Then turn the broiler on to really toast it up for about a minute.

This recipe yields 16 pieces of Cinnamon Toast.  We did over indulge, but there was NO WAY just the two of us could devour all 16 slices.  So, we saved the leftover mixture for Sunday morning.  Just pop it back into the microwave for 15 seconds and give it a good stir.

And there you have it!  A super simple and crowd pleaser recipe to cure the childhood craving and help get over the yucky sick blues!

Gifts for Him

I don't know about your family, but in our family, it's the men that are the absolute hardest to shop for.  Even as I sit here racking my brain on gifts for the guys in my family I am still kinda clueless.  What I do know are these timeless gift ideas are always a sure win.

Kiehl's Men's Starter Kit

Braided Belt

Timex Watch

J. Crew Robe

Cuff Links

Ugg Slippers

T. Anthony Duffel 

Sauvage by Dior

Fun Socks

What are your go to items when shopping for the fellas in your family?

Leave your gift ideas in the comments below and HELP ME OUT!

Happy Thursday and Happy Shopping!

Gifts For The Hostess

Our calendars tend to fill up fast over the holidays with casual family dinners, intimate parties with our closest friends, and large lavish soirees.  No matter the size of the gathering you will attend this holiday season, it is always a good idea to have a hostess gift on hand.

1. West Elm Diffuser

2. Animal Wine Stoppers

3. Monogram Wine Stopper

4. Mark and GrahamWine Tote

5. Coaster Set

6. Anthropologie Cheese Board

Remember, your hostess put a lot of time and energy into creating a memorable evening.  

Spoil her (or him) a little and you're sure to be the first wine glass topped off! ;) 

Cheers! 

Quote of the Week {Weekend Wrap Up}

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays! I love coming together as a family, remembering the true meaning of Christmas, and of course all the gift giving.  It's just such a happy time.

Every year we spend Christmas Eve at my dear Great Aunt Flonnie's house.  She is 94 this year and I think we all are counting our blessing for having another year with her.  I have to be honest, I am a little camera shy since packing on the lbs for what is sure to be a healthy and plump Baby G, but I had to snap a few pics with my precious family!

 This is my and Scott's 3rd and last Christmas together as a family of two! So we were up at 6:30am to make special memories and open gifts just him and I! 

We really kicked things off at Scott's Parents!  There was an amazing breakfast, gifts all around, and great QT with the family!

Our next stop was to see my parents and brother!  I have to say "Santa" seriously impresses me every year.  I cannot count the blessings!  Baby G received so many gifts...this baby is already so loved and sure to be spoiled! 

 One of my favorite gifts that brought on yet another round of tears (I can't count how many happy tears I have cried lately) was this precious ornament from Sweet Mama.  To say our prayers with Baby G were answered would be an understatement! I still thank God in amazement for HIM blessing us with this priceless gift.

 

After we wrapped the Christmas festivities all I wanted to do was work in the nursery and start putting all of the little one's things away!  And, since I have been holding out on you all, and will be for a few more weeks I thought I would give you a tiny peek into Baby G's nursery!

I still can't get over how warm it was in NC these past few days.  Upper 70's for Christmas is just crazy!  So on Sunday, when we were back to our usual routine of cleaning around the house and running errands, our big boy got a much needed bath.  I'm not sure how happy he was about this at the time, but he sure seemed to be a happy boy after his bath!

So how was your Christmas?!  Did you enjoy lots of quality time with your family?

As we wrap up the 2015 year and welcome a new fresh 2016 I leave you with this quote!

An Ashley Family Tradition

In just a few short hours I will be unplugging and cherishing Christmas moments with my favorite loved ones.  But, before I go, I want to share one of our family traditions that I hope you can adopt for your family.

Every Christmas morning my brother and I would rush downstairs to see what Santa had brought us that year. We would rip through the wrapping paper, screaming with excitement, tossing one gift to hurry and discover the next gift and before you knew it the living room looked like a bomb went off and gifts were everywhere.  My Sweet Mama really felt like we weren't truly appreciating our gifts or taking time to really enjoy each gift.  So she and "Santa" decided it was time to come up with a new plan for the kiddos.  When I was about 5 years old and my brother 9 we came downstairs one Christmas morning to find a sign in front of all of gifts that said STOP! "First, put on your new pajamas and your mama will explain the rest." So we did just that.  Then mama began to read "the rules"...

Each of your gifts has been numbered.  Now the trick here if you have more than one kid, especially ones who LOVE gifts from Santa (like me), make sure both or all kids have the same number of gifts!  Then Mama would randomly pull a number from her bowl of numbers that she had made.  "Number 7" OK,  now Brent and I would shuffle through our pile of gifts to find the present marked #7!  We would both open ours then wait for the next number to be called.  There is ALWAYS a present in the stack (usually the biggest box) that we were dying to open!  BUT, you had to wait till that number was called.  It was so intense!!  This process of opening Santa's gifts fills more time and also makes you really take in each gift.  Another added bonus, your parents get to see the excitement on your face with each present!  Dad's, your main job is to film the kids opening the gifts!  Oh and try to keep the camera steady!  I swear you need a Dramamine pill before watching our old home videos.

Sharing this tradition with you all brings a bittersweet feeling to me.  Now most kids stop believing in Santa and for me...I am almost 34 and I STILL believe in the magic of Christmas.  For almost 30 years now I have opened my presents alongside my brother with Mama calling numbers. It's just a tradition you never seem to grow out of.  This year will be our last year that we open gifts this way.  As of next year, I will be "Mama" and I will take on the role of helping Santa by calling numbers to our sweet "Baby G" on Christmas morning. It's a moment I can hardly stand waiting for.  A moment I have dreamed of and a tradition I have longed to pass down to my very own family.
 

May you all have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!  May you also remember that Christmas is about something way more important that opening gifts.  

I wonder what God wants for Christmas…Maybe peace on Earth, no more empty seats in church
I wonder what God wants for Christmas…What might put a smile on HIS face, Every Bible with no dust, the devil giving up
I wonder what God wants for Christmas…More sister, more brother, more lovin' one another
What if we believe in HIM…Like HE believes in us...

Merry Christmas! 

(all images via pinterest)

 

From the Gaither Kitchen {Christmas Pinwheels}

Cranberry Pecan Christmas Pinwheels are one of my favorite appetizers to make over the holidays.  They are festive, bite size, and always a crowd pleaser.  

 

What You Will Need  

2- 8oz packages of cream cheese

1 Cup of coarsely chopped pecans

6 slices of bacon (cooked crisp so it will crumble)

1 Cup of dried cranberries (chopped coarsely)

½ Cup of green onions (thinly sliced)

4 large tortillas (2 sun dried tomato and 2 spinach if you want to “tis the season”)

 

Combine all ingredients (minus the tortillas) in a large bowl. Lay one tortilla on a flat surface and spread ¼ of the mixture evenly across the tortilla going all the way to the edge. Roll the tortilla up tightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. To serve, unwrap each roll and cut into slices about ¼ inch thick.  To shorten the amount of time on this recipe I suggest a KitchenAid Food Chopper (I live by mine when cooking) and you can also buy microwaveable bacon and cook crisp. 

 Plate, Garnish, Enjoy!

Last Minute Holiday Gifts

Still in search of a few last minute holiday gifts?  We have the most perfect round up for you!  Have a look at these great, easy to shop finds that are ALL at the perfect prices, because let's be real... we know we all are officially over budget at this point! 

 

Happy Shopping

1. Target Monopoly 80th Anniversary

2. Anthropologie Voluspa Candles

3. Anthropologie Lollia Hand Cream

4. Target Fur Throw + Knit Throw

5. Starbucks Gift Cards

6. Hobby Lobby Candle Sticks

7. Philosophy Snow Angel gift Collection

8. Urban Outfitters Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams on Vinyl

9. Pier 1 Ornaments

10. JCrew Harry's Winter Essentials Kit

 

Quote of the Week {Weekend Wrap Up}

Happy Monday and Merry Christmas!  This past weekend we celebrated my amazing husband’s 32^nd Birthday! We kicked things off on Friday night with a birthday dinner with my family! 

Saturday on Scott’s actual birthday we started the morning with gifts of course.  After Scott was spoiled, we spent the day with Scott’s parents and nephew shopping and just spending QT time together.   

 

Saturday night we wrapped up the celebrations with dinner with a few of our closest friends.  After dinner we all drove out to see what all the fuss was about regarding a home in a neighborhood putting on a light show.  It really was pretty cool, the family broadcast from a local radio station so once you tuned in and had the music the show was super adorable!  Right now we keep our home pretty Christmas classic, but I told Scott we totally have to do a National Lampoons kinda Christmas as we continue to grow our family!

 

Sunday, was super exciting! We registered for our precious little Baby G!  I have had the hardest time with  registering because I am not really into the "baby stuff".  You all know I am simple. I like whites and golds and clean crisp looks.  So trying to keep this in mind while prepping for a baby that we don't even know the gender of is super hard.  BUT, we did it! 4 registries total!!  I am finally happy with the selections! Registering for our wedding was way easier.  I feel so clueless shopping for the "necessities" for Baby G, but I totally have a handle on buying our angel clothes! 

I just love this picture of Scott! It just melts my heart when I see him reading up on strollers and such to make sure they are perfect and safe for Baby G.  My nickname for him is "Danny Tanner" because he has so many of the same qualities.  I just love it!

***

I wish you all the most beautiful and magical Christmas and may we all today and always remember the reason for the season!