It's finally here! My birthday! (Or New Years Eve if you celebrate that...) A couple of posts ago I told you all about the top 10 reasons having a December birthday sucks, so today I want to move on to something I have adopted to make my birthday more fun. A bucket list. I made the decision a few years ago to try and visit some of the top places to celebrate ringing in the new year. Even more fun is I am celebrating today in one of these cities listed. Can you guess which one? It was a birthday gift to me from my other half and I am going to keep it a secret a little longer. (Hint: Follow me on Instagram to see some clues of where I am!)

/*/ New York City- Checked off in 2006 into 2007!

/*/ Disney World - Made it here for Christmas in 2008 but never New Years!

/*/ Vegas! - Made it here for the summer of 2005 but never New Years!

/*/ New Orleans

/*/ Nashville

/*/ London

/*/ Australia

/*/ Singapore


So I still have quite a bucket lists of places to get, but no matter what it is, my birthday is always anything but ordinary! I always celebrate with friends and in style :)




Happy New Years everyone! I hope it is a good one! Stay safe and have fun! See you in 2015!!

Hey folks! Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! For some of us, today is back to work before the new year. Those some of us folk include me. Rats. I need to find a job that gives me all the time off between Christmas and new years... Anyway. Today I am showing you my last quarter of my year. This goes right through today. You are just going to have to come back next year to see how my year ended ;) If you are interested in how the rest of my year went you can do so: (January February March) (April May June) (July August September). I hope you all had a great year and continue it right into 2015!



*12/25 Spent Christmas with my parents and this cutie!

Hey there! I hope you all had a great Christmas and are still enjoying it through the weekend! Back at the end of November I came up with the great idea (At least I thought so) of hosting a holiday tea swap. I also said I was going to host a link up so everyone who participated could link up their goodies. I had 6 participants with me included and it looks like everyone including myself received their tea last week. I call that a success!


Today I want to show you what I received and let anyone who participated link up their goodies!
I was paired up with Kate over at The "Florkens". Kate sent me some of her favorite teas, and I am now a fan!


What I got:

Lipton Green Tea Super Fruit- This stuff is AH-MAZ-ING! I don't know how she knew I loved fruity teas, but this sure did it!

Stash Ginger Peach Green Tea - I am normally not a fan of Stash teas but I really liked the flavor to this one. I may have to buy a box.

Peppermint Tea- Like Kate said, you can't have winter tea without a peppermint tea! She is absolutely right!

Tazo Berry Blossom White - I tried this one first. Kate drinks this one before bed. I see why! It was so yummy and relaxing!

I am so pleased at how my first swap turned out! I plan to do a few more swaps this year so stay tuned!


Now while we are still on the subject of tea, I also want to talk about another favorite that I have been sipping lately. Celestial Seasoning makes a yummy holiday tea called Candy Cane Lane Green tea and it is perfect! I was super thrilled when I opened up my Influenster Frosty VoxBox and saw another sample of this amazing goodness.

 If you haven't tried this and you are a peppermint fan, you are missing out! Get going and try it today! Now if you participated in the tea swap link up your posts about what you got! If you didn't participate in the swap link up your posts about tea!

I hate shopping. Yeah I said it. I am a girl, and I hate to shop. This makes shopping for Christmas gifts like a strategic war game that I will never win. I get a few ideas for the couple of people I actually buy for and then talk myself into all the reasons why no one will like them. No, Dad will HATE this Roku for the TV and Mom is going to roll her eyes at that pair of slippers that I thought she'd love.


I hype myself up for a trip to the mall. "It's going to be great! My list has awesome ideas on it and I'm gonna get in and get out with all those fab gifts!" Fast forward an hour later. I am walking around aimlessly through the mall trying to decide if I should go into Best Buy or Target. I window shop and "oooohhh and ahhhh" over some of the items, but still can't bring myself to go in and purchase anything. What's wrong with me?

Maybe it's because I have a problem with parting with my money. I have been training myself over the past 2 years to think before I splurge. There is no need to buy on impulse and I have gotten really good at researching the best prices. I usually find all of the gifts I want to buy on a good deal. Maybe this is why I hate to shop. It reminds me that I need to save and can't go crazy just because it is the holidays.

Maybe it's because I take after my dad. He shops every year on Christmas Eve. I find that procrastinating makes everything more stressful, but hey! I still get the good presents. Right? Nothing more festive then rushing around the mall on Christmas Eve with all the other last minute shoppers. Enough to raise the blood pressure and possibly start on that grey hair.

Maybe it's because I think to much about what everyone is going to buy me. Will Jamie get me a gift card? How much is Rob going to spend? Where is Mom going to shop for me? I need to purchase something as equally cool as they buy me. Oh darn if only I knew what they all bought. It would make this so much easier!

Maybe it's because I dislike the cold. No matter how bundled up I get, I still feel like I could freeze when I step foot outdoors. Snow is pretty but it deters me from wanting to go out and shop for people. Ice makes driving a load of fun. Can't I live in Florida? My gift shopping mood may change.

Maybe because I insist on making all of my Christmas Cards. I can't give a gift without a card! Oh look there is only 2 weeks til Christmas and I STILL haven't come up with a theme for this years card. Maybe I can buy some instead. No NO, I will make them. I always make them. Maybe if I make no cards, I won't have to buy gifts. NO that makes you a bad person. Okay I will get out my paper and glitter.

So there you have it. Christmas shopping is my nemesis. I always come through in the end but man do I make it hard on myself. How about you? Do you have any issues with shopping? What plans do you set up to get it done?