Let's Be Friends Blog Hop

Welcome to the Let's Be Friends Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a set time frame for current or aspiring bloggers to find new blogs and quality content. It is a great way to make new friends and find inspiration! It is also a fabulous way to promote your own blog and posts.

Dear Friends,

What a day to celebrate! This is the 97th week of the Let's Be Friends blog hop! Thanks for joining us on this special day. Chelsee and Tiffany are extremely delighted to see the way this hop has grown and love to see your faces each week!

Join us every Tuesday at 7am (MST). This blog hop focuses on content. LINK UP YOUR FAVORITE POST from last week in this fun content-sharing blog hop! I love the idea of blog hopping, but I love the idea of reading posts and quality content on new blogs I've never been to even more. Instead of simply linking up your blog button, you are now able to link up your favorite post you recently wrote. Have a delicious recipe to share, DIY tutorial, or heartfelt post? Share it with us! All hosts and co-hosts put up some unique and fun content from the past week. Make sure to check them out. P.S.- you may still link up your blog button and blog name, but it is encouraged to link up your favorite post instead. You will get more page views and interest if you do so! Some of the most successful blog hops I have participate in focus on content rather than just exchanging follows. You never know who will become a loyal follower or pin that delicious new recipe you posted!

The BEST part of this blog hop? Each week there will be a WINNER! That's right, each week we will choose one lucky blog to feature from the previous week's hop. This hop receives thousands of page views every week, so your blog will have the chance to be center stage for free. You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win. Only those who link up a specific post are eligible to be featured! *You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win.

The last exciting change is that the co-host spots will now be available to all sponsors of The Dwelling Tree or Southern Beauty Guide. If you are interested in co-hosting the blog hop, email Tiffany or Chelsee about sponsorship opportunities and how to co-host the weekly hop!

There are a couple of great giveaways going on right now at Southern Beauty Guide and The Dwelling Tree. Go check them out! :)

Let's Be Friend's Blog Hop Guidelines

1. Link up your favorite post from your week.

2. Follow your hosts and co-hosts.

3. Grab the button and post it on your blog so we can share the love.

4. Visit 3 other blogs, comment, and follow them along!

5. Tweet about this blog hop, using #letsbefriends

6. Pin the button on pinterest so we can spread the news!

***Once a week, one blog will be chosen to be the featured blogger from the previous blog hop.

Meet your hosts:

The Dwelling Tree: Blog, Bloglovin'

Southern Beauty Guide: Blog, Bloglovin'

Meet this week's co-hosts:

Penny @ Penny's Passion

Kelly @ Our Cone Zone

Jess @ Living on Sweet Tea

Ashley @ That Southern Mama

Mary @ Little Bit of Class Little Bit of Sass

Ashley @ Keeping up with Ashley and Cody

***This weeks featured post from last week's hop:

Thank you all once again for continually linking up at our blog hop. It is such a fun time and I am so impressed each week with all the amazing posts. Please continue to link up an actual post instead of your blog. We want to keep reading your content and it makes it more fun to pick a winner!

Is there anything we can do differently or better? Please share in the comments!

... onto the winner!

Winks and Eyerolls

Have a cup of cheer (printable)

Hello everyone! This is Tiffany!

I just loved this awesome idea for a simple and inexpensive gift. I am always looking for ideas for house warming gifts or hostess gifts, and this is so cute. There are lots of fun variations to do as well.

Winks and Eyerolls is an awesome blog with great posts. I really wanna try the Homemade Peanut Brittle. It looks SO good! Sierra and Faith both share the blog and are sisters. How awesome is that? Go check them out and follow them!

Thank all of you for your amazing posts each week. I love reading all that you share!

Keep posting awesome content! You make it so fun for us to read all your posts! If you can, please link up a specific post. It makes it easier for us to come and visit!

*Remember YOU can be next weeks winner! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Five on Friday - December 26, 2014

Happy day-after-Christmas everyone!  We are actually having one more celebration on Saturday at our house so I have one more day of holiday fun in front of me.  I literally can.not.wait to see everyone!  Of course, I still have tons to do to get ready so let me spill my five today and get back to the preparations.

1.  Leslie Sansone Videos

With January 1 and those New Year's resolutions looming, many of us will be thinking about dropping a few pounds in the new year.  In comes Leslie Sansone videos.  I'm not a huge exerciser and I'm definitely not in shape.  These videos are built on moves I can actually do and afterwards leave me feeling like I had a good workout.  

2.  Shower Tablets
Have you guys ever tried these?  My friend, Linda, put some in my birthday box and I finally had a chance to use one.  OH MY GOODNESS -- they are fabulous!  You just drop them in the shower (preferably in the stream of water) and breath in the goodness.  I don't know where these have been all my life, but I won't be without them again.  You can pick some up here.

                                 

3.  KidSmart
Looking for a last minute tax deduction?  Consider KidSmart.  Their mission is to ensure that children and their classrooms in the Greater Metropolitan Saint Louis Area have the basic tools for learning by transferring, at no cost, the community's surplus supplies and merchandise into the hands of teachers for school children in need.  I have personally volunteered for this organization and seeing the faces of children getting the school supplies they need for their classroom is truly heartwarming.  Check them out on their website here.

4.  Lia Sophia
Have you ever been invited to a Lia Sophia jewelry party?  Well, guess what -- they are going out of business.  Right now they are selling off their inventory so there's some good deals to be had.  I have a few of their pieces that are about a year-and-a-half old and so far are really holding up well.  You can check out all the deals on their website here.

                                         
5.  Quote

I'm going to leave you with this thought.  The new year is coming and it's a great time to clean up the list of people in your life.

                               

Hope you are able to relax for a few days after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  I have some fun stuff planned for the next few weeks so I hope you have a chance to drop by.

Linking up with:

Rebecca at XOXO Rebecca

Jennie at The Diary of a Real Housewife

Lauren at The Lauren Elizabeth

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

Amanda at Meet At The Barre

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

The Grits Blog

Simply Sweet Home
Oak and Oats

Let's Be Friends Blog Hop - December 23, 2014

Welcome to the Let's Be Friends Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a set time frame for current or aspiring bloggers to find new blogs and quality content. It is a great way to make new friends and find inspiration! It is also a fabulous way to promote your own blog and posts.

Dear Friends,

What a day to celebrate! This is the 97th week of the Let's Be Friends blog hop! Thanks for joining us on this special day. Chelsee and Tiffany are extremely delighted to see the way this hop has grown and love to see your faces each week!

Join us every Tuesday at 7am (MST). This blog hop focuses on content. LINK UP YOUR FAVORITE POST from last week in this fun content-sharing blog hop! I love the idea of blog hopping, but I love the idea of reading posts and quality content on new blogs I've never been to even more. Instead of simply linking up your blog button, you are now able to link up your favorite post you recently wrote. Have a delicious recipe to share, DIY tutorial, or heartfelt post? Share it with us! All hosts and co-hosts put up some unique and fun content from the past week. Make sure to check them out. P.S.- you may still link up your blog button and blog name, but it is encouraged to link up your favorite post instead. You will get more page views and interest if you do so! Some of the most successful blog hops I have participate in focus on content rather than just exchanging follows. You never know who will become a loyal follower or pin that delicious new recipe you posted!

The BEST part of this blog hop? Each week there will be a WINNER! That's right, each week we will choose one lucky blog to feature from the previous week's hop. This hop receives thousands of page views every week, so your blog will have the chance to be center stage for free. You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win. Only those who link up a specific post are eligible to be featured! *You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win.

The last exciting change is that the co-host spots will now be available to all sponsors of The Dwelling Tree or Southern Beauty Guide. If you are interested in co-hosting the blog hop, email Tiffany or Chelsee about sponsorship opportunities and how to co-host the weekly hop!

There are a couple of great giveaways going on right now at Southern Beauty Guide and The Dwelling Tree. Go check them out! :)

Let's Be Friend's Blog Hop Guidelines

1. Link up your favorite post from your week.

2. Follow your hosts and co-hosts.

3. Grab the button and post it on your blog so we can share the love.

4. Visit 3 other blogs, comment, and follow them along!

5. Tweet about this blog hop, using #letsbefriends

6. Pin the button on pinterest so we can spread the news!

***Once a week, one blog will be chosen to be the featured blogger from the previous blog hop.

Meet your hosts:

The Dwelling Tree: Blog, Bloglovin'

Southern Beauty Guide: Blog, Bloglovin'

Meet this week's co-hosts:

Penny @ Penny's Passion

Kelly @ Our Cone Zone

Jess @ Living on Sweet Tea

Lauren @ Simply Free

Mary @ Little Bit of Class Little Bit of Sass

***This weeks featured post from last week's hop:

Thank you all once again for continually linking up at our blog hop. It is such a fun time and I am so impressed each week with all the amazing posts. Please continue to link up an actual post instead of your blog. We want to keep reading your content and it makes it more fun to pick a winner!

Is there anything we can do differently or better? Please share in the comments!

... onto the winner!

Musings of a Museum Fanatic

Puppy Chow

Hello everyone! This is Chelsee. With Christmas only a few days away I feel the scrambling feeling all over again as I am trying to decide on what to wear to Christmas Parties and what dishes to make. I intend on making the recipe I chose to win today and hope you all do too. I have tried it and I personally love it! 

I found Betsy's post to be very informative and easy to follow. For someone that needs detail instructions like myself, this recipe will be one you look forward to making. Not only is this treat easy to make but it is also super yummy.  Betsy is one of my favorite bloggers, she has all the best recipes, music reviews, and more that all will love. I personally look to her for all my pampered chef needs!

I will be referring to it in the future. This time of year is supposed to be about so much more than getting! Thanks Betsy for this post, I loved it, and had to share!

Go check out Musings of a Museum Fanatic, a blog I am sure you will want to follow ASAP.

Keep posting awesome content! You make it so fun for us to read all your posts! If you can, please link up a specific post. It makes it easier for us to come and visit!

*Remember YOU can be next weeks winner! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

<---end data-blogger-escaped-html---="">

Weekending - The One Before Christmas

Hello!  This weekend should have been the one that was packed with Christmas preparedness.  But, quite frankly, it just wasn't.  I caught a horrible cold last week that really wiped me out.  On Wednesday I was only at work for 35 minutes and decided to go back home.  So last week was pretty much a wash for me and I had a lot of catching up to do!  Instead I found myself spending much of my weekend reminiscing of when Ian was a little guy.

I have to admit, without little ones around it's hard not to feel like I'm missing out on a lot of fun.  I miss the Santa Breakfasts, school holiday programs, room parties, advent calendar.  Even as Ian got older and I didn't have many of the mentioned things, I still looked forward to him coming home from college and cooking all his favorite foods.  The house is just SOOOO quiet these days.  So, for all of you out there with little kiddos driving you crazy -- cherish the moments!  I know it's cliche, but those years will truly be gone before you know it and you'll be sitting in your quiet house wishing you had some of the craziness back.

Friday night I was exhausted!  Eric and I opened the mail from the week (I know, I'm horrible at letting it stack up all week).  It was so fun to see everyone's Christmas cards!  I just love watching the kids change and grow.  We capped off the evening by laying on the couch watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and eating pizza.

Saturday morning I did some quick shopping online while still in bed.  Amazon Prime to the rescue!  I have a 30-day free trial.  Verdict is still out if I'll keep the service or cancel, but Saturday I was LOVING it!!  If you have Amazon Prime, what do you think of it?  I would love to hear from you.  I was also able to finish I project for my friend Tracy -- look at these adorable pillowcases with names on them.  She scored the fabric from Pick Your Plum.

A total of one package is wrapped at my house.  If you're Kayden, you're in luck.  Sorry everyone else -- hopefully I'll get your present wrapped before Thursday.

                                 

Eric got to see Santa on Sunday.  Hope he told him what I'm wanting for Christmas!!

Hope you are more ready for your holidays than I am mine -- I still have a few days to pull this together, right?!?  I'm sure it will all come together in the end.  

Check out what others were up to this weekend.

Join the Gossip

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Life of Meg

More Pieces of Me
Bella and the City

Five on Friday - December 19, 2014

Here we are -- the last Friday before Christmas.  Next week will be full of the "getting ready" tasks we all have before us.  Hope you find some of my Five on Friday ideas helpful!

1.  Candy Canes
Candy canes are so fun to use for lots of things at Christmas time.  Put two of them together and they make adorable Valentines things too!  But you won't be able to purchase these babies in February, so stock up now.

2.  Lip Shine
The weather is getting colder and it's hard to keep your lips from getting chapped.  I'm in love with this lip shine from Bath and Body.  For many of us, Bath and Body is our go-to store for lotion and soaps, so while you're in their store check out the lip shine.  The cinnamint flavor add a little tingle to this non-sticky gloss.  Great stocking stuffer!

                                              



3.  Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
Want a super easy, delicious appetizer?  Pour some of this over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers.  It's just that easy.  I keep a jar handy because it's the easiest thing in the world to whip up whenever you need a fast appetizer or snack (and this time of year that could be at any minute).  You'll love it!!

                                   

4.  December Giveaway
In case you missed it earlier this week....

I'm not exactly sure what could be better than a big ol' giveaway to start off the week.

Especially right before Christmas.

Amy | Libby | Hannah

Karli | Sierra & Faith | Tiffany | DeNae

Bailey | Erica | Penny | Sydney 

Not only do you have the chance to win $170 via paypal,

{aka, super speedy payday}

but you can also win a darling 5x7 print:

via

AND as if that's not already enough... there's more.

Size 6-12 month Hello Moccs.

Best giveaway ever?

I think so.

It might just be your best Christmas yet.

Aren't those gals up above all lovely?

Show them some serious love.

And don't wait any longer.

Get entered in this awesome giveaway now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5.  Gingerbread House
If you start running behind this holiday season and really, really, really want to make a gingerbread house -- try this!

Enjoy the last weekend before Christmas!  It's going to take some effort, but I'm going to give it my best shot to take some time to just breath this weekend and not get too stressed out.  Wish me luck!  I'll be hoping for the same thing for you.  :)

Linking up with:

Rebecca at XOXO Rebecca

Jennie at The Diary of a Real Housewife

Lauren at The Lauren Elizabeth

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

Amanda at Meet At The Barre

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

5 on Friday 

The Grits Blog

Simply Sweet Home

Let's be friends blog hop

Today marks my six month blogging anniversary and I'm celebrating by doing my very first co-hosting of a Blog Hop!  So here goes.....

Welcome to the Let's Be Friends Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a set time frame for current or aspiring bloggers to find new blogs and quality content. It is a great way to make new friends and find inspiration! It is also a fabulous way to promote your own blog and posts.

Dear Friends,

What a day to celebrate! This is the 96th week of the Let's Be Friends blog hop! Thanks for joining us on this special day. Chelsee and Tiffany are extremely delighted to see the way this hop has grown and love to see your faces each week!

Join us every Tuesday at 7am (MST). This blog hop focuses on content. LINK UP YOUR FAVORITE POST from last week in this fun content-sharing blog hop! I love the idea of blog hopping, but I love the idea of reading posts and quality content on new blogs I've never been to even more. Instead of simply linking up your blog button, you are now able to link up your favorite post you recently wrote. Have a delicious recipe to share, DIY tutorial, or heartfelt post? Share it with us! All hosts and co-hosts put up some unique and fun content from the past week. Make sure to check them out. P.S.- you may still link up your blog button and blog name, but it is encouraged to link up your favorite post instead. You will get more page views and interest if you do so! Some of the most successful blog hops I have participate in focus on content rather than just exchanging follows. You never know who will become a loyal follower or pin that delicious new recipe you posted!

The BEST part of this blog hop? Each week there will be a WINNER! That's right, each week we will choose one lucky blog to feature from the previous week's hop. This hop receives thousands of page views every week, so your blog will have the chance to be center stage for free. You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win. Only those who link up a specific post are eligible to be featured! *You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win.

The last exciting change is that the co-host spots will now be available to all sponsors of The Dwelling Tree or Southern Beauty Guide. If you are interested in co-hosting the blog hop, email Tiffany or Chelsee about sponsorship opportunities and how to co-host the weekly hop!

There are a couple of great giveaways going on right now at Southern Beauty Guide and The Dwelling Tree. Go check them out! :)

Let's Be Friend's Blog Hop Guidelines

1. Link up your favorite post from your week.

2. Follow your hosts and co-hosts.

3. Grab the button and post it on your blog so we can share the love.

4. Visit 3 other blogs and follow them along!

5. Tweet about this blog hop, using #letsbefriends

6. Pin the button on pinterest so we can spread the news!

***Once a week, one blog will be chosen to be the featured blogger from the previous blog hop.

Meet your hosts:

The Dwelling Tree: Blog, Bloglovin'

Southern Beauty Guide: Blog, Bloglovin'

Meet this week's co-hosts:

Lauren @ Simply Free

Ashley @ Keeping up with Ashley & Cody

Penny @ Penny's Passion

Kelly @ Our Cone Zone

Jess @ Living on Sweet Tea

***This weeks featured post from last week's hop:

Thank you all once again for continually linking up at our blog hop. It is such a fun time and I am so impressed each week with all the amazing posts. Please continue to link up an actual post instead of your blog. We want to keep reading your content and it makes it more fun to pick a winner!

Is there anything we can do differently or better? Please share in the comments!

... onto the winner!

Eternally Wanderlyn

How to give back this holiday season

Hello everyone! This is Tiffany. This time of year is my favorite. I love the holiday season. I am the lady that puts up my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. Charlie Brown Christmas music has been playing over and over again around here.

This time of year can also be really stressful. Parking lots turn into road rage war zones. On Black Friday people actually fight over scarves and DVD's and toasters. (ugh).

Which is why I loved this post so much that I pinned it and kept it saved away for myself. There are so, so, many people in need. This list by Lynsey is super well thought out and organized and gives us ideas for ways to give back to charities. She puts in links to different charities that help soldiers, families in need of gifts, and more.

I will be referring to it in the future. This time of year is supposed to be about so much more than getting! Thanks Lynsey for this post, I loved it and had to share!

Go check out Eternally Wanderlyn, a blog I am sure you will want to follow ASAP.

Keep posting awesome content! You make it so fun for us to read all your posts! If you can, please link up a specific post. It makes it easier for us to come and visit!

*Remember YOU can be next weeks winner! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Tour of Our Christmas Trees

Today I'd like to give you a little tour of our Christmas trees.  I love having several Christmas trees.  What I don't love is having to put them up.  In steps my friend Carol -- she makes her appearance every year to put up my trees.  

Funny thing - back when Ian was a child and I was single, each year I would wrangle some bigger-than-we-needed fresh tree into my car and then into the house.  I would string popcorn, cranberries and Cheerios to hang from the treasured fir.  Ian would become disinterested in decorating practically before I had the lights untangled.  Our dog would eat the strung popcorn, cranberries and Cheerios each time I turned my back.  Literally, the entire month of December I would be stringing that garland every day trying to keep the tree looking decent.  Ian and Kayla are stringing their own garland this year.  The fact that Ian wanted to do it in his own house made it worth it to me for all the trouble I went to years ago.

Now things are a bit different.  We have five trees in total and Carol does an amazing job decorating them.  Eric and I get to sit back and enjoy their beauty without having to worry about anything getting eaten off the trees.  So here's a look into our trees this year.

Here's our family room tree.  I love the nature aspects and how the mantle ties into the theme.

The tree in the kitchen is probably my favorite.  It's full of wooden spoons, measuring cups and gingerbread men and women.  Guarding over the kitchen from the top of the tree is an adorable chef.

In the library is a slender tree that fits nicely in the small space we have available to put a tree.

Saturday morning reading in bed is a whole lot more festive during the holidays since I've added this tree to my bedroom.  There's just something special about having the lights of a Christmas tree twinkling in the corner.  Really helps me keep the Christmas spirit in my heart from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep.  

Here's the tree in the dining room.

                 

This nativity scene sits at the top of our stairs.  I managed to get this one year after Christmas and absolutely love it!  

There you have it -- a little tour of our trees (and nativity) at Christmas.  It's not the decorations that makes my Christmas special -- it's the people that come to visit.  I can't wait to host Christmas and have our families here!  When the house is full of people and noise, then it will truly seem like Christmas.

What about you -- what makes your holiday special?

Joining the holiday link-up with these gals today.