Thursday, December 27, 2018

A Very Vintage Christmas

This post contains affiliate links BUT per usual, I only link items that I love and have bought myself or genuinely think are awesome!.




A few things in life that I am obsessed with are as follows;
 
      1. Christmas (Like I am Buddy the Elf status) 
      2. All things retro/vintage
      3. Themes
      4. Our first home that we purchased in July (I seriously wonder sometimes if it’s normal to be this in love with a building)
      5. Corn dogs (not fully relevant to the post but I’m still obsessed anyway)
 
And I found a way to combine them allllllll, so can you imagine my excitement.
 
Christmas is everything in my world. Basically, I live through the rest of the year just to get to that glorious month of the year where Christmas rules it all.  I’ve told The Boy that if I’m going to die, I just want to get one more Christmas out of the deal and then they can take me.  Dramatic much? Possibly….but it’s my true feelings!
 
As much as I love Christmas, I haven’t been able to host it in 4 years.  The last time we did my family was good sports about it and didn’t complain about shoving into our teeny little 1,1000 sq. ft. townhouse, but it didn’t seem fair to subject them to it again even though I wanted nothing more than to be a Christmas hostess. So, when we bought our house this summer I was PUMPED UP at the idea of having the opportunity again. 
 
I was already obsessed with all things 50s/60s so when we were able to buy our gem of a home built in 1966 with so much of the original charm still intact, I couldn’t have been more thrilled!  It was like destiny that I was given the green light to full fledged go for it with my already chosen style.  I have slowly been outfitting our home in mid century decor and it has been So. Much. Fun!! 
 
I’m also a sucker for themes. Give me a theme and I will roll with it so hard!  As a nod to the house, I figured it was only appropriate to make our Christmas gathering match the theme of the house.  Thus, “A Very Vintage Christmas” was born!
 
 
 
So, what do you need to make a Very Vintage Christmas come alive?  Well, the proper attire of course!
 
My Look 
His Look  
 
 
And I SUCK at doing hair!  I could not get it to bump, so I was convinced I would have to have someone hide behind me to bump it in pictures or walk around holding it up myself the whole day. 😜
 
 
 
 That is until my sister Kinsey came to my rescue and I got my do did while sippin a martini
 
 

 
And of course…..the food!  I went with a 60s Cocktail Party theme and did all appetizers





 
 
Shrimp Cocktail
Cheese Fondue (kielbasa, blanched broccoli, apples, new potatoes, and bread dippers)
Cheeseball with Crackers
14 Layer Jello Bundt
Devilled Eggs
Mini Beef Wellingtons
Mini Pigs in a Blanket (not corn dogs but damn close! So maybe this is relevant after all)
Grape Jelly Meatballs
Rumaki (bacon wrapped water chestnuts)
French Onion Dip from Scratch and Potato Chips
Chex Mix
Salmon Mousse on Cucumber Slices
Relish Tray (carrots, celery, pickled beets, 2 kinds of olives, gherkins)
 
 
 
For Drinks we had:
Punch for the kids (or to be spiked for adults)
Martinis
Old Fashions

 
 
Dessert consisted of:
 Individual Pineapple Upside-down Cakes
Bananas Foster Over Ice Cream
Sugar Cookies
Cherry Winks
Oatmeal Lace Cookies
 
And just a few pictures of the overall hang out and vibe
 





 
 
 
 
 
Special thanks to my niece Katie for being my personal paparazzi for the day
 
Katie with a pig in her mouth
 
Do you ever do themes for Christmas?  If not, would you ever and what would you do?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, December 15, 2018

8 Christmas Gifts For The Boring Ass Adult In Your Life


This post contains affiliate links BUT per usual, I only link items that I love and have bought myself or genuinely think are awesome!.





My mom always said that you knew you were getting old when your gifts had to be plugged in.  Now, while I do think that logic mostly worked in the era of my childhood before technology really took off (and the only things that really plugged in for kids was the occasional gaming system) it kinda sorta never really applied to me.  I'm just an oddball that has had old lady tendencies since the womb.



Like I was the kid that as I ripped the wrapping paper off one of my gifts to reveal a heater box I yelled "Oh wow!! A heater!!"  And my mom was all...."Um,that's just the box, it's not a heater."



My excitement in that moment should explain it all.  Kids these days are pissed about getting a joke tortilla as a gift and there I was alllllllll kinds of PUMPED UP over the idea of having my very own SPACE HEATER!!! Woooo!



So if this list excites you it's either a sign that you are indeed a boring adult.....or you're my soul sister (or brother)





Let's get started....





I may be an old lady at heart, but I still have something in common with Slash.  We can both SHRED like nobody’s business!!

Paper Shredder






Santa brought it last year and it’s been magical!  I’ve sorted through years and years of old paperwork and there’s a certain satisfaction you get with sending those old documents and junk mail through! Puts a smile on my face every time.





Our old townhouse had tile in every square inch of the house, even the bedrooms upstairs.  I had dreamed of having a steam mop for years when my mom came through and got me this Shark model.  GAME CHANGER!!  It’s amazing for spot/quick mops between your big scrub down. 










I figured if I was already on the subject of Shark products I might as well tell you about my vacuum.  I’ve had it for a few years but still love it nonetheless.  The magic is still fully alive in this relationship!  I never knew I could have such deep feelings for a vacuum cleaner.  Between this and the mop I think I might brand loyal to Shark now.  I love that it’s easy to maneuver, gets under furniture like a champ, and sucks in the good way! Any vacuum that can handle the fur of both me and Mildred is a winner fo sho!

Shark Vacuum








Most coffee lovers have already made the switch, but if the coffee lover in your life hasn’t yet, it makes a great gift!  My sister got me one 2 Christmases ago because she knew how disgusted The Boy was with my coffee habits at the time.  I found brewing every morning to be a pain in the ass (first world lazy people problems) so I would brew a giant pot and leave it out and drink off it for days just by pouring a cup and microwaving it.  Basically, The Boy thought I was a disgusting animal and my sister saw this as a good solution to this problem….and I LOVE it!!  I kept our old coffee maker in the garage in case we ever host a crowd and need a lot, but one cup at a time is super convenient for you daily cups of jo.








Here’s one I don’t actually have yet, but REALLY want! (but forgot to put on my list this year….dang!)  If you’re like me and your daily outfit pick is usually solely based on what doesn’t need to be ironed, this is the gift for you! My mom always got mad at us growing up and I can still hear her yelling “The dryer IS NOT an ironing board!”  Well…..in my house it kinda is lol  A steamer would totally save electricity by skipping the dryer and is a hell of a lot easier than breaking out the ironing board.  This one is a great price and has a ton of high rater reviews.





Now we make the transition into cordless items........





I got this spin mop and bucket last year too.  I really cleaned up in the mopping supplies! (see what I did there? Merp!)  You might be thinking that it sounds like overkill to get both a steam mop and a regular mop in the same Christmas…..but it’s not!  They are both good for different reasons.  I like the steam mop for the quick in between spot cleaning and the spin mop for my deep clean.  The two together make my life a lot easier!








I had been wanting a water pick for years, but our townhouse only had pedestal sinks, even in the master bathroom (dumb, just DUMB!) so we had no counter space to put one on.  Now that we bought our house and do have counter space, I still wouldn’t always want to have a water pick with a tank sitting on my counter anyway, so I’m glad I went with this model.  The water reservoir is attached, and the entire thing is handheld.  It’s designed to be able to be taken in the shower if you need to.  It takes some getting used to to not spray water all over your mirror and bathroom (or maybe that’s just me?) but OMG it’s a change yo life product!!  Your teeth feel so damn clean afterwards.  It’s the BEST!!








Want to make yard work hella fun?  Then you need to get this last item! It’s a torch designed for burning weeds. After a long annoying day, there is some serious satisfaction that comes with burning those bitches! Just hook it up to a mini propane tank and you're set to destroy.












I hope you enjoyed this round up of my favorite gifts for the boring ass adult in your life!  What are some of your favorite boring gifts to give and/or receive?