I'll be Home for Christmas

My little piece of heaven.

My adorable apartment finally starting looking like Christmas only about a week before it was time to head home to the burgh. I'm fine with that only because it will most likely stay decorated until my mom's next visit. My Christmas tree has been up since the beginning of November thanks to her. (She knew I would never have the time or energy to do it myself.) I'm really making myself sound lazy here... I swear I'm not. I did all the other decorations myself, most of which you can't even see in this picture, but trust me on this. As for the gifts, they are real. Santa made a special delivery before it was time to fly home to Pennsylvania.

Counting down the days until Christmas vacation was something I started the second I got back from my trip home for Thanksgiving. I was also dreading the day as well, thanks to my dog. After last year's horrifying flight with Missy, the thought of flying with her again made me queasy. I'm happy to say this year was completely different. She was a certified angel! Slept for the most part and was calm the whole time. Even when we had to be taken aside and checked to make sure I wasn't smuggling any drugs up her tush. Thought about it, but passed on it this year. JOKING!

Missy hating her life.

As usual, Pittsburgh welcomed us with a constant cover of clouds and rain. Shocker! Yes, some wise words from one of my favorites, Stephanie Meyer. I bet you didn't know that Pittsburgh has more overcast days than anywhere else in the US. Don't quote me on that. I think I heard it from someone who heard it from someone who read it somewhere. It's also nothing to brag about. It's quite depressing actually.

To add to the depressing weather was our loss of power. Not just once, but TWICE! Sunday and Monday. I'm usually the one in the house who flips out when this happens. This time, it was lovely Diane (my mom) spreading her "Christmas cheer" to the power company. I was forced to paint my nails in candle light, well more like lamp light. Does anyone else find themselves still flicking on the lights when entering a new room, when you clearly know you have no power? I swear even when I told myself to "stop, there's no power moron",  my hand would still reach toward the switch.

Yep, that's my stylish zebra comforter and Steeler pjs I'm rocking. Gotta love coming home to all your high school things.

Speaking of childhood beds, this clip from Saturday's SNL is something you've got to see. Don't judge me, just enjoy! ha! :)

The whole episode is worth watching. Really Santa, all I want for Christmas is Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake underneath my tree.

Okay back to my journey home... when I got home, I slept for days. Literally, I think 2 days were just filled with eating and sleeping. Isn't that what being home is about though? When I finally awoke from my short hibernation, it was time to make cookies with my favorite people of all time. My mom, aunt, and cousins - scratch that, just Emily considering Kelly & Mandy didn't feel the need to show up. Still love you, I guess. :) As they all know, I'm no Betty Crocker so they left me with simple tasks that didn't involve getting too dirty. I grew up the youngest cousin and I love being "babied" by them. I think it's just habit now and I surely don't fight it. In fact, I welcome it with open arms. It's a big change of pace from the person I have to be on a daily basis. 

Preparing whatever these are called. Can you say skills?

The rest of the cookies turned out good, but not as amazing as they usually do when our very own Martha Stewart is in charge. (Yes, you Kel) My mom and aunt have clearly lost their touch when it comes to baking so from now on, they can just stick to the cooking.

Well that's all for now folks. It's Christmas Eve, my FAVORITE day, and it's time to put the electronics down and spend some time with the most important people in my life. Sending y'all love on this magical time of the year. And for all my deprived southern friends we woke up to snow this morning. :) Not much, but there's nothing like snow at Christmas time.

To be continued...

P.S. Sorry for my "Thankful" draft being posted for God only knows how long. I love writing and often start posts that are simply forgot about... left to die in the land of misfit posts. Not sure what made me finally realize it was posted, but it only gave me some motivation to actually write some more & publish it.

One Last Summer Hurrah

 
All summer long, I have been hoping to get myself to Kennywood. Lucky for me, I have friends like Kelly who also have the same fabulous ideas. For those of you unfamiliar with what I'm talking about Kennywood is an amusement park located in Pittsburgh. Of course we wait until the very last weekend it's open to go. Well, at least until it reopens for Phantom Fright Nights. We may be in our twenties, but we'll always be kids at heart. Needless to say the park was extremely packed and every ride line was nearly an hour long. That didn't stop us.

We started our day off with a little shopping at the SouthSide Works. For most, it's impossible to leave that place without indulging at the Cheesecake Factory. Do you know a better way to kick off an evening at Kennywood? I sure don't.

 
I do have a minor confession to make. I'm a hidden scaredy-cat. I put on a believable front until I hear a gut wrenching scream from someone on the ride. Then the fear turns me into a different person. Don't get me wrong I love going on rides, but I am a chicken to the extreme while riding. For the most part, I close my eyes and hold on for dear life. Every once in a while you might hear a squeal, an obstinacy or an "I hate you". After the ride is over and the initial fear cools off, I really enjoy myself. Kelly may have enjoyed my reactions more than the rides. I already got a call from her this week reminding me of what I was like. Amusement parks truly are one of my favorite places to go. All the silly things that I do on the rides are simply uncontrollable coping mechanisms for my fear of heights and reenacting the roller coaster scene from Final Destination. No big!

Kennywood 2012

Please ignore the green on our faces. It is not some new makeup trend that we're trying out. Apparently they have already begun to decorate for Fright Nights. This means transforming all the lights to spooky colors.

This venture to Kennywood brought back some wonderful memories of a vacation I went on at the beginning of summer. My mother and I went to Disney World in Orlando. A tradition we recently brought back to life. When I was a munchkin, Disney World was a place I visited yearly mostly because my grandparents had condos in Florida. This was a convenient bonus to my childhood. After they sold them, our usual summer vacations turned into the Outer Banks and Vegas. (In no way am I complaining about that!) Last year, to help satisfy my Harry Potter obsession, my mom and I took a mini vacation to Orlando to visit Universal Studios and an impromptu visit to Disney World. We enjoyed the trip so much we had to go back this year for more. It was honestly one of the best trips of my life. There's nothing I love more than spending quality time with my mommy.

Animal Kingdom 2012

Epcot 2012

Magic Kingdom 2012

Universal Studios 2012

Magic Kingdom 2011

Good news to all Disney dorks. Walt Disney World is currently expanding the Magic Kingdom. The special addition is known as the New Fantasyland. Some may say this is a place where mermaids sing, beauties tell tales, beasts roar and elephants fly. Storybook Circus is already open to guests and the Enchanted Forest will be opening in December 2012. Ladies, if you're a fan of Belle or Ariel get excited! The little girl inside me is already packing her seashell purse. 

Back to reality... The weekend ended in the best way possible, with a Pittsburgh Steelers win! A much better outcome than last week's game. The New York Jets may have two hunky quarterbacks, but looks won't win you football games. Mondays are always a little bit better in Steeler Nation after a Pittsburgh Steelers win!

Fall Fever

Fall is right around the corner, but I've already caught a strong case of fall fever. It all started with the long awaited release of the pumpkin flavored everything at Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. Then came the sudden temperature change over the weekend. Today, not so much. This opened my eyes to some leaves that have already begun to fall. The colors aren't quite there yet. Fall or Autumn, which ever you prefer. This is the season I live for!

Pumpkin Iced Coffee

Listing all the reasons why I adore this spectacular season is close to impossible, but here it goes. First off I would like to begin with one of the most important. For all those out there with naturally curly/wavy/frizzy hair, you don't need me to tell you that fall brings with it the perfect hair weather! Might sound ridiculous, but I only speak the truth. Not too dry, not too humid... just fresh crisp air. I also like to think of this weather as "football weather". Another one of my favorite things. The past few Steeler games have been hot ones. Let's hope this Sunday's games brings some of that crisp air to Heinz Field. And of course a win.

Heinz Field

This leads me to the clothing situation that goes hand in hand with the weather. Autumn means sweater weather! Time to break out all the adorable sweaters, cardigans, blazers, hoodies, jackets, jeans, BOOTS and scarves. All my favorite pieces. Layering is simply the best fashion advise I've ever learned as a girl. Fall is the perfect season to do just that.

A wise woman by the name of Tina Fey once wrote... "In girl world, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it." -Mean Girls

Um, Hello Halloween! The excitement that overcomes me when thinking about what I want to dress up as is something like a child writing their Christmas list. Who cares how old you are. I say Halloween is for everyone. Of course not everyone enjoys this holiday. Can someone please tell me what's wrong with those people... do they hate puppies and rainbows too? Speaking of those people, an ex-boyfriend of mine hated Halloween. Silly me should have seen that as a big, fat warning sign, but I suppose it's a lesson learned.
My superhuman of a mother used to make all my Halloween costumes and even some of my friends. Yeah, she can do anything and everything. One of my best was the year I dressed as Ginger Spice from the Spice Girls. I'm going out on a limb here and saying it was 4th grade. Supermom crafted together a replica of Geri Halliwell's infamous British flag dress. (I'm sure if I put that thing on today it would fit just like Geri's did, but at the time it was an appropriate length for a 4th grader!) The outfit was completed with chunky, red platform shoes, a red wig and an excessive amount of body glitter. Girl Power! Lately I've been into reliving my childhood by dressing up as all the Disney Princesses. Last year it was Snow White. The year before, Jasmine without an Aladdin unfortunately. This year: to be continued...

The Spice Girls

Geri Halliwell

Halloween 2011

The only thing bad about this season is it flashes before your eyes. Some may say that about summer. For me, fall is the season that comes and goes way too quickly. Maybe it's because the colors of the trees are so breathtaking... They are only meant to last so long so we never forget to appreciate their beauty. No need to fear, it just means those snowflakes and Santa are own their way!

 
In honor of the Season Premiere of The X Factor and the legendary Miss Britney Spears I'll leave you with a song you may have never heard of. Autumn Goodbye<3