Merry Christmas!

 

(Thank you Katie for the beautiful Christmas Flyer!) 

I hope your day is full of love, cookies, and cocoa.

XOXO

Christmas Photo Tease

I was very unsure if we would be getting Christmas cards out this year at all much less one with a picture of us on it. Scheduling a day that Chad could be off work with me and hoping it wouldn't be raining like crazy tested my sanity this year. We were way late to the game... Thanksgiving came and went with no photo shoot but then Chad was able to get off work on a Saturday (CRAZY because those are his busy days at work) and the rain stayed away long enough for us to get a few cute shots. So, Monday night I ordered our cards and we are in the process now of getting them all addressed and mailed out. With us preparing to move across the country again this my friends is a certified Christmas Miracle!

Here are a few shots for a little tease:

 

We picked two different photos for our Christmas cards and I'll share those along with a special extra we did this year for my Christmas day post! It was super windy when we took these which sucked because my hair is a hot mess but I think they turned out pretty good. One of my best friends Terra took these - she is an EX wedding photographer but somehow I still trick her into taking photos of us every once in awhile. I love her style and she is the most fun to shoot with - THANK YOU TERRA! She also did our photo shoot from last year  (when I had purple hair!) and if I can get her to come visit us in Mississippi she'll be doing a few more shoots through the years as well.

Does your family send out Christmas cards every year? 

*Chad also just recorded one of my favorite Christmas songs - Happy X-Mas by John Lennon and its up for FREE DOWNLOAD until Christmas! I wanted to share it with all of you guys - Download it here free until 12/25/14 and be sure to LIKE Chad's page on Facebook to keep up with the TOUR!

Friday Things

Happy Friday! I'm a happy girl today and I'm ready for the weekend. This week has been full of ups and downs but surprisingly I shook it all off and have been enjoying the good news. Well, I guess it's not good news yet but the possibility of GREAT news has me giddy with excitement. I refuse to pay attention to the unexpected $450 bucks I had to shell out for my car on Tuesday... I mean really. Car maintenance = stupid. I could have bought a new purse for that! Anyways, to close out a good week here are a few randomly awesome articles:

1.  ONE SIZE fits Most - What that really looks like on a 6 different women * 

Seriously, I HATE you stores that do this.


2.  10 True Crime Documentaries that will give you nightmares
Because I'm obsessed with Documentaries and serial killers. I've only seen the Paradise Lost ones from this list so now I have 9 new ones to scare myself with!




3.  10 things you DIDN'T know about the VAGINA 

I mean... I only knew one thing from this list!

This makes me calling my period week "Shark Week" even more valid. 

 Now, I want to know who gave it the name because you KNOW it was a MAN.

4.  Impossibly cool gifts you should spend your money on this year. 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!??!? Someone please spend $275 on a replica of little Olive for me. There is A LOT of cool stuff on that list too - not all 275 bucks either. Check it out!


5.  29 Old People Rocking Highly Inappropriate T-Shirts. 

Okay, I wasn't either and then I Googled it. GROSS! Haha these kinda make me excited to get old. I'm going to wear the most inappropriate t-shirts I can find!

 Have a great weekend!
Oh and lets do a link up!

Christmas Cravings & Questions

1. Anything from this list because you know I'm obsessed with food.
2.  VIETRI because I can't ever get enough dishes.
3. Amazon gift cards
4. Jewels
5. Hunter boots
6. Art. I want this and this.

1. How is your Christmas shopping coming along?

Mine is going pretty well and while I know what I'm getting everyone but I haven't bought anything yet. Typical.

2. Who is the hardest person you have to buy for?

The hardest person to buy for would have to be the men in the family. I feel so bad always lumping their gift into a "couples" gift. I'm always on the lookout but I don't ever see anything that catches my eye. What do you guys get for your fathers/brother in laws/ uncles etc?

3. What is your favorite Etsy shop?

I LOVE small businesses and supporting good ones is my favorite thing to do - I'm obsessed with MadebyBettyB. She does the most BEAUTIFUL dream catchers and other lovely things. So talented and unique. Check out her latest idea for a Dream Catcher Christmas Card holder! I NEED one of these! Oh, and follow her on Instagram @madebybettyb to get special discounts and sales!

 

4. Homemade or Store bought gifts?

Homemade if it's something useful and/or something you know they will love. Store bought is nice but less personal and I think the whole point of a gift is to be special.

5. Best or most memorable gift you have ever recieved?

The first thing that pops into my mind is my Easybake oven when I was 4 or 5 years old. Maybe it's because I have that Christmas morning on video tape or the fact that at 5 I knew chocolate cake was a perfect 5AM breakfast. That was a fun Christmas.
 

I tag CASSIE - PAULA - LAURA - LINDSEY - NATALIE - CELY and anyone else that wants to answer these 5 questions! Happy First day of December - only 24 days left until Christmas!

1. How is your Christmas shopping coming along?
2. Who is the hardest person you have to buy for?
3. What is your favorite Etsy shop?
4. Homemade or Store bought gifts?
5. Best or most memorable gift you have ever received?



Vancouver, BC

After a few days of hanging out with Apryle and Hollye at home we planned a trip to Canada so they could experience a different country and we could explore a new city. Chad and I have been to Victoria, BC before but never Vancouver and I have to admit we weren't that impressed with it. It was very interesting driving through the boarder crossing though which was a first for us. I was sure they would pull us over and strip search us but it ended up being really easy and quick. We got lucky I hear but hey, I'll take it. I ended up pissed because our passports didn't get stamped; apparently they rarely do that anymore and you have to request it. Chad and the girls were terrified of the boarder crossing agent though and I didn't realize I didn't get a stamp until it was too late. During that same time Chad was speeding across the boarder and we missed the big Welcome to Canada sign so no pictures were taken. Once we realized this we spent the rest of the trip trying to find a damn sign with CANADA on it and we found nothing. Please enjoy the stop sign we found with Vancouver on it instead.

 

We stayed at a the Best Western Plus Sands right by Stanley Park and I really enjoyed the hotel. It was older and the elevators were terrifying but overall I'd give it a B. I didn't realize how many transits were in Vancouver until we started walking around but there are a lot and it's very sad. At one point we walked passed a guy that was sitting on the ground and slumped over unconscious with a half eaten egg mcmuffin in his hand. Ape and Holls were acting a little terrified and all I could think about was Cory Monteith and that he was probably high on heroin. We ended up walking back by an hour or so later and he had finished his egg mcmuffin and he was alert so that was at least comforting.

 

After walking around for a little bit we realized there was nothing but bars and food around and so like any normal adults we decided it was time to have the first Knight family bar crawl. Hollye is 20 so in the USA she can go off to war to die but not drink a beer in a bar BUT in good ole Canada she can get drunk with the rest of us! We started out at The Three Brits and that is also where we introduced them to Poutine. They were scared, curious, and disgusted at first but then they fell in love with those french fries covered in bacon gravey and cheese curds. Doesn't everyone?!

 

Hollyes first legal drink!

 

I didn't bring my camera with me so I don't have many photos from that afternoon/night but after Three Brits we went to the Cactus Club and we discovered the most Delicious drink in the world.

 

The Dirty Vegas: 

 

 

 They were FANTASTIC and we have now purchased a muddler and bar supplies to recreate these at home. Later that night we stumbled upon an art instillation and the amount of fun that was had can only be described as ridiculous. The next day we went back to take pictures with my camera in the daylight and we actually figured out what they were there for.  

 

Oh and laugh we did.

This was an attempt to recreate a scene from the night before. Hollye was a little "extra" and it was absolutely hilarious. God, I love her.

 

 

I had so many favorites it was hard to choose but we all agreed these were way more fun at night after a few drinks and with less onlookers. I just love art and these guys were defiantly my favorite part of Vancouver.

 

The rest of the trip was filled with pizza, fireball, cupcakes that I didn't even take a picture of that were absolutely GLORIOUS, and trying to find souvenirs. There were NONE. It was stupid. We were angry. (Still are) We came back to the good ole USA the next day and proceeded to buy the biggest bag of Cheetos I have ever seen. More on that later.

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

(Terra Dawn Photography)

 

I hope that your holiday is filled with love and family! Even though this will be our first Christmas away from Mississippi my heart is filled with so much joy and happiness. I'm humbled by what is really important in this life and that's family. The relationships that you build and nurture mean everything in this world and the most important one that anyone can have is with God. You are never alone even during the holidays and I hope that if you find yourself sad during this time of year that you will go and serve others. Giving back to the community and people in general will fill your heart with love and keep you nice and warm during the cold winter months. Happiness is a state that we all choose to either live in our whine about. Take control of your life and choose to be grateful, thankful, and most importantly happy.

 

 

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 

 

Christmas Card Bloop!

A day late and a dollar short... this has been my life lately. I can't seem to get un-sick and I'm about to kill someone/something but I don't want to mess up and forget to post about this neat little blog link up I'm doing with Cassie at Always a Blogsmaid.

It's on Instagram and you guys should join in the fun and hashtag your craziest Christmas card bloopers with #christmascardbloopers2013

You should go look at mine from this year to see the perfect Christmas WTF face because lets all be honest... you know you make that face at least 200 times when you're around family. I also can't hear/say BLOOP without thinking of Nene Leakes.



In other news... we are almost done with snowflake land aka my living room. Pictures soon.

Christmas Cravings

It's that time again! Chad & I decorated our tiny Kirk Elf tree last night and Christmas has officially blown up in our house. We wanted to go hunt down a real Douglass fur out in the wilderness Griswold style but while we were in Fred Meyer the other day we found these adorable little 4ft trees that came with a tree stand already in place and netting already around them. For only $25 bucks we couldn't pass it up so in the shopping cart it went! If you follow that link it will tell you what elf grew our tree Ha! We have a little project we are nearing completion on and I can't wait to show you guys. Hint: ELF (the movie)



But lets get to the REAL point of this post... Terris 2013 Christmas List! For those family and friends (HUSBAND) that always ask me what I want for Christmas here is my list. I will only respond with, "My list is on my blog" anytime I'm asked and please... strangers feel free to buy me gifts as well. I have no shame.

Kendra Scott

GOLD Iphone 5 for AT&T

Oh Louis...

 

Etsy

 

 

 

Chanel

Etsy

 

Etsy

 

I've got a new goal to read as many books as possible and I need credits for my Kindle!

 

Etsy

 

Diamond Candles! In all flavors WITH the Ring! 20% off via this link too!

This one is what I REALLY want the most - I want to complete our stoneware collection.

I found the website and created a registry so maybe a few family members will click this link.

If by chance any family members do read this... please buy the stoneware but send it to your house for safe keeping until we get a bigger place. Our Apartment just seems to be getting smaller and smaller lately... I'm getting house fever BAD!



Christmas card photoshoot with Terra Dawn

This year I wanted to make sure that Chad and I had some professional pictures taken for our Christmas cards since we wouldn't be showing our actual faces at home. It will be our first Christmas not going home and I have to say I'm a little sad BUT the good news is that two of Chads sisters are flying up on the 26th to visit! Lucky for me I'm friends with an AMAZING photographer Terra Dawn and she fit us in for a quick mini session to snap a few shots. The only day that we could take these photos was the same day that we flew back from our LA trip and to say that we were tired is an understatement. However, it ended up being a beautiful sunny and somewhat warm Sunday afternoon in Kirkland and the pictures turned out amazing. We took these in Downtown Kirkland along the waterfront and in the city. PDA overload but what can I say, I like to kiss my husband. Okay, I'll shut up now and just show you the goods...

 

 

 

I'm so in love with ALL of the photos... the Christmas Card winner is still being hidden because I want to TRY and surprise our families. If you are in the Seattle area and like what you see contact Terra Dawn and set up your session! I can't suggest her enough; she's super fun to work with and super fast when it comes to returning the pictures. We had so much fun with her and even though we were both exhausted her positive energy pumped us up and made us feel great. It's always fun when a photographer squeals while taking the photo and says, "OMG these are so good!" I have to say.... she was right!

Terra Dawn has also decided to give any of you guys the hook up if you book with her and mention that you saw it here on my blog!

Mention Crazythoughs blog when booking and you will get $50 off a 1 hour session!
* Regular session cost is $325 but with discount only $275
* Comes with an online gallery of all images available for download at no extra cost
* Must book before 12/31/13 for $50 discount (Date of actual session can be anytime you & Terra agree on does not have to be before 12/31/13)

Soooooup

I recently discovered that you can schedule out your posts and they actually post on their own! Why haven't I known about this? Yay, for getting blogs posted when I am out of town and not near a computer... like for example this one. I'm writing this on Thursday night and you won't get to see it until Christmas Eve. Oh, technology sometimes I really like you.

 

Anyways... let me tell you a little about our Denny's trip.

Chad decided that he wanted a chocolate milkshake instead of boring old chocolate milk and I held strong and got chicken noodle soup instead of the stuffed grilled cheese and red velvet pancake puppies. It took me reading the nutritional menu front to back 3 times to finally accept that 95% of the food there is terrible for you.

I've been a soup kick lately and chicken noodle is my new favorite. I mean I've always liked it but I've never craved it... life's changing over here folks. I don't even know who I am anymore.

But I still know who Chad is... Moons of my Hammy Omelette man.

 

We had a nice little date and it was fun to sit down for a meal without the TV yapping in the background or Olive standing on top of me panting waiting for a crumb to drop. We actually talked to each other and I didn't have to cook or clean or beat Olive to death.

 

So, since it is Christmas Eve I leave you with a reindeer sighting!

The little mad reindeer...plotting to pee on your presents.

 

Now go to sleep before Santa skips your house.