Birthday = "ME" Day

Happy DECEMBER lovelies!

As soon as December arrives, my Birthday comes along with it! 👑

I had been looking forward to having a relaxing "ME" day, and my Birthday was the perfect excuse! 

A large cup of coffee with cream from Dunkin' Donuts helped me wake up, as I headed over to the hair salon!

My first Birthday gift to myself was getting my hair colored. Every time I get my hair done, I go to Natural Alternatives Salon & Spa to see Sunshine. Everyone at the salon is genuinely friendly; they make you feel welcome. Christmas decorations were hung up beautifully, and I enjoyed looking at the cute Aveda Christmas gift packages they have available for purchase!

Getting my hair done was the best way to start the day; it was relaxing, yet fun (as always)!

Sunshine surprised me with the sweetest and cutest Birthday gift!

Now, you can SEE why getting my hair done by Sunshine was EXACTLY what I needed to begin my Birthday!

Photo Credits by Sunshine Carter

Sunshine is incredibly talented! She did the most stunning transformation with my hair with her painting skills. The chestnut tones flow through my hair and are bright, yet natural!

After getting my hair done, I drove over to The Southern Market.

The Southern Market is a great place to check out when you want a large variety of items to choose from! Many of the little shops inside are local artists; which I love looking at handmade, local items!

Most of the time, I could take a long while, looking around at everything, but with their open house it was very busy! Feeling a little too cramped, I decided to head out without any items in hand (this time). However, I'll be back on a less busy day! 😊

Next, I decided to check out Knoxville Soap Candle & Gifts

This was my first time checking out this little shop in Bearden, and it looked gorgeous and smelled wonderful! Knoxville Soap Candle & Gifts has been around for TWELVE YEARS! I couldn't believe I hadn't been there yet!

 Gregory's Greenhouse Productions was stationed in front of the store. His displays of greenery was beautiful! 

How cute are these Christmas trucks?!

Inside the cute and fragrant shop, I met Debra van der Hoeven, the founder of Tiny Treasure Jewelry. 

Her earrings were so unusual, and it's because she uses Kombucha SCOBY! Kombucha is brewed and when it ferments it creates SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) on top. Debra re-uses the SCOBY to make these earrings! The earrings are colored with different things types of paint (from food coloring to water colors) and then dried out!

There were other types of earrings as well, not just the Kombucha SCOBY; but I found them fascinating!

Make sure to check out the website for more earrings!

Kombucha SCOBY earrings by Tiny Treasure Jewelry

Knoxville Soap Candle & Gifts

The decor all around the store was beautiful! I just adore Christmas time!

I was too distracted to take more pictures. There were handmade candles, soaps, jewelry, and more! I really enjoyed this shop! I'll definitely take more pictures the next time I go back!

I had an incredible day of pampering and shopping! My Birthday was a perfect "ME" day!

When Nathan got home, I was FINALLY able to open up my Birthday present! 

An electric fireplace to put in the master bedroom! It's the perfect piece to make our room a little Utopia!

Riley loves it too!

Hygge on point!

We didn't have the energy to mount the fireplace on the wall, but that will be on our to-do list for today! 😃 I can't wait!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

* What do you do for your "ME" days?

* Are your Christmas decorations up yet?

* What is your favorite part of December?

Thanksgiving, Goo Goo Dolls, and Birthday Celebrations!

The past few weeks have truly been incredible! 

There is a lot to catch up on, so I will begin with Thanksgiving!  :)

Nathan's parents came out for Thanksgiving - It went by way too quickly, but it sure was tons of fun!

We never have a traditional turkey dinner feast, we get out our raclette grill and cook turkey & steak on the top and melt our gruyere cheese on the bottom. Of course, we had the extra sides too!

You can learn more about the raclette grill here: Raclette Grill

The day after Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday) Nathan had to work, so Kay, Steve, and I went to Painting with a Twist!!! 

This painting was so enjoyable! It certainly was *merry* and a fantastic way to end Thanksgiving and begin the Christmas season!

There was a contest to draw a winter scene on the paper plates without looking (while the plate is on top of your head) - Steve won second place, and I won third place! Woohoo!

Painting away!!

Painting is always a good idea!  :)

After black Friday, Nathan's parents headed out of town, thus began the start of Christmas decorating!

Riley was determined to help....hehe!  ;)

After much anticipation,  Nathan and I finally saw the Goo Goo Dolls at Tennessee Theatre!!

The band Goo Goo Dolls was pretty much my favorite band in my younger years.

 :) The entire night was perfection!

Waiting for the concert to begin!

The Goo Goo Dolls!!! Aaahhhhhh!!!!

After an exciting night at the concert, the next day was spent traveling to Charleston.

I was ready to spend my Birthday weekend with Nathan, and my parents (at the time, I didn't know what surprises were waiting for me). 

On my Birthday, I was told that after 3pm I had to go along with whatever plans Nathan and my parents had, no questions asked.  The first surprise was that my brother and his wife, Jamie, came to celebrate with us!  The second surprise was that we each had rooms booked at the hotel (Tides) on Folly Beach for the night! I had mentioned a while back that I wanted to be at the beach for my Birthday, for me, it didn't get better than that (or so I thought).  I was stunned! It turns out, that wasn't the end of my surprises!

We all headed to Folly Beach and checked into the hotel. We then sat in the lounge and had a drink while we waited for reservations at my favorite restaurant on Folly - Snapper Jacks.

Nathan, Dad, Ryan, Jamie, and Mom hanging out in the lounge!

The time came for dinner at Snapper Jacks, and that's where the last surprise awaited for me!

I almost fainted because sitting at our table were my many bestest friends (that live in different states)!! I cannot even describe how stunned I was, or how long it took me to get over my shock of what was happening.

Never, have I ever, been surprised like that in my entire life! My husband planned it all out months in advance, to which I had remained completely clueless.

Not everyone is pictured below, but there was: Nathan, Dave, Nick, Rachel, Meagan, Ashley, Jessica, Megan, Jamie S., Mom, Dad, Ryan, and Jamie D. all there to celebrate my Birthday with me!  <3

Needless to say, my Birthday was most incredible, exciting night of my life! I'm blessed to have the most loving, supportive husband, family, and friends!

After one of the best nights of my life, I had one of my wishes come true - waking up on the beach!

Later that evening, a group of us went to the James Island Festival of Lights!!

Checking out the James Island Christmas lights was a delightful way to enjoy our last night in Charleston together.

I want to thank my husband, family, and friends for bringing me an immense amount of joy and happiness!  <3

:) Now it is time to get ready for Christmas! Christmas day will be here before we know it!

QUESTIONS FOR Y'ALL:

* Are you ready for Christmas?

* What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Once Upon a December

I have been super busy with the holiday season! It's finally time for a recap of everything that has been going on the past couple of weeks!

Thanksgiving holiday was awesome! My parents were in town, and we all had a wonderful time. :) Our time spent together was filled with food and games! A couple of our favorite games to play are Phase 10 and Wizard.

Now it is December! December is exciting for many reasons, including one of them being it is my Birthday month! This year Nathan took me to Asheville and we spent the day together at the Biltmore Estate!! I love history, and I love the show Downton Abbey (which reminds me a little of the Biltmore), so needless to say, it was a wonderful time!
This time of year, however, the gardens aren't spectacular, but the Christmas decorations are absolutely gorgeous! The greenhouse, or conservatory, was full of spectacular plants and flowers. I was amazed at the variety of gorgeous flowers!

Now our Christmas decorations are up and Christmas music is constantly playing! :)

Riley is happy that the tree is back...

I decided to make a peppermint sugar scrub, thanks to Pinterest! It was extremely simple to make, and it turned out great. I've been using it and love how soft my skin feels! Maybe next year I'll make a bigger batch to give out as handmade Christmas gifts. :)

I also decided to get my nails done, and chose a beautiful glittery blue. The nail polish is O.P.I. and the name is called "Give Me Space." It's a gorgeous color, and perfect for the holidays!

After getting my nails done, I stopped over at one of my favorite local boutiques - Bradley's. They have the best homemade chocolates here in Knoxville! Besides chocolates, they have other cute decor, gifts, etc. I had to take a picture of their window display because it was so pretty!

Earlier on this month, I went to another favorite local store - The Southern Market. I find new and interesting items whenever I go in. I love that the Southern Market sells items from local vendors. The New Eve jewelry caught my eye! I would have bought something but I told myself no buying anything for myself until after Christmas.

Aren't these cookies adorable?? They are too pretty to eat!

I did, however, purchase fudge creams by Sugar Mama's Bakery. I'm not a sweet tooth type of person, but wow, these are seriously delicious! I'm actually craving them already, so I may have to go back and get some more soon. ;) 

Anyway, I hope this month doesn't fly by too fast. I love December, and want to savor all the Christmas activities for as long as I can!  :)