Christmasy Things

Hoo boy, Christmas is over! Did it go by far too quickly for anyone else?

After a day of rest following our vacation (post about which is forthcoming), we drove to my sister's place to have Christmas with my mom on Friday.  We bought my 2-year-old niece some of those giant cardboard blocks which was pretty awesome sauce to watch.  My mother bought me a neat piece of photographic art that spells out our last name with beautiful architectural and natural photographs.  Rob and I are always looking for new art pieces to put on our wall and I'm sure it'll look fabulous in our new place.

After Christmas #2, we drove to Rob's parents' house.  Rob got really sick due to a gross buffalo chicken wrap he had eaten earlier in the day, so suffice it to say he has somewhat of an idea what it's like to be Caitlin eating gluten.  My mother-in-law kept feeding Cypress huge bits of ham and then was wondering why she was being followed around all day:

On Christmas Eve I attended mass with Rob's parents and sister, which was a first for me but I enjoyed it regardless.  I'm not religious, nor do I believe in God, but it's interesting to me to watch and listen.  Afterward we watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," which is Rob's family's Christmas tradition. The temperature dropped insanely low, which on a normal day would piss me off.  But Christmas Eve is best suited for winter, am I right?

Christmas morning came and yes, I was the second or third person awake at around 7:30.  I love Christmas morning.  We opened our gifts, which included an awesome camcorder for Robbie and I and some new MST3K episodes.  The harbor was stunning and I'm amazed at how well my iPhone 4S captured it. Also, Cypress is adorable.

After a very successful Christmas morning #3, we drove to my dad's house.  It was great seeing my sisters and dad again, especially since this is one of the last times I'll see them for awhile once we move (sad face).  I got the keyboard for my iPad that I wanted, a new knife set from my younger sister, and an awesome handmade iPhone doc from an amazing book of Russian prison tattoos from my older sister:

How cool is that?  I told her she should sell them. Because she knew we'd love the book as well as the dock, she bought us a pristine version too! Extra win.

Today was Christmas hangover day, one of the roughest days of the year in my humble opinion.  We made the long drive home, and once we got home I opened Robbie's gift to me: a really nice hiking rucksack specifically made with a spot for my camera once I get it fixed.  He's magical. 

I also let him open his gift for our anniversary on Wednesday, the perfect shave kit!  Yes, we are old. 

Anyway reality begins once again tomorrow, as does all the stress of our upcoming move.  I told Rob to expect at least one all-out crying fit but hey, I guess we'll see.  

Was Santa good to you this year?

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year. I had an amazing time spent with both of our families and of course with my amazing husband and beastie. I feel so fortunate to get to spend this holiday with those I love most.

On another note, I really miss blogging and hope to get back to it soon. I hope you all enjoyed the guest posts in my absence.

Lots of love!

Guest Post: Deanna & the Family Christmas Portrait

While Rob and I are on vacation in Florida I thought I'd share some awesome blog writers with you.  This is my first guest post extravaganza so I hope you enjoy!  Today's post is from Deanna from Delirious Rhapsody.  I just love Deanna, her blog, and her adorable family (especially son Gage, who says some of the darndest things indeed).  Plus, anyone who offers to include homemade porn in their guest post is alright by me (spoiler alert: there is no homemade porn).  

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Hello there, fellow To Make Love-ians. I'm Deanna!




I blog over at delirious rhapsody. I'm a stay at home mama of two crazy little boys, and my blog is all about my voyage to remain sanity throughout the monotony of SAHMotherhood. No, it's not actually that bad, because I do really love my kids a bunch. But some days, I do want to run headfirst, screaming, into a semi. And if you are a SAHM too, and think that it's all rainbows and unicorns every single day, well friend, you are lying to yourself. (I promise I'm not a bitter person. Just doing a little explaining about what my little blog is all about.) :-D I think I struggle sometimes because I never wanted kids to begin with. But life has a way of playing one crazy joke after another on you.

Anyway......

 I love to write. And it's always really flattering when someone asks me to write a guest post for them. Sometimes they are nice and give you a prompt. Sometimes they do not. (Ahem....Caitlin.) But I thought that since it's close to the holidays, and I keep seeing everyone's Holiday Card photoshoot posts show up in my reader, I would share our Christmas card outtakes from when my oldest son was 5 months old. 

 Let me set the scene for you: Like I said, my husband and I never wanted children. We were filling out papers to join the Peace Corps when I found out I was pregnant. Imagine our surprise. I never had a motherly bone in my body. I was terrified. How was I supposed to take care of something so small? I was clueless. So of course, come Christmastime, the husband and I decided that we would take a sweet family portrait. You know, to show everyone that we did know what we were doing. We could handle it. We weren't in over our heads. And this was the end result:

 
Here we have the dog terrorizing the cat, and our son, who looks like a proud citizen of Whoville.
 
Oh, how precious. In an attempt to get everyone's attention, it looks like my husband is giving 'the shocker.' 
 
Hey, look! We finally get everyone to look at the camera! Too bad the baby is ANGRY. And if case you were wondering what ended up on our Christmas cards, this next one was it. The true essence of our little family that year: 
 
Merry Christmas! Love, The Fikes

Guest Post: Jess's Holiday Playlist

While Rob and I are on vacation in Florida I thought I'd share some awesome blog writers with you.  This is my first guest post extravaganza so I hope you enjoy!  First up is Jess, who is one of my favorite bloggers ever.  I love her sense of humor and reading about her family (especially her adorable son Wyatt...baby fever!). I'm sure you already know she exists but if not, check her out.  And have her make a banner for your blog, because she does GREAT work (see my banner)! :)

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Hey there! I'm Jess from IROCKSOWHAT and I'm so happy to be guest posting on To Make Love Stay. And since we're already in full swing of the holidays, I thought it'd be cool to share my favorite holiday songs! These are all very classy and therefore should be listened to while walking around with wine.

My Christmas List, Round 2

Well since we're getting closer to Christmas I've been salivating over some more consumery goodness.  Enjoy!

1. Erin Condren Planner in Peacock design...preferably green & teal. I'm huge into planners and these Erin Condren models are simply gorgeous, and amazing.  At $50 they're far too expensive for me to buy for myself, but maybe Santa can fashion one for me.

2. When the Night Comes Dress from ModCloth.  Gorgeous, but I've been too burned by ModCloth lately to go ahead and actually purchase it.

3. Animal House Ugly Sweater Tee. I already bought an ugly sweater t-shirt today but I'd love to have this one too.  Sadly they're out of stock.

4. Slipper boots from Old Navy.  I love this particular print, but it isn't available in my size currently.

5. The Twilight Zone definitive collection.  I am a huge fan of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone and despite the fact that most of the episodes are on Netflix, I would love to have this entire collection.

6. 'S Marvelous heels.  I sighed a little when I saw these.  Aren't they gorgeous?

Christmas Decoration Time!

For some reason Rob and I put off Christmas decorating for a lot longer than we usually do this year.  Is it just me or has the end of 2011 crept up far too quickly?  Though I am excited to be in a year that ends with an even number, I'm not sure I'm totally ready for 2011 to end. I think the other reason we waited so long is that Rob is eyeballs-deep in finals, more so than he's ever been, and it means that most of our evenings are spent on our respective computers and not doing a ton of interacting.

On Monday we invited our friend Amie over and set off to get our tree, a blue spruce.  It's beautiful. We bought only one Hallmark ornament this year (an awesome Twilight Zone one--thanks for the heads up on this one, Alycia!) and received another ornament as a gift from Amie, which totally counts toward our "two Hallmark ornaments a year" tradition.

We also put out our favorite Christmas decoration, which I had totally forgotten about.  Behold, the Cypress nativity scene:

 

Isn't it darling? I bought it at this shop last Christmas.  The shop doesn't currently have nativity scenes anymore but I'm sure you can find them somewhere on Etsy.

We also watched all of the South Park Christmas specials, which despite the vulgarity still made me feel all warm and Christmasy.

Isn't Christmas magical? Are your decorations up?

Also, I'm sorry that my photos are so crappy. I miss my Nikon D60 (which, if you remember, died in Sedona) so very much.  I'm hoping to have it back soon.

Every So Often...

...through the stress and the negative thoughts, all of a sudden I'll get a quick flash of happy awesomeness.  All of a sudden I'll just up and realize how lucky I am and how amazing my life is, and the anxiety and dread dissipate, even if for only a brief second.

As vomit-inducing as it is, it's preferable to the maelstrom I usually have going on in my mind at any given moment.

Some things that have given me pause and reminded me how little I have to complain about:

//Making cheesecake from scratch for a friend's birthday with my husband...and having it come out perfectly.

Anyone wanna come over?

//Finally being able to justify drinking hot cocoa with a wee bit of peppermint schnapps.

(See the schnapps?)

//Making the perfect Christmas cards on Zazzle.  I know I already bought the matryoshka cards, but these were just too good to pass up.  Seriously, you guys.  They will earn their own post once I get them and send them out, they are that good.

//Hearing my husband say, "I'm not going to do homework tonight. You know why?! I just want one night this week to sit and hang out with my wife, just the two of us."

//The fact that I have food in my refrigerator, money in my bank account, potable water in my faucet, kerosene in my heater and a roof over my head.  

Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful start to your week.  Only three more weeks until...Christmas week...so four weeks I guess.  Damn.

Giveaway: Funk Off! Soap and Lotion

If you remember, when I was in Arizona I met up with Michelle and Chad a few times for dinner and had an absolute blast.  I had read Michelle's blog for a few months and I was so excited to meet her, Chad, and their lovely little beastie Bodhi.  They really are lovely people (and doggy) and I hope that we will meet again soon when Rob and I (hopefully) move to the Southwest (more on that hopefully later!).

Michelle and Chad run their own Etsy shop, Funk Off!, that makes all-natural, vegan, cruelty-free and gluten-free soaps, lotions, body sprays, lip balms, and tattoo creams.  They were kind enough to let me try some of their items so I could review them here, and then offer a giveaway to my amazing readers!

Here are the items I received from them (thank you so much, guys!) and my thoughts!

The Reviews!

 

1. Soap Samples: I got two little boxes with four soap samples each.  First of all, the scents are to die for.  My favorite scent was probably sap moss bonsai hemp, but I loved all of them.  One thing that amazed me was how quickly and easily they lathered up (weird sentence).  I have an issue with soaps and having to use a ton of it to get a sufficient amount of lather, but this was absolutely not an issue with these.  I loved them!

2. Body Spray (Lavender Vanilla).  I'm not usually much of a body spray/perfume fan on account of a very sensitive nose, but I loved this lavender vanilla scent.  I tried this out one day and it wasn't as overbearing as many body sprays I've tried, which is always a plus in my book!  The scent was subtle and lovely.

3. Body Wash (Bodhi Roots and Moon Goddess).  These were some of my favorite products to try.  Both scents are amazing, lovely and warm (I suck at describing scents, can you tell?) without being too feminine.  Rob liked both scents as well, which is yet another plus!  I will reiterate how impressed I was  with how easily they lather - the packaging said that a little goes a long way and it was right.  See that Moon Goddess bottle on the right? I've been using that since I was in Arizona and it's still going!

4. Ink Balm Tattoo Lotion.  If you go to Chad and Michelle's shop you will see rave reviews for their ink balm and boy, are they right!  One of my tattoos was relatively new when I was in Arizona and it was cracking like mad because of the dry air.  The Funk Off balm moisturized my tattoo better than the expensive Aveeno stuff I bought before coming to Arizona.  This was one of my favorite products!

5. Lip Balm (Zen and Tranquility).  Once again, the scents are amazing.  I used this lip balm in Arizona and it definitely helped keep my lips moisturized in the dry air, and gave my lips a nice gloss.  While I did love them, I think I do need a little bit more moisture in my lip balm because I am terrible with my lips (I pick them constantly).  I have and continue to use them in conjunction with my normal chapstick!

As you can see, Chad and Michelle make some pretty awesome stuff.

The Giveaway!

Chad and Michelle are giving away a soap and a lotion of the winner's choice from their Etsy shop!  That's right, any scent you'd like!

To enter, you first must be a follower of this blog.  Then just visit Chad and Michelle's shop and leave me a comment telling me what soap and lotion you'd select.  Make sure to leave your email address!

For additional entries (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Follow Chad and Michelle (@FreshNotFunky) on Twitter.
2. Follow me on Twitter! (@ElectricCaitlin)
3. Tweet about this giveaway! Make sure to include @ElectricCaitlin and @FreshNotFunky!

I will draw a winner at random on Monday, December 5th! Good luck!

And if you aren't patient enough to wait, visit Chad and Michelle's shop and buy something now! Their products are very affordable and you'll be supporting a small business! Happy Holidays!

In Honor of Small Business Saturday: Look What I Won!

I entered (and won!) the Yearning Robot's giveaway courtesy of Katelyn over at let's go a few months ago and I wanted to share my winnings with you on Small Business Saturday!

Charlene sells her watercolor paintings, as prints, pins, and pocket mirrors, and other awesome little items.  As part of the giveaway I won five pins of my choice, and I have to say that they are pretty adorable:

If I had to pick a favorite, I think it'd be the cute little narwhal (maybe because I like saying "narwhal.")

So if you're looking for some neat art (or gift wrapping!) check out Charlene's store, The Yearning Robot.  She's great to work with AND you'll be supporting a small business, which really is the best way to occupy Wall Street.

Have a great weekend all!

Thanksgiving Eve Snow & a Christmas Wishlist

Yesterday Rob and I looked at the weather and noticed that a rather significant snowstorm was making its way straight for us, so instead of waiting until today to make the 3.5-hour trek to my dad's house we left that evening.

This morning we woke up to this...

...so I feel that it is totally appropriate for me to create a Christmas Wishlist, no? As a side note, doesn't this picture look like it was taken on film?  It wasn't, obviously, but I'm glad that this Instagram filter gives me the appropriate amount of hipster cred.

1. Beams boots by Blowfish.  I'm currently having a love affair with boots and I blame my reintroduction to blogging.  Before I could totally justify walking around looking like a slob all day but now I spend my time looking at all of your cute outfits, so, thanks for that.

2. Any iPhone case from this site for my new iPhone 4 or 4S (which I should get before our trip toFlorida in December, eee!). I especially like these (1 // 2 // 3 // 4).  If I didn't get them as an iPhone case I would love to have them as prints, especially 1, 3, and 4.

 

3. A Magic Mouse for my MacBook Pro.  I use a little USB mouse but the navigations are all backwards and it hardly works in Photoshop.  I think my darling sister Megan will be getting this for me this year.

4. Logitech Keyboard Case for iPad 2.  There have been a couple times (like this trip home) that I drag my laptop along only so I can blog or easily type on the go (first world problems or what, amirite?) If I had this keyboard I would only need my iPad. I talked to my dad about it so I think this might be a reality this Christmas! Wee!

5. A new tattoo.  I mean, why not right?

6. I would like my camera to celebrate Christmas by magically working again.

What do you guys want for Christmas, or for your preferred holiday?

Also, does anyone else feel like materialistic a-hole after posting stuff like this? Damn hipster guilt.

This Made me REALLY Excited for Christmas.

I saw this on Jess's blog and, since I'm a sucker for memes (always have been) you all get to enjoy it!  If you decide to do this as well, please leave me the link in your comment so I can check it out.  Happy Holidays!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate all the way. One year I got really sick after drinking eggnog and threw up all morning, so I can hardly smell the stuff now.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Doesn't he ask my mom and dad to wrap them and that's why their handwriting is on the tag?

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White lights look classier, more solemn to me...colored lights look far more fun and festive.  So I vacillate between the two.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Probably the first or second weekend in December. 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Turkey, mashed potatoes, this dish my grandmother makes that we all call "pink stuff" (cottage cheese, cool whip, jell-o, fruit...I don't know, it's delicious though).

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? One of my first memories ever (I was maybe 3 or so) was sitting in the bathroom with my older sister at around 4 am staring at the clock waiting for it to turn 7am, when we could wake my parents up.  In more general terms, opening all my gifts with my sisters and spending the day with my cousins.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I asked my dad if Santa was real, half-joking and fully expecting him to say yes, and he broke the news to me.  I think I was 9.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Nope, it was strictly against the rules in my house and I don't think Rob's family did it either.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Rob and I have continued his family's tradition of buying one Hallmark ornament every year.  We also have some gift ornaments and a lot of filler ones we bought at Reny's (though Cypress has chewed most of those).

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love snow from Thanksgiving until December 26.  After that I am over it.

12. Can you ice skate? Psh, I live in Maine, what the hell else do we do all winter? I lived on a lake so I was ice-skating as soon as I could walk.  This doesn't mean I'm good at it.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? As a child, I got a troll dollhouse one year that made me super happy.  

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with my husband and my family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Meh, I can't eat any of the pies anymore so I guess brownies made by my grandmother. 

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Decorating the tree, hanging out with my sisters on Christmas Eve (sadly not doing that this year).

17. What tops your tree? A star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Well, I like gift giving but it can be really stressful too. And once you're past the age of 12 or so Christmas gifts usually aren't that exciting anymore.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? I like the ones that are sweet rather than pepperminty.  

20. Favorite Christmas show? Show or movie? I like "It's a Wonderful Life," "Christmas Vacation," "Love Actually" (totally a Christmas movie) and the claymation Rudolph story.

21. Saddest Christmas Song? Silent Night, duh! Does anyone else feel really sad when they show that Pampers commercial with "Silent Night" playing?

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Any of the standards sung by Bing Crosby, especially "The First Noel." I used to sing all of those songs in chorus/music geeky things in high school so I like all of them (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and the like). I also like Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You." I think that's the only song that our generation will have contributed to the list of standards.