Bella Tres Chic: What's On My Happy List?

I’m a 52 year old mother of five amazing daughters and wife to a caring, sensitive AND sexy husband. I adore my family. I’m dedicated to my faith. I enjoy a good laugh. I'm nostalgic and love to reminisce. "Remember" is my favorite word in the English language. I love life! I’m passionate about music, food and {dreams of} traveling the world. I wanna be a castle and waterfall chaser. I’m fascinated with anything European. {PARIS! Hello!} I love celebrating anything and everything! I love to read, especially a good biography, mystery, Regency Era Romance or Historical fiction novel. I love thoughtful gift giving. To me the gift wrap is almost as important as the gift itself. I have a bit of an obsession with gift boxes and gift bags. As well as old world maps & globes, apothecary bottles and jars! I love being creative…bolts of ribbon, coordinating scrapbook papers, producing a table scape, or planning décor for a themed party puts a smile on my face. I love the details! I’m a freak for anything theme oriented. I enjoy event planning, but oddly enough do not like to host or entertain. I enjoy fashion, but have to really be in the mood to clothes shop. I love purses and funky costume jewelry. Especially big rings! I’d rather wear wedges or heels any day than flats. I enjoy decorating and searching for the perfect decorative pillow or picture. However, you’ll never see me frequent high-end stores. I'm more of a Ross, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning kind of gal. My favorite decor style is an old world rustic Italian chateau/Spanish Villa look with a hint of bohemian! OR a vintage shabby chic French country cottage/English cobblestone farmhouse. My #1 cookie-Molasses! Autumn is my favorite season. I’d go through childbirth a million times. I enjoy biking with my man, Pilates, and power walking. You’ll never find me in a gym working out. I love movies, whether watching them in the theatre or cuddled up on the couch with my family. I enjoy a good chick flick or real life drama! I'm a sucker for movies on the Hallmark & Great American Family Channel. I have a tender heart for the elderly. I adore Disneyland. I enjoy being in the canyon on a summer or fall evening at dusk. I love my friends. While I have some extroverted characteristics. I’m a self proclaimed introvert. I’m generally quiet, calm, reserved and pretty darn private. Why in the heck do I blog? It’s a creative way to record family history. I enjoy photography. I really don’t like to write, although I write in my journal often. My journals, patriarchal blessing, scriptures, quote book, and beloved Christmas tree filled with ornaments of family memories are among my prized possessions. I love the beach. I enjoy WWII history. I love a clean, orderly house, but ours usually looks lived in. ;) PBS Masterpiece is my friend. I adore Jane Austen films. They transport me to another time and place. If I had to choose another time period in which to live, early 19th Century England would be my pick. "Sense and Sensibility" is my all time favorite movie. My 3 favorite TV series are...BBC's Larkrise to Candleford, the 1950's Spanish Drama "Velvet," and the travel/food show "Somebody Feed Phil." My biggest pet peeve is people who blow their noses in public. So gross! {Take it to the bathroom people.} I’d go on a wine tasting vacation if it wasn’t against my religion. I’ve always wanted to adopt a baby from a foreign country. I’m an avid BYU football fan. I'm a Educational Support Professional. I tutor elementary kids in phonemic awareness, phonics, reading, fluency and comprehension. I love our campfires at Scofield Lake. I have a 'thing' for fairy gardens, Gallic French roosters, fresh flowers in a vase, pretty bowls & plates, yummy smelling candles & soap. I love summer rainstorms and warm baths. I'm a scripture podcast fanatic. I'm also a fan of several Fox News shows; Hannity and Dave Ramsey Talk Radio. I very much miss Rush Limbaugh! I hate when my kids have homework. I'd rather clean 20 toilets than give a talk or prayer in church. I have quite a collection of Madame Alexander Dolls, children's books, Disney pins, and quotes. My favorite quote is "Don't underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak & notice more than you realize." True True LOL! I always prefer sitting in a back row versus the front. {I'm sort of a seat snob..yikes} I also have high expectations for my lemonade, salsa, and french fries too. HA! I work well behind the scenes. I love a good Dateline, 20/20 or 48 Hour Mystery. I’m a night owl. I'd rather be cold than hot. I love to budget our finances! I enjoy being a chauffeur to my children. I'm not a huge fan of social media. I don't snap, pin or tweet. All I want for Christmas every year is a ticket to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It's my FAVORITE. I’m an Anglophile…a royal watcher who loves anything English! Especially tea parties! I would like to serve a church mission to England with Jaren someday. I'm queen of paper towel, used kitchen dishrags and sponges kinda make me squirm. You’ll rarely find me out of the house not ready for the day, except when driving the kids to school on the days I don't work. I feel naked without lipstick or lip gloss. Mismatched socks, chipped fingernail polish, chapped lips and brownie crumbs on the floor drive me nuts! I like to organize and BE organized..but not saying I always am. ;) I enjoy hiking to waterfalls, ATV’ing with my family and snowshoeing with the hubs. Although I enjoy collecting recipes and occasionally watch cooking shows... (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, Paula Deen, Jamie Oliver, and the Pioneer Woman are my favorites) I’d rather not cook. Eating out is so much more fun. I'm a foodie. I live to EAT! LOL Trying new foods and restaurants is a favorite past-time, and believe it or not so is intermittent fasting. I'm not good at a lot of things... but gosh, if you need help with a themed celebration or someone to enjoy good food with, I'm your girl. I love the joy of anticipation and the celebration of holidays. Family traditions are important to me. I'm a memory preserver. I'm a pathological picture taker ;) a visual storyteller, and a lover of happy lists!

Thursday, January 05, 2023

What's On My Happy List?

Christmas in all its glory!

We have a tradition on the 23rd of Dec.

We call it our Bethlehem night,

where we celebrate the nativity...

and eat Bethlehem'ish food. lol

Some olive, fig and lentil finds

at the Trader Joe's

helped us out!

😅

We watched the Nativity Story...

and even had frankincense diffusing.
😉

**********

Christmas Eve at Gma C's...

Our shrimp and crab seafood feast!

Gift Time!

Caught these two looking at

one of their favorite Christmas books

together. Despite their 5 1/2 yr

age difference they are each other's

best friend. Which I am so grateful.

Kate will even let me still read

some of my favorite Christmas

books to her.

Which I appreciate. Cuz ya know,

she's twelve. lol

Back at home we played the

Merry Bells...

which I LOVE doing...

cuz I have bell ringing

in my blood, in more ways

than one.

😉

We also looked back on

Christmas pictures

since 2005!...

Lots of fun reminiscing

from 17 Christmas

mornings past.

And opened up the PJ's!

The kiddos watched some of White Christmas...

CRACKED ME UP when I later heard Tyler

belt out the "Me and My SisterS" line

from that song in the show.

😂

We still read the Night Before Christmas

and leave a treat for Santa.

Then it was sleepover time!

and I play Mrs. Claus....

gett'in everything ready for in the morn.

Now that Kyleigh is married

I filled a basket for

the two of them instead of stockings.

For the dogs!

😌

Blessed Christmas morn!

Here they come...

The reactions on

Christmas morn are my fav!

Their couple gift produced

some good laughs!...

Emmsie LOVES books!

They are one

of my favorite things to buy her...

She is a voracious reader and

keeps track of all the books she reads.

She read 71 this year!!!

Sometimes the smallest gifts

produce the most excitement...

peas in a pod...

😂

First nativity and tree ornament

for the newlyweds...

My very first Christmas ornament....

I got almost 30 years ago!

It's obviously one of my favorites...

For the Percy Jackson fans....

When she realized there was

a surprise on the back deck...

👏👏👏

I love surprises!!

After church...

we had our traditional

Christmas Brunch

with the hubs side.

It was heavenly.

It's honestly one of

my favorite meals of the whole year.

Then we had my side of the family over

to visit my little mama.

Over the winter break Kate and I

decorated a gingerbread house...

Hannah did our makeup

for funsies...

Lots of fun games were played...

enjoyable movies watched...

AND had some good eats...

{Did you know that Swig has a frozen

hot chocolate called Serendipity?

Fun to try, but no where as good

as Taste's or Bahama Bucks frozen hot chocolate.}

Melissa's Crepes...

was the choice

for our dinner group outing this month.

This was the Dulce de Leche crepe...

It was perfect..surprisingly not too

sweet or rich.

One of my favorite places we've been,

...just quaint, quiet and delicious.

**********

New Year's Eve festivities...

Taco Bell helped us ring in the new year,

and a lot of chips and some homemade

popcorn crack.

We took some time and looked back

on all the pictures I'd taken this past year.

Goodness...what a year this has been.

Some extreme high's and lows FOR SURE.

**

My favorite New Year's movie,

along with the Holiday.

There was some late night hide 'n seek

play'in with the dogs...

More game playing...

ball dropping...

and bubbly drink'in!

Fun with friends...

We had several kids every

which way that night...

Hannah had some good stories to tell

from her late night shenanigans...

😂

Meet Me At Midnight!

💋

B hit up two parties, but then wanted to be home

to ring in the new year with us.

Quite endearing I say.

🙌

and Kyleigh... was stuck in Salem.

At least she had Tyler and her

sparkling drink!

😂

**********

Our New Year's Day snow storm!

WAS BEAUTIFUL!

Wicked good

homemade hot chocolate!...

The day after still found us celebrating...

with our favorite New Year's tradition.

Someone said...

"Family traditions are like

old memories

giving you hugs!"

...and I say AMEN to that!

**********

Speaking of bringing in a new year...

I have several of my grandma's journals,

which I adore.

Just so happens that one of them

is a 1923 journal!

She turned 19 that year.

How cool is it that I can read

her entries daily, and know what she

was doing on that day

exactly a 100 fetching years ago?

{And she is the same age Brie will be

this year.}

Pretty awesome.

Happy New Year ya'all!!!

**********

Stay tuned for

my favorite "things"

of 2022!

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