A December recap before moving into the new year!
photo by apt. b photography
Clothing Purchased:
Olive Faux Fur Stole
Velvet Floral Car Coat
Blush Satin Camisole
Blue Velvet Pants
Home Items Purchased:
Wooden Bead Garland
Where I Went:
Raleigh – We visited Raleigh the first weekend of December {my birthday} to see my family. We had a great visit and dined at La Farm bakery for breakfast. Couldn’t recommend this place more if you’re in the area! I use to grab pastries here when I lived in Cary but had’t been there since freshman year of college. They’ve expanded their store/restaurant and menu.
Staycation – Joshua and I stayed at The Duke Mansion here in Charlotte for a little staycation. It was the first time we had ever done anything like that and I definitely want to make it a regular treat! We had the best time and driving just five minutes from our house to get away was amazing! I truly cannot say enough good things about The Duke Mansion but I am going to try to with a review coming soon!
Lake Norman – Joshua’s parents live on Lake Norman and this is where we spent our Christmas holiday. We had a great time lounging, eating, and taking a hike around Lake Norman State Park. It was my first time hiking in that park and I was blown away by it’s beauty! Looking forward to going back in the spring and summer.
NC Mountains – This is where we are right now! We decided pretty last minute {late November} to go away with some friends for New Years Eve. We spent some time looking for a cabin and finally found one the first week of December. We’ve planted ourselves in the cabin with lots of food, drinks, and board games. The perfect way to spend the end of Christmas break in my opinion! I’ll be sharing more from the trip on Instagram – stay tuned!
Movies Watched:
The Holiday {classic} – My favorite Christmas movie! I know it’s cheesy and super unrealistic but I absolutely love it. I mean, Jude Law is beyond swoon-worthy in this movie and you can’t help but cheer for Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet’s characters. You want that cheesy, happy ending for both of them. If you haven’t watched this one yet, you need to give it a chance!
Logan Lucky – Joshua picked this one out. Definitely a guy movie in my opinion haha. The movie was pretty good and had some fun action in it but overall it was slow. Also, some of the characters were just so ridiculous – not in a good way.
Stronger – Joshua and I had a full on movie day last week. We watched four movies in one day and it was beyond glorious! Stronger was hands down my favorite from our movie day and probably one of my favorites from the whole year. Jake Gyllenhaal killed it. Seriously, he was incredible. The story was heart wrenching and an amazing one. A movie to add to your watch list for sure!
Sleeping With Other People – This one didn’t do so hot on Rotten Tomatoes but we decided to take a chance on it. I’m glad we did. I found the movie to be rather hilarious and Jason Sudeikis to be his typical charming self.
Dunkirk – I’m all about army/military movies. I typically love them all and really get into the action of them. However, this wasn’t one of those. While the movie did amazing on Rotten Tomatoes, I wasn’t the biggest fan. It seemed slow to me and the same things happened over and over. While I realize it’s based on a true story and I appreciate + hate all that those men went through, it wasn’t one of my favorite stories/movies.
Ridiculous Amount of Hallmark Christmas Movies
Recipes Tried:
Cranberry Orange Zest Shortbread Cookies – These are so tasty! Light and refreshing while also being perfectly sweet. A great year around cookie.
Favorite Blog Posts of the Month on Louella Reese:
Reader Favorite: Merry Christmas from The Elliott’s
My Favorite: Merry Christmas from The Elliott’s
Favorite Blog Posts of the Month:
5 Things to Leave Behind in 2017 – A Pinch of Lovely
Best Pairs of Denim for 2017 – Pretty in the Pines
Prepping for a Holiday Destination – Gal Meets Glam
My All Time Favorite Sugar Cookies – A Touch of Teal
Favorite Song of the Month:
Grown Up Christmas List by Amy Grant – favorite Christmas song!
Reading:
I am still reading 5 Minutes with Jesus: Peace for Today and continuing to love it! Again, highly recommend for a morning devotional.
TV Shows Watched/Watching:
So I had been watching This Is Us and was about halfway through season two. Then our On Demand decided to stop working {ughhh}. So hoping to get back to that after the first of the year and catch up! Joshua and I finished the Netflix series Longmire. Pretty heartbroken that it is over. While I felt they had to enter the series, it was one of those shows I’m pretty sure I could have watched forever. Now I’m ready for Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, and Nashville to start back this month!
Take a look back at my recaps from November, October, September, August, July, June, May, and April.
You had such a great, December! Loved your Christmas post too, those pictures were amazing!
The Champagne Edit
Completely agree, it was a wonderful one. Thanks so much gal! We had the BEST time shooting those photos.
xo Laura Leigh
What a fun little recap. This post totally reminded me that I need to catch up on This Is Us. I’m in season 2, maybe episode 6 or something like that. But with all the winter travel, I totally stopped watching up. Must binge it soon!
Thanks gal! Glad you enjoyed it. Ah yes, you definitely need to! I just caught up last night and saw the new episode airs next week. Get your binge on!
xo Laura Leigh
I love the setup and idea of this post. So many great links I have about 10 tabs open now š
Thank you gal! I appreciate it. These are some of my favorite posts to create. And YAY! Love hearing that!!
xo Laura Leigh
Sounds like you had an awesome December! I need to catch up on some of these movies and find a new series on TV too!
Absolutely did! Very lucky lady š yes for sure, some of them were really great!
xo Laura Leigh
I LOVE these monthly recaps! Happy New Year Friend!
xo!
Shelby
Thanks so much Shelby! So happy to hear you love them. Happy New Year to you as well!
xo Laura Leigh
What a great recap! Thanks for sharing!
Liz
Thank you lady! I appreciate you reading it.
xo Laura Leigh
Love your recap of december! I love the holiday too, one of my favorite movies! now I want to watch it! xo, nelli
Thank you Nelli! So good, isn’t it? Just love it.
xo Laura Leigh
What a great month!! I love that you are always trying new recipes!! I want to see Stronger!!
Thanks gal! I really enjoyed trying them. November we definitely tried a lot more, I need to jump back into that. I am sure you would love Stronger. Although, I will warn you, there is lots of cussing.
xo Laura Leigh
Sounds like one wonderful Christmas month to me! I hope you enjoyed every second of it!
Absolutely! Thank you gal! Hope you did as well.
xo Laura Leigh
What an awesome december!
Xo Mindy amxiofmin.com
Absolutely was!
xo Laura Leigh
Such a fun recap, I love reading these! This is Us has quickly become favorite in our house, too! Can’t wait for it to come back this month.
xx, Danielle | Pineapple & Prosecco
Thank you gal! So happy to hear you enjoy them. Oh my gosh, me too! I am way too excited haha.
xo Laura Leigh
I am absolutely loving this round up! Those cookies look delicious and your fave blog posts are awesome. Love Gal Meets Glam.
xo, Amanda
http://www.aglamlifestyle.com
Thanks Amanda! Yes, she is the best!
xo Laura Leigh