What's Up Wednesday :: November 2015

It's the last Wednesday of the month, that means it's time for our What's Up Wednesday Link Up!

Link up with  me, Sheaffer & Shay the LAST Wednesday of each month so we can read about What's Up with YOU!

Here we go!

What We’re Eating this week.....
Monday: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili
Recipe {HERE}

Tuesday: Out to dinner & then to our neighbors to watch the Warriors game!
I got my favorite Burger....Bacon, Jack Cheese, Avocado on Sourdough. SO good!


Wednesday: Spicy Turkey Burger Sliders

Recipe {HERE}

Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner!!!!!
Here is our menu:
Appetizers: Hot Artichoke Dip & Bacon Wrapped Dates
Recipe {HERE}
Thanksgiving Dinner:
 Turkey with fresh Cranberry Sauce, Sausage Corn Bread Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes (Pioneer Woman's recipe), Sweet Potato Casserole,  Green Bean Casserole and Creamy Baked Corn.
And, Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert:

Pumpkin Cheesecake {Recipe HERE}

Friday: Pizza Night & our town's Tree Lighting Ceremony
Saturday - Thanksgiving Leftovers
Sunday: Homemade Mac & Cheese & Caesar Salad

Recipe {HERE}

Because it is Thanksgiving Break, we have been doing a lot of cooking/baking.
 I made my Pecan Pie Cheesecake because my mom wanted cheesecake for her birthday on Saturday.
And, of course I made my Pumpkin Bread this week!

What I'm Reminiscing about.....
I've been reminiscing about college! This past weekend my college roommate & her family came from Boston to stay with us. For the past 4 years, they have been coming to stay with us the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's always so much fun.
I found this photo of us our Sophomore year going to an 80's party.  (We are in the middle) Hysterical. Our guy friends always had the best themed parties!

I am also reminicising about playing college soccer....you see 2 of my blog readers (Hi Hannah & Rachel!) are sisters and they grew up in Boulder, Colorado. When Hannah started reading my blog years ago, she told me that she is pretty sure her and her sister saw me play soccer in college since their dad would always take them to CU soccer games. Well, a few weeks ago Hannah sent me an email with this photo attached.

 Her and Rachel found this poster at their house, it was one of our team posters that were handed out at the games & they are pointing to me. So fun, thanks for emailing it to me!

 What I'm loving.....
I'm loving our Microdermabrassion Paste!
As the weather changes & it gets colder, it is so important to exfoliate your skin.

I am placing a bulk order for our sunless tanner and our microdermabrassion paste!
I am offering these at a discounted PRICE!
Foaming Tanner- $21
Microdermabrasion Paste-$68
These prices include tax & I will ship them to you for FREE!

For best results I exfoliate my legs with the Microdermabrasion paste first and then use the tanner.
Our Micro-Dermabrasion Paste is a high-glide, oil-free formula designed to promote maximum gentle exfoliation, featuring vitamins C and E. I  use it 2-3 times per week in place of my cleanser. It refreshes and renews the skin’s surface -- then you can follow it with your regular skincare routine.
Helps to enhance cell turnover and improve your skin tone and texture. Gets rid of dry patches you get on elbows, heels, knees & face. One jar lasts me 6 months!
It is perfect for the winter months when the weather is so harsh and your skin takes a beating!
 

The tanner is foaming, doesn't streak, doesn't turn you orange & smells great! 

It's perfect to get your legs/arms ready for holiday parties.

One bottle lasts me 3-4 months!
Email me at: melissa_larson17@yahoo.com or comment below if you want me to add you to the bulk order, and what you want to order! 
Like all our products, these come with a 60 day empty bottle 100% money back guarantee!
I'm also loving our Reverse Regimen. 
 Do you have sun damage, age spots or pregnancy melasma? I can help!!  
 I love seeing before & after pics when people use Rodan + Fields products!
How awesome are these Reverse Results from Brittney?

She used Reverse for 8 months & now uses redefine.

If you are interested in becoming a Preferred Customer, my November Special

 For all my new preferred customers,  10% off your order and Free Shipping PLUS a Free Essentials Item!

Email me at: melissa_larson17@yahoo.com

What We've been up to.....

 On Saturday, my sisters and I went to Sonoma with my mom to celebrate her birthday!

We went to brunch at the Girl & the Fig Cafe and I got Avocado Crab Eggs Benedict...AMAZING!

 All the vineyards were stunning with the Fall color. I was in heaven!

So pretty!

I loved spending the day with my mom & sisters!

 
What I'm Dreading.....
Going back to school next week.
It has been so great having this whole week off school!

What I'm Working On.....
Running! I can't believe I am running another 1/2 marathon...in less than 3 weeks!!
In case you missed that post, you can read it {HERE}
I shared about my Running Journey & why I'm running for a cause on December 12th.
I've been working on running & also enjoying the beautiful fall weather & colors we have been having here in California.

My training has looked a little different for this 1/2 marathon compared to the one I did in October, mostly because I was already in shape when I started running & secondly because I don't have 3 months to train for this one.
I am running 3 & 4 miles during the week and then doing a long run on the weekend.

 I'm doing a 12 mile run this weekend and then tapering off since it will be 2 weeks from the race.
EEK. I can't believe I am doing this again! AHHH!!
But, I am excited to run to raise money for clean water in Africa!
If you would like to donate to my race, click HERE.
My goal is to raise $1310 for Team World Vision so that people have access to clean water.
Any amount helps...$5, $10, $25, etc.
All donations are tax deductible!

I am also working on my Favorite Things Party that I am throwing in a couple weeks.
I threw one 4 years ago (You can see that post HERE)

(I had just found out I was pregnant with Luke, but Kevin and I hadn't told anyone yet!) 

It was such a fun party & I wanted to make it an annual thing, but life has been crazy, but I am doing it again this year because it was so much fun!

This week I am working on the invites & getting them mailed out!

Here are the ones I made last time...trying to figure out if I switch up the design or not:

 What I'm Excited About.....

Kevin getting his MAI designation!
We found out yesterday that he passed his MAI designation.
If you are a real estate appraiser like he is, this is the highest credential you can get. He has been working on this for YEARS. He started his final report for this in July & for 3 months he spent over 400 hours (outside of work) on this final demo report. It has been a crazy past few months with him working so hard on it. He found out today that he PASSED!!!  So, so, so happy for him & incredibly proud of all his hard work!!!
This is a huge relief.....I am so glad to have my husband back & the kids are glad to have their dad home more! It has been a really stressful few months with him working so much & being gone most weekends.

 We are SOOOO excited he is now an MAI...no more studying or writing reports!! YAY!!!

What I'm Watching........
 I am officially caught up with Grey's.

I am even caught up on the current Season! Now I have to wait a week for the next episode. Watching on Netflix is way better ;)
 
Earlier this month, Kevin and I started watching How to Get Away with Murder.

We watched Season 1 on Netflix & finished that pretty quickly, so now we are working on the current season, I have those on our DVR.

I don't start watching Christmas movies until the day after Thanksgiving, so starting Friday, I will be watching all my favorite Christmas movies on DVD and also
You can see my Top 10 list of Christmas movies on THIS post.

I have also started DVRing cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies. I can't wait to start watching them in a few days!

What I'm Reading.....
I am in the middle of reading 2 books:

For the Love 

and

Crooked Little Lies

 What I'm Listening to.....
Like everyone else, I am listening to Adele's new Album!

Hello! I LOVE it! SO good!
And, the Target version has 3 bonus tracks.
Get it {HERE}

I am also listening to Pandora's Today's Top Hits when I go on my runs.

And, once Friday arrives & Thanksgiving is over, I will be listening to Christmas music 24/7. I can't wait!!

What I'm Wearing.....
 It's Boots & Jeans Season!
I highlighted my favorite boots & jeans in THIS post. 

Make sure you check it out.....several options for all price points!

Here are a few outfits I have been wearing this month:

Sweater // Scarf // Jeans // Boots

Shirt // Cords // Boots

 Shirt (Stitch Fix)  // Necklace (Premier)  // Pants // Shoes

 Fall & Winter clothing is my favorite!

What I’m doing this weekend.....
We a lot of fun things planned this weekend!
Starting Friday morning when I wake up, it will be time to Deck the Halls & start playing Christmas music!

 On Friday night we have our town's annual tree lighting.
We are getting our Christmas tree this weekend & will decorate our house for Christmas.
Candle the Elf will also make his appearance this weekend.
This weekend we will also go to church & kick off the first weekend of Advent.
We have a brunch for Kevin's brother's birthday.
And, at some point on Saturday or Sunday I need to run 12 miles.
It's going to be a jam packed & fun filled weekend!

What I'm Looking Forward to next month.....
I am looking forward to so many things this December!

- Our annual court Christmas Party
-Going Ice Skating in San Francisco 

- Running my 2nd Half Marathon
-Kevin's work Christmas Party
-Taking the kids on the Christmas Train Ride
-My Favorite Things Party
- Listening to Christmas Music
-Watching Christmas Movies
 - Going to church during the Advent Season
-Sending & Receiving Christmas Cards!!!
- Making Christmas Cookies
-Taking my kids to see Santa
-Looking at Christmas lights
- Having 2 weeks off school
- Celebrating Jesus' Birth
-Going to Lake Tahoe after Christmas

Like I said...we have so many fun things I am looking forward to in December!

What else is new.....
 Claire got new bedding....we are changing up her room a little bit. Her old quilt was Kate's old quilt, so this is the first one she has picked out on her own.

Comforter // Bed Skirt // Aqua Pillows // Pink Pillow

We are getting her new name letters/or something new above her name since the current ones don't match anymore...they were from her nursery :)
She also wants her room painted....but I am trying to avoid that...painting is the worst!

Kate's outdoor soccer season ended, but she started playing indoor soccer...she had her first game last Friday night..she was so cute holding Luke's hand on the way into her game.

Question of the month is:
What is your favorite Christmas Tradition?
I can't just pick one....I have so many favorite traditions!
Growing up, I had 2 favorite traditions. One was that we headed up to the Santa Cruz mountains every year the day after Thanksgiving to go cut down our Christmas tree. It's such a fun tradition. Kevin and I did this for the first 6 years we were married. Since then, we've only taken the kids to do this 2 times, mostly because we are in a major California drought & the trees on the Christmas tree farms are really dry. I hope we get a lot of rain this winter so we can cut down our tree next year instead of getting it at Home Depot.

Another favorite tradition I had as a kid was that Christmas Eve was the big day we celebrated Christmas. We would go to the Christmas Eve service at church, then head home and open up all our Christmas presents after dinner. Santa would come Christmas morning, but Christmas Eve was the big night. We still do this with my family on Christmas Eve. I love it :)

Now that I have my own family, we have some of our own traditions.
One of my favorite ones is Wrap Christmas books for each day of Advent
I started doing this 4 years ago.

I individually wrapped each book & the idea is that on each night of Advent the kids will get to unwrap a book for us to read. We read 1 book per night & rotate who gets to open the book.

I put all the wrapped books in a basket under our tree. It's fun!

I also love our tradition of Christmas Eve Eve. On the 23rd (Christmas Eve Eve) the 5 of us go to dinner at one of our favorite spots in town. Then we go look at Christmas lights & come home and watch a Christmas Movie. We've been doing it for 6 or 7 years and I really enjoy Christmas Eve Eve.

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Can't wait to read about What's up with all of YOU!

I am so thankful for all of you & for taking the time to read my blog!
I hope you & your families have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!