What's Up Wednesday :: November 2017

Happy Wednesday! It's time for our What's Up Wednesday Link Up!

Link up with  me, Sheaffer & Shay  so we can read about What's Up with YOU!

Here we go!

What We’re Eating this week..... 
 This is fun week because it's Thanksgiving week but we are also in New York City!!!!!!!!

Kevin had a work potluck & he needed to bring something, so look what we came up with. I saw someone post it on Pinterest, so we recreated it for his potluck.

Didn't it turn out cute? Who doesn't love a Veggie Turkey & hummus platter?


This weekend before my college roommate, her husband & daughter stayed with us, so I made my Monkey Bread (Recipe HERE) like I always make when they visit! This year Kate made it for us! :)

I also made my Dutch Apple Pie:

Here is what we are eating this week!

Monday -  Mel's Italian Sausage Lasagna, Cesar Salad & Garlic Bread.
Tuesday - Serendipity NYC
Wednesday - Carmine's in NYC
Thursday - Sarabeth's in Central Park
Friday - Tavern on the Green
Saturday - Back home....probably pizza :)

What I'm Reminiscing about.....
I've been reminiscing about last time I was in NYC. It's been over 15 years since I was last here.
I went after 9/11 happened with a group from our church & we volunteered at St. Paul's Chapel to make meals for the firefighters at Ground Zero.
Here are my sisters and I after one of our shifts.

 You can read all about our NYC Mission trip HERE.
Here is me yesterday in front of St. Paul's Chapel where we volunteered:

 What I'm loving.....

 NYC during the holidays!!!!!

 I love this city! So full of energy and life!

What We've been up to.....
Having a blast in NYC...full post to come next week!

Our first full day was yesterday & we went to Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (girls went on the Subway for the first time) Brooklyn Bridge, took a ferry, saw the Statute of Liberty, Ellis Island, explored Battery Park. Went to the 9/11 Memorial, St. Paul's Chapel, Dylan's Candy Bar and Serendipty for dinner & frozen hot chocolate!

 We love NYC!   

  What I'm Dreading.....

Going back to school next week.
It has been so great having this whole week off school & having adventures in NYC!



What I'm Working On.....

Christmas Card photos! I just got our proofs back from our photographer, so I am trying to figure out which ones to use for our card. My goal is to get the cards ordered by this weekend!



What I'm Excited About.....

 Being at the Thanksgiving Parade tomorrow!!!
Can  you say BUCKET LIST?!?!
AHHHH!!!!!!! Can't wait!!!

I also can't wait to take the girls to the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular later this week!

Again....Bucket List!!


What I'm Watching........

This is Us. Still majorly obsessed.

How to Get Away with Murder 

Grey's Anatomy

I don't start watching Christmas movies until the day after Thanksgiving, so this weekend after I am home, I will start 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 next week!

What I'm Reading.....

 I read several books this month!

The Girl Before 
 This was creepy, but good!

I give it 3 out of 5 stars!


The Identicals
 I loved this!

4 out of 5 stars

Slammed
Loved this book as well.

It is the first in a series of 3.

Point of Retreat
 
The 2nd in the series of 3.

I started the 3rd book on the plane:

This Girl


I give them all 4.5 out of 5 stars...very easy/quick reads! 


What I'm Listening to.....

The past week the girls and I have been playing Jayz & Alicia Keys Empire State of Mind on repeat.

If we aren't listening that song, we are listening to Taylor Swift's Welcome to New York



These songs have been pumping us up for NYC! 

What I'm Wearing.....

Back home in California it's 70 degrees. Here in NYC it's in the 40s-50s.
We are bundled up and my UGGS have gotten a lot of use!
These are my staples this week while in NYC:

Uggs

Jacket


Beanie


We have walked miles and miles while here and my UGGS are so comfy & cozy!



What I’m doing this weekend.....

 Flying back home from NYC and then getting my house decorated for Christmas!


What I'm Looking Forward to next month.....

I am looking forward to so many things this December!

- Our annual court Christmas Party

- Hosting an Ugly Sweater Party
-Going Ice Skating in San Francisco 

- 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

What else is new.....

My Rodan + Fields Black Friday and Cyber Week deals are HERE!!!!!
These deals are good through today until next Friday 12/1.
All preferred customer orders placed today until Friday 12/1 will get their orders at my consultant pricing AND a free eye cream!
You get your choice of our Redefine Eye Cream our our newest eye cream Bright Eye Complex.
The Redefine Eye cream helps with fine lines/crows feet.

Bright Eye Complex helps with puffiness & dark circles.

 This is one of the best deals of the year!

The next holiday special we have is when you buy the Bright Eye Complex along with Lash Boost, you get a sparkling eye lash curler! This also comes in a gift box.

 These deals are good for new and current customers.
Ready to get the best skin and/or lashes of your life?
60-day empty bottle, 100% of your money back guarantee! 

  We have regimens for all skin types.

 What is your biggest skin concern? I'm here to help!

Take THIS quick 5 question survey to find out what is best for your skin! 
Email me with questions or to place an order:
melissa_larson17@yahoo.com


Question of the month is:
What is your favorite Elf on the Shelf idea?
This is Easy!!!
My favorite idea is to delay the Elf. LOL.
Our Elf usually shows up the first Sunday after Thanksgiving.
Because Thanksgiving is early this year, that means a month of the elf. UGH.

So, 2 years ago, Kevin and I decided to delay our elf's appearance.

  Kevin and I decided that year, our Elf would come the first Sunday of December. One less week of moving the Elf? Yes, please!

The kids were scared that our Elf (named Candle) wasn't going to show up. All week they were panic mode. HA!
Kevin the great idea that we should leave a note saying that Candle was at an Elf Training Program.
So, wrote this letter & left it for the kids to find:

 

 When the girls saw it in the morning, they got tears in their eyes because they were :
1) so excited that our elf would be returning to our house this year
2) so proud that our Elf was selected to train another elf.
It's so fun being a parent & creating holiday moments like this for your kids.

(A little background: Marshmallow the Elf is Candle's "sister". A few years ago, Claire wanted us to have a girl elf instead of a boy elf, so I bought an elf skirt at Target. One of the mornings that the Elf arrived, the Elf had the skirt on & a note saying that Candle was sick, but Marshmallow (his sister) would be filling in for a few days. So, since then, Marshmallow makes an appearance 1 or 2 times each December) 
We did that 2 years ago & it was so nice having 1 less week of the elf.
Last year, we wrote this note:

So, just like last year our elf left a letter saying he was asked to be a part of the "N.E.W.T" (New Elf Training Program) Our kids thought it was so special our elf was chosen to be a part of it again.

You better believe our elf will be asked to be a part of the N.E.W.T again this year.
Feel free to this idea :) 

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I have lots of NYC posts on IG, so you can follow along our adventures there!