Go Look at Holiday Lights – Advent Calendar Day 4

Celebrating the Everyday  //  4th December 2012

Since we started dating in high school, we have always made it a Christmas tradition to go see the local light display. When we were younger, there was “Candy Cane Lane” where an entire street in town would decorate their homes.  And we are not just talking about a few lights, these houses would be covered in thousands of lights, have moving parts, music, and actual people dressed as elves.  When a home is sold on the street, the previous owners leave the lights and the neighbors make sure to inform all potential buyers that they have to take part in the long running holiday tradition!

Since we moved to Baltimore, our light viewing tradition has taken on a little bit different experience.  And that brings us to Day 4 of our AMAZING Life Holiday Advent Calendar:  Go Look at Holiday Lights.

Maybe it’s just because I went to school to be an electrical engineer but there is just something special about the way Christmas lights covering a house in a festive display make you feel.  And even better than lights on a house… lights on a boat!

The first year we were in Baltimore, we happened upon the Lighted Boat Parade by chance. We were out for a walk and saw a large crowd of people down along the water.  Not wanting to miss out on the fun, we walked over to investigate. And to our surprise, there were dozens of boats parading around Inner Harbor fully lit in a magical array of Christmas cheer.  Since then, we have made it our new tradition to see the Lighted Boat Parade in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor each year.  The past few years have been rainy cold and windy, but this year we had the perfect evening to sit along the water, snap a few photos, and cuddle close together.

If you are looking for a way to kick start your Christmas Season, make it a date night to see a Holiday Light display! And if you are in need of a few ideas on where to see the best light displays, check out the Travel Channel List of the Country’s Best Light Displays! Now if I can only convince Liz to let us buy a boat and decorate it with Christmas lights …

 

Send a Holiday Greeting to a Soldier – Advent Calendar Day 3

Gratitude, Saying Thanks  //  3rd December 2012

There are a lot of things that we often “think” about doing during the holidays that would be “nice” things to do, but we get too caught up in other things that we don’t end up doing them! This year we have decided to change that and actually make the things that matter happen! We hope our Amazing Holiday Advent Calendar will help you do the same! Today, Day 3 of Advent, we are sending Holiday greetings to soldiers!

While we were writing out our Christmas Cards this year, I came across a note from a friend who mentioned that soldiers who are serving our country might enjoy a holiday card too! What an AMAZING reminder! So, we Googled how to send a Holiday Card to a soldier and actually was totally surprised to find out that it is a bit more complicated than I would have hoped. (Sadly you can’t just send a card directly to the Walter Reed Hospital and expect that it gets into the hands of a soldier.) However, we did find that the Red Cross has a Holiday Mail for Heroes Initiative where they will take your cards and make sure they end up in the hands of those with whom you intended!

Of course we were excited to find this program and we couldn’t wait to get a few in the mail. But then, we found this video that actually showed the Red Cross delivering a few cards in 2010…

Whoa! With tears running down my face our passion and drive to let these men and women know how much we appreciate them multiplied x 1 million! I was originally worried about what I was going to say- and then I realized that we have the power to bring a smile to someone’s face or bring encouragement when things are hard! It is as simple as just speaking from our hearts and letting them know just how grateful we are for them! Without their service we likely wouldn’t have the freedom that we do to live out our dreams everyday!

We hope you join us today in sending a smile to a soldier and letting them know how much we appreciate them! Don’t delay and push this off to another day… all cards must be delivered to the Red Cross by December 7^th! (That is this Friday!!) More details can be found on this website (they have a few rules to follow to make sure they can actually be delivered… no glitter, etc.!)

Also! Just in case you don’t have any stamps today, Savannah’s Soldiers (a non-profit organization started by an 11 year old!!! YES 11!!) will take a message that you email through their contact form and they will send it off to a special serviceman. So AMAZING!

No excuses! Make the things that matter happen! ;)… start by sending a letter to a soldier! ;)

 

Spice up your coffee with a peppermint stick – Advent Calendar Day 2

Celebrating the Everyday  //  2nd December 2012

Ahhh coffee! In my book, there is no better way to wake up in the morning than enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee. So for Day 2 of our AMAZING Life Holiday Advent Calendar we decided to create a cup of coffee that would make any Elf proud! :)

If you are anything like us, by the time Christmas arrives, you will probably have enough peppermint sticks and candy canes to last an entire year.  For the most part, we rarely eat them.  But this year, we found the perfect solution.  Inspired by Starbucks Peppermint Latte, we brewed up a fresh batch of coffee and added a peppermint stick.  As the warm coffee slowly melts away the stick, your coffee will quickly began to take on a wonderful minty flavor.  Its like having Christmas in a cup!

If you are even more adventurous, you can easily turn your morning cup of coffee into a tasty Peppermint Mocha!  We had a few bags of hot chocolate lying around and decided to use them instead of sugar.  For your very own Peppermint Mocha Coffee just follow the recipe below.

Recipe: Peppermint Mocha Coffee

Ingredients:

• Your favorite morning coffee
• One peppermint stick or candy cane
• 1/2 packet of instant hot chocolate
• Milk

Instructions:

Prepare your morning coffee as you normally would.  We prefer to use a french press to prepare a perfect cup but any method will work.  Grab your favorite mug from your cupboard and add 1/2 a packet of instant hot chocolate.  Pour coffee over chocolate leaving a small amount of room in the cup.  Top off with milk and use a peppermint stick to stir everything together.  Sit back and enjoy the perfect way to start Day 2 of Advent.

Happy Holidays!

 

Have A Christmas Movie Marathon – Amazing Advent Calendar Day 1

Celebrating the Everyday  //  1st December 2012

Welcome to Day 1 of our Amazing Holiday Advent Calendar! We have so many fun activities, recipes, DIY projects and holiday AMAZINGNESS in store for you over the next 25 days!  We even created a super fun site to help countdown the days until Christmas. Be sure to check back daily!

Ever since the beginning days of Ryan and I’s relationship, I remember hanging out in Ryan’s basement watching Christmas Vacation and laughing until our cheeks hurt! I had never seen that movie until Ryan introduced it to me and now I can’t imagine Christmas without it! My favorite scene is definitely at the beginning when they are picking out their Christmas tree and they are driving along… singing loudly! Fa la la la la ;)… and somehow end up under the tractor trailer truck! (gees- that sounds horrible if you haven’t seen the movie! haha! But it is quite funny actually!) The whole movie is definitely funny, but my favorite part about watching it is listening to Ryan state every word along with Clark and Mrs. Griswald (Ellen) and every other character in the movie! ;) He doesn’t just “say” the lines… but he has their voices to go along with it and it is hilarious! ;) (As I am writing this, he is throwing out the lines… lol… “Don’t throw me down, Clark” “Where are you doing to put a tree that big, Griswald” “I am just blouse…browsing.”) Ahhh seriously, I have tears rolling down my face!

There is no better way to start off the holiday season than with a Christmas Movie Marathon! Yes, Christmas Vacation is ALWAYS one of the top movies on our list! However there are SO MANY Christmas movies that we love and can’t wait to watch: Home Alone 1 and 2, Love Actually, Elf!!… so good, right?! And then of course there are the classics like Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Story that are just classics and never to be missed!

Seriously, I am pretty sure our Christmas Spirit is not fully released until we watch these movies! ;) Take some time today to pop in one of your favorite Christmas movies! Or better yet, clear your schedule and make it a movie marathon! It is that important! ;) If you make it a marathon, your holiday cheer might just last you throughout the year! ;)

 

 

Friday Favorites: The Liz and Ryan AMAZING Holiday Advent Calendar

Celebrating the Everyday, Friday Favs  //  30th November 2012

It is that time of year! The malls are bustling, the post office has super long lines, and the to-do list is extra long! Yes, we know… However, it is also THAT time of year when the Christmas music makes you sing a little bit louder (even when other people are around! ;) ), the cookies taste better than ever, and being surrounded by family and friends fills your heart with more joy than you could have ever imagined.

You see, the holidays can bring on stress, or they can be a stress reliever! It is all in how you look at it! The long lines may be frustrating… but they could also be a time where you share a smile with a stranger or start a conversation with the one next to you. You have the ability to live the life the way you want to live it- with the attitude that you choose to take! It is so easy to go go go and just do things to get them done. (Believe me- this was me yesterday!) I was writing out the addresses for our Christmas Cards at the table and I kind of felt like my pen had a motor on it- I was not stopping for anything! I was going going going and honestly I just wanted to get it done. And THEN… I realized that I could make the process a whole lot more enjoyable by sharing the process with Ryan. We set up shop on our couch… made ourselves a tasty coffee drink and popped in our favorite Christmas movie! All of a sudden my attitude changed from “I just want to get this done” to “Who else can I send a sweet note to?!?” It is amazing how taking a minute to stop and think about what would make the experience better…. and then actually doing it… can make a memory out of a to-do!

We are so excited because we have a super special treat for all of you over the next 25 days! We have decided to celebrate the little things that we can do to make our holidays more AMAZING by sharing them with you in our very first Liz and Ryan AMAZING Holiday Advent Calendar! Each day, tomorrow through Christmas Day, we will share a little something that you can do to make your holiday season that much more AMAZING! Be sure to check in daily for the reveal!

And don’t forget!  It’s all about the attitude that you take! We hope you choose to smile!… it is contagious!