16 December 2016

Five on Friday {December 16th}

Hey y'all,

This week has been jam packed with work, writing Christmas cards, a few Christmas parties, and babysitting. We made it to Friday and I do not have any major plans this weekend apart from cleaning, taking some Cyclebar classes, and teaching my preschool class at church. As always I am writing about 5 things that have made my week this Friday but I am going to have to go ahead and say thank you to Katie from Cup of Tea, Tif from Bright on a Budget and the other hosts of High Five for Friday for having me as their feature blogger of the week!
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one. Skinnytaste recipes. For Christmas I am making my baby sister a recipe binder filled with our family's favorite recipes and some recipes I have found and love since moving out of the house. It is crazy how many come from Gina's blog. I might have had next weeks meal plan written out since Wednesday after looking over all of my favorites from her blog and cookbooks.
This quick turkey chili taco soup satisfies my soup cravings, takes just 20 minutes to cook but it tastes like it was simmering for hours! Top it with your favorite chili toppings such as sour cream, cheese or whatever you like for a healthy meal that can be prepped for the week or frozen for another night.
Turkey Chili Taco Soup. The one that started my obsession.

two. American Housewife. Y'all, this show is so great and perfect for when you just want something funny on at the end of the day. I love all the characters, except of course Katie we just have to forgive went to Duke. #yeswehateevenfictionalfans #GOHEELS
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three. Small Group Fun. This Wednesday my bible study got together for the holidays and had a gift card exchange. It was fun to see everyone one last time before the new year. I gave a Chick-Fil-A gift card and ended up with one to Amazon so book suggestions are welcome! The highlight of the party though was Lindsey's cat, Ellie, who sat for the most hysterical version of Watch Me. You can catch the video here.

Have y'all seen the new Chick-Fil-A calendar? I had to grab it when I was getting the gift card since I love the theme.

four. Dean Dawson's retirement. This past Tuesday, I left work a little early and headed to Graham Memorial on North Campus to celebrate one of my old coworkers Alice Dawson who after serving UNC for over 30 years is retiring.Dean Dawson is seriously one of the sweetest people and I hate that she won't be at Carolina anymore but she wholeheartedly deserves retirement.

five. My Christmas tree. I love that I have a hodgepodge of ornaments from my first Christmas ornaments to the one I just received at my gift exchange. They all have some great stories behind them. My godparents for a while sent me a Christmas ornament each year and I treasure all of them.
 
 Santa in a Hot Air Balloon when my god parents were living abroad.
 Octopus from Crate and Barrel last year since I went down to Atlanta that year to see a friend and the aquarium.
 Ornament I made with my Mom right before I turned two.
 My Monogram on a glass ornament from a Phi Beta Chi Christmas party in college
Clara from my godparents since I used to dance ballet and went to the Nutcracker almost every year.

Link up with April, Christina, and Natasha.
Also linking up with Tif and Katie.
And Erika

Are you a hodgepodge or themed tree person?
What's your favorite place for recipe inspiration?
Best,
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10 comments

  1. I have Christmas ornaments on my tree that I made as a kid, and they're some of my favorite to put up each year. A recipe binder is SUCH a great idea for a gift, and that taco soup looks heavenly!

    Meg, Borrowed Heaven

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  2. I am so excited to bring back all of my childhood ornaments when I go home next week. Even though I'll have to wait until next year to put them on MY tree, I am excited to have a little more of a personal touch.

    Also -- let me know when you're taking cylcebar classes! I have been stalking the schedule but too afraid to try it by myself :)

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  3. That taco soup looks amazing and I love that it's with turkey instead of beef - I try to do this substitution to be a little healthier all the time!!! Need to check out the American Housewife - I've seen previews for it and it looks good! Congrats on your feature for H54F!

    Sarah Bell
    Trendy & Tidy

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  4. I have developed this love for ornaments. And all of yours are perfect. The hodgepodge to me is the best way to go. And that soup looks so yummy! Have a great weekend!

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  5. We have a hodgepodge of Christmas ornaments. Each year we get both of the girls a new ornament that portrays what they are "into" that year. When they grow up and have their own tree, they'll have ornaments to put on it :)

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Colletta

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  6. Thanks for sharing your week, Jess. Just checking out your blog from Bright on A Budget. You are a busy gal. Have a great weekend. - Amy
    http://stylingrannymama.com/

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  7. Oh, we are not themed tree people... we're "still decorating the tree the week before Christmas" people, haha! And I have an almost identical paper ornament with scribbles that's from 1990! :) Congrats on being this week's featured blogger, and have a great weekend!

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  8. That Taco soup looks so good! I love ornaments! I shared all mine a few weeks ago, my mom recently gave me all my old ones from the 80s and 90s. So fun to look back on :) Have a great Sunday!

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  9. That soup looks delish, and how cute are those ornaments! I'm so glad my mom kept everything from my childhood so I could have it for my tree now :)

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  10. One of my big goals this winter is to work on a recipe binder. Not only so recipes I love are all in one place, but also so it's easy to reach for when I'm lacking meal planning inspiration. I only plan to put a recipe in if it's tried & has been a winner in our house.

    Also, my parents tree is such a hodge podge. I think MAYBE we have 3-5 REAL ornaments, the rest are old baby shoes or snowflakes and things we made as kiddos. They're a little tattered now, but so fun to pull out & look at every year.

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Thank you for your sweet message!

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