It’s a Dunkin’ Donuts Holiday!


It’s no secret to all of you that I LOVE my coffee!  I am a self proclaimed addict.  I also Looooove Christmas too!  So what better way to ring in the holidays than with the smell, taste, and feel of the things I love the most.  Coffee + Christmas = Perfection!
 
I have always loved Dunkin’ Donuts, in fact we have one just around the corner.  But I know everyone has those days where they just want to stay in their jammie’s and watch Christmas movies on the sofa.  Days like that are when I want my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee at home. 
 
The holiday season is my favorite time to get coffee because there are so many yummy flavors.  As a working Mom, I don’t always have a lot of time in the morning to stop for coffee.  Dunkin’ Donuts offers exactly what I want this time of year and it’s at my local grocery store.

I recently tried the new Gingerbread Cookie Coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts.  Gingerbread is one of my favorite holiday flavors!  It was rich and smooth, with a hint of gingerbread.  It made me feel all Christmas-y inside.  Even if you don’t have a coffee drinker in your house they’ll be drawn to Dunkin’ Donuts Gingerbread Cookie Coffee while brewing….because it makes your whole house smell warm and cozy.

Dunkin’ Donuts® packaged coffee is available at your local grocery store.  Nothing evokes the joy of the holidays like sharing memories with family and close friends over a cup of delicious coffee.  We love to drink coffee while watching Christmas movies after dinner.

There are so many flavors to choose from: Original Blend, Dunkin’ Decaf® and special seasonal varieties including Mocha Mint, Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread Cookie. But act fast as these seasonal varieties are only available for a limited time.

The new seasonal varieties even have a cute gift tag on them so it’s easy to use them as stocking stuffers or hostess gifts.

I can’t wait to try the other festive flavors Dunkin’ Donuts has to offer!
 
Cheers & Merry Christmas!!!
 
Thank you to Dunkin’ Donuts® packaged coffee at grocery for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Christmas Tree 2012

 

Yay!

 

The Christmas tree is up and I think our little elf loves it!

 

I was nervous about using the decorating mesh..but it was super easy to work with.

 

I’m glad we changed the tree up this year and went with more traditional colors of red and green.

 He’s wearing his penguin hat….silly boy!
 He also asks to build a fire every night. 
He loves helping his Daddy build fires.
 I got this little jar for $1.59 at World Market and I love it!
I had all these “extra” sprinkles laying around the house and I just dumped them all in and it saves storage room in my pantry.

I also found this Peppermint Piggy Dust.  I’m just dying to use it on a cup of hot cocoa or sprinkle it on cupcakes.

Another Christmas-y item I’m excited to use are these felt ribbons.  Aren’t they so cute?  I just love the rounded edges 🙂

What are you excited for this Christmas season?

Gaylord Texas ICE!

On Saturday we got to do something I’ve been wanting to do since moving to Texas over 5 years ago.  We got to go to the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Texan.  It was like stepping into a winter wonderland.  If you weren’t feeling the Christmas spirit before you walked through the Gaylord you definitely left with a jingle in your step! 

The Gaylord Texan has a huge atrium in the center of the hotel.  The atrium is always decorated beautifully, but at Christmas it definitely looked spectacular.

 The big Christmas tree…I’m sure it’s so pretty at night time!

Can you tell these two were a little excited about visiting the Gaylord & going to see ICE!?

Walking through the atrium are gigantic candy canes and bigger than life Christmas figures.  One of Connor and Ellie’s favorite things was the train that chugs through tunnels and bridges.

All the decorations were so pretty and there were so many things to do you could stay all weekend and never leave.

One of the activities they had was gingerbread decorating.  It was set up so cute and of course Gingy was a part of all the gingerbread fun!  The gingerbread house is actually made out of real gingerbread too!

When we got to the tent where the ICE! exhibit was we were all drawn into a theater where we were shown how they make the ice come to life. 

From Gaylord Texan’s website about ICE!:

Gaylord Texan’s popular ICE! winter holiday attraction returns with an all-new, hilarious theme: ICE! featuring DreamWorks’ Merry Madagascar. From November 8, 2012 to January 1, 2013, the DreamWorks animated holiday TV special will be brought to life in an interactive world of colorful ice sculptures and 20-feet tall ice slides carved entirely from TWO MILLION pounds of ice. Relive the story of how Alex the Lion and his friends saved Christmas after Santa and his reindeer crash onto the island of Madagascar. ICE! is hand carved by 40 artisans from Harbin China who will be arriving in early fall. They are very excited to be working with our new Merry Madagascar theme, and so are we!

 Everyone was given big blue coats to put on because it is COOOOOOOOLD in there!!!!

 Here we go to see “Merry Madagascar”!!!
 Grana, Ellie, and Pop came too!
 Sweet cousins all bundled up. 
Ellie and Connor are 22 hours apart & they just love each other  🙂
 Amazing ice sculptures
My favorite characters are the penguins
There were slides made completely out of ice. 
I know the kiddos loved it!

 Madagascar characters helping Santa in his sleigh
 It’s so cold the waterfall froze!
 The Fam

I especially loved that they had a nativity carved out of ice at the very end….it was a beautiful way to end the ICE! exhibit and so pretty.  They also told the story of Jesus’ birth.

When we walked out and started to thaw……we were greeted by Alex the lion!

Gaylord Texas also had a variety of sweets and hot chocolate to warm you up!

 Grana, Ellie, & Connor with the really really tall toy soldier
 Dashing through the snow!!!

We had a blast! 

 

If you haven’t yet experienced the Gaylord Texan at Christmas then you MUST.

 

It’s an absolute Christmas paradise! 

We had the best time and made memories that will last forever!

These are Few of My Favorite Things….

I love Christmas.

 

I love everything about it.

 

The traditions, family, food, and first and foremost what it stands for….

Jesus our savior was born, and because of that we can all live today! Amen!

 

I also love celebrating, singing songs, the spirit of giving!

 

Through this blog I’ve met so many wonderful people and we’ve shared so much throughout the years.  Ya’ll have given me advice on parenting, food, what kind of concealer to buy so I don’t look like a zombie….etc.  I could go on and on….but that would take forever!
So, in the spirit of sharing and giving I wanted to share a few of my favorite things….now it’s not going to be like Oprah yuns…..but it will be fun and you’ll score some good deals and maybe some free stuff too 🙂
First up is one of my favorite places for paper goodies!  Milo Paper is such a cute shop.  They have an adorable line of Christmas cards and gift stickers this season.  Not to mention they are some of the nicest folks around….they’ll make sure your order is exactly how you want it and the best quality too.

Love these gift labels!
Milo Paper is offering Java Mama readers
40% off anything on their site!!!!
Woohoo!!!!
Use code : java2012
(You have to create an account on the website for the promo to work)
Have fun shopping ya’ll!
I know you will be very pleased with everything you see at Milo Paper 🙂

 

Christmas Photo Tips

I love to use rolls of wrapping paper for photo backdrops.  Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on cloths and vinyls.  It’s all about proportion.  I did these shot pretty close up because I didn’t want to plaster my wall with paper….but you get the point!  They turned out pretty good!
 
He was actually just sitting on the bed, on a stool, in the extra bedroom. 
 
I had the windows open and the light shining in……
 
Candy and bribery go a long way when photographing 2 year olds!

 And eventually it comes to this…”Mom stop this….you crazy yo!”

Thankful Heart

We had a very blessed Thanksgiving today with family and friends.
 
Every day is a gift, but it’s nice to spend a day sharing in thankfulness for everything and everyone around us.  I feel eternally blessed for my marriage, a son I thought I’d never have someday….and the love and grace they show me every day. 

 Thankful God has allowed me to be a wife to this man and a Mama to this little boy…..
Thank you Lord for this life and the grace and love you show us all every day!

Gobble Til Ya Wobble- Branch Family

It was so nice to have both my parents and T’s parents together for a Thanksgiving feast this year.  That hardly ever happens.  I took some photos of the family below.  We are so blessed that we both have such loving families with a strong faith in the Lord.  We are so thankful for everyone and all they bring to our lives. 

As we approach Thanksgiving Day tomorrow remember to tell those you love how much they mean to you, give them a big ole hug….even if they are the “Uncle Eddie” of the family. 

(But if they have a dog named Snots then…I wouldn’t kiss it…

Also remember to wear stretchy pants, because ladies now is not the time to worry about calories!

Also- I’m so thankful to all of you and that you care enough to read my little corner of the Internet! It means so much to me…all your comments show me you care and I’m so thankful that throughout the years I’ve made so many beloved friends through this blog. Thank you.
Well, for me sometimes pictures speak louder than words, so I’m just going to leave you with a few lots of photos of our Thanksgiving together.
My beautiful Mom and I
 My parents
 Grandaddy and my goofy Daddy!

 Oh mercy….the food…..

 The kiddos table
 MY plate. Uhm….

 

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving 2012!!!

 

And please if you go out shopping….don’t tackle, stab, or bring pepper spray!

A TV marked down $100 bucks just ain’t worth it!

 

Oh!  And a HUGE shout out to Jessica at Diamond Doll Designs for changing up my PAGES and BUTTONS!!!  If you have any blog needs you need to holler at her ASAP!  She is so awesome!