Sugar Cookies + Hot Chocolate + Winter Wonderland

We unexpectedly had the very best weekend of 2019! It was a weekend full of lots of firsts, and a few lasts, and all the holly jolly Christmas joy. Magnolia & I sang jingle bells with all of her little friends at her last Kindermusik class of the year. Friday night her cousin Addy came over for a playdate before we went to see the Magic Christmas Tree for the very first time. On the way to the tree I told the girls we should all make a wish once we get there, which made Magnolia think we were about to attend a birthday party. Before we left the tree we sang Addy & Jesus Happy Birthday. We drove around & looked at all pretty houses decorated brightly for Christmas. Saturday morning, with Christmas songs playing, Magnolia helped me make sugar cookies. She was by my side from the very beginning until the very end & the best part of all was her pure excitement about helping me bake. My heart sang a song of gratitude all day long. She had her very first hot chocolate while we were decorating the cookies. I knew she'd love it, because chocolate is her favorite food group. She had the cutest little smile with her first sip & now she's requesting them numerous times a day. And for that reason I had to come up with a vanilla version with almond milk + vanilla creamer + pink snowman marshmallows on top. And then SUNDAY, oh my goodness, we had the absolute most beautiful snowfall. It started snowing the moment we got out of bed, huge fluffy snowflakes, and it didn't stop until after dinner! We picked up a sled the night before in anticipation for the snow & I'm sure happy we did. Once we had a good layer of white fluff on the ground we all went out to play in it. Magnolia was a little hesitant about getting on the sled at first, insisting that I ride with her, but once she got going she had a blast. Unless Ryan went too fast & she'd yell really loud and tell him to stop. She cracks me up, she's definitely my child. Going slow was exciting enough. When she yelled for him to slow down all I was thinking was "I understand girlfriend, I understand!"




Wearing her daddy's stocking cap because I forgot to grab hers.

Magnolia in her Little Lucca Love outfit before we left for her last Kindermusik class of the year!


Our hearth room light that gives me all the southern charm vibes. It's the perfect addition to our room!


My sugar cookie baking assistant.












One million sprinkles under our feet and two million sprinkles on the sugar cookies! The more the merrier!






The first sip!


A lot of frosting, a lot of sprinkles, and a lotta love!

Nine days until Christmas! Trying our hardest to soak up all the magic. We're watching Elf, Polar Express & The Holiday over & over again, sipping on over-the-top hot chocolate several times a day, and wishing & hoping for at least one more snow day before NYE! I think we'll skip a visit to Santa this year because the conversation alone makes Magnolia cry, literally cry. I still want to see the Plaza lights, but not sure we'll make time for it. And we do Jack Stack Barbeque every Christmas Eve & Ryan is already planning his order! Also, I've got a big stash of Christmas gifts that need wrapping + ribbon.

This is the Christmas cookie recipe I used from one of my favorite bloggers. For our Sunday dinner I tried out this Cranberry Sauce with marmalade recipe & it was amazing - definitely making it for Christmas day. The best hot chocolate topping is pink Himalayan salt, try some next time on top of your whipped cream and marshmallows! The best...

xo