A Payneful Christmas

Christmas spirit and joy continues to spread throughout the Payne household, and it is magical!  

Today, I did some serious baking.  I made some eggnog fudge....in fact I made it one and a half times.... So, the recipe said to boil sugar, eggnog, and butter for 8-10 minutes, or until it measured 134 degrees Fahrenheit. Well, I don't have a candy thermometer so I set a timer for 9 minutes. Everything was going fine but then it started going a little weird.  Luckily it was time to add the white chocolate, or rather unluckily.  I mixed in the chocolate and instead of going "smooth" it turned into the consistency of bread crumbs. So, a quick trip to the grocery store and a candy thermometer later I made another batch.  It was still weird, but it turned out okay and tastes pretty delish!  

I also made some gingerbread man cookies...twice. I made a batch yesterday and they turned out way crunchy and not yummy like they were supposed to. So, after making the fudge twice today, I made my second batch of gingerbread men.  Two seems to be a magic number for me these couple of days. Anyway, after some mistakes and all day standing on my feet I have delicious cookies and fudge - SEE?

Besides tasty Christmas treats, Mason and I also celebrated our own mini Christmas.  This year we are going down to Oklahoma to celebrate Christmas with my family so we wanted to have a mini M&M Payne Christmas.  

First we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas," a Torrie tradition

Then, we each chose one gift to open that night and took turns opening them.  This was so exciting to see what we picked out for each other - the fact that we remembered hints and tips :)

I got Mason Halo 3 - It's moments like this that makes the shopping alllllllllllllll worth it! He was so excited :)

 Mason got me this ADORABLE sequined shirt I fell in love with. And he remembered :)  I have wanted a sequined shirt for ages and I am so excited to wear it.

Merry (early) Christmas from the Paynes! 

xoxoxoxo

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like.....

CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!
Such a wonderful song and quite accurate as to the goings-on at our apartment. I did some fun projects - some (okay, okay, most) I found off Pinterest and some (one) I came up with myself.  I love Christmas and I had so much fun getting Christmas-y.

I have these adorable bird hooks that have a magnet under their beaks for keys. I was looking at them and realized they needed some Christmas cheer. So, I whipped up some cute elf hats!

 Next, I decided to do the lighted garland I have seen everywhere on Pinterest.  Here is my creation which I made out of tulle, some shimmery fabric, and burlap stuff.   I especially like my Christmas books as decoration on the windowsill. (If only I could hide the extension cord and everything.)  I love the soft glow this garland gives - so warm and cozy.

And here's our Christmas tree! Oh, I love funky trees with all sorts of ornaments - these type of trees tell stories.  As I hung up all of the ornaments my mom gave me from my childhood, I thought of all my past Christmases putting up the same ornaments. I remember playing with each one and admiring them constantly as a little girl.  I am so excited to add more ornaments to the memory tree - especially a cute gingerbready "P" I found. Our first ornament as the Payne family :)
I also wrapped all of our presents in brown paper with bright, beautiful and happy ribbon.  It looks so magical!

Next, I made some mistletoe from a tutorial I found on Pinterest.  I love this spunky twist on the traditional piece of bush hanging from your ceiling.

And finally, I did my nails in gold and pewter (so it can transition to New Years also).  I found this idea on Pinterest as well.  I like it...okay... I need to practice a bit more, but I think it's fun and different!

I'll keep you posted for all of my other Christmas magic - including Gingerbread men cookies (hopefully coming to the Payne kitchen on Wednesday).

Merry Christmas! I hope ya'll have some magical moments that add lots of fun memories! I'm sure having a blast starting new memories for the M&M Payne fam :)

What We've Been Up To

Started my silver-leafed headboard: (it still isn't done, though, because I ran out of silver leafing and mulah [money])

 Silver leafing is a bugger!  

Discovered the deliciousness of Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal - I am addicted and I have FINALLY mastered it.

Quick weekend trip to cheer Mark and Edda on in their Marathon at St. George

 Mason built a small blanket fort

We went to the fair:

Austin took good care of Kimmie in the stroller-thing

Kimmie returned the favor

 Austin was a painter:

Kimmie was a diva (an adorable one!)

 We played with some butterflies 

(Seriously one of the coolest things ever!  There were HUGE butterflies that would just land on you and be your little friends :)

Austin boasted this "boutonniere" the whole time

Jen was a fab mommy and shared her butterflies with her sweetie-pie kids

There was some photo-bombing 

Giggles with my momma 

 My Awesome $5 feather earrings I got as a fair souvenir 

My must-haves: Fried Green Tomatoes! Mmmmm

Some smooching in between fried treats

Brian and Austin Bonding

Kimmie devoured our cotton candy 

We shared some divinely delicious and sweet corn on the cob (best corn EVER)

The kids went flying through the air

Saw a man who was pulling a stroller with his motorized wheelchair (only in OK)

The kiddos shared facial expressions as they ate huge corndogs

I ate some yummy red velvet funnel cake (The hit of this year's fair - Verdict: plain funnel cake is better) 

We went to the Rodeo (SOOOO much fun!)

Worshiped Pinterest: I love it so much, and Mason had to document my love, I guess...

Went on a date up the canyon, followed by Pumpkin Hot Chocolate and Monster House

I read my life away: Persuasion, Gone Primitive, Green Hills of Africa, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Jane Eyre, Shirley, Wuthering Heights, Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and lots of short stories

Witchie fingers for Halloween - Mmmmmmm, or rather, BOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Our niece trick-or-treating at our apartment dressed as Little Red Riding Hood (Too cute!)

 An Arabian Nights themed Murder Mystery Dinner: Mason was a sorcerer and I was a fortune teller:

Mason let me put makeup on him :) 

Our friend's character was a cross dresser - classic!

(yes, that is a man)

Payne Family evening - we celebrated Tiffanie's birthday with Goodwood BBQ and a donut mountain cake

It has been an eventful few months and I can't wait for some more awesomeness! :)