A Very Merry Tucker Christmas

We have had a wonderful first Christmas as husband and wife

Christmas eve was very nice.

Andrew's family and mine came together for a dinner at his oldest sisters house

Heres the only picture I took of us all night.. not our best but it will do

There were so many goodies and I actually made 3 things that I pinned on pinterest



Southwestern eggrolls

Source: shortstopblog.com via Brianna on Pinterest

The Cilantro Cream Sauce we used for dipping

Source: thegalleygourmet.net via Brianna on Pinterest

And Triple Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Along with the stuff I made there were tons of other delicious dishes and I ate entirely too much

I believe I will be joining the rest of the worlds new year's resolution to not eat so fattening!!

After dinner we came back to our house and watched Mr. Poppers Penguin.

It was so sweet and I am very glad we watched it

We also opened up our Christmas Eve Present

(aka PJ"S!!!!)

Here we are modeling

Then Christmas morning came

I was incharge of breakfast and made yet another recipe I found on Pinterest

Source: alattewithotta.blogspot.com via Brianna on Pinterest

It 's a crockpot breakfast casserole and it was amazing. It made enough to feed about 10 people

and I will have to make it again as it was a hit!!

I also made these adorable Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies for the nephews...

They were delicious

Then Santa Came and he was very good to us.

We got so many things off our list

Our favorites??

Andrew got a kindle fire, so many video games, The complete Harry Potter set on Blue Ray, a deep dish pizza kit and some much needed clothes :)

I recieve a kindle fire as well, along with a coach satchel and matching wallet, durango cowboy boots, Michael Khors watch , a digitial photo frame and so many clothes and shoes.

We are very greatful for everything and can't wait to spend the next 5 days of our vacation relaxing in our home with all our new goods.

Guest Blogging over at The Merry Mrs. Mobley

Hi Ladies,

Sorry for my blogging delay but the holidays really got me behind

Today I am blogging over at The Merry Mrs. Mobley

I met Lauren in college and she is amazing.

If you don't follow her blog you should

but check out my post while she's away traveling the country for the holidays with her hubs :)

Stay tuned... tomorrow I will update you on the First Tucker Christmas :)

Merry Christmas From the Tuckers

Today is the day at 4pm I will be officially on Christmas break 

and no working for 2 weeks!!

We will be heading home today and are really excited to be spending lots of family time

 We are extra excited to have our first Christmas as husband and wife :)

Also as promised a Christmas card to all my lovely followers :)

Hope you all are getting off soon and heading to see your family for such a wonderful holiday

Skin Care Q&A

So I am sure you thought I was answering the questions but actually you are!

I feel that I have a pretty good skin care routine.

It has taken alot of trial and error but I finally found some amazing stuff

I have recently discovered Murad

and I love it 

So here is what I use for my nighttime routine

Time Release Acne Cleanser

I use this as my first step and I can really feal the tingling as it cleans my skin

Clarifying Toner

This is my second step

I feel like toner is a must for everyone

It really gets all the extra grime out of your pores!

Skin Perfecting Lotion

This is my last step

A nice moisturize to help seal it all in

Then there are a few things I use randomly throughout my week

Exfoliating Acne Treatment Gel

I use this once a week

Exfoliating your face is so important that way when you are cleaning it each day it can get deep in your pores and not stuck on dead skin

Acne Spot Treatment

For when you start to feel a bump :(

So my questions for you:

1. I need a daily daytime moisturizer

I have super sensitive skin but I want some better SPF than whats in my make up

2. What kind of anti-aging treaments do you use on your face

I know I don't have any lines or wrinkles yet so I want to keep it that way

What are you using to help keeo your face beautiful??

First Blogger award, 50 followers and a giveaway

I am so excited that I received my first blogger award 

from Breanna at My Beautiful, Crazy Life

I am so thankful for all the people I have met through blogging!

These 15 are my favorite must reads 

so if you don't follow them you should!

The Rules for this award:

1-Nominate 15 fellow bloggers.

2-Inform the bloggers of their nomination.

3-Share 7 random things about yourself.

4-Thank the blogger who nominated you.

5-Add the Versatile Blog Award picture on your blog post.

1. Lauren at the Merry Mrs. Mobley

2. Tamara at T times 3

3.Amanda at A Sweet Simple Southern Life

4.Kelsey from Southern in Love

5. Charlotte from Carolina Cotton to Illinois Corn 

6. Haley at A Carolina Belle

7. Christina at Carolina Charm

8. Maggie from The Horton House

9. Mia from Ms. Mia Maree

10. Allison at Just a Carolina Girl

11. Laura at Life of Lu

12. Claire at Life in the Sweet Virginia Breeze

13. Dayna Leigh at A Bama Belle and A Bucket List

14. Ashley at Everday AEM

15. Crystal at Coffee at Nordstrom

So here is 7 things about me

1. I am a wife, student and teacher (How I do it all IDK)

2. My husband and I started dating when I was 17

3. V for Vendetta is one of my favorite movies

4. I can't whistle

5. I am a modern day Martha Stewart I love to craft, scrapbook and sew 

( I would do it 24/7 if I had the time)

6. My ideal grade to teach is 1st, 2nd or middle school math

( I know its random but they are the best ages)

7. I am a Christmas fanatic!

( I could so be one of those people that kept Christmas decorations out all year if it was normal)

I am also very happy to say that I have finally reached 50 followers! 

I just started this blog for a little place to be me and it has grown to much more than I ever imagined

I also have a new sponsor that I will be revealing soon.

They have offered to give me some stuff to try and then some to share so when I reach 100 followers I will give the details for the give away and also add in a few of this southern wife's favorites :)

Scrumptious Saturday

So Andrew and I really needed an us day

We have been back in forth home to Charlotte because of our sick grandparents 

and with me being sick the last two weeks and finals 

I was starting to forget what it was like to have us time

So after looking through my beloved pinterest 

Andrew and I picked out some recipes we wanted to make
I was really excited to actually do some of the things I find

The first thing we made is my mom's chocolate chip banana nut bread recipe
I pinned it from their website since I don't have a hard copy of the book

Source: bettycrocker.com via Brianna on Pinterest

She uses the basis of the betty crocker recipe 

but changes up a little bit

This is my favorite thing to make and we always make it more often during the holidays

Here is the how we do it

Next Andrew and I found a recipe for Baked southwestern egg rolls

Source: annies-eats.com via Brianna on Pinterest

I am a huge fan of the ones you can get at Chilis but they are so many calories.

These are more than half so I was so excited to try them.
I gathered the ingredients and followed the recipe
It was so easy and here is what mine looked like

It made about 20. It said it would make 24 but I overstuffed a few and the spilled out the side a little why baking but besides that they were delicious

Now we are relaxing on the couch and watching TV with the pups

Wine in hand and relaxing

That is what I call a perfect Saturday night at the Tuckers :)

Thankful Thursday

Today of all days I am especially Thankful

If you saw in my last post I have been stressing about a particular exam that took place at 6pm today

Well Today I am thankful for that I got an 80 on the exam :)

I am Thankful for my wonderful husband who helped me study for the last three days

and on completion of my exam and a wonderful passing grade he took me to 

Champa Thai and Sushi for a celebratory dinner :)

I am thankful that tomorrow if Friday 

and that next week I will only work 3 days before having 2 weeks off

I am thankful for all my sweet family who have called to make sure I rocked my exam

on a sad note..

Andrew and I searched about 5 stores today for tacky Christmas sweaters

and we didn't find any

Goodwill said they put out at least 30 today 

and of course when we got there none..

so this we are not thankful for

any advice to where we could go tomorrow would be great

as our party is Friday

here is what we would ideally like

Andrew wants something with a reindeer

And I want a sweater vest

Santa... is this too much to ask for our party on Saturday??

Tomorrow, Tomorrow... your only a day away

Tomorrow is finally my last final.

Literally this is the one I have been dreading!

I have been studying for the past 3 days in hopes to make the 60 I need to make the C- that is required to pass this class

But tomorrow I will feel just like this kid

And it will be the best day

Sorry hurry up 6pm tomorrow 

I have a nice glass of wine waiting for me to toast the end of this dreadful class

Christmas Cards and their must haves

I am so excited to say we are finally finished addressing our Christmas Cards

I know I promise to post our card on here and I will but so many of my friends and family that will be recieving the cards also follow me on here so I want them to see the card in person first

So later this week I promise!!

While addressing our cards there were a few must haves for me

1. I love picture cards. 

To me it makes them much more personal and its fun to see how people change from year to year through their Christmas Cards.

This year Andrew and I ordered our cards through shutterfly.

We ordered our save the dates through them for the wedding and they were exactly what we wanted

Simple and Sweet

( Our invitations were amazing so we went with the basics for save the dates!)

They were so fast 

(we ordered and recieve in two days!!)

and when we got them they were just right.

2. Return Address Stamp

Since Andrew and I were mailing out 100+ Christmas cards this was a must have.

( Its a huge southern tradition to mail out your first Christmas Card to all attending wedding guests!)

We should have invested in this after the wedding for our million thank you notes but our brains were back to functioning after the long honeymoon :)

After tons of searching we settled on this amazing little shop we found through etsy called

My Rubber Stamp

It was super affordable

It's probably to late for Christmas but I would recommend them for any addressing needs you may have in the future!

 ( compared to some that will charge you almost $100)

Here is what our finished product looked like

The only thing I wish I would have chosen her pre-inked option 

but now I have the option of choosing the color of my stamp to fit the occasion.

Currently our stamp is Red for the Holidays!!

So what are you using to get your holiday cards ready??

Christmas Photo Shoot with LKH Photography

The Sunday after Thanksgiving Andrew and I (and our pups!) had took our first set of pictures since the wedding as husband and wife

We decided since we couldn't take engagement photos at NC State( our photographer was based out of Charlotte) Christmas pictures were a great alternative

After looking around we found Libby from LKH Photography and we are so happy.

She was great with us and our pups!!

Check her out here at her website or on facebook

Here are some of our favorite shots

( minus the one we used for our card.. you'll see it later when we finish addressing and send them out )

Hope you enjoyed our pictures as much as we did. 

Be on the look out for our Christmas Card later this week

It has a pictured featured on it we didn't share today!!

Christmas Questionaire Link UP

I saw this precious questionnaire over at The Merry Mrs. Mobley and I thought I'd give it a go!

1.  Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate all the way! I love it in all flavors and buy a bunch as soon as winter time hits(

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa always wraps presents but in special paper. At my house growing up presents from family always had to be in colors that matched the tree. ( So Maroon, Hunter Green and Gold) so Santa brought us wrapping paper with all our favorite things!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White lights everywhere. They are so classic and don't take away from all your other decorations

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I never have. Where do you even get them??

5. When do you put your decorations up? We always put them up the Saturday after Thanksgiving when we are home with our family (aka we help them decorate their houses ) So we put ours up right before we leave so when we come back its Christmas time :)

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My moms sweet potato casserole... loaded with tons of marshmallows :)

 7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? It starts out as my sister and I being very bratty not wanting Pj's on Christmas so one year my mom let us unwrap a different gift. That was the best and worst Christmas Eve ever. We didn't realize how much we loved the PJ's and how it made our Christmas Eve not the same as every other. Now if my mom even jokes about us not doing PJ's ( which she does just to bug us) my sister and I have some serious words with my mom. I love that it made us realize how special traditions are!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't remember but I do remember when my dad tried to tell me the truth he gave me a new book I wanted and some money cause he was so upset and uncomfortable that he was going to break my spirit. I took it and then told him I already knew :)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? On Christmas Eve we open one gift but its always PJ's and my whole family gets a pair (its my favorite gift)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Our Christmas tree is decorate in a series of Purple Silvers and Ivory! We are gonna get another tree next year to make our NC State Tree since we have an abundance of those ornaments!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Both! I love it for getting me out of work and school, but hate it when I'm bored and read to get out.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes every year! We haven't been this year but I'm sure its coming soon.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? It's super sappy so if your not the sentimental type now is the time to move to #14. The first Christmas we had Bently (our dog) Andrew had a special gift for me under the tree from Bently. It said Mommy's First Christmas and it was a little ornament of a paw print and his picture.. I lost it! Hate to see when I have real kids!

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Time off to see my family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Fudge and the ridiculous amounts of Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread my mom and I bake :)

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? For as long as I've remembered we've always    eat pizza on Christmas Eve, head to the movies and then open up our Christmas Eve gift.. aka PJ's! Then My sister and I go to one of our rooms to sleep. (This is the first year Andrew will be staying the night so I am so excited)

17. What tops your tree? A beautiful silver star... courtesy my mother

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Giving for sure. I work so much harder on my list of what to get for other people than I do on my own. I love buying things for people and knowing they are going to be so happy when they get something they really wanted!

19. Candy canes: yuck or yum? Im impartial. I like certain ones but if I had to go a year without them, I wouldn't die

20. Favorite Christmas movie? The Santa Clause series 

 

21. Saddest Christmas song? "Christmas Shoes" ... if you don't cry for that one you have no soul.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? I love Kelly Clarksons version of Grown Up Christmas List!

Now it's your turn! Link back in the comments section with your answers!

Wow....

So like I said yesterday I am really sick

I went to work today however since I am not contagious

I just have a constant pounding in my head, sneezing, coughing awful head cold.

So what did I decide to do today..

Since I was at school yesterday till 8:30 for my students holiday concerts

 I knew some medicine was in order

I trotted over to my local CVS

an picked up what used to be my lifesaver

But apparently they now have a normal Alka- Seltzer Plus and a Daytime version ( which I clearly didn't see)

so I head on over to work with the new snowflake cup I also bought at CVS

(it was so cute and only $5)

and take my meds thinking in about an hour I'll feel peachy :)

Except I began to feel like I was hit by a truck

and it is taking me everything I have to stay awake

( I missed the warning label that said drowsiness as a side affect)

So what a day what a day.

Not to mention I was in such a rush last night to get to our holiday concert that I left the house looking like this

with two different shoes on :(
(photo courtesy of my husband)

He laughed all night and thought it was hilarious

While the fashionista in me was dying :(

Hopefully my weekend will go off a lot better!

ohhhh finals what you do to me

It is that time of the semester again

The one that every student dreads...

FINALS WEEK!!

And on top of it.. I'm extremely sick!!!

these have become my best friend

Luck for me I have 2 done and only 2 to go

but these last two are the worst of all

a 14 page paper for my adolesent development class and a psychology test.

Oh the joys of being an education major.

But everyday when I go to work and see my 5th graders its so worth it

And on the plus side tonight I get to take a break from all the craziness that finals bring

and watch my students in their holiday concert

I am so excited to see them celebrate with the concert

December in America :)

These students are so lucky to have people from so many cultures to learn from.

Hope you are celebrating December in your household however it may be :)

Santa Came Early :)

Well if you checked out my last post you would have seen my Christmas wish list

Well if I haven't said I had the best husband in the world... I do

On Wednesday Andrew surprised me with an early Christmas gift!

I guess you can just call me the modern day Betty Crocker

because now I have a list of things I want to make with my new mixer

But first on my list is

Source: bakersroyale.com via Brianna on Pinterest

A chocolate peppermint roll :)
(of course that I found on Pinterest)
I'll let you all know how it turns out !

Also today my I received my book for a blogger book club I joined hosted by
Ashley and Crystal

I can't wait to finish my current book so I can start this one :)

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I feel as though Christmas is right around the corner so I began to get my Christmas list together

(Hopefully the hubs will see this post.. ive been hinting for new boots and a watch like crazyyyy)

1.  New Cowboy Boots

2. Fossil Watch

3. Kitchen Aid Mixer

4. New Lilly Agenda

5. New Stationary

with my new name of course :)

6. Black Wedge Pumps

I recently discovered Lindsay Phillips Snap Shoes and I have my eye on this pair

I have some other little things but here is my main obsessions as of now

So what are you asking Santa for this year ?

Be on the look out for a new craft I am doing to make our bathroom extra christmasssyy :)

(all thanks to pinterest!)