Getting Caught Up and GIVEAWAY!!

[1] A couple weeks ago I had a great time at a GNO with these gals. The sweet cute one in the middle moved and got to come back for a visit. We got to visit and stay with her (her Hubby and three little ones) when we drove across the country! We had such a great time=)

[2] Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!!! You could win Rachael Ray Cookware or a gorgeous Wine Decanter! You have three ways to win! Hurry on over friends!

[3] Several weeks ago we went to a fantastic farm/pumpkin patch! They had slides galore, a super fun hayride, animals to see and or pet, live music, and you got to pick your pumpkins on your way out. [I'll post more pics in another post=)]

[4] I am so excited! We (finally ;-)) got our new camera, the Canon Rebel T1i! I had been wanting a DSLR for so long. We got a good deal and I can't stop saying, I LOVE this camera, how incredible is this camera. And Hubby is waaay more impressed with it than he thought he'd be! I keep hitting love tapping him saying seeee! I told you it would be awesome!

The one thing I'm not caught up on is your blogs!! Soon =) I hope you have a fabulous day friends!!

Going Old School Thanksgiving - The It Started Everything Edition

It was November 25th, 1999. It was the end of the night. We were at my Mom's house... just hanging out like pretty well behaved college students.

We probably enjoyed Thanksgiving with my soon to be boyfriend, Hubby to come's family. I can't remember now because this is what I do remember...

We were standing in my Mom's living room, by the fireplace. I can't remember if it was burning or not. I can only remember standing in front of him, holding hands, looking, yes, into each other's eyes. =) We were starting to say our, don't want to but have to say goodbyes for the night.

Then we had the conversation. The I think we're dating/courting but it's not completely clear conversation. Neither of us were interested in anyone else. We were spending all of our free time together. Hanging out in college. Campus Crusade. Playing sports, watching tv and movies, going rollerblading at 2 in the morning (ok, that was only once, we were so young, maybe story to come). And we knew we wanted to take it to the next level. Courting meant that if we agree to this, then we know we are moving forward with the intent of marriage. If we found out later it wasn't right, then ok, but for now, noone else was in sight.

It might have been me that prompted that conversation. =) Hubby was so sweet and going with the flow and didn't want to do anything at the wrong time. It had been months of hangin' by this time and we knew there was something going on.

I had butterflies when his sweatpant wearing chill self walked into a room. And I found out later that on our first date, him teaching me how to play tennis, that he wasn't just watching the ball when I had to chase it across the court (and ... pick one up either =) blushing...).

So I might have said, in a fun sweet I'm hoping so tone, "so what's going on here, are we dating?" =)

That was 10 years ago!

I am so incredibly thankful for my amazing Husband, I cannot even begin to find the words to explain how much. We have grown so much together. He's made me stronger, he's become a phenomenal man and leader of our family, he's been encouraging me and working on my confidence for 10 years, he's become more detail oriented and more up for anything... we balance each other in so many wonderful ways.

I am thankful for so many things...

...including God's never ceasing provision and undeserved blessings, our gifts from God healthy amazing changed our lives in the best possible way babies; my Mom, who gave me away at our wedding, who I talk to on the phone all the time, about pretty much everything, even when either of us buys a new piece of clothing that we're excited about =), and yes we can get annoyed but we get over it; our families; and true friends...

...and not to take away from anyone or anything else, I am the most thankful for my husband. There are too many reasons to even begin to list (I've tried, that's why my posts about him are so long and there's always more=)). Next to God, he is my absolute rock. I do not know what I would do without him.

{pic from just after we were married in 2003 =)}

Happy Thanksgiving friends!!! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and feast =) with your families or friends! Hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane!

Tradition

Awww tradition. TRADITIOOOON, Tradition! haha. Fiddler on The Roof? Here's the song, you don't have to watch the whole thing of course but you can get a taste=) They joke around about having a tradition for everything.=)

I love traditions. They're a great way to join together as a fam or group of friends or whatever you are a part of. They create beautiful, fun, and joyful memories for a lifetime. When you get together with certain friends, or cousins, or family members, don't you love reminiscing about traditions you used to do or still do together? Like games you made up as children, or what you do each New Year's, or or or? =)



Hubby and I are so excited about starting traditions for our family. We've already established some daily traditions... praying together before we go to sleep, and with our little ones too, before each meal, eating together at the table for dinner (I used to sneak in eating on the couch but now that BabyBoy is older that's not so easy=)), hopefully a little family getaway each year, if Hubby is away on business we talk on the phone as much as possible to fill each other in on all our happenings and definitely talk, pray, and say goodnight before we go to bed... and now we want to start holiday traditions too!

Little NCF get to know you history: I just started celebrating Christmas when Hubby and I started dating in 1999. I was raised Jewish with the belief that Jesus is the Messiah, so we incorporated Jesus into all of the Jewish holidays. We celebrated pretty much the same Christian holidays but maybe at different times... so Jesus' birth was during Sukkot in the fall (similar to Christmas), his ressurection during Passover (similar to Easter)... and so on=) So we get to experience both together. We LOVE all of the traditions and symbolism in the Jewish holidays.

Ok back to TRADITIOOOONs - Christmas Edition. So we don't really have any really "special" ornaments. I'm thinking about starting an ornament tradition. Maybe each year we will get an ornament for each little one symbolizing what they are loving that year. Then as we look at them each year and over the years, we'll remember all of the different things they were "into." I was thinking about getting crafffffty. BabyBoy's would be something music related and Next Edition a sweet little baby something... still thinking friends still thinking=).

We're still talking about other traditions we want to implement too. Do you have any Christmas or ornament traditions? Do you do a color specific tree? Real or fake?

It's GIVEAWAY Time!!!

I was contacted by CSN Stores for a fantastic giveaway! One NCF reader will have the chance to win a choice of beautiful items!

CSN Stores is a one stop shopping portal with over 200 stores to shop from! From baby items, to furniture, to home decor, they sell so many items. They even have a site featuring many new products with some items Hubby and I have been wanting to shop for... counter stools! We need to check it out, we would love to get a few for our kitchen!

If you are the lucky winner, you get to choose from these two wonderful packages!

[1] The Rachael Ray “Bubble & Brown” 12 oz. Stoneware Personal Au Gratin in Orange (Set of 2) AND The Rachael Ray 2-Piece Pastry Brush Set in Orange!

OR

[2] Metrokane - Houdini Three-Piece Decanter

I have to admit that I am jealous of you, I have been eyeing [#1] myself for so long now and [#2] would a great addition to any dinner party or just for use for the two of us! Either of them will come in so handy for the holiday season too! Click on the item names above to see their fabulous features!

Here's How To Win: You have the possibility of three entries! Leave a separate comment for each entry!

[1.] For one entry - Click over to see all of the different CSN Stores and leave a comment telling me at which store you would love to do some shopping!
[2.] For one additional entry - Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post. Please leave the URL to your post.
[3.] For one additional entry - Tweet about this giveaway and link back to this post. Please include a link to your tweet in this comment. [to do this go to your twitter dot com home, click on the time you tweeted underneath your tweet, that will bring you to a page with that tweet, now click on the url, hit ctrl C, then paste (crtl V) it into your comment! let me know if you have any questions!]

The giveaway will end on Thursday December 3nd at midnight EST! Good luck!!!

Open to US and Canada residents only.

THE Day To Shop

It's the day of the deals! It's the busiest shopping day of the year! It is feared by many. You might even have to fight or box somebody out to get the deal you want before it's gone. Ok, it's no Sample Sale in NYC, although I've ever been to one... But it is highly anticipated! It's... Black Friday!!!

For the past several years Hubby and I have slept in and forgone the plethora of deals that every store in the universe was trying to entice us with. Really, it also seemed like the deals haven't been as good for anything that we had on our short wishlist. But still, we were strong... or really tired. =)

But this year, I'm looking forward to browsing the ads (including the early birds, gotta get the best deal if we're looking=)) and attempting to find some great deals. Our budget is pretty tight right now but for some reason I'm itching check it out this year. We don't really need anything, but maybe we can gift shop! Ooh yes. Even if we, ummm I don't find anything for us (I mean we really don't need anything, we are so blessed =)), I can find fun little gifts for other people. We love giving gifts!

Sites: Here are a couple sites for our deal searching pleasure (if you have any better ones, do share friends). And one for JCrew Factory. Other fab boutiquey stores haven't published their ads yet! Then if you find some things you want but aren't sure which one is better, you can go here or here to check out reviews and get the best one for you. =)

Things we're going to keep our eyes out for, not necessarily buy, but we'd like:
* An LCD TV a little bigger than our current old school CRT =)
* Our new camera!
* Boots and a pair of heels for moi, some clothes for the Hubs
* LivingRoom furniture - chocolate brown leather.. mmm luscious.. or microfiber.. durable & easy to keep clean
* Tricycle or big wheel for BabyBoy
* Little Christmas/Hanukkah gifts for the boys =)
* Gifts for friends and family

Do you shop on Black Friday?? Are you going to brave the crowds, the mobs, and fierce deal seeking shoppers to buy up some deals this year? What are you hoping to find a fab deal for?

Surprise!

It was this Saturday! I tweeted about it a little bit (because Hubby isn't a tweeter=)) but I had to keep it off the blog just in case! I had a surprise birthday party for Hubby's 30th Birthday!!

I made a personalized invitation from evite {dot} com (I'll post about that later=)) with this pic=)

I had to be extra sly about it because I kept thinking thinking for sure he would find out and be onto me! So I used cash to buy all the supplies so he wouldn't see it on our online budget keeper (mint) or our credit card, I created a new e-mail account so I could e-mail so I could send out an evite (more on that later=)), and I stored all the goodies at our awesome friends' house down the street and my Mom's!

I do not like even witholding information and almost said something so many times but I caught myself, said come on NCF Mama don't give it away! I had to be careful what I told BabyBoy too because he has an impeccable memory and for sure would have told Daddy the exciting news=)!

I made another fondant cake (my second! well third including a practice one before BabyBoy's bday=)). I have to give a huge shoutout to Jenny for giving me tons of fondant tips!!! She was so great and helpful and sent me so much info for when I did BabyBoy's cake! Thank you Jenny you helped me out so much!!!

Thank you to all of our friends who came!! You guys rock and made it such a special night!!! Hubby (and I) had such a great time! It really meant a lot to me and to the Hubs.

Thank you to Hubby's bro for going along with my plan and having a boys' game night at his house Friday night to Sat when they would play more games and some tennis. They had been wanting to do it for so long, but Hubby felt bad, it was the perfect cover and they got some great hang time. [We were supposed to get to meet for coffee before coming back to the house for some food I cooked and baked for him, but he got stuck in so much traffic, I ended up having him come back to the house=)]

And thank you to my Mom for helping me finish prep on Saturday, I couldn't have done it without you!

I wanted to make it three layers for effect =) I have never done three before but I just had to do it=)

Boston Cream Pie! Such an easy recipe!! If you're interested let me know=)And we were having such a great time with everybody we didn't get a good pic of everyone and my Picasa is completely messed up right now :-( All my folders are deleted and I can't upload any pics, we've been working on it for hours!


[BabyBoy was the entertainment before Hubby got there and and before both little ones had to go to bed, but he didn't want to go to bed without singing Happy Birthday to Daddy=)]

We are sooo thankful for everyone who came! Hubby said it was the most surprised he has ever been=) Yaaay! You guys are awesome!

I kept asking if he knew anything and he kept saying he didn't have a clue. So then I started recounting, do you remember when I asked you this, or when I did this, or when this happened... and he laughed and said yes, had the head tilt, yes I remember that, and my reply... yeah it was all part of the master plan! =)

Our New Do

We got a makeover! How do you like our New NCF Blog Do?? Thank you Krystyn from Krizzy Designs!!!!!

Krystyn was... errr is... fab-u-lous. She was so great to work with. The process was easy, personalized, and fast. We emailed back and forth... and back and forth =) and here we are! Her response time was amazing and she was so patient with me, and we were in and out of town so much, it took a bit longer than I expected (sorry Krystyn=)). I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted, but as we went through the process, it became more and more... IT. =) Her rates are incredible, and you can have as much or as little input as you want. You should see her repertoire! You can see more here. If you want a makeover, you have to check her out!

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!!

I was not paid or given anything to write this review. She is just fab. =)

Sweet Treat! They're Not Just Russian Tea Cakes

I love baking. It just so happens that most of baking is either carbs or sweets but I love it (umm and love to eat it=)). And I love to try new recipes. So one night a couple weeks ago I was on a mission to try a new recipe.

Even though it did not contain chocolate, I found Russian Tea Cakes! Also know as Mexican Wedding Cakes. AKA a bunch more names but I think these two are the most common. =) I always love when I see them at parties, showers, or really anywhere. I haven't had them very often but now that I can make them, mmmmm!


They are a buttery, melt in your mouth, sweet, cookie! There are not too many ingredients and they are sooo yummy. Here we go! I halved the reciped when I made them because it makes 4 dozen and they turned out great=)

Ingredients - Makes 4 dozen
1 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanila
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts, and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1 -inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool 5 minutes.
5. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar, cool on wire rack 5 minutes, roll in powdered sugar again.

[i used walnuts because it was what we had, ground them up in a mini food processor]

[I used my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer. This is what the dough looked like when I was ready to roll! (ha, get it, roll...ok nevermind=)]

[All rolled and ready to go! Yes I used a little tape measure to make sure they were around 1 in=) I am not a perfectionist. at all.]

[while they were cooking, I got the powdered sugar, cooling racks, and container for storing all ready]

[All baked and cooling]
[1st powdering]

[2nd powdering, ready to eat! Yummy with a cup of tea=)]

I hope you enjoy!! And get ready for a giveaway!!! I wish I could win! Seriously. Some awesome items. =) Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wii-kend!!

Happy Friday friends! I hope you had a great week! This weekend:

[1] I'm going to a Girl's Night tonight with a bunch of fun girls!

[2] We're going to a pumpkin patch on Saturday with a some friends and their little ones, so excited! Hayride, pumpkin patch, big slides, apple picking...!

[3] Hubby has a tennis match on Sunday after church, he's so going to win!

[4] We're going to friends' little one's 1st bday party on Sunday =)
[5] Hangin' out with these fun boys and play with the birthday present we got the big fun one! A Wii! He deserves it so much, he works hard, and takes care of us like crazy, I We wanted to get him something that he could relax and enjoy! We got him Mario Kart too! Did you know that you can play other people online through the Wii?? Ok, you probably did, but Hubby was really excited about that. We just played the Wii for the first time when we visited our friends when we drove across the country, they told us that we could all play against each other, and he's been excitedly telling me ever since! We have our first official challenge by said fun (and competitive... we're not competitive at all... ha!!) friends. I had to tweet her that we now were in possession of a Wii and her response, "Um, do you have Mario Kart? Cuz we can take you people in a race." Our response, "A and LL, it's on. =)"

And also wishing you a fabulous weekend... The sweet "Look-at-me-don't-you-want-to-pick-me-up happy Guy"

And the sweet, "You-don't-need-to-get-a-puppy-cause-I'm-your-energetic-border-collie-I'd-love-to-a-fun-little-chat-with-you Guy"

Happy Weekend Friends!!!

Cute Shoes

*After several shoe compliments and inquiries about yet to be mentioned shoes... here it is!*

It's happening. I'm becoming a flats girl. I have always been a heels, pumps, whatever you refer to those lengthening, cute, shiny, matte, suede, patent, just make ya feel goood, high heels. I wore them throughout my entire first pregnancy, while I was teaching, on my feet, for 1 million hours a day. Yes 1 million.

And at this point flats seem to suit me a little better chasing two deedle (that would be little, but I like to say deedle, try it, it's just cute) ones. Ok I'm just chasing one, but sometimes I'm carrying two, and yes I could do it in heels, I just don't want to. Hmmph. (haha=))

I'd been wanting some cute flats to throw on with a pair of jeans and I needed more ruffles, because we all know that ruffles are in right now. They still are, right? You can tell me if they're not, it's ok. I'll still wear my shoes=)!

So I found these. One more expensive than the other. One probably more comfortable than the other, but which one do you think I (and my Hubby's budget) chose? =) It's all good, I like them, I'm breaking them in, and all in the name of cuteness over comfort (ok only sometimes=)).

Banana Republic - Nayla Ruffle Flat - $98 (there are BR coupons out there too)

OR

Kohls - SO Wishy Flats - $35 on sale for $21.99 plus 15% coupon =) [or the deal I got: wait keep reading, this is good: sale plus an additional 15% off, plus 10% because they had a couple imperfections and it was the last pair so I asked what they could do ;-), ANNNND a 15% coupon for a grand total of $12 and some odd cents! Thank you. thank you. I know it was and still is very exciting!]
I don't shop at Kohl's very often, but my Aunt reminded me about it, and they do have some great deals, that's where I ended up getting our bedding, and I have a couple more incredible deals to show you too. In due time friends, in due time. And when I can take pictures and get the post together=)

And don't get me wrong, I still love a beautiful pair of heels to make an outfit and get you feeling like a movie star!

Are you a flats or a heels girl?

Beach, Bloggy Meetup, Birthday Weekend!

We had a fabulous busy weekend! Filled with lots of smiles and laughs and fun times=)!

The Beach! We headed to the beach on Friday [Hubby worked light that day=)] and were so excited to go! Since we weren't able to go earlier this year, we really wanted to take the little ones and have some relaxing time together. And that it was! We had such a wonderful time!! The weather was gorgeous, pretty windy, but perfect for a weekend getaway. We started off with a little sushi and chicken lunch, yuuummy! A great way to start off our mini vacay!

don't mind my goofy self in this one, just look at the cute smiling baby!!=)

Bloggy Meetup! I got to meet a wonderful group of blogging girls! I've only "met" =) Rachel and Lis so far so I look forward to following all of you gals. We had a great time laughing, sharing stories, and talking about food and treats, and fashions.

And then around 10:30pm a waitress came over and said NCF?? You have a family emergency call on line 1!!! I got up as fast as I could and hurried to the phone. My heart and my five buddies' dropped too and while I was running scenarios through my head as I was literally running to the phone, they were figuring out who could drive me wherever I needed to go and how to help. They are sooo sweet!!

Turns out it was ma sweet Hubs was worried about me. He had been trying to call my phone for an hour and a half to make sure I was ok but it was in my purse and I couldn't hear it! And it's not like me to not answer if it's him or call him back=). So he had scenarios running through his head of what was happening at my bloggy meetup. And the only way they would let him talk to me was to tell them it was an emergency. All was ok, and we had a wonderful time! Can't wait to do it again when I'm in your town!

A "Sprinkle". The beautiful, sweet, and funny mama at the head of the table is about to have her second little girl! Mel set up this wonderful lunch with all of these fabulous girls (everyone else are faceb00kers=)). I always have a great time with these girls! And I'll get to see a bunch of them again for a Girls' Night on Friday!

Birthday! My Mom put on another amazing party for Hubby's birthday this time for all of us and his fam. We sang, played the piano, guitar, and lots of little instruments, laughed, and had a great time.


Thank you all for your sweet birthday wishes on the last post! Love this cute guy!

Thank you girls for sticking with me and still leaving such sweet fun comments even though I've been a terrible blogging buddy lately! I feel horrible for being so behind in blogland! We've been out of town, or recovering from being out of town, potty training (a big what up! to all of the potty training Mamas out there=)!!), and spending sweet play time and teaching time with the little ones (and the big one!). I look forward to catching up with you sooo soon! It might take me a while, but I'll get to you!! Thanks girls!!!