Happy Fri-YAY!

Hey hey friends!! Happy Friday!! Happy NEW YEAR!

I hope ya'll had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's holiday!

We had an amazing break and I was so sad when Aaron headed back to work and the kids went back to school!! I just really really love when everyone is home and we're just nestled up together. With my kids being older, everyone is usually doing their own thing or they are hanging out in one person's room- so it's not like we are TOGETHER at all times. But just having everyone all in one place- with no tight schedule to adhere by- well- it's my FAVORITE.

On the topic of FAVORITES...I am going to share a few with you today!!

First...here's a fun collage of some of the highlights from our Christmas break :)

We had multiple days in a row of fun family activities with my mom, my brother's family and my sister-in-law and nephew. Christmas Eve was so special, as it always is, and Christmas morning was the best. We hosted all of my family for Christmas dinner and I decided to wear my sequin skirt for the occasion- because why not?!? It's the holidays! We roasted a 6 1/2 pound beef tenderloin and followed the Pioneer Woman's recipe (you can find it HERE) and it was INCREDIBLE. We headed to Sneads Ferry, NC the day after Christmas to hang out while Aaron worked and caught the most AMAZING sunset at the beach!! I am telling you - North Carolina beaches in the winter are MAGICAL! We rang in the New Year with my mom! We played games and had yummy food and it was just such a fun night!!

Speaking of New Year's Eve...I had to share with ya'll the fun sequin pants I wore!! I bought these pants on a whim about a month ago from Amazon. They were $20 and looked fun- so I hit "purchase." They are SO comfortable and so festive! They are such fun pants to wear to a party- or- they could totally be dressed up for a very fancy event!! You can find them HERE on Amazon!

Newest FAVORITE find from Trader Joes: This bruschetta sauce is DELICIOUS. I am putting it on top of salads with a drizzle of balsamic glaze ( which I found at Aldi!!). I am sure it would be epic on toasty bread. It would be phenomenal on top of grilled chicken with a side of roasted zucchini. I actually just like eating it out of the container with a spoon. HA! Give it a try if you have a Trader Joe's close to you!!

If I had to pick my number one FAVORITE item from Trader Joe's- do you know what it would be?? It's not even food! HA! It's their white hydrangeas. They are always SO beautiful and they last forever!! Mine usually last for almost a month! Every week or so, I will put fresh water in the vase and trim the stems a tiny bit- and that's it! I got a couple of bunches of them earlier this week to put in our dining room after I had taken down our Christmas decorations. I personally think they are an "all seasons" flower. They are just so simple and beautiful!

And finally...I wanted to share this picture of the sunset at the beach I took last week. We got to the beach about 10 minutes before sunset and then proceeded to stay through the entire sunset. You would not believe the incredible transition of colors we saw!!! It truly was so so AWESOME. Hands down, one of our FAVORITE moments of Christmas break!

How's everyone feeling about the first weekend of 2024??

Do you have any fun plans? 

We are laying super low..with basically no plans except for going to my mom's tomorrow night for dinner and church on Sunday. Basically the most perfect weekend in my opinion :)

Hope you have a FABULOUS Friday and a WONDERFUL weekend! 

See you back here next week!!

Linking up with from Andrea and Erica for Friday Favorites!!!