O Christmas Tree

Ode to Happy Everything!

A couple of years ago I received a "Happy Everything" plate for Christmas. It is one of my favorite things, as you just change the attachments as the holidays and seasons change, making it happy EVERYTHING. However, on a not so happy day last week, my plate which was on top of the refrigerator (bad idea I know) came tumbling down when i opened the freezer and it shattered everywhere :( They aren't really cheap but I had invested so much in all the attachments that I had to make a trip to Two Chicks in Louisville over Thanksgiving to get a new one. Now I will be featuring my sweet little plate as the seasons change because I realized how special that plate was to me when it broke. So here is its debut on joyful life...

I also baked some healthier chocolate chip cookies from skinny taste that were very tasty and you get the recipe here. 

Christmas Cookie Exchange

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all of the baking involved. Baking really gets me in the festive mood of Christmas and I hope to do lots of it this season. Cookie exchanges are my favorite and I thought Martha's cookie exchange cookies look like a great way to spread a little Holiday cheer...

Chocolate Peppermint cookies

Gingerbread trees with lemon icing

Lemon icebox cookies

Chocolate dipped Macadamia cookies

Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars

Sarah's chewy chocolate-raisin cookies

Orange sable cookies

Crisp and chewy chocolate chip cookies

Matt and Lila's Birthday Celebration

Earlier this month we went down to Louisville to celebrate my brother in law and my niece's birthday. We had a great night and I am so very thankful for both of them. We also had a great time spending a couple days visiting with my parents :) Here is some of our fun...

Pinterest Oatmeal Pies

I love trying Pinterest recipes and this is a great "little debbie" like recipe of oatmeal pies :) You can get the recipe that originated from craving chronicles Here.

Christmas Music

I have been enjoying Christmas music since November 1st and will cherish the next 8 weeks of hearing the best music of the year. Here are some awesome must haves this season....

While pondering these favorites, I realized how much I HATE beach boys Christmas (just so you know) and how much I want to try this out....

I promise you will not disappointed by these awesome Christmas albums! Get started because this season is always over before you know it. Fa la la la la :)