Favourite Post Link Up + Giveaway || November

I'm sure that I'm not alone in feeling like November just flew by, right?! A major reason it flew by was from having a whole week off of work, and having so much to do and to plan. My Christmas shopping is about half done (yay!!), but now it's wrapping and shipping everything off (hello $$). Well, tomorrow's December 1st and I'm excited to get all the Christmas shenanigans going!

I'm also so happy to be a part of this monthly link up. It's such a great way to connect with other bloggers! In fact, my favourite post for November is one that was part of another link up ;) Do you have regular link ups that you participate in? Share them in the comments! 

Looking for Hosts || Want to host this link-up with us? We have one-time spots available and regular host spots as well! Just send Ashley an email at ashley@hellonatureblog.com for more details!

This Month's Hosts || Ashley from Hello Nature, Lexy from Crazy Cass Life, Nicole from a la Maxfield, and Kerry from Glory in the Valley 

My favorite post from October || The Circle - Winter Essentials 

Now link up your post + enter to win the gift card below!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Circle || Winter Break Essentials

Happy November! Is it just me or has this past month already flown by? It's almost Christmas, which means it's almost December, which also means it's almost time for another break from work. There's only 5 weeks of work between Fall break and Winter break - crazy! 

I love reading Kiki's blog, and linking up with The Circle every month. This month's is 10 essentials! I chose more than 10, and decided to go with the theme of my upcoming Winter break. This is also my first ever mood board, and I'm proud of how it turned out. I sure do have a long way to go, but it's a start. To me, link ups are fun and have their challenges too. This month proved no exception to those challenges with the mood board.

On to my essentials -

1|| COZY SLIPPERS • It gets really cold here in Alberta, and we have a lot of laminate on the floors, so slippers are a must. They also add juuusst the right amount of cozy when I'm lounging around in my pajamas.
2|| COFFEE + MUGS • I have a serious addiction. Is it weird of me to look forward to choosing my mug in the morning?
3|| NETFLIX • Although I'm not a huge fan of movies and laying around watching TV (I'm more of a computer girl), Netflix is still so awesome to have around. Last time I had some free time, I watched a few documentaries and actually learned something - biased views and all, haha!
4|| SNACKS • Chocolate chip cookies make the world go round, and laying around wouldn't be complete without some yummy treats. I have a lot of Christmas baking to do this year!
5|| NAIL ART • How can one really go through the holidays without some festive nail art? I always feel put together when my nails are done, and this reindeer design is soo cute for the holidays.
6|| PJ'S • Flannel pajamas are the best. They're so warm, and so soft! I've been eyeing this set for a little while, and they look perfect for Christmas morning.
7|| SNAIL MAIL • Oh man, where do I begin? I love sending snail mail to my friends (I may or may not be running behind, though), and I'm going to have so much free time over the 2 weeks to catch up and get those letters mailed!
8|| SCARVES • Even when I'm inside, why not?
9|| BOOKS • I really don't have much time during the work week to lay down and read a novel, and I'm in the middle of one right now...so Winter break will be a great time to finish it!
10|| CUDDLES • There will be soo many cuddles happening, I'm not sure I'll be able to do anything else. Gunner was recently neutered, so he hasn't been allowed on our bed. By the time Winter break comes around, we'll have so many cuddles to make up for the time lost.

What are your Winter essentials?

xo. Nicole

Week's End || November 24

SNAPSHOTS:

1|| I helped out my sister in law at a Christmas trade show, and she was doing pictures with Santa. She set up a red chair, a rustic wooden backdrop, and a fully decorated tree! It was so cute seeing all the little kids eyeing Santa throughout the day, and a few cried but that's to be expected.

2|| It was Crazy Friday at work. I tried my best to do my hair pretty crazy, and I wore my penguin onesie. I received a lot of compliments, and lots of funny looks, haha!

3|| I tried out some new Julep polish, but I ended up picking it all off by the end of the day. I did a rush job in the morning, and I hate when I have chips in the polish!

4|| Gunner is still wearing his cone of shame. He's gotten used to it, and it should be coming off by Thursday! He's a licker and a nibbler, so I'd rather he be annoyed with his collar for 2 weeks than having him open his incision - ouch!

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

1|| I shared the beginning steps of how I'm preparing for Christmas this year.

2|| One of the best parts of our wedding!

GOOD READS:

1|| This is my favourite. I also love the Body Shop!

2|| Amanda teamed up with a friend to make a fun link up.

3|| I don't know Edmonton that well, so I'm thankful for lists like these.

4|| I came across this Facebook page and I've been laughing/sharing ever since!

5|| I finally came across a pre-made gluten free pie crust, and I'm so glad that Ashley shared this list.

Tomorrow, I'm posting my first ever mood board post. It's a fun link up with one of my favourite bloggers, and I'm so excited for you guys to see! I have a long way to go, but I plan on experimenting with colours and schemes for new mood boards. Have you ever done one? Please share!

xo. Nicole

Our Wedding || First Dance

A little #throwbackThursday for you! I have a few posts lined up that go back to our wedding. Pieces of the day that I never shared. I love thinking about that day, and this space is as good as any to keep the memory going.

While on Fall break from work, I've been browsing some blogs and listening to music. Taylor Swift's 1989 is totally on repeat (loving Blank Space!), but a song came up on shuffle on my phone that brought back good memories. 

It was the song that we had our first dance to! Never Let Me Go by Florence and The Machine. It was a perfect song, and I'm so glad that Rob brought it up as an option. I had never heard it before, and had only heard a few of Florence's songs. My heart was set on a few country ones, but that all changed the first time that I heard it - I was hooked.

Here's a few lyrics from the song:

And it's breaking over me

A thousand miles down to the sea bed

Found the place to rest my head

Never let me go

Never let me go

Never let me go

Never let me go

I hope you got a chance to listen to the song above. What was your first dance song? If you're not married yet, what are you hoping/planning to be the first song you dance to at your wedding?

xo. Nicole

Preparing for Christmas || Supplies

One of the best things about Christmas time is wrapping gifts to give to people. I decided to prepare myself a little early this year, and get some fun things to use for gift wrapping. I love browsing Pinterest for all those wonderful gift wrap ideas, and then waiting too long to wrap gifts, and then just having to use regular ol' supplies. This year, I'm determined!

Thatch & Thistle was having a fun sale, where if you bought a certain amount of products, you'd receive a Halloween treat bag! Obviously this meant I needed to stop everything and shop. Doesn't it?

I added some Christmas twine, gift tags, and some stickers in to my cart!

The treat bag included some fun things! There was twine, stickers, and gift tags! I can still use some of it for Christmas wrapping, and birthday gifts. Our niece's birthday was on November 9, and we have one of our nephew's birthdays on December 4th. These will all be put to good use!

I'm also thinking that I could totally use everything for snail mail! I have a few friend anxiously awaiting some goodies in their mail boxes, and now I have some fun supplies to use. When my husband and I buy our own place next year, there will definitely be a craft room. I can't wait to visit Thatch & Thistle again to load up that room ;) Shhh, don't tell my husband!

Have you started to prepare for the holidays?

xo. Nicole

Week's End || November 17

SNAPSHOTS:

1|| The snow is here :( The worst part is sitting in my car while I wait for it to warm up. It adds another 15 minutes to having to go somewhere, especially work at 7:30am. 

2|| Gunner finally had his manhood taken away. He's such a baby when he's wearing the E-Collar, so I tried out a blow up one. Well, it didn't stay inflated and Gunner decided this meant he could jump and run all over the place. Nice try, dog. I returned the blow up collar, and put his other cone back on. I'd rather he have a few uncomfortable days/nights than for him to rip his incision or cause his empty testicle sack to fill with blood and other fun things from excessive movement. 

3|| I took full advantage of my week off from work! I visited my nephews on Tuesday, and then brought homemade cinnamon butter cookies and Tim Horton's coffee to my grandparents on Thursday. With the Winter roads, and work starting again today, those visits will be fewer.

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

1|| My November Julep Maven box came super early this month!

2|| I won a giveaway and blogged about it - haha!

GOOD READS:

1|| Rebekah receives the Ipsy Glam Bag. I always love reading her reviews and oggling the gorgeous pictures.

2|| Amanda shared her favourite posts from the week (always good reads!) and made a big announcement.

3|| Here's the recipe for the yummy cinnamon butter cookies that I brought to my grandparents!

4|| It's an older post, but aren't these adorable??

Ah, back to work. Only 6 more weeks until Christmas break. See, there are some things to look forward to! ;) It's been pretty cold all week, but the weather is slowly "warming up". It was -20C, but tomorrow is only supposed to be -7C. I also neglected the gym this week. My excuse is that it took too long to warm up the car, and the roads aren't all that safe, so it was better for me to just stay home unless I HAD to go out. Well, starting today, I HAVE to go out to work, so I really don't have any excuses for ditching the gym now. So far.

xo. Nicole

Tunnels and Fur || A Typical Friday

I can't even begin to describe how excited I was when I received the email telling me that I had one Roxy's PetMate giveaway! I wiggled in my seat before I replied to her email, and then ran out of my room to go tell Mocha and Koshka that they had some fun toys coming in the mail. Yes, they're cats. No, I'm not crazy. Well, maybe.

Mocha has taken full advantage of all 3 toys. We received a little fish-tail treat maze, a ball spinner/scratching pad, and a little pop up tent/tunnel. Mocha, pictured above, is a huge fan of the tunnel and tent, and then sits on the ball spinner as soon as Koshka walks by. She's kind of a hog.

Koshka enjoys the ball spinner, but usually just watches Mocha play. That's Koshka pictured above with her "filthy humans" look on her face, while she rolled her eyes at Mocha having a blast in the tunnel. There's no win with her, though I'm sure she's super appreciative of the awesome toys :)

Thank you Roxy and PetMate for my cats fun Friday!

xo. Nicole

Julep || November

After the shipping issues from my October box, and being issued a full refund (!!!), I decided it would be worth it to just use my refund to purchase the November Maven box :) Julep explained to me that they switched mail couriers, so that there should be minimal issues with future shipping. Were they ever right! I don't think I've ever received my box so early in the month. 

First off, the colours are a nice blend of Winter and Summer, in my opinion. The nudes/pastels, the pretty purples, and that gorgeous blue on the left side! They added in a little booklet as a holiday gift guide, and I have a few ideas for some friends now - Thanks Julep!

I promptly took Shari out of the box and repainted my nails. I still love the look of an accent nail, so I used one of my old favourites, Missy, for that. Shari is definitely one of my new favourites, it's such a gorgeous pink creme!

Do you have a favourite polish colour right now?

xo. Nicole

Week's End || November 10

I didn't take any photos this past week, so I'm sharing one of my younger sister's photos. She took this while she was in what I call "photography college", haha! It's showing what I wish I could see right now - green! We've had a huge dump of snow, and the roads are ice now. They say it's just a cold snap and that it should warm up the following week, but we're currently sitting at -20*C. Yeah, okay mr/mrs weatherperson.

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

1|| I participated in a monthly link up - it's an easy one :) 

GOOD READS:

1|| I totally made this for supper on Thursday, and it was soooo delicious. I even shared it with a coworker. Seriously, you should make it.

2|| Sam received the most gorgeous Sari Robe - and it's for a good cause.

3|| I love when fellow bloggers (and friends!) share a round-up of links they loved, and this is no exception.

4|| This is such an awesome post for other bloggers, and happy 1st blogging anniversary Amanda!

5|| I always love Kory's monthly desktop wallpaper freebies!

Happy Monday! It's officially Fall break here, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The snow hit us, so I don't have much highway driving to do this week. I will have to venture out on to the highway tomorrow and on Thursday for some family visits. I can't wait for a whole day with my sister and nephews tomorrow, and then I visit my grandma on Thursday :)

I'm not sure what's going on, but I've had nothing but bad dreams the past couple nights (no, I'm not pregnant) and last night's was one of the worst ones. I had been talking to my mom yesterday, and we hadn't chatted in a little while. My dream last night was that she had passed away, with no explanation, and I had to pack up all of her stuff all by myself. I've never cried so much in a dream. I talked to my mom about it and she said it's because I miss her and it's one of my worst fears coming out because of that. Oh boy, I hope my dreams start getting better soon, I can't take anymore nightmares! 

xo. Nicole

Currently v.02 || Link Up!

Picture c/o Aimee Madeline Photography (my sister!)

Reading || I came across an Emily Giffin book for 50% off, and had to have it! I had originally purchased the book for our camping trip, but I never got around to just being able to read. I've been trying to add more things to my evenings, other than blogging and FarmVille (hey, it's calming!) and reading a book seemed like a good place to start. The one I'm reading now is called Where We Belong. I've always loved Emily Giffin's books, and this is no exception.

Wishlisting || I signed up for The Great Christmas Exchange 2014 this time around, and I am too excited! They have it attached to a website called Elfster, which is pretty straightforward and easy to favourite way too many things ;) I've also gotten some early Christmas shopping in (for once) through Etsy. I'm also kinda sorta maybe browsing for me, too. 

Loving || The energy I find myself having after a full day of work. I actually found the energy to go to the gym after work yesterday, and not one single regret was felt. I would have regretted had I not gone, but that's a whole post in itself.

Appreciating || I'm not sure which switch was turned on, but I've been finding myself thinking more and more about how much my husband does for me and I've been appreciating him more. I'm not getting snappy (as often, hehe) when he asks me to grab him something, or put something away. I'm not the only person who has a 9-5 job, he does too. He's also outside all day and the weather will soon be -30*C!

Creating || A fitness plan that I can stick to! The other one I had in the beginning of the year didn't work out, so I tagged along with another friend (don't worry, I'm still friends with my other workout buddy!) who goes to the gym a couple times a week. She showed me her workout, and it's definitely more affordable and doable for me on my own. I have another installment coming up for My Fitness Journey series, and I'll tell you all about it! I've only started on Saturday and gone to the gym twice, and have lost a pound! 

I'm linking up my Currently post with Jenna from Dearest Love, and Anne from In Residence. On the first Wednesday of every month, we all get together and share what we're currently up to!

I can't wait to read your posts!

xo. Nicole

Week's End || November 3

SNAPSHOTS:

1|| Gunner being...Gunner

2|| I made some super easy and yummy taco soup! Recipe is under the "good reads" section :)

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

1|| I received my October Julep box - check it out!

GOOD READS:

1|| Here's the yummy taco soup recipe - vegan/gluten free

2|| Rebekah participates in #hepicksmypolish and it's always fun to see what she comes up with!

3|| Another fun swap - The Great Christmas Exchange 2014. 

My sister in law took some photos of us at our one year anniversary BBQ this past June and sent me over a few. Yep, that's my husband. So proud.

This week's end post is quite small. Not much went on, and it's definitely been a lazy week for me. On Friday, my coworkers and I dressed up as the Ninja Turtles (complete with tutus!) for Halloween. After work, my husband and I were going to go to a party, but we opted out and attempted to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas..but we fell asleep halfway through at 9pm. We're old people apparently. How was your Halloween? I'm looking forward to all things Christmas now!

xo. Nicole