The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

Each year I attempt to do as many homemade gifts as possible. Pinterest makes it so easy find ideas! Here are some of the things I made this year. I'm an idiot and forgot to take pictures of my finished products, so these are just the images from the websites. I made these Candy Cane Blossom cookies, and oh my heavens, they are delicious. I made four batches and have been giving out quite a few treat bags (and eating quite a few myself!). I made this wreath for my uncle. Unfortunately, when you click on the Pinterest link, it just takes you to Etsy and says the item is sold out. But it's super easy to make. Just wrap the yarn and glue a bunch of ornaments on there! Of course, mine didn't look quite as good as the one in the picture. My mom and I made these little snowman tealight holders when I came home for Thanksgiving. It was one of those projects that looked really easy but was a lot of work. The ribbon wouldn't lay right like it does in the picture,

This weekend was just what my heart needed. Friday night I had dinner at Tuck Shop with Meeghan and Amanda. We were there for hours. Conversation is so uplifting and meaningful with these two. I appreciated Meeghan's dating advice- "You're a good man, but you're not MY man." I was supposed to do a canyon on Saturday, but we all felt sick when we woke up at 6 a.m., so we went back to bed. I felt better when I woke up later, so I texted Jason and we did a spontaneous day hike up at Four Peaks. We couldn't make the summit, but we still made it pretty far. The final scramble up to the top was rated a 5.3, so I let Jason do his best impression of the man in black climbing the Cliffs of Insanity while I perched on a boulder taking selfies. (If he had made it, I would've followed.) But he had to stop about 25 feet from the top- too icy. The views were absolutely gorgeous. We could see the Superstitions, Camelback, the Rim, even Humphrey's Peak. We did s

This year had potential for drama, but luckily it ended up being a lovely holiday. Andy volunteered to do most of the cooking, and my parents were worried he would flake out. They stocked the basement freezer with a back-up dinner. But he came through, and it was delicious! The bacon-wrapped turkey was a hit. My visit home was also quiet and drama-free. Dad and I spent most of the time watching the 1985 Chicago Bears. Now I understand why people are STILL talking about this team almost 30 years later! Things that were awesome about this team: Walter Payton was a truly gifted athlete. He held the ball in one hand out to the side, yet rarely fumbled! Jim McMahon was always wearing some kind of goofy sweatband. The commissioner told him he couldn't wear it anymore, and the following week he wore one with the commissioner's name on it. Mike Ditka was arrested for throwing his chewing gum at a fan. Ditka was also arrested for a DUI... He treated the team to champagne on th