Love Grace and Chocolate: November 2016

10. Board Games- You can't go wrong with the classics board games are 100% funner around the holidays.

9. Christmas music- All Day every day since November 1st.

8. The Desserts- Pumpkin Roll, Chocolate Roll, and sugar cookies! My oh my!

7. Vacation time- I love my job, but nothing beats getting paid time off to be with family

6. Christmas decorations- I'm a sucker for Christmas lights, every year I have to see at least one show or it doesn't seem like the holidays.

5. Christmas Cards- I am a firm believer in sending Christmas cards I love running to the mailbox to see whats in store!

4..The spirit- Everyone just gets happier around the holidays I love the way everyone interacts with one another.

3. Christmas Shopping- I love trying to surprise everyone on my list whether its a trinket or a appliance seeing someones reaction is one of my greatest enjoyments

2. Family-I always get to see my family at the holidays and I can't think of a greater blessing.

1. The true Christmas story- The reason for the holidays our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who came to be a ransom for many may His name be praised!!!

My husband and I met January 7^th 2015 we started dating March 2015 and were engaged by October by May we were married. I was 19 and he was 25 when I met him and three days after turning 21 I became his bride. What I never expected was the way people would comment in that October of our engagement. I don’t want to give validation of any of the comments, but I will say one thing they hurt. Naively I wanted to believe that everyone would be happy and that simply wasn’t the case. For those of you getting married before society expects you to I want to remind you of just a few things.

It is possible to be young and know who you are- I had always been an old soul. I didn’t enjoy people my own age and found the most enjoyment talking to women in their sixties from the time I was around nine years old. I knew what I wanted from my life and I knew that God would lead me in the right direction. Trust the Lord, not your age, not society.

Get married because you found a Godly man NOT because the timing is right.- Whether I was eighteen or eighty my motivation to get married was to find a man who would lead me. Sure there are more convenient stages in life to plan a wedding and start your lives together, but once you find a Godly man pursue God’s timing not mans.

Your story is beautiful- When we first got engaged more than anything I loved telling our story. It was so personal and so beautiful to me, however for the first few months of engagement I would leave out how long we had been dating I was tired of the raised eye brows. I had grown tired of hearing “how long” or “wow that was quick”. Your story is beautiful and you matter.

You WILL miss out on some things- Let’s face it your going to miss out on a few things that typically come with being on your own maybe it’s an apartment to yourself or maybe it’s something else that is completely different be comfortable with your choice, but don’t dwell on what could have been and let a seed of bitterness drop in dwell on all the GLORIOUS things that come with marriage. I never knew my favorite place in the world would be on a sofa snuggled up with a cup of hot chocolate arguing about if IQ is a proper Words with Friends play.

Jesus should still be your most important relationship- I will admit I’ve failed Him in this area every now and then. When you get married young balancing it all is HARD. I have found myself trying to find a balance between life, school, and married and I know what that’s like. Just remember never put Jesus on the back burner HOLD FAST and if it means you have to switch up your routine a little. A good man will understand.

You WILL screw up, but you will survive- Marriage is the easiest and the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. No matter how old you are or what stage of life your in you will never be perfect until you see the Lord never. I never knew loving and serving someone could be so easy, but there are also HARD DAYS like really hard days. If it’s something you cant control ( I have panic attacks) and you feel bad that you aren’t “normal” remember that your husband picked you because he love YOU. If it’s letting sin get the upperhand or just a blow out argument ask for forgiveness, but this does not mean that you failed.. Remember than you are human and by no means does that give you an excuse to be complacent, but it does give you the peace to know that you can apologize to the ones that you love and leave it at the feet of Jesus.

It's worth it- Every struggle is worth EVERY second. I promise!

Jesus love you and you are beautiful!!!

Christmas tree lights decorations ornaments winter house home decor

Essential Christmas Gifts for Expanding Your Kitchen

Christmas is my favorite time of year except when it comes to making a Christmas list. I never know what I want so often I wind up with clothes or jewelry which are lovely, but typically useless. If you are starting off on your own or are newly married these are a few of my kitchen essentials that I couldn't live without.

1. Kitchen Aid

I know how expensive these seem when you first starting out, however, I can honestly say that most of my cooking would take forever if I didn't have this lovely appliance in my kitchen. They run for about $250, but if you go out and brave the cold on black friday like my mother and I did you can typically find them for $150-$200 which is an amazing deal for something that will last you at least a decade.

2. Anchor Tupperware

This is another item that seems to be a little pricey but they are safer to microwave than the plastic containers and they are amazing. My husband and I use these everyday for our lunches and they are durable and make our lives a little easier in the morning.

3. Wooden Spoons, Spatulas, and Thongs

These may go without saying, however, I have known several friends who do not have numerous pairs of all three and it makes cooking more tedious. I have a drawer just for these essential and I love it.

4. A Dutch Oven

This is more of a luxury item, but trust me when I say that these are extremely versatile. They can be used on the stove top or the oven and they are simply gorgeous!

I hope that you enjoyed this list and maybe even add a item or two to your Christmas shopping!

With winter officially here I have made my first batch off homemade hot chocolate. There is something absolutely wonderful about having a warm beverage in your hands. I love coffee mugs and if it's 9 or 90 degrees out I typically have a cup of something in my hand. However, hot chocolate is one of those warm beverages that gets saved exclusively for the winter months in our household. I decided to include a basic hot chocolate recipe because most times those are the best. The following recipe will make enough for about 2 nine ounce glasses of deliciousness. I hope that you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do and that you have a cookie or two to go with it.

Hot chocolate for two:

Ingredients:
Two tablespoons cocoa powder
2 Cups milk
Four ounces semi-sweet chocolate
Two tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Add milk into a skillet and bring to a slow simmer
Quickly add and whisk the cocoa powder until it is well incorporated
Now add the sugar and the chocolate until it is all well incorporated.
Pick your two favorite glasses and have a cozy winter <3

Last week I got a break! It has been an insane semester that seems like it just will never end, however last weekend was one of those precious times in the semester where I was able to be myself. There was no school no distractions and I was just able to be Hadassah a wife and a human being not a full-time worker or a student just and individual interested in other things than French lessons and advertising projects. I will say that it is amazing when after a long period of having to focus on school just how much a weekend to yourself can allow you to recharge and regroup from the craziness of life that is about to unravel. Tim and I actually went to the zoo I was able to dust off my camera and see the beauty of Gods creation abandoning my laptop for a 48 hour period and just allowing myself to be myself with my husband. When I was younger and grew up in a small town I never understood the wisdom behind God’s words when He tells us to “be still and know that I am God” Now that I’ve grown and have many more responsibilities the moments in which I am able to reflect bring me much needed clarity and comfort. God’s Holy Spirit truly has time to talk to me in those moments to convict as well as to comfort. What a mighty God we serve . I was able to see his majesty going through the zoo. Amazed that the amazing creator of the universe took time to think of me. I hope you enjoy some of these pictures.

I am a Christmas addict. I love anything and everything to do with the holidays. The flavors, the smells, the lights, decorations, and sights. I look forward to December from January every year. I love Christmas music and nothing is better than making a batch or Christmas cookies with the stereo blazing all of my favorite songs. There will always be something absolutely magical about this time of the year. For all of my friends out there who have been playing Christmas music since September this ones for you. Play those Chipmunks loud and proud! For this week’s post a few of my favorite Christmas songs in order to spark some holiday cooking inspiration.

Alvin and the Chipmunks-The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)

I don’t know if it’s the squeaky voices or the tradition, but nothing feels more like Christmas than Alvin and the Chipmunks.

ClaymationChristmas - California Raisins - Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

This may be a little old school, but nothing can replace the soul in those voices.

Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town

Christmas isn’t Christmas without the boss.

Frank Sinatra - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

This will forever be necessary to slow dancing while the cookies are baking in the oven. That voice could make the coldest snowman melt.

Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Perfect for decorating cookies on a December morning.

Dean Martin - Let it Snow!

Last, but certainly not least is this classic. Let the baking begin!

I loved our wedding day, but if you know me you know that I am a frugal woman. I was raised right by my mother and the thought of buying anything full retail sends a chill down my spine. This came in handy for my husband and I's wedding. We were able to keep everything down to about 4k including food and our venues. It was the best day of my life and I was so grateful to a patient husband who helped me plan every step of the way. A few of my friends asked for some tips so I thought I should share them here!

1 Don’t be afraid to stray (a little) from tradition. For example, when we were considering options for a head table for us to rent decorations for a 8 person head table was going to cost around $300. We could make our sweetheart table for about $250 and sell it for $200.

1. If you have someone who is not scared to arrange flowers let them make your bouquet. My husband was amazing and picked out my flowers for me a day before the wedding. He arranged them and we put them in a decorative wrap all for about $15.

1. Buy a second hand dress. If your superstitious this may not be an answer for you, but it can save you TONS. I bought my dress of Tradesy and was able to get my $850 for $200.

Try to utilise things you already own! Things like suitcases can be used for a card box. Get creative.

Go for sentimental more than fancy. My husbands and I's first date was over a game of Jenga buying two Jenga games was a whole lot cheaper than a fancy guest book.

Have a friend make a cake! This step is huge, my husband and I had a friend who was more than amazing and made our cake for the cost of ingredients.

Last, but not least don't be afraid of a buffet style wedding!! They are tasty and no one cares whether its catered or buffet as long as the food tastes good.

Six things from the first six months of marriage.

In a few short weeks, I have officially been married to my husband for six months. I can’t believe that it has already gone by so quickly. My husband is my best friend and my comforter I can not imagine my life without him in it. However, I have learned a few things over the past six months ( as many things as you can in that period of time) and I thought it would make a fun blog post to share it here.

Keep God first

There is no point that I hope I can stress more than this if your walk with God is struggling as a Christian your walk with your husband will struggle as well. Our first love is the only one who can show us how to love one another. Plain and simple.

The wedding isn’t everything!

I had an amazing husband who was willing to plan most of our wedding for me while I was in full time work and college, but after the wedding was over I was truly surprised at just how much emphasis gets placed on ONE day of the marriage. The wedding is such an exciting time and I wouldn’t trade it for the world but for all the women who are stressing about whether they should have buff or off-white colors. I can guarantee it just doesn’t matter as much as it seems it does.

3. Have Fun!

4. Talk about it

This one seems self-explanatory, but it is one of the most important. You will be surprised just how much of marriage can be solved by communicating with one another!

5. Kiss often and live in the moment!

6. Make time for each other

This one is easier said than done. (At least in our household). My husband works full-time and I am in full-time work as well as being a full-time student in college. It isn’t ideal, but it’s our stage of life at the moment. I cannot express to you just how much a candle light dinner can make all the difference in the world in regard to my irritability.

Fall Fruit Crisp

Nebraska has had an odd Fall this year the cool weather has stayed at bay, but for the past week or two we have gotten slight glimpses of our normal fall weather. I love fall partly because of the food that is associated with the season. Apple crisp is one of my absolute favorite desserts and I always make it after Tim and I’s yearly trip to the apple orchard. The great thing about this recipe is that you can truly switch out the apples for whatever fruit is your favorite. It is always served best when it is warm and has a scoop of vanilla ice cream gently placed on the top of the dish. Apple crisp does not refrigerate well so it is best made when you have a family gathering or around the holidays when everyone has a prolonged case of the munchies. This has been the recipe that my family has used since I was a kid. I hope that your family enjoys this recipe as much as my little family does.

Ingredients:

5 cups fruit

¼ cup rolled oats

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup butter

¼ cup nuts (only if desired)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375

2. Place all ingredients except for the fruit in a bowl and mix until a crumbly mixture is formed.

3. Place fruit in a 2-quart baking dish