Five Loves on Friday

Happy 1st Friday of December, friends! Hope this festive month is off to a terrific start for you all.  Here are 5 loves from mine...

1.  My Favorite Christmas Decoration

Do you have a certain decoration that fills your heart with the excitement of this beautiful season?  This is mine.  It's not fancy.  I wasn't an expensive item, but it's rich with memories of my youth.  When I was very small I always admired this piece in my Great Grandma's home.  I loved watching the angels "dance" as it played "Silent Night".  One Christmastime I told my Great Grandma how much I loved it.  {I may have even asked her if I could have it.}  She kindly gave it to me.  My mom said something like (I was under 5 so I don't totally remember every detail of this conversation. ;)), "Brenda, you don't need to have that."  It may have seemed rude to take one of her decorations at the time.  ...but guess what?  It is one of only 2 items of hers I have to this day.  She died when I was around 5 years old.  I have such fond memories of the Christmases we celebrated in her home.  I've celebrated those memories each and every year throughout my childhood, teens, and even now as an adult, decorating with this piece each year.  It's one of my most cherished possessions. 

2.  Live Sound of Music Event

(image source)

The girls and I anticipated this musical since seeing a performance during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It was the special kind of anticipation, not normally felt in these days blu-rays and DVRs.  We no longer have a DVR (or cable for that matter), so this truly was a one-time event for us! We could hardly wait!  We weren't disappointed. :) Little One actually said it was one of the BEST shows she'd ever seen!  I think it was more than just the show that we enjoyed.  We loved the experience itself. It was so fun snuggling up under a pile of blankets and not wanting to miss a thing as we knew we'd not have the chance to see it again.  The laughs and stories shared between commercial breaks would be as memorable as the songs.  I reminisced about my time in Europe and visiting some of the places where they shot the original film in Austria.  I told stories from when their daddy and I were dating while 19 going on 20 (prompted by "I am 16, going on 17", of course ;)).  It was an evening that I'm sure will be long remembered.

3.  {Chocolate} Christmas Countdown Calendars!

My Aunt Ann gave all of the kiddos these at our Thanksgiving get-together.  The girls could hardly wait for December 1st to arrive so they could begin this "sweet" countdown!  Ahh, the simple joys of the season! :)



4.  Christmas time is officially here! 

First Christmas Card of 2013

Carefully chosen cards, handwritten messages of Christmas cheer, these are a few reasons why this is my favorite time of year!

5.   "The hot and the cold are both so intense, put 'em together it just makes sense!"
We loved Frozen, in fact, it's pretty much all my girls have been talking about lately!  We've listened to this song repeatedly, and it still makes me laugh. :)

*PS:  I wouldn't watch it if you haven't seen the movie yet.  It doesn't give anything away, but you may wanna enjoy it for the first time with the movie. ;)

Thanks for visiting today, friends!  Have a fabulous weekend ahead!

You may also be interested in these posts from earlier this week:

His & Hers Gift Ideas! {Couples Gift Giving Goodness Guide}

Trip Report Tuesday! DISNEY WORLD {Day 5 of 17}

"COOL" Round Up of Activities, Printables, & Recipes Inspired by Disney's Frozen!

Make sure you don't miss a bit of the Christmasy fun at 
Chatting Over Chocolate! 

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Linking up with:

Lauren Elizabeth | H54F

The Diary of a Real Housewife | Friday Favorites

Hello! Happiness, The Good Life, A. Liz Adventures, & Carolina Charm| Five on Friday

& a few other fab link parties!