Cozy Christmas Gift Guide

I'm sitting next to our Christmas tree, sipping on hot chocolate, listening to Michael Bublé Christmas music and working on this post. Hello, cozy. 

I have been working on a gift guide for y'all and while I was putting it together I realized there was a theme going on...cozy. I am a homebody. I love being at home, having people over, being in my comfy clothes with my house shoes on, snuggled up with a cozy blanket, I could go on for days. (I think I'm an old lady trapped in a 21 year old body.) So with that being said, these are some of my favorite cozy finds for easy gifts for anyone this Christmas season! These all may or may not be on my Christmas list now...also, they are all under $50! 

(Click the red numbers for links to all these products)

1. Who doesn't love a good pair of cozy socks?? I get socks every year in my stocking and I love it. Fuzzy socks are the best, but I'm a big fan of American Eagle socks this time of year. These are so soft, the perfect length, and only $8! Plus, they are buy one get one 50% off right now.

2. You can never have too many tumbler mugs, right? This one is Kate Spade and only $18. I love the gold stripes and the fact that for a little extra you can get this mug personalized! 

3. I don't know if this makes me sound super old-lady, but I love house shoes/slippers. I have been eyeing these from Altar'd State for a while now, they are only $25, so soft and I know I would wear them so much around the house! Perfect gift for the homebodies in your life :)

4. This fun little ice cream pint huggy would be such a fun stocking stuffer! This is only $10 and comes in different colors and sayings. Blake could use a few of these ;)

5. I am a coffee cup hoarder...it's a problem. We have way too many in our kitchen, but I just can't stop buying them. Especially cute ones like this one! I love the encouraging words on the cup and the gold. $16 dollars for this beauty! 

6. What's more cozy than a big scarf? I love scarves and like coffee cups, I have way too many. Nordstrom has been my favorite place for scarves this year. They have so many good ones! This one is only $24 and so cozy. Guys, get your girl this scarf! She will love it.

7. Blake and I found this candle a little bit ago at Altar'd State and it smells so good. The little canister it comes in is also super cute and decorative. This is the 3 wick version, but they also have smaller ones. This one is $22 :)

8. You can never have too many throws. This one is from Pottery Barn and comes in 2 different patterns. It's originally $39 but it's on sale for $29 right now with free shipping!! Head on over to their site to snag you one of these cozy blankets for a quick and easy gift!

9. Pajama pants. A classic gift that almost everyone gets at Christmas time. These are super cute and cozy. They come in two different colors and would be perfect to give as a Christmas Eve gift! Blake and I have a tradition where we give each other Christmas Eve pajamas and that's our 1 gift we open on Christmas Eve. That way we can wear them when we drive around and go look at Christmas lights :) These are a perfect gift for anyone. If you aren't wanting to splurge on these, Old Navy always has the best Christmas pajamas, for the whole family too! 

These aren't on my cozy Christmas gift guide but I found such a steal that I had to share it with y'all! 

These Kate Spade Stud Earrings are definitely on my Christmas list. I was looking at some of the new colors they released on Nordstrom's website and I came across these...

These look exactly like Kate Spade studs, but they are BP by Nordstrom. The Kate Spades go for about $38. These by BP are only $8!! What a cute gift to give if you aren't wanting to splurge on the Kate Spade's. 

That's all for my Cozy Christmas Gift Guide! I'll see y'all Friday for some Friday Favorites. Have the best day :)

Weekend Recap

Oh, dreaded Monday. I have mixed emotions about you. Blake goes back to work today and while I'm rejoicing in the fact that he has a full time job now, I'm so sad and lonely here without him! I wish it was possible for us to just be home together all the time, but unfortunately that probably won't happen until we are old and grey. But hey, that will be fun too!

We had a pretty productive weekend over here at The Kelchs! 

Friday we had our doctors appointment to check on sweet Judah. Everything looks great and we get a long ultrasound at our next appointment to see how he is growing! (yay!!) If it were up to me, I'd have a sonogram machine at our house...seeing him once every couple of months just isn't enough for this momma! After our appointment we found our way to Mighty Fine for a little lunch date!

It never fails, no one can spell my name right. I gave up on trying to correct people a long time ago! Haha

We may or may not have came home and took a glorious nap. I woke up before Blake did and I'll spare him the embarrassment of sharing the picture I caught of him sleeping! He was out like a light. The rest of our Friday consisted of a Target run & some brownies! Nothing too exciting around here :)

Saturday we woke up and I made homemade biscuits from scratch with gravy and bacon! 

I may or may not have set the smoke alarm off while cooking the bacon...embarrassing. 

Blake had said the night before, if I would clean up the kitchen after dinner then we could decorate for Christmas. I think it was just his way to get out of doing the dishes but I was more than glad to clean because he finally agreed to decorate!! So we got some Starbucks and started on decorating.

I'm just a little excited about all the decor! 

 I can't wait to do a Christmas decor tour and share it with y'all! We are just about done with everything, just have to add a few last minute touches :) 

He is such a perfectionist when it comes to the tree. I'm actually pretty terrible at trimming the tree, so I'm glad he's so good at it :) 

Side note: last year was our first Christmas together being married! Blake's grandparents gave us a hand-me-down tree because they have so many. We were so excited to put it up! We had my parents come over to help and everything. We pulled it out of the box and put it together and this is what it looked like...we died laughing! 

Definitely something we will always remember and laugh about every year!

We spent the rest of our Saturday watching some football and finishing decorating. Talk about a holly jolly day :)

Sunday we helped out in Kids Church and it was so much fun! I wish I would've taken a video of Blake keeping them entertained while they were waiting for their parents to pick them up. It was pretty funny. At one point he made them do a push up contest and a dance off. It was awesome! 

Blake had an event up at the church right after service so I headed to Target (again) to run some errands. 

Of course I ended up not getting what I came for and left with Holiday flavored M&M's and peppermint marshmallows...don't judge! 

Then I came home and worked on this beauty...

Yes, we have a 6ft, hot pink, Christmas tree. I was gifted this tree in High School and of course I had to bring it with me when I got married! We have added a few ornaments that make it more of a kitchen themed tree. We usually have a chefs hat that goes on top but it got lost somewhere in the move :( I love this tree and bless my sweet husbands heart for letting me put it up every year! 

When Blake got home, we took another nap. All of these naps are so not like me (I hate taking naps). But lately, no matter how hard I try to not take one, sleep always wins. It has been making me feel a little better and not as tired, so that's a plus! This third trimester tiredness is so real.

After dinner, we finished hanging up one of my favorite decorations and watched Hallmark Christmas movies. Our TV pretty much stays on Hallmark during the Holidays. The movies are so cheesy, but I just can't stop! Please tell me I'm not the only one...

My momma always had this same decor out up in our house when I was growing up. Last year, she came over and helped me make one of my own! I love everything about it. Who doesn't love some garland and Christmas lights?? 

We may have eaten some ice cream...#givemeallthesprinkles

Then our night ended with a little bit of this...

That was our super exciting weekend! I'm excited about starting these posts, I know I will especially cherish them when Judah gets here. 

Make this Monday great! 

Friday Favorites

Woohoo! It's Friday! As usual, I'm linking up with Narci, Andrea, and Erika for Friday Favorites! 

So every Monday, a Mexican restaurant here in Austin called Texican Cafe has .99 cent tacos! A couple of friends invited Blake and I to go last Monday and we were surprisingly impressed! Back in Denton, we would do Taco Tuesday at Rosa's every Tuesday. The closest Rosa's to us is probably 25 minutes away so we are so excited for our new favorite, Taco Mondays! We enjoy the yummy food and the good company too :) 

Judah's nursery is slowly becoming my favorite room in our home. I am loving how it's coming together! I had mentioned to Blake's aunt that all we really needed now was shelving and I wasn't sure what to use. She mentioned using spice racks from Ikea and just painting them to match his nursery. So we went to Ikea on Monday and snagged us up some spice racks, painted them, and hung them in his room! I love how they turned out! 

Ikea hacks, for the win :)

Books are my favorite! I love reading and have always loved reading. I'm a huge encourager for reading to kiddos and teaching them the importance of it! I was so excited when I found out that at my shower this past weekend, they asked the guests to bring a book instead of a card! Judah only had 1 book before this shower (besides some of my books from when I was younger) that he could pick up and hold and learn to love too. My sweet friend, Caroline, brought some books that were hers when she was little to give to Judah! How sweet is that, y'all?? I cried. 

They are old and worn and my favorite! I got a kick out of reading through them and seeing scribbles of things she had written when she was little. Especially this one where she wrote all of her sisters names and her mom and dad, then crossed one of her sisters names off! How funny?? This is definitely one of my favorite gifts that Judah has gotten so far. I love how personal and thoughtful it was :)

If you know me at all, you know that I'm a planner! I would love to have every second of every day planned out perfectly, but life happens and most of the time, plans change :) I recently found a blog planner that is my favorite! Ruth over at Living Well Spending Less created this lovely planner and she thought of everything you can imagine! I am loving it so far! I haven't had much time to really get it all put together yet but it's coming along. 

The weather is finally cooling down & we are loving it! Most days we turn the air off, open all the windows and enjoy the cool fall air :) I'm supposed to be doing a lot of walking to prepare my body for labor, so we do lots of walking around Target and the mall! Since the weather is getting nicer, I have a feeling we will do more walking around outside. We did yesterday and we enjoyed it so much. Plus, walking and talking with Blake is my favorite :)

I have to share this yummy Apple Crumble Crisp recipe with y'all! Make it this weekend or for Thanksgiving. I promise you won't regret it :) 

Here's what you'll need for the crumb topping:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup plain oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

sprinkle of salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into small chunks(super important!)

For the filling:

4 large Granny Smith apples (peeled and sliced pretty thin)

3 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

sprinkle of salt

a little extra cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Lets get to cooking! 

First, preheat oven to 375.

In a medium size bowl combine the crumb topping ingredients with a fork until it starts forming small crumbs. It should look something like this :)

Pop it in the fridge while you start mixing the filling.

For the Filling: In a small bowl, combine melted butter and flour until blended then add lemon juice, milk and vanilla, stir well. Add in brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. 

Pour the mixture over the apples and toss until the apples are well coated. It should look about like this. 

Pour the apple mixture into a baking dish(make sure it's all even) and sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples. (Try to resist stealing a bite right then!)

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

Tastes great with a side of Vanilla Bluebell :) 

This recipe is so yummy and will leave your house smelling like fall. Y'all give it a try and let me know how it turns out! 

Happy Friday, friends! Have the best weekend :)