Weekend Review & Book Swap Reveal

This weekend was QUITE eventful. I mentioned last week that I was going to have a busy weekend, and boy did I! Don't worry - I won't skip a single detail. ;) But before we get into that...
I joined Heather and Katie's book swap. I have participated in every single one they've hosted because who doesn't love a new book, am I right?!

I was partnered with sweet Heather, and I was very pleased. Not only did I already know her, but I know that she's a fellow book worm so it would be fun to swap with her. We gave each other a list of 10 books or so that we would like to have and we surprised each other by which one we sent.
She sent me The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond.

I was VERY happy with the book she chose. This has been on my to-read list forever! I'm going to tackle it next week when we are traveling for Christmas. Lots of time on airplanes and in airports is the perfect time for reading!
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FRIDAY
After work, I needed to finish up some Christmas shopping. I forced my sister to go with me. I also FINALLY found the perfect pair of boots. I've been looking for some forever. I'm very picky when it comes to boots. I don't want a heel and they have to be 'wide' to fit my calf. Well, I finally found THE PAIR at Payless. Annnd, I can't find them online so you don't get a picture until I take one of my own pair.
Anyway, I was super excited about the deals we got at Bath & Body Works. Nate and I are slightly obsessed with their candles and hand soaps. So, we stocked up. With coupons and sales, we ended up getting 2 candles, 4 hand soaps, 1 bottle of lotion and 1 bottle of body wash for the price that 2 candles alone would normally be.

Binky approves of the candles we chose. ;)
SATURDAY
I woke up with the worst headache, but I was determined to suck it up because we had a lot to do. I got up, had some coffee, made my meal plan and grocery list for the week. Since we'll be out of town next week, I wanted to get just enough food to last us, that way we won't have any sitting in the fridge while we're gone. I headed out to the grocery store, which was PACKED. I'm not sure why that surprised me considering it's less than 2 weeks 'til Christmas, but I was annoyed. Then, I swung by the Chick-fil-a drive thru for a quick late lunch and it seemed as if everyone else in the area had the same idea. The line almost wrapped around the building.
Once I got home and we ate, it was time to get ready for a White Elephant Christmas party we were going to with some friends.


It was so much fun. We had gingerbread martinis (pictured above) - I mean, how festive is that?? We had a tamale dinner complete with all the Mexican side dishes, we exchanged gifts and the kiddos even put on a little performance for us with their own rendition of Jingle Bells. It was adorable.
Afterward, we were headed to see another friend of ours who was in town. We met her at her hotel and had a couple of drinks while catching up. We ended up leaving around midnight because I needed to be up early the next morning!
SUNDAY
I was up and at 'em bright and early to pick up my sister and meet up with my BFF to do our monthly Miles of Smiles. If you haven't already, I'd REALLY appreciate it if you'd like our Facebook page. We want to spread the word!

..not sure why this pic shows up so blurry.. it doesn't look that way on my computer..
Our turnout was incredible. We even had to take 2 separate cars this time because we had SO much to give. I joked that next month we're going to have to rent a van. We passed out sandwiches, coffee, soup, shirts, jackets, blankets, undergarments, scarves, and hygiene products that were wrapped up like Christmas gifts. It is always overwhelming preparing for the event and passing out all of the goodies, but seeing the smiles on their faces and the feeling we get afterwards is SO humbling.


Here we are so exhausted after our event, but so happy it was such a great turnout!
Came home, clipped some coupons, did some laundry, cleaned the apartment, made some dinner, gave Binky his weekly bath and crashed out to start my week all over again.
How was YOUR weekend?