Our Christmas

Christmas was so special this year with P.  She understands the concept of Santa Claus (minus the whole sit on your lap and ask for presents part), that homes look prettier with Christmas lights and that being surrounded by all your family is pretty special. We enjoyed the nice long four day weekend together as we prepped for Santa's arrival. Here is a snapshot of our last couple of days!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families! <3














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From us to you

Full Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Minted. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you for supporting brands that support Happily Ever Parker.

The week of Christmas is finally upon us! Frenzied last minute shopping (and shipping!) is taking place, calories are being consumed at record pace and we are counting down the sleeps until Jolly old St. Nicholas arrives.

Since our cards should have arrived in everyone's mailboxes by now I am excited to share them here. As you may remember I attempted to do our own photos this year, which was kind of a disaster. So this was the best we managed. Not too shabby for only having ten or so images to choose from!





I decided on the Christmas Cutout Holiday Photo Cards from Minted and love the way they turned out. Since I usually stick to one big photo on the front I chose a "snapshot" from our year on the back. We did so many things in 2016 it was worth documenting! As always the quality of Minted is always top notch and you can never go wrong with the address assistant! One less thing for me to do!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful week of festivities leading up to the big day!




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Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide



I'll be the first to admit that stockings in our house have been rather lacking in years past. I partially blame not having a fireplace to properly display them. However I fondly remember stockings as a kid and this year they will not be neglected! I have had fun picking out little things here and there for P's and David's stocking. 

I wouldn't mind if my stocking is only filled with bath bombs because I love them so much. We are big fans of the bubble bars for P. Usually I cut them up into quarters for multiple uses. I love they way they make her skin smell post bath.

I am one of those people who's iPhone fell under the recall so I had to invest in a portable charger to carry around. I really like this one from Target and like that it plugs directly into the phone without a cord. I can get two full battery charges out of it and always carry it with me. After two good charges I charge it overnight.

Long ago my bestie, Kerri, introduced me to Fraiser Fir by Thymes and as far as the holidays go - there is really no better scent. It's a good middle of the range price candle too but the scent definitely fills the air. 

Lastly of course I had to throw some camera gear up on the list. I recently invested in a new remote (less than $20!) it's a great way for us "behind the lens" people to get in front. I hope to use it a lot during the holidays and get in the frame a bit more! 

Do you have anything you traditionally stuff your stockings with? I know P would be absolutely DAZZLED if I got her one of those dang surprise eggs she always watches videos of! (Apparently they are banned in the US?) I also love the idea that children can open their stockings while waiting for their parents to wake up. Gives them something to do and gives me a little more shut eye!
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David turns 34 and P turns terrible

This past weekend was a doozy. On Friday, last minute, I booked a room in Carmel to surprise David for his 34th birthday. Just a quick little 24 hour trip. We knew it would rain on Saturday and were just looking forward to having a fire and hanging out. Nothing fancy, super low-key. However little miss P had a different agenda which included no nap, refusing to eat, and just wholly and absolutely overstimulated. We both agreed that this weekend was the worst behavior we have ever seen out of her.

E.V.E.R.

With that being said (and now that I am in the comfort of my home!) we still managed to make the best out of it. We blazed a fire, learned a new dice game called farkle (read: nerds) and laughed until our sides ached. I purchased some new ornaments and even though I never got to step foot on the beach, I got to enjoy seeing Finn run around with the upmost glee on his face.

Our takeaway from the trip? Next time little miss stays home.










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That time I thought I could take our own photos

The fact that I am even putting together a weekend post on a Sunday night makes me want to pat myself on the back. I mean I can't even remember the last time this happened. This was the highly anticipated weekend of our holiday card photo. After we got rained out of it last weekend I was hoping for some magic.

I should have known better because I had the absolute recipe for disaster. A hungry, cold (although refused to wear a coat), no-nap toddler. Matched with a husband who was almost equivalent. Which you can imagine where that all left me. Pair that with a broken tripod, not knowing how to cue the remote up to the timer (vs. shutter) and also trying to get a dog to look at the camera. Also if someone can tell me how the heck to get my remote set up to start the 10 second timer I'll seriously love you!

I was so discombobulated - I didn't even have time to take pictures of just P. In fact our whole charade probably produced about 10 photos in totality. And not 10 usable images mind you. So if you happen to be a recipient of our cards...well now you know the backstory. Here are some awful outtakes.

Except for Finn - because he is just perfection <3





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Thanksgiving 2016

Because having a post to go with these photos would just be overachieving. Here's a snapshot of our Thanksgiving none of which includes food and all contains pictures of P in cute clothing. Priorities.
dress





dress // tights










shirt - no longer available




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