Sooooo, remember when I last told you guys about our Christmas Tree issues?
Well, after searching every single possible bulb, fuse, and plug…
The ornaments came down.
The tree was disassembled.
Put back into its box and brought back to exchange.
Talk about a pain in the butt, right? I know that it was only one strand and wasn’t *too* noticeable, but once Jay and I saw that the strand was out, it was literally all we could see every time we looked at the tree.
So now, we have another new tree. With 100% working lights!
Round 2 of tree decorating will begin later today. Oooof.
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Yesterday afternoon, Jay and I also made it a point to go out and support Small Business Saturday. Did anyone else show their support?
Basically, Small Business Saturday is the day to celebrate the Shop Small movement to get consumers to local merchants across the U.S.
Jay and I both got word that as American Express cardholders, we would receive a $25.00 credit on our statement if we made a purchase of at least $25.00 at a participating small local business. All we had to do was register our cards ahead of time and then go out and make the purchase so really, what was there to lose, right?
So you want to know where we shopped local and what we bought?
Okay, okay. We are going to sound totally boozy right now, so no judging allowed. We headed on over to one of our favorite local wine & liquor stores, All Star Wine, and both spent our $25.00 credits on some booze.
We got two flavors of Pinnacle Vodka, one whipped and one cake. We have yet to come across one that we don’t love (chocolate whipped, cherry whipped, and orange are all amazing) and I really, really want to try the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor.
We also bought a couple bottles of wine and a bottle of Cruzan Coconut rum.
I love me some coconut rum. I also love basically getting paid to buy stuff. Pretty awesome if you ask me! Thanks, American Express!
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I don’t know what was up with me, but I slept wayyyyy too long last night. I ended up passing out on the couch around 11:00pm, and Jay finally came in around 8:45am this morning to wake me up. Almost 10 hours of sleep in one night, for me, is a recipe for grogginess alllll day long today. Good thing it’s going to be a relaxing day.
This morning, I awoke to a warm pot of coffee awaiting me, and a hubby who was volunteering to cook pancakes for breakfast. Ummm, does it GET much better than this?
Check out these pancakes, my friends. That right there is some leftover Pumpkin Pie spread right over the top of my ‘cakes, along with some maple syrup.
I only have three words for you: Do This Now.
While we were getting breakfast ready, Cody was lurking around, being vocal as ever, and we thought maybe it was his way of saying that he wanted in on the pancake action…
So we made him a Cody-sized pancake.
Turns out he wasn’t making all his noise about pancakes after all.
*****
Today, I’ll be working on getting the tree re-decorated, packaging up the cookies for my bloggers in the Cookie Swap (the cookies turned out awesome!), lots of studying, and making a batch of leftover Turkey & Veggie Soup. Yum!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Questions for the Morning:
Do you feel groggy after you sleep for too long in one night?
If you’re a liquor drinker, what are your favorites?
Khushboo says
Lots to be jealous about in this post: those vodka flavors, 10 hours of sleep and pumpkin pie pancakes! Looks like your day is off to a great start my friend :)
Trainer Kjirsten @ Balanced Healthy Life says
If I get more than 9 hours of sleep I’m usually groggy all day. Sometimes the body just craves more sleep though, especially since it is getting lighter out later now.
Sam says
Courtney, you HAVE to try mixing the whipped vodka with orange soda. It tastes exactly like a dreamsicle… SO SO good!!!
Courtney says
Ohhhh, already been there! Haha, amazing right?!?
Try mixing it with cranberry sierra mist – delicious!
Debbie (Accidently Delish) says
I actually do not like to sleep a lot for that reason. I feel like I feel more tired the more I sleep. Weird right?
I don’t think a lot but I really enjoy 3 olives vodka. The grape is by far the best I have had and if you mix it with Sprite it is delish!!
Shannon says
Awwwwwwwwwww. That really stinks about your tree. But it’s good that you have a new one! :)
We make pancakes for Armani & Jezebel all the time! Well, little ones. I don’t think they are supposed to have any though. Oops. My sister tries to shape them like dogs and most of the time, it works. They love pancakes. I know, we spoil them too much.
I slept for a while yesterday- went to bed around midnight, and woke up around 11:15 am. Usually, I don’t sleep for 11 hours but I felt caught up on sleep since I don’t sleep many hours (7-8 hours) during the school week. I wanted to go back to sleep but I had things to do yesterday.
Kathryn says
I like vodka, rum, whiskey, and tequila. I’m sure there’s a few in there I forgot to mention. Don’t worry, when I walk through the liquor section of the store, I always sound like a booze-hound. “Oh, I want that! And that! Ooh, that looks yummy!” Besides, it’s always good to have a stocked liquor cabinet.
Courtney says
Whiskey & tequila? Haha, oh man, I can’t handle those! ;)
Michelle says
I love the kitty-sized pancake :-) Whenever I make pancakes, I make a mini one for my dog, Meeko. And I usually give her some “Beggin’ treats” (that look like bacon) to go along with it. She’s not spoiled at all…
Meg @ My Chocolate Covered Life says
I can’t believe you had the patience to take down that gorgeous tree and put it all up again! But I understand what it’s like to only see the mistake in a project and have that drive you CRAZY until you fix it. You’ll be really happy once it’s done.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
10 hours of sleep is amazing! I don’t feel groggy at all when I get that much sleep, I love it! The only downside is feeling like I wasted too much of the day when I get up late. Have fun with round #2!
Allison says
Cody is so cute!
I just tried the whipped vodka the other night at a bar – with diet coke, so it was a coke float! Very delicious :) Good choices!
Lindsay says
Cody probably wanted your syrup! My cat goes bonkers whenever we have pancakes because she is obsessed with syrup…maybe not as much as me, but almost :-)
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles says
That sounds like a great way to spend the extra cash! I’m not judging, I think it was a good idea- especially with the flavors that you two chose. YUMMMM!
I’m glad that you now have a working Christmas tree- lights and all!!!
Tina @ Best Body Fitness says
I so badly want to try some of those dessert flavored vodkas. We should have found some of that up in Philly!
Courtney says
Awww man! We totally should have done that! ;)
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
I’m sorry to hear about the tree! At least you were able to get a practice run in before the final decorated tree, right? :) your pancake breakfast idea sounds amazing!
Brandi says
So glad the tree thing is finally working out…..even after such a hassle…:) Once it’s done it will be so worth it.
Sleep is something that I would love to get more of, but never do. I’m with you….if I sleep too long I feel like I have slept the day away and will feel pretty worthless for the rest of the day. Even if I go to bed pretty late I will still have to get up around 6 or 6:30. Sadly, sometimes it’s just to catch up on my DVR shows! :) Or, to just enjoy the quiet and a nice cup of coffee.
Can’t wait to see the tree when you are done!
Colleen @ Jimmy Choos on the Treadmill says
Yes, I definitely get groggy if I sleep for too long! I’ve been getting plenty of sleep these past couple of days yet I still feel exhausted come 9pm!
Carlene @Carlene's Figments says
Adding to my ‘to do’ list. Find dessert vodka! Vodka and gin are my liquors of choice with tonic/soda. My big thing recently is home flavor infusing vodka like I did here with cranberries and lemon: http://carlenesfigments.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/how-to-make-holiday-flavored-vodka/
Courtney says
That sounds amazing!!
Lena @ Fit on the Rocks says
No judging over here! That whipped vodka is REALLY good ;) Your post reminded me to get started on baking up my batch of cookies for the swap.
Brittany @ GOtheXtraMile says
I had pancakes this morning too! Mine were chocolate chip. Perfect sunday morning breakfast :) What a pain with the tree! It’s worth it once everything is set up though!
Tracy @ Tracy's Treats says
That cat-sized pancake is too cute!
Emily @ Perfection Isn't Happy says
10 hours of sleep? Nice! I know what you mean though, I’m usually groggy if I sleep longer than 8 1/2 or 9 hours.
Erica @ For the Sake of Cake says
I definitely feel groggy if I sleep for too long! I’ve been sleeping in later than usual the last few days & it’s been making me feel really lazy!
Joel says
@Debbie pinnacle vodka and 3 olives vodka are made by the same people. If you liked the grape 3olives you should definitely try the pinnacle version!
Rebecca says
Yumm!! I need to try those!
Katie @ Plates and Paste says
I LOVE Pinnacle whipped vodka! I thought it sounded gross at first, but then my curiosity grew until I finally bought a bottle. Mixing it in orange juice and mixing it in root beer are two of my fav drinks.
JN says
I had to laugh at this post – I bought some of the Pinnacle cookie dough vodka on Friday and mixed it with chocolate milk. YUM! I’ll have to try the Whipped with orange soda – I love creamscicles!
Courtney says
OMG really? I was wondering what the cookie dough would be good with. Oh good lord that must have been out of this world?!?
JN says
It was delish! To me, it tasted like a chocolate chocolate chip cookie. Did you know that Pinnacle has a bunch of recipes for their vodkas on their website? http://www.pinnaclevodka.com/recipes
All except for the Cookie Dough… I guess that means I’ll have to do some more experimenting. :)
Laura @ Unchartered 20s says
I really want to try the whipped cream vodka. I’ve heard great things about it!
Cruzan rum story – my husband and I went to St. Thomas on our honeymoon. They make Cruzan rum down there and promote the hell out of it – even give you free shots at the airport when you land! It was tasty stuff, so I wound up buying some bottles, thinking, this is my only chance to buy these!
… a week later, I’m at my local bar and point out to Pete the Cruzan rum bottle behind the bar. Oops.. apparently its available everywhere ;) LOL