10 Awesome Things about 2010

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As the year comes to a close, there's been a lot of reflection going on..
I love this idea, that's been going around the blog world, of listing things that were great about this year, so I joined in. I'm not going to be particularly chronological about this, but hopefully you'll enjoy it all the same! 

 In 2010...



1. I traveled to Europe in the spring, and fell in love with the people, places and all around feel of the Scandinavian region.

2. I worked with kids all summer, and made so many friends from all over the world. It was an unbelievable feeling to have kids coming up to me saying how I'd inspired them and they looked up to me.

3. My birthday was spent (on the actual day) with some great friends I get to see about once a year, on a yacht, writing down our dreams on paper and tying them to red balloons and releasing them out into the sky; letting them take flight in a sense, and finishing the day with smiles, cake, hugs and a whole lot of laughter..perfect.
(Photo courtesy of Dramatic Reflections Photography)

4. I started training in classical ballet again after taking a year off because of schooling, and was given the opportunity to play my dream role of the beautiful Snow Queen in the Nutcracker. What a blessing!


5. I switched to a new university, and we got an adorable new addition to the family! :)
(Meeting Erwin McManus, one of the most fantastic creative minds, author, speaker..etc!)

6. I met some of the most inspiring and influential people in the business, political, writing and church worlds. (Including former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura) This was one of the most incredible experiences.

7. I started blogging! :) Thanks to all of my lovely friends who read and leave me such kind things in the comments. You all are truly friends of mine, and I am happy to know you! xoxo
(With Julie Kent, Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre)

8. I met some of the top ballet dancers in the world, and even took a master ballet class from some of them!



9. Hosting parties is such fun, and throughout the year, my friends and I have enjoyed many a tea party and lovely Holiday gatherings.

10. Even when I wasn't actively training in ballet, towards the first part of the year, God opened up the door for me to establish a dance group at the university I attended then. With it, we were able to have some fabulous performing opportunities, and made some great friendships; it still is in existence there today!



As you're looking back and reflecting on all that has passed in this last year, I hope you remember not only the tough times that made you stronger, but also the good memories; those times that you laughed so hard, or when someone did something to make your day. Each event, both big and small, because every one helped to shape you into the person that you are, and that person is someone really great. I'm throwing a smile over my shoulder to the sweet memories of the past, but looking forward with great expectations; 2011 is going to be something grand, I just know it!

Blessings and Best Wishes for the New Year,

Candice
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So Here's What I Think Christmas Looks Like

Hello lovely friends,
I hope you all had the most wonderful of Christmas celebrations! Here's a little bit of what mine was like..
I had a small Christmas get-together with some lovely people that I'd not seen in awhile! 
Oh how I missed them! We had delicious food, good conversation and sparkly wrapped gifts to exchange with one another.
(excuse the bad quality of the photo)
It was pretty warm on Christmas Eve, so I wore this with a light jacket to church for a beautiful candlelight service
Our family visited a charming hotel on a pretty island near by. It was decorated for the holidays in beautiful, festive colors. Notice the glowing packages under the tree..so cool!
There was the cutest old library on the island that had walls crammed with good reads. 
It just begged for a picture! 
All part of the library..
gosh, with libraries like this, who needs resorts?
Guess who got a vintage bike for Christmas?? 
I took it out for a spin later that day :)
Before..
After..
Baby's First Christmas
We just woke him up, hence the sleepy face. 
Christmas morning..we later went for a round two with the grandparents.
There were lots of fun things to open, 
but I enjoyed spending time with family and friends the most!

Did you all have fun celebrations too? I certainly hope so :)
What was your favorite gift or tradition that you got to do with your loved ones?
The new year fast approaches us, and with it I'll be making lists of goals and such that I'll share with you on a future post! 

Blessings,

Candice


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My Christmas Wish


Merry Christmas from me to you! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas celebration filled with fun, family, good food, friends, and most importantly, the love that God sent down to earth in the form of his Son, born as a baby to change the world. 
Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year!

Much love to all,
Candice


10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
Luke 2:10-15
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My Best Friend is a Gingerbread Man

Well after reading that title, I'm sure you're wondering...no, I've not eaten one too many candy canes. (Do people actually eat those?) I have some of the best friends that love to make my holiday celebrations so much fun, and this includes showing up at my door, with cookies and other yummy treats in hand, dressed like a gingerbread man. I love when my friend does this; it's become tradition, and I look forward to her arrival at my front door each year :)

I finally got to see the Narnia movie in 3D with my family, and I loved it! Just to clarify, it won't make you dizzy unless you are extremely sensitive to motion, and I mean really extremely crazy sensitive. I won't go into detail about how much I love the movie, since I sort of declared my love for it on a previous post :) If you have the choice between seeing it in 3D or regular, I'd go for the 3D because I felt like a lot of the animated characters, like Aslan and Reepicheep were so much more realistic and such with the 3D view. I could say more, but I think you should just experience it for yourself!! 

Back to the subject of amazing friends, I received the cutest pair of gloves from my wonderful friend MJ who has a charming blog called A Day in the Life. If you're not following her, you need to fix that immediately. I have worn these adorable gloves so much in the last couple of days, and received so many compliments; they are the warmest, coziest and most comfortable things to put on your hands.  You can find a pair for yourself in her Etsy Store: MJ's Closet. It's such fun to have lovely friends like her in the blog world; thank you again, dear! 

This week holds a Christmas party with friends, a visit to see the ballet, baking, wrapping, and a wonderful celebration of Christmas itself! (Can you believe it's here already?!) I hope in the busy time, that you get a moment to relax and enjoy, to take in the lovely moments that surround you. I'm wishing you the merriest of Christmases, wonderful time spent with family and friends, and whole lot of love! 

Luke 2:4-7
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to himand was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.


Blessings,

Candice





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More Than Chocolate Chip Cookies

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First of all, I'd like to say hello to all of my new friends..thanks for following Teatime Thoughts. I hope you feel as though you can relax and enjoy around here; I love meeting all of you! :)

Well, I can honestly say that I am so so happy to be enjoying my break so far. This was such a tough semester for me, and I'm glad its over. (anyone else with me?) I got to see my friend J and we spent some time in the kitchen baking holiday goodies..yum! I haven't seen her since the summer, so it was wonderful to get together and catch up on life! Have you been baking anything delicious lately? 

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season!! Did you get all of your shopping and preparations finished? There's so many gifts for me to wrap! I just love the Christmas holiday though..there's so much beauty everywhere you look. From the cheerful carols and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafting from the kitchen, to the sparkling ornaments and twinkling lights displayed on the trees. I think the most beautiful thing of all is the story that is the essence of this glorious holiday. A king was born on earth; the one who formed the clouds in the sky and flowers in the fields, the one who placed dreams in your heart decided to take the form of one of us, and in the most humble of settings, introduce himself to the world. It's easy to forget the real reason for the Christmas cheer amongst the hustle and bustle, but when I stop to think for just a moment about that first Christmas, it makes me smile and turn gracious thoughts heavenward for all He has done for me. 

Have a wonderful weekend (and celebrate the end of your exams/semester!!)

Blessings and Christmas Cheer,

Candice

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Now Featuring...

Guess what?? I have a super sweet friend named *D* over at Enjoy Yourself who is featuring me today!! Go take a peek at her cute blog to read my Happy List! Perhaps some of those make you happy too?? Let me know :)

Thanks again, D! 

Blessings and Happy Lists,

Candice
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Narnia and Wrapped Gifts

Hello, hello! I've been slacking on the blog posting lately..so sorry!! I've had finals this week, and still have one more to go on Monday..yay accounting. Anyways, I'll be super excited to see the finish of school for this semester! I didn't have any class today, so my mom and I decided that we were going to go see the new Narnia movie this morning..oh my! It was awesome!!

I loved the first two movies, and this one didn't fail to continue my love for the series! There were a whole bunch of kids in the theater, but we still found good seats in the middle and were enraptured by the beautiful cinematography and story. We had wanted to see it in 3D, but the theater we went to didn't have it, so we'll have to go again, not that I mind! :) I didn't think that Prince Caspian could get any more attractive...but he did.
Hello, Ben Barnes.. ;)

 Surprisingly Edmund grows on you a lot too..uh yeah.. anyways, I was happy that I had reread the book beforehand, so I wasn't completely lost when it came to the plot. I think you'll really enjoy it if you go! After we came out of the theater, we saw people shopping for Christmas things, and I must admit, it was very weird to transition back to real life after "being in Narnia" for 2 hours..(Is this what the Pevensie children experience every time they come back??)

On another note, I've been wrapping gifts for people and visiting the post office trying to get everything out before it gets too crazy, and amidst all of this, I discovered that I really don't enjoy wrapping gifts..I love to give gifts, but the wrapping is the most boring part to me! My mom is really good at wrapping gifts, and finding the perfect bows and ribbons to adorn the packages, and although I've seen some beautifully decorated wrapping essentials in Etsy stores, I would rather just put something in a bag with tissue paper and give it. I'm more about the giving of the item than the perfect presentation. Am I the only one who feels like this?

I hope you are all enjoying the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season; I'm loving the recipes that are popping up all over the blogs! You all make me want to spend an entire day in the kitchen making some of the delicious things you post, yum! I'll have to make some when my finals are completely over..which reminds me, I should probably go finish some work that's due.. yay for school.

I hope you all have the most wonderful weekend! Go see the Narnia movie..in 3D and tell me how much you loved it! :)

Blessings and Fun,

Candice
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And the Winner Is...

Thank you all so much for participating in the giveaway!! I loved reading each and every one of your responses as to your favorite thing about the holidays! I love all of it too; what a fun and beautiful time of the year it is! I hope that all of you will get some time to sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of it all! 
Thanks to Random.org the winner of the giveaway is...

# 11 



Congratulations, MJ!! 
A package will be on it's way to you very soon! 


I hope everyone is having a good Monday so far! :)
 It's exam week for me, so I will be happy to see the weekend come quickly. 
Oh and the Nutcracker went very well this weekend! I'll have pictures to share with you sometime soon! 
Here's a preview. We had a great photographer; she captures moments beautifully!

(All credit to Dramatic Reflections Photography)
By the way, do you like the blog's new look? I thought it would be fun to change things up for the holidays. 
Much love to all,

Candice







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December Wishes and a Giveaway!

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(weheartit)

Happy December to all of you! Can you believe that it's almost the end of the year already? Time seems to have quickly gone by, and taken with it lots of great memories. Here's what I'm looking forward to this season:
(weheartit)
Time to relax
(weheartit)
Time to read
Time to spend with family and friends
(weheartit)
Time to write


I absolutely love getting things in the mail, and since it is the beginning of the holiday season, and most people are in the process of gift giving and searching for the perfect presents, I thought I'd do a fun "Favorite Things" giveaway. I've compiled a couple of things that I absolutely love, and am going to give them away to one lucky reader!


What's included:

Confessions of A Shopaholic Paperback:
I absolutely love to curl up with a good book, mug of tea and spend hours in the author's world. Reading is such bliss, and I'm excited to have some free time after exams are over to indulge in some good books! Thank you for all of your suggestions on my last post; I made a list, and will be looking to add them to my collection! I've read this, and thought it was a cute story! Have you seen the film?

Vintage Style long Necklace:
Jewelry is such fun to add to any outfit, and I love the vintage feel of this sweet heart necklace!

Journal:
I don't know about you, but I can never get enough journals; I purchase them quite often. This one is skinny and thin enough to throw in your purse for whenever inspiration sparks!

Tea:
As evidenced through my blog title, tea is certainly a favorite of mine, and is especially soothing during this time of the year. I have made a collection of some of my favorite flavors for you to enjoy!

Vintage Wall Decor:
Another thing that I seem to consistently be adding to my shopping bag is wall art; whether it is a pretty painting, wooden boards with quotes flowing across them or sweet vintage plaques like this one. I love the soft floral design of this one!

So, here's how you can enter!
(Make all of these separate comments)

1. You need to be a follower of my blog, and let me know in a comment (1 entry)
2. Tell me what you love about the holidays (1 entry)
3. Blog about this giveaway and leave the link to the post (3 entries)

That gives you 5 chances to enter and win! 
I'll choose a winner on Monday December 5th 
The entries will be closed at Midnight on Sunday

Best of luck to you all and Happy December!

Blessings,

Candice

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