Birthdays and Comfort Zones

Happy Wednesday to all!

First and foremost, I want to wish the happiest of birthdays to my best friend, partner in crime, number one fan, and husband Charles! He is 27 years young today, and I hope he has a wonderful day! When I asked Charles what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to rent a movie, pick up a Papa Murphy's pizza, and sit on the couch. Easy! I can do that, and I can certainly use a night of sitting on the couch after everything we have had going on as of late. I'm truly excited to give him his gift, he has no idea what I got for him and I'm sure he will be as shocked as I've ever seen him. In all honesty, I could probably write on here what I got for him, since he doesn't read this, but since everyone thinks I can can't keep a secret, {ok, this is true, I really can't keep a secret, I get way too excited and end up giving the surprise away...oops}, I'd better just wait and actually surprise him.

Secondly, I wanted so share a few photos from the Holiday Scarf Exchange I posted about on Monday. The ladies all had a great time getting to know each other on a more personal level outside of the office, and I really think it helped everyone to get rid of some stress and tension we have all been experiencing in the last couple of months with all of the changes our company underwent. What a lovely evening we had =)

 

 

Some punch I made for the occasion! I made a smaller batch of a frozen Merlot beverage, and I made a white wine spritzer with frozen raspberries!

 

"Have yourself a vintage little Christmas" is what comes to mind when I think about the look of our table and burlap runner. Here are some snacks that I prepared for the occasion: Meatballs, pasta salad, veggies and spinach dip, pretzels, some pretzel rods with chocolate, cookies, and a cream cheese block shaped like a Christmas tree with pepper jelly on it. 'tis the season, y'all!

 

I placed the Christmas themed paper plates and napkins over here, along with some cups for the guests. Most cups had an "A" on them {bought at kirklands for $2.99 a pack!}, and the adorable napkins say "You're the Jingle to my Bells!" I also threw out some of our wedding koozies for any guests that might have wanted a beer instead of wine {and YES, I did have non-alcoholic beverages for our guests who didn't want alcohol}

 

Here some of the ladies are in our living room, enjoying a nice fire and waiting for the scarf exchange! LOVE the look of our new home.

 

A few days back, Charles and I were walking through the mall, finishing up a little last minute shopping, when I pointed out a sweater that I liked. Charles responded by saying "that's so plain, there's no color there, it just looks like oatmeal. I don't really like it." I asked him to point out a sweater that he would like to see me in. Interestingly enough, he chose the same sweater I picked out, only in a peach color.  When I asked him why he liked that one more than the cream one, he said because he likes it when girls were a little color, not just creams all of the time. I was wearing a cream colored, plain top that day, and started thinking about what I typically wore: Creams. Taupes. Beiges. Blacks. Whites. Nothing with a lot of color or pattern. I like to think of myself as dressing very classic, but that one statement that he probably doesn't even remember saying about liking girls to wear color has really got me thinking.

I tend to stay away from brightly colored clothing because it draws attention. It makes me feel like people notice me more, and it makes me uncomfortable. I like what I like, and I like it for a reason. But my husband expressed to me that he liked me to wear more of a variety of colors. That's such a simple request that I can easily do to make him happy. Does that mean I'm throwing out every cream colored top I own? No. Not at all. {I love my creams and taupes!}

So here I am, sitting with my cup of coffee, at my desk in my bright colored shirt, outside the realm of my comfort zone. Who knows? Maybe getting outside of my comfort zone will be a good thing. Maybe it will even help me stop feeling so anxious about trying new things. It can't hurt to try and do something to please my husband.

This week, I encourage everyone to "get outside the realm of their comfort zone." Maybe you'll like it! Maybe you won't. But it never hurts to try. Bust out your bright colors every once in awhile and have some fun.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9