Herron to Rivera

Whew, what a whirlwind of events! The build up from October into Thanksgiving and finally onto Christmas always seems to sneak up on us and blink twice and it's over! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and remembered the reason for the season. One of my favorite things is seeing how full the bottom of our tree looks and then in one swipe it all be gone because giving gifts is so much fun the older you get. An empty tree at the end of the day is how I like to see it, even if it does look a little lonely. We spent the days leading up to Christmas getting caught up with Star Wars (or in Robert's case, getting educated), and enjoying the last tidbits of our tree as he also gets a little work done.  Our tradition as a family was always to open our Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve, and then wake up Christmas morning and pack into the cars for an 8 hour road trip to Mississippi, where both of my parents hail from. Mississippi State or Ole Miss is always the first questio

Well hello! I couldn't go a whole month without squeezing in a post, even if there is no theme. The theme is Christmas, I decided. Can't believe it's next week and then on top of that, the end of 2015 altogether. What a Christmas season it's been, and it's not even over! I decided not to make a Christmas bucket list, because I'm notorious for not fulfilling it, so I sat back and enjoyed where our Holiday season has taken us. I was feeling a little scroogy at first and wasn't willing to put up our Christmas tree this year because just wasn't feeling it, but I'm glad I did! It's so pretty, and there really is nothing better than Christmas lights against the dark. Especially when Elf, The Santa Claus, or The Polar Express is on. I haven't seen Home Alone-am I missing something?!  We started off the month celebrating my dad's 21st birthday, and in between have squeezed in some last minute Stars action, my sister's graduation from For

As tradition holds in our household, I am usually the one who is responsible for the dessert, even if desserts and baking aren't my forte. Put me in the kitchen and your dinner will be amazing, but I'm not the best at when it comes to sweets, so I'm not sure how this tradition started? Luckily social media is filled with plenty of ideas these days, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a short and sweet video of said dessert and my decision was made! I present the "Easy" Chocolate Chip Brownie Cheesecake, via Tasty (side note-if you don't follow them on FB you should! They make super cool looking things-all at record time. No really, the video is sped up so it really is super fast cooking ;))!  Behold iPhone quality photos: Here's what you need: -1 box of brownie mix (which usually requires and egg or two, water, and vegetable oil) -1 cup of sugar -16 ounces of cream cheese (I used low fat) -8 ounces of whipped cream (sugar free cool