Kendra's Kampfire

Holy Cow. I cannot believe November has already come and gone! I tell ya, this year has flown by, and I can't believe this time next month we will be on the brink of a new year! Linking up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer is one of my favorite things to do! So without further ado, welcome to What's Up Wednesday!

What We're Eating This Week

Well, besides stuffing ourselves silly with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie, I don't think Mike and I will go hungry this week! But before we go over to my in-laws for Turkey Day this year, I am planning on making our Traditional Thanksgiving Breakfast. I made it last year for Mike and I, and I am officially making it a tradition we will carry on with once we have kids. What's better than already having breakfast done for you while you drink your coffee and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? I don't think there is much better than that…Shout out to Shay for this cozy recipe!! 

French Toast Casserole

What I'm Reminiscing About

Our Tahoe Trip.  The hubs and I had so much fun and really needed a getaway to just focus on the two of us and really take the time to relax. Often times life gets so busy and we forget to focus on each other, so this trip was definitely very much needed. Take me back to the mountains!!

What I'm Loving
THESE PJs!!! They are so comfy cozy and the perfect thing to throw on during these cold winter months. I may or may not be living in them sleeping in them every night.

What We've Been Up To

Holy cow. What have we NOT been up to? It seems as if life has only gotten crazier since we tied the knot. We have been going to my brother's show, throwing baby showers, celebrating birthdays, working on school, prepping for the holidays, just regular everyday life stuff!

What I'm Dreading

Ugh, Christmas shopping. Things have been so busy around here that I haven't got as much of a jump on it as I would have hoped. So fingers crossed I can get on my online shopping in the next few days!! Because who wants to feel like this?!

What I'm Working On

A job application! Can you believe it?! There is a job opening for a 2nd grade teacher starting in January, and it would count for my credential program and I would be a full time staff member, so it would be the best of both worlds. So! I'm currently working on submitting that job application, keep me in your prayers please!

I know it will all work out in God's time, so this verse has been close to my heart lately :)

What I'm Excited About

Christmas Break!! One of the perks of working for the school district is I get the same breaks as the kiddos! So during the break, I am taking a road trip to Santa Barbara to see my beautiful friend Sam for a few days! I am so excited to see her new place that she shares with her new hubby, do some shopping and watch some Christmas movies in our PJs! 

Love this girl so much

What I'm Watching/Reading
So my focus lately has been husband, school, holidays, so we haven't had much time to watch much TV or read, but I have a guilty pleasure that I can't deny. And that is Miss Lisa Vanderpump. And her spinoff show Vanderpump Rules never skimps on the drama. And let's be real, we all need a little bit of drama in our lives, as long as it's not ours, right?!



And of course this will be on our TV this week! One of my favorite things to do every year is have my coffee while watching the parade with my family!!

What I'm Listening To
Michael Buble's Holiday Radio will be playing on my radio until the New Year. No change there :)

What I'm Wearing
Tis the season for Burgundy! It is just such a great fall color that transitions perfectly into the Holiday season!

What I'm Doing This Weekend
Ya know, I don't think we have any plans this weekend! Say what?! So I see a lot of this in my future this weekend…

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month
No work, no school, peppermint mochas, holiday shopping, fuzzy PJ's, decorating the Christmas tree, and spending lots of time with family. Sounds like the perfect month to me! And I can't wait to enjoy every minute of it!!

A few photos from our Christmas last year :)

What Else Is New

Not a whole lot, just living life one day at a time!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope ya'll have a fantastic holiday with your families!

French Toast Casserole

This is the perfect breakfast for a lazy Saturday morning. Or in our case, Thanksgiving morning! I made this last year for Mike and I am officially making it a tradition for our family. I mean, you make it the night before, pop it in the oven a few while your coffee is brewing, and voila! You have a comfy cozy breakfast to chow down on while you're watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Shopping List

1 loaf French bread, torn into bite-size pieces

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Arrange bread in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan; set aside

Beat to ether next 6 ingredients, pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight

The next morning, take the butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and pecans and mix them together in a bowl to a crumbly mix. Spread mix over casserole as your topping and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. (Check after about 30 minutes and if it's getting too brown on top, cover with foil and continue cooking)

Dust with powdered sugar and let stand 5 minutes before serving

Enjoy!!!

Hello friends! Thank you for your patience with me, I've been a little MIA the past week! Mix a bout of pink eye going around my school, my last 2 weeks of school wrapping up, the hubby's birthday, blah blah blah. But I am back and so excited to share with you something that is so extremely special to me! And that is my family.

This past weekend I threw a Baby Shower for my sweet cousin Jen and her little baby GIRL! Jen already has an adorable bundle of joy, James, who is so excited to be a big brother! Jen and I spent our lives growing up together, spending holidays together, Christmases together, weddings, and now BABIES! This is such an exciting time in her life and I am so grateful I get to be part of it!

So given that we are in the midst of the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to throw a "Baby, It's Cold Outside" themed shower, and despite it being 70 degrees this last weekend (didn't the California weather know I was throwing a Winter themed party?!), it was such a great day! 

Happy Monday Friends! I hope ya'll had a great weekend! In light of the recent attacks going on around the world, I am starting this week with an extremely grateful heart and sending out lots of prayers. This is one blessed life we live, and it is so sad how sometimes it takes awful things to make us really realize that.

This weekend made me count all of my many blessings. It's my hubby's birthday today, and the past 2 years I have surprised him with some pretty epic birthday getaways, and he haaaaates it. Seriously, I have never met anyone who hates surprises more than he does. #dontaskmewhy So instead of me surprising him, he decided to surprise me! Which, I still don't really understand the logic, but whatever makes him happy!

So he gave me a list of things to pack, gassed up the car, and we were off. I didn't know anything more than than. And for a girl who looooooves surprises, #noshame, I was super excited.

Coffee in hand, husband by my side. We're off!

So come to find out he made reservations at this adorable hotel in South Lake Tahoe, at the base of Heavenly mountain. 

A little Martina McBride Christmas on our way to the snow!

So we spent the afternoon walking the strip, weaving in and out of stores, and enjoyed the crisp, mountain air. Once we were all shopped out, we went back to the hotel for some down time before we headed back out to dinner. 

Love my sweet hubby

Dinner was all about the pizza, and folks, I'm all about the pizza. After we had stuffed ourselves silly, we headed across the street to Stateline and spent a couple hours playing the penny slots. Mike took out a set amount of money out of our vacation fund (we always keep money away for when we go away on vacation) to spend on the slot machines, so we had a little fun with that. 

*Side-Note- I hate gambling. I feel like it's a waste of money. And I am suuuuper competitive so when I continually lose on those dang machines, I just get upset. I'd rather spend that money on a nice, long, hot stone massage. End Note*

Now if that's not a generous pour, I don't know what is

Husband + Mountains + Wine + Pizza = Happy Kendra

Then we headed back to the room, got into our cozy pjs, watched a movie in bed, fell asleep and awoke to the snowy mountainside. Mike is an early riser where I would prefer to sleep in, so he woke up before me, snuck out, and I woke up to this on our bed:

Breakfast in Bed-does it get much better than that?!

Looking out at the snow in my COZY pjs!!!

Our view from our room

We decided to head home pretty early because there was a massive storm coming in, and boy did we hit it on our way home! But Mike was a champ and got us home safe and sound. 

In the middle of a snow storm!

Super focused

It's not a California Road Trip without an In N Out pitstop!!!

It was a much needed getaway and I am so glad that I had that special time with my husband. I just love Lake Tahoe, it just instantly puts me in a state of relaxation. Tahoe is my happy place. 

What were ya'll up to this weekend?? I would love to hear! I hope you have a super smooth Monday and it goes by super quick! 

*Linking up with Smart Party Planning for Marvelous Monday!*

Hello and Happy Thursday! Today I'm linking up with Holly and Shelly for their Attitude of Gratitude challenge and I am so excited to be part of such a special Link Up!

So. I'm going to get real with ya'll. I've been in a bit of a funk lately. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why. I recently got married a few months ago, and that has been the biggest blessing, I am almost done with my Teaching Program and so close to having a classroom of my own, I have a wonderful and supportive family, so why on Earth can't I shake outta this annoying hole? 

So for Attitude of Gratitude, I am going to take a couple areas of my life that have been stressors recently, and turn them into something positive and find the joy in it. Because don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for this wonderful life God has blessed me with, and we all go through funks, right? I hope I'm not alone in feeling this way!

So let's get to it! 

1. Stressor: Our house was built over 40 years ago, so it is on a little bit of the older side. The house wasn't built with much storage, and with all of the generous wedding gifts our family and friends gifted to us, it has been a struggle to find room for all of them. So we have massive amounts of piles sitting upstairs and the organizer inside me is going a little stir crazy. It's amazing how fast time has been flying because we've been so busy and can't dedicate a whole day to get them put away. 

Positive: I am so incredibly blessed that I have a place to call home with my husband. Yes, it may be disorganized at the moment, and we will have to get innovative with our storing, but I never dreamed that at 26, I would have a loving husband and we would own our own home. I know how lucky we are, and it is something I am extremely grateful for everyday.

2. Stressor: I am currently enrolled in the Teaching Credential Program and it has been so much fun. While I have been learning a lot, it has really been consuming my time lately. I am substituting on my days off from student teaching in order to get my name out there to the district and for the experience, and that has kept me extremely busy. Subbing, student teaching and the massive amounts of homework I have, have really been teaching me how to balance and prioritize my time. 

Positive: I absolutely LOVE what I do. After working as an event planner for 2 years after I graduated college, I just wasn't satisfied and my heart was pulling me back to the kiddos. So as much as I am stressed with the workload at the moment, I am extremely grateful to wake up each day and go to a job that I have such a passion for. 

OK that's enough of those, let's get to a couple other things that I am so grateful for!

1. My Daily Word. Mike and I have been reading this every morning together before we go to work, and it has been such a great way to start our mornings; together and with the Lord. It has been the perfect way to grow closer to God together as a couple, and I am so thankful for that.

2. Rain!!! We have had such a severe drought here in California, and while there hasn't been near as much rain as we'd like, we've gotten a couple thunder storms which have been so welcomed! I am looking forward to a (hopefully!) rainy winter! 

3. This blogging community. I have only been blogging for a short while, but the love and support I have gotten from other bloggers have just made me smile from ear to ear. I am so grateful to each and every one of you that takes the time to read my (sometimes super wordy) posts and all of the positive comments you have given me have been so wonderful. I am so grateful to be part of such an awesome community! 

I am so grateful to have a place where I can share my heart and be completely open and honest. I know when I look back on this a couple months or even a couple years from now, I am going to be so thankful to have an outlet where I can just be me :)

I hope you all have a blessed Thursday! We're one more day closer to the weekend-wahoo!!

Have a great day!!

*Insert huuuuuuuge sigh of relief that Monday is over…here*

 Mondays are usually a tad bit of a struggle, but holy cow was this Monday a toughie! California has been in a major drought for far too long and we have been desperately missing rain. So the past week or so we've been getting rain here or there, but today was the first day in as long as I can remember that we had RAIN. And folks, it makes the kids CRAAAAAZY. Which in turn makes me EXHAUSTED. 

Once the rain starts falling, I think it magically turns those kids into the Tasmanian Devil-making them incapable of listening, walking, doing anything remotely quietly, and causes them to ask 1,456 questions about every little thing. I was definitely sending up a few prayers for patience today, and the good Lord is testing me, but I will fight through it! 

So I apologize if this post is a tad short, Mrs. P is too busy drowning her Monday Blues in wine while wearing my blardigan and watching Vanderpump Rules. Please don't judge me. 

But I will leave you with this adorable video. While rainy day recesses have quickly become the bane of my existence, it does provide a bit of entertainment. Check out my kiddos gettin doooooown on some Gangham Style. 

Happy Monday Friends!…said no one ever. Just kidding. I hope you all had a relaxing and refreshing weekend and am ready to start another week! 

Friends, I'm warning you now…there is going to be a lot of bragging today, because folks, I am just so dang proud of my little brother, and all of the other amazing actors in this amazing play! Read on at your own risk...

Saturday was such a great day. My not-so-little brother was starring in a theatre production of Love Labour's Lost, a contemporary Shakespeare musical (yeah, I didn't get what that meant either, but it was amazing!). And yes, you heard that correctly, he was STARRING in a theatre production! And no one is more proud than I am. 

Let me back up a little bit. A long, long time ago, back when I was a senior in high school, (I'm totally dating myself with this) I decided to do something that I had never done before, and that was audition for the High School Musical (if only Zac Efron would appear every time I said that), and it made it even more special that the musical they were putting on was Grease! (I had a phase in 3rd grade where I wanted nothing more than to be Sandra Dee, but I'll save that for another post) My brother had always been an athlete, so it surprised me when he told me that he wanted to audition too. He was only a sophomore at the time, so that was a big deal, and I was so proud that he was going to put himself out there like that when rejection is pretty much the name of the game in acting. God was definitely looking out for us, because we were both casted, and I am so grateful that I was able to share something so special with my brother before I graduated high school. 

Throwin it back to 07 baby!

Because I was a senior and can't carry a tune to save my life, (seriously, I can't even sing Happy Birthday on key) Grease ended my acting career. But my brother caught the bug, and it has stuck, all these years. He has put in so much time into so many different shows, and had to work really hard. Because of his inexperience, his first couple of years he was always part of the Ensemble cast, and that could be really discouraging to some. But through lots of years of singing lessons, working along some really great actors, and never giving up on his passion, he has finally been snagging some lead roles. And no one is more deserving. Some of his credits include, West Side Story, Rent, Fiddler on the Rood, Hairspray, Caberet, Singing in the Rain, Rooster in Annie, and now, he is the King in Love Labour's Lost. 

And he absolutely kills it. Complete with boy band numbers, a strip tease serenade, and a love story with the Princess. Yes, you heard that right, all of those things are in this production. This was such a fun show and something completely different! All of the dialogue is written in Shakespearean prose and all of the songs are modern, which makes it a really fun mash up. The plot in a nut shell is the King (yep, that's my little bro!) and his three cronies are swearing off girls and other vices for their three years in college. Then enter the beautiful girls who do what they do best, make those men weak in the knees and make themselves look like complete nuts. 

The amazing cast!

The acting was awesome, the singing was phenomenal, and the overall experience was two thumbs up. I highly commend those brave souls who can get up on stage and just completely give themselves to the audience, and I always enjoy my time at the theatre, and this show definitely delivers!

The Fam Bam supporting our man!

So there you have it folks. Growing up, I think Nick used to look up to me a little bit, given that I was the big sister. but now that we are both older, and I see what an amazing human being he is, I can honestly say that I look up to him. I am so blessed to call him my brother and I am so incredibly proud of the man that he has become.

His biggest fan!

Whew! Thank you so much for enduring that gush fest! It was a great weekend being able to support my brother alongside my family, and Mike and I even took our holiday card photos and got those ordered! So it was definitely a productive weekend. 

Getting home at midnight is waaaay past our bedtime, so Bubs decided he'd drive us home

I'm actually feeling a little under the weather so here's to hoping I can nip this cold in the bud soon before all of the holiday festivities begin! 

Wishing you a wonderful week! 


*And because my brother inspires me to be a better human being, today I'm taking part in Inspire Me Mondays! So I'm linking up with Kori, CJ, Emily, Janice, Erin, Bridget and Amanda!*