Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Blog World!

I will be logging off for a few days to enjoy Christmas and time with family. I hope everyone enjoys time with their family and friends! Remember the reason for the season! 

Merry Christmas to all from My Doyle Life!

Holiday Fashion - Things I'm Loving

As Christmas is fast approaching, I thought I would share some holiday apparel that I'm loving. Isn't is so much for to dress festively for the holiday season?!

All about some sparkle and sequins!

Via

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I need this necklace!

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I'll take the coat and the bag please!

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Again with the sequins...

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Pink polka dots...enough said.

Okay, so there you have it, some styles I'm loving for the holidays! What styles are you into for this time of year?

The Doyles

Santa Hats

Who loves a good Christmas recipe? I love holiday cooking and baking! This sweet treat is super easy and super yummy! I grew up making these every year and still love them just as much now as I did when I was younger. Does anyone else make Santa Hats? 

Here's what you will need...

Santa's Hats

from My Doyle Life

2 scoops (or as many as you would like or your glass will handle) cherry vanilla ice cream

Ginger Ale

Whipped cream

Sprinkles (optional)

You could also use pistachio or peppermint ice cream or really any flavor you like, but I've found these three are festive and the best for Santa's Hats. Otherwise, you'd just have a regular ice cream float, which I'm good with, just not so Christmas-y.

You could also get crazy and top it with a cherry...or two. :)

They are so pretty! Don't you think? What are your favorite holiday recipes? Give these Santa Hats a try, you won't be disappointed! 

I'm sharing this recipe over at Schue Love as part of the Christmas Cheer Link Party. Head on over and check out all the great recipes!

The Doyles

O Christmas Tree

Today I'd like to share with you the Doyle 2012 Christmas tree. We put up the tree a few weekends ago and have been thoroughly enjoying it!

We went to a tree lot that has trees from Big Meadow Mountain in North Carolina. I absolutely love the process of picking out our tree each year! I used to do this with my dad growing up which was so special! It's been fun to do this with my honey for the past couple of years for our own home!

I really like white lights on our tree with lots of colorful ornaments. We've been accumulating ornaments over the years and have some really special ones. 

 

This one is from my grandparents first Christmas they were married which was over 65 years ago, so this was is extra special!

 So there you have it, the Doyle Christmas tree for 2012. Has anyone else put up their tree? Do you do it super early like me or wait until closer to Christmas? I'd love to hear everyone's Christmas traditions!

I'm also sharing our tree over at Honey We're Home as part of the Christmas Cheer Link Party. Be sure to head on over and check out all the tree ideas! You can also see schedule for the link party days and the hosts below.

Christmas Mantel - Christmas Cheer Link Party

Today I am over at Ten June sharing my Christmas Mantle for the Christmas Cheer Link Party. Head on over and check out all the great mantels decorated for Christmas!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas Mantel

Happy Tuesday everyone! Can you believe it's December 4th already? We are in full swing Christmas mode at the Doyle house! Today, I'd like to share my Christmas mantel with you. It was the first thing I worked on this year and I love it!

I attended a Decorating a Mantel session at a design store holiday open house which is where I got my inspiration for this years mantel. The focus of the session was Ribbon, Ribbon, Ribbon. Their tip was to choose a ribbon that you love first, then work from there to add additional elements. 

So here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for...my Christmas mantel!

I have a gold color scheme going with red and green accents, so I first chose a gold ribbon that I really liked. I also wanted to add some natural elements with some berries and the gold artichoke. The trees and the candle sticks on either side add nice height to the mantle.

The wreath with red berries ties in more red and green and adds to the natural elements. I used a command strip hanger to attach the wreath to the mirror, so its not actually hanging by the gold ribbon around the top of the mirror. Nifty trick, huh?

So there you have it, my 2012 Christmas mantel. I am really happy with it. It looks great with the tree in the living room. Has anyone decorated their mantel for Christmas?

The Doyles

Christmas Crafts - Holiday Link Party

Today, I'm sharing a few Christmas crafts, my Christmas Candles Craft and DIY Holiday Jars over at Hi Sugarplum and Newly Woodwards. Some lovely blog ladies, are hosting a Christmas Cheer Holiday Link Party and a Dare to Do-It-Yourself Link Party for the next couple of weeks. I will be participating and sharing my Christmas crafts, mantel, tree, recipes and apparel. Be sure to head on over at check it out! Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Decor - DIY Holiday Jars

I have officially gone Christmas decorating crazy! There is no mistaking the holiday at the Doyle house.

The mantle is done, tree is up - just needs a few finishing touches, dining room table is decked out with the Christmas china, AND I made DIY Pinterest inspired holiday jars! I love Christmas! The idea came from Better Homes and Gardens decorating with kitchen items. This decor is really simply, really inexpensive and really pretty!

You will need a few mason jars (as many as you want to up out), a bag of fresh cranberries, some greenery (I used sprigs from the bottom limbs of the tree that were trimmed off) and some tea lights. Since I already had everything but the cranberries, this was a fun and inexpensive way to add some holiday touches to my home!

Place the greenery in the bottom of the mason jars. Add in the cranberries, then fill with water to the top. The cranberries will float. Top with a tea candle and you are done! 

Pretty right? And super pretty lit!

Has anyone tried any Christmas crafts/decor from Pinterest? Don't you just LOVE this time of year!

The Doyles

DIY Christmas Candles

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful holiday with family this past week! 

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, I am ready to get my Christmas decorating on! Okay, so I actually did this Christmas craft before Thanksgiving, oops. I guess its safe to say I've been more than ready to pull out the garland and tinsel this year! At least I showed Thanksgiving a little respect and blogged about it after, right?

I've been seeing a lot of glittery Christmas candles in home decor stores recently, some to the tune of $20 bucks a pop. Yikes! This got me inspired. I decided I could make the same pretty glittery candles for much cheaper and could satisfy my DIY bug at the same time. A win, win!

Let's start with the guests to this DIY glitter candles party. I got a pack of 3 candles for $2.89 at Garden Ridge. Has anyone been there before? It's one of those big you-can-find-just-about-anything warehouse-y kind of places with really good prices. I got the glitter and the spray adhesive at Michaels. The glitter was about $3.00 total for regular gold glitter and some Martha Stewart tinsel glitter that was on clearance. The adhesive was about $6 but can be used again for many more projects. So the whole project was under $12 for 3 candles which is a whole lot better than $20 for one!

From there, the project is pretty straight forward. Spray the candles with the adhesive. I wrapped the wick in tape so it wouldn't get glue and glitter on it. The rolled each candle in the glitter. 

The end result?

Pretty right? Just let it try for a few hours and shake off the excess glitter. 

Here they are in my living room. Gives this table a little more pizzazz and Christmas cheer than the plain white ones that are housed there the rest of the year, don't ya think?

So there you have it, my first but definitely not my last Christmas craft for 2012. Has anyone else done any Christmas crafts yet? Feel free to share if you have!

The Doyles

Give Thanks!

 

It's Thanksgiving week! Can you believe how fast time is flying by? 2012 is coming to a close but not before we celebrate family and friends and all we are thankful for and the 
birth of Christ this Christmas!

 I am so looking forward to a much needed break and some R and R. I will be unplugging for the rest of the week to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family. We have a lot to going on with a big Thanksgiving feast and mama's cooking (YUM!), a special birthday party for my Grandma, loving on my sweet new baby cousin, and a lot quality family time!

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Our wonderful marriage, great family and friends, our house, good jobs, our health and a great new year ahead! I'm so excited to see what all it will bring! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Cheer Link Party

Well, the Christmas bug has bitten me early this year. Is anyone else in the mood to decorate for Christmas? Some ladies over at a few of my favorite blogs are hosting a Christmas Cheer Link Party December 4th - 20th. I participated in a Fall Decor link party in October and it was a blast! 

I'll be sharing a Christmas craft, mantel, tree, recipe, and attire here on the blog so be sure to come and check it out! Isn't this fun! :)

I'm already getting down those red and green storage boxes and sorting through my Christmas decorations, while of course playing some Christmas music throughout the house! 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Turkey Meatloaf

Yes, this is a post about meatloaf. I know meatloaf doesn't really have the best reputation, but I promise, it can be delicious! Just give it a chance. At least check out this recipe. I think it will surprise you! 

On Sunday I made a modified version of The Pioneer Woman's meatloaf. If you are obsessed a fan like I am, you know her recipes are super yummy! But, if you are like me, you can't always eat the all the whole milk and real butter you want. It's sad, isn't it?! 

Anyway, back to the meatloaf. The changes I made are super simple but can make a big difference for a healthier meal during the week. 

Her recipe calls for ground beef, which I replaced with ground turkey. We've been using ground turkey as a beef substitute for a lot of recipes recently and we really like it. I also used non-fat milk instead of whole milk and sliced whole wheat bread instead of white bread. Here's the recipe I used. It was delicious! Moist and extremely flavorful! 

Turkey Meatloaf

1 cup non-fat milk
6 slices whole wheat bread
2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
4 eggs beaten
10 slices bacon

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups ketchup 
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, pour milk over bread slices and let soak for several minutes. 

Add the ground meat, Parmesan cheese, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper and parsley to the milk and bread. Pour in the beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a foil lined baking sheet. 

Lay bacon slices over the top and tuck underneath the meatloaf.

To make the sauce, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and dry mustard in a bowl. Pour 1/3 over the top of the meatloaf and spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the meatloaf. Continue to bake for 15 minutes. 

Slice and serve with remaining sauce. 

If you are interested in the original, you can check it out here. 

Does anyone have any yummy turkey recipes to share?

The Doyles

A Day to Celebrate!

Today is hubby's birthday. He is just the greatest, in my humble, extremely accurate and completed unbiased opinion. :) He works so hard and does so much for our family of two. I am extremely blessed to have such a wonderful husband! 

So, today is about celebrating him! I found some great birthday ideas on Pinterest and thought I'd share some of my favorites.

Birthday Morning Surprise

Via

Birthday Balloons

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Candy Bar Cake

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Birthday Cake Pancakes. YUM!

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Hubby loves everything pumpkin!

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Cute yet masculine party decor

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Happy Birthday Honey! 

House Tour

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend and Monday!

I've been working on something new for My Doyle Life. Our house tour can be found under the Our House tab. If you are interested in our humble abode, be sure check it out! 

As we make updates and tackle DIY projects, we'll share our progress with ya here!

Have a great week!

The Doyles

Happy November Y'all!

It's November! Can you believe it? Officially 3 weeks until Thanksgiving. Crazy, right? 

The 1st day of every month is also known as bunny day in our family. My husband's grandmother told him as a little boy that if you say bunny on the 1st day of every month, you will have good luck. It obviously stuck and is a fun little thing that we do. So, happy bunny day everyone! I hope you all have a great November!

Here are some things I'm excited for this month. 

Hubby's birthday! 

NC State and Duke basketball

               

Thanksgiving decorations

Thanksgiving food and time with family

What do you guys have planned this month? Thanksgiving plans or traditions you'd like to share?

The Doyles

Are You Pinterested in a Challenge: Clothespin Picture Frame

It's time. Time to share my Fall Pinterest Challenge project! Are you excited?

Some lovely ladies (Sherry and Katie) from a couple of my favorite blogs have been hosting a pinterest challenge each season. As you saw last week, I've finally decided to jump on this wagon. 

So here it is, my pinterest challenge project.

My Doyle Life's Clothespin Picture Frame

You will need:
1 picture frame - size of your choice, bigger will hold more pictures
picture frame wire
mini clothespins

Here is some of my inspirations from Pinterest.

I absolutely love Ten June's.



My walls needed some pizzazz. A little somethin' somethin'. And voila! 

We love it! It's great because the photos are easy to change out. I also thought it would be a cute way to display all of the family Christmas cards we get around the holidays. Great idea, huh?

Has anyone else participated in the pinterest challenge? I am loving going through all the great projects over at Young House Love and Bower Power. 


The Doyles

Kale and Apple Salad

As promised, here's the recipe for the kale and apple salad we had with our pot roast for Sunday dinner yesterday. My husband announced that it was his new favorite salad, so I'd say it was a hit. Plus, this is coming from the guy who doesn't like salad so major bonus points for me, not that I enjoy giving myself props or anything. Who am I kidding, I LOVE it! :) HA! 

This recipe was inspired by one of our favorite Greek restaurants. Before seeing it served there, kale wasn't really on my radar. I am so glad it is now, because like my husband, this might be my new favorite salad too. And it is super healthy and good for you. Check out the benefits of kale here.

So here's what you'll need:

Ingredients
1 bundle of kale (look for younger leaves that are soft)
2 granny smith apples, sliced very thin then diced
4oz plain goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup golden raisins 
1/2 cup walnuts

For the dressing:
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp olive oil 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions
Thoroughly wash and dry the kale. Pull apart the leaves into bite-size pieces, making sure  to cut out the thicker stems. Add to salad bowl.

Thinly slice two apples then dice into 1/2 to 1in. pieces. Add to bowl with kale. 

Add the golden raisins and walnuts. Crumble goat cheese over salad. Toss to combine ingredients. 

To make the dressing, zest and juice two lemons in a separate bowl. Add in olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat all ingredients. 


Enjoy!

The Doyles