© 2014 sarahfortune.

HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.
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Sponsored

#GiveInstantJoy This Christmas

It’s beginning to look a lot(tery) like Christmas! This season I’m excited to partner with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and share some fun ways to give scratch-off tickets as gifts for the holidays! Lottery tickets are something I always love to receive, and giving them feels just as good. They add a whole other level of excitement to gift-giving because you never know what the ticket holds. If you are like me, you’re always scrambling to find a few last-minute gifts, so this year I’m sharing a few ways to give lottery tickets as gifts to some of your favorite folks.

Dirty Santa
This is my all-time favorite ways to give lottery tickets. The trick is to add hidden lottery tickets to a gag-gift that will undoubtably be passed on to the next person. Just be sure not to let the secret out until the game is done and then the unluckiest person might just be the luckiest of all!

Gift Tags
This is a super easy way to add a little extra fun to any gift. And look how handy-dandy The Perfect Gift tickets are – they already have spaces to write the names!

Surprise Joy
I’ve always appreciated and admired random acts of kindness, but often struggle with coming up with exactly what to do. But for this idea, just punch holes in the corner of the lottery tickets, use a pipe-cleaner or string to make a hoop, and then keep a few stashed in your purse. As you make your way around to various Christmas parties and your friends’ homes this December, sneak a couple up on their tree. Maybe they’ll find them before Christmas is over, or maybe it won’t be until its time to take down the decorations. Either way, this is a simple way to spread a little holiday cheer to those least expecting it.

Stocking Stuffers
Some people are impossible to shop for (ahem…. TODD). So this year I threw a few lottery tickets into his stocking and already feel better about things. I may have even tossed a few into my own stocking. 🙂

What makes giving lottery tickets even better? Knowing that they keep giving long after they are scratched. Net proceeds from the Office of the Arkansas Lottery are used to provide scholarships and grants to Arkansas residents enrolled in public and private nonprofit two-year and four-year colleges and universities within the state. Learn more here and then spread a little instant joy of your own.

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.

Travel

Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis – A Lovely Little Getaway!

So there’s this thing that we’ve been kind of obsessed with… It’s quite large, is home to a big shiny metal thing, and is about five hours away.

You guessed it, the city of St. Louis! We’ve been three times now for little getaways and love it more with each visit. This trip we had the privilege of staying at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, which was STUNNING. Located right by the river, we had an amazing view of The Arch along with the charm of downtown.

Iris with her bags packed and ready to hit the road!

Once we rolled into town we had a little time to kill before check-in, so we stopped by a local brewery that we hadn’t yet tried, Urban Chestnut Grove Brewery & Bierhall. After a beer and an awesome lunch, we decided to surprise Iris with a trip to her most favorite thing to do in St. Louis – explore The City Museum. We didn’t tell her we were going, so as soon as we pulled up and she saw all of the crazy structures, she was thrilled.

After a couple hours (and a couple drinks for me – did I mention they serve grown-up drinks at the museum?), we ventured towards the Four Seasons which was only about a mile away. Like I said, the location is fab. At check-in we were greeted first by the aroma. You always know you’re staying somewhere nice when it smells like a spa in heaven when you walk through the doors. From there, the sweet staff took amazing care of not only myself and Todd, but most importantly – Iris. Toys to borrow and coloring books at check-in? Yes, please!

They didn’t even mind that Iris danced all over the lobby.

When we got to our room, I was officially won over with the beautiful comforts (I love a great hotel), while Iris was officially sold with the special treats left for us – and the television hidden in the bathroom mirror.

Usually when we stay in a hotel, we get two double beds and Iris gets her own. How that’s fair, I have no idea… That said, this time we opted to give her a rollaway bed and I was a little jealous. They positioned it right by the floor-to-ceiling windows, so she looked out over the river and Arch. Not to mention, it was nearly more comfortable than my bed back home. It was all good though, because Todd and I had the king bed to ourselves (except for when Iris used it to watch a little YouTube and for a little bed jumping).

That night we took a short stroll and found some dinner at a local brew pub. We could actually see the restaurant out of our room window – and it’s one of the oldest brewpubs in St. Louis. After dinner and back at the hotel, we grabbed a drink at the bar, which once again overlooks the Arch. I swear there’s not a bad view in this place.

Exploring the neighborhood.

Not exactly sad that this little museum was closed…

Cheers! I may have ordered a glass to take back to my room.

The next morning was Thanksgiving and we were able to sleep in a bit. After watching a bit of the local parade (on TV and a tiny sliver of it out our window), we made our way down to Thanksgiving brunch. Our meal is worthy of its very own blog post, so I’ll fill you in on that and other Four Seasons special events very soon!

Special thanks to the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis for hosting our stay! While our stay was sponsored, all opinions are my own.

Life

December?!

How are we here already? I know it’s only the very first week, but I already feel so behind for Christmas. Somehow our tree is up and decorated, but that’s about as far as we’ve gotten. Gifts? No clue what to get anyone. Lights on the house? Hopefully that will happen before January. And wrapping presents once we have them? Who knows when that will happen.

Everything will come together, as it always does. In the meantime I’m burning my favorite holiday candle (that smells even better than our fresh Christmas tree) and listening to Kacey Musgrave‘s new Christmas album on repeat. The track with Leon Bridges? It’s my new favorite Christmas song!

Thankfully we’re spending Christmas home again this year. We’ve traveled so much lately (most recently at Thanksgiving), so being in Fayetteville is going to feel good. Till then, we’ll be over here going crazy because of the holidays!

Food, Sponsored

RECIPE: Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding

If you are anything like me, you love freshly baked goodies around the holidays, but rarely have the time to make them. I’m always looking for easy, yet delish options to keep my family happy and full in the winter months. This season I’m excited to team up with Immaculate Baking Company to share a bread pudding recipe using their cinnamon rolls and icing. I love this recipe because, not only is it delicious and super simple, but I usually already have the ingredients on hand. It’s a great treat to whip up for a special breakfast or holiday dessert.

Available at Whole Foods, Immaculate Baking Company’s mission to create wholesome baking products, many of which are certified gluten-free or organic. As a regular (re: obsessive) Whole Foods shopper, I love having quality options for cake mixes, pre-made cookie dough, as well as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls. Plus, in the month of November, spend $10 on Immaculate Baking Company products and save $3 via the Whole Foods app! Ready to try the recipe? Check it out below!

Ingredients:
1 package of Immaculate Baking Company Cinnamon Rolls (makes 5 rolls & is located in the dairy section at Whole Foods)
1 1/2 cups of milk
2/3 cups of sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of raisins

Directions:
– Preheat oven to 350°
– Bake the Immaculate Baking Company Cinnamon Rolls according to the directions (18-20 minutes)
– While the cinnamon rolls bake, prepare the bread pudding mixture.
– In a large bowl, combine the milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until sugar is dissolved.
– Once the cinnamon rolls are baked, remove from oven and let cool.
– Tear all 5 cinnamon rolls into bite-sized pieces and place into a medium sized baking dish.
– Toss the raisins into the cinnamon roll pieces.
– Pour the prepared mixture into the dish until the cinnamon roll pieces are just barely covered (you may have a little extra). Using a spoon, gently press down on the cinnamon rolls to ensure each piece is covered with the mixture.
– Let sit for 20 minutes, letting the cinnamon roll pieces soak up the mixture.
– Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350° (or until the casserole is cooked all the way through).
– Let slightly cool, then add the the Immaculate Baking Company icing.
– Serve warm and enjoy!

Want to try out other dishes? Check out Immaculate Baking Company’s website for fun recipe ideas!

I have been compensated by Immaculate Baking for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own.