Easter Weekend 2014

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating our Risen Savior! I hope that you did as well. Of course, we should always be thankful for the cross, but this time of year in particular makes us especially mindful. My debt has been paid and I'm forever thankful!

We had a little Easter egg hunt with our playgroup buddies. They were all were so cute trying to figure things out. Kinley and Emery got the hang of opening the eggs and eating what was inside. They were just too busy doing that to actually hunt for the eggs. Ha!

 The cutest little bunnies I've ever seen!

 I'm so thankful for these sweet friends and their precious little ones!

The Saturday before Easter we got together with Chad's side of the family. He has a big family and when we're all together there are lots of little ones running around. I can't tell you how thankful we are to have added our two to the mix! Chad's uncle told the story of the cross to the kids while the Easter eggs were being hidden.

The Easter egg hunt had to be inside because it was raining, so just imagine mass chaos as all the kiddos ran around the garage looking for their eggs. We had to leave abruptly because someone, ahem Kinley, threw a major fit. While trying to get my screaming child to the car, in the pouring rain, I dropped her Easter bucket and every egg fell to the ground and cracked open. Aghhhh! Parenting sure is humbling, huh?!

Sunday mornings are hard for us with Chad leaving earlier and staying later than us. I was determined to get at least one picture, and thankfully my mom was able to get one decent shot of us as a family of four!

 

My babies have grown so much since last year. =(

 

Trying to get pictures with/of these two silly girls is quite a challenge. But, oh how I love them!

Lastly, we took advantage of the time off that Chad had for Easter weekend and updated our kitchen counter tops and back splash. I am loving my "new" kitchen!

"Oh praise The One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!"

Changes around the house

It seems like each year around this time I start getting the itch to make some changes around the house. After all the Christmas decor has come down I start looking around to see how I can mix things up.

Here are a few pics of little things I've been working on. I swapped out a few things on my mantel and then changed the chalkboard saying.

 

I texted Chad this morning to let him know that "baby it's cold inside" because our heater was acting up and it was 63 degrees in here. Brrr!!

Burlap wreaths have been all over Pinterest for a while but I finally gave it a go using this tutorial.

 

It was quick, easy and think it turned out pretty well!

Christmas Tour of Homes ~ 2011

This year I kept our Christmas decor very low key and simple. In fact, we didn't even put our big tree up for the second year in a row. It makes me a little sad but with it being just the two of us, and being gone a lot, we just decided against it.

I was thrifting several weeks back and found a cute little pre-lit tree that I was intending to use on our front porch. When we decided not to put up the big tree I thought I'd put it on the hearth and use it as our tree instead. I do like how it turned out.

 I added some lighted garland with red and gold ornaments and a few picks mixed in on the mantel and displayed just three of our stockings. (I have more for when the time comes that we need them)

I added a few other festive touches around the house. This gold branch wreath I found at a thrift store and hung it on a mirror. A little chalkboard sign spreads some joy in the guest bathroom. 

A sweet plaque about the best gift this season next to my scentsy warmer, and a pretty potted poinsettia that my sister gave us for our anniversary.

I love our Will0w Tree nativity set so much. The houndstooth stockings make me happy too.

 

I mentioned that I was wanting to makeover my mantel display and it's now complete! I found a frame that I added a vinyl monogram to and then lined the inside with burlap. I love the way it turned out!

 It was really hard to get a picture without glares so I hope you get the idea =)

Thank you for stopping by. I wish you a joyous holiday season filled with the love of Christ!

linking up with Kelly, Nester, and Erin

Friday Randoms

It's Friday! Holla! Today is my husband's day off and I look forward to Fridays every week. While I do love being at home, it can get rather lonely so I'm so excited to spend the day with my love. I don't care what we do, as long as we do it together =)

~If you want to treat yourself then run, do not walk, to your kitchen and pull out some milk and nutella. I saw a recipe for nutella hot chocolate here and knew that I had to try it. Trust me, you will not regret it! For one serving I whisked 1 cup of milk and 2 tbsp. of nutella in a saucepan over medium heat.

heaven in a michael scott cup

~Next week is the end of the twelve week Bible study that I've been a part of. We are having a time of "Taste and Testimony" where we will share snacks and a little something that God has done in our lives as a result of the study. I'm planning to bring this yummy looking snack mix. I can't wait to try it! 

Source: iheartnaptime.net via Faith on Pinterest

~I've been wanting to re-work my mantel display for a while. Since we've lived here my bridal portrait has hung above the mantel and I'm ready to change that up. I thought about a mirror but all it reflects is the ugly fluorescent light fixture in our kitchen, so that's not going to work. I think I'm now going to look for a large thrift store frame that I can do a big vinyl monogram on. This isn't a new idea, but I think I will love it. I may even add a piece of fabric or burlap behind it. I'll post when it's done!

Source: etsy.com via Faith on Pinterest

~My Christmas cards are in! This was the first year that I haven't designed the cards myself and I'm a little sad. But, because of discounts/promotions I was able to get the cards I'm using for free. And honestly, what's better than free? That's what I keep telling myself anyway. I just need to address them and get stamps and they will be on their way!

~Speaking of Christmas cards, mark your calendars and don't forget to stop by on December 14th for the annual Christmas Card Carousel! This will be the fourth year that I've done this and it's more fun each year. Please spread the word and join in the fun!

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Hope y'all have a great weekend!!

Scentsy!

Have y'all tried Scentsy yet?! I'm probably the last person to jump on the scentsy train, but I just received my first order yesterday. I was so excited to see the mail lady bring this to my front door.

My friend, Megan, is a Scentsy consultant and I had been wanting to try it out for a while. I am very picky when it comes to fragrances/scents because a lot of them give me headaches. That was my only hesitation to ordering without being able to smell them first, but Megan was a HUGE help in working with me to figure out what scents I like/don't like and what would work for me.

I chose the Roma warmer and it is so pretty in person! The first scent I chose to burn was Baked Apple Pie, and my word, does my house smell good right now!

I'm officially hooked and can't wait to try some other scents. I think I'll have to order a couple more for fall and then for Christmas.

Megan just posted about some of her Scentsy favorites, so go check them out!

Loving Life....

As a stay-at-home-wife! It's been a week since I've been home full time. Last Wednesday, this joyful day was marked on my calendar and I was so thankful to see it come.

 There is one little girl I know who is happy to have her mommy home with her more now =)

We had a great Labor Day Weekend which included kicking off some college football on Saturday. Now, I'm not the biggest football fan there is by any means, but I do love me some good friends and good food (dips included) and this night included both of those, so I was down!

Now that I'll be home during the day I'm thrilled that I can be involved in some Bible Studies this fall. I'll be going through these two with some ladies from church and I'm so excited to dig in! Have you done either of these studies and, if so, how were they?

One of my goals is to get my home more organized and the first project is our master closet. I was knee deep in there today until I lost motivation and pinterest won. I've reached the point of no return though, so I can't stop now. The only thing keeping me going is that we're getting a new closet system from The Container Store so I can't wait to see the end result. I'll be sure to share it with you too! 

I really have missed blogging and I hope that my new schedule will allow for me to be on here more regularly. Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas Tour of Homes - 2009!

Welcome to our home! I'm so glad you stopped by. I love our house when it's decorated for Christmas. The warm glow of the lights, the colors, the sparkle....it's just so pretty!

We got a new tree last year and I love it even more than I remembered! It is taller than the one we had before and has a different kind of branch mixed in.

The color scheme on our tree is red and gold. I have a lot of red and gold glass balls and then some other things mixed in. This red and gold gift box is one of my favorites. I got it two years and wish I had gotten several more...

Another one of my favorites...a gold "S" from Rest0ration Hardware...

And, I'm all about the red berry picks scattered throughout. Love them! I need to get a few more picks and add them to my bow tree topper...it needs a little more help =)

I made new stockings for us last year and I love them so much. I had fallen in love with the ones from BaIIard's but needed to do them on a budget so this was my attempt at them. Of course, I was praying that by this time we would have a name (or two) to add to them, but.....we are still waiting. Oh, how I pray that this will be the last Christmas that goes by....

On the mantel we have lighted garland with red and gold ornaments mixed in.

Our Will0w Tree nativity - my favorite!!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I pray that throughout this Christmas season your home would be filled with the peace and joy of Jesus. He alone is the reason for the season!

There are many other beautiful homes decorated for Christmas so check them out!

And, please come back on Wednesday to join in the Christmas Card Carousel! I can't wait!

O Christmas Tree!

I decided to participate in Kelly's Show Us Your Life - Christmas Trees! We got a new tree last year and I love it even more than I remembered! It is taller than the one we had before and has a different kind of branch mixed in...it's so pretty!

The color scheme on our tree is red and gold. I have a lot of red and gold glass balls and then some other things mixed in. This red and gold gift box is one of my favorites. I got it two years and wish I had gotten several more...

Another one of my favorites...a gold "S" from Rest0ration Hardware...

And, I'm all about the red berry picks scattered throughout. Love them! I need to get a few more picks and add them to my bow tree topper...it needs a little more help =)

Thanks for stopping by! Check out more great trees here!

Before and After

I have been working on different areas around the house trying to de-clutter and re-organize lately. My husband calls me a pack rat, and I'm finally realizing that he is right! So, as I've been cleaning things out lately, if I haven't seen it, touched it, needed it, or even knew I had it in the past year, it's gone!

One area that really needed some help was our computer area. I spend too much a lot of time on the computer and was really needing to figure out a better use of the space. My back, neck and arm would hurt from reaching up to the keyboard and mouse and I would often work myself into a migraine from all of it.

Here is the before. This is quite embarrassing to show, but I'm just keeping it real with y'all! The dust, the cords, oh my word it's all bad!

We have this computer area in our guest bedroom, and we knew that we need something small, practical and inexpensive. I'm sure you already know where we turned next! This piece (the Mikael - that's just for you Deidre!) from Ikea fit the bill!

The cords are still there, but I was able to clean out and throw away so much junk that we had no use for. I still have some re-organizing work to do, but it's already so much better!

I love my little memo board area where I can put my scripture memory verse, prayer requests, reminders, etc

Thanks to my sweet man for putting it together, piece-by-piece-by-piece. I promise I will do better about keeping it clean from now on!

Ikea, I think I love you

I'm just a little bit excited about this long awaited, humongous blue box now being open for business!

I went to the grand opening on Wednesday, and on our second try of the day, we got in! Y'all, I have never seen anything like this place! I have always wanted to go to the one in Atlanta, but whenever we are passing through, there is just not enough time to stop. Now, we have our very own store just a few minutes away!

I must admit, I was a little overwhelmed walking through that ginormous place, but I saw SO many things that I could use. My purchases were quite random (a toilet brush and some cutting boards!) but they were so cheap I just couldn't pass them up!

I have my eye on something like this to store dvd's and Xbox games in our tv shelf...they are out of control now.

Also on my wish list is are these really cool, long shelves to display picture frames on. This is the best picture I could find, but they are about six feet long and the frames lean up against the wall.

I can't wait to go back! Hmm, maybe I can talk Chad into going with me this afternoon???

Y'all have a great weekend!!!

Favorite Rooms

Kelly posted pics of her beautiful kitchen and invited us to share pics of our favorite rooms. I decided that I would play along too!

I posted a pic a while back of our living room. We have worked hard on this room and it has come a long way from the hand-me-down green sofa and love seat and the end tables that were my great-grandmothers! I really do like this room. Chad and I each have a couch that we've claimed and we hang out in the evenings watching all of our shows.

On the wall above the couch

Another room that I spend a good bit of time in....my sewing studio.

This room is just a hodge-podge of pink, black and white. We never got around to painting the walls, so they're just boring white still (yuck!). I have tried to add color with things on the walls, fabric, etc. but it is still lacking in my opinion!

Please overlook the mess!!! I constantly have a project going and stuff everywhere! That quilt has been hanging on the wall unfinished for over 2 years....yeah, I'm on the ball.

Thanks for visiting some of my favorite rooms! I can't wait to see yours too!