Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Christmas Recap

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! It's always my favorite time of the year, good food, and fun with family! As usual, we had a crazy two days-but it's always worth it! It's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone. The year always goes so fast!

My favorite gift of the year! A let me open a gift on Christmas Eve eve =) I used it to bake my famous cupcakes and icing that everyone loved. I can't wait to use this again!

We turned our 'fireplace' on while opening gifts Christmas morning =)

When I saw this at the mall I had to get it for him. He always say this! It's something he can hang in his office.

I asked for these for our trip in Feburary to Boyne Mountain. Of course I need to be cute on the slopes!

Next up was Christmas at my mom's. She always cooks breakfast and we all look forward to it! Here is my brother's dog Bentley opening gifts.


Logan looked too cute in his PJ's


My mom bought me these PJ pants and I bought her the same pair! (The picture came out blurry but I thought it was too funny!)

My BIL and his GF got me this book. I LOVE it! I can't wait to make some of the cute cupcakes. I also got a sewing machine from the IL's that I plan on learning to use to make some cute things.



I hope your Christmas was as good as mine. What was your favorite gift?

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Celebrate



This past weekend we had Christmas at my dad's house. This is just one of the five places we have to visit for the holidays. Tomorrow we have two then on Chirstmas we have two as well. It's always crazy when you combine families and have to travel all over. We are lucky everyone lives in the same area.
I love this picture because it's all the siblings. L-R Me, Lindsey, Nolan, Dad, David, and Matt.

This is one my step-mom took.

Lots more post to come!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

15

RIP Chris Henry. 
You were a fantastic football player.
You were turning your life around.
You will be missed greatly. 
I pray for your family and all who knew you. 
#15 in our hearts forever. 






Thursday, December 10, 2009

Oh Christmas Tree part 2

Decorating the tree is one of my favorite things about Christmas. Its fun to pull out the old ornaments and remember the stories about them. A & I collected ornaments for about 3 years before we even moved in together. We turned on Charlie Brown Christmas and starting decorating!



This is one of my favorite ornaments. That's my car! I saw it last year and HAD to have it =)

This is my new ornament from an exchange. I LOVE it!

We like to get ornaments from places we go. We got this one from this summer's trip to Las Vegas

Our very first ornament.

And there is our tree! In just 2 short weeks Santa  will be placing all his gifts underneath :)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Oh Christmas Tree

This weekend we went out to Big Tree Plantation to cut down our Christmas tree. This is our second year cutting down the tree. This is a tradition I think we should keep up on! It is so fun to go out to 'hunt' for the perfect tree. Plus, afterwards you get free hot chocolate and the gift shop always has some goodies to look at!

This years selection was better than last years. I like how they plant a tree for each one sold.

Andy & Logan. The sleds are for the trees but Logan always convinces Andy to pull him around.

Our tree! A 9 footer!

Cutting it down

My brothers' family and their tree.

It was hard to find one tree!

Of course some reindeer where on the farm =)

How did the tree look in the house? You'll just have to wait and see!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

It's begining to look a lot like...


CHRISTMAS
 Happy December! Its hard to believe the last month of 2009 is upon us. I can remember when Christmas was 100 days away, now its only 24! This is my favorite time of year. I love the smell of the Christmas candles we burn, the beautiful lights on the street, cutting down our Christmas tree, and enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate on a snowy day. This weekend A & I got all the decorations up and the lights outside. Most of the decor is the same from last year but we did add a few new things. My favorite thing is our S'more tree. We've been collecting these ornaments for the past few years and thought they desired a tree of their own.



On Black Friday I also took advantage of Michael's 25% off coupon (that worked on sale items!!). I made this wreath for about $25 which is better than the one they had in the store for $75!


I like the way it turned out. I learn how to hang it without putting a nail in the front of the door here

I'm on the hunt for some red placemats to finish off the dining room. Any suggestions??

I'm really digging the skinny legged snowmen. I was so excited to buy the one on the left last year after Christmas =) More pictures to come!

This weekend we are cutting down our tree. Last year was our first year doing so, and I hope its a tradition we keep up. I can not wait to have the smell of a fresh Christmas tree in the house!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Turkey Day

I just wanted to share some pictures from our Thanksgiving.






After our wonderful dinner, my mom, Lauren, and my friend Cassie went up to the outlets. We got some great deals and beat the crowd. The news told people they were opening up at midnight but actually most stores opened at 9! We got a front parking spot and had to wait in zero lines! It was awesome. I got some awesome deals =) Today, Christmas decorations go up. This is something A and I both love to do!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thankful



I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time being spent with family and friends. We are having my mom, brother, his girlfriend, her son, and my in laws over today. I sure do have a lot to be thankful for. I have an amazing husband, a loving family, and the perfect job. What are you thankful for this year?



Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Gettin Crafty

Here's my new crafts I've been working on.
I got this vase at IKEA and added a little bit of character to it. I love how it turned out.


This is my favorite thing right now. Flowered headbands!

Cute right?! Very easy to make too!

Lots of headbands to come!

I want to really get into making stuff. On my Christmas list is a sewing machine, and books on how to knit. I have all kinds of ideas of things to make! Someday I'd like to open my own etsy shop or work at craft shows. Hmm, that just might be my New Years resolution (yea I know, kinda early!) Once I get more headbands made I will post them!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Can goods


Here is the food I am donating for A's work food drive. If you know of a place in your town that is collecting food or a family that needs something for Thanksgiving then you need to check out Target. Right now, Del Monte cans are $0.45, and in Sundays paper there was a coupon that if you  buy 8 you get $1 off. Also Betty Crocker potatoes were on sale for $0.79, Campbell's soups are $0.49, and Heinz gravy is $0.79. After coupons ($1 off 8 cans and $0.35 off Betty Crocker) I spent $9.54 which breaks down to about $0.53 for each item. So please head out to Target and pick up some good deals for a family in need, or for yourself for Thanksgiving (which is 1 week away!!!)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Toys


Right now at Toy R Us they are having a FABULOUS sale on all Hasbro games. So here's the deal: Spend $25 on Hasbro games get a $10 gift card to Toys R Us, then Hasbro is having a mail in rebate on the games. Here is the game prices broken down:
Candy Land- $3.99 ($2 mail in rebate so will become $1.99)
Chutes and Ladders-  $3.99 ($2 mail in rebate so will become $1.99)
Don't Break the Ice- $3.99 ($2 mail in rebate so will become $1.99)
Memory-  $3.99 ($2 mail in rebate so will become $1.99)
Pictureka- $12.99 ($3 mail in rebate so will become $9.99)
Family Game night Trophy- Free! ($9.99 retail but came free with Pictureka)

So I spent $28.95 - $10 gc- $11 in rebates /  6 games = $1.33 per game!

My plan is to give Pictureka and the Trophy to my nephew for Christmas and the other toys will be donated to Toys For Tots. The $10 gc will go toward Super Mario Brothers for the Wii! I thought with the holidays coming up it was worth it to let everyone know about this great deal! Even if you don't have kids please pick up some $3.99 games (if any are left!) and donate them so the kids who aren't as fortunate will have something from "Santa" to open this year! If you bought 7 games @ $3.99 each you will be paying $0.56 a game!!!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Planned.Partied.Done!

Over the past year I have become extremely close with one of A's cousins wives Amanda. We have always talked at family gatherings and we would even hang out on some weekends when the boys would get together, but lately we have been talking everyday. Amanda and her husband, Allen, have been trying to have a baby for a long time and last spring they told everyone they were pregnant with TWINS! I knew right away I wanted to throw her a shower. Then once I found out one was a boy and one was  girl I knew exactly what theme/colors I wanted to do! So this past weekend was the big day. I planned this shower for weeks and loved every moment of it. Anyway on to the good stuff right? I was a co-host with Kristen, another cousins wife! The party was at my home. The theme was zebras with pink and teal as the colors.


All the yummy food


My banner I made, it says babies


Kristen came up with the game pin the babies on Amanda. Everyone loved it!

The final result!


These are what I looked forward to making. The cupcakes and icing were made from scratch. I tried adding whipping cream to my buttercream frosting and it made it taste sooo much better!


How cute are these! Half pink, half blue! I wanted to make these ever since I found out a little boy, and a little girl were on their way!


Amanda got a ton of great gifts!

I really enjoy being a hostess and loved throwing a baby shower! I'm sad I didn't get a pic of us together =(. I can't wait till Feb (or Jan) when little Sam and Kate come into this world!