Deck the halls with...

December 13, 2013

GLITTER!!!

Hopefully I won't regret this decision when we go to take down and put away everything.

To get ready for this holiday season I started looking on Pinterest to get organized. I love how you can find pretty much anything you might be looking for and more. I came across A Bowl Full of Lemons Holiday Planner. I loved how she had everything in one place and pretty much covered everything. I decided to make my own, it's not as pretty but it will do for now. My favorite page is The Holiday Card List. I'd been looking for the perfect Christmas card since September and narrowed it down to three.1 2 3. I ended up going with number two.

I ordered the cards the week before Thanksgiving and they arrived within a week. Some assembly was required, I had to glue the gold glitter liner paper on the inside of the envelopes. I am very pleased with what we received and was able to get 15% off when I ordered them. To make sure our cards could be enjoyed for the whole holiday season I sent the majority of cards out the day after Thanksgiving.

I love to wrap presents! correct that I love to wrap presents that are in a nice rectangle or square. I have been eyeing this wrapping scheme for quite a bit. I had some kraft wrapping paper left over from the year before but with us not exchanging gifts till after Christmas I didn't think the bits of evergreen would last till then. Instead I still used kraft wrapping paper and was able to buy black ribbon at Michael's and added gold glitter ribbon on top.

Black Friday we bought our Christmas tree at Home Depot. Typically we would buy our tree from a tree farm where we could cut ours down, but I still haven't found one close to us. Our theme for the tree for the last few years have been Penguins with a few sentimental ones thrown in there. This year I've opted to not add any ornaments to the tree but the star on top.I just love the simplicity of it (or I'm just that lazy haha).

Chalk Board DIY inspired by this

Needless to say we are ready for Christmas. How have you been getting ready for this holiday season? Have you ever had a "naked" tree? I would love to hear how you manage all the holiday stress below in the comments. I leave you with my buddy Bailey who was tuckered out after watching me wrap all the presents.

Saying Goodbye...for now

October 16, 2013

I bought my first house when I was 21! I bought my first house when I was 21 and I feel in love with owning my own house and decorating it and doing home improvements. I wanted to have a post for the progress the house went through before it's rented out. I bought the house in July 2009 and as I said before I was 21, and didn't have any sense of my decorating style so keep that in mind when you see the before pictures.

Front of house 2009

This is the picture from the listing when we bought the house. as you can tell here were a lot of  . I'm not a huge fan of them so I donated them to the in-laws.

font of the house 2013

We never really did anything to the outside of the house that changed much of the look. This also doesn't represent what it looked like while we lived their either. you can see the tulips their on the left at one time there was a beautiful Azalea bush in the middle and on the right side where orange mums that came back every year (for 4 years) as long as you cut them back when they looked dead at the end of fall.  The list of improvements we did have done was have a new roof put on, changed the outside lights (there is one on the side of the house too), and installed new windows.

Shed before

I know this isn't the greatest picture of the shed but it's all I have. we had to remove it because it was rotting and a hazard.

Shed now

We really lucked out to get this shed. Steve's Uncle was able to give us this one. oh and it's made of plastic so we don't have to worry about it rotting. I power washed it so it looks brand new but it's in reality more then 10 years old. Take that mother nature.

living room Christmas 2009

Unfortunately this was the only picture I could find of the living room from when it was GREEN. It happened to be taken when the windows were being installed. Not that you can really tell from the picture but we had an empty living room no furniture. This was kind of awesome for a young couple who liked to have party's because we would just move the dinning room table in for a beer pong table haha.

living room 2011

As you can see we grew out of the no furniture in the living room faze eventually. We received the couch as a wedding present or we would probably still not have a suitable piece of furniture for our living room. We painted the walls Bedford Gray from the Martha Stewart collection at Home Depot. Also painted the trim white to make it pop.

living room 2013

This is what it looks like now while we are waiting for someone to rent it out. The color is now

basement 2009

Steve is a huge Steelers fan and when we bought this house I told him he could have the whole basement for himself as a "Man Cave".

basement 2013

In the before picture of the basement you didn't get to see the wood wall. Originally I wasn't really sold on the all wood wall but now I love it. The basement is now Bedford Gray just like the living room was. Also the trim has been painted white and new carpet laid.

Bathroom 2009

behind the shower curtain

Like I said I wasn't sure what my decorating style was I thought I wanted a bright bathroom needless to say it got changed about a year later when we did a total bathroom redo. I also got rid of the nasty plastic walls that moved when you pushed on them

during the renovation in 2011

bathroom now

Told you we made the bathroom less bright. The color is Ice Rink from the Martha Stewart Collection again. I've always loved subway tile and luckily I have a husband and a backup husband (Hubby's cousin) who are very handy and LOVE me enough to take this bathroom on. The updates done over time in this room was new tile, subway tiles, a new vanity installed,new lighting put in, and the tub has now been re-glazed.

Master Beedroom 2009

Master Bedroom now

I know it looks kind of small but this is the master bedroom. We never made very many changes in this room just changed the bedding over time. When we lived in this house there where no closet doors so we have added bi-folds to all the closets.

I wont add the other two bedrooms they are pretty much like the master and now all the same color with the same carpet and wall color. 

I'm going to miss this house, no doubt about that, but it's time to move on. Maybe the next time we move will be back into a house! Wouldn't that be amazing?!?!

Getting Organized

October 10, 2013

First I want to say thank you to everyone who has reached out to the hubs and I and sending your prayers for us after the loss of our baby. We are both OK and looking forward to the future.

With my new found energy I have been going through boxes from our move again. You think after living here for over a year we would be unpacked but naw why do that? This past Saturday I was able to go through 3 cardboard boxes and one of the large rubbermaid totes of paper and shred the majority of it in just a few 5 hours. (The Buckeyes were playing latter that night or this wold have been held off till Sunday.)

Now the fun part began, organizing all of our papers into this nice little filing chest.

filling chest

Most people would stop at this but I'm a sucker for organizing files over and over again till I can't no more. One of the questions I had myself was how long should I these documents for? After some research I stumbled upon the answer to that age old dilemma of keep, shred, store in a safety deposit box.

 For those wondering what I deem file-able 401k Statements; Bank Statements; Credit Card Statements; Utility Bills; Mortgage Statements; Rental Agreements/Apartment correspondence; and Insurance for life, car, home, health, and dental.

If you have ever worked with me or seen my decisions in office supplies you know that I LOVE to have colorful everything to make things less mundane. Needless to say this black box isn't cutting it for my colorful side. I will keep it and find another use for it but for right now I'm headed in a different direction. I searched pinterest to see how others like to organize their bills and am trying to adapt it to what would work best for me. I'm hoping mine will look something like this or this. Do you see the common theme there? COLORFUL

The supply list I have gathered so far: Pencil, Pens 1 1/2" Binder, 3-Hole Punch, Binder Pocket, Plastic Tab Dividers, and Sheet Protectors.

In the next couple of days I will have it all put together and organized and share with you the finished product and what works for me. If you have any questions you would like answered please do not hesitate to add it in the comments below.

Loss

October 1, 2013

My sweet baby,

I have carried you 12 weeks today. I found out today that you had stopped growing 3 weeks ago. I'll never get to hold your tiny hand or kiss your forehead and tell you how much your mommy and daddy love you. I'll never have to yell at your big goofy brother Bailey for getting to close and licking you all over. I'll never get the chance to sneak you away from all your loving relatives because you (me more then you) needed a break. All these things I wanted for you but will never get to give you. What I hope to be able to give you is peace. Peace in knowing that we wanted you so much. Your dad and I had spent so much time in these short 12 weeks talking about you and what we wanted for you in your life to come. Peace in knowing that you are not alone. You are with God and all of your family members that we have lost who would have loved you to pieces. Peace in knowing that your mom and dad will be OK...we might cry some tears now but you have given us so much love and  hope. You will always be our little bean.

Love,
Mommy

Ultrasound on 8/28/2013

Trying...

August 20,2013

As a married couple one of the most frequent question asked to the happy couple is "When will you start having babies?"

After loosing my appetite, having strange stomach pains, a scary hot flash after grocery shopping, and an MIA period we decided to take a pregnancy test. Steve and I had been trying for over a year so I am no stranger to the home pregnancy test. Never before having a positive result I kind of put it off as long as I could. Waiting till Steve was out before taking one in case it wasn't happy news.

After the longest 3 minutes of my life this far this is what I got...

Steve and I are beyond ecstatic and of course that night I couldn't sleep with all the thoughts running through my head of what the up coming months will bring.

as of 8/20/2013

She's Crafty

Tuesday, May 14, 2013,

II like to think of myself as a pretty crafty person. I have always enjoyed making things our of scraps whether those scraps be paper{Christmas cards}, wood{height ruler}, or yarn{wreaths}.

         

I've been scoping our my next DIY project on Pinterest and I think I've found the one I would like to do next. You see I've been looking for a way to get a chalk board like the one on the Little Baby Garvin Blogg. {Isn't Harpsicle the cutest? I love reading Jessica's blog!} I don't want the exact one but I've wanted something similar. I believe I've found the answer to what I've been looking for. In reading some of my favorite blogs I stumbled upon this little gem. Just so happens that Sherry from Young House Love was dreaming of a chalk board too when she was pinning! I hope to get the materials needed to make this in the next couple of weeks.

Material list

• 1 - 68"x21" of partical board
• 3 - 1x6 boards
• 2 - 29.5"
• 2 - 63"
• Magnetic Primer
• Chalkboard paint
• Stain
• Screws

Do you have any DIY projects coming up? Do you plan your projects out or just kind do as you go?

Home Sweet....Apartment?!?!?

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

When Steve and I found out we were moving I was excited {or so I thought}. "How am I going to find a place for us to live if I've never been there, and don't know anyone that lives there?" I found myself asking everyone this question. "Just look online...duh" seemed to be the resounding answer. I had been looking online and had come across some prospective places but without knowing the area I didn't know which area of town was best and where to stay away from. I wanted to make sure it was close to Steve's job so it made it a little easier to narrow in where. I would Google "What are the best schools around Memphis", thinking if they had top ranking schools the area would be family friendly. Little did I know that Memphis only has two school districts besides private options either Shelby County Schools or Memphis City Schools. Steve was in training with someone who was from the Memphis area so he told us to look at Moscow, TN {too long of a commute to Steve's job}. Finally I just had to decide I couldn't do it before being there. 

At the end of March 2012, Steve was going to be in Memphis for work and I had decided I was going to stop working at the same time to get things in order for the move and to be able to travel with him till we had found somewhere to call home. During that week Steve's cousin Adrian watched Bailey so I could drive down to meet Steve. While Steve was at work I was looking online and in person at potential places to live. Luckily for us the extended stay hotel we were booked in at was in the areas I had been researching. I must have visited/drove by a dozen apartments. The biggest determining factor of finding a place was if they would allow Bailey. Steve and I narrowed it down to three places. Inevitably it was up to me to decide. I chose the place that made me feel safe and I couldn't get out of my mind. I loved the huge kitchen, the fireplace, the large bedrooms, and it was the largest in square footage we could afford.

It has been a struggle to adjust back to apartment living. I have the urge to paint the walls a different color every time I blink it seems. We make the most of it and look forward to the next visit from family and friends. In the mean time look at this adorable face...how could you not want to cuddle with him.

egg bunting from Target

and life goes on

Saturday, April 13, 2013

I apologize for the LONG gap between post there have been a lot of family things going on. With that being said there was a request from family for the weekend we had Steve's family down to visit which was in February so my account of details might be a little more then rusty.

I love having people visit and we had been looking forward to this visit for a while. Not only were Steve's parents coming but so was his sister and our nephew!!! When we lived in Ohio we were all together (plus the sister-in-laws husband) at least once a week for a family fun filled day of yard work, dinner, and game night. This weekend was to be no exception...well maybe without the yard work with us living in an apartment.

When they showed up it was around 10 at night so we grabbed a pizza or two and had a late dinner before all heading to bed. The next day us ladys plus Austin went for a little adventure to downtown Memphis to try and go to the Mud Island-Riverwalk. Once we got down there we discovered it doesn't open till April. It wasn't a bust though we got to see giant statues of BB King and Elvis.

Just so we could say we went to Arkansas we drove over the mighty Mississippi and then turned right back around. I know we should have stopped somewhere but ain't nobody got time for that. That night I got to find out why we don't play Monopoly. In the seven years I've been with Steven we have never played Monopoly and I have about 5-6 editions of Monopoly. The claws come out with this family...people where called the devil and there were plenty of tears. 

Needless to say the rest of the time was much happier we went to Graceland, Beale Street and the Civil Rights Museum

It was a great weekend and I can't wait for the next one. I leave you with these amazing pictures my sister-in-law took of Austin and Bailey.

Knock Knock....Part II

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

With Steve headed out of town on Sunday for work it was up to Brittney, Jason and myself to find things to get into. First though we need our breakfast...enter Gibson's Doughnuts. Brittney and Jason were nice enough to go get them for us while Steve and I finished packing him up. Unfortunately I don't have a picture to add for them because they went quick and were very big.

One thing I have wanted to do since getting down here was check out Beale Street. Steve has never really expressed any interest and has been down there for work.  With that being said we went after we dropped Steve off at the Memphis airport. It was early enough in the morning that there wasn't really anyone down there, so we took our time and checked out the menus of a couple of the restaurants and stopped at some of the souvenir shops for a magnet and shot glass. The FedEx Forum is also down off beale. Aren't the little balls around it cute?

We didn't eat on Beale. We are saving our Beale trip for next time when Steve takes us all to Rendezous. This isn't because the food didn't look good or smell good (my mouth is watering just remembering some of the food served on Beale); But we had some shopping to do as well as catch a football game. 

For lunch I took them to a restaurant Steve and I had been wanting to go to. I know this will be a frequent haunt for Steve and I. Since we left Ohio Steve has been looking for something to take the place of Winking Lizard. Last year he did the world tour of beers at Winking Lizard with some amazing friends including Jason. When we FINALY (remember I'm still new to driving around down here so I don't always know if I should turn right or left...hahaha) got to The Flying Saucer I got a stamp of approval from Jason. Look at this bar...

I know what your thinking...and yes when you come to visit we will take you too. Not into beer? me either so when I say I'll go back you know its not just pup food. Brittney and I split a saucer (their pizza) with Avocado, Bacon and Tomato as well as some Spinach and Artichoke dip and loved it. Jason got a burger of some sort and he also got a pint of Straight to ale Lilly Flagg milk stout.

Something that the Flying Saucer does that I really applaud is the way they serve the beer. They promise to not allow their customers to purchase more than an average of two pints per hour, and no one will be permitted to consume more than six pints per visit. NO ONE should drink and drive and this makes me feel a lot.

We went home to watch the football game (Ravens vs. Patriots) and to get ready for the next round of food. Corkys is right up the street from our place so it wasn't to far, and it was more BBQ for Jason to sink his teeth in. I like to get the BBQ Pork Nacho's. Corkys was the first BBQ place Steve and I tried when we came to Memphis and helped us discover we like dry rub better then wet. Brittney got the Bar-B-Q Pork Dinner that said she was going to get a half pound of pulled pork...there is no way that was a half pound...it looked closer to a pound and a half. Jason fallowed me and got the nacho's but feel in love with their dried spices. 

To finish up the night of course we went to YOLO!!! I love that place and can't wait to show our next visitors!!!

I hope you didn't find these post to drawn out. I really like to keep you all in the loop with whats going on with Steve and I and with us having friends/family coming down over then next couple of months I hope to share these visits too. Is there anything you would like to see on here? I'm very open to adding other tid bits of our lives to share with you... please leave us a comment with what you'd like to see in the up coming post.

Knock Knock... Part I

Friday, January 25,2013

Last Friday night our good friends Jason and Brittney were in town...what a great excuse to get out and see Memphis!!! If you know Brittney, you know that she loves deals as well as good food. So naturally she was all over helping us find places to go the next morning.

For lunch we went to Gus's World Famous Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken in Collierville. Steve and I had been there before a couple of times and every time we have, it has been VERY HOT..as Austin would say "Brittany don't touch it!". The chicken has a kick to it, but not too spicy.

To help the food settle, we (as in Brittney and I) went for a walk around the square in Collierville. The boys stayed in the car hacking portals (Steve and Jason were playing Ingress, a beta game that is like geocaching). There are a bunch of little shops and some little cafe's/diners in the square that remind me of a little old town; complete with a gazebo that has invisible steps for me to trip up.

While we were there we came across a frozen yogurt shop named YOLO...I know what you're thinking, but hey, like the acronym you do only live once. So we made a plan that after dinner we would go. I am so glad we did!!!

For dinner that night we had Interstate BBQ. Jason, Brittney, and myself wanted to go to Rendezvous but Steve is not a big fan of vinegar based BBQ sauce. Interstate was really good. Steve and I split the BBQ nachos and a half slab of ribs (we are trying to see who's ribs we like best). The employee's there are very nice. We were talking to one of the wait staff and he told us how his brother had just moved to Texas for a job and was renting out his house here in Memphis (sounds familiar).

Now back to the best part of the night YOLO!!! Well the best part besides being with friends that is. We had been looking at their website all day and noticed that one of their other locations had gelato as well. Even though I am part Italian, I am sorry to say I had never knowingly had gelato before. Boy oh boy was I missing out. I went with frozen yougurt route though but Steve got the Tiger Remember when I told your Brittney loves a deal? While we were checking out YOLO's website we signed up for their loyalty rewards and got a coupon for free 7oz. frozen yogurt. I ended up getting my cup of froyo for 83 CENTS! Gotta love deals!! Also if you check in on foursquare you can get 10% off!!!

I'll be posting part II this coming Tuesday, so don't forget to check back!