Great Site for Little Girls!

A friend of Brian's from college recently started up her own little shop selling different types of bows for little girls. She just added tutus to her collection and they are adorable! I had Rachel make a custom design for Nola {my friend Allison's little girl} just as a little gift and had a matching bow made, too!  These tutus and bows are priced extremely well comparing to other sites I've seen!

Doesn't she look adorable?! Best part is, the tutu and matching bow was only $22 total! That's such a steal! Rachel shipped the package to Allison & Nola with a personalized message, too!

You can check out other designs or make your own through her facebook page, Belles Bows N More.

I love surprises!

Ok, maybe not all the time, but when it comes with a gift, I really like it! :)
My sweet hubby came home yesterday with a present for me! I've been eyeing the New Balance Tonifiant {butt toners} but thought it was ridonkulous to pay that much for shoes that probably won't tone up my butt and thighs without me having to do anything extra. ha!

Well, he came home with some cute pink ones for me! I'm so excited! Just in time for the 2-week state testing coming up where I will be walking around aimlessly for hours a day in April! :)

But before you start your judging on oh-no-he-didn't-call-her-butt-big thought, I've had my eye on them for a while and think I'll be seeing some tennis-shoe wearing ahead in my future! I'm starting to re-think my high heels everyday at work thing anyway. :)

New Item!

I've added a new item to my little Craft Store. 
Remember the vinyl letters I used for my flour and sugar containers? Well, I decided to put those letters and other items on sale! I shopped around on the internet, and for the letters and size I'm offering, my prices are pretty low! :) haha

Go check out the site when you have time!

Hope you had a good, snowy day! I'm happy to announce we actually WENT to school today in this mess! Just class to not be adding to the June days today! :)

What's The Rule? I want some feedback!!

This tends to be a debate, errr, conversation topic between me and my team-teacher during lunch. {I know, you are all jealous by the witty, intense, thought-provoking topics we discuss}
When is too much, too much?

Wedding Showers:
How many wedding showers should one friend be invited to?
Do you count the Bachelorette-Lingerie Shower combo in on this?
If you attend more than 2 showers, do you also bring a gift to the wedding?

Rule of Thumb during my Wedding: The most girls were invited to were 1 shower and 1 bachelorette party. Thus, 2 total for some.
My sister/MOH and Mom were invited to all. xoxo

Baby Showers:
How many baby showers should one friend be invited to?
Do you throw/attend/have baby showers after the first child?

I want to really hear your answers! So please comment!! :)

"Yea, I Make Curtains..."

That's what I'll be sliding in to conversations from now on. :) Our Sneak Peek Reveal is here!
Although the pictures DO NOT due this fabric justice {can't wait to get a decent camera, sheesh!}, it looks really good in our family room. It looks so good that we are re-thinking needing curtains in the breakfast area. 

Do you like the puddle-look of the fabric, or should I hem it just a little to just barely touch the carpet?

I've been looking for fabric for a while because A) I like custom things, B) I wanted super long curtains to start close to the ceiling and end touching the floor with 9 ft. ceilings, and C) I'm too cheap to pay over $50 for something I felt like I could make myself.

And here it is! I MADE THESE! And my wonderful hubby hung the rods perfectly! I am so proud of myself! ha!

the picture makes it look more green than it actually does in the room:)

We chose this fabric because it ties in the greens and yellows from the kitchen, the blues and grays in the family room on the couch and chairs, and the beige and tan from the wall and trimming.  We found a really pretty green pillow with the colors in the fabric from Wal-Mart and I'm debating on getting it to add to the couch. Again, I like textures, designs, and colors all mixed in.

I used the technique from this post to make all the edges look hemmed and seamless.  I also chose ring hooks to hang the curtains from the rods for a few reasons.  I felt like fabric going over the rod would make this room feel 'fancier' than I wanted and I got the last bit of fabric from the store so I was afraid I didn't have much to spare! {Wrong!}

Total Cost:
2 Rods from Wal-Mart: $25 each
2 bags of ring hooks: $6 each
2 panels cut of 8ft 3/4in fabric: $32 total {this was 40% off and I got the end of the fabric, so one panel was 50% off!!}
1 bottle of Unstitch: left-over from wedding...I think the bottle was $4
Saying I made my own custom curtains: PRICELESS! hahaha :)

Hope you likey!

AND...remember this post? We did it! I got the cheaper stencil from Hobby Lobby that looked just like the $40 one at the on-line store. Brian takes all the credit for this! He was even being creative when he asked if we should do the entire wall or just a strip.  At first I wanted the entire wall, but after we saw how bold it was, we both decided we really only wanted it to add an 'extra layer' to that area, so we left a strip. I like it!! But Brian is still debating. He may end up painting the whole inset section. :)

Total Cost:
Stencil{50% off}: $9
Valspar Churchill Hotel Vanilla paint: 1/2 pint - $2.95

Hope you're having a good weekend! Go Green Bay!


*I'm Linking up with A Bowl Full of Lemons! {7/12/11}

Sneak Peek...

This Saturday has been busy for us! We've been working on 2 big projects!
Here's 2 hints...

{sorry for the poor quality pics, taken from the BB}

Stay tuned tomorrow to see the big reveal! I'm SO proud of B and me!!! :) :) :)

Laundry Room!

You all know how much I love doing laundry. ha!  Well, last week during one of my snow days {and yes, I'm on another one today...we're never getting out for summer!!!} I decided to organize my laundry room a little.  Not really because it needed it, but because I was bored.  I also organized our linen closets and bathrooms. Wow.

Here's a few pics of my laundry room.  It's like an oversized closet on our 2nd floor.  I love the fact that I don't have to drag (or roll) our laundry bin to the first floor, but I would love to have a cute mudroom one day, too!

2 Bins with labels of the content inside, change/button bowl

Cricut Letters, Sign that reads, "when I said I do, I didn't mean laundry" - a wedding gift

So, it's not the coolest place, but it would be ridic. to paint...so I like the brown paisley baskets with yellow stripe tags (cut from Cricut), and the brown Cricut letters in Loop Dee Doo font.  You know teachers, we like to label and bin everything! {pantry, closets, bathrooms, etc.} ha!  To the left of the dryer is a large open space where I have my drying rack stored and a small trash can. I found that it saves me time to have a trash can nearby to quickly throw away the lint.  On the left side of the washer is where I store the ironing board and our water-heater lives. :)

Today {because I'm on a snow day and bored} I'm thinking about adding letters in a different font under the 'Laundry Room' stickers with maybe - Wash. Dry. Repeat.  stacked on top of one another. Overkill?

I'll save you the boredom from looking at my linen closet...but I did get an email asking where the baskets came from in my pantry make-over.  DOLLAR STORE! Yep, lots of sizes, designs, and colors.  In the linen closet I chose lime green and bright blue polka dot bins, you know what the pantry ones look like, and at school I have the multi-colored polka dot bins on my shelves.

Meal Planning

Ok, so you all know I obviously find cooking fun and enjoyable with all the recipes I share... But I also love having my meals prepared and organized! I'm sure that's a big shocker to some. :) 
I cook about 4 nights out of the week (Mon.-Thurs.) and then Friday/Saturday are our nights out, and Sunday nights are just little things like frozen pizza, chicken fingers, etc.  Besides making a menu to keep me organized, it helps me stay less stressed every night coming home from work wondering what to cook, helps with saving money, and helps with not wasting food!

I like to make my list on Sundays {oh, how I love list-making}, go to the grocery if I need to {but we only go every 2 weeks, so some weeks get super creative with what I've got to work with in my organized pantry, ha!}, and post it up on the fridge.  Now, to most people a post-it note menu planner would be fine.  But come on, I can't have that!

So, I did a little searching on the internet and came up with little that I liked. :( I'm a paper-and-pencil kind of gal, so I can't have anything fancy like keeping it on my phone! For goodness sakes I still keep a large agenda book in my purse! 
So, I made a little planner, but then thought about what a pain it would be to print off every week...

Next I thought about using my Cricut letters and making a chart on the fridge. Hmm, still not sold just yet. But maybe. We'll see. :)  I'm thinking this might be my Saturday morning craft.
{I know, I'm such a nerd!}

I'd LOVE to do chalkboard paint over my pantry door. I even went to buy the chalkboard paint and was ready to go, until I realized my door is the type that has the 2 rectangle shapes cut into it on the outside instead of the one large rectangle.  Do you know what I'm talking about? Such a sad moment. ha!

Any cute ideas for me?!

Also, I'm starting to get my shelves put together. I'm not sold on the second shelf, but I love the top one.  How cute is the Lexington plate?! Brian's cousin, Kelley, bought that for us for Christmas! So perfect!

wedding champagne flutes, china platter, wedding sign, canister with removable pieces

How cute is this plate?! It has all the different local Lexington places on it.

Grown Up Prom {thegoldenglobes}

{to get in the mood of this post...you may need to play song while you view, haha!}
So, here's my loves and hates. Not all of them. But some of them. Some were so nasty it was hard for me to physically click and save. HAHA!

Love it.

Hate it.

Love it. Want it.

Love the style. Hate the color.

Love it. Google Olivia Wilde to see the best part about her dress - the shoes! It wouldn't let me copy that photo.

Love her, so Love the dress - wish it were brighter!

Love it.

Hate isn't a strong enough word.

mixed feelings. a little like, a little hate.

maybe we can give her a break since she's going through the big D. shoowee.

Nasty.

Love it. Love her. Do you watch her reality show on the Style Network? You should.

Hate it. So she showed some goodies. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

love it.

love it.

So, do you agree or disagree with me? I want to know! :)

Weekend Wrap-Up!

We had a typical weekend with an extra kick! It was Colby's 2nd Birthday this weekend!

Friday we went to yummy Puccini's and watched football games the rest of the night...

Saturday we went over to my sister's for Colby's birthday party! It was a Construction Theme party complete with dump trucks and construction hats! Colby was sooo good as usual, waiting on guests to arrive, telling everyone where to place his presents (ha!), eating patiently before opening gifts, and letting his friend, Lily Kate, help open gifts!

Uncle B, Colby, and Auntie MayMay

Colby was very patient waiting on guests to arrive. He was showing me the order he would open presents while we waited!

Some guests were a little late...so I was trying to keep his mind off the gifts! We were looking at his fabulous cake his Mommy made and all the other cute details on the food table.

So excited he's 2!

Each of the kids got a construction hat with their names (thank you Cricut!) and had stickers to decorate with while the adults were finishing up eating.

We got Colby a truck you can put together and take apart with this motorized tool and... a pillow pet! haha! I think those things are so dumb, but when he opened it he gave the monkey a nose kiss ~ so I guess it was a hit!
Saturday night ended with us hanging out with our friends Nick & Jordan.  We watched football and basketball games for hours! {thank goodness B has Nick and I have Jordan! whew!} We ended up going to what I thought was a hole-in-the-wall bar, but they've revamped the place making it nicer, cleaner, and including Goodfella's Pizza inside! I wish I had a picture of the pizza...it's amazing...it's so big it's served across 2 plates! The place wasn't bad at all - actually a really fun sports bar! I see more visits there in our future, Jordan! :) Our friend Alison also met us there for a bit, but I didn't get a pic with her!

Sunday has been typical, too! Church, lunch with my parents, and more football. :) I didn't realize how much B loves football until we married....sly dog! haha
Best part is....the weekend isn't over yet! We both have tomorrow off! YAY! Aren't Sundays so much better when you know you don't have to work the next day?!
Hope your weekend was great!

We Are Family!

So last night B and I started our new study at church, After The Alter.  I'm pretty excited about it because it's for all stages of married couples - newlyweds, parents, empty nesters.  We went with some of our friends and then saw 2 other couples we've been wanting to start doing more with, too!

Yesterday was the usual 'intro' lesson where we basically get out all the outcomes and sorts.  For the next 5 weeks (I guess 4 now) we'll learn about a few major tops and get some biblical perspective on how to deal and have your marriage survive through it. 

Last night was on pain and we had some good discussions; but I actually took something different away from last night. At the end of each lesson there will be a parenting application. Although we don't need that just yet, it never hurts to store up good information!
****************************************************
Genesis 1 - There are no children in the Garden of Eden. The woman completes the man and the man completes the woman.
The way that Jen (the wife leader) described this was so refreshing... "We are complete when we get married. Children do not 'complete' our family. They expand it. Your marriage is the most important human relationship you have on earth. Remind yourself of this daily as it is easy to forget when you are raising kids [or wanting kids].
I know lots of people waiting and praying for kids. I know lots of pregnant couples.  I know lots of couples with kids. And it's nice to hear that you are ok and you are still a family - with and without kids.
And on the other hand, I know lots of people who aren't married.  I don't think this verse was meaning you aren't complete single {as I would have been upset taking it a couple years ago}, but the emphasis is on the word family and when you become a family with your spouse you are complete. {just my take:)}

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Here's a new yummy recipe to try! Today is my first time making it.  This recipe comes from my MIL who fixed it for us over our Christmas Break trip!  I'm taking dinner over to my sister, Kelli, and her new little family of 4.  Bringing food is hard to do for them as she lives on cheeseburgers, pizza, and fries! :) So...here's hoping she'll eat this yummy dish! :)

Mexican Chicken Casserole {makes a large casserole}*
What you need:
4-5 chicken breast, cooked and diced *
jalepeno peppers, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 pkg. Doritos
What you do:
Crush approx. 1/2-3/4 bag of Doritos in a ziplock bag and set aside.  Mix chicken soup with 1/2 can water.  Layer crushed Doritos, chicken, peppers, and chicken soup. On top of this, spread the can of cheddar cheese soup. Sprinkle with a few of the crushed Doritos.
Bake at 325 degrees  until bubbly (15-20 minutes)
*I only used 2 chicken breasts and it was enough with left-overs from 3 adults eating. I also added Frank's Red Hot Sauce to the top and shredded cheddar cheese on top before baking!
AND it was actually a hit for Kelli and Eric! WOW! haha! Of course, I only put the jalepenos on half of the casserole because I knew they wouldn't eat that part! Colby cracked up we were eating a meal with 'chips' in the chicken! :)

Doesn't this kind of remind you of B's favorite meal - Dorito Chip Chicken?! :)
Also...look at what my cute Cricut did!

LoopDee font, pink vinyl

Lovin' my pantry a little too much to keep spending time on it! ha!
Enjoy! :)