Decorating!

Although I'm not ready to hang up the towel on our kitchen just yet...we're coming along!! Brian says it takes me a long time to decorate because: (a.)I do not like making decisions (b.) I am very picky with the look I am going for (c.) I have to look at what every place has to offer.
So... Below are some pictures of our newly decorated kitchen and family room! I also tried to spruce up the gray couches with more throw pillows ~ I think it helps! We did most of this last night ~ and today when Brian walked in the door he said, "Aww, this feels like home."

Hello Summer!

Last week, our grill fell over and broke. Today my Dad said he bought us a new one.
Aren't we lucky?!
XOXO Mom & Dad! Now we don't have to be ghetto with Brian using a paisley mitten to open the grill.

Damask Wreath

So I'm not in love with this wreath, but it's better than I had up on my door...
I tried to not do the whole 'bow wreath' thing since I've done that already several times. I chose a damask ribbon to perectly match my bench on the front porch and "B" flag in the mulch in front of the house. I wanted to keep it classy with a black color, but needed a little more ~ so I added a lime green ribbon to the back.

Although you could totally figure out how to make this {not so great} wreath here are the very simple directions:
1 wreath around $3.99
2 spools of ribbon around $3.99 each (50% off at Hobby Lobby)
black paint
letter B (or your letter)
fray check
hot glue gun (do not ever expect me to produce a craft without this!)


I just started by wrapping the green ribbon around the edges, followed by the damask ribbon. Then I hot glued the edges of the ribbon together to stay and hot glued the back of the ribbons to the back on the wreath. Next I painted the B black from the wood color and hot glued it as well. Lastly, I took the extra length of the ribbons and tied each into a bow around a wooded piece of the wreath. I hot glued the ribbon lengths to different pieces of the wreath to make sure it held the 3-D look of the bow and so it would withstand the weather!
Viola! Finished!



{don't look at the not cute doormat!}

I wanna be a stay-at-home Mom...

Without the kids. :)
Isn't it crazy that I haven't even been married for 2 months and yet all I hear now is "When are you planning on having kids?". I mean really? Married couples told me it would happen. I was even ready for it. But really? Ask me how life is. Ask me how marriage is. Just ask me something other than that!
I've learned in the last few years that it isn't even proper etiquette to ask someone that dreaded question. People don't want to tell. Maybe they don't know. And maybe they can't. You just never know!
Plus, I feel like I am a pseudo-mother 5 days out of the week~to my students! I was just telling Mom the other day, these kids wear me out! I can't imagine being their day-time Mom and then having to come home and be a real-time Mom!

At some points I feel like I have zero patience left, no smiles left, and too tired to speak ~ and then kids do what they do the best...give you a sweet note or a whisper to tell you how much they love you, and then it all goes away.

I guess that's how you do it.


I found a note in my bag when I was leaving today. 2 boys and 1 girl made a book. There were 6 pages and each had a one word reason of why I was their favorite or why they loved me. Darn kids. :)

A Little Wedding Favorite!

As everyone told me I would be; I'm actually a little sad to not be planning my wedding! Luckily, two of my friends are in the midst of planning theirs so maybe I can get my fix from them! :)

Here's one of my favorite 'crafts' I did for my wedding! It is so so so easy and seriously 1/4 of the cost of what a florist would charge.

The floral B hung on the outside of my church doors. I love all things monogrammed and definitely wanted to share this part in my wedding day. Programs were monogrammed, the unity candle was monogrammed, my shoes were even 'monogrammed' with I Do and our wedding date. So of course, I needed to set the stage to the wedding by the door hanger.

Directions:
1. I bought a large rectangular size green foam from Hobby Lobby (around $6.99)
2. Next, my wonderful friend Katharine helped me cut out a large B. We started with drawing it with a pen, then using an exacto knife, ending with a kitchen steak knife!
3. Next I bought 3 1/2 bags of green reindeer moss from Hobby Lobby. Each bag was around $1.99 ~ so cheap and they have 40% off coupons every day on their website.
4. I used my hot glue gun and glued the moss on the outside of the B and the inner curves.
5. Next, I used floral pins to hold in the ribbon (any color would work - about .99 per spool) on the back.
6. Lastly, my amazingly talented friend, Katharine, took some left over fabric from our table runners (yes, I made those as well!) and made a 3-D flower to stick in the corner of the B to get it a little more color.
This was such a cheap and easy project! I will warn you ~ it take a lot of patience to glue on the moss!!


{cheapest thing EVER! regular old candle with a B decal bought from a specialty store...now its in my living room and reminds us of our families daily!}

Momma Said

Isn't it funny that the older you get the more and more you find yourself saying, "My mom was right...". Well, I just found myself saying this to my students this past week. I can't even remember what the little girls were talking about but I all of a sudden found myself in the middle of about 5 ten year olds saying, "Well girls, your mom really is right. Believe me, I know." Then I just started laughing - thinking about all the many things in my life my mother was so right about but I had to take the time to learn it on my own before I would trust it.

Mom always said I was too much alike her, making it a bumpy road along the way. Although my Nanny passed away many moons ago now, she and I always had a special bond. Anytime my stubbornness would flare up she would always be there to tell me to listen to my mom and try to see that she knew what she was talking about. My Nanny passed away way too young in my life to really let me live and learn in becoming an adult and I so wish she was around to see how my life has turned out. But it's funny, because whenever my Mom and I seem to butt heads, I hear her voice telling me, Just listen.

So I think it's safe to say my Mom and I were a bit nervous when we started out to plan my wedding. I have very distinct opinions about some things, but when I don't have an opinion, I really don't and want someone else to decide. My Mom is kind of the same way. She has very strong opinions about certain things and usually always has a reasoning behind it.

Well, I've made a list below of my 'Mamma Said' items that turns out ~ she's right. Mommas really do know what they are talking about!
1. Putting my silverware close to the dishwasher. She told me I had to do that because it would be so much easier. I just thought 'who cares where the silverware goes'. Turns out, she was right. It's in a much better spot than where I would have put it.
2. Hostess Gifts. Mom usually always had/has small tokens of appreciation to give others when they throw parties. I thought it was silly or a waste of money. Now that my friends and I have homes, I appreciate the thoughtfulness hostess gifts show others in welcoming someone into their home.
3. Moving in after marriage. Now, I'm not here to judge, nor do I care too much about what other people decide - but I knew I wasn't going to live with B before we got married. Mom let me move back into their home for about 4 months. She was right. It was great. Although I complained a lot {sorry} I look back on that time and wish I could have slowed down my wanting to live in B and I's home. It was so fun to sleep in our home together for the first time the night we got back from St. Lucia.
4. Serving Dishes. This sounds so funny, but I registered for a lot of dishes to put food in after I'd already cooked it. Apartment living for 4+ years didn't exactly prepare me for ever wanting to dirty up more dishes to just serve food in a nicer way. Well, she was right, I always serve dinner in my nice servers. And I don't even care I dirty up more dishes. :)
5. Loving God even when I'm really mad at Him. Sounds weird, right? I've been mad, like really mad, at God. Mom said to just keep talking and keep asking Him. I did. I got over it. I learned why. And I love Him more for it.
6. Loving our family. I've learned through the years our family is close. I thought everyone was like us. But I've learned that's not true. She's kept our family close. We see each other every Sunday and my husband even appreciates the weekly time we spend together {so lucky, right?}. She loves Dad in front of us and I've learned by watching them how to appreciate my husband.

I could keep going ~ but I'm not super mushy like this, so I'll stop while I'm ahead.
I love you Mom. {...and I wonder if you're even keeping up with this blog to read it, HAHA}


What's a lesson learned from your Mom?

1 Room Complete!

So we don't have a lot of rooms complete yet ~ I'm very picky about what I want. But we now have all 3 bathrooms complete! :)

I am most proud of our master bath. Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but we've tried to create a 'Honeymoon' bathroom. We bought a picture from a local painter in St. Lucia of the beach landscape. It hangs above our towel rack next to the double sinks to remind us of our favorite place.



Then, I took a nod from my sister, and brought back 3 Ziploc bags filled with sand from the St. Lucian beach! I looked like a nut scooping it up, but I am so happy I did it! I placed it in the candle holders my mother-in-law left me from our Rehearsal dinner decorations and placed tea lights in the middle.


We ordered one of our favorite pictures from our handy camera self-timer on the beach. We ordered a 16x20 canvas from www.canvaspeople.com. Let me tell you~ this website is awesome. You earn a free $30 dollars the first time you order from there. They were quick and efficient. We love our canvas so much we are probably going to order more from them!

In the bottom corner we have 2 bubble baths and a super cute bride and groom ducky from my MIL!


Although the picture doesn't do the room justice (sorry, this is what you get from a BlackBerry pic) but it looks so amazing! Can't wait for friends to see it this summer!



And do we use our big tub...um, yes!

So it's been a Month...

And what a WONDERFUL month is has been! In honor of this, I'm finally going to post some Honeymoon pics and make a few Top Ten lists. :)

Top Ten favorite things about being married right now (in no particular order):
1. Going to bed together
2. Waking up together
3. Knowing I'm going to see my husband every day
4. Seemingly unable to get this silly smile off my face
5. Having the 'married feeling' while we talk, hang out, etc.
6. Being so much more comfortable (from B)
7. Feeling like it's ok to come home on a Saturday night at 8:00 and get in our PJ's to just hang out (from B)
8. Becoming my own new family with the two of us
9. Sleeping in on Saturday mornings and fixing breakfast together
*10.* Sleeping together for the first time in our bedroom when we got home from our Honeymoon ~ my favorite moment!


Top Ten List from our Honeymoon (in no particular order):
1. All Inclusive ~ enough said
2. NO PHONE or INTERNET ~ just the 2 of us :)
3. Sunsets on the beach
4. Candlelight Couples Massage (from B)
5. Sunset Cruise/Booze Cruise (from B)
6. tan lines
7. BBC's (from B)
8. Pizza for lunch everyday!!
9. Caribbean Sea views from every corner
10. Kayaking in the Sea
11. Snorkeling in the Sea
12. Being on our High from just making the best commitment ever
13. New Bikinis
14. The Obvious... :)
15. Swim-Up Bar
Whoops, did I say only Top Ten?


Kisses at Sunset


Party Pool


Dinner every night ordering appetizers, salads, soups, main courses, desserts, and lots of drinks!


St. Lucian waterfall


Catamaran Booze Cruise


On-Site Paparazzi! Too bad each picture was $10...


Swim-Up Pool Bar


Snorkling


Can you read my butt?! It says "I Do" with rhinestones and a diamond ring. I'd rather not zoom in on that part of my body for you to see better... :)

Needless to say, we think St. Lucia ~ Sandals, was the absolute best place for a Honeymoon or vacation! Perfect weather everyday, perfect beach, sand, water... I could keep going on for days. I've finally come to realize, we may never have another vacation like that one. The high that we felt right after the wedding is one that I'll always remember, but the high we both have now that we're home and settling down as our own little family in our new house is also amazing!

Here's to learning more about one another and this marriage thing!


And of course, having a husband who wants to celebrate our First Month Married is always a plus!!

Coupon Websites

So after trying to fix this house up on a budget, I've started to thrive to find coupons! A few months ago (well before living with Mom & Dad) I lived on trying to find coupons for the grocery store. I wouldn't purchase anything unless it was on sale, a RollBack price, or had a coupon. Well, I'm off that kick and onto another.

I've found an AWESOME website that has tons of coupons and coupon codes for online shopping.
This one is my FAV:
http://bargains-and-deals.blogspot.com/

I also love the daily deal at Hobby Lobby - you can print off a 40% coupon and use on anything that's not already 50% off:
www.hobbylobby.com

This next one is kind of cool. You type in your zip, and the website gives you a coupon to save money on your next meal. The only thing is that you do have to pay some to get it...:
http://www.restaurant.com/rdc_site2.net/listings.aspx?StateID=&zip=40514&

All kinds of restaurants, stores, etc. on this one:
http://www.retailmenot.com/

This next site is just amazing all the way around. You basically can purchase anything on this site at any time, and usually only have to pay for shipping. I made my Save The Dates from here, ordered 230, and paid around $10. Ordered my "Mrs. Burton" shirt and paid shipping only, and many invitations and thank-you notes. It's so amazing!
http://www.vistaprint.com

Do you have any favorite sites to share?

And, just because a Blog post is boring without a picture ~ here's where I wish I was today...

Birthday #27...

So I'm not a huge "I have to celebrate for a week" type of Birthday girl. But I mean really, who doesn't love a day to celebrate yourself!? For this particular birthday, it kind of came all of a sudden. With the craziness of the wedding/honeymoon/moving in/etc. my birthday just appeared!

I spent my Birthday with my family on Sunday. I've done that before, but this year, Brian asked if we could just celebrate on my actual day. I guess it's one of those things when your life and routine changes once you get married. I've only experienced a few of those things, and know this year will hold many more, but it's hard to get used to, you know?

So I started the day off with Brian making me coffee and coming into the bathroom to chat while I was in the shower. To most of you that sounds totally weird, but I swear, I love it when people come in the bathroom to talk to me while I'm in the shower. I know my college friends remember me always wanting to talk while in those dirty 3-stall showers, and I wonder if my mom remembers sitting in the bathroom talking to me when I was little. Anyways, it was a big deal for Brian to get up early and talk as weird as that is!
Birthdays when you are a teacher are always 'put out there' a little more than you want as well. Kids love birthdays. They are so fun for them. Most of mine are having milestone birthdays (10) so I try and make it a big deal, which in turn they want to do the same. Well this year, I have 2 very thoughtful girls. They've brought in cakes for long-term subs leaving, small cakes for their friend's birthdays, etc. Well they brought me in a huge chocolate cake. Knowing me, I don't like cake. Especially chocolate cake. So I tried to get the work girls to eat on it...no one would budge.


Well, I brought it home and completely devoured it. I mean really??? Could I not have had this revelation BEFORE my wedding so I could have enjoyed my own cake?!??! Sheesh!
So, my first 'new knowledge' of 27 - I like cake after all.

Our Wedding Cake

Groom's Cake

Like most people, birthdays mean getting older and remembering less of the 'good ole college days'. But this one is a bit different. Yes, I'm getting a lot closer to the big 3-0 than the fun 2-1, but my life is changing in a good way, God has blessed me in so many ways, and I'm thankful for receiving another year.

Lastly, I ended my birthday at Rincon (it was raining so BOO on Murray's Patio) with some of my very best friends. Thanks for making my night great. Thanks for wonderful conversations to remind me that we are all growing up. Here's to baby names, finishing Grad school, and owning homes. Cheer's to 27!


Below is a picture of what my HUSBAND got me. Yup, he's awesome! No real hints, he picked out this amazing watch from Fossil that is not even out yet (it is available tomorrow, but he pre-ordered it) and is the one Sandra Bullock wore in the Blind Side. Thank you Honey!!!!! :)
The Stella from Fossil

I May Have Just Figured Out...

the secret to a long-lasting marriage...
Ok, maybe not, but I have a good idea of what goes on the list--SEPARATE CLOSETS!!
I can already tell that many-a-fight has been averted due to my husband and I having our own closets in the bedroom. He thoughtfully realized I must have the large walk-in that is attached to the bathroom, as he took the relatively large wall closet in the bedroom. We do not dare to open either person's closet, no nagging about clothes on the floor or shoes all over the ground.
It's AMAZING! :)

I would advise all newly married couples to try and find this layout. We have already decided this will have to be on the 'must-haves' list for all future homes!

XOXO, MGB

Our First Week Home~

As soon as we returned home (almost missing our flight and running all through ATL airport) we began a very busy first day of being home. We went to Easter service at Southland and then spent a little bit of time with my family. We watched Colby pick up easter eggs and ate lunch outside. It was so nice to come home to good weather! Then we rushed over to see one of our friends get baptized in the pond (YAY Philip!) and then off to Brian and I's house to open our wedding gifts with Mom, Dad, and Granddaddy.




Next, we ran over to Lowe's to get another fan/light for our bedroom...and it began! The saga of putting in a fan started all over! As a race against time, I soon found myself holding the flashlight for Brian once again to finish the light! But it's up and running...to say the least! :)

Getting back to work this week has also been not so much fun. After enjoying a full week of just US, no phone, internet, etc., it was really hard to get back into the groove. The high points of the week were getting to come home and wait for Brian to get off work, and going to bed together.

So now we're at our first weekend, and it's the same old story - busy as can be! Althought this time we aren't doing it all together. But as Brian keeps reminding me...we've got the rest of our lives together!

A few snapshots from our Wedding~

Read more: http://www.mylivesignature.com/mls_wizard2_1.php?sid=54488-75-0A7D038DE2E305B273FF2D0EE179AAD0##ixzz0fBiQN1Za

I'm Back!

I haven't blogged in a while due to my WEDDING and HONEYMOON! Woo hoo! We had a great time and I can't wait to share pictures, details, etc. I've never seen as much pink, green, and paisley as I did during/on my wedding day...and I couldn't be happier about that!

I've also been busy moving in with my husband! It's been such a fun week going to bed each night and waking up with him in the morning. However; my house is a wreck! We've made walking trails to important places in our house...like the kitchen and the bed! It is slowly coming together and I will post pictures soon of that as well.:)


XOXO, MAG (whoops, I guess I need to put MGB!)