Nola

Tuesday night I got to babysit Nola, my longest friend Allison's, baby. It was so fun! However, we were at a loss for toys here at the no baby safe zone  our home!

She's an actual doll baby. No, really. You will think so too once you see her hair. Girl's got it going on at the rightful age of 14 months.

My make-shift baby gate after Aunt Megan was tired of going up and down the stairs!

Nola Louise :)

Don't you love the cute outfit? It's Mudpie of course! Since trucks are in my future with all my nephews, I like to buy Nola outfits for her b-day, Christmas, etc. I'm sure she doesn't like it as much as toys...but she will... :)
And, how sweet is Allison to put her in this outfit on the day I'm watching Nola. So thoughtful. Thanks girl!

Introducing...

Cameron David H.
Colby's not-so-little brother was born yesterday at 12:14pm yesterday weighing in at 8lbs.10oz.

WHOA BABY! :)



Daddy coming out of the delivery doors with Cameron!

Cameron David

Uncle Brian and little C

Aunt Megan and little C

Colby was the sweetest big brother meeting him yesterday! I have the best pictures, but they have Mommy in them and she's not ready for her picture to be shown yet! :) Coming Soon!



Deli Monte Cristos & Easy Cheesy Soup

*thanks for visiting from Kelly's Korner! This is a post from last winter...great and easy meal, perfect for football season! click on the home button to read more about us! :)

This was the menu for Life Group on Sunday ~ Look at me making another Crock-Pot meal! :)

Deli Monte Cristos

What you need:
{depending on how many people you are serving...}
deli ham
deli turkey
thousand island dressing
cole slaw
rye bread
swiss cheese

3 eggs {whisk in a shallow bowl}

How to make:
On one piece of bread layer 1 slice of ham, 1 slice of turkey, cover with coleslaw, pour dressing over, 1 slice of cheese, and another slice of turkey and ham.
Next dip both sides of the sandwich in the whisked eggs {SO hard to keep it all together!}
Then place on skillet {I used my griddle for the first time!} for 2-3 minutes on each side.
*from Taste of Home Cookbook

Easy Cheesy Soup {A Crock-Pot Recipe}*made to serve 4, so may need to double
What you need:
2 10 3/4-oz. cans cream of chicken soup
1 bag (lb.) of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp of Worshestire sauce
1/4 tsp of  paprika
1 cup beer
croutons
How to make:
Combine all ingredients except croutons in slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low 4-6 hours. Stir thoroughly 1 hour before serving, to make sure cheese is well distributed and melted. Serve topped with croutons or in bread bowls.
*from Fix It and Forget It Big Book
Enjoy! :)

December Life Group

This month it was our turn to host our Life Group couples. We had a great time eating and hanging out with one another. I even got to stay up later than normal because school got called off Sunday night! Woo Hoo! :)

Amanda and Philip

Jordan and Nick

Jordan with the Peppermint Frappe's {I took a picture too late!}



The boys' place settings {initial of name}



the girls' place settings with a little Christmas tree spreader as a favor {with initial}

For some reason, I always seem to fix something new when I host people. I don't know why I do that ~ it always stresses me out! I fixed Deli Monte Cristo sandwiches, Easy Cheesy Soup, and Peppermint Frappe's. Recipes to follow.

We missed you Nick and Alison!

And the part I left out...you can read about in Amanda's blog. Sorry girl! We'll find his ring!

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend we had lots of firsts!
We tried a couple of different restaurants/bars and we attended our first UK basketball game of the season {thanks Maegan & Trent!}.

As usual, I love our date nights. I love the conversations that happen when we are eating out somewhere verses eating at home. I also love the fact that my hubby is well aware that I don't want to cook on the weekends! ha!

We tried out the new restaurant, Sutton's. It was pretty good. I got the bourbon barrel burger which was awesome and B got the hot Sicilian. The atmosphere was not exactly at the top of my list, but the food was so good and the service was great we will probably go there again!

After the very exciting game with the most aggressive fan B, we walked around downtown and went in a few new places ~ Nick Ryan's Saloon, Blue Agave Cantina, and Room Three Ten. We definitely had to laugh thinking only a year ago we would have already hit up these new places and now we are totally happy in our suburban lifestyle. ha! Too bad none of them were serving food, so we ended up eating at an old faithful place, Cheapside.

Tonight I am hosting my Life Group for dinner and really wishing for more snow! I've got a lot to finish up doing before we leave Saturday!  B and I also finally finished our last bible study and we've got a new one to begin today ~ Chase the Goose. I'll let ya know how it goes.

~So if you made it through this post, I'm sorry for it being so boring! Hopefully my next post with involve pictures from tonight! :) Happy Sunday!

Traditions {I need your help!}

This is our first married Christmas.  We've worked it out so that we get to stay the night in our home Christmas Eve and wake up on Christmas morning together. I'm so excited! Although this will be the very first year I won't spend the night at my Mom and Dad's house on Christmas Eve; I'm actually dealing very well with it!
I don't really like messing with Traditions, but it seems like the past few years it's just happened and I've had to deal with it. First, with my Nanny's passing, we had to change around our routine for Christmas Eve.  Then, we added Eric {my BIL} in the mix, baby Colby, added B's family in the mix, and this year, we'll add Cameron and us being married. Yea, it's going to be very different. I get it. That's called growing up. But still, I don't always do so well with change!

So, I want to start some type of very small tradition for just the 2 of us this year and I need your ideas! I thought about making some kind of easy breakfast for us to eat as we are opening up each other's gifts...or maybe the same type of gift we hide for one another...I don't know. I know it couldn't be something that would take too long because who knows how much 'morning time' we will have before we have to start getting ready to travel to both sides of our family {which I'm not complaining, I think it will be fun, I'm just saying...}

So, please help! Any ideas are welcomed! Just post them below in the comments. :)

PS- A few people have emailed asking where I got our stockings. Jennifer told me about a new little place on Clay Ave. in Lexington called Caught Ya Lookin'. It's adorable. The owner is in her late 20's and she was so nice. I went in and an hour later I had gone through tons of different fabrics putting my two together!

Vegetable Cheese Soup

*thanks for visiting from Kelly's Korner! This is a meal I made back in the winter...it's super easy and yummy! If you are new, please click the 'home' button and then follow if you'd like! :)

So about 2 weeks ago I made a super simple, and my first, crock-pot meal.

I got the crock-pot as a shower gift and received a few cookbooks, but I hadn't tried it for a meal yet. I was basically too nervous about leaving it on all day!

But, I did it, and it was SO good! Even our friends Jordan and Nick {the Newlywed's!} got to come over and eat with us! Good thing they dropped off their presents on a night I made lots!

Vegetable Cheese Soup
Makes 5 servings, Prep-Time 15 minutes, Cook Time below
What you need:
2 cups cream-style corn
1 cup peeled and chopped potatoes
1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
2 14 1/2 oz. cans vegetable or chicken broth {I used the organic vegetable soup b/c it was on sale}
16 oz. processed cheese {Velveeta}

How to make:
Combine all ingredients except cheese in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours or on High 4-5 hours
Thirty-60 minutes before serving, stir in the cheese. Then cook on High for 30-60 minutes to melt and blend the cheese.

It was so good and so easy! I also served with deli-style pimento cheese on cut-outs of leaf whole-wheat bread. YUM! And yes, I definitely cookie-cutted {I know that's not a word;)} the bread so it would look like I worked harder than I did on dinner for my husband. HA!

*So for the sweet little email I received about not posting recipes as of late, I hope this one is good for you! :)

The Rest...

*I linked up with Kelly's Korner for the Christmas Tour of Homes!

I was just reminded I hadn't finished showing the rest of my decorations! This Christmas we've been adding and adding...while the wallet is getting thinner and thinner. :) I think I realized it's been a bit out of control when the Hobby Lobby clerk asked me if I was decorating other people's homes or just mine... whoops! I guess I am in there a lot! ha! But I just can't stand to purchase anything at Hobby Lobby without it being 50% off or use a 40% off coupon {which they always have online!}. So, alas, I am there often.

Here's the rest of the photos {make sure to click this link for the rest of our Home Tour}of our home {so far}. I promised B that I wouldn't need to purchase as much as I have this year since we just started out. ;)

Stairwell with added red tulle

I'm proud of my bow! It was on the last set of photos but I wanted to show it up close. At Michael's a similar bow was $14.99. So I looked at it for a minute and then went home and made my own!

Presents! Brian is an AWESOME wrapper! So, he wraps the gifts and I tie the pretty bows. I opted for ribbon {shocker, I know:)} to give it the homey feel.

I forgot to post my bathroom! Nothing too much, but still festive!

Front of the house. I haven't talked B into stringing lights just yet... :)

My $12 wreath that I made. Yes, it's pre-lit! I got the wreath 50% off at HL, and used the red tulle left over from the stairwell and had the green tulle from a pink and green project I'm working on...so I decided the tulle was about $1 each.

Snow part 2

After watching the devastating loss to the UK/UNC game, we came home and built a snowman per my husband's request! Then had a nice little snow ball fight in which B assumed I was an enemy in his throws of hard packed snow. Ouch! Hope your Saturday was fun, too!

New Look!

I've added some things to my little store. :)
Check it out!
The Craft Store

SNOW! {and other ramblings}

I remember last year as I was just starting up this little blog {We're almost a year old!} that I blogged a lot about snow! I know it's not everyones favorite precipitation, but I love it. Maybe not in February or March, but how does it not make you smile when you see it in December?

Snow for me seems so calm, pretty, and light. There's something about the first few snow falls that gets me all giddy inside. I love the thought of being inside and looking out the window at these amazing snowflakes where each one is created just a little differently than the last. In fact, I'm typing now as my husband is still snoozing away in bed upstairs. I've brewed a k-cup {LOVE!} and have only my Christmas tree lights and garlands on my stairs lit.

It could also be because I work with kids everyday, and snow for them is exciting, too. On Thursday while it snowed, I let each kid have a turn to look out the window to see the snow fall. Then I asked them to open their Writer's Notebooks and jot down adjectives about the snow. The. Best. Writing. Ever. See, there's just something about it. Now, I won't lie. I do love a surprise snow day here and there, but I don't just love snow for that reason! I'm pretty much over snow after Christmas. I just love watching it falling whether it sticks or not.
***************************************
I've been busy decorating our first home well for Christmas. I've wanted it to look perfect from every angle. I thankfully have a good husband who understands this want and appreciates my time and effort I spend on it. I certainly don't have the best decorations or the most expensive, but it has been so fun spending time together and getting to know one another in different aspects of life ~ even down to the little things like how we each like to decorate. Isn't that funny? I'm sure a year ago I would have never imagined I would learn something like that about him.

Although B and I have really only been together two and a half years, it's amazing how much closer and how much you truly learn about someone once you are married to them and living with them. I've learned things about B since we've been married I didn't even know there was to learn! I've learned great things about him and maybe not-so-great things; but I can promise you those are far fewer than he's learned about me! ha! What I've really learned about B that I am thankful for every day is how overly caring he is with me.

GG's Thankful Birthday

My friend and team-teacher {for 5 years!}, Mary, had her daughter's first birthday two weekends ago. Gabriella Grace {or GG} was born the day before Thanksgiving last year and this year her birthday fell on Thanksgiving day!

GG is the first baby to be born in our close group of friends at work. She's a doll! Mary is such a good planner ~ she planned down every last detail of the party to match her theme to the embossed napkins, covering the wall art in her home to look like presents, and making a video of GG's firsts.

Here are a few pics from the Party~
{Mary & GG}
{the adorable cake!}
{me & GG}
{liking this whole present thing!}
{the Maldonado's}

Can't believe GG was this tiny last year!
{The day GG was born. At the hospital with Mary and Maegan}

Sprinkle in December

Have you ever heard of a Sprinkle Shower? Well I certainly hadn't until recently... The rule of thumb used to be Baby Showers were thrown for the first baby but not the siblings after.
So, Mom and I thought it would be fun to give Kelli & Cameron a Sprinkle! We just invited our family plus Grandparents. I hosted so Granddaddy and Granny could see our home and Christmas decorations. It was super fun!

And, of course, we didn't leave Colby out! Mom and I both got him presents! B keeps saying he's going to get 'wild' and jealous when Cameron arrives but I just can't believe it. Colby is so sweet and good. I don't think he can change! ha!

Here's a few pictures from the night on Wednesday!
{Kelli with her gifts}
{Kelli with her Welcome Baby wreath that I will hang on the outside of her hospital door when Cameron arrives! Like it? Go to The Craft Store to find it!}
{Mine and B's gift ~ a gift tree for the little Christmas baby! Lot's of fun goodies on there! One of my favorite gifts was the onesie stickers to document each month of Cameron's life for the first year!}
{Eek! How cute is that vest outfit? You CAN find cute outfits for boys. My sister, Mom, and I have proven it!}
{We call Colby our Buddy, so Cameron will be out Little Buddy.}
{XOXO}
{Front Door Sign that you can find HERE.}
{Burp cloths from Mom. These are almost too cute to use!}

{Granddaddy(Mom's side), Sister&Cameron, Granny(Dad's side)}
Can't wait to meet Cameron oh-so-soon!