House Update {Paint It- Link Up}

How about a little peek inside the new house, eh???

 

It's finally coming to life!

Its finally looking like a home and we are so excited! 

Friday night Lance surprised me with the cabinets.

He had told me that they weren't in but when we opened the doors and turned the lights on this is what I saw!

If you follow me on Instagram, you got a little peek Friday night! 

 

By Saturday mid-day the island had been installed and the hardware was being put on.

 

I cannot tell you how excited I am to have bathroom vanities WITH DRAWERS!

This place is going to be so organized I'm not going to know what to do with all the storage room!

Left is the master, right is Eastons.

The half bath has no vanity yet. 

*ahem* 

Someone can't decide what they want in there. 

 

Granite is being picked out and ordered today.

I want leathered black pearl in the kitchen and gialo ornamental honed (very light, very neutral, flat finish) in the bathrooms, but Lance wants  the light color throughout.

I go back and forth with what I want, but the time has come to decide.

Lots to get done, but its so rewarding to see it come to life!

 

After cleaning Friday night and Saturday morning, the time had come to PAINT the built ins.

That's where I come in.

The living room built in got 2 coats of paint on the walls and shelves.

 

Easton's built in by his room got one coat.

Let me tell you, wainstcoating is NO JOKE.  You have to brush every.single.groove.

Note: If a painter charges you $X to paint built ins, pay it. 

It's worth every dime. 

I assure you.

Nevertheless, painting was done this weekend.

And will probably be done every night until we move in.

Projected Move-In date is February 28, but as you can see, we have lots to do.

Fingers crossed, we're in by then!

Fingers and TOES crossed that I can get it put together by March 16 for Easton's 3rd Birthday Party!

 

I am so thankful for this experience and this new home!

Lance has put so much time and effort into it and I am so proud of him for all of his hard work!

SO thankful to do this right along side of him!

 

So, what do you think?

What color granite should we do?

Are you with me on black?  Or are you with Lance on light?

I'd love to hear from you!

 

Make sure you check Ashley & Liz's blog for other "Paint It" Inspired Projects!

 

Share the Love::Show & Tell

So, last week being the doozey that it was, with a week full of fever, missing work, sanitizing and resting, I totally dropped the ball on the Valentines Blogging Party.  We were supposed to have our packages delivered by the 7th...but that didn't happen.  Sorry Holly!

 

I was paired with Holly of Little Baby Butt. 

She's a jewel!  Go check her out when you get a chance!!

 

This was a fun little match up hosted by the following:

Casey, Nicole, Lauren, Alycia, and Ashlee

 

Holly sent me the cutest package filled with lots of goodies:

2 cute coffee mugs, that had a boy on one and a girl on the other.

They were fishing and and the boy caught the girl.  SO CUTE!

A soft hot pink scarf, some EOS lip balm (which I got her too!!!), a new rubber stamp,

some scrapbook stickers, that cute lace necklace, pens, lotion and candy!

 

So much fun!

 

 

I always love doing these exchanges!  It's a challenge shopping for a stranger, but it's fun!

And who doesn't love getting mail?!?!?

 

So, thank you Holly!  For your thoughfulness!

 

Next up...#sharethelove2013

 

This has also proven to be quite a challenge, because we were quarenteened to the house for a week of this project, but we managed to share the love a few times.

 

 

One morning, we (if ones's down, we're all down.  I'm really referring to Easton here, but you get the point) were feeling a bit better so we made a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies.  We ate a few ourselves, but then bagged up the rest.  I decorated the fronts of the bags and put a scripture on the back.  We passed these out to a few sweet deserving folks.  Who doesn't like homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies???

 

After Easton's Dr's appointment, we took Frosty's to my Nana and Great-Grandaddy.

He's staying with her while he recoveres from Pneumonia.

She's a caregiver to so many.  Constantly doing for others.  Never taking time for herself.

She's a daily example of sharing the love!
One of the best parts of this was explaining to Easton why we were taking these Frosty's to Nana.
To teach him to serve others is very important to me.
I liked him being able to see first hand the smile that a little surprise can bring to someones face.

 

We were also the recipient of #sharethelove!

My sister-in-law, Jamey, brought us Chick Fil A for lunch and also brought me a Baby Ruth and a sweet card.

She went home with a bag full of cookies.  ;)

 

I gave my CarHop at Sonic an extra tip...and some cookies.

To see the smile on her face, it was priceless.

Even yesterday, when I stopped to get my morning Sweet Tea, she thanked me again for the cookies!

Folks, a little goes a long way.

 

I also slipped in my favorite, York Peppermint Patties, into a FedEx I was mailing for work.
I got an email today thanking me.

Again.  Something so simple, brought a smile to someone.

That's what it's all about. 

None of these things cost me very much money at all.

Time?  Yes.  Thought?  Yes.

But this just goes to show you, the little things are far more important than big.

Because who says that a bunch of little things can't change the world?

If we all did just a few more things in our day to consider others, how far would that go?

How many could we reach?

 

My friend Stacey, from way back, is Sharing the Love too! 

Stacey is one of those friends, that we can go WAY TO LONG without talking but when we see or talk to each other, it's just like we've never missed a beat.

She's one of my biggest cheerleaders and I love her for that.

She would do anything for anyone.

And, she's creative to boot.  Girl can scrapbook with the best of them!

She is so thoughtful!  All the time, not just during Love Month.

She was always doing something for someone else when we worked together.

I don't get to see her much anymore, but I'm certain she's still taking care of those she loves, and even a few strangers too. 

 

Lances Aunt Kathy told me how she helped out an older lady in front of her in line at WalMart.

The lady couldn't find her money and Kathy jumped right in to help.

She was completely shocked that Kathy would do this for her.

Don't you wonder how many times that lady thought of Kathy throughout the day?

And who knows, maybe she passed it on to someone she saw in need.

Love you Kathy! 

Love your heart!

 

I love hearing different stories of how easy it really is to share the love.

Let's not stop here!  Let's keep going.

Remember, it doesn't have to be World changing to make a difference.

 

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers.

Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, 

but through love serve one another.

 

Check out these other gals and see how they shared the love!

 

Lyndsay::Kacia::Wynne::Scarlett::Sarah Beth::Corinna::Jenna::Sarah::Karrie::Holly::Kristian::Andrea::Jess::Katie

 

If you've shared the love and posted about it, be sure to link up below. 

It will show up on all of our blogs!

 

Happy Love Day to Y'all!

XOXOXO

Share the Love:: 2013

Happy Love Month Friends! 

 

My friend Lyndsay, of Pink Coffee Photo recently asked me and a few other bloggers to partner up with her in a fun event she's started!  Have you 'met' Lyndsay?  If you haven't--- hop on over to her blog---after you read this of course and say hi!  I LOVE Lyndsay!  I'm so thankful for the internet bringing us together!  Her life truly shows Jesus!  It's always so refreshing to read her blog!

 

 #sharethelove2013

 

It's Love Month afterall, so why not share a little love with those around you?

 

It doesn't have to be big.  It can be to your own family.  What better place to start, than at home?

It can be to strangers.  To co-workers.  To friends. 

 

Some things I'm thinking about doing is:

Making Valentine Cards with Easton to deliver to the elderly

Make a basket for the nurses that took care of my Grandmother (and my family) after her stroke

Make cookies for our neighbors

Tip a little extra one night at dinner

Deliver a new mom & dad dinner

Look for someone who might need help at the grocery store, and offer help

That lady, that's always in the median after I pick up Easton, selling the homeless paper, give her some money

SMILE at strangers. 

GET THEM TO SMILE BACK.

 

Little things go a long way!

 

There's a lady in my building at work, and she's always got a smile on her face and a light in her eye.

She always pays a compliment to me, and it always happens on days I need it most.

It makes the biggest change in my mood when I am graced with her presence on the elevator.

I passed her in the parking lot earlier this week and she was ALL SMILES at 8am.  ALL SMILES.

And you know what, I'm certain she knows Jesus.

You don't radiate that kind of smile and love without Him.

 

Friends, That's what this is all about.

Sharing love to those around you. 

Strangers.  Friends.  Family.  Anyone.

You may be the only Jesus they ever see.

 

And.  You know what makes this even better.

Your kids are watching!

Easton watches every move we make.

He may not mention it right away, but he notices.  It could be a day or two later, but he'll ask me about something I did.

Little eyes watching.  Make them see momma different than the others. 

 

So, join us!

You don't have to have a blog to link up, but if you do, come back here on the 14th and link up!

{you're post will show up on all the other hostess' blogs too!}

{{maybe you'll meet some new friends to share some love with in the process!!}}

 

Here's the girls that are sharing the love too!  Check them out!

 

 Lyndsay

Kacia
Wynne
Scarlett
Sarah Beth
Corinna
Jenna
Sarah
Karrie
Holly
Kristian
Annie
Andrea
Jess
Katie

 

Show us how you've shared the love!

If you post something on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, tag your post with #sharethelove2013 and be part of the fun!

 

 

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers.

Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, 

but through love serve one another.

 

Happy Love Month Friends!

 

 

 

 

 

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree & Ruffle Tree Skirt Tutorial {Hey, that's Pin-tastic!}

I had big visions for this Christmas Season.

Hoping and praying we'd be in the new house by now.  What?  You didn't know we're building a house?  Well...we are.  Maybe one day I can get those pictures posted so we can have some progress pictures.  But it's all good.  For now, just take my word for it.  Okay?

But.  We aren't in the new house.  We're in the apartment.  The 1100 square feet apartment.  They say 1100, but I don't know where the other 800 is, because right now, it feels TINY.  Teeny.  Tiny. 

Nevertheless, Thanskgiving weekend came and almost went and we had no tree up.  I scored a new skinny 7 foot tree from Tar-Jay, because let's be honest, we left The Big Massive Tree at the old house for the new owner to have.  You had to put it in, branch by branch.  Fluff it out.  And it was huge.  Beautiful, but huge.  So, we thought it best to stay at the old house.  I hope she likes it. 

Last Sunday night, after Lance had been Duck Hunting {all.weekend.long}, we decided to get the tree up.  We all bundled up, walked across the parking lot to our 2 storage closets to find the Rubbermaid Tubs {in the very back of the closet} that housed all of our treasures.  Such a cozy image right?

We located the tubs and headed back inside.  I had made a pot of chili so we decided to have a bowl of that first.  Easton doesn't like chili so he had ham and mandarin oranges and fritos. 

After getting supper out of the way and somewhat cleaned up, we continued on with the tree.  Mind you, we had to rearrange the living room because there is not a spare inch.  Anywhere.  But I actually like the new set up.  Maybe we'll leave it this way until we move up.  Tree included.  {Kidding.  Sort of.}

Typically we watch Christmas Vacation while we put up the tree.  That's one of Lance's childhood traditions, and it goes better as a family movie than Steel Magnolias.  That, of course, would be my choice.

 

Nevertheless, we got the tree up.  Got the limbs fluffed out, lights strung and ornaments hung.  It's not perfect, but it's ours.  This year, at least.  And, it gives quite a cozy glow at night time.  That's my favorite part. 

Two boys fizzled out about 10 minutes in to the big tree, but we were all together.  That's what matters.  Lance keeps calling it a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, but I kind a think it's cute.  It'll work for now. 

It was so fun watching Easton this year.  We set up a little tree in his room and he took great pride in picking out ornaments to go on his tree.  He placed each one with care and thought. 

 

I finally got him the Little People Nativity, that I'd been wanting to get and we put that under the tree.  We've already had quite a few discussions about Baby Jesus.  We talked about Baby Jesus' mom and dad being Mary and Joseph.  He prefers to call them "Mary & JoJo".  He has a Joseph in his class as school that they call JoJo so Joseph, Jesus' daddy is now JoJo.  It's got a nice ring to it. 

 

Each year, we have our favorites that we can't wait to see.  For me, it's the quilted ball on the left.  I LOVE THIS ORNAMENT.  I made it years ago at church.  Had to be 15 years ago.  Lance thinks its the ugliest thing ever, but I love it.  His favorite ornament is that snowman in the middle.  It's actually a set of 3 sashes, but we only have 2.  His mom had these on their tree gowing up.  They are from Avon I believe.  They smell like pine.  However, this year, they are a little less fragrant than I remember.  Anyways, Cindy found the exact ones at the Goodwill and gave them to us.  They're a nice reminder of his childhood I think.  And that last one.  I pulled it out this year and just boo-hoo'd.  Look at that little bitty hand.  Each year, I make his handprint on an ornament.  I just can't believe how tiny it was, and now how grown up he's getting.  They really do grow too fast. 

 

And, since it's Monday, and I'm showing you our tree, I thought I'd show you the tree skirt too.

Remember, last years tree was MASSIVE, this years, not so much.  However, with some tucking and folding, I managed to get the tree skirt in the little corner that we do have.  Because, lets face it.  This sucker is way too fabulous to remain on the hanger in my closet through Christmas.

 

For this tree skirt, you'll need:

2 Yards of Felt- match it to whatever your top color is.

{to decide how big you need your material, determine the width of the base of the tree as well.  ex. if you want it to stick out 3 feet around the tree, double that for a 72 inch square, to trim down to circle.}

Then you'll need 2 Yards of material.  I used linen.  It tears nicely.

Glue Gun.

Bags and bags and bags of glue sticks.

PATIENCE.

 

To start:  Fold your bottom material in half, then half again.

Cut a circle out of the center folds of your felt.

Round the outer edges of your felt. 

Mine is more like a rounded square instead of a circle, but just go with it. 

Then, tear your strips of linen.  Tear and tear and tear.

Begin on the inside of the tree skirt.

Glue the short end of your long strip of fabric and begin pleating.

I worked in about 18 inch sections.  I'd run a strip of glue then I'd pleat my fabric as I went.

It doesn't have to be perfect.  Once I got to the end of my glue line, I'd go back in and glue at the top of most pleats so it would lay flat.  Continue this all the way around.

For the second row, do the same thing except have it overlapping slightly. 

You need a big surface to work on, I used the living room floor.  Every night.

 

This does take quite some time, but you can make this on a much smaller scale.

 

Last year, it was perfect under our tree...this year, it's not perfect, but it works!

 

So, what are some of your favorite ornaments?  Do you have a tradition while putting up the tree?  I'd love to hear some of your family traditions as well.  I'm a sucker for tradition. 

 

 Head on over to Ashley's blog for more fabulous baking, crafting, decorating ideas!

 

 

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie {Hey! That's Pintastic!}

Hey, hey!  Happy Monday after a long 4 day weekend!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We did!  I'll fill you in on that later this week.  For today, I'm linking up with my friend Ashley, for Hey! That's Pin-tastic!

This weekend, when deciding what 'sweet' I'd take to Thanksgiving, I got the hankering for a Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Pretty simple, right? 

I always use the recipe on the back of the Toll House Morsles bag, but I thought I'd try something different. 

I went to Pinterest to find this recipe. 

Once I figured out I had all the ingredients on hand, I went to town.  I did do a few things differently than the original recipe, so I'll add my changes to this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 Cups PLUS 2 TBSP All Purpose Flour
1/2 TSP Baking Soda
1/2 TSP Salt
1 1/2 Sticks of Butter (**Called for unsalted, I used salted...instructions says melted then cooled, I did room temp...or 30 seconds in microwave)
1 Cup Brown Sugar (Packed)
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg PLUS 1 Egg Yolk
2 TSP Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chip Morsels (1 Bag)

Instructions: (**My version)
Combine Flour, Salt, Soda in small bowl.  Wisk together to combine.

In larger bowl, add butter and sugars.  Mix on low until combined.  Add in eggs and vanilla.  Once combined, slowly add in flour mixture.  After combined, stir in chocolate chips. 

Using your small cookie scoop or a tsp, spoon onto cookie sheets.  I only did 10-12 at a time because I didn't know how they would spread.  Good news...they don't spread!  Hooray for thick, consistently sized cookies!  That makes my perfectionist heart happy. 

Place cookie sheet into a pre-heated (350 degrees) oven. 

Now, this is what worked for me.  Every oven differs...but here's what I did.

Scoop cookies onto cookie sheet.  Place in the oven.  Set your timer for 4 minutes.  Rotate pan when the timer goes off.  Set timer for 4 1/2 more minutes.  Remove from oven after 8 1/2 minutes total (top right picture).  They will look golden but fluffy.  Let cool for 4 minutes (bottom left) Remove from pan to wire rack for final cool. 

Repeat.  Eat a spoon full of cookie dough every chance you get.  It's good. 

I suggest having 2 cookie sheets going, I just had one and it took forever.  But they were PERFECT.

 For half my batch when I rotated the cookies, I placed a few M&M's in the top of each cookie.  Lance likes M&M's in his cookies.  I like to make him happy. 

 

Now, take a look at those cookies!

Are they not the prettiest cookie you've ever seen?

 

Thick and chewy. 

Golden brown. 

Perfect amount of chocolate chips in each cookie.

 

How about packaging up a few for your teachers?

Take these to a Pot Luck and you'll be the star of the show!

Leave some out for Santa too.  You'll be sure to get more than a lump of coal in your stocking!

 

Happy Baking!

 

Report back if you make these!  I promise, you won't be sorry!

 

Head on over to Ashley's blog for more fabulous baking, crafting, decorating ideas!