A Christmas to Remember

So it's our first Christmas in our new home and we have had so much fun decorating, baking, and making it feel all nice and cozy despite this 80 degree weather (cold front it heading in tonight whooo hooo!) I took a few pictures to share with my blog friends of our home this Christmas.

Welcome to our front door! I found the little French horn in the center on my first adventure to Round Top with my best friend Catherine.

I thought up this wreath wall project sometime in the summer and started collecting wreaths in different sizes, shapes and colors. I had so much fun with this project and I really like the outcome!

Wreath wall from a different angle. I am thinking of keeping it up all year round!

I love this little photo holder wreath. I got it at the Paper Suitcase closeout sale for $2!! It is the prefect little holder for all our Christmas cards.

My favorite decoration is our willow tree nativity scene. My mother-in-law gave this to us a few years ago. I have been collecting the angels since I was high school so this is such a special gift.

I've been struggling to find something suitable for this little nook since we moved in. It's kind of an odd shape because it comes to a point in the middle on the back wall. Here I stacked a few old books and put a glass vase filled with candles on top. I like it for now, but suggestions are always appreciated! The Noel sign was also found at Round Top. I cant wait for the spring Round Top!!

A few Christmas-ee odds and ends!

I love the word Noel! We are even considering it for a baby name...maybe a middle name!

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree! How lovely are your fake branches. Yes we have a fake tree because Mike is allergic to ALL trees! But I love it despite it unauthenticness.

I hope you enjoyed my little Christmas Home Tour. Please stop by again. And have a very Merry Christmas! I love you all!

Things I am loving today~

Sorry for the lack of posts, last week was a little crazy! I love all the holiday parties and getting together with friends you don't see often, but sometimes this season gets to be a little much. This week we are booked every single night with some sort of Christmas activity, so I am trying to take things in stride and not let my busy schedule consume me!

Today during lunch I stopped of at the new Whole Foods in Sugar Land. This is not just a grocery store my friend, this is a work of art! It's beautiful! It has a huge outdoor seating area complete with a rock fountain. I went in search for some yummy soup for lunch and came across a great selection of soups, salads, and sandwiches. I settled on a cup of Spicy Pumpkin soup and it is delicious!! Lunch time doesn't usually get me this excited, but just the thought of Whole Foods being just down the road is enough to make me smile!

I also stopped in at a scrapbook store and found some AMAZING red and white striped grosgrain ribbon that I have been trying to find for several months. I cant wait to get home and get crafty with it!!

Have a great week and don't let the busyness of the Holidays stress you out!!

Advent is here!!

I didn't grow up in a Christian home so the Christmas season for us was really all about making our Christmas lists and making sure we got everything we wanted. Since I have come to know the Lord I have been able to experience a totally different side of Christmas. This year God is really teaching me about the Advent Season, or the coming of Christ. I cant quite explain it, but it seems like everyday God has been reminding me and teaching me more about the Advent Season. I was reading Luke 1 today and was so moved by Mary's Song. I am very much looking forward to reading more about the Advent story and then one day being able to share it with my children :).
I've also been thinking of creative ways everyday this month to express my joy and eagerness for the coming of Christ! Some things are very simple like surprising coworkers with a little gift to make them smile. Or leaving a big tip for my waiter. Or sitting and talking with some of the sick people in the hospital I work in. It's little things like that, that make Jesus shine so bright! I hope everyone is enjoying Advent as much as me!

P.S. The picture ablove is from Ali Edwards

A homemade holiday!!

The past few years me and my friend Christy have made a tradition of baking tons of holiday treat for family and friends and putting them in cute Christmas tins. This year however I really wanted to do something different. I just wasn't feeling the Holiday treats. I have come to love homemade gifts and so this year with help of some very creative friends Christy and I are getting crafty this year!! We went out last night and bought our supplies and will be having our Christmas craft day next week!! I am so excited! And I was shocked at how much cheaper all our supplies were compared to what we spent last year for all our baking supplies. I am a fan of thriftiness! I am feeling the baking itch a little though. And I am so glad my friend Amanda is having a little girls night tonight so I think I am going to whip out my spatula and mixer this afternoon and bake something yummy for the party!! If anyone has any cool holiday treats ( Morgan I am sure you do!) I always love new recipes!!

Christmas Swap!

This is my first blog swap to participate in and I am very excited!! I dont want to ruin any of the surpises that my secret swapper will be getting so I will refrain from posting pictures til after she recieves it. It was such a fun experience putting together all the little packages and adding some of my favorite Christmas things into the gift. If you ever get a chance to be apart of a gift swap I recommend doing it! Plus you have someone else out there putting together a little package for you! I will let you know what I get when it arrives!

Laid to rest...

It has been a very busy week for our family. My grandfather passed away on Saturday night. It was very peaceful, and you could feel a sense of relief come over my family after he was gone. I cant imagine not believing in heaven at a time like this. I think I would be in despair had I not had complete faith in knowing my papa was in Heaven right now with Jesus. I actually found myself a little jealous. I cant wait for the day when I get to meet the Lord! The funeral was very nice they made the emphasis much more on celebration of life with God then on death. I got to meet a lot of people that knew and loved my granddad, and listen to some very funny stories. All in all my first funeral experience although sad was not to bad. After all of that was over we went and had a really nice dinner at a new french restaurant Brasserie Max and Julie with my immediate family. It was actually my step mothers birthday and we tried to make it a special day for her too. The next weeks and months will be very interesting to see how my family comes together in the absence of my granddad. I am praying that God would do a work in all our lives and teach us more about Him through all of this!

8 Miles!!!

Julie and I ran 8 miles this morning!! The longest both of us have run. It was quite a feat. We started off early this morning, the sun was just peaking out over the horizon. The first two miles were a little rough, but we hit our stride and by the fourth mile we were both feeling great. Julie and I have been running buddies since this Summer. We are training to do the Houston half marathon in January. Our runs have been so amazing for me. I don't think I could have stuck with this had it not been for my sweet running buddy. We hold each other accountable to keep running and push each other to run further and faster each time. I remember about a month ago we were running and laughing really loudly. All the other runners on the road were staring at us with these puzzled looks on their faces like these girls are crazy! But our runs are so much fun. We talk, laugh, and have great fellowship. This training period has mirrored exactly what is said in Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." There have been many early mornings that I have wanted to stay tucked in my cozy bed, but God gently wakes me up and reminds me why I love to run and how good it is for my body. Just like he reminds me how good it is to read His word and how good it is to share the love he has shown me with others!

Currently reading...

I heard a sermon out of Nehemiah this past weekend while we were visiting our dear friends Jared and Robin and their church Paradox. Their pastor Scott did such a wonderful job going through Nehemiah that I have not been able to stop thinking about it. I have been thinking a lot about what it is to have a vision for your life, and to be a visionary person. And to take from Scott's sermon, He talked about how Nehemiah saw what was and saw what could be. I feel like I get caught up sometimes in the small details of life that I cant see the bigger vision that God wants me to see. So I have been asking myself the last few days about what God's vision is for my life, and am I following that vision? I am still very deep in processing my thoughts, and dont have much clear direction yet, but I am so thankful that God uses these simple things in life to cause me to pause and step out of my cookie cutter Sugar Land life for a moment of reflection. More to come as I continue to process!

Christmas Gift ideas

I am already getting into the Christmas spirit and its not even Thanksgiving!! I feel a little behind compared to some of my firends who have already started decorating their houses! Every year I try to get really organized and plan out my gifts months in advance but I always feel stressed during December. I usually pick some sort of theme for all my gifts and then personalize it to fit each person. For example a few years ago I was promoting literacy so I got everyone books that fit their personalities and had significant meaning to me and packaged them with a little something sweet to enjoy while reading. This year I have been collecting ideas as I go so I have several to choose from. My latest idea find is from Emily (who is an amazing blogger) on homemade beeswax candles. I am going to order the beeswax this week hopefully!! I am always looking for new Christmas gift ideas, so if you have them send them over!!

A french lesson

This post is actually really for my wonderful friend Erin.  She has been asking me to figure out how to pronounce the French word for "Arm Chair."  It is spelled "Fauteuil." And just looking at that you could come up with some pretty funny ways to pronounce it.  Well I have checked my sources and the correct pronounciation of "Fauteuil" is basically saying the word "faux" and "thoy" together quickly in your best French accent!! I love practicing my french, and hopefully we will be going back to France next summer so I better keep practicing!!

Run Much?

I am looking for a treadmill. Does anyone know someone who is selling one? Or does anyone know of a good one to purchase? Thanks!

Hollywood here we come!!

We are headed to Los Angeles on Thursday to visit our very dear friends Jared and Robin, and to celebrate Robin's and my birthday. We are bursting with excitement to see these guys and spend some time in LA. I know we have a few fun things planned, but if anyone has any must see places to go in LA let me know! We are also getting to go to their church on Sunday, and Mike is leading worship for them. It's been almost a year since Mike and Jared have played together and I know they are very excited to get to do that together. Robin has informed me that she and Jared are scheming on ways to get us to move there, so stay tuned! I could see myself in California! I will post pictures of our adventures next week!

Fun Find!

Sorry for the lag in posting lately. I dont know if this has happened to anyone else when they first started their blog but I was finding myself writing a post and then half way through hitting delete thinking to myself who is really going to want to read that. Anyway I am trying to get over my silly self and post some fun things! For those of you out there that like the finer things in life but really dont have the money to pay for them I came across this website called Bluefly. It has a ton of great designer clothes, shoes, and bags all for about 40% off what you would normally pay. I have not actually bought anything from the site yet, but I have been eyeing a few things! And when you sign up for their email updates they send you coupons all the time! Let me know if you have ever purchased anything from this online shop.

So many thoughts...

As many of you know my Granddad is dying from Cancer. This picture was taken about a year and half ago at my wedding. This was the last time he was feeling well. He's been struggling for the last two years with pancreatic cancer, going between remission and chemo. About a month ago the Docotors finally said they had tried everything they could, but there was nothing left for them to try. My granddad doesn't give up easily. Through his battle with cancer he has always been very optimistic. He would always say "The Lord is not done with him here yet." So it came as a shock for him to hear that this was the end of the road. My family has really been doing a good job of surrounding him with love so that his last months and weeks will be pleasant. It's been a very hard thing for me to watch. It's a strange feeling to talk with someone and spend time with someone that you know will be gone soon. I have never experience a death of a family member so this is all very new to me, but its different then I expected. Maybe it's because he is fully cognitive and can still hold conversations with you, he just doesn't look like someone who is about to die.

Please pray for my granddad. I know he is ready to go to his eternal home, and it's so hard to see him in so much pain.

The Art of Sewing

I have always wanted to learn how to sew, but I am secretly a little afraid of sewing machines. I have used one only once before and I felt like I had no control over what I was doing and thread was going everywhere! But I have been seeing all of my friends make these beautiful creations with sewing machines that I think I want to give it another shot! I was reading the Living magazine and it had a picture of Martha Stewart's sewing machine in it. Apparently you can hook the sewing machine to your computer and choose a pattern to embroider and the sewing machine sews it itself! Technology never ceases to amaze me! So I am on a quest now to find a good inexpensive sewing machine to start my projects. If you have a favorite type or any helpful suggestions, I am all ears! I will post pics when I have started...unless of course they come out terrible in which case we will never speak of sewing again!!

Have a wonderful weekend!! We will be carving pumpkins and making pumpkin goodies!!

Holiday Ball

So this is the logo for the event that has been taking over my life these last few months. It's the American Cancer Society Holiday Ball. But I can see the light at the end of the very dark tunnel I feel like I have been in. The event is in 14 days!!! I cant wait til Oct. 28th...life will be so much sweeter. Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I love planning parties but this will probably be the only gala type event that I ever chair. I have a million stories about the trials I have encountered these last few months concerning the event. Most are so ridiculous you probably wouldn't believe me even if I told you, so I will spare you all the details!! Needless to say this time in my life has been teaching me to appreciate more of the simpler things in life. It's seems like the blog world is in to lists and so I have a list of things that have made me smile this past week between all the tears and stress.
+ My hubby taking my car today to get washed
+Getting Christmas present ideas from a craft party I went to tonight...thanks Casey and Morgan!
+Holding a sweet little 6 week old baby
+Going for a run in the cool weather
+Talking with my sweet granddad (he's very sick but his spirits are always high)
+This one is a little silly but the TV show The Office always makes me laugh
+ A random road trip with my best friend Catherine
+ Inside jokes with co-workers
+ Turning of the leaves scented candle
+ The thought that it's almost Christmas!

OK I am off to bed before our busy day tomorrow!!

Pretty little things

So I have proved to be a pretty pathetic blogger, but I am still learning! I wanted to post some pictures of a few things that have caught my eye lately.

These coasters are at Etsy, and I am really debating whether or not to get them. You always need coaster right?

I am slightly obsessed with owls these days. I am trying to find place in our house to put them, and I think this little framed piece would look great in our newly finished guest bedroom!

Ok more things to come...Next time I am going to try and upload some pictures of some of the rooms we have finished in our house. I also need help with bare walls...I have several! I don't like generic looking art so it takes me a long time to find what I like. All suggestions are welcome!

Have a great Labor Day weekend! Do something fun and unexpected!

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My Blog

I have a blog!!!! This is a bit intimidating for me, but I have been inspired by so many other blogs out there I thought I would jump in and be apart of it. I found this chair by accident while I was looking for a picture of another chair I have been eyeing for my guest room,and I'm pretty much in love with it. Let me know what you think!