front porch fall decor

Josh went camping last weekend so I went over to his house to decorate!  That's how that works right? He does boy things, I do girlie things!

on Friday night I brought Bauer over with me so he and Dylan could "play" while I worked on other things.  They ingnored each other for a bit, then they "played", and now they are friends...

dylan seemed to be really happy about it...

Moving on...the crafts.  I found this white basket that I figured I could paint for various occasions.  Maybe fall on one side, spring on the other? I could totally paint the whole thing another color, stand it up, turn it over...the possibilites were endless for my $14 purchase.

I decided to paint it a little for fall...tie some raffia, and here is what we got:

It's not perfect, so I may paint over it, but it was a fun beginning. 

Saturday, Caitlin and I went to the farmer's market to get some decorations for the front porch (and it turns out some things for dinner too!).  And here is what I ended up with:

2 pumpkins and a gord for $15, and two mums for $20. I was super excited.

I know what you are thinking...you just covered up what you painted on the basket.  Well, I've since moved the pumpkins to the other side of the steps.  I'm not sure which I like better.  Either way...it's cool outside, I have pumpkins and mums on my porch, it's fall and I'm a happy girl!

6 month check list

alright folks...we are right at 6 months from the wedding today.  It seems kind of far away, but when I look at my planner I have no doubt it will go by quickly.  I feel pretty good about where we are in the whole planning process. A lot of big picture stuff is done and just waiting to tackle some details.

Here are some things I've been able to cross off my list:

Venue. - ceremony and reception - check.
Band. check.  This gang is fantastic!  I've been to 3 weddings they have done and several times I heard them play in park.  super excited!
Dress. check.
Bridesmaid dresses. check. I think :)
groomsmen attire. check.
caterer. check.
invitation design. check.
honeymoon.check.
centerpieces. check.
and last...but certianly, by all means, not least. the photographer. check!  Mary and Adam are good friends of mine and I'm so very blessed she was available and willing to shoot our wedding.

mantle makeover

It's not that I don't like the way Josh has decorated his house...I just want to make it our house.  Don't get me wrong, it's a huge blessing that Josh already owns a nice house - but if we were getting a new place together, I think it would seem a little less like "I don't like your stuff" and more like "let's make it OUR home."

I actually may have started doing this before we were engaged...women, so typical!...anyway.  He has this great old brick mantle in the middle of living room that just calls to be awesome.

When I met him...it had an abstract canvas painting of this...

not really the "awesome" I felt the mantle deserved.  A play room? yes! Man room? yes! Mantle in the living room...not so much.  I knew what I wanted to replace it.  A window frame from my grandmother's house as a child.  She still has one, my mom has one, and I have one.  It's followed me to all the places I've lived...

2006-2007

2007-2009

When it came time to decorate for Christmas I found myself living at my mom's with no house to decorate.  Josh was generous enough to let me take over his home.  I asked if I could take the painting down just for Christmas.  He hesitated...but agreed.

9 months later, the window frame remains and has even made a permanent home.  You can see slight touches of fall as I slowly begin to makeover the mantle.  Piece by piece.  Here is stage 1:

stage 2 involves bringing over my lovely bird vase!  I'd been eyeing it at hallmark for about 3 months.  I was ready to finally buy it and someone beat me to it.  Luckily I've got an in there and they ordered me another one.  Happy Birthday Emily! Love, mom!

Stage 3 will hopefully involve some pretty candlesticks...stay tuned.

pretty pineapples

I'm not sure if you know...but I kind of have a "thing" for decorating with pineapples. ha!

Recently I went to Charleston with lovely group of future in-laws!

we had a great time!  AND Charleston...being the quintessential southern town that it is...has quite a few pineapples around...landmarks, decoration, souvenirs, etc.  I was in heaven! 

While we were there we got this nice little gem to put outside our house...and I think it looks quite nice!

in other news...josh got me this super cute apron for my birthday!

scait's engaged!

I am beyond excited to announce the engagement of Scott and Caitlin!  They are both some of my dearest friends and I am incredibly happy for the two of them!

I met Scott in 7th grade...but he played the drums and was WAY too cool for me and my flute playing.  In high school, his group of guy friends and my group of girls would get together on various occasions for parties, breakfast at IHOP, after school ice cream treats, etc.  I appreciated Scott's wit and we were able to bond over humor and sarcasm.  Bring us to present day and Scott has become one of my dearest friends.  His compassion and loyalty to his friends and family encourage me to soften my own heart and listen more than I talk.  He is uber talented ... musically, artistically...and who else do you know that can make the best cricket noise there ever was?!

I met Caitlin probably around sophomore year of high school.  She started coming to my church youth group.  We didn't really talk that much because she was always with her super cool "hardcore" class of 99 friends...I didn't take it too personally though ;) She moved back to Nashville about 3 years ago and started going to Rolling Hills and thus our friendship began.  She signed up to teach preschool and they put her in the class that Scott and I taught.  I've talked about what a bright light Caitlin has been to me before so I won't bore you, but man...I'm beyond blessed by her friendship, wisdom, creativeness, and faith. 

I've watched Scott and Caitlin's relationship grow from day 1.  It's been such a treat to watch them grow individually and together as Christ has used all sorts of life's instances to mold them into these wonderful people who have so much to offer each other and the world.  I'm so excited about this next step in their lives!  and super excited they've agreed to have a double wedding with me and Josh!  just kidding.  but I do know one house in particular that is about to become wedding central!!!

all this to say...scott, caitlin...I love you both.  I'm so glad you love each other. Happy Engagement!!!

halloween wreath update

well...I did it!  Using the inspiration I talked about here, I came up with a pretty good wreath I think.

I got a black faux garland wreath.  some little baby pumpkins (that are scented, so it smells like fall from the moment you walk in!) and some gorilla glue.

It was my first time using gorilla glue.  I've typically used a hot glue gun in the past put the heat always makes everything fall off...so we are trying another route.  I think I finally found the right clips to make my attachments for a "year long" wreath, but I think I'll start that after halloween. 
Anyway...I laid everything the way I wanted it to look.

Then I began gluing...

with gorilla glue you have to press it down for a bit...so this is the super professional way I came up with to hold down my pumpkins.

*had I really planned this out I would have glued felt pieces to the bottom of the pumpkin and then that to the wreath.  Some glue would still seep through the wreath, but I think in the long run it would hold better.  Luckily when my glue seeped through it only got to the plastic bag underneath.  It would have been a shame to have a wreath centerpiece on the table for the rest of time.  This gorilla glue does not mess around.

Anyway...everything was dry and I was ready to hang it on the door.

I used my "D" from this previous wreath and I think it looks great.

There is an uneven gap between some pumpkins at the bottom.  I'm working on making a paper bat to put there.  I think that's exactly what this wreath needs to officially be a "Halloween Wreath!"  I thought about a spider but I think I would get freaked out every time I came to the door.  So...bat, it is.  Simply because the likely hood of a bat actually perching itself on my wreath is a bit absurd...but a spider, finding its way on to Josh's porch and living in my wreath could actually be happening right now.  I'll keep you update on how the bat turns out.  But for now...my Halloween Wreath!

ten year reunion

ladies and gentlemen...I am old.  This weekend is my 10 year high school reunion.  so wierd. 

In honor of this event I thought I would post a few pictures from the good 'ol days of the smoke-free class of 2000!!!  I'm pretty sure these are all familiar faces to the 'ol blog.

enjoy!

senior prom

senior mission trip to sydney, australia

crockett park

molly's birthday in sydney

senior year

halloween

business class...all the way to sydney!!!

and I'm super excited these two lovely ladies are in town this weekend.  They are going with me to pick out my wedding dress...TODAY!!!

ps. this little lovely lady in the middle here surprised me last night and gathered all my bridesmaid for a fun little "happy wedding" dinner!  I'm not usually surprised b/c I always figure it out, but it was not even on my radar.  Great Job Liz! and thanks ladies for surprising me!  Love you all!

a necklace

I was in Michael's the other day and noticed their beads and jewelry stuff was on sale.  I'm not a HUGE "jewelry person"...mainly b/c I feel like everything should be between $5-$10.  Unless it's a staple I'm going to wear everyday...then it can be $20, maybe.  So anyway...I thought to myself, "I wonder if I can make a necklace?"  All those fun big beaded necklaces are so in these days, but can also be pricey (and we all know how I feel about pricey costume jewelry...).  So I grabbed some stuff to make a necklace...

at this point I probably could have googled "how to make a necklace" and gotten some nice tutorials.  I didn't do that.  Nor did I really have any plan for how this was going to go...or even how it should go.  I just kind of started threading the ribbon through the beads...

once I threaded all the beads I wanted I added another ribbon.  this is finally what I came up with...

then I added just a little bit more ribbon to end up with this...

I was pretty pleased with it.  Certainly a learning process FULL of trial and error but it was fun to try something new.  I'm wearing it today (pardon the horrible picture, I'm awful at taking pictures of myself):

have any of you tried to make necklaces? got any tips...in case I try it again!

corn dip

Usually I'm a stickler when it comes to recipes.  I rarely make my own variation.  However, I wanted to make a corn dip for a friends birthday party the other night.  I couldn't find a recipe that I just loved so I kind of just made up my own.  a bit scary.  but apparently it turned out great because every last bite was eaten. who knew?!

It's a great, quick, fun dip to make for any occasion...

Shoepeg Corn Dip
2 cans Shoepeg Corn, Drained
1 can Rotel, Drained
8oz. sour cream
1/2 a package of shredded Colby cheese
1/2 a package of shredded hot pepper cheese
a sprinkling (very technical term) of taco seasoning
*I added the smallest amount of chopped onion b/c I knew some folks like onions, but I don't so I just put a little

I let mine sit in the refrigerator for about 5 hours before serving. 

The "scoop" tostitos chips work really well to serve with this I think!  Let me know if you try it!