Post-Christmas Decor

Happy Friday, friends!

It is a balmy 62 degrees here, today. I can't remember the last time it was this warm in January. I'm not really a big fan of snow. I only like it during Christmas, but I have to admit that I"m kinda bummed we haven't had more snow. HOWEVER, it looks like we might get some snow this Sunday! Eek! Weekend snow is the best, after Christmas snow, of course. It gives me the perfect excuse to hunker down in the house, drink some hot cocoa and watch a movie, read a book, craft, take a nap, cuddle with the husband, etc.

Last weekend, I packed away all the Christmas decor for next year. One of my New Year's resolutions is to spend less and save more. So, I've gone "shopping" around my house to figure out how to decorate post-Christmas. Is it just me, or is it hard to decorate after the holidays. Part of me misses the twinkle of the lights, but then another part of me enjoys the simplicity of less clutter. I've been trying to find a balance between a bit of twinkle, simplicity, winter and spring, and color. Below are photos of what I have done so far (I apologize for the poor photo quality. They were taken via Instagram). I'm thinking I need to add a bit more white, and I want to do that with my pillows. HOWEVER, I cannot spend money on new pillows, so I'm gonna have to get creative. 

This weekend, I plan on giving the house a good scrub. There is definitely a lot of glitter from Christmas floating around the house that needs to be vacuumed and scrubbed out of the floors. Lissa from the blog Keep It Simple, Keep It Fresh, has some great cleaning tips that I will be utilizing for this weekend project.

What are your plans for the weekend? Hope its a great one!

Christmas 2012 {In Reveiw}

Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and New Year!

 The husband and I had a great holiday although, I wish the days didn't fly by so fast. This year was especially crazy with me taking my project management (PMP) exam 2 weeks before Christmas, and the husband finding out days before Christmas that he had to work on Christmas Day. So, we made the most of the situation and celebrated Christmas with his family on Saturday, Dec. 22, then I drove up to Illinois to be with my family on Sunday and Monday, then I drove back home on Christmas Eve night so I could be with my husband and celebrated Christmas with just me and the husband without any family for the first time in both our lives, and then we drove back to Illinois on Saturday, Dec. 29 to celebrate Christmas with my family, and finally drove back home on Sunday, Dec. 30. Phew! I'm tired just looking back at it all, but it was so much fun, I'd do it all over again if I could. And you can bet we crashed hard this past weekend. I think the husband slept a whole 24 hours, bless his heart...he just started 3 weeks of nights. No rest for the weary!

As I mentioned, the husband and I spent Christmas day together. Just us. It was a first. And it was pretty great. We established some of our own traditions, which was fun. The night before Christmas, I had him open a present which contained some very soft and very loud Christmas pajamas. On Christmas morning, I woke up before him to turn on all the Christmas lights and turn on some Christmas music (just like my parents do for me), made coffee and cinnamon rolls with extra icing, and then woke him up to eat breakfast. I think I will love being a parent because I really enjoyed preparing the morning for him, and I got so giddy from his smiles as he ate the cinnamon rolls...Its the little things that make me happy. Next, we opened presents and stockings. The husband was very good to me. I got a bracelet I wanted, CDs, bath salts (the anti-drug kind), picture magnets for the fridge (which I needed) and...I think my favorite thing was the digital meat thermometer because he knows how much I hated our previous one. I mean how considerate and aware is that! I loved the thought he put into it. After lounging a bit, we headed to the movie theater, where it was PACKED, to see The Hobbit. Nothing says Christmas like trolls, hobbits, wizards and Schmeegle. After the movie, we came home and I cooked an awesome dinner. I made Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, brussel sprouts, cranberry jello and Skinny Garlic Mashed Potatoes with whiskey cream sauce. It was seriously good. And for my family's Christmas party, I made White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake. Holy moly. Make it. You'll thank me.

We ended the night with a reading of the real Christmas Story from the chapter of Luke. The husband read. It was a great way to end a special day. And I realized, I already had everything I could have ever wanted for Christmas - my Savior, my husband, family, friends and lots of love.

The husband in his sassy Christmas pjs.

Bracelet by Leigh Ann Herrin Design

Print by Katie Daisy

An instagram kind of life

Happy October friends!

Life has been busy and good, so today's post only features photos from around home. A picture is worth a thousand words, right!? So enjoy, my pretties ;)

Mom and I riding our bikes "Thelma and Louise."

Preparing for my Witch Soiree!

Homemade Whole-wheat Irish Soda Bread

Irish Lamb Stew

An amazing concoction :)

Happy Halloween!

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see." ~ Linus from "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" 

Our home is ready for the Great Pumpkin and all the little Halloween Trick or Treaters. Here is a little glimpse into our festive home :)

Happy Halloween!

The Hub's Wolf Pumpkin.

Frankenstein warns the Trick or Treaters to BEWARE of the Wicked Witch!

The Wicked Witch wishes all a Happy Halloween!

Our colorful pumpkins. I love the Chevron Pumpkin :)

The Witch's Chalice :) haha

Our wicked entry way.

The Haunted Mantle

Our new polka dot pillow covers thank to the help of mom's sewing skills!

Spiders have literally taken over our home!

Nothing like glittery pumpkins and a little color to brighten even the most haunted of homes!

Our DIY Chalkboard with vintage frame displays the week's sinful menu.

What a wonderful world

{pinterest}

"Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year - it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul." ~ author unknown

What a wonderful weekend! Despite the Hubs being out of town for the weekend, I managed to make the most out of my time alone. When I wasn't studying for the GRE, I was enjoying a glass of wine (or two) with a dear friend who I don't get to see as often as I'd like due to her busy residency schedule, I cooked myself up some blueberry pancakes thanks to my momma giving me TONS and TONS of blueberries hand-picked by herself and my nephew, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed floors, organized and cleaned the laundry room, cleaned the bathrooms and finally hung some photos I've been dying to hang, and this was all done before Sunday!

Once Sunday rolled around, I started the day off leading worship for the pre-schoolers, sprawled out by the pool with some good girlfriends and cooked an AMAZING dinner for me and the Hubs!

 Here was our dinner menu for the weekend:

Saturday Night:

Beer-battered fish tacos with tomato-avocado salsa

Bud light lime (of course)

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Sunday Night:

Grilled Flank Steak with Avocado Relish 

Grilled Corn on the Cob with roasted jalapeno butter 

The corn on the cob was seriously the best corn I've ever eaten thanks to the amazing jalapeno butter! WOWZA!

Wall art hung in kitchen. Art by Katie Daisy

Photo collage hung in kitchen. "LOVE" art by Katie Daisy.

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake...drool.

Home Makeover - Hubs and J edition

The Hubs and I have been living in our home now as a married couple for 1 year. Prior to our marriage, the Hubs lived with 2 male roommates - One of them was a fellow med student classmate of the Hubs and the other was a college friend of the Hubs, both of whom were in our wedding. As one can imagine, the house was a bachelor pad, to say the least. Smelled like boys lived there and looked like boys lived there. The walls were tan and there was little to no decorating in the entire house except for some photography the Hubs displayed throughout the house. 

Thanks to our parents who gave us the best wedding gift ever, our house was transformed from a tan, boring bachelor pad to a colorful, inspiring home. The Hubs and I have put a lot of thought into each element of our home, and are trying to find a balance between his love for the ocean and my love for all things artsy, eclectic and vintage. Here is what we have come up with so far. Enjoy!

Entry way

Art by Katie Daisy

Living Room

Kitchen Table

Spray paint solves everything!

"Wine is bottled poetry" Art by TagTeamTompkins

Wall of Fame

Vintage Cross...from Hobby Lobby...haha :)

"C" from Hobby Lobby and Fish from a boutique in Dallas, TX

My favorite photo on the Wall of Fame

 

More art by Katie Daisy

More art by TagTeamTompkins

My favorite piece of art by Katie Daisy