Saw It, Pinned It, Did It #5

Linking up with Katie & Stephanie for Saw It, Pinned It, Did It!

 

Here is my Pinspiration:

source and tutorial: http://www.itsamueggelife.com/2011/05/tulle-wreath-tutorial.html

 

My Version:

 

I also tried a yummy Pinterest recipe and I'm so glad it turned out right.

 

My Pinspiration:

Source: healthpins.org

Tutorial: http://practicewhatyoupinterest.com/2012/10/22/crock-pot-cinnamon-almonds/

 

And here is my version:

Okay, so pretend like mine look as pretty as the one I pinned. Mine looked more like baked beans than almonds, but I promise they were very tasty! I took them with me to Aaron's for Thanksgiving and his family loved them. I also got a text from Aaron's friend asking for the recipe so Aaron must have shared and it looks like he approved of them. They were easy to make, just time consuming. You have to stir them every 20 mins for about 2-3 hours so I just set a timer and watched a movie while they cooked. They are definitely worth the time!

My Black Friday Goods!

I don't usually brave the Black Friday crowds because I never really have anything that important to buy and I like my sleep. However, since I work in the mall and no one gets their hair done on Black Friday, I do typically wander out into the store and shop. I've had my eye on three different pairs of boots at JCPenney. I had heard they were going to be super cheap on Black Friday, but I knew by the time I got to work at 11, they would be out of my size or completely gone....WRONG! I got to work, walked straight out to the shoe department and found all three pairs in my exact size....SCORE! I tried to find pictures of them on the JCP website, but they weren't on there anymore so excuse my poor quality pictures.

 Original Price: $47  What I paid with my employee discount: $18.75

 Original Price: $35  What I paid with my employee discount: $11.25

Original Price: $47  What I paid with my employee discount: $15.00

 

So if I paid full price for all three it would have been $129, but I got them all for $48.71.

That's my kind of Black Friday shopping :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I spent the last two days in Arkansas with Aaron and his family celebrating the holiday. I had a wonderful trip and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only complaint is how short the trip was. I left on Wednesday morning at 5:30am to drive up there and headed home Thursday afternoon at 3:00pm. Totally worth it though!

 

When Aaron got off work on Wednesday, we went fishing. I guess I should say the boys went fishing and his mom and I took pictures, talked, and supervised. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to be outside enjoying the weather.

 Cheesin' it. They love when I bring the camera around ;)

Brothers

 Aaron fly fishing

 Check out Aaron's older brother's amazing beard. I think it's awesome!

Brian's got the right idea. That's my kind of fishing.

 Aaron's trout

 Brian's trout....of course it was a competition to see which one was bigger. Close call.

Brian caught a massive crawdad. Creepy.

 

After fishing, we all went to dinner at a restaurant on the river. When we got home from dinner I went crazy and put up all the Christmas decorations I brought from home. I wanted to make sure Aaron got in the Christmas spirit while he was living all alone in his little house.

 The pretty little tree. I've gotten a lot of good use out of this little tree that I bought while in college.

 We don't have a fireplace so we had to improvise. I bought these stockings and stocking holders at Hobby Lobby this year for 50%. They ended up being $5 a piece. Couldn't pass that up.

 I went a little overboard on Christmas decorations that I found at garage sales this year. Remember these old ceramic trees? My mom said they're from way back in the day. I've never seen them before but I bought two of them for $2 a piece.

 I also got this tree from a garage sale for under $5.

 I made this wreath for the door out of tulle, Styrofoam, paint, ribbon, and a wooden letter.

I love it!

 Of course we can't forget the window decorations. I bought the candy cane and reindeer at a garage sale for $0.50 a piece.

 

 This is my favorite decoration! My best friend's mom, Darla gave this to us as an engagement gift. I absolutely love it. It has our names and the day we got engaged on the back. It was so sweet of her to think of us and give us a special gift. It is front and center on our tree and it will always be a very special ornament! Thanks Darla.

 

We woke up this morning and Aaron's mom cooked, I washed the dishes as she cooked, and the boys watched a movie and some football. We ate a delicious Thanksgiving meal and relaxed on the couch afterwards. I fell asleep while watching football and when I woke up, it was time for me to leave already :( It's always so hard to go. I was on the road for about two hours and I got a text from Aaron saying, "come back." Breaks my heart every time. Can't wait for the day when I get to stay for good :)

 

Wow, long post. Sorry! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with yummy food and great fellowship! Thank you Lord for giving me a lot to be thankful for!

I Heart Free Printables!

One of my favorite things about Pinterest and blogging is the awesome free printables you can find.  I found this website on Pinterest and she has tons of awesome free printables(http://forchicsake.com/printable-monogram/) . You should definitely check it out.

Source: www.forchicsake.com on Pinterest

 And here is my monogram. I just clicked on the color I wanted, added the initials, and printed it off on my printer at home. So easy and I love how it turned out. If you're confused about the initials, it's my first initial, Aaron's first initial and my soon-to-be new last name initial......it's super fun for me to see those initials together. It makes me get so excited for the wedding!!

My mom loved it so much that she needed one too for an empty frame she's been wanting to fill on her gallery wall above her bed. It turned out great too!

 

YAY for free printables. They make me smile :))

These Pictures Tell a Story...And Thankfully It's a Happy Ending!

I took some maternity pictures for my friends yesterday before work. I've known Lance since we were in Elementary school and I met Brandi a few years ago when they first started dating. They got married last fall, the day after my brother to be exact and are now expecting their first bundle of joy.

Anyway, we found this really pretty spot to take pictures at. It's a little park in town with beautiful trees and lots of pretty fallen leaves. We stopped there to take a few pictures and then we were moving on to our next location. After seeing all the leaves on the ground, we got this brilliant idea. Lance was going to throw the leaves up in the air while Brandi posed for a picture so it looked like the leaves were blowing off the trees in the wind (and yes, it was super windy yesterday). Before I tell you the rest of the story, take a look at this picture. I want you to notice Lance's wedding ring. It is on his finger, but it's in the middle of his knuckle.

 

After this picture, Lance grabs a hand full of leaves and tosses them in the air. He does this two times, throwing them from two different spots, in two different directions.

This picture is the result.

 

This picture below was taken afterwards. Now look at Lance's finger...something is missing.

 

Yup you guessed it. His ring went flying when he threw the leaves. Luckily he noticed it immediately. That began our impossible search for the hidden wedding ring in all the leaves. Our search lasted around 30-45 mins with no such luck. I felt so bad for him....he was so upset and you could tell it was going to ruin his day. Poor guy. Brandi was totally calm, squatting down, pregnant belly and all and looking for the ring. Had I been that pregnant and my husband lost his wedding ring, I would have been the girl sitting on the park bench crying over spilt milk, haha. We decided to continue on with the rest of our pictures. Based on the pictures, you would have never known Lance was upset and worried. They went back after we were finished with a rake and after about 20 minutes Brandi found it! Hallelujah. They sent me a pic at work of where they found the ring and the huge pile of leaves they raked up to find it. Too bad I have a dinosaur phone and I couldn't view it. So glad they found it...whew!

 

Leaves-0 Us-1

Thankfully, it was all worth it because we got some really cute pictures and a fun story to tell :)

 

Here are some of my favorites from the day:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 They are waiting to find out the gender. I was so tempted to open up that envelope and sneak a peek.

 

And just for kicks, here's a picture of them over a year ago from their engagement pictures that I took:

Congrats Brandi & Lance! Can't wait to meet the lil beeb!