What I'm Loving

It's been a while since my last blog post. We've been really busy lately and blogging hasn't been my top priority. Hopefully that will change soon. Here's a few updates on what's been going on and what I've been loving about life.

#1. I'm loving that we got to go home and spend Christmas with my family. We didn't have our family Christmas until January this year, but my parents made sure to leave all the decorations up for us to enjoy.

Seems like our stockings doubled in one year. I love the way my mom displays the Christmas cards on the mantle with the stockings. It's my favorite thing to check them all out.

We added this stocking to the mix this year. My talented mom made it all herself especially for Aaron. Isn't that cool?

Christmas morning pic with the pups.

#2. I'm loving the new pillows I got for Christmas. They are both homemade which makes them even more special.

My super crafty sister-in-law made this adorable pillow. I LOVE IT!

My mom and my Aunt Jan made this pillow. From this angle it just looks like a cute Christmas tree.

But check this out...turn it sideways and it spells our last name. Isn't that clever? My brother and his wife got one too with their last name. Their Christmas tree was much taller and skinnier than ours :)

#3. I've been in a crafting slump lately so I was really excited that on my last day off, I was very productive in the crafting department.

I made this little outfit and headband/bow for sweet baby Beatrix. I haven't made a onesie outfit in a long time because I don't have my wing-woman (AKA my mom) to help me sew around them so I haven't been taking any orders. I must admit...I kind of missed it. I'm  contemplating buying a sewing/embroidery machine.

I also made another set of these mugs for my friend who placed an order.

...and I started on a little decor project for our living room wall above the TV. It's not finished yet so I can't show you the finished product, but I will post about it when I'm done. Nothing fancy, it just needed something.

On top of all the crafting, I also managed to have dinner on the table when Aaron got off work. I'm telling you, it was a productive day and it felt oh, so good. Most of them are not that productive.

 I made Mix and Match Mama's (The Bachelor, Sean Lowe's sister) Chicken-a-la-King. It was really good and easy. You can find the recipe here: http://www.mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2014/01/dinner-tonight-chicken-la-king.html. If you haven't read her blog, you should definitely go look at it. She has some wonderful recipes.

We had a ton of leftovers so we put the Chicken-a-la-King on top of a store bought Caesar Salad Kit for dinner the following night. Can't beat a 2-for-1. I honestly liked it better on the salad, served cold. It was really tasty.

#4. I'm loving that our first friend is making the 7 hour road trip to visit us!!! Can't wait to show Beth around the area and play hostess for the week. I have a bunch of fun touristy things for her to do so she gets the full effect. Dirt roading might even be on that list ;) I'm not sure she know what a culture shock she will be in for.We also have a fun day planned going to the Memphis Flea Market. So excited!

#5. Did anyone else love the Bachelor wedding as much as me? I'll be honest, I shed some tears. I just love Catherine and Sean. I don't think they could get any cuter. The wedding was beautiful and so very precious. It made me want to get married to Aaron all over again.

Happy Sunday! Hope you all have a wonderful week.

Chick Flicks

I'm a sucker for chick flicks. It's been a long while since I've seen a really really good chick flick. Pretty much the only movies I go see in the theaters are chick flicks so I was really excited when I saw these two previews on TV last night. I will be going to see Endless Love on Valentine's day with my hot date and I will be seeing Labor Day sometime this month. Keeping my fingers crossed they show up in our little local theater.

Happy New Year (A little late)

 

We had a wonderful New Year's Eve and New Year's day. We got off work, popped open a bottle of Strawberry champagne and had a glass together before heading out with friends. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, followed by 3 games of glow bowling. There was a power outage during our dinner and we joked that it was the Millenium 14 years later. The lights were out for quite a while...luckily we were already done eating and we had some cash on us so we could pay and leave. I'm not quite sure what everyone else did.

 

After bowling, we headed home and set off a Chinese lantern. When you don't have fireworks, those will do right? It was actually really cool to watch it float up into the sky. We were afraid it was going to float into our neighbors tree and set it on fire, but we just barely missed it...eek! 

 

It was a great night and we had a lot of fun with sweet friends.

 

Cheers!

Happy 2014 from us!

 Love these friends.

And this guy

 Baby Miller is coming in a few short weeks. Can't wait to meet him/her! So exciting.

 

Aaron and I slept in on New Year's day and we relaxed and just hung out all day. It was a wonderfully lazy day off together.

 

It's no secret that I've gained the married 15 pounds so we are both making an effort to get healthier, exercise 5 days a week, and eat right. I tried my first juicing recipe yesterday, and it was pretty much a complete failure.

 

I used 2 apples, 2 handfuls of spinach, 2 handfuls of romaine lettuce, and 2 handfuls of brussel sprouts.  I used my Ninja Complete Kitchen System. I was told it could juice, but I had never tried it before.

I don't know about you, but nothing about this looks appetizing. I'd rather not drink a chunky salad. So then I was mad that my Ninja didn't juice and that I wasted all those ingredients.

 

I got online and googled it and found that there is a secret. You must add 4 ice cubes and set it on crush for 1 minute. After I tried that it was much juicier, but still not drinkable in my opinion.

Finally, I figured it out. I poured it all into a strainer and I squeegeed it with a big spoon until it was completely juice coming out. It finally looked like the right consistency. I tasted it and to my surprise, it was actually really good. It just tasted like apples pretty much. Have you tried juicing with a Ninja? If so, what's your secret and what are your favorite recipes?

 

I've also been drinking Dr. Oz's swimsuit slimdown drink before every meal. It's supposed to be really good for you and help burn fat. The recipe is: 1 cup grapefruit juice, 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and 1 Tablespoon raw honey. It tastes absolutely disgusting, but hopefully it works. I'm willing to try anything at this point.

 

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and New Year's day.

 

Guess what tomorrow is???

JUAN-UARY 5th!! Can't wait for the new Bachelor...woooohoooo!!

Top 13 Moments of 2013!

Wow.....I just skimmed through all my blog posts from this past year and man it was a crazy, busy, whirlwind of a year. I'd have to say it goes down in the book as the best year yet! I really love writing these posts because it is great to be able to look back to the past year and relish in all my favorite memories and moments.

#13. I spent a weekend in Dallas, TX with all of my favorite girlfriends (minus a few that didn't make it), my mom, and my aunt celebrating my bachelorette party. Let's just say it was a little bit crazy and I have so many stories to tell from it.

 

#12. I traveled to Las Vegas with all of my most favorite friends from high school to celebrate Jerry & Katelyn's wedding weekend. It was the absolute best weekend ever. It was so great to spend quality time with all my favorite friends right before I got married and moved off.

 

#11. I had the honor of standing by three of my best friend's sides on their wedding days. They were all three absolutely beautiful weddings. All three of them brought tears to my eyes as I watched the way each couple loved each other differently. There's nothing quite like standing by your dearest friend's side and watching her face beam with joy when she sees her husband.

 Rachel's wedding in Nashville, TN.

Alli's wedding in Oklahoma.

 Caitlin's wedding in Arkansas.

2013 was the year of weddings. We also traveled to Houston, TX to attend the wedding of a very dear family friend. I had the privilege of doing hair for all the bridesmaids, mother of the bride, and the bride. It was a beautiful, fun wedding.

#10. On June 29, 2013, I married my favorite person in the entire world and it was the best day of my life and the best decision I've ever made.

 

#9. My new husband and I spent a week in beautiful Cancun and soaked up every minute together. It was the neatest thing to experience with Aaron since it was his first time to fly and see the ocean. We loved every minute of it and can't wait to go back.

 

#8. I packed up my belongings and moved 7 hours away from all my family and friends. It was extremely exciting and scary all at the same time.

 

 

#7. I got a new job that I really enjoy, met a lot of new wonderful people, and began exploring this neat little town. During my explorations, I stumbled upon many interesting things that you can't find in the city.

 

#6. I completed numerous house projects in hopes of making our house a warm, inviting home.

 

 

 

#5. We really enjoyed welcoming visitors into our little home. Those visitors include my Aunt Jan, my grandpa, mom, and dad and Aaron's whole family. Now, we are just waiting on you friends!

 

 

#4. I traveled to Tennessee more in 2013 than I have in my entire life. We took a short road trip to Memphis with my parents and I took a short road trip to Nashville to stay with my friend. They were both fun little getaways.

 

#3. 2013 was also the year of babies and pregnancies. It's really crazy how many people I know that had babies this year and it's even crazier how many of my friends are pregnant. I can think of 5 off the top of my head that are pregnant right now. I can't wait to love on all those babies.

 

Meeting Emery Ryan for the first time. Such a sweet, tiny little thing.

 Meeting Tucker Keith for the first time. He was perfect.

And I haven't gotten to meet this one yet, but my cousin Bo & his wife, Cassidy just welcomed Bentley Josiah on Dec. 27th. Can't wait to meet him.

 

#2. We survived our first snow storm in Arkansas and man was it a pretty snow. Probably the prettiest snow I've seen, besides in Colorado of course. We enjoyed playing with Samson in it and taking lots of pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#1. My most favorite moments from 2013 are the little moments spent with my two favorite boys. I can't explain how wonderful this year has been because I get to wake up next to these two everyday. I have waited a long time for that and it's more fun than I could have ever imagined. They are pretty darn cute together.

 

 

 

 

 I'm looking forward to 2014 and all that it holds for us. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!