Fall Decor

I made this fall sign after admiring it on Jen’s blog. They are dollar frames from where else- the dollar store and scrapbook paper that I got on sale for 10 cents at Hobby Lobby. I printed out the letters in different fonts on the computer and voila- beautiful and inexpensive fall decor!

I already had the red candles so I hot glued some Thanksgivingy ribbon around them. For Christmas I will hot glue Christmassy ribbon around them- inexpensive fix!

Dollar store pumpkins again!

I did not decorate much for Fall because I always put out my Christmas decor it seems before Thanksgiving, and plus, I just don’t have a lot of fall decor since we are temporarily living in a townhouse. I have accumulated a lot of Christmas decor over the past few years so that is what I’ve been using. I got the big apothecary jar at TJ Maxx for $9.99. Can you imagine my squeal when I spotted it from afar and practically out ran a lady with two kids in her buggy! I was super duper excited! I just filled the jars with leaves, pumpkins and pine cones from the dollar store. For Christmas, I will be spray painting all the pine cones instead of paying $10.00 for 6 of them at Tar-jay. The cabinet door is from my grandparent’s first house they built back in the 1950’s. My grandpa throws nothing away, and he has a shop where he does his woodwork, so I went snooping around one evening and found a lot of cabinet doors and they came home with me! I have a chalkboard project to do with one of them which I will be posting later.

My .25 cent Goodwill jar find with a painted pumpkin and leaves. I bought a lot of orange pumpkins from the dollar store and painted them all!

Mercury glass. I am loving that look this year! I got this candlestick from Macy’s on the clearance table. It is by Martha Stewart and was $5.00! The regular price was $29.00 I believe. Here are some of the ones I wish I could afford from Ballard’s.

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LOVE LOVE LOVE these, but my budget does not! Prices range from $29.00-$65.00! Ouch!

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HAPPY FALL YA’LL! My Christmas boxes are making their way downstairs, so I will be posting pics of Christmas decor soon!

WHO DAT?!

Lately, I just can't enough of that saying.  WHO DAT?!  WHO DAT SAY GONE BEAT DEM SAINTS? WHO DAT?! See- told ya!  Anywho, I can't believe the Saints are 8-0 for the first time in their franchise history!  Even though I am a woman, I LOVE football!  Growing up in the south, going to football games is what you did on Friday nights in high school, then Saturdays in college and Sundays in the pros.  Fall is my favorite season not only because of the smells of cinnamon and spices and the beautiful crisp fall leaves but because Fall means ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!  Sorry for the Hank Williams Jr. reference!

Living only an hour away from New Orleans, Wade and I have been to a lot of Hornets basketball games, but this was our first Saints game, and we were so excited!  My cousin has season tickets, so he gave us his two since they played the Atlanta Falcons on a Monday night.  Note to self- never go to a 7:30 p.m. game on a Monday night/work day again!  I think we finally got in he bed around 1:45!  The next day at work was horrible!  I don't think the anyone living in NOLA worked that Monday.  We got to the game around 3pm and there must have been a million fans tailgating and drinking since that morning.  I even heard that some people started celebrating on Sunday!  Here are some pics from the game.  Drew Brees- if you're reading this--- I lurve lurve lurve you!   *blows a kiss* I yelled for you at the game and even wore your jersey, but I think every woman there had on a #9 jersey! 

On our way to see the Saints play!!!!! Hooray!!!!

 

Don’t pay attention to my ULM undershirt!  It was the only black shirt I had! haha

The whole reason I went to the game….to see my future husband!  hehe

GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!!!!!!!! AND TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this necklace…I made it out of wooden beads from Hobby Lobby that I painted and strung them on gold and purple ribbon!

Me & Carley

Wade snapped a pic of me after 7 longggg hours of tailgating!  This girl was pooped!  Plus, we lost to Florida that game!  *sticks out tongue*  After watching the LSU/BAMA game this past Saturday, the SEC officials are biased and wanting to see BAMA and Florida in the championship game.  They must be getting paid big time!  Why not just let the teams play, Peterson clearly intercepted the football late in the fourth quarter, and since the call went against us, we lost.  All’s I can say is GO TEXAS!!!!

Happy Birthday!

Our niece, Elizabeth turned one last month, and we went to Calhoun for her birthday party.  I worked a half day that Friday so we drove for four hours to Monroe.  We spent the night with my sister and brother in law and had a great time!  Casey, Kayla and I went shopping, and the guys played the Wii as usual.  We ate lunch at the mall after an hour or so of shopping, and got back on the road once again.  The weekend was full of driving (well, riding for me =)). Elizabeth just started walking around her birthday, and is in love with shoes!  She just stares at everyone’s shoes like t hey are the coolest things!  Wade and I got her a pair of Crocs for her birthday, and she loves them!  Leslie, Wade’s sister, sent me a picture of her rockin the Crocs!  Leslie said Elizabeth grabs her shoes and points to the door and says “out” at least twice a day. 

She is still not saying mama yet but says dada all the time.  Is dada (spelling?) easier to say and that’s why they always say it before mama?  Just curious.  Leslie had a cupcake station for all the kiddos to make their own with all sorts of colors of frosting and toppings.  They were so yummy and blew my diet out of the water!  Here are some pics from her party.

I think it took Wade almost an hour to put this thing together!  Wade is first in his class in law school, and still cannot put a toy together ha!

 

Words cannot describe how much we love this little girl, and Wade and I cannot wait until we have one of our own. Even when we were 16 and 17 dating in high school, we talked about our future and the kids we would have.  All of our friends either have kids or are pregnant, and we are beyond ready!  We just pray every night that the Lord will continue to bless us!   I am at home sick today with a horrible cold, so I am off to take another Tylenol Cold & Sinus pill and drift off to Happy Land!  Hope everyone has a great week!

Viva Las Vegas!

I am a little late (over a month! ha) on posting this. The 27th of July was mine and Wade's 2 year anniversary! Wow, I can't believe we've been married two years! Every year seems to be better than the last! I am SO blessed to have Wade in my life, and I cannot imagine my life without him. Wade took me out for sushi and a movie, and it was the perfect night except for the fact we watched The Ugly Truth and hated it! The sushi was delish as always! (sorry for the Rachael Ray vocab- I just love her!) I forgot my camera at home, so I didn't get to take any pics.

We didn't get each other gifts because we were going to Las Vegas the next week, and that was our gift to each other...a much needed vacation! After being on a plan for 3 hours, I was pooped. This was my first time flying, and after much praying, I did great! I wasn't nervous nor did I get sick like I just knew I would.

The Hoover Dam was breathtaking as were all the views.

Looks like marshmallows!

Our second night going to a show. Sorry for the blurry pic, but I think some sunscreen spilled in my beach bag and got on the lens cap. Gotta stay protected! :)

This was one of my favorite sights in Vegas besides the Stratosphere. It is breathtaking. It actually has a restaurant on the top floor that overlooks the strip. Unfortunately, we didn't bring nice enough clothes to eat there! ha

I thought Wade had big hands...Shaq's are HUGE!

Vegas had its own little NYC there...it was so cool!

We went with Mario and Carley who are both from Monroe. Mario goes to law school with Wade, and Carley is a legal secretary also. We all have so much in common! They are the perfect go-to couple! :)

In-N-Out has the best burgers ever! They were so delicious and cheap! This is where the celebs go when they crave a greasy beef patty! Everything in Vegas looks like it is a few blocks away as we thought this was from our hotel. In actuality, we had to crawl up what looked like the side of a pyramind and then cross the interstate. Yes, I said the interstate. I had a skirt on and flip flops, and I was not very happy with the situation at hand. I told Wade this better be a dang good burger, and it was! It was so worth the hike! Literally! ha

To Sew or Not to Sew...

...that is the question. For some time now, I have REALLY REALLY been wanting to learn how to sew and embroider- the whole shebang! I have been eyeing this little beauty from HSN.com for the past six months or so. Does anyone have this machine or have any opinions on a Brother?
I think it would pay for itself because God only knows how much I have spent on monogrammed baby gifts for friends and family in the past year! I bought a monogrammed burp cloth last week on Etsy, and it was $15.00, and I can't even count the baby gifts I still have not purchased! Who doesn't love monogrammed gifts anyhow?! I have also been wanting to sew some pillows and jazz up some curtains, but I don't have the time to deal with a complex machine. After reading some of the reviews, it sounds like this machine is pretty easy to learn! The sewing machine is $499.99 but is also available on flex pay (a big plus for me!). Have any of you guys recently learned how to sew? I guess I really want to know what I'm getting myself into! ;)

For Miss Ella

A few weeks ago, my cousin's wife, Nikki, was given a baby shower at Lanes Ferry Baptist Church. Jeff and Nikki are naming the baby Ella Maree Moody, and I cannot think of a more perfect name. I just LOVE the name Ella! Nikki is due around August 7 which is the same time Wade and I will be in Vegas on vacation. Hopefully, she can hold off until we get back, but I'm sure Nikki will not like the sound of that! ;) Not only are Jeff and Nikki family, but really really good friends, and we love them dearly. We cannot wait to meet Miss Ella, and I know this child will be blessed with the best parents in the world. I am getting teared up just thinking about Jeff and Nikki as parents, and hope to experience their joy one day as well. I have tons of things I should be doing right now, so here are a few pics of the shower...enjoy!

These canvas and growth chart were painted by Sarah at Bee Vine...this girl rocks I tell ya! Check her out! They match Nikki's bedding to a tee!

I thought this was the sweetest gift!

Me and Nikki...she is so beautiful pregnant!

Katie Grace and Kenslee are darling! These kiddos are 100% Gregory! lol

Aren't these darling?! I got them here...


and these here.

A table full of goodies!

Thrifty Treasures Monday

This is my first time participating in Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures, and I'm sorry I'm so late linking to it. All of you bloggers have gotten my creative juices flowing, and I just can't get enough of going to Goodwill and yard sales on the weekends. In the past week or so, I have found some great deals, and I am so excited to share them with you.

I found this chair for $9.00 at Goodwill last week. As soon as I walked in, it was screaming my name. It had clean lines that I love, and is made very well...the stamp on the bottom of the chair says it was made in the 1930s. I quickly went to the front desk to get a "sold" sign so no one could take it! I brought it home, gave it a quick sanding, took off the cushion and the four...yes, I repeat, four layers of fabric still on the cushion. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some zebra fabric that was originally $14.99/yd but I got it for around $10/yd with it being on sale. Put two coats of Antique Walnut Stain, a new foam cushion, new fabric and viola! I love it!

Before...





After...







I made this small memo board using leftover fabric from the chair makeover. This was my first memo board to try, and yes, my lines are not straight, but the Roddick/Federer match had me on the edge of my seat. I cut myself with scissors and got a splinter from the wood went I wrapped it with batting...so nerve racking! Roddick is still my #1! ;) Enough about tennis...I can't wait to find a cabinet door or larger piece of wood so I can try Kate's memo board...it is gorgeous! She is SUPER TALENTED!

I have been dying to find a silver tray to make a chalkboard out of, and I finally found one at Goodwill. I love reading Bless Our Nest because this girl knows her stuff! Go here to see her chalkboard project from which I got my inspiration from.

I wrote God Bless America on the 4th, and the hubby left me a little something sweet the next morning! :)



I can't tell you how many times I have passed up one of these buffet servers at a thrift store/garage sale...but not anymore! I found this one at the local G (geez, I shop there way too much!) for $2.99. I was pumped! I brought it home, and added two coats of black spray paint, and it is remarkable what spray paint will do for something. I added three plates I already had and some fruits/veggies from the garden, and it is now a beautiful centerpiece.