Lately.

I am happy to say that our Memorial Day weekend proved to be a successful one. A picture-less one (my apologies), but still very memorable.
We did a whole lot of....nothing. And it was amazing. Much needed.

Well, I guess I'm lying. We didn't do anything fun with other people (we've decided to take on a hermit lifestyle), but we did have a lot of fun at home by ourselves doing house projects, watching movies, shopping, and reading.

Is it bad that I can't even remember what I did on Friday? Let's see...........oh! Ok, I remember. Well, as I pointed out in my last post, Bryan began the ever-messy process of tiling the master bathroom. I began the ever-relaxing process of reading my new book. Haha, kidding. Kinda. I read all Friday afternoon and then spent ohhhhhh 4 hours cleaning the house. Yes, just four. But it is VERY clean now. Like deep clean. And I was able to reorganize our pantry as well as all of the kitchen cabinets. AND I put down shelf-liner (long overdue), AND I cleaned out and reorganized the fridge. Point, Katy.

On Saturday, Bryan headed to graduation for LHS, I cleaned some more, and then we both spent the day doing pretty much nothing. I read, Bryan played video games, we ordered pizza, and it was perfect.

On Sunday, Bryan got up early (like 6am early) and went golfing with a couple of coaches from LHS. We skipped church. I know, bad. Anyway, we met up for lunch (after my trip to TJ Maxx) and then headed into town to buy all of our supplies/decor for the master bedroom! Exciting stuff. Bryan especially loved the decor part (that was probably the most sarcastic comment I've ever made in my life). Plans are coming along nicely, and even look somewhat like the inspiration board I showed you a few months ago:

Speaking of inspiration...I was going through my StumbleUpon today (Don't know what StumbleUpon is? Well, I suggest you jump on the wagon, because you are definitely missing out), and came across this master of all craft websites: Craft Gawker. I cannot wait to do some of these projects!

And back to our weekend summary:
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On Sunday night, we went to see "Water for Elephants"...so good! I have to say, usually I like the book a whole lot more than the movie, but this time I was equally satisfied with both! After the movie, we came home where a lot more of nothing was done (or not done?)....Bryan played more video games, and I finished my book! Sobbing. Can I just say that while Firefly Lane is one of my new favorites, it is also the one book that has made me cry more than other book I have ever read? Ok, I'm saying it. I think I bawled for 2 hours. Seriously. But it's so good! I can't stop thinking about the characters. Everyone should read it, just grab a box of tissues for the last oooooh, 100 pages or so.

On Monday we both got back to work--I did some more shopping, some of which included grocery shopping so it was necessary :), pulled weeds in the flower beds, and Bryan started painting the bathroom! Hallelujah.

And here is what we have today:

Still a definite work in progress, but I am already so excited for it! I can't wait to show the final results.

We also went to see "The Hangover Part II" on Monday night with a few of the other coaches. It was funny...but very unoriginal and extremely disgusting. I was a little disappointed, but I kind of expected it with a sequel.

I also thought I should mention the "tease" we got tonight. I could have sworn it was going to storm. It looked so promising:

Guess not. We need rain SO bad. I don't think we've had a good rain (or any rain) since September.

Well, that's pretty much it! Can't wait to show you all our pretty new master bedroom and bathroom!!

Tiles and Croutons

Here is the latest of what's going on at our household...

Bryan made the announcement last night that he was going to start working on our bathroom. And so the mess took ensued and I've been trying to ignore the sounds of drills and saws ever since.

It's looking good though!

I also made homemade croutons today! My friend Alli's sweet mom gave me a few quick instructions, and I have to say, these are much better than any croutons I've ever bought at a store.

As any house of two knows, it's hard to finish a loaf of bread before it goes bad/stale (among other things). So, I took some of our stale bread, cut it into little cubes, placed it on a baking sheet, drizzled olive oil over the top and then sprinkled on garlic salt and italian seasoning. I baked them for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. (Where in the heck is the degree sign on a computer keyboard? I'm not seeing it.) So easy!

I hope everyone has big/fun/productive and/or relaxing plans for Memorial Day Weekend! We are obviously planning to get a few things done (fingers crossed), but I'm hoping to relax and have a little fun too....maybe go see a movie and finish the book I just started reading. Firefly Lane, anyone? I heard it was good.

Speaking of books, I just finished the very popular (and recently movie-made) Water for Elephants. Love, love, love it. I had to read it in about a day because I didn't want to get a late fee at the library, and because my normal reading schedule was interfered with when I saw this:

...And just had to re-read all of the Hunger Games books again. I am so excited they are making them into movies!

Happy loooong weekend!

Sixteen Cents

Hello blog readers! I recently got on a kick to coupon. Yes, I jumped on that bandwagon. It seems to be quite the craze lately and I feel like I read about it in blog world all the time....not to mention there's that show "Extreme Couponing", which showcases some of the most talented (and crazy/obsessive) shoppers I've ever seen. I've done one shopping trip with coupons in the past, but that was before I really did my research and understood the best way to go about things (I'm still learning, it's extremely confusing). I still did pretty good though--I ended up saving about $20 just off of the items that I normally get.

I decided this go around that if I'm gonna try it, I'm gonna do it right, so I googled it (of course) and came across Coupon Divas and Lubbock Coupon Gal. Yes, this shows how much of a nerd I am. Which, if you've been reading this blog for any extended period of time, I'm sure you already knew that. Anyway, both of these sites are great and have really helped me figure things out.

I'm not due for another grocery shopping trip until this weekend (I go every 2 weeks), but I did see an amazing deal a couple of days ago that I just had to take advantage of.

We're big pasta eaters....like big. So, I was really happy to finally figure out the "coupon stacking" thing and put it to good use. I was able to use these:

And get these:

For $.16 TOTAL. Sixteen cents total. Yes, $.04 a box! I have more than sixteen pennies in my purse, people! I've learned (and this is big for me, so all of you coupon extraordinaires dont' roll your eyes) that the most effective way to coupon is to wait until something is on sale, and then find a manufacturer's coupon AND a store coupon and use them all together (a.k.a coupon stacking). You're supposed to stockpile when this happens, so that you eventually get everything you need for super cheap. (And that's key; just buy things that you would normally need, not just because they're on sale or you have a coupon...duh.)

Here's my breakdown:

Healthy Harvest Pasta (per box)

On Sale: $1.29
United Supermarkets coupon: $.75 off
Manufactuer's coupon: $1.00 of of 2 boxes (or $.50 off each)
Which equals... $.04

In short, this 16 cent purchase has opened my eyes to a new way to save money, and I could totally see how this gets addicting. So....I'm going to keep trying this out and see how it goes! I still don't really understand it all, but it's fun to try and learn!

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Hold on to your hats people, I'm about to tell you how to make the best chocolate chip banana bread on the face of the planet.

Here we go:

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons chocolate chips

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a wooden spoon, mix butter and mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla next. Sprinkle the backing soda and salt over the mixture and stir in. Add the flour last, mix. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons chocolate chips into the batter. Pour mixture into a buttered 4"x8" loaf pan. Top with the remaining tablespoon of chocolate chips. Bake 45 minutes-1hour (mine takes 45 minutes).

This is a constant treat in our house, since it's so easy to make and Bryan's a little addicted. See the picture above? Yeah, I didn't get one single slice of it because my husband seemed to think that he needed to eat the whole thing in one sitting. Ah, oh well.

Have a fun weekend!

Link Parties:

Think Pink Sundays
Whatcha Got Weekend
Amaze Me Mondays
Just Something I Whipped Up
Market Yourself Mondays
DIY Showoff Project Parade
Thrifty Decor Chick
Take a Look Tuesday
Show and Tell Wednesday
House of Hepworths
Show and Share Day
Fun to Craft
Weekend Wrap Up Party
The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Furniture Feature Friday

Lately

Well, I'm definitely playing catch up with all of the craziness that has been going on this past week! Here is just a little peek at some of it:

Last Thursday, we had a fundraising dinner in Amarillo for a new science building at LCU. Everything went great--the food was perfect, the decor was pretty, and everyone had a good time!

We worked with a really great florist in Amarillo who was able to come up with some pretty things for our small budget.

The next day, we packed up and headed to Dallas for an alumni event at a Rangers Game. I was able to stay with my friend Whitney's parents and we had such a great time!

The event was a little chaotic, but all 200 alumni really enjoyed free lunch and tickets to the game.

Um, I'm obsessed with Lemon Chills....but it doesn't look like Whit likes them much in this picture!

Whitney and I!

We actually left the game right after this picture was taken to go to Six Flags. It was amazing. We didn't really consider the fact that is was Saturday night and the park would be packed which always equals really long lines, but we were able to ride all of the big roller coasters so we were pretty happy! I'd like to think it was because we were strategic in our ride-planning, but there may have been some "sprinting to each ride like we're 6 years old" involved so that might have helped too :).

After all of the craziness (and fun) on Saturday, we packed up and headed home on Sunday and went back to work on Monday....and I'm still recovering. Coordinating 2 big events in 3 days is exhausting and I have just now managed to get my office cleaned (like 30 minutes ago--yes I'm blogging at work, I know, I'm breaking the rules).

On top of all of that, Bryan over-seeded our yard this weekend! So, we've been watering the yard 4 times a day and trying to keep Louie from getting too dirty. Oh, and speaking of Louie, it seems that he has figured out how to jump up on furniture. Dang-it. A bottle of Resolve has found a new home next to the couch because of this.

Happy Wednesday!

Grand Entrance

Bryan did a little project for me this past weekend that I just love. I started planning this on Labor Day, people. That's how long it's been. What is this project, you ask? Well, I was so over our red door with our red address number on our red brick house that I decided I needed a change!

Then, I came across this picture (which I cannot for the life of me figure out where it's from, I saved it like a year ago...help, please?)...

...and fell in love!

I just had to do something similar (or rather, had to have Bryan do something similar haha).

Here is our door before (last September):

Yes, my reflection in this picture is awesome.

And here it is now:

I am in love. We (Bryan) removed the storm door, filled the holes around the frame, painted the door and frame, and applied the adorable (and affordable) address sticker from the Etsy Shop, Single Story!

Now all I need is a pretty wreath and a few other fun things to make the front patio complete!

Link Parties:

Think Pink Sundays
Whatcha Got Weekend
Amaze Me Mondays
Just Something I Whipped Up
Market Yourself Mondays
DIY Showoff Project Parade
Thrifty Decor Chick
Take a Look Tuesday
Show and Tell Wednesday
House of Hepworths
Show and Share Day
Fun to Craft
Weekend Wrap Up Party
The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Furniture Feature Friday

The One to Turn Too

A devotional thought from Annabel Gillham:

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I don't know where you are this morning in your emotions and your thoughts, but perhaps this will help you verbalize your feelings to Him:

Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to Thee
When my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For Thou hast been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
Let me dwell in Thy tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the
shelter of Thy wings.
- Psalm 61:1-4

* * *

O God, please hear me when I cry out to You,
please listen as I pour out my heart.
It doesn't matter where I am--
how far away from home I might be.
You are the One I turn to
when things just seem to be too much for me--
when I'm fighting anxiety
or depression, fear or anything
that causes me to become discouraged.
O Lord, cause me to look to You,
for You are so strong,
so stable, so powerful and wise.
You have always been the One to whom I turn for
solace, for strength, for understanding--You have
always been the Source of my strength against
the satanic forces in this world.
Thank You, dear Father, that
I am seated with You--
secure in You
strong in You
sheltered in Your arms and hidden beneath Your wings

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I'm in a slump, but this devotional was just what the doctor ordered. I hope this encourages you too, no matter what you're struggling with in life.

It's almost the weekend! May we all relax and have some fun.

I obviously have an obsession...

I saw some more flower bows in a baby boutique a few weeks ago when I was getting a gift for my niece. So naturally, I had to see if I could copy them, and I did!

The steps to make these silk flower bows are a lot like the ones I posted here. I just added more layers and things like tulle and silk leaves. I love them!

I also made a few of these:

The steps to make the basic part of this bow are posted here. BUT instead of just stopping with the bow, I added lots of fun things like feathers, petals from a silk flower, and pearls. I am in love.

We had a great weekend! I went to several showers and got the chance to spend Saturday with some good friends--one of which I never get to see because she loves so far away! We also went and saw Something Borrowed--so cute. Bryan had spring football practice and finished up another little project that I will post about later this week :).

Happy Monday!

Link Parties:

Think Pink Sundays
Whatcha Got Weekend
Amaze Me Mondays
Just Something I Whipped Up
Market Yourself Mondays
DIY Showoff Project Parade
Thrifty Decor Chick
Take a Look Tuesday
Show and Tell Wednesday
House of Hepworths
Show and Share Day
Fun to Craft
Weekend Wrap Up Party
The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Furniture Feature Friday

Mini Patio Project

I was browsing through blogs last week, and came across a really creative idea for a flowerless pot on For The Love Of A House (this blog is really great--her house is so nice!).

This lady used one of those hand blown glass balls that you can put around your garden, but she put it in a flower pot with spanish moss.

Right after I saw this, I made a trip to the one and only TJMaxx and what did I find? Yes, I found the perfect hand blown glass for my pots!

Now, my mom might hate this project because she's not a fan of anything fake....but the spanish moss isn't technically fake, it's just dried...so I broke her rules and tried this project anyway. (Sorry Mom!)

I decided to try this in the pots on the front patio because most of the flowers in them had mysteriously died (seriously, I watered them when I was supposed to and everything...it is truly a mystery). Don't worry, the two flowers that survived have been safely moved to the flowerpots in the backyard so nothing was wasted. I was also really tired of having to sweep all of the dirt and mulch off the patio and away from the welcome mat every time I watered, so I figured this would be an easy solution since it doesn't require water.

So, here is what I had before:

And here's what it looks like now:

So far, I'm liking it. I also think this will be good for the winter when everything is dead. Except then I'll have to change out the color of the moss to a more nuetral color, but it will look much better than nothing at all! I also figure that if I get tired of this I can just as easily plant more flowers in these since the gardening soil is still underneath the moss.

More changes on the front patio to come!

The List

I have recently been spending quite a bit of time planning out what our summer will look like. Vacations, weddings, small group retreats, trips home, our 2nd anniversary, church camps, and LCU events.... all of these equal a pretty booked up calendar for the both of us. We did, however, manage to add in a few house projects here and there. You may think we take on too much, but I just call that "productivity". We might have bitten off more than we can chew, but here is a list of the projects we hope to have complete come football season.

1. Paint and decorate our Master Bedroom (signal the Hallelujah Chorus)
2. Re-tile the Master Bathroom
3. Paint and decorate Master Bathroom
4. Find some cheap patio furniture, possibly repaint/redo it
5. Build a pergola over the back patio (Bryan is like a kid in a candy store when we talk about this)
6. Makeover the front door and patio
7. Build Bryan a work bench in the garage
8. Refinish dining room table
9. Decorate Dining Room
10. Touch up paint on kitchen cabinets
11. Install garden lights and fence accessories in our backyard flowerbeds
12. Maybe start working on the craft room...
13. Grow grass in the backyard!!

Ok, I seriously doubt that even half of these projects will be finished by August, but I can dream, right? Besides, I already have 2 of these projects in the works....here is a little clue for one of them (I just ordered it tonight!):

Oh, and if you're wondering what a pergola is, here ya go:

What are your plans for the summer?

Have a great Thursday!!

Weekend Wowza

Like my title? No? Well, I was trying to be creative.

Alright my friends, this past weekend was an insane one. But fun. Which are sometimes the best kind in my opinion....

It all started on Friday night when my friend Jessica and I headed to a much anticipated Miranda Lambert concert. It was amazing. For those of you who don't know, Miranda and I are friends. We met at a gas station 3 Christmas's ago while driving through Texas and have been besties ever since. Well....I am joking about the bestie part but I really did get to meet her and get her autograph when our families randomly stopped at the same gas station my sophomore year of college. It was a huge deal since she's my absolute favorite country singer. And still is. So, naturally the concert was a huge deal too, and she didn't disappoint!

Don't you love those concert moments when the whole audience is singing along? Me too.

At the end of the video Miranda held her microphone up for the audience to sing....but I had to cut that part out, because you can hear me singing, and we are NOT going there.

Me and Jess enjoying the concert ambiance (iPhone pic):

A group of us from LCU headed to Houston bright and early on Saturday morning to host an alumni event at the Houston Astros game. The day was absolutely crazy and I learned a nice little tidbit that I will remember for the rest of my life: No matter how much you plan or how many things you think you have in place, they can all go wrong at a moments notice. There were several things (most of which were out of my control) that just didn't go as intended during the set-up of the event, but thankfully, once guests started arriving everything smoothed itself out and everyone had a great time.

We had about 200 alums attend as well as several future Chaps. Free dinner, free tickets, and a win for the Astros made for a good night!

More importantly, I was able to stay with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Neil during the weekend! It was amazing getting to spend some quality time with them. Kathy stayed with our LCU group the whole time, so she was there for the entire set-up and tear-down of the event and was definitely one of the hardest workers around. I love her SO much and feel really blessed that I got such a great aunt. We had a lot of fun! Sadly, I didn't get a picture with her (of course I realized that when I got home), but she was definitely one of my favorite parts of the entire trip!

I did however, get a few pictures with my precious niece Hensley when I met her on Sunday!

Sweetest, most well behaved baby on the planet. No joke. And she is so pretty. And she isn't a chunk like a thought she was, the pictures were just deceiving :).

She slept about 99% of the time that we were there, and I thought it was so adorable that she would sleep with her eyes almost all the way closed. She tried to fight sleep but just couldn't win the battle!

I think this picture is sweet, Alisha may kill me for it, but here is what I mean by almost closed:

Here are a few iPhone pictures...excuse the poor quality, but enjoy the cuteness!

I freaking love that baby!

After they pried Hensley from my hands (kidding, kinda), we headed to the airport....and 5 hours later I arrived in Lubbock. Did I mention that the flight is only supposed to be an hour and a half? Oh yeah, you better believe we were delayed an hour AND had to turn around in the middle of the flight due to computer problems....yes, fun night. But all is well now!

Told you it was a busy weekend! Happy Monday...