Our Christmas Mantle

Happy Christmas, friends! Let's talk mantles, shall we?

I made a decision regarding Christmas decor this year. Normally, I feel that my Christmas "stuff" just starts feeling like clutter after a while, so I chose to try and make everything Christmas related blend in with the rest of the house. I threw out (or rather, boxed up) all of the red decorations (because the amount of red used year-round in our house would be...well, zero) and other items that I deemed too "frilly" and did my best to keep things natural and casual looking. Oh, and just a little bit glitzy. I had to add some glitter.

I LOVE our mantle. Like to the point that I kind of don't want to take it down after Christmas. AND we have four stockings! I just love our growing family. :)

I did my best to work with what I had. I decided to give in and buy some new faux greenery, but I tried to get a selection that looked as real as possible. I love real greenery, but I don't want to pay for it and the only way I have access to it for free is to steal from our neighbors cedar tree ( I was so tempted it's not even funny). Anyway, there are several different textures of greenery in there to give the whole thing some depth. I also used a couple of lanterns that were hidden away in a closet to add a little more to the floor as well as some twiggy trees that were on clearance at JoAnn's.

At the last second I threw in some green apples that are normally on display in bowls and vases around our house. I'm in love with light green color schemes for Christmas and I really like the idea of incorporating "year-round" items into Christmas decor.

I bought these stockings from Target last Christmas (and yes, I bought four....just planning ahead....judge me if you must). I loved the way they looked originally but decided to add a few personal touches by pulling out the good ole' hot glue gun and attaching some sparkly leaves and faux white poinsettia flowers. Love, love, love.

And you better believe these babies are stuffed with toilet paper. I like me some plump stockings!

So there you have it. Our mantle as it is for Christmas 2011. Lots more decor to come!

I am linking this at Southern Hospitality's Mantle Party and Home Stories A2Z!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

 Just a little sneak peak of what our home has been looking like as of late. The tree is done, most of the presents are wrapped, and our fire has been going almost every night. I'm still not completely done with the decor around our home, but  once I am I will be sharing everything with blog world.

Have a great great Monday!

Working on the Dining Room

I don't think I've ever shared much about our dining room. Actually, I know I haven't. That's mostly because it's definitely not where I want it to be and has been in the process of being redone for oh....that last year.

I should also say that it's really not a dining "room" at all. More like a dining corner. Yeah, that's it: dining corner. It is in the same open room as our living room and kitchen. Which, now that I think about it, I have never shown you our kitchen either. Hmmmm....I will work on that.

Anywho....our living room is definitely the most "done" of the three spaces. Here is a picture from last summer (I need to update this--some of the decor has changed)

I was actually standing right next to our dining table when I took this picture. That's how close they are. And about a foot on the other side of me is our kitchen. Gotta love 1200 square foot houses.

Here is the only picture of the dining room that has ever been on the blog. It was taken the day we moved everything back in after installing the wood floors.

And here's a view of the dining "corner" from the living room.

Yeah, I know. It's changed a lot. Just for fun....let's do a big before and after of the living room...for old time's sake.

Before (last Christmas):

After:

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, okay....back to the dining corner.

Since the above picture was taken, I have replaced the table and chairs with a round pedastal table (Craigslist) and ratan chairs from Pier One. I've also hung a few framed prints on the wall. But that's really it. Now, I would really love to add a rug and change the light fixture so it can look as finished as the living room does.

I did some online browsing the other night and came across some great rugs on Overstock that would fit in the dining room and would also match what we have going on in the living room. Here are the contenders:

I really like this one. I think it fits well with the style of the room and looks to be the exact shade of gray that is in our throw pillows.

This one is fun too. The only thing is that we don't have anything that is that dark of a blue in the living room. But I love it. Maybe for the nursery....?

I LOVE persian-looking rugs. My only problem with this one is that it's a lot of gold and beige. Our walls are already goldie-beige. Although....if I (Bryan) painted them, that wouldn't be a problem :). (I ask him this every week. He says no every week.)

Another fun one. Maybe a little too fun. But you have to have a zebra print somewhere in your home, right?

I also really love this one. It's the perfect shade of blue-green-gray. The only problem with it is that if we ever paint the walls....they would probably be in a shade very similar to this. Bummer.

So, what do you think? Have a favorite? Hate them all? (Please don't hate all of them.)

I cannot wait to start working on this!

Bryan and I are heading off to New Mexico this weekend for some much needed time alone. In a cabin. It should be snowing. No cell phones, no internet, no cable....it will be PERFECT! And the best part is: we're going for FREE! Holla.

Please pray for safe travels. We're supposed to get freezing rain in Lubbock all day today and tomorrow. So fun.

Have a great weekend!

Recipe: Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

In honor of the holiday season, I'm sharing one of my absolute favorite Christmas cookie recipes. Well, I actually make these all year because they are freaking amazing, but my mother-in-law makes them at Christmas time so that's why I'm categorizing them as a Christmas cookie. It's very well justified.

The recipe makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. Sounds like a lot. But it's not. It's actually never enough in our household.

The directions are word for word from the original recipe my mother-in-law sent me last year. I always follow them exactly and the cookies come out perfectly every time!

Ingredients:
-2/3 cup sugar
-1 cup butter softened (Katy speaking: I sometimes use margarine and they are even better...and worse for you but oh well.)
-1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
-2 cups all purpose flour (Make sure dough is not greasy... if it is, add a little more flour until it is like a soft play dough)
-1/2 cup raspberry preserves or jelly (Or strawberry jelly, you can try different flavors, whichever you prefer)

 Glaze:

-1 cup powdered sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring (You can add a little less if you think it may be too strong)
-2-3 tsp. water

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix sugar, butter and almond flavoring. Beat at medium speed 1-2 minutes until creamy. Reduce to low speed and slowly add flour. Continue until well mixed 1-2 minutes. Shape into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart. Make a thumbprint and fill with about 1/2 teaspoon raspberry preserves (or any other flavor you like).

Bake 14-18 minutes until light brown (I usually check at 10 minutes). Remove from pan and cool. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. I usually just drizzle thin lines across the cookies.

Now go and enjoy some cookies! You deserve it.

I took pictures of my Christmas decorations yesterday....we'll see if I get around to posting them this week haha.

Adios!

Baby Boy.

Source: joannagoddard.blogspot.com via Jae on Pinterest

I cannot wait. I can't wait at all!!

Catching Up

I thought that I would fill you all in on what all has been happening since we found out that we were expecting. So, here's the low down:

We found out that I was pregnant on Wednesday, August 24th. We had gone to church that night and went to Chipotle to eat with our small group afterwards. Once we got home, I snuck into the bathroom while Bryan was on the phone to take a test. I had this weird feeling that it would be positive, and wanted to see if I was right. Well, I was!

So many people have asked me if I told Bryan in a special way. It's funny because I always imagined myself doing something cute to tell him, but when the moment actually occurred, I was in such shock that I just walked into the living room, mouth wide open, and held the pee stick out to him. The poor man was completely caught off guard. He was on the phone with his brother and pretty much dropped the phone (and hung up) once he realized what was going on.

We were both VERY excited, but it still felt so unreal. I cannot descibe the feeling of finding out that your life is about drastically change, but in a very, very good way. I suppose that you know this feeling if you already have children, and that you will find out soon enough if don't. We actually drove to the grocery store and bought two other brands of pregnancy tests just to be sure. And eight (yes, eight--you already knew I was crazy) tests later, we were pretty positive.

The next two weeks were the longest of my life. I started feeling sick about a week after finding out but still couldn't believe what was actually happening until we went to our first ultrasound. Despite the fact that I was about to pee my pants in the waiting room (I mean seriously? Making a pregnant woman drink a massive amount of water and then hold it for an hour is just ridiculous), it was a very happy day for the both of us. Seeing that little heartbeat on the screen was worth the wait and worth the worry. We were both so happy and I was in tears. Bryan could see the ultrasound screen before I could (the mean ultrasound tech had it turned away from me), and I remember watching his face and seeing the realization of what he was looking at before she had even said anything. It was so sweet and I will never forget it.

Soon afterwards, we begin the (very daunting) task of telling our family and friends. I have never felt so blessed and so loved. We have a family that are all ecstatic to welcome and love another little one just like they have loved each of us, and friends who have been so supportive and are so excited to meet our baby. I have loved seeing and hearing the reactions from those we care about most.

I have pretty much blocked out the 8 weeks since then. I have never been so exhausted in my life and I honestly don't know how women do this more than once. I experienced some pretty bad nausea and some very annoying food aversions. Our eating out budget was hit hard in September and October because I could never tell what I wanted until it was time to eat. And once it was time to eat, I had to eat RIGHT THEN. Poor, poor Bryan....I have learned that he is a very patient, and very loyal husband these past couple of months. And as I'm sure that some of you know, gagging at the thought of cooking the food in your own house gets pretty old after a while. I am SO tired of eating out, but thankfully these past 2 weeks have been much better and I've managed to cook a decent meal every night this week!

I'm probably leaving out a lot, but I'm tired and I want to watch Harry Potter.

And what's the most exciting part of all of this for my blog readers? Why yes, you will get to see me try to put together a decent nursery! Pumped. I can't wait and already have many ideas!

I'm proud if you got to the end of this post. Well done! Talk to you all later!

Another Year: Check!

Well friends, another season of Lubbock High football has come and gone. And once again, I'm sad to say that this season was not too much better than the last. The Westerners went 0-10 (for the second year in a row), but I will give them credit for playing MUCH better this year and getting some points on the board at almost every game!

It is strange supporting a school who is, um, "winningly challenged" when you come from a high school who won everything. Definitely not as entertaining. Good thing I was able to spend my game nights with the coach's wives and their cute little kids!

It is also strange to think that next year, I will have a little boy/girl to take with me to games! Oh, the fun we will have. I'm already planning outfits. It should be good.

P.S. Thank you all SO much for your understanding (to my lack of blogging) and sweet comments to our big announcement!! We feel so blessed. Cannot WAIT!