Our Thanksgiving 2011

I know I am a few days late posting about this but better late than never! We had a really good Thanksgiving this year! My dad's side of the family live all over the state...my cousin and her family live in Knoxville, we live right outside of Nashville, and my aunt & uncle & cousins live in Memphis/Mississippi. Well, my granny has a timeshare in Pigeon Forge so we decided to just all meet up there for a few days. It was so nice to have everyone together (minus a few)! We all cooked a big meal and spent some time together.

We even did the whole black Friday deal.....the Tanger Outlet Mall there in Pigeon Forge opened at 10 pm on Thanksgiving night so that is where we were!! I didn't get a whole lot but it was so much fun. We didn't get back to the room til 5 am!

We hated to miss Josh's families dinner but we did get to spend some time with them Thursday morning before we left. We love all of our families SO much and are so thankful for each one of them :)

Saturday was SUCH a nice day!! We took advantage of that so when we got home from Pigeon Forge we decorated the outside of our house. This is the 1st year we have done lights outside and I love them! I have been decorating for 3 days straight now.....Saturday we did the outside, Sunday we did the inside & the salon, and yesterday I went over to my moms and helped her do her house. It was hard work but so worth it! I just love this time of year :) Pictures coming soon!!!

Pumpkin Trifle

I love my trifle bowl! I think it is so pretty when everything is layered together.....and I love anything pumpkin. So when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it! I made it for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 cups leftover crumbled unfrosted spice cake, muffins or gingerbread

2-1/2 cups cold milk

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

4 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant butterscotch pudding mix

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Maraschino cherries, optional

Directions:

Set aside 1/4 cup of cake crumbs for topping. Divide remaining crumbs into four portions; sprinkle one portion into a trifle bowl or 3-qt. serving bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the milk, pumpkin, pudding mixes and spices; beat until smooth. Spoon half into the serving bowl. Sprinkle with a second portion of crumbs. In a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form; spoon half into bowl.

Sprinkle with a third portion of crumbs. Top with the remaining pumpkin mixture, then remaining portion of crumbs and whipped cream. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs around the edge of bowl. Garnish with cherries if desired. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving. Makes 12-15 servings.

 

Here is what I did different----instead of using heavy whipping cream, I just used a container of cool whip.

 

Easy & Yummy :)

So Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am thankful for so many things....especially today on Thanksgiving. First of all, I am so thankful for having such a wonderful God who loves me despite all of my faults. I fail MISERABLY every day and I am so thankful that his grace is enough. I am nothing without him! And he blessed me with the most amazing husband a girl could ever ask for. Really!! I am not just trying to make him look good, I really am a LUCKY girl! He is so good to me. He lets me be me. He does not try to change me because he loves me just the way I am. He is the most selfless & forgiving person that I know and he makes me want to be a better person! We are blessed with the best families that we love so so soooo much! Both of our parents are such good examples. And today is my parents 38th wedding anniversary!!!! Happy anniversary mom & dad! We have wonderful friends and a great church family. I have been blessed with an amazing job that I love love love. My business has grown SO much the last couple of years to the point where I am not even taking new clients anymore! That's major and I am so thankful. We are also thankful for the job that God has handpicked for Josh. We are not sure what it is yet but we know that in His timing it will be perfect. I am thankful that during this time of waiting we have grown closer to eachother! At times it gets hard and money gets tight but God always provides. I know he has a plan for us and our little family :)

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His love endures forever!!! Psalm 107:1

Pinterest Love: Cute Hair Ideas!

Being a hairstylist, usually the first thing I notice about someone is their hair. It is so bad that sometimes when I am in church I have to really make myself focus on the sermon and not everyone else's hairstyles and color!!

Don't worry, I ask for forgiveness and Jesus knows how much I love him :) Ha.

Anyway, I have seen SOOOO many cute hairstyles and colors that I just love on Pinterest lately that I just had to share!

Zooey Deschanel is just gorgeous. So is her hair! Love everything about it.

Bangs are really in right now and she pulls it off beautifully :)

The bangs really make her eyes stand out!

Source: weheartit.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Check out this cute twisted bun!

Source: bellamumma.com via Rachel on Pinterest

RED hair is my absolute favorite!!!! I love love love this.

Source: google.ca via Sarah on Pinterest

I am trying REALLLLY hard to let my hair grow out a little bit but this cute cut might just change my mind ;) Love her color too!!

Source: Uploaded by user via Rachel on Pinterest

Wow. Beautiful. If I was planning my wedding right now, this is what I would do :)

Source: soulscapesphotography.com via Rachel on Pinterest

It is not a surprise that I love this. For one, it's REESE WITHERSPOON! She is my favorite! Josh thinks we would be best of friends if we could meet in real life :) Love her loose, messy curls.

Source: google.com via Rachel on Pinterest

 Braids are also really in right now! Love this super cute braided messy bun!

Source: myyellowsandbox.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Love this rich, chocolatey color!!

Source: Uploaded by user via Chelsea on Pinterest

Another gorgeous red head :)

Source: pinterest.com via Laurie on Pinterest

A beautiful updo!!! Love the flower also ;)

Source: stylemepretty.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Another Reese picture...another cute bangs picture!

Source: google.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love Katie Holmes with short hair!! This is the cutest cut & I love the loose curls.

Source: google.com via Heather on Pinterest

As you can tell,

 I LOVE HAIR!!!!

I really could post cute cuts & colors all day long.

I am sooooo glad that I have a job that I love! Not only is it fun & it lets me be creative, but I get to make people feel good about themselves every single day.. because you know we all feel good when our hair looks cute!! It is such a rewarding job :)

New Pics!

I have been trying to decide what I want to do for our Christmas pictures for a while now. I knew I wanted to make them myself & I wanted do something cute and unique..... so a few weeks ago we got together with my mom and took some pictures. She did SUCH a good job!! They turned out sooooo cute and I just LOVE them!!! :)

Thank you, mom!!!

 We even did a little photoshoot for my sweet Kobe!! I love my baby!! :)

I will show you which one we picked for our Christmas card and the finished product soon!!

DIY Jewery Wall

I love love love our little home. But the problem is that it is well..... LITTLE. We do not have a whole lot of room for extra things. My jewelry has been one issue ever since we moved in. I have a really pretty jewelry armoire that I love and is perfect to keep things organized. But it just takes up too much space that we really can't afford to lose. I have seen a lot of good ideas on Pinterest (let's face it, I am addicted.) that have inspired me!! Here are a few:

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Source: jaimelyn11.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: wanelo.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: livealittlewilder.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: onewomenshaven.blogspot.com via Crystal on Pinterest

I love that these are all on the wall so it does not take up floor space AND I love them because they are super cute :)

It took me a while to get my ideas together and figure out what I wanted to do.......but then one day I walked into Lowe's and saw a random cart with tons of drawer knobs & pulls on clearance for 25 CENTS each!!! Ohhh yea! I grabbed a bunch of them and here is my new jewelry wall:

My jewelry board! It was so easy to make. I hot glued some fabric that I already had onto a piece of wood I had leftover from another project. My hubby drilled some holes into it so all I had to do was screw on the knobs & pulls.

Up close...... I LOVE the mix-matched knobs!!! Still can't believe I got all of this for only a quarter a piece :)

I hang all of my necklaces from the knobs.....and I hang my earrings on the pulls.....I also put all of my rings inside of the pulls.

I used some burlap & an old frame for all of my earrings with backs....and my favorite pair that I wore for our wedding :)

I got these 2 key hooks at Hobby Lobby for 50% off for all of my bracelets.

I cannot even begin to tell you how GOOD it feels for all of my jewelry to have a place now!!!

Oh, and here is the surprise I had waiting for me when I got off work last night :)

He is the best!!!

Pinterest Love: Give Thanks

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I have been seeing all kinds of Thanksgiving ideas and scriptures to remind us to always

give thanks.

Here are some of my favorites:

I realllly wish I had a mantle!!!!! I love this one and this cute "give thanks" banner. I also love all of the white pumpkins.

Source: bystephanielynn.com via Rachel on Pinterest

And how cute are these bottles?!! I have seen alot of good ideas lately using old bottles and I am thinking I may have to try one....

Source: c497280.r80.cf2.rackcdn.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I am in love with this thankful tree. So easy to do and so cute. You write what you are thankful for on the little pieces of paper :)

Source: simplyvintagegirl.com via Rachel on Pinterest

A few more things I love:

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Source: redheadscraftmorefun.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Some of my favorite scriptures:

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Source: allmyloving2you.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: adventuresofabettycrockerwannabe.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: cinsarah.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: redletterwords.com via Rachel on Pinterest