the story of our life...

New Hair!

2012-02-09T09:45:00.001-05:00

I have been blonde my whole life. When I was little it was really blonde... but as I have gotten older it has turned into a dirty dishwater blonde so I always keep it highlighted. I have been wanting a change for a while now and I looooove red hair. Like Emma Stone red.

Source: sodahead.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Well, I finally did it. And I LOVE IT!!! :)

Mine is not at red as hers (more like a red brown) but next time I think I am going to go even more red. If you know my mom then you know we look just alike now. Which is a huge compliment!!

I know I will go back blonde for the summer but a girls gotta have a change every once in a while :)

What I Love Wednesday :)

2012-02-02T00:13:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I have done this but there are alot of things I am loving right now so I thought I would share :)

First of all, I am L O V I N G the weather the last few days!!! It has been in the 60's and I love it! It is crazy because it is February and feeling so good. One year ago today we were on our cruise! How time flies.....

We both have lost some weight since that trip...... Josh has lost 25 lbs and I have lost about 8 lbs! Wooo Hooo! We just started eating healthy and working out.

Another thing I am L O V I N G right now is the Beach Body Brazil Butt Lift videos. Oh. My. Word. So good. I have never burned so bad while working out. That means it is working, right? :)

Another L O V E of mine right now is my new mascara. They make my eyelashes look amazing!!!! Yes, a little more pricey than the mac I usually buy but it is so so so good! I do one coat of Dior Iconic mascara (this mascara has vitamins in it for your eyelashes)....

And then one coat of Dior Blackout and this stuff is amazing!! Really makes them stand out. No clumping at all. And it stayed good all day!!

I am working on a picture gallery wall in our bedroom with just our wedding pictures in black and white. I can't believe we have been married 3 1/2 years already! I have seen so many cute gallery walls on Pinterest lately that I am L O V I N G. Here are just a few:

Source: dailydreamdecor.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love everything about this room! I have the same exact stripes in my salon bathroom (same colors too!!). Love the white frames, white mats, and black & white pictures.

Source: loveoffamilyandhome.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Again, white frames & mats with black and white pictures. I love it! Really makes the pictures just POP!

Source: blog.jenwoodhouse.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Ahhhhh :) Stripes and gallery walls make me happy.

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com via Susan on Pinterest

If only I had stairs like these....

Well, time for bed. Good night!

under the weather...

2012-01-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

This past week has been so hard! I have been sick for a whole week. It all started last Friday night when it was time to eat supper. I started to get a headache and I thought it was because I was so hungry. So I ate A LOT of pizza. Really fast. Bad idea. About 30 minutes later I started feeling sick to my stomach....this was around 8pm. I ended up getting sick and I threw up every single hour like clockwork from 8 pm Friday to 6 am on Saturday. I would fall asleep and would wake up feeling so sick. Josh ended up taking me to the ER that morning....I thought I was dehydrated but thank goodness I wasn't. They gave me some medicine to take that helped me not throw up but made me sleep ALL day. I was literally asleep all day. I woke up Saturday night for a couple of hours then went back to sleep. About 3 am on Sunday morning I woke up and Josh was awake in bed saying how sick he was to his stomach :( I felt so bad for getting him sick but we had a feeling it would happen. The doctor told us that stomach virus was going around and very contagious. So Josh was sick all day Sunday...Luckily, we already had the medicine he needed from when I went to the doctor. We were both feeling better on Monday and ready to get out of the house. I ended up going out to Rivergate to meet my mom. Well, Monday night my throat and eyes started getting itchy. I thought it was my allergies from this crazy TN weather we have been having. It kept on getting worse and worse and I have been so miserable. My head has been so stuffy and I have never in my life blown my nose as much as I have this week. I have had to re schedule so many hair appointments this week that next week will be so crazy. Anyway, I kept on getting worse and worse so I broke down and went back to the doctor this week and she gave me a steroid shot and a z pack. She also did a breathing treatment on me and gave me an inhaler. I am starting to feel a little better but I know I have a few days until I feel 100% like myself again. By that time I will be SOOOO ready to get out of this house for sure! The crazy thing is that I was just telling someone last week that I have not been sick in a long time.....I should have knocked on wood.

Old Mirror to Yellow Chalkboard Frame

2012-01-26T09:55:00.009-05:00

This will be my last project using chalkboard paint for a while....I think :) I love this stuff so much. I also used it on the chalkboard tags I made for the pantry makeover and the chalkboard spice jars.

My mom gave me this old mirror. I really liked the frame...(yes, that is our Christmas tree you see in the mirror....no, I do not still have it up! I did this right around Christmas time and am just now posting about it :) )

I decided to keep the actual mirror in case I ever got tired of the chalkboard and wanted it to be a mirror again. There was a piece of cardboard inside the frame so I just painted right on that. I painted the frame YELLOW! I love this color. It is called Elevator Button by Valspar. It is like a golden yellow...not too bright. I also distressed it some after it dried.

Here it is all finished!

One of my favorite scriptures :)

Linking up to:
Crafty, Scrappy, Happy
Tidy Mom
Tatertots and Jello
I Heart Naptime
Positively Splendid
The Girl Creative
DIY Showoff

Chalkboard Spice Jars

2012-01-22T22:44:00.003-05:00

One of my goals this year is to get organized and stay organized! I am sick of clutter and not having a place for things. I posted the other day about my pantry makeover.

Another issue I had were my spices. I had a lazy susan that I did NOT like at all! Can you see it in this pic? Things would get lost and sometimes the lazy susan would not turn. Grrr.

Well, when Hobby Lobby had their glassware 50% off I bought these cute little jars for 99 cents each.

pulled out my favorite paint right (chalkboard paint)..

and painted the lids..

I put them in a drawer right next to my stove and I LOVE IT! So easy to get to and, of course, I love having it all labeled :)

I have another chalkboard project I will be posting about soon that turned out super cute :) Stay tuned!

Linking up to:

Pantry Makeover & DIY Chalkboard Tags

2012-01-18T22:10:00.007-05:00

This has been a goal of mine for a L O N G time. Organizing my pantry. Not just straightening things only to have it all messy again in a couple of weeks...but really orangized. I have seen a lot of really cute & organized pantrys on Pinterest so I finally decided to do it!

First thing I did was look in my pantry and figure out all the different categories I was dealing with. This is what I came up with:

-Baking

-Crackers

-Peanut Butter/Nutella/Honey/extra Jelly

-Breakfast

-Baggies

-Foil/Wax Paper...

-Snacks

-Drink Mixes

-Boxed Dinners

-Kobe

-Plastic Cups/Paper Plates/Napkins

I saved up my money and waited for Hobby Lobby to run their baskets and glassware 50% off. I took my list with me and loaded up my buggy! LOOOOVE HOBBY LOBBY! I told my hubby it is like my bass pro :)

I am embarrassed to even show you these before pics....

Wow! I do not miss this old pantry at all!

I painted the walls a dark brown and re-painted the shelves. Here is the new one:

I made the tags out of an old cereal box!!

I cut it up into rectangles..

painted them with this chalkboard paint....

and tied them to my baskets and jars with jute!

I love how everything has a spot. Organizing makes me so happy :-)

The Girl Creative

What we have been up to...

2012-01-17T23:03:00.000-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been VERY productive & full of projects. This is what they have consisted of:

* Re-did our basement.

* Painted the kitchen.

* Gave the pantry a makeover.

* Colored my hair. Hellloooo brunette :)

* Painted the living room.

* Faux board & batten in living room {almost done!}

* Ordered pictures from Mpix.com for our picture gallery walls in living room & bedroom.

* Josh started EMT school.

* Painted the bedroom.

* A couple of furniture makeovers.

* Chalkboard frame.

* Painted the kitchen table white.

* Got new dining room curtains. {I bought the fabric and my mom made them. Yes, she is the BEST!}

* Threw a lot of things away and donated things. Trying to declutter.

* A couple of bonfires in the back yard with just me and my hubby & my Kobe. Good talks :)

Pictures coming very soon!!!

Also, thank you for all who have prayed for my hubby and his interview. Unfortunately, he did not get the job :( They hired 2 and interviewed 7. Well, 2 of the guys had already been through the fire academy which means they got the job. Josh did VERY good on his interview though. They loved him. Chief Steele called him himself and told him that he was "in the bubble" and if something did not work out with those other guys then they would call him first. Very disappointing & upsetting....but I know God has a plan.

Source: littledaisymay.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Happy 2012!!!

2012-01-01T01:30:00.047-05:00

I remember when 2012 seemed soooo futuristic...and now it is here!! Crazy how time flies! Josh stayed at the fire hall tonight so I ended up making some last minute plans with a few friends and I am so glad I did. We had such a good time, as usual! We had dinner at Rumours and then went over to Bella Napoli for dessert.

2011 really was a great year. We have accomplished so much.

For one, we are now DEBT FREE!!! This year we have paid off a Lowe's credit card, Josh's truck, a couple of medical bills, and the biggest thing is we just paid off our 2nd mortgage to our house!!! We have been making double payments on it for months & months and just paid it off 2 weeks ago :) That feels so good.

My business has grown soooo much! I am so thankful for my job. I love it and am so thankful for each of my clients. They have been so faithful to me over the last 7+ years.

Josh has really gotten a jump start on getting his career started as a firefighter. He has been volunteering, taking classes and different types of training, learning so much & meeting so many new people. His interview is Friday and we are just PRAYING that God opens this door for him!!!!

We are going to a new church that we love! This is a pretty big deal since I grew up in the same church with my dad being the pastor for like 22 years! But we love our new church and have started going to a small group on Wednesdays at our pastor's house and we just love going!

This was a BIG traveling year!! We went on our cruise in January, went to Florida twice, and went camping at Center Hill Lake for the 4th of July!

We also have done SO much to our house!! We completely re-did the kitchen, the front yard looks amazing, and we are in the process of re-doing our basement as we speak. Hopefully that will be done tomorrow.

We have grown so much this year. We have grown closer to the Lord and our faith is definitely stronger. We have also grown closer to each other!! I love spending life with my sweet hubby!

I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!

Happy New Year!!!!

the cutest nieces in the world :)

2011-12-26T22:33:00.001-05:00

Here are a few videos of our sweet little nieces, Addyson & Ava Grace! We love them so so much. Christmas was so much fun having them around :)

This 1st video is too funny!! I was helping Addy open one of her Christmas presents at Josh's grannys house. She kept on getting distracted but finally got it open and her expression was priceless!! She was not expecting to see this big, bright stuffed animal. I don't think she liked it too much! Ha.

Addy LOVES Chica on the Sprout channel. Here she is doing her little dance.

Sweet, sweet Ava!!! I love her so much! She will be 3 months old in just a few days.

"Pillow" Sugar Cookies with Icing

2011-12-23T13:15:00.003-05:00

I have found T H E B E S T sugar cookie recipe!!! You know those ones you buy in the store that are so soft and yummy and you can't eat just one? Well, my hubby says these are better than those and that they are like "pillows". His exact words. Ha! I love him :) Here is the link to the website I found them from.

Ingredients:

Cookies:

6 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

1 c. butter, at room temperature

2 c. granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1 c. butter, room temperature

1 t. vanilla extract

4 c. powdered sugar

6 T. heavy cream

Several drops food coloring

Multi-colored Sprinkles

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit “sticky”. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least two hours until firm.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

Use the plastic wrap that you chilled the dough in. Dust the top of the dough and then flip and flour the other side, keeping it on the plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined.

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Makes approximately: 5 to 6 dozen cookies (will vary on the thickness of the dough)

Pinterest Love: Pretty Packages

2011-12-21T09:16:00.001-05:00

Christmas is 4 days away!!!

I only have to work half of a day today and tomorrow and then I can officially enjoy Christmas. I plan on baking tomorrow all afternoon and I cannot wait to try several new recipes!

I am pretty much done with my shopping and *almost* done wrapping presents. I saw SO many cute wrapping & tag ideas on Pinterest. Here are some that I am loving :)

DIY gift tags

Source: todayscreativeblog.net via Rachel on Pinterest

LOVE this simple idea of using a music sheet.

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Rachel on Pinterest

This is actually what I did! I used leftover greenery from our tree to add something extra.

Source: designfromca.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love anything chevron so of course I love this FREE chevron printable :)

Source: nestofposies-blog.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Brown paper packages with monogram :)

Source: francineclouden.typepad.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Wrapping with newspaper, monogram, bakers twine. Perfect!

Source: allorahandmade.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I LOVE doileys and have a ton of them that I have collected from here and there. I plan on using these ideas one day :)

Source: acreativemint.typepad.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: a-ladys-findings.tumblr.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: francineclouden.typepad.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: thecountrychiccottage.net via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: thesweetestoccasion.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I thought mine turned out pretty good this year----not as cute as these by any means----but definitely better than the good ol gift bag (which there is NOTHING wrong with!!! sometimes fast & easy is better than cute!) But hopefully next year I can get even more creative :)

Prayers Please!!!

2011-12-20T09:16:00.000-05:00

Something really exciting happened yesterday! Josh got a call from Hendersonville Fire Department and he has an interview Jan 6th!!!

Let me back of for those who do not know the full story....

Josh has been trying to get on the fire department for 2 years now. He has applied several places and he is a volunteer in Pleasant View. He stays the night in PV one night a week and goes down there any free time he has to try and get experience. He is also starting EMT school next month. It has been a long process but it all started 2 years ago when he applied for Hendersonville. He did so good on the test that he placed #15 out of 300 something.....but they only hired 3. They had an opening earlier in the year so they called him and asked him if he still wanted to be on the list and he said yes. But at the time they only hired 1. They called him again last week to see if he still wanted to be on the list and he said yes. We knew he was moving on up in the list but had no clue where he was on the list. Well, they called him yesterday saying they wanted him to come in for an interview!!!! This is major! We really hope he gets this job. Please be praying with me for God's will in this situation! And if this is where is supposed to be that he will do good on his interview and that they will show him favor. Thank you so much! :)

Girls Night!

2011-12-19T15:37:00.000-05:00

Saturday night I got together with my favorite girls :) We had dinner at PF Changs and seriously was there close to 4 hours! We always have sooo much fun when we are together. We did an ornament exchange with Christmas coming up and that was fun. We also took tons of pics, as usual, and I am sure we got on a lot of people's nerves but we don't care! I am so thankful for each of these girls and love them all so much.

Our cute ornaments!

We got these mini desserts that were SO good and really cute!

Well, me & Annie got 2 :)

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

Christmas 2011 - Home Tour!

2011-12-17T01:08:00.003-05:00

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the house since it is all decorated for Christmas! I love how it all turned out this year. It feels so cozy :)

Here our living room:

Another view:

Our entryway table:

(I actually have BIG plans for our entryway that I will be starting on sometime soon after Christmas!)

I ended up attaching some ribbon to our closet door that is in our living room & hung our Christmas cards with clothes pins. I love love LOVE getting Christmas cards in the mail :)

Our kitchen that I am still in LOVE with!! We completely remodeled our kitchen back in February and I can't believe I have never put up pictures before. Actually.......I do know why........it is pretty much done except for 4 cabinet doors. That is a sore subject in this house so we won't go there :) Here is one side of the kitchen that is done:

I draped a pinecone/berry garland over the sink & decorated with some leftover greenery from our Christmas tree. We always get a real tree & always have to cut it down some to fit in our itty bitty living room. I love it because I can decorate with the leftovers :)

And here is our bedroom that is currently undergoing ANOTHER makeover!!! Ha! I got a new duvet cover from West Elm & I am about to paint the walls and the nightstands AGAIN. Also, I am going to hang some of our black & white wedding pictures by the window instead of all the other stuff .

I hung the Merry Christmas banner I made out of burlap from the curtain rods & decorated with more leftover greenery on the ledge :)

I plan on taking some outdoor pictures soon and also pictures of the salon are coming soon! :)

The Nester
Kelly's Korner

Pinterest Love: Dessert Ideas

2011-12-14T02:01:00.000-05:00

I have been bad lately. REALLLLLY bad. I have been craving sweets for a while now and I have eaten lots of them. I told myself I was going to start working out again like a month ago and have just not gotten around to it yet.... but as soon as Christmas is over and it slows down in the salon I will be pulling out my Slim in 6 video and getting on the treadmill. But until then, I will make as many desserts as possible and thanks to Pinterest I have many that I want to try :)

I am actually making this chocolate chip cookie dough cheese ball tomorrow for our home teams Christmas party..yummmmm

Source: ouritaliankitchen.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Crock pot chocolate candy! A client of mine actually brought me some last Christmas..not sure if this is the same recipe she used but it sure was good :)

Source: redbookmag.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Hot chocolate cookies

Source: pipandebby.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Cake batter fudge!!!

Source: pursuitofhippieness.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I am FOR SURE trying this recipe!!! Love soft sugar cookies with icing :)

Source: authenticsuburbangourmet.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Homemade peppermint patties

Source: blueeyedbakers.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Hot fudge pie. Heaven.

Source: islandeat.wordpress.com via Rachel on Pinterest

White chocolate peppermint fudge

Source: tasteofhome.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I am pretty much addicted to anything caramel so this homemade caramel looks really good right about now..

Source: food.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Make your own CUTE & EASY Christmas cards!

2011-12-13T23:06:00.005-05:00

I decided this year that I wanted to make our own Christmas cards.... but I knew I didn't want to put a lot of time or money into it because we send out about 50 cards. Well, one day I was driving past our old church and saw a big red barn and it just HIT me & I knew exactly what I wanted to do! The barn actually belongs to our old pastor so I asked him if we could take some pictures in front of it and he said yes.....so we met my parents up there and my mom took some pictures of us. This is the one we are using for our Christmas card:

I made the banner by cutting burlap squares and the letters are actually stickers. I wanted to stencil them on but this was easy and the letters show up really good for the pics :)

First thing I did was go on picnik.com and did some editing. I like to use the vibrance tool on everything except our skin....if you use it on the skin it makes it look weird and not cute. Trust me. I also sharpen the picture to give it a more clear look and sometimes I adjust the highlights (under the exposure tab). Then I added the text at the bottom with a holiday font called Winceslas.

Then I ordered 50 4x6 prints from mpix.com. That is my favorite place to get pictures printed. My wedding photographer actually told me about it. They have great quality at a great price!!!

Then I went to Hobby Lobby and bought this little book that was 40% off!! :) It has 50 different designs that are all 4.5 x 6.5. The PERFECT size!

Then I glued (I just used a glue gun) the picture onto the paper right in the middle so there is a border around each picture. I really love the way they turned out and I love how there is such a variety!! Here are just a few:

So for about $16 we got 50 really cute Christmas cards! :)

The easiest potato soup. Ever.

2011-12-12T21:42:00.002-05:00

My best friend told me about this recipe and it is SO easy. It is perfect for one of those nights where you don't feel like cooking or making a big mess. I want to try and keep these ingredients in my pantry all the time...especially for those late nights doing hair. It is realllly good! I still like my cheeseburger potato soup the best but this is some yummy comfort food for sure :) And you can whip it all together in less than 5 minutes!!

Ingredients:

1 can cream of celery

2 cans cream of potato

2 cans water

1 bag refrigerated diced potatoes (like the hash brown kind but use the diced ones)

velveeta (you can use however much you like--- I bought the big one and used about 1/3 of it)

Cook all on stove on medium heat for about 20 minutes. Stir often so it does not stick. You could also put it in crock pot on low for 3-4 hours. Top with bacon bits & cheese :) Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!!!

2011-12-12T10:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday! If you know her, then you know that she keeps looking younger and younger every year :) She is the most wonderful woman that I know and she is my best friend!!! I do not know what I would ever do without her!

We were able to spend the WHOLE day with her and we had such a good day. We started out by going to Cornerstone's Christmas program and all I can say is WOW. It was soooo good! We loved it. I cannot even say what my favorite part was because I loved it all so much. Then we had lunch at Kabuto's :) The food was yummy, as always!

The beautiful birthday girl!!!! ;)

The coupons my brother gave her! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

My wonderful parents :)

Josh trying to eat with chopsticks .....

me & my best friend!!

After we ate, we went back to my parents house and helped her clean and get ready for a Christmas luncheon she is having today. Then, last night I did her hair and we ordered a pizza. What a great day it was!!

I love you, mom!!!

Pinterest Love: Christmas crafty ideas

2011-12-07T00:22:00.000-05:00

I am REALLY in the Christmas spirit these days!!! I just love it. I love that my house and salon are all decorated and it feels so cozy :) Here are a few Christmas crafty ideas that I have seen on Pinterest that I am loving lately....

I love this! A tomato cage with lights on it....why didn't I think of that?!!!

Source: nedesignbuild.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I want to make this cute Pottery Barn knock off pillow :)

Source: confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Cute Anthropologie snow globe knock off!!

Source: thingswefancy.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love love LOVE these bottles made with spray paint and epsom salt!

Source: cleverlyinspired.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I am adding this to my to-do list for next Christmas!! Love this burlap stocking..

Source: cozycottagecute.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I saw this Christmas banner a couple of months ago and thought it was so cute :)

Source: etsy.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Cute ruffled tree tutorial!!!

Source: positivelysplendid.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I am going to do this for our Christmas cards...love that it doesn't take up space because it hangs on the back of the door.

Source: andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

One day I WILL have a big kitchen and it will have this cute little tree :)

Source: hgtv.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I really want to make these cute shirts for my nieces but why is it SO hard to find plain and solid color tshirts for 3 month olds and 18 month olds???!

Source: stuff-by-ash.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Love this printable :)

Source: auntielolocrafts.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Cute wreath made out of a picture frame!

Source: ourlifeisblessedbeyondmeasure.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Now I need to find time to make all of these cute things!! :)

Our {glowing} Christmas Tree

2011-12-04T19:14:00.005-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!!!!

I played around with my cameras settings to get this glowing look!! I got the idea from this post. I did the same thing she did.....

I turned off all the lights in the house- except the tree, of course :-) I set my camera to manuel and set my ISO to the highest it will go....which is 1600 on my camera (I have a Nikon D50 & just used my 18-55mm lens). I also played around with my white balance and I ended up setting it to Incandescent. Focus in on your tree, then I turned my shutter speed down until I liked the way it looked and this is what I got. Straight out of the camera :-) Try it!!!!

Old Dresser to Salon Coffee Station

2011-12-02T09:30:00.003-05:00

I have had my own salon now for just over 2 years and ever since I opened I have wanted to do a coffee station.....but it has been one of those projects I have just never gotten around to. Well, a few weeks ago I saw this picture on Pinterest and it got me excited about it all over again and I knew I had to do it!

Source: thevintagewren.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I loooove everything about this!!! Love the piece of furniture with the baskets and I love the shelf with the cups hanging. The shelf is from Hobby Lobby but even at 50% off it is $50.........maybe one day I will break down and get it because I absolutely love it but I have too many other things I am wanting to do right now.

So I had an idea. I have this old dresser my mom gave me that has already had one makeover you can read about here. It was time for another makeover :)

Here is the before pic { this pic was taken after I took the scrapbook paper off the top } :

Here is the after { sorry for the terrible lighting!! } :

I am IN LOVE with it!!! First, I painted it a greyish taupe color. Then I took the drawers out and unscrewed the drawer glider things and took those out. I bought these baskets at Old Time Pottery for super cheap and I love the way it looks. It completely changes the whole look!

My mom had bought this Keurig but she never uses it anymore so she gave it to me!! Yay! Thanks mom :) It is perfect for the salon because it makes individual cups for my clients. That way I do not have to make a pot of coffee that is going to sit there and get old. Now my clients have their choice between coffee or apple cider.....

or they can make a cup of hot water with the Keurig and have either some hot chocolate or green tea!! They love it and so do I! :)

For now { until I break down and get the cute shelf from Hobby Lobby! } the coffee cups are in the baskets.

One more look!!

Our Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T09:07:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-26T22:19:00.003-05:00

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.

2011-11-24T09:22:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-11-22T23:16:00.005-05:00

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!

2011-11-20T22:14:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-18T23:13:00.008-05:00

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:

Source: halfofvamh.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

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

2011-11-16T08:56:00.001-05:00

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:

Source: tatertotsandjello.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: ffffound.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: redheadscraftmorefun.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Some of my favorite scriptures:

Source: 517creations.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

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

Little ones

2011-11-15T23:35:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was able to get together with my good friend, April, and her sweet little boy, Aiden, to take some pictures. We had such a fun time and Aiden was so happy and such a cutie pie :) Here are some of my favorites:

I also took some family pictures for my bfff :) Lacie is SO adorable! I love her so much! Here are some of my favorites:

My mom took some pictures of me & Josh & Kobe a few weeks ago and they turned out SOOOO cute!!! She did such a good job :) I am using one of them for our Christmas card (that I ordered tonight!!). I am eally excited about Christmas and can't wait to put up our tree!

Pinterest Love: Fall Clothes

2011-11-02T10:43:00.003-04:00

Here are some of my favorite Pinterest finds for some super cute Fall clothes :)

I am in loooove with dresses and boots right now. It is the perfect temperature for a cute sundress, a jacket or cardigan, and some Fall boots. Here are a few I love:

Source: kendieveryday.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: pinterest.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: weardrobe.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I am pretty obsessed with boot socks right now! I think they are so cute and add something extra instead of just skinny jeans or tights with boots. Also, they keep you warmer :)

Source: ilovelowie.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: plumo.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: weardrobe.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Rachel on Pinterest

How cute are these Fall jackets???!!! I want one of each please!

Source: anthropologie.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: sundaycrossbow.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Here are some other cute outfits that I wish I had!!

Source: peruvianconnection.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Rachel on Pinterest

{ I am not crazy about this brown & black purse below but love everything else! }

Source: simplysoles.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Me & my mom have been shopping quite a bit lately and have found some really cute things.....but I need to stop spending money! I have found the only way to stop spending money is to just stop going completely! My goal is to not buy anything else until Black Friday- only 3 weeks away :)

Homemade Apple Butter (the easy way)

2011-11-01T10:13:00.001-04:00

I looooove apple butter :)

I knew I wanted to make some this year but when I saw what all goes into it, I almost talked myself out of it. I HATE with a passion peeling things....like potatoes. So the thought of peeling tons of apples does not sound fun to me at all.

But then I saw this post.. She uses her Vitamix to blend up the apples with the skins on! First of all, I need to talk about my Vitamix....I absolutely LOVE this thing. Yes, it is a little pricey, but it does everything!! I use mine pretty much everyday. Anyway, back to the apple butter. It took about 10 minutes to get everything blended up. Then I throw it all in a crock pot and that is it. 4 hours later I had the best apple butter ever! Here is the recipe:

ingredients:

1/2 cup apple cider

6 apples- stems removed, quartered with seeds and skins

2 teaspoons allspice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

{ First of all, I TRIPLED this recipe. I used 9 granny smith apples and 9 red delicious apples. I have heard it is good to mix sweet with tart and it was really good. }

directions:

Place apples and 1/2 cup of cider into the Vitamix container and secure lid.

Select Variable 1, turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 5 or 6. Blend for 10 seconds until chopped. If necessary, use the tamper to press any ingredients into the blades. Increase speed to Variable 10, then to High. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes until mixture is smooth.

Spray insides of crock pot with cooking spray for easy cleanup. Pour ingredients from Vitamix container into the crock pot. Stir in sugar and spices.

Cook 4 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low uncovered until mixture is dark brown. Depending on the sweetness of your apples, you might need to stir in a tiny bit more sugar. Freeze or process for canning any leftovers.

I canned mine using the hot water bath method so I can give some away as Christmas gifts :)

Young House Love

Happy Birthday Josh!!!!!

2011-10-31T14:04:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Josh's 26th birthday!!!

I told him we could do whatever he wanted to do for his birthday so we went to the farm in Kentucky to go hunting. We went last year too...but this summer they worked on building a little cabin to stay in. It is not completely done yet but it was nice to have somewhere to sleep. We could not get the heater to work though...so it was SOOOOO cold! But we had a great time.

We got out there Saturday evening and set up a fire. Josh made us these little meals that you cook on the coals and they were really good. You just get some foil and put in hamburger meat, chopped onions & red potatoes, worcestershire sauce, and seasonings. It was ready in about 30-40 minutes and was YUMMY! We also had smores :) We got up super early (before the sun came up!) and went out to his box stand that he built this summer and watched the sun rise. It was sooo pretty and relaxing. We stayed out there for several hours hoping to see some deer.... but we didn't. Oh well, maybe next time... Josh worked on his hunting area for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon so I took some pictures of the beautiful Fall leaves!!!! It was so pretty :)

We were going to stay through today but Josh had the opportunity to come back and work and extra job so we came home yesterday afternoon. Josh's parents & Sarah brought over some chili and a Baskin Robbin's ice cream cake for Josh and we had a good time :)

Happy birthday Josh!!!!

We all love you so much!!

Salon Porch Makeover

2011-10-31T12:13:00.003-04:00

When we bought our house, we remodeled half of our basement into a salon so I could work from home and I have LOVED every second of it!!! I love having my own salon and love love love working from home. I am spoiled now and will never have it any other way :)

We had a (tiny) garage in our basement & a garage door.....well, we took that out and what was the garage door is now the entrance to my salon. This is what it has looked like for a couple of years...

Can we say B O R I N G ??

We have been so busy the past couple of years working on the inside of our house and we are just now getting to the outside. To see the front yard/front porch makeover click here.

Here is the salon porch now:

I absolutely LOOOVE it :)

I painted the siding the same color as my front door. It is called Desert Grass by Valspar. When I first painted it, I wondered if it was too much??? But after a couple of days I fell in love. I think it is so inviting. I stained the concrete a brown color and I also painted the bottom part of our house (the concrete blocks) Western Brown by Valspar.

I am not crazy about Halloween itself....but I do love mums and pumpkins and everything FaLL :)

Pumpkin Apple Butter

2011-10-24T09:46:00.003-04:00

I have been trying all kinds of new recipes lately. Some turn out really good.......but some not so good! I love anything pumpkin so when I saw this recipe I knew I just had to try it. It was soooo easy & so so SO good!

Pumpkin Apple Butter

1 (29 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

2 cups apple cider

1 cup applesauce

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

{I doubled the recipe}

Directions:

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine all ingredients.

Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

{ I read the comments beforehand and a lot of people talked about how messy this part is...... and they were SO right!!! When it simmers.....it pops up every now and then and gets all over your stove. I even had to clean my floors right in front of my stove when I got done. It was not so bad that I would not do it again though bc it tastes THAT good! }

At this point you can refridgerate up to 1 month or freeze or can them using a hot water bath method. I canned them because I am giving some of them away as Christmas gifts :)

I {Heart} Nap Time

Young House Love

fun day with my mom :)

2011-10-22T20:02:00.000-04:00

Life has been so crazy busy lately that me & my mom have not really been able to spend as much time together as we would like. But we got to spend most of the day together yesterday and we had SO much fun :)

We went to the flea market first and we saw so many cuuuuute things. I ended up finding the cutest pair of vintage cowboy boots & they are adorable!!! You should have seen us trying to carry all of our stuff back to the car! Ha.

Then we went to Sips n Strokes.. I love that place! We met one of my mom's friends there and we painted a picture with fruit on it.

This is my finished product.. I am going to hang it in my kitchen. I think we all did a pretty good job!

I always have so much fun with my mom..no matter what we are doing. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mom who is also my best friend :)

Pinterest Love: Fall Colors

2011-10-22T01:24:00.000-04:00

I LOVE FALL!

It just might be my favorite time of the year.

There are sooooo many things I love about it........

but especially all of the pretty colors when the leaves change!

Here are some Fall pictures that I found on Pinterest that I just love :)

Source: None via Rachel on Pinterest

Happy Fall!!!!

Fall front porch makeover

2011-10-19T01:53:00.005-04:00

We have done a lot to our little house since we first moved here a little over 2 years ago. Right now we are in the process of working on the outside and TRUST ME...it needed it :) We have finally done our landscaping ( I say "we" but the hubby actually did it all! ) He did such a great job!!

I painted our front door red shortly after we moved in and I really liked it at 1st.......but then I thought it was a little BLAH. I needed some contrast and some change! Also, I found some cute GREEN doors on Pinterest that I fell in love with :)

Here is the before pic:

as you can tell this was before landscaping & grass....

Here is the lovely AFTER pic:

I am IN LOVE!!! First of all, I stained the porch a brownish color. It is not a huge difference but I think it looks much better. The door color is called Desert Grass by Valspar and it is my new favorite color!

The wreath was so easy to make. I just bought a grapevine wreath at JoAnn's....spray painted a "C".....made some rosette flowers that I hot glued on.....and then hung on the door with scrap fabric.

Close up of the flowers. I love all the pretty Fall colors!

Here is a view of the whole house! Josh planted fescue grass..I think that is what it is called. It is so pretty and so green. It is starting to get thicker but will be perfect by Springtime :) We also painted the bottom part of our house (the concrete blocks) It is called Western Brown by Valspar and I think it makes SUCH a difference! It really compliments the brick color :)

This is the retaining wall that Josh built & the knock out roses he planted. I am telling you- I have got one good hubby :)

Our next BIG projct is going to be our patio in our back yard and I cannot wait for it to be done. I even bought some cute patio furniture at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago for it :)

Stay tuned for another Fall porch makeover .. this one is the salon porch and it turned out super cute!

I {Heart} Nap Time

Owen Farm

2011-10-18T09:34:00.000-04:00

While Adam & Tiffani were in the hospital after having Ava, we got to keep Addy for an afternoon:) so we decided to take her to Owen Farm. This place is only about 10 minutes away from our house and I cannot believe this was our 1st time going! It was so much fun!

Ava Grace!

2011-10-17T21:10:00.000-04:00

Meet our new niece,

Ava Grace :)

She was born on September 30th and weighed 7.2 lbs and was 18 1/2 inches long & perfect :) She is SO precious!!!

Addyson just loooooves her and calls her "sissy" and loves on her all the time :)

We just love our sweet nieces SOOOO MUCH!!!

3 years :)

2011-09-06T14:17:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe it has been 3 years since this beautiful day :)

Time flies.....

when you are having fun!!

I am SOOO thankful that God placed Josh in my life. He is such a wonderful husband and such a wonderful person with a big heart. I love spending my life with my best friend! I am telling you- it just doesn't get better than him :-)

We celebrated this weekend by getting couples massages, eating at our favorite restaurant (Carrabba's) and then staying the night at Opryland Hotel. Sarah works there and she got us an awesome room with a balcony for a great price! Thank you Sarah!

view from our room!

enjoying Cheesecake Factory on the balcony :)

me & my hunny!

It has been cold & rainy the last couple of days...I am glad the weather was not like this on our wedding day because we got married outside! The weather was perfect that day- it was a little overcast during the day but when we got married (at 6:30pm) the sun had just came out....and it was a high of 85 :)

I hate to admit this ..... but...... it has only taken me 3 YEARS to do but I finally ordered my wedding pictures today! Ha. I know my mom will be proud & happy! Tonight we are going to eat salads & baked potatoes with leftover chili on the potatoes. And we are going to watch our wedding video! It is a tradition that we watch it on our anniversary every year. Hopefully we will keep that up in the years to come :)

Addyson's 1st birthday!

2011-08-27T23:41:00.000-04:00

I can't believe Addy is 1!!!!! Happy (late) birthday sweet girl!!!!! We love you SO MUCH!

Her birthday was August 15th and her birthday party was that weekend before. It was so much fun! It was a big party- lots of friends & family, presents & cake!

Her invitations were so cute. It was a (girly) tractor theme :)

Her cute tractor cake!

Aunt Sarah & Aunt Rachel with the birthday girl :) I didn't get a good pic of her outfit but it was adorable! my SIL ordered it off Etsy.

Have you EVER seen so many presents! Ha!!!

CAKE TIME!!!

yummmmmmmmm:)

me & my hunny :)

time to open presents! of course, daddy did most of the opening....

Sarah & Blake :)

she loved her John Deere tractor..

They rented 2 of those big blow up water slides & the older "kids" had fun on them too :)

We had a diaper party for Tiffani tonight so hopefully it will not take me as long to get those pictures up. Can't believe Ava Grace will be here in less than 5 weeks!

Fabric Banner

2011-08-11T08:52:00.004-04:00

Saturday is my niece's 1st birthday party!!! I cannot believe she is going to be 1. It just seems like she was born! This year sure has flown by. I have been wanting to make one of these fabric banners for a while and finally had a reason to & it turned out SO cute :)

Here is an up close

It was SO easy!!! I wish I would have took step by step pictures but forgot :) But click here for the full tutorial that I used. The only thing I did different was instead of sewing the letters on I just used fabric glue and it was SO much easier!

Happy banner making :)

also linking at tatertots and jello :)

Kobe & Bentley

2011-08-09T10:46:00.000-04:00

Last week was CRAZY BUSY and this week is the same way!! School is starting back and you know everyone needs to get their hair done before they go back. Not complaining, I take it when I can get it :)

My parents were in Phoenix last week so we kept Bentley for them! Him & Kobe had SUCH a fun time together. It was definitely more hectic having 2 dogs instead of 1 but it was fun :)

This was them most of the time- fighting over the babies. Even if there were 100 of them right there, of course they always wanted the same one! Ha. I think Kobe was a little sad when he left..

My parents were in Phoenix for General Council but they went a couple of days early to go to the Grand Canyon. I can not WAIT to see the pictures! They said it was like 120 something degrees out there but with no humidity at all. I can't imagine.

While they were out there my mom went to IKEA and picked up a few things for me for my craft room :) Can't wait to get started on it!

Couponing 101

2011-08-03T09:21:00.001-04:00

I went couponing on Monday and got some pretty good deals! I got $53.84 worth of groceries for only $25.71!

I went to Publix first & here's how it broke down.....

Wisk laundry detergent 50 oz- normally $6.49 on sale for $4.49- used $2.00 off coupon so got it for $2.49

2 tubes Colgate toothpaste 8.2 oz- $2.07 each- used 2 50 cent coupons that doubled to $1 so payed $1.07 each

Dawn dish soap 24 oz- normally $3.59 on sale for $2.49- used 50 cent coupon that doubled so payed $1.49

2 jars of Ragu- normally $2.19 each- on sale B1G1- had 40 cents coupon off 2 that doubled to 80 cents off so paid 70 cents each

4 boxes Betty Crocker Brownie/Dessert Bars- normally $2.99 each- on sale for 2/$3- used 75 cent coupon off 2 so paid $1.13 each

2 bottles Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner- normally $3.49 each- on sale 2/$4- had 50 cent coupon off 2 that doubled to $1 so paid $1.50 each

Shout 22 oz- normally $2.99- on sale for $1.50- used 55 cent coupon so paid only 95 cents

Then I went to Kroger......

Tide 32 loads- normally 7.89 on sale for $5.99- then you pay $4.99 if you buy Downy (which I did) - also had 50 cent off coupon that doubled to $1 so paid only $3.99

Downy 52-60 loads- normally $5.42 on sale for $4.99- then you pay $3.99 if you buy Tide- also had 25 cent off coupon that doubled to 50 cent so paid $3.50

Sooo it was an OK couponing trip........when you can really save is when Harris Teeter does their super doubles every few months. That is where they double coupons up to $1.99! If you combine that with things that are on sale then you get things for practically nothing or even free! They did it back in June and I paid only $32. 52 for $98.02 worth of groceries! Ohhhhh yea :)

I am NO pro at this & I am definitely not an extreme couponer (even though I wish I was!)!! Ha! But my goal is to save as much $$$ as I can and build up my stock pile with things that we use on a regular basis or things I like to use every now & then...for example, I bought 4 boxes of brownie mix this week. Do I really need 4 boxes of brownie mix this week???! Um, no! But when I do get that craving they will be there... or if I want to make some for a friend or family member for a birthday or whatever they will be there! But anyway, when I get my stock pile built up then it will be a whole lot easier & cheaper when I plan my meals each week. I will go to my pantry 1st and see what I have THEN check the sale paper to see what I need.

Couponing is alot of work and I wish I did it more often but it really does take alot of time....and the closest Kroger, Publix, or Harris Teeter is about 30 min away from our house so it definitely takes some planning. If I lived closer or worked in Nashville then I would do it every week for sure! But I am trying to do it atleast every other week...

If you need help getting started on couponing you can check out my favorite couponing website, Faithful Provisions. They have lots of tips and coupons and every week they will tell you what is on sale at each store and which coupon to use with it.

Good luck couponing :)

Pan Fried Shrimp with Creole Mayonnaise :)

2011-08-02T08:07:00.003-04:00

Josh came home from Costco about a month ago with a huge bag of frozen shrimp so I am always on the lookout for good shrimp recipes. Well, I was looking through a Cooking Light magazine and ran across this pan fried shrimp recipe and knew I had to try it! I made it last night and it was SO good! Definitely a keeper :) We also had rice, sauteed veggies (squash, broccoli, green peppers, and onions) and some home grown tomatoes from my in laws garden!

(this is my plate- hubby's is MUCH bigger! ha. Also, he did not have tomatoes because we all know how much Josh hates them!)

Here's the recipe:

2 1/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt-free Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's), divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fat-free milk
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1. Combine flour, 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning, and salt in a shallow dish. Pour milk into a shallow dish. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Dredge shrimp in flour mixture; dip in milk. Dredge shrimp in breadcrumbs; shake off excess breading.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of shrimp; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and shrimp.

3. Combine mayonnaise, remaining Creole seasoning, Worcestershire, and hot sauce in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Serve Creole mayonnaise with shrimp.

Okay, here are the changes that I made ---- 1st of all, I didn't have creole seasoning so my mom did some googling for me and found that creole is very similar to Cajun seasoning. So I used Cajun seasoning with a little garlic powder. Also, for the creole mayonnaise, we do not have just regular hot sauce but we do have buffalo sauce (for hot wings) so I used that and it was SO good!!! Also, for a little extra crunch, I mixed the breadcrumbs with cornflake crumbs.

If you like shrimp then I would for sure try this recipe!! Click here for the recipe and better pictures :)

Family Vacation 2011

2011-07-27T09:07:00.000-04:00

My parents have a timeshare in Destin, Florida and we have been vacationing there for as long as I can remember! It is a week that we all look forward to every July. We didn't get to go last year so we were REALLY excited about going this year. Josh couldn't get off work the whole week so I decided to go down with my parents and then he flew into Panama City & we just picked him up at the airport and then all drove back together. The weather was perfect and we had SO much fun!!

Floyd's is one of our favorites!! They have "all you can eat" shrimp that are HUGE for only $19.99. I cannot even tell you how many shrimp we ate :)

my wonderful parents!

me & my brother

My granny, aunt, uncle & cousins were all in Destin at the same time! We are all spread out and hardly ever get to see eachother so we got together as much as we could. It was so good to spend some time with everyone!

I had not seen my cousin, Charlie, in like 10 years or more!!! We met his girlfriend, Tiffany, for the first time. They are expecting a baby girl next month so we threw her a surprise "baby shower"!

my mom & Hallie. Hallie LOVED my mom :)

my sweet granny :)

my Granny has Alzheimer's and is not doing well at all :( We took alot of family pictures....who knows when we will all be able to get together again....

my Aunt Barbara, Aunt Wanda, Granny, & my dad

my Granny & the grandkids (my cousins Jason & Charlie..me & my brother...we wished Shauna & her family could have been there!!)

My Granny & the Corey family

My Granny & the Wright family

my family with my Granny

all of us together :)

my dad & my Granny

my Granny & the great grandkids

me & my Granny. love this pic :)

I love my hunny!

we saw fireworks on the beach! so pretty

Another favorite restaurant of ours is Callahan's! The guys always get these HUGE steaks and yes they eat it all!!

Josh's 2.06 lb steak

my dad & my brother split this 3 lb steak!

Keith's 2.60 lb steak!!

the water was so pretty! Me & my mom love laying out on our floats while my dad & Josh holds them so we don't float away :) ha.

our little set up! These tents are perfect for the beach!

what a view!

I was sad to leave but ready to be home at the same time..I was so happy to see my sweet Kobe!! Now it is back to reality!

Kobe Update & Canning!!

2011-07-12T09:33:00.000-04:00

I took Kobe to the vet yesterday (he needed to get his shots and mani/pedi anyway..) so I got them to look him over after the seizure incident. He HATES going to the vet :( Poor thing started shaking like a leaf as soon as we walked in the door......

he is hiding behind the chair ....

He has been acting 100% like himself since the seizure so they did not seem too worried. They said to keep an eye on him...apparently dogs can have seizures every once in a while?? Only if they are having them more than once a month should you be worried.....we did decide to do some blood work on him though to make sure everything was ok & his liver numbers came back pretty high :( The vet said the seizure & the liver numbers are not related whatsoever so this was just a new problem we have discovered. It is not so high to be very worried so they want me to change his diet. I feed him Purina Little Bites now but they want me to switch to Iams. Also, no treats (he is going to be one sad puppy because he loves his treats!) I usually give him Beggin Strips or something like that that you buy at Wal-Mart but she said they are processed and not good for dogs. I can only give him green beans, baby carrots, marshmallows, etc for treats. She wants to check his numbers again in a month to see if that has helped. If not, they want to run another test to check if his liver is functioning. I pray that changing his diet will help!!!!

Poor thing has been through so much :( He looks so sad in this pic which makes me VERY sad

After we left the vet we went over to my mom's house to do some canning!! This was my 1st canning experience and it was hard work but so worth it!!! My mom did 12 pints/quarts of pickles!

We also put away 19 quarts of peaches & cream corn which was SOOOO good :) and canned 39 pints of green beans...

My mom was working on canned pickled beets (our FAV!) when I had to leave. She ended up doing 22 pints!!!

So it was a very productive day. My mom said it is addicting & I now see what she means! When we get back from Florida I want to can some tomatoes and spaghetti sauce and banana peppers. And I want to freeze some butter beans. I will be so happy this winter when I have all of my fresh veggies :)

Tailfeathers :)

2011-07-11T08:32:00.003-04:00

I am sure you have seen the FEATHER craze that is going on right now. If not, you are really missing out!! Feathers are so much fun and so cute! And I promise you that everywhere you go people will comment on how cute your feathers are :) Ha.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many feathers I have put in for people. They are really hard to find though because they are always sold out & when they update their inventory they sell out in 10 MINUTES! Usually I am working when they update their inventory so luckily I have a wonderful mom who goes online to order them for me :) (in the past 2 weeks I have placed 4 orders bc they sell so fast!) and I love the company I order from because they have excellent customer service & they are great quality feathers. You can wash them, curl them, and even flat iron them!!

I have 4 skinny ones in my hair right now..... (I am always wanting to add more especially since I have my salon in my basement = feathers right downstairs :) BUT I have to refrain from doing that all the time because I know my clients want them too!)

Up close

One of my clients has the CUTEST little shih tzu named Lilly & she wanted Lilly to have some feathers!! They looked sooooo cute on her!!!

Up close :) We did a purple one & a pink/black striped one.

Speaking of dogs----we had a MAJOR scare last night.

We think Kobe had a seizure.... :( He was following me down the stairs & I noticed he stopped half way down the stairs so I turned around & when I did I noticed he was bent down funny. I went to him & saw that his back legs were stiff looking and he could not move them. Then he layed down on his side and started shaking. He was not making a sound at all. I was freaking out and picked him up & then he started to growl a little. I ran & took him to Josh and we were really scared & didn't know what to do. After what seemed like forever (it was only a couple of minutes) he could move is legs again and he ran under our dresser. We got him out and then he acted fine. He is acting fine now but I am still very worried so I am about to take him to the vet. I don't know what could have caused it....we did go out on the boat yesterday for a couple of hours but we stayed on floats in the water (Kobe was on the floats with us) most of the time so that really cooled us off. But he did drink quite a bit of the river water and that is something he normally does not do when we go out on the boat. So that is the only thing different that happened yesterday.....I hope everything is ok. I do not know what I would do if anything ever happened to him. He is our BABY.

Ladies Night!

2011-07-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

Last night me & my favorite girls got together for dinner at Maggiano's. We always have SO much fun and last night was no exception!

not sure why this is turned.. :(

we even got to witness a proposal!!!! This guy got everyone's attention in the whole restaurant and proposed to his girlfriend!! She said yes, soo sweet :)

We are planning a girls trip to the beach in a few years when we all turn 30.................that doesn't even feel real to type that I will be 30 in a few years!!! Atleast I have the best girlfriends in the world to grow old with :)

fun times with my hunny!

2011-07-07T10:50:00.000-04:00

I was going through my phone and found some old pictures & realized I never blogged about them! I love having this blog to go back and read about the fun things we have done since we have been married :)

On Josh's birthday last year (October 30th.....I know I am WAY overdue on this one! ha!) we went to KY to camp & go hunting. His family owns alot of land out there and the guys love to go hunting there! This was my 1st time going & I can see why they love it so much. It is so pretty and relaxing out there. Here is Josh in his tree stand!

aaaaand.......here I am in my tree stand!! Ha. This was my 1st time hunting in a tree stand! Actually, I didn't have a gun or anything so really I guess I was not hunting but it was actually fun. I thought I would be bored but it was really cool..The deer came really close! And Josh's tree was only about 20 ft away from mine so I could see him :)

We also went to a Titans game this year! I can't remember who we played but I do remember we lost :( Boooo! We got pretty good tickets off Craigslist. It was fun but cooooold!

So we have lived in Nashville (well, about 20 min away) our whole lives and have never been to CMA Fest!!! Crazy, I know, especially since people from all over the world travel here to go. But we got to go this year and I can see why everyone loves it so much!! We LOVE country music but it just seems like every year there is something going on and we can't go. But from now on I am going to make it a point to go for sure. One of my friends had a 4 day pass and she couldn't go one night & offered it to us for free! Yay! We got to see a lot of my favorites!!!

Lady Antebellum!! :)

Sugarland was AWESOME! They put on such a fun show :)

Keith Urban!!!

We also saw Deirks Bentley, Reba, Shania Twain was there but she didn't sing..., and a few others. SO much fun!!!

4th of July weekend

2011-07-05T09:19:00.000-04:00

We went camping this weekend at the Caney Fork with our friends, Audrey & Louis, and Sarah got to come too! We had a great time. I love to camp but I can say that I am glad to be home in my air conditioned house and my soft bed!! Ha.

the water was freezing & I did not have any waders but went fishing with my hunny anyway!! I didn't catch a thing but he caught a lot as usual..

Kobe was WORN OUT!!!!! I have never seen him so tired!

our little set up:)

we ate A LOT of good food :)

we got to watch fireworks at Center Hill & they were Soooo pretty!!!

I thought Kobe was going to have a heart/panic attack. Poor thing was so scared of the fireworks :(

we went canoeing on the river. so relaxing!

Kobe like playing with the fish..

rainbow trout

crazy hair!!! ha

Annie & Nathan & Lacie got to come Sunday night and grill out with us!

she is such a cutie!!

the girls :)

the guys :)

We left camp early Monday morning and got breakfast at IHOP & then went straight to Pegram. Every year they have a HUGE 4th of July event. It starts with a parade in the morning...then they have tons of food and baseball games and pageants and all kinds of fun stuff. They had 1 booth selling everything fried------fried snickers, fried milky way, fried oreos, fried moon pies, fried COKE (not sure how they did that one). I had to pass on all of those. They just sounded like they would make me very sick!

4th of July baby :)

she was so tired!

Adam & Tiffani put her in the baby pageant! she was too cute.....

there were a lot of other really cute babies too so she didn't win....but she is #1 in our book!

We FINALLY got home after a looooong (but fun!) weekend and decided to just hang out at home & grill out. We were SO exhausted. We didn't need to go see any fireworks because Krantz Court had enough, that is for sure! We bought some and it was fun.. but it makes me nervous when Josh lights one and says "I don't know what this one is going to do..." But luckily we are still alive & in one piece :)

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday America!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2011-06-28T10:19:00.001-04:00

Sunday was my dad's birthday! My parents were out of town most of the weekend but got back that afternoon so we could spend some time with him :) We took him out to dinner at Longhorn & had a great night together!

I love my family SO much!!

Addy's fun day with her Aunties!

2011-06-24T23:03:00.000-04:00

I got to babysit Addyson today and it was such a fun day :) My SIL, Sarah, was off today so she came over to hang out with us. We did ALL kinds of fun things......

went for a walk down our road.....

our neighbor, Jennifer, came along & brought her 2 little boys. Tripp liked pushing his baby brother :)

Trav was OUT!

we played in the grass for a little while.....

and when Addy doesn't get her way she will let you know by putting out that bottom lip! ha!

Aunt Rachel is a messy baby feeder :)

she LOVED playing on the bed!!

pretty girl :)

she had a little bedhead after her nap!

OH and we painted her toenails pink!!!! :)

I just love her SO much!

I am LOVING the feather trend!!! I ordered some for the salon & they finally came in :)

I also put a couple in my friend Jennifer's hair.

So that is what my day consisted of! Needless to say I am very worn out even though it was a very good day!