33 WEEKS!

How far along?  33 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: +26.5 lbs

Maternity clothes? All the time!  and realizing that I need to start investing in some comfy lounge nursing/post-partum clothing because I don't have much and I don't want to live in my pj's while on maternity leave!

Sleep: blah.  Let's say we've hit that uncomfortable stage and sleep isn't going so great.  Thankfully I'm not having to deal with insomnia and I can still fall asleep, it's just that it's hard to find a comfortable position to lay in, and any type of rolling over/adjusting my maternity body pillow/having to get out of bed to pee takes a lot of effort.

 Best baby moment this week:  Receiving some baby gifts and things I've ordered in the mail!  We received the sweetest set of outfits from a family friend of Jake's, and I already have ideas that one of the outfits would be perfect for her to wear for her baptism :)  We also got in the vinyl decal of her name to go over the crib and I can't wait to get it up on the wall!!

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything?  Being able touch my toes.  This may seem silly or random at first, but just think about how many things are more difficult to do when you don't have that range of motion.  Put on a sock, put on pants & underwear, tie shoes, paint my own toenails, pick up anything that I drop on the ground, etc.....

Movement: Still lots.  I've read that it may decrease just a little because she has a longer sleep cycle now, but I feel her strong little kicks, rolls, and other kung-fu movements all day long! 

Food cravings: Still pasta, chocolate milk, and juice!  Loving fruit in any form--fresh, juice, frozen yogurt flavors, or covered in chocolate..haha

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes :)  belly bump is measuring right on track at 34cm/34 weeks [I've been measuring 4 days ahead almost my whole pregnancy]

Gender: GIRL!  

Labor Signs: just some Braxton Hicks contractions...I've been wondering if I've been feeling them for a couple of weeks but now they are stronger so I know it's them...no signs of real labor yet though, and hopefully not for at least another month!

Belly Button in or out?  I'd say that's somewhat debatable. 

Wedding rings on or off? On, but some days it's a little snug.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy/tired.  I do get emotional over sad/sweet things.  

Looking forward to: My baby shower tomorrow!!  I can't wait to see everyone and all my friends who live out of town.  Receiving baby gifts is also pretty much better than Christmas, because everything is either mini-sized and super adorable, or it makes you think about how you will be using it for your baby so you get all happy and sentimental.

 

We are also touring the hospital this Sunday so I'm really excited to see what it's like!

 

 

Also, since I haven't posted about them in a while...say hello to these sassy little studs:

...and I guess I should say that we've made progress!  Reece finally knows that I'm pregnant! haha..or at least he knows that something is different.  It only took my big ol' 7-month baby bump to get the point across.  Kona has been so intuitive and protective of me [even more than his usual..such a momma's boy] the entire time that Jake and I swear he knew that I was pregnant even before we did.  Reece on the other hand, did not.  He would still try to jump up on me and when we would cuddle on the sofa he would move his head all around trying to "adjust" his pillow [aka..baby bump] and would get frustrated when he couldn't.  Well, now he's much more careful around me and very mindful of my belly.  So cute and funny to see how they act, and I know they will be sweet and protective of little miss Ryleigh!

 

 

Catch Up

Here's a little catch-up for life lately.  Sorry for the lack of blogging, between working, the holiday weekend, and everything in between I feel like we have been nothing but busy lately!!  Let's catch up quick with photos...

One of my best friends got married on June 29th, and I was her Matron of Honor :)

We've gotten hooked on this show.  Anybody else? 
It's so intense, has a great cast, and keeps you interested every episode from start to finish. 

We spent July 4th out on the lake with some friends.  Sadly I didn't get any pictures because all the phones got put away into the Pelican during the short little stint of rain that we encountered.  Thankfully, that only lasted about 2-3 minutes before it was nice out again and we enjoyed the rest of the day in the water and grilling out burgers & brats at Goat Island!

  

We had a little impromptu date-night-in with some OG To-Go [so delicious, it had been too long]



and some Sonic Blasts for dessert...perfect!

 

There have been some lazy Saturday mornings involving lots snuggling with these two silly boys...

Reece

Kona Monster



& last but not least, yesterday I went to supper club with some couples from our church and their kiddos.  Always a fun time! The host family has a good bit of land and they have an uber-fun backyard complete with pool, fancy patio area, and a zipline that goes over a pond.  Great for entertainment!  It was also sort of a potluck where we each brought sides or desserts to accompany the main dish [burgers on the grill] and it was funny to see how everyone got their recipes off of....you guessed it  >> Pinterest.

 

Here is my Cinnamon Apple Strudel recipe that turned out pretty fabulous: 

 

 

I also added some Hershey's White Chips to the recipe:

These are sooo good and perfect for the person who is not the biggest
White Chocolate fan since they are Vanilla flavored.

 

 

I'm searching for some of the other recipes and I'll share them as well

once I have a chance to test them out myself!

 

 

 

The newest house project

Well, it's about that time again.  Our old, sad sliding door that leads from the kitchen to our backyard is worn out.  It's such a pain to try to slide and when the dogs are going in & out several times a day to use the bathroom it gets even more worn.  The wheel that moves the door is completely broken and the track is getting all scratched, dented, and just plain torn up.  When Jake opens the door he literally lifts it up out of the track to move it sideways and then sits it back down.  I'm not quite that strong so I just have to lean and pull a few times to get it open about 12" so that the dogs can pass through.  So clearly, time for a new door. 

We both like the look of french doors much better, and since the cost is only about $100 more than a new sliding door, we thought that would be the way to go.  It will also be nice if we are ever moving large furniture in or out of the house to be able to go out a 6' wide doorway instead of having to maneuver to our front door, because if you've ever been to our house our little "entryway" opens right to our coat closet so it's not a nice straight-out-the-door angle when you're moving big furniture.  Also, it will keep the boys from damaging my pretty kitchen countertop, because when we still had our old laminate countertops they were moving a sofa in through the garage door and chipped the laminate.  I wasn't worried about it at the time because I knew we wanted to redo the kitchen anyway, but if they messed up my granite I might have a heart attack.

Here's something similar to the door we're getting:





We're opting for no grid frames because Kona tends to use the door to stand up on and I just feel like that would be something for him to scratch and tear up.  Plus, we have a private backyard and I don't feel like we need them.

We are planning to do this project with the help of my Dad on Saturday.  I'll post some before & afters once it's done!

 

Weekend Happenings

We went to Jeremy & April's 2nd Annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Party last night and had a blast...great fun with great friends!

Sad that this turned out a little too blurry to use on the Christmas card :(

The studs

 And today I've been in an organizing/decorating mood so lots of laundry has been done and I decided to change up the draperies in the living room.  While picking up some gifts for our Angel Tree child, I found these at TJMaxx for only $19.99..I thought that was a great deal for the set of two panels.  I love that they are linen, so they add texture but they're going to let lots of natural light in.  The pictures make them seem a little blah, but they are beautiful in person.  They have a silver threading going throughout them so they pick up on the lights, and I can only imagine the effect that they'll have when the sun shines through.  Yay :)

Please ignore the bag from Michael's...those are the Stockings that will be the next project.  Just have to find some stocking holders first.

I gathered them with a brown ribbon that I had a scrap of at the house.  It helps to give some contrast to the wall color.

That's all for now.  Hope you all had a good weekend!

Very Thankful

 

I apologize for being such a slacker with my blog lately.  I feel like this year is flying by before my very eyes and it seems like the time to get on here can never be found.  But alas, I thought I would get into the spirit of Thanksgiving week and join in on the Thankful posts. The daily thing on facebook is a bit much for me but I thought I would compile my list here.  I'll tackle a few a day throughout the week..

Sometimes we get so complacent throughout the year and around the holidays it really gives us time to sit down and think about all of the wonderful people and experiences that we have in our lives. Sitting here thinking about everything now honestly just puts a smile on my face because I do feel so blessed and happy...People always say that they don't want to get older but I am having the best time with this phase in my life.  I feel like for myself and my friends...we've all made it to that point where we are settled into our adulthood.  We're not the "fresh out of college" group anymore.  We've settled into our careers and our routines, we're getting established and promoted.  We've bought houses and cars; taken big vacations that we've actually paid for.  We've had real life struggles and slowly but surely made it through.  We've "paid our dues" and are now on the upside.  It makes me so proud to see the growth and success.  Will we have more hard times, undoubtedly!  But we've proven that we have what it takes.  Two weeks ago Winthrop had it's homecoming basketball game and a bunch of my college friends came into town for our annual girls weekend.  I love that we have that one weekend a year that we know we can count on to get all of our schedules aligned and get together.  It was our first year having our own alumni tailgate.  We learned about a few things that we will change for next year but it was definitely a great decision and we really enjoyed it.  Now, if only Winthrop's basketball team would get back to the greatness of our Freshman and Sophomore years at Winthrop!   It was so funny to see how much things have changed, but how happy we are with that.  Looking at the groups of friends and WU Alumni who are in their 30's, all meeting up with their little kids and tailgating...realizing that in what seems like a few short years that will be us.  It doesn't make me scared for the future, it makes me excited for it! 

So I guess with all of that in mind, here's my list...

1.  I am thankful for Jake.  I am thankful for who he is as a person and who he is as a partner.   I am thankful for the way that he balances me and the way that we work together.  I'm thankful for our differences and our similarities.  While we both thought that we were headed down different paths in life, I'm so thankful for God's greater plan helping us find our way to each other.  I'm sure that you are thinking "Duh" right now, but it's a feeling of thankfulness that I never knew existed until we got married.  While we were dating of course I was thankful and felt so lucky to have found someone who I thought was so perfect for me, but after getting married small things just started adding up and made me find this whole new level of appreciation.  Even though we had been together for almost five years by the time we got married, and even though we were already living together, there is something that changes.  I guess it's because "forever" actually becomes reality and for the first time that actually sinks in.    

2.  I'm thankful for my big family.  The one that I was born into and the one that I married into.  As a kid I remember doing a project in school where we were writing down the number of siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. in our families.  My Mom has a big Italian Catholic family and my Dad was adopted, and later in life he found his birth parents so that makes for a huge family.  I remember writing down that I have over 20 first cousins, and how some of the kids in my class only had one or two, or none at all.  While it can get crazy trying to coordinate schedules, especially around the holidays, I can't imgaine not having a house full of people celebrating together.  

3.  and 4.  Reece and Kona.  You just do not even understand how much I love my furbabies.  They are my first and second children, they are spoiled rotten, and I would not have it any other way.  While I know dogs are nothing like real children, they have definitely helped prepare us for our future little ones by giving us responsibility and letting us know that the world does not operate on our own personal schedules. 

5.  Friendships.  Old and new.  I've always been the "social butterfly" as my parents called it.  Maybe it comes from moving a few times growing up or maybe that's just me.  Yes, I was one of those crazy people who had a ton of bridesmaids in my wedding.  I've never been the type of person who had only one best friend.  Each one of my friends "gets me" in a different but completely perfect way and I'm so grateful that I have those people who know everything I want to say with just a look.

6.  Our church.  After buying our house we found Allison Creek Presbyterian Church and it could not be a more perfect fit for us.  I've never felt more welcome or at home in a church, and Jake and I laugh about it because honestly we are probably the youngest couple in the small congregation by about 10 years, with the exception of one or two others.  

7.  Art.  For my ability to do it and for the way that it allows me to express myself and connect with people.

8.  Our country and our military.  For freedom, pride, and patriotism.

9.  Education and teachers.  Especially for the teachers who have had a great impact on my life, encouraged me and inspired me. 

10.  My job.  For doing something that I enjoy with co-workers that are fun to be around.  I definitely learned through previous jobs that this is not always the case and it is such a blessing when you find it!

11.  The medical field.  For the advances that it has made and for the talented doctors working towards cures for cancers and diseases.  For the technology that they have developed that makes things like my Lasik surgery possible :)

....that's all for now, more to come!

Apple Cider, Caramel....YUM

So, my phone case came in and I love it!  The prettiest shade of turquoise.  I wasn't sure if the picture was going to be the same as in person, but it was.  I'm thinking about getting a monogrammed sticker to put on the back of it, but I'm not sure if it would stick well to the rubberized texture of the case--anyone tried that before?  Believe it or not, the only thing I got after our wedding with my monogram on it was a purse that was a gift from my parents, but since I tend to wear out purses that one is no longer around :(  I need to get some more stuff!  I have really been wanting a small monogrammed gold pendant necklace, but finding one with a monogram as small as I want is proving hard (or at least, without paying out the wazoo for it).


My parents are up in Cape Cod on their anniversary trip this week and seem to be having the best time!  They have been texting me pictures and it looks like such a beautiful place.  They woke up early at the B&B to get on the morning ferry and they are spending the day on Martha's Vineyard today.  I will try to load some pictures and post on here.
 

I had a really fun weekend...I went to a Bridal show in Columbia with my friend Eden.  It was a lot of fun! I never went to any when Jake and I were engaged.  It was neat to see all the different vendors and all of the raffles/contests, etc.  We registered for a ton of free things so hopefully Eden will get a call this week that she won something!  They were giving away everything from $200 gift cards to full honeymoons. 

Before that, on Friday night I went over to my friend Shanti's and we baked some cookies and snacks for a girl's night in with our interior design friends on Saturday.  The cookies we baked were called Apple Cider Caramel Cookies and boy were they good!!  I love anything involving cider, and these were so easy to make too!  I thought I would share the recipe so that yall can try it out too...

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, nearly melted
1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (7.4 ounce) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix *Not sugar free*
2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) bag Kraft Caramels

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. It has to be parchment this time.

2. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packets of apple cider mix until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract, then mix in the baking soda and baking powder. Add the flour and mix until just combined.

3. With a standard (size 50) cookie scoop, scoop the dough scrapping off the excess as you go up the bowl. Flatten the dough slightly in your hand and place a caramel in the center. Work the dough around the caramel sealing well. Place the cookies two inches apart on the sheets.

4. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. After baking, carefully slide the parchment with the cookies onto the counter. Let cool until they are no longer soft but still slightly warm. Twist gently to remove, and cool the rest of the way upside down on the parchment or on a cooling rack.

 

 

Seriously, amazing.  I ate like a fatty king on Saturday because before Girl's Night I went up to the Yiasou Greek Festival with Iris and got a gyro & the American version of a  greek salad.  ALWAYS a winner in my book.  

 

That's all for now.  My hubby is finally back in town from his working out of town and softball tournament this past weekend (They got 5th overall :/ ) so we can finally relax and enjoy each other!!  The doggies and I have missed him a bunch...although Kona has been loving sleeping up on our bed:)  He was mad at Jake last night because he wasn't allowed up, haha.  

RESULTS!

Insanity is amazing, and I'm not even through the first two weeks of the two month program. But, more about that in a minute...


So, to re-cap this past weekend:  not much went according to plan.  We were supposed to have a fun movie night with April and Jeremy Friday night, but Jake has been slammed with work and needed my help.  So, like any loving wife would do, we had to take a rain check on the movie and I helped him finish up work and we had a joint project we were doing for our jobs so he and I worked on a floor plan layout. 

Saturday, Jake almost didn't go to play softball because he had a lot of work to do, but other guys called out last minute and his team needed him to play or else they would be disqualified from that entire league (I think it was ISA or something like that?) for the rest of the year.  I went to watch that game, but then I had to go get my oil changed.  My pretty little car already has 22,000 miles on it and it hasn't even been a year quite yet (July 31st).  Good Kia does not have the biggest or best selection of cars, but they have a fantastic service department!!  Then, Saturday night we did get to go to Karen's luau which was very, very fun.  Great food and great people.  We were exhausted when we left after playing in the pool all afternoon. 

Sunday, I had all intentions of waking up and going to church, but my poor little Kona was sick and I was starting to get really worried about him.  He had been having stomach issues for the past 3 days and since I didn't want to have to wait a whole week to take him to the vet we packed up in the car and I drove him to the emergency vet off of Westinghouse.  We had a different vet than we did the last time we were there (for Reece's seizures) and I did not like this one at all.  She was the type that was trying to up-charge every little thing, and I can't stand doctors like that.  They should be worried about the health of their patient, not making extra money wherever possible.  So, after about $206 and two hours, we left and headed home.  I gave him his first dosage and didn't end up leaving to go golfing or to lay out at the pool because I didn't want to be gone if he had a bad reaction to it.  Luckily, the medicine started working and he was already better by Tuesday. 


So, back to Insanity.  For those of you interested or considering trying it, here is my opinion:  it's wonderful for ME.  I am someone who is naturally very athletic, played a lot of sports in high school, and enjoy working out (once I'm in my routine, which is the biggest part of the struggle).  If you are like me, then you will love it.  It only took me 3 days to get into my routine of coming home from work, have a very small, healthy snack (mainly just to sustain me because of my hypoglycemia), change into my workout clothes, do the workout, shower, cook/eat dinner, and I'm relaxing by about 8:30-9pm.  With that said, this is definitely not for everyone.  With Insanity, you do not use any props or weights, only your body.  It is very much like intense sports conditioning.  Some of the exercises you do are ones from track, basketball, volleyball, and boxing.  The rest are intense training exercises.  You work out your entire body, but I would say the areas of focus are your core, quads, and toning your shoulders/biceps/triceps--in that order.   I would think that a lot of guys would want to do additional workouts to focus more on upper body muscle building, since it's mainly toning your arms.  It also seems to be targeting the young adult age group.  Everything focuses on tightening your core, but in the beginning it's not a ton of actual ab workouts.  There is a DVD that you add in to some of your days starting the end of week 2 that is solely ab workouts, so I will let you know how that goes this weekend!  Am I seeing results? Yes, already! After week 1 I was definitely feeling results and I could tell that it was already working because I tried on an old pair of shorts that had gotten too tight, and they fit!  But now, mostly through week 2, I am definitely seeing results.  I love it, total motivation to keep going :)


In other news, I signed up the for Charlotte Color Run!  We have a team, if anyone would like to join it!  Right now our team is myself, Kelsey, April, and Todd.  There is no limit to the amount of people on your team, and the only reason to be on a team that I can see is to get a $5 discount, but hey-it's fun with friends!  I wish it wasn't so late in the year (Nov 17th) because it will probably be very cold, but it will be a lot of fun.  I've never run in a 5k before, but lately I have been really intrigued by them and considering signing up for one.  This one I heard about through friends on facebook and it seems like a really fun one, especially to start off with.   What is the Color Run, you ask?  Just a way to spice up a 5k and make it a little more fun.  All of the runners are supposed to wear a solid white shirt, and at certain points along the path there are "color zones" where volunteers spray you with some sort of paint mixture.  Each point is a different color, so by the end of it you look like a tie-dyed rainbow of sorts.  As an artist, I think this is really cool.  Each city also picks a charity to raise money for, and Charlotte's is Habitat for Humanity this year.  Be sure to check back in November to see the awesome pictures from this event :) 


That's all for now, we are getting ready to go out to Tequila with Todd & Kelsey because apparently it is karaoke night?? Who knew they had such a thing.  We will not be singing, just enjoying the crazy people and some good food.


Lastly--say a prayer for the families, soldiers, and safety workers in Colorado right now.  I am so thankful that my brother left there right before the wildfire started, and that he is home safe as it is raging closer and closer to the Army base.  Also, prayers for the students at the Air Force Academy because it is dangerously close to them.  Google "Waldo Canyon Fire" if you want to see more info and pictures.

Couponing!

So, life has been pretty much the same as usual...great and semi-busy! We are looking forward to our Vegas trip getting closer and closer. We will be getting on the plane before we know it! I can not remember the last time I was on such a long vacation (8 days/7 nights)...I will be great! I just hope the jet lag isn't too bad...but we are getting home around 10 (I think) Saturday night and we plan to sleep lots on Sunday to get ourselves back to normal before Monday.

Here is an update on some couponing today! I am very excited, we hadn't gone on a good grocery shopping trip in a while, and it is always a rush to see how much we save from our coupons!

CVS (#1)

(3) Coca Cola 12-pack

(2) Wheat Thins

(1) Triscuits

(1) Colgate Optic White Tooth Paste

(2) Playtex Tampons

Total Before Coupons: $51.85

Total Paid: $28.92

*Plus, this gave me $10 in ECB's to use on my next purchase. So, we put those items in the car and then went back in for round 2...

CVS (#2)

(4) Pringles Chips

(1) Aussie Shampoo 13.5oz

(2) Aussie Conditioner 13.5oz

(2) Sunchips

(2) Suave Pro Shampoo 12.6oz

(2) Suave Pro Conditioner 12.6oz

(2) Xtra laundry detergent 32 loads

(1) Swiffer Wet Jet cleaner

(1) Kellogg's Apple Jacks

(1) Kellogg's Raisin Brand

(1) Airwick Warmer

(1) Single Airwick Scent Refill

(1) Double Pack Airwick Refill

Total Before Coupons: $74.82

Total Paid: $33.21

KMart

(1) All laundry detergent

Total Before Coupons: $4.80

Total Paid: $2.18

Chik-Fil-A Lunch

(1) 8-count Nugget

(1) Small Sweet Tea

(1) Small Fruit Cup

Total before discount: $7.00ish??

Total after discount: $3.28

*Today, Chik-Fil-A was giving a free 8-count nugget to anyone wearing a college t-shirt in support of March Madness.

BiLo

(2) Kraft Salad Dressing

(2) Velveeta Shells

(2) Quaker Oatmeal

(2) Quaker Granola Bars

(1) Quaker Fresh Baked Breakfast bars

(1) Dole Pineapple Parfait 4-pack

(2) Knorr Rice Sides

(2) Flavored Breadcrumbs

(1) Minute Rice box

(2) Prego pasta sauce

(1) Greek Seasoning

(1) KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce

(1) Texas Pete 1gal (this was for Will!)

(1) Caribou Coffee K-Cups 12 pack

(1) Hefty Kitchen trash bags 45 pack

(1) Angel Soft Toilet Tissue 12 pack

(1) Tide Washing Machine Cleaner (this is great for when the boys forget a load of laundry in the washer....)

(1) Gain fabric softener crystals

(1) Busy Bones 2 pack dog bones

(1) Easter card

(1) Birthday card

(2) V05 shampoo

(1) Hair gel

(2) Pilsbury Pizza Crust

(1) Pilsbury Crescent Rolls

(2) Pilsbury Chocolate Chip cookie dough

(1) Philadelphia Cooking Cream

(1) Dannon Yogurt 4-pack

(1) Sargento Provolone slices

(1) Yoplait Yogurt and granola 2-pack

(1) Eggs

(1) Gallon Skim Milk

(4) Birdseye Vegetable Steamers

(1) Freschetta Pizza

(6) Healthy Choice Frozen Entree (great for a healthy lunch at work!)

(5) Boneless Chicken Breast packages

(1) Ground Beef

(2) Pork Chop packages

(1) Turkey Ballpark Franks

(3) Johnsonville Lean Italian Sausage with chicken

(1) Celery

(1) Bag of Apples

(1) Bag of Potatoes

(1) Corn Cob 5 pack

(1) Baby Carrots 2lb bag

(1) Fresh Salad bag

(1) Bananas

(1) White Grapes bag

(2) Tribe Hummus

Total Before Coupons: $294.58

Total Paid: $212.41

*Plus, 20 cents per gallon of fuel perks!

So, today was a total shopping trip of $433.05, and with a savings of $153.05, we paid $280.

I <3 Couponing :)

That is all...now off to clean a bit and get ready for Jenna's birthday cook out and celebration!

Plans for a New Year...

Quickly before I get into the New Year, I realized that I forgot to re-cap Christmas...we had a great weekend with our family. Saturday my parents came up to stay with us, and we went to the 11pm service at our church, then woke up Sunday to open presents and had our traditional family meal, lasagna. After that, we went to see Jake's family and had their traditional meal at his Aunt Teri's house for dinner. Jake loves his new golf clubs that I got him, my parents got him a golf bag, and my brother got him a matching golf accessory set. All in Georgia black & red, of course :) Jake wanted to get me a piece of jewelry to have and always remember our first married Christmas together, and got me a beautiful pair of diamond earrings!

Well, 2011 went by in a flash! I can't believe how much has happened over the past 12 months. A lot of first-time experiences for us--buying a home, getting married, going on our first big vacation (honeymoon), buying a new car, getting a new dog, remodeling our kitchen, getting a new job...also, for the first time, Jake's company now has its very own warehouse! I am so proud of him.

So, what is in store for next year? Learning how to file taxes as a married couple & our vacation to Las Vegas in May! I have also decided to start drawing more, and I went out last night and got some great deals on the makings for my new art corner. I am really excited and I have already got my first couple projects in mind...

What makes it better is that I got everything on sale! The storage tower is from Ross, and I got it 25% off because the feet aren't level (something my hubby can fix very easily). The easel is a French sketch-box style that can fold up and be portable, and has a center drawer for storage. I got it from Hobby Lobby, and I used their 40% off coupon this week to get it for $59 instead of $99. I also got a new sketchbook for 30% off. The canson drawing pads were B1G1 Free at Michael's, where I also picked up some packs of drawing pencils and charcoals for 40% off. The drawing board I already had from my freshman year at Winthrop. Now, I just need to find a stool and clip-on light. I also want to get some wall shelves or something to decorate that corner.


We are going to have fun this weekend! We are driving down to Mount Pleasant tonight for a late Christmas celebration with my grandfather, and then coming back up to Rock Hill tomorrow for New Years/Jake's 24th birthday festivities. We also have off work on Monday so it will be another nice long weekend!


Happy New Year :)

Holy cow!!

It has been ridiculously long since my last blog, sorry for that! So, what is new since October? I have started a new job and settled in really nicely. I love my bosses and coworkers, and it is so amazing to be working in a positive, happy environment. I have also really enjoyed not working on Saturdays and being able to enjoy my weekends and more time with Jake and friends.

The kitchen is also finished and looks great. We still need to patch the walls from where the backsplash laminate was pulled off, and put up a tiled backsplash. I am not in a hurry to get that done, although it will make it look more complete. I think I just got burnt out because even when I wasn't working on Saturdays I was still so busy and always had something to do. I like not planning out every moment of my weekend and just hanging out.

A little celebration this week, our adorable Kona is one year old. I can't believe how little he was when we first got him. Such a cutie, even though he is so mischievous. It's funny that I talk about him and Reece so much like they are my children, but they are! At least until a few years from now...but let's not rush that!!!

We have a half day of work tomorrow and are off on Monday for Christmas. I Am really looking forward to this weekend and getting to see all of our family for the holidays. We are going to the midnight service at our church on Saturday evening, and having Christmas lunch with my parents. Then we are going to jakes moms house to do gifts with the before going out to his aunt Teri's for Christmas dinner.

Jake got a deal on promotional tickets for the Charlotte Bobcats so we are going to four of their games this season. Two of them happen to be next week, Monday and Wednesday. The others aren't until sometime in February.

Well, enough for now, can't wait to update later this weekend after we see what Santa brings ;)

Kiss the Cook :)

So...A lot has been accomplished with our kitchen remodel...The cabinets have been ordered and should be coming in this week! They are going to be installed Halloween weekend (hopefully) and the granite should go in the week after that. I am still trying to figure out the design and materials for the backsplash.

Here is a peek:

Cabinetry Style, Crimson Shaker

New kitchen faucet, love this! The one we have now is terrible.

We are not going to use the soap dispenser or the base plate, it will just be the faucet straight on the countertop. At work we used the single-hole faucets all the time and it is such a nice, clean look on granite countertops. It is also a pull-out sprayer style which is going to be very nice!

Our Granite...Love this! The picture doesn't do it justice...

I am so excited because Jake and I did not think that we would be able to get everything done before Thanksgiving, but it is looking like we will :) We are hoping to host some family holiday gatherings so it will be nice to have the extra counter space with the peninsula we are adding.

I will post more updates as the project goes on.

For other updates...We had a really fun Oktoberfest get-together this weekend and it was so nice to get to see our friends from out of town. The food was great too! I had some help from my mom and our friend, April, and we ended up with a lot of really yummy stuff! I can't wait for Winthrop's homecoming weekend when everyone is coming back into town.

I have this week off as I am transitioning between my old and new job, and it is going to be FANTASTIC to get so much done and have a chance to relax for once.

We also had a meeting at church tonight to become official members of the church. We have been going there since shortly after we moved into our house at the end of January and are excited to be an official part of the church, even though we feel like we are already.

I will leave you with some pictures of the cuties...

Decor Fun

Here are some updates for the holiday decorations at our house:

Fall tablescape in our Dining Room

The close-up...The ivory candle holders are from our wedding reception, and the rest I found for $6 or less on sale at Hobby Lobby :)

Decoration on our stair rail, not quite finished with it yet. It needs some more accents.

Halloween Decorations

On another note, we had a scary night tonight. Reece started having a seizure while playing with Kona earlier, so we rushed him to the emergency vet. On the way there, he had another seizure in the car. It was so scary, he was so afraid and he was shaking, his muscles tensing up and convulsing. After the second seizure he pretty much went back to normal. He was wagging his tail, acting energetic like nothing ever happened. We still had him examined and the verdict is 97% sure it's Epilepsy. The doctor said he could start having seizures once a month, or may never have another one again. She said it's nothing to worry about until it's once a month and he would need medication. I think Kona was more affected by it than Reece was. He was so upset, not to mention the usual separation anxiety. While it was happening he kept trying to kiss Reece, and wouldn't leave his side once we got back home. Now he is passed out on the floor in the man cave, all the worrying took a lot out of him.

My Little Friend

Last night, after the rain storm, I was letting Reece and Kona out one last time before bed and a cute little tree frog was stuck to the sliding door right about eye level! I think he was a tree frog anyway, he was about 2.5" tall and brown. I said a prayer for the little guy before I opened the door because if he got scared from the door moving and jumped off, I think Kona would have tried to have a bit too much fun with him. Luckily, he hung on tight and stayed there. Well, this morning he wasn't there anymore, and when I closed the door after letting the dogs out the blinds moved. I freak out a little bit because of course I am thinking some huge bug has gotten inside. Well you guessed it, my little tree frog was sitting at the door and jumped inside when I opened it. I did a creative maneuver with a plastic bag to get him back outside to freedom, and I am hoping he finds a safe place to live before Kona finds him.

On another note, I got the deal of the century at Michael's on Sunday. I needed a large canvas for our dining room painting, and had a 40%off coupon that started Sunday so I was waiting patiently all weekend to be able to use it. Well, my mom and I went and the gallery wrap canvases (the 1.5" wrap) were just marked 50% off! I ended up getting my large canvas and some more for our bedroom since I also had a 15%off total purchase coupon. Total, I got $210 worth of canvases 65%off, used a $25 Visa gift card wedding present, and ended up paying $45. It was wonderful :)

I am very much looking forward to the holiday weekend and all of its fun festivities! I still have to work on Saturday, but I'm hoping to maybe get to leave early and get in some pool time!

Mr. & Mrs.

We're Married!

And it has been over a week now...crazy how fast things go by. We had an amazing honeymoon, and now it's back to the daily grind...work, work, work. We have been having fun getting all of our new things set up in the house and using some of our new small appliances (Jake's favorite is my new Sweet Tea maker). The dogs are definitely glad we are back! Kona, who is usually a pretty energetic guy, has been a sleepy ball of fur lately. I think he is so relieved that we are home and worn out from being upset while we were gone.


It's only Tuesday and I am already worn out. My first day back to work yesterday was an 11hr day, NOT fun to say the least. Things are really busy right now because we are moving from our current showroom location to a new, much larger one. It needs some significant renovating before we move in and start daily operations there on Sept. 1st. I am hoping that the rest of the week I get to leave at least close to on time at 6pm.

That's all for now!