A Quick and Easy Snack

I went to a lingerie shower for my friend Kate, and my best friend, Erin, had made several of the refreshments for us to nibble on.

I L-O-V-E-D the chicken ball that she made and quickly inquired about how to make it.

Let me just say that it is delicious and VERY easy!

This is what you need...

One package of cream cheese

One package of ranch dressing mix

Shredded chicken in a can

Note:

I actually made a boo-boo and bought canned chicken breast, but a quick pulse in the food processor took all my troubles away.

Directions:

Drain the water from the shredded chicken.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.

After it is well mixed, form the mixture into a ball.

Refrigerate overnight.

This should be your finished product...

Voila!

Doesn't that make you hungry? Yummy!

What the New Year Will Bring...

I was thinking this morning about all of the changes that will be taking place in the next year for me.

I'm excited about all of them, but it will also be very different for me.

Since I'm queen of list making, I'm putting these changes into a list.

1. I'm getting married.
2. I'm moving out of my parents' house.
3. I will be leaving my current job and beginning student teaching.
4. I will be graduating from college.
5. I will be starting a new job in the fall.

I'm a bit groggy this morning, so these are all I could come up with in two minutes. All of these are pretty major changes though. Like I said, I'm very excited about all of them. After all, these are things I've worked towards my entire life. It is a bit scary to have all of these changes take place all within a matter of months though.

Well...that's all for this post. Hopefully I will be back soon with more blog-worthy material. I just hated to see my blog to not have been updated in over a week.

The picture above is completely random. It's from a photographer that I think does an amazing job, and I've been getting ideas from her for our photographer for our wedding, Julie Cottrell.

Notes from the Bride to Be

Planning for a wedding and becoming prepared for everything to come has been quite the experience. I have made myself a wedding binder. This is typically where I would insert a picture of it, but it's outside in my car, and I would have to go through the cold rain to get it. Not happening.

Just take my word for it. It's a 2 or 3 inch binder, and it is completely full. What I've found to be somewhat stressful, but really fun in the end was getting the opportunity to register for items that I would like to fill our new home.

I've nearly picked out everything. I'm down to the smaller items that need to be picked soon, but weren't decisions that needed to be made immediately. I'll share some choices with you that I've made just to entertain you I suppose, not that you really care. I'm sitting here at work. I'm bored. So, here it goes...

Fine China Choice: Opal Innocence

I also found this really wonderful Christmas accent plate that coordinates with it. It must be new because the only place I've been able to find it was at Belk, and they're not even selling it right now.

Everyday China: Butler's Pantry Gourmet

I've also chosen the coordinating stemware that goes with this pattern. I've had such a hard time finding a picture of it that I'm not about to search for a picture of it to post on here.

Most everything that I have chosen has been from the Lenox company. When I was browsing their website, I discovered that if you registered your patterns with them, they will replace your china if it scratches or chips (don't hold me to those exact terms, but it is along those lines). Can't beat that though!

On another note...I've been really interested in getting some bedding, but I'm only drawn to one company's bedding choices. I'm thinking that I might just have to buy this on my own, but I would LOVE to have this on our bed.

P.S. It's from Pottery Barn (thus my love for it)

 

When I say that I would like to have this bedding, I mean I would like every piece of it. Colby and I are planning to purchase a headboard that is covered with fabric like this, but it's not in that particular shape.

Don't you just love it? I do. I think it would brighten up the room. Which reminds me, we DESPERATELY need blinds. I need to get going on that.

What's In a Name?

For all of you blog readers out there, you know that the really good blogs have really good names.

They're catchy.

They're creative.

For example, here are a few blogs that I read that have really creative names...

Fly Through Our Window

Pioneer Woman

And then there's lifeingrace too, but I couldn't find a picture for it that would fit on here.

So, what is it that I'm getting at?

I need ideas.

Send me as many as possible.

Thanks!

Downtown Brewton Flooded

Yes...that's right. It has been confirmed. The office I work at has been flooded. If you look at the picture above from the Brewton Standard website, you will see a orange colored building. That would be where I work.

Why does this always happen to us? I guess my last few days working there will be in the midst of fans and other equipment to dry the place out. Gosh, this is not how I wanted to spend my last few days.

DARN RAIN!

Stranded!

Yes, that's right. I'm stranded. And the above picture is why.

THE FLOOD GATES HAVE BEEN OPENED!

The weather here in Brewtonia is quite nasty. We are under flood warnings, and quite frankly it's no longer a warning. It is actually doing some flooding in the area.

Since the weather is so terribly awful, it was recommended by my dear, sweet Colby to stay at his house tonight. Did I mention that I'm having to stay here in this awful mess alone?

Colby went into work tonight because he probably would not be able to get there tomorrow. For those who don't know, Colby works at the Poarch Fire Department in Atmore, Alabama, which is about 30-ish minutes away.

He recently called and informed me of how many horrible wrecks they have already had. Please keep all of these men in your prayers. They will probably be up all night saving people's lives in these dangerous conditions.

This is one of the wrecks that Colby and his crew had to respond to last night. I guess that rapid water training they did a few months ago is paying off now.

This is a picture of how close the water was to the bridge in town as of 2 p.m. today.

Note:
I did not take any of these photographs myself. I acquired them from the WKRG 5 website. All of these pictures are from earlier this afternoon.

If I get stranded even more and cannot go to work myself tomorrow, maybe I can venture out and take some photographs to post.

Update:
Downtown Brewton is flooded. That makes the second time this year that the office where I work will have been flooded. I'm stranded at Colby's until further notice. I guess I will be getting things done around here that have been on my list...

Fresh Mixed Garland

Just like my fall decorations, my Christmas decorations are also on a tight budget.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year though!

Should I have to sacrifice my love for Christmas decorations just because I'm broke out my mind?

I think not!

I've ALWAYS loved the look that fresh mixed garland can give a home.

All of the beautiful fancy-schmancy homes in our town have them.

Why shouldn't I?

So, after some searching, I discovered there is something I can do about it.

Yippee!

In the first picture, you can see an idea of what I want to go around my front door. The picture is from Ballard Designs, and you can purchase the fresh garland from them here. This particular garland is formed of balsam, cedar, and pine bows.

We definitely have two of the three in my yard, so I'm pretty sure this can be done.

I'm going to use the this tutorial that I found from YouTube. Since I already have all of the materials, this should be easy for me to do.

Future Post...

Christmas decorations throughout the house

(This will be posted once I actually have time to clean the house)

The Future Mrs. Langham

I'm Engaged! I am the future Mrs. Langham!

Now, I'm sure all of you who know me and haven't asked about all of the details would like to know what happened, so I'll just go ahead and share the story with you here.

Here it goes...

It was the day before Thanksgiving, and I was not in the mood to get up and go that day. I knew I had a lot to get done, and I didn't have time to waste. I had made myself quite the to-do list.

The day went on just as it normally does. I went to work. I did some end of the semester school work.

Then, I talked to Colby on the phone. He said he was going hunting that day. Typical. Just another day.

"Good luck and be careful!" I said, just as I always do.

I went to his house and ate lunch by myself and went back to work.

When I left work, I knew I had to immediately go to Wal-Mart and get myself a hand mixer to make my Paw Paw's Sweet Potato Pie. This is not your ordinary sweet potato pie. I have to follow the directions he spouted off to me one day to the "t". {For all of you who don't know...my paw paw passed away last year. This was his signature recipe.}

I went to Wal-Mart, got the mixer quickly, and left to go back to the house. I knew it would take me awhile to make the pies up, so I just threw a frozen pasta meal in the skillet. Easy, peasy. It tastes good, and it's quick. No fail supper.

Six o'clock rolled around. I knew it was time for Colby to be giving me a call to let me know he was on his way to the house. I worry myself to death about this because a man recently fell out of a tree stand and died.

Six o'clock came and went. Before I knew it, it was 6:30. I texted him. No response. Boy, was I getting worried! I tried beeping him on his phone constantly. No service. Oh no! Something terrible must have happened to him! Maybe if I give him a little more time, he will call me. Surely he's okay. Then, I heard my phone. It was him. Whew! He was on his way home.

I was busily making my pies and putting some in the oven. The dishwasher was going. I almost had the house cleaned up. I was knocking things out left and right. Colby came in and was very quiet. He scared me to death when he came in the kitchen because I had no idea he was home. He kissed me a few times and told me he was going to take a shower. I told him okay, supper was on the stove.

I was still in the kitchen when he came out of the shower. He went to his bedroom. I thought I heard him call my name, but then I thought he was just talking on the phone. Nope...he was definitely calling my name. I just assumed he wanted me to pop his back {he lays on the floor, and I push my hands upward on his spine}. This is nothing out of the ordinary. I do this everyday just about.

When I got in there though, some words came out of his mouth that can mean one of two things. Good news or bad news. Apparently, I'm a pessimist because I immediately thought it was something bad.

"Sit down. We need to talk."

Crap. What could it be? Things have been going great. I guess I'll just see.

"I've been thinking a lot about you today. I wrote you a letter."

"Oh, that's nice of you." I said.

Hmmm...a letter. It must not be anything bad. He never writes me letters. This is pretty sweet.

Reading the letter....and at the end of it, it said.....

Will you marry me?

I look up. My mouth opens, and I say.....

"Really?"

He gets down on one knee, asks me to marry him, and of course I said yes.


Since everyone knows Colby and I, you know that I have been waiting quite a long time for this. He had a difficult time finding a way to catch me off guard when I wouldn't be expecting it. He succeeded.

I love him very much, and I couldn't be happier with him. He is an amazing man who surprises me everyday.

And yes...the picture up top is the picture of my ring, which I believe he did a fabulous job picking out...on his own might I add.

Counting My Blessings

During the holidays, sometimes we all get caught up in the decorations, traditions, and most definitely food. But, we should never forget what is most important on Thanksgiving Day. We all should take the time to think about all of the wonderful things to count as blessings in our life. On that note...I will do the same.

1. I am thankful for an amazing God who died for my sins. He sees past all of my mistakes and bad choices. He loves me despite how I fail to not sin. He is my God, and he is a wonderful God. Without him, I could never make it successfully through life, and I have him to thank for the rest of the blessings that follow in this list.
2. I am thankful for the wonderful FIANCE that I have, as of last night {details later}. I love this man with all of my heart. He knows me almost better than I know myself. I love seeing his face in the evenings after a long day at work. I love seeing his face everytime I get a chance actually. He certainly does make my life complete. I thank God for allowing me to find this man who loves me unconditionally.
3. I am thankful for my family. Having such a close family my entire life has built such strong foundations for me, and I love them for that. I miss those who have passed, and I try my very hardest to keep their memory alive by applying all of the knowledge they provided me with when they were on this earth.
4. I love my niece, Aly. She was such a blessing to my family. I look forward to seeing her sweet face everyday, and I miss it when I don't. She's growing so fast and has developed quite the personality. Life would be so boring without her. It's amazing how much joy children bring to life.
5. I love my future in-laws for being so accepting of me from day one. I have felt so at ease with them from the very beginning, and our relationship has only grown.
6. I am so thankful for my friends. This year major developments have happened to all of us. We're all getting married or have gotten married. I am thankful that we have all continued to be friends since kindergarten. I would not trade these people for anything. They are always there for a girl no matter what. I love each and every one of them.

I am thankful for so many other things, but you may be here all day. I will continue to count my blessings throughout the rest of the day. With that I will say, Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey Day!

Three outfits, one party

What's a party unless you're just starting to set everything up minutes before the party starts and still setting the party up when people are arriving? In my family, we'd call that a "Brooke party." I'm only saying this for two reasons. First, she doesn't read this. Second, she knows its true.

Luckily though, we all pitched in and got everything together before everyone arrived. It turned out very cute. So, who was this birthday party for you ask? It was for my cousin's two children, Kayla and Colton.

Clearly, she's the birthday girl. I loved the shirt! She turned 3 years old!

As it is plainly stated, he's the birthday boy. It was his very first birthday!

Just for future reference in case I slip up, we also call him "brother."

Brooke personally made these cookies-on-a-stick herself. Aren't they precious? I'll be sticking this idea in my book for future ideas {no pun intended}.

Is it obvious that the birthday boy enjoyed his cake? Direct your attention to his pants...

What's funny about this is that they had already wiped most of his mouth off. Needless to say, he got another change of clothes.

Later on when everyone was cleaning up, he picked up a cup filled with coke, held it with two hands, and proceeded to drink it. While it can go without me saying this, he required yet another change of clothes.

Three outfits, one party.

It would only be fair to include some of the party attendees in this blog post as well. So, here it goes.

This would be my cousin, Rory. If you know her, you understand why this is one of the best pictures I got of her. She's always in motion. Her favorite part of the party was running in circles with bunches of balloons.

Cousin Liam was such a festive party-goer.

I think Dawson's favorite part was the cake and the birthday cake ice cream. Yes, I said birthday cake ice cream.

Happy Birthday Kayla and Colton!

Christmas Tree Craziness

Over the past few weeks, I have been so busy that I have not really had time to sit down and look through pictures of decorated Christmas trees so that I can get an idea of what I would like the Christmas tree in Colby's house to look like. When I did start to think about it, I began to get a little worried because I have NO idea what I want it to look like. I have no colors, no theme, NOTHING!

I have now just found some time this morning to look through some pictures from Better Homes and Gardens. From just their site, I have found three color themes I could possibly use. Colby's house is really dark {because we're too cheap right now to buy blinds, which is a whole other story}. The walls are a dark beige. We need color people {but not too much}! I would like to keep with the look of a traditional tree I suppose.

Here are the color themes that I'm throwing around right now in my mind...

Option Numero Uno: Red and Green

This is one of my favorites. I love the mixture of very large and small ball ornaments. I also love the shades of red and green.

Option Numero Dos: Green and White or Cream

Okay...so there's not a lot of color in this tree, but it is a very classy look. That's also something I'm shooting for here. We have lots of green in our house, so I'm thinking this might be a nice touch.

Option Numero Tres: Bright Red and Bright White

I love this option as well, but it really doesn't go with the house. However, it would say "Christmas Spirit," and it would give that splash of color I'm looking for. I'm not saying I'm going to decorate my tree as the one is shown above. I'm just using the picture above as a represenation of the color theme.

So, which one do you like the best? One, Two, or Three? Hopefully, I'll figure this out soon.

Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Williamson

Over the weekend, two of my very best friends got married. Since my camera {has been a major pain in my behind} hasn't been working right for a little while, I had to depend on my other best friend to take the pictures of all of the events leading up to the wedding as well as of the wedding. So, bear with me. This will be a long post. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Let's Start with The Lingerie Shower....

Natalie, Erin, and Jade hosted a lingerie party for Kate. She got quite the collection of stuff that ranged from cutesy lingerie, panties, and lounge pants to a "Fire Starter" costume {Spencer is a fireman}.

{The last two pictures above are of the "Fire Starter" outfit that she received. I've been threatened and told I'm receiving one when it's my turn.}

I love these girls! We have all been friends since Kindergarten.

As you can see, the attire for the party was pajamas.

Now to the wedding events...

The day before the wedding, Donna Revel and Betty Lowrey hosted the bridal brunch for the bridesmaids, mothers, and grandmothers. I don't have a picture other than this one {remember...my camera wasn't working}, but it was quite nice. Kate gave each of the bridesmaids pearl earrings and bracelet, as well as some very cute pjs for us to wear on the day of the wedding.

Day of the wedding...

We started the day off by getting our hair done at Kut-N-Up. I just had my hair cut really short, so I was quite impressed with what they were able to do with my hair. As a matter of fact, Spencer's mom asked me whose hair I had in {she thought I had a hair piece}. It was amazing what she was able to do.

We got ready in the nursery. That's why you see handprints and wall art everywhere. I thought Kate was simply beautiful. I wish I would have had my camera, so I could have made more photos of her dress. It's one of the prettiest ones I've ever seen.

The next two pictures are the best I could find that Erin made of Kate's dress. The flower girl assisted Kate in fixing her dress.

The bottom of her dress...these pictures really don't do it justice.

I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Williamson.

The happy couple directly afterwards

Colby and I actually got a decent picture that day. I think he was so shocked at how I looked when I was actually dressed up. He has never seen me in a formal gown with my hair done. I didn't get tired of the comments from him either =)

Erin and I love these men. They are so special to us. I'm so glad that all three of us girls have found some terrific men to be in our lives.

Erin and I got a picture with the bride and groom before they left. I love them all!

Some of the bridal party took part in decorating their vehicle. Poor Kate and Spencer!

We saw them off. As of now, I'm sure they are having a wonderful time on their honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennesee. As you can tell, it was a very special wedding. I wish I could elaborate more on it, but you might be reading all day.

Pine Cone Decorations

Over the past week or so, Abby, Colby's sister-in-law, has been blogging about decorations that she can use through the Thanksgiving season, as well as through the Christmas season. She still wanted to have the bit of festivity though. You can read her blog posts about this here and here.

As you can read in her posts, she was particularly drawn to pine cone decorations. Ever since I read her post, I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate this into Colby's house as well mainly for two reasons. It's cheap, and we have plenty of pine cones where we live. Plus, it is a great way to decorate the house and still make it look so classic.

After questioning my parents and Colby about where to locate large pine cones, my dear, sweet daddy went out to the woods and found some for me. I have yet to use them because I want to have the perfect decoration for the house that I will be completely satisfied with.

This morning, I happened to be searching the JoAnne Fabric and Craft Store sales paper since Veteran's Day is tomorrow. Because of that, I figured there would be a pretty decent sale going on, and I was right on target. While I was searching, I found this project page for using pine cones as decorations. I figured I would share it with everyone, more specifically Abby though. Be sure to check it out here. It is in pdf form, so you can easily print it out and save it for future use.

Sad to see it go!

This morning I logged onto my Facebook account as usual doing the typical morning routine only to discover some rather sad news. The Hourglass in my hometown is closing. I had recently discovered this shop, and I fell in love with it. It made you feel good just to walk in the store and chat with the store owners, Terrence and Becki Breckenridge. Those two people are so friendly, and you always feel so welcome in their shop. Not only is it how comfortable you feel in the store, but the history of the store is unbelievable and is clearly reflected in the floors, old elevator, and stairs, not mention the rolling ladder alongside the walls.

I had actually planned on doing a post on this shop sometime soon to encourage people to go in and see what could be found. I'm almost positive that each person who walked in there would at least find one thing that they loved and couldn't resist going back for more. Since I'm at work and can't walk across to the store right now to take pictures, I am using pictures they have posted on their Facebook Fan Site. I'm sure they won't mind me doing so.

These bread dippers are amazing! I'm hoping they still have some, so I can stock up on it. I have tried the Parmesan and Tuscany blend, both of which are quite tasty. I put it on bread every chance I get.

These are the adorable shirts that they had made up. I love t-shirts! These are so cute, too!

As you can see, they have them in many different colors and sizes, as well. These pictures are only a few of the things that they have in this huge store. They also have beautiful furniture, home accessories, and especially entertaining accessories. I've also gotten two purses and a wallet, as well as some jewelry from them as well. If you aren't from Brewton and may be coming this direction, please stop in and see what they have. If you are from Brewton, make an effort to go in and see them as well. They will begin their liquidation sales on November 12th. From now until Christmas, they will only be open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. If you are interested in the sales they will be having, please become a fan of them on Facebook to check them out.