Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Imagining What I Want…

So, some of you knew that Colby and I had unexpectedly been house hunting. It started off as looking for land to build one day, and it took a surprise turn to looking at a house. We even went as far to put in an offer, which led to many speed bumps, which in turn led to us not getting the house. What we found out later was that it was a blessing that we didn’t, and I’m just going to leave it at that.

For now though, we’re just going to continue living in the house we are at now. I mean, it’s rent free guys! Why in the world wouldn’t we? To be honest, I like our house. It’s not everything I want in a house to live in for the rest of my life, which is one reason I am anxious to move one day. I’m also hesitant about putting too much money into the house since we’re not going to live here forever, but there are some things that I would seriously like to have if we are going to stick it out here for a few more years. Plus, I can justify putting some money into it for my own sanity.

First, I’d like to have a patio to go out on and enjoy the outdoors without my neighbors glaring at me. Not that they do that, but I’d like to be a bit more comfortable and relaxed outside. We the fire pit and grill. We just need the patio and outdoor furniture.

Next on my list would be a privacy fence. That’s where money starts getting real involved, but I would like to have a dog {an outside dog}. And, quite frankly, I want the dog to be able to run around as much as it wants. Plus, it’d really amplify the ambiance of the porch.

That’s really not what I intended to write this post on though. I’ve been pinning some great inspiration photos that I would love to make reality one day in our little bitty living room. Lord, have mercy, is it small! I’ve even thought about hiring some of these people to make me an e-design to get me going and push me in the right direction. Maybe then would I accomplish some things.

Living Room 1

Love the simple design….this is more of the reality of what my house would look like, I guess. As much as I try to stay away from the darker woods, it’s basically all that is in my house. Even though this room has those darker woods though, it really feels bright and airy, which is ultimately what I want.

Living Room 2

I love the couch and upholstered ottoman as a coffee table. I think this would be a better option for us because it could also be used as seating if we had guests over.

Living Room 3

Love this couch and love the color of the room. I’m afraid I would get tired of it way too fast though, and I also find it hard to find the perfect shade like this on my own.

Living Room 4

Loving the wing backed chairs! I also love that the chairs have a print on them….not necessarily in love with this print though. I need a new chair, and a printed chair would be nice. Once again though, I think I might would rather have the print on the pillows instead since I get tired of things really easy.

Living Room 5

I just love the airiness of this room and the ottoman. Not really what I would put in my house since it is more eclectic than what I’m used to. However, if you would like to raid my house and redesign the living room and do this, I probably wouldn’t complain and would love it!

So, you can kind of get a taste of my style and what I would love to see in my living room. What do you think? Which is your favorite!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Hello All!

I am so happy to announce that that the Spring One Mini-Term is finally coming to an END! I am one final away from getting those grades for my hard work this past semester. I only have one week off though between semesters, and it will be the start of Spring Two Mini-Term. The good news is that I will have a class with the professor I liked from this past one. It’s good to know what you’re getting in to and know the professor’s expectations, and Dr. Daniel was awesome! This Life-Span Development class has been a doozy though. That could be because it’s not something I do every single day of my life like teaching reading. Anyhow…I’m five classes away from putting this Master’s Degree in the books {and comprehensive exams and Praxis}. Geez….it’s like the list never ends.

On another note…my camera thinks that I’ve forgotten where it’s located. To be quite honest, I just haven’t had the energy to whip it out and take pictures of anything. This will apparently be the year of nothing in our life being documented. It has just seemed like too much trouble to get the camera, take the pictures, transfer the pictures, edit the pictures, and come up with a substantial blog post to entertain you with. It’s a sad life, I tell you!

So, did you watch the Oscars? I did. I stayed up way past my bedtime and paid for it this morning! I can definitely say that I had some favorite moments and some favorite outfits.

Oscars 2012

As for my favorite moment…it all goes to Octavia Spencer. I was pulling for her the entire time. I loved The Help, and then I learned she was from Alabama, so I felt compelled to pull for her even more. Her speech was so sweet because you could honestly see how much it surprised her and how much she appreciated the award. It wasn’t like just adding another one to the mantel for her.

In case you missed it….

Love Octavia!

As for other goings on around here….

I’ve been trying some new recipes from Pinterest. My key two reasons for picking recipes is that

a) It must be fairly easy.

b) It doesn’t need a gazillion ingredients {nor ingredients that I would have to drive to Pensacola or beyond for}.

I’ll be sharing some of those recipes {or links rather} with you in the next few days. So far, the majority have been a hit at this house, and by that I mean that my husband approves. I even fed the in-laws on one of the meals.

Anyhow…that’s all I have for now. I hope to be back in the blogging business {at least for the next week or so anyway}. I hope you had a great start to your week!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Building Baby Noah’s Book Collection

Back in January, I helped host a baby shower for my sweet cousin, Meg. She’s having a bouncing baby boy in May {or possibly April}, so we were all very excited to help give her a nice start with her needs for this new addition to their family. Noah will be her first child, and we are all so excited to meet him. Our fingers are crossed for her to have the last week of April. You see, her mom and I are both school teachers, and that week is our spring break. It would work out wonderfully to go for a quick visit to meet him.

Four Generations

The baby shower was focused on books, and I had my amazing brother-in-law design the invitation for this shower. In case you didn’t know, Colby’s brother and sister-in-law are starting an invitation and stationary business in which he designs whatever it is you want. Then, you can print it yourself or have it printed at a professional printer. For me, this has been an amazing option for me to take advantage of as I have a color laser printer, which does the job nicely. Judd can do just about anything you want. There hasn’t been one thing that I have been disappointed in, and I love getting something original for whatever I’m hosting. Judd designed my wedding invitations, thank you cards, and programs. He also has designed all of the invitations for any of the showers I have helped to host. You can check them out at The Langham Project.

Invitation 2

Anyhow….the shower was held at our church. It isn’t my first choice in location, but my house just isn’t big enough to hold a big crowd of people. While it doesn’t look like we’re going to be moving anytime soon, I do look forward to living in a house where we can actually accommodate a large group of people. It will be a dream come true. Since the shower was at the church though, I made do with what I had.

Family Pics

The food wasn’t based around a theme as I would have liked and planned. Instead, I kept it simple, but it was all very enjoyable. Below are some of the items that appeared. However, I didn’t get it all photographed, and some of it didn’t turn out as I wish in the photos. That’s what stinks when you’re inside a place with no windows to let in natural light.

Meg's Shower Food 2

Meg was blessed with tons of gifts and lots of books for little Noah. I think he will have a terrific start when he finally enters this world. These were some of my favorite gifts….

Meg's Baby Shower1

If you’re wondering about the place mats, they were actually Meg’s when she was little. When they lived at my grandmother’s house, she used these all the time. My grandmother pulled out some of Meg’s old things and re-gifted them to her, which I thought was really sweet and thoughtful. There’s nothing like doing a little learning while at the dinner table!

Anyhow…it was a nice shower. Not my best work at all, but it served its purpose. Maybe next time school won’t limit my time towards an event!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Five Things

{One}

School has been crazy lately, and I’m very grateful for a long weekend. I think the first thing I’m going to do is sleep in, which I don’t think will be very hard with all of the rain we’re supposed to get tomorrow. Some people might see that as ruining the weekend, but I think it is a great way to force me to take it easy. Thank the Lord that grad work has lightened its load this week {since I’m finally to the end}. Of course, the real work will be next week. This is their way of saying get an early start. I doubt I take the hint well. I think I’m just going to do enough to get by this weekend.

{Two}

Fresh flowers

I love fresh flowers! When I had that baby shower, I brought the flowers back to the house and put them all around the house. It was so nice to have that to brighten up my day. I do enjoy the little things in life.

{Three}

Glow Stick Valentines

I made these cutesy Valentines for my students this year! They were so easy, and I can’t help but thank Pinterest. That website is so addicting, but it is so darn helpful! It’s about the only “craft” I’ve done lately. The kids did love the glow sticks though.

{Four}

Pearls

My husband knows me so well, and he is so thoughtful! I wear pearls over 90% of the time. It’s just my thing. They’re so classy to me. So, what did he get me for Valentine’s day? The bracelet to match my necklace of a real set of pearls.

{Five}

I’ve been really caught up in books, music, television, and movies lately. I’m reading the last book of the Twilight series {Breaking Dawn}. I’m still in love with the soundtracks from the Twilight series, too. I now have all of them thanks to my good friend, Gia. Of course, I bought the new DVD on Saturday, too. When I got it home, I realized that in my haste I had accidentally bought the Blu-Ray. Back to the Wal-Mart I went in hopes to watch it before the Grammys.

I also bought the Adele CD this week. I was so surprised that it came with a DVD of the entire concert that she performed in London. Definitely worth it!

I’ve also been hooked on Body of Proof, The Bachelor, and Grey’s Anatomy. I’m also doing my happy dance that Swamp People is back on. I love Troy and Liz! I’m not sure why I keep getting sucked back into the trash they call The Bachelor, but I do every time. That Courtney girl is just nuts!

So….that’s basically what’s going on with me. This may be what my posts look like for a while. It’s life. I guess I’ll just do the best I can.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

What My Life Amounts To {At This Point in Time}

I clearly have forgotten that there’s this blog to keep up. Unfortunately, I haven’t really had anything significant going on around here. So, I figured I’d just tell you a few things…

book 2

I have read two books in less than five days. It would be even less if it weren’t for this thing called work. I’m on my third book now. What could have me so obsessive to read quite so fast? Twilight. I fell in to the pit, and I can’t seem to pull myself out.

The movies are amazing, but then I decided to start reading the first book just to see if it was as good as everyone was saying. It did not disappoint. I was really trying to procrastinate from school work when I saw an interview with the girl who plays Alice. That led to me downloading the sample chapter, which led to me being hooked.

Next thing I know, I’m in Wal-Mart buying all three of the movies that have been released so far, and I’m anticipating Saturday’s release of Breaking Dawn: Part I {which I saw in theaters}. What has happened to me? The movies are so much better once you’ve read the books, too. It’s like you have a deeper understanding of everything that’s going on. Movies can hardly ever be as good as the books though. Let’s just be honest.

As if that weren’t enough, I told Colby tonight after I watched the movie again for way too many times in the past few days that I would watch the movie just for the amazing music. I’m weird like that. I appreciate the music. I played the piano once upon a time. I was a middle school band geek, too. Once you’ve been exposed and really love it, you just can’t resist.

Favorite part of the movie…

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Moving on….

I’ve been overwhelmed with school work lately. Geez….I must be stupid to be taking two mini-term graduate classes at one time while trying to work. On the weekends, I’d rather play, but no. I’m stuck inside, laying in my bed, trying to concentrate while finding a million and one things to be distracted by. If I wouldn’t procrastinate and let my mind wander, I could probably knock the work out fairly fast, but I don’t. It’s just me.

School {graduate….not work} is just misery to me right now.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the weather wasn’t so unusually pleasant for this time of year. I wouldn’t complain of being at home, inside, under my warm covers if it were freezing cold outside as it should be. Cooler weather is moving in though. Maybe that will contain me this weekend and keep my behind inside.

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Four Generations

I also helped host a baby shower. Poor Meg! She’s probably thinking that I’ve fallen off of the face of the earth, too. I just remembered that I haven’t even replied to her Facebook message. Horrible cousin! Sorry, Meg! The shower turned out nice. Maybe I can muster up a post on it soon. Maybe I’ll come back to life.

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You see, I actually do have some free time, but I hate wasting it by spending any more time behind the computer than I already do. I’d rather spend it with my husband and doing something that I love that’s only for me {which is apparently reading right now.}

Hang in there….not that you actually wait on my posts. I will return though. Let’s hope that it’s sooner than later.