Birthday Weekend

Saturday I turned 26! This is me showing you how excited I am to be on the down slide to 30.....

Saturday morning I woke up, came into the living room and saw this banner greeting me.

 It was the most amazing banner I have ever seen! In case you think I am crazy because this is NOT the most amazing banner then I am prepared to diagnose you as a non-Office watcher. And more specifically, not a Dwight fan.

To help you better understand where this came from watch the video below. It will explain everything.

After I saw the awesome banner George made me he brought me breakfast that he picked up from Panera and my gifts.

Let me start by saying that George rarely gets good gifts for me. Over the years for various holidays and birthdays he has gifted me the following: an hair hockey table, a 3 ft tall Nut Cracker, and a scooby doo trashcan for my car. See, the gifts just don't make sense.

But this year, he finally got it! All he did was walk  into Anthropologie after work one day and he did amazing. That's they key. He went to Anthro, you can't go wrong there. 

Here is what he picked out:

Branch & Twig Colored Pencils

He kept saying he thought they would be good for decoration. Whatevs, I am using these! 

Jewel-Sparked Bobby Pins

I seriously love these. The yellow one is really more of a chartreuse, and it is so pretty. I am wearing it this very second. 

Volcano Jar Candle.

Mine doesn't look exactly like this one, but it is the same scent. Volcano. It smells pretty amazing, and not at all like a volcano....or at least not what I think it would smell like!

George did so great, he is the best!

I had such a good birthday with lots of other gifts & dinner dates from friends and family.

Tomorrow George and I are going on a mini road trip to Atlanta. We are headed to Ikea to get new furniture for our house. I have waited for this day for a long time. We have beige suede couches. Please, imagine in your mind how terrible it is to have SUEDE light colored furniture with a toddler and preschooler. Are you imagining grape juice and peanut butter smeared everywhere??? Yes. Everywhere. And in case you didn't know, suede is so annoying to clean. So we will be purchasing dark gray furniture that has removable, WASHABLE slipcovers. Get ready. Our house (or just the furniture) is about to look like it did before we had kids. It brings a tear to my eye.

I love games

I am pretty sure I am one of very few girls who still loves a good shower game. 

And by shower game I do not mean a game you play while taking a shower....

I'm talking baby showers people.

And, while some of you might disagree, Baby Shower Bingo is one of my all-time favs.

My little cousin is having her first baby due April 1st so her sister and I are busy busy getting ready to throw her shower this Sunday.

I designed this little BINGO card for her shower and wanted to share it with you.

It is a small card, only 20 squares, so it will work perfectly for a small shower.

I'm excited to play this Sunday. I know I can't be the only weirdo who loves shower games! Back me up fellow game lovers!!

Go here to download

*pic from here

Here is what is swilring around in my life lately.

• I can't wait for summer to get here. Occasionally in the summer I would go sit in my backyard and read a book and let the sun dry my hair while Lucy was napping. Of course I can't do this everyday, but on the days I did I was so relaxed.
• Our washing machine broke last week. Well, it would go through all the cycles perfectly but it wouldn't agitate. Thank goodness my dad had a super old one from the 80's in storage that works. If it works that is all I care about. Plus, it washes our clothes in half the time the other washer did. Win.
•  We haven't been going to bed until almost midnight lately. I don't know how George and I got on this path, but it is not a good one to be on. Tonight we are going to bed at 10:30, if not sooner!
• Ryder has been having some sleep issues as well. About 6 months ago we let him sleep in our room because Lucy would just scream and scream when it was time to go to sleep. So we thought it was pretty cruel to make Roe stay in the room and listen to her scream. We let him stay in our room until she stopped that nonsense. Well, Lucy is now a champion sleeper.........and Ryder is still in our room. If we even mention that he is going to sleep in his room he breaks down into a panic. What have we done! He used to be so fine with sleeping in his own room. In the dark, alone, with the door closed. Now he is "scared of the dark". I am going to start preparing him today that he and Lucy are both going to sleep in their beds tonight. It will be a rough week, but I have to get my room back! I just wish I could sit in my room and read a book before bed, but I can't when a 4 year old needs to sleep. Im thinking a sleep machine will be a great help in this. I get it, silence & darkness are creepy sometimes. 
• I have recently discovered dry shampoo. IT IS AMAZING. My hair is super oily. I can shower at 10 pm, go to bed, wake up at 7:30 and it looks like I haven't washed my hair in 5 days. It would be so much easier to take shower at night and then all I have to do in the a.m. is get dressed, straighten my hair, wash my face, brush my teeth and put make up on. Dove makes some that is about $5 a can. It has only been 2 weeks and I have already went through 3 cans though. It doesnt last very long thats for sure. Bumble and Bumble makes some that I am sure is way better and lasts longer, but I haven't convinced George that it's worth it to drop $35 on dry shampoo. 
• Grocery shopping is on my list of ToDo's today.....which is always a fun chore with two kids in tow. Saracasm. 

What do you have going on in your life?

 

Scallop Love

I just love this pattern so much. It's fun and cute and makes me want to scallop everything!

I would love to own a house this beautiful one day! So charming!

*photo via

This little notebook is super cute. $5. It's from Etsy shop Mint Afternoon. I can never have too many little notebooks to jot lists or ideas in. Go check out her shop, she also has colorful circle paper garlands, and really cool map envelopes.

 

This has to be the prettiest little girls room I have ever seen. From this awesome blog! I think I have pinned this image more than once or twice. When we move into a bigger house and the kids have their own rooms you can bet your life Lucy will have scallops!

These shelves are fancy! This would be such an easy DIY to dress up your kitchen. From Better Homes & Gardens.

These are the most precious printable Baby shower invites I have ever seen. I stumbled upon this Etsy shop and instantly fell in love. See the sweet scalloped card? Oh, it makes my heart skip a beat! Go here to drool over Kelli's artwork.

In more personal news I am BEYOND PUMPED because I won this giveaway at this stellar blog! Say Hello and Smile is such a cute blog, please go check it out! I know you will want to follow!!!

George will be gone this evening playing drums, so the kids and I need to find something to do.......I am thinking a trip to CHOM is in order, and maybe some Moe's ;) 

Hope everyone has a restful weekend! 

Heart Day Breakfast

Our Valentines Day was simple and sweet. Heart shaped breakfast, beautiful flowers, and little treats from mommy and daddy. Then Nannie(my mom) stopped by and gave us all some valentine love. Gift cards for me and George, and a gift for both kids. I love that my mom still thinks George and I are kids and gives us gifts ;) I will be doing the same for my kids, gift giving is so much fun!

  

Here are pics from our Love Day breakfast. My littlest Valentine doesn't believe in brushing her hair before coming to breakfast...

 

  

After Breakfast Ryder went off to school with his Valentines for his friends. I was up past 11 the night before packaging them up. I went to Old Navy to get the balls out of the big gumball machine. I stood there and put 14 quarters in, one by one. I'm sad Picnik is closing in April, I just got the hang of using it :/

For V-day dinner we went out as a family to Taziki's. We love that place. Then of course we went to Target. I swear we go there every single time we get in the car. Somehow I always find myself driving into their parking lot. 

The night ended with George & I sitting on the couch watching New Girl on the DVR. Then George went to bed and I watched Glee :)

It was a wonderful day spent with my favorite peeps!

What did you do for Valentines Day? 

Color Crush

 I seriously love pink and gold together. It's one of the best color combos on the planet, I think. 

It's so warm and feminine. 

Here are three quick favorites. Enjoy :)

Pink & Gold wedding invitations from Oh So Beautiful Paper. Oh! Aside from the beautiful color pallet can we please talk about that calligraphy?! Gorgeous!!! This site has such beautiful invitations, it REALLY makes me want to get married again. How many times have I said that......oh about 1,000.

Pink and gold balloons with amazing streamers. Seriously, go here for more gorgeous pics. My Birthday is coming up, can I just throw myself this party?

These rings are calling my name. From Etsy shop Mary John. I feel like I have blogged about these before, and I will probably do it again. My gosh, they are just so beautiful!

 

That's it friends! Have a pretty weekend! 

Do you love gold and pink together? What's your favorite color combo? Please share! 

My Answers

Let's continue with the fun from yesterday shall we?

Brittany asked me 11 questions on her blog, Life of a Bama Girl. 

Now I get to answer them! Whoop!

1.Do you prefer Summer or Winter clothes?

SUMMER! I love wearing skirts and dresses all summer long. It's so easy to get dressed in the mornings. 

2. What are your top 3 favorite books?

Hmm, I would love to say any of the Harry Potter books for one of them, but since I am the only person on earth that has never actually read them I can't :( But I can say these three: any of the Twilight books. I know, lame. The Secret Life of Bees, and hmm, my Miette cookbook. Does that count? Wow, I really need to read some better books. Im planning on jumping on the Hunger Games bandwagon soon though!

3.What is the last movie you saw?

That would be Tower Heist with Ben Stiller. I went with a couple friends to see it at the dollar theater in Hoover.

4. If your house caught on fire what are the 3 things you would grab first?(besides pets and people)

Our iMac since it has all of our family pictures on it. Our filing box, since it has folders for everything relating to our kids and our marriage. Like pictures they have drawn, hospital bracelets, and a marriage certificate. I really should make some sort of baby book for them. Ryder's bear and Lucy's lamb(stuffed, not real) and probably some of their infant clothes. I would cry a river if those burned up. Ok, that's more than three. Oh well!

5. What is your all time favorite thing to cook?

Chili with cornbread. We eat cornbread with everything around here.

6.If you could travel to anywhere in the world where would you go?

Santorini. My grandparents have been to practically every country and I have this awesome necklace they bought in Greece. It's made from polished rocks from the volcano that erupted a long time ago. Its pretty awesome.

7. What do you like to watch on T.V.?

The office, Up All Night, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec( I know, I did a post just last week about how I don't like the show anymore.....Im sure I will come around once Knope 2012 is over) The Middle, Modern Family, New Girl. Notice a comedy trend? I told you, I only watch comedies. And, since all we have is the family package(which means all kids channels. apparently, when you are a family even the parents want to watch Mickey Mouse clubhouse and Dora) we don't get a million awesome channels. Netflix and Hulu are our friends!

8. What is your favorite holiday and why?

Valentines Day. I know it's not an actual holiday, but it's still my fav. I love the colors, hearts, and doing sweet, fun things with my family. Plus its super close to my birthday ;)

9. What type of food(Greek, Mexican, Japanese etc.) is your favorite?

Italian hands down. My absolute favorite restaurant is Cafe Lazio. Cheap, baked ziti is where it's at people! On a side note, I absolutely HATE Asian food. Chinese, Japanese, it doesn't matter. The flavors just dont do it for me.

10. If you could go back to high school and/or college and do it all over again would you?

No. But I might want to go back and whisper some sage advice in my 16 year old ear :) 

11. What is something you have learned after graduating high school and/or college that you wish you knew while you were in school?

That it's seriously ok if you don't spend every free moment with George. You will marry him and you will spend every free moment with him later. We have been together since we were 15 years old. Please imagine a dramatic teen girl with a boyfriend. Did I just pop into your head? Because that was me!

Thanks so much Brittany for these questions! It was fun!

My turn at 11 things

My friend Brittany who blogs over Life of a Bama Girl tagged me in a fun post!

I am supposed to tell you people 11 random things about myself and then answer the 11 questions Brittany asked. Yay! 

Here we go!

11 Random Things:

1. I just started Weight Watchers last week, and lost 2 pounds! Whoop! Dear high school and right before Ryder jeans, I am coming for you. 

  2. I traveled 45 min yesterday to get my hair done.  I love the girl who does my hair. The guy who is the receptionist? Not so much. Dear guy, I understand that you are fabulous, and we would probably be super great friends in life, but lose the sarcastic attitude please. Thanks. I only go to get my hair done maybe 2 or 3 times a year since it's $150 every time I go. Once I called receptionist dude to make an appointment and he said "Lord, it has been a HOT MINUTE since you've been in." See, he has an attitude.


3. Just moments ago my daughter, Lucy, got a hold of my cute measuring spoons from anthropologie. Then she dropped them on the floor and broke two! I almost cried. I know, over measuring spoons? I wouldn't be as upset if Ryder hadn't already broken my first set.

These are the first ones I had from Anthro that Ryder broke. See how cute? I only have the yellow one left. All the other giraffes have their necks amputated from their bodies :(

And these are the ones Lucy broke. She broke the big tablespoon and the 1/2 teaspoon. I'm really hoping that I can maybe super glue them back together. They might look like crap afterwards, but I think they are so beautiful. I guess I should learn my lesson and not buying measuring spoons from Anthro until I am done having kids under the age of 2 in my house. But since we want 2 more kids, I could be without cute measuring spoons for a long time. Oh well.

4. I used to work in a coffee shop, and that was my favorite job I have ever had. Sadly, it went out of business in 2007.

5. Speaking of coffee I can't really handle caffeine. I know most people out there can't function before they have their first cup. I love the way it tastes, and can usually handle it later in the day. But if I have it when I first wake up I crash so hard and it makes me sick. Its weird that it doesnt bother me later on. Maybe I do still crash, but just do it around the time I am headed to bed anyway so I don't really notice.

6. I am a list maker. Every morning I wake up and make a list of what I need to do. Very rarely do I get everything crossed off my list. I don't know if it's because I give myself unrealistic goals for the day or because I am super A.D.D. and just don't get around to them all. Probably a little of both. I am trying to work on that.

7.  Gift giving is my love language. I feel like it is the greediest love language to have sometimes. But it's not that I just love getting things, I love giving gifts too. I love the whole process. Deciding what to get the person, wrapping it up, and seeing their face when they open it. Which is why I kill it at getting my husband birthday gifts. 

8. I pretty much only watch comedy. In tv and movie form. I will throw a good rom-com in for good measure, but Im not in love with them like most other girls. Let me tell you something, Katherine Heigel can take a freaking hike. 27 dresses? ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME. worst movie ever. Let me tell you what I do like. Vince Vaughn. He is awesome. So is Will Farrell. Step Brothers used to be my number one favorite movie....until Kristen Wiig killed it in Bridesmaids. So, Step Brothers got bumped to number two.

9.  About four years ago we bought a black 4-Runner and we are paying it off Friday!! This feels so good. We paid George's jeep off last year with our tax return and we are doing the same this year with mine. Having two paid for vehicles has got to be one of the best feelings in life. Now, we just need to pay car payments to ourselves so that our next car will be payed for in cash. It will be hard, but I hope we can do it. We heart Dave Ramsey!

10. I prefer wearing skirts and dresses over pants and jeans in the summer. In fact, you will never catch me in anything other that that when its warm out. Now, when it's winter time I will bust out my AE jeans with my short boots from Zara. 

11. I love being outside and especially love the beach. To me, Kenny Chesney and the beach go hand in hand. I'm not really a huge country fan, and certainly don't love the hats or their style. But let me tell you, Kenny will make you feel like you are sitting in front of the ocean. That's all that guy sings about. If I am feeling stressed I can listen to him and I feel a million times better.

Ok, so since I wrote a book I will answer Brittany's questions tomorrow! Congrats if you read all of these! You made it to the finish line! 

Thanks for tagging me Britt, this is fun!

 

Etsy Love

So last night after the kids went to bed and George and I were catching up on our favorite shows, I was trolling around Etsy on the iPad.

Get ready for some pink, red, and hearts ya'll. I told you I loved Valentine's Day, get ready for lots of posts about it :)

The first thing I found are these cute little heart studs. I really haven't worn anything other than studs for a long while. I just can't get back into huge earrings....I want to, I've seen some pretty stellar ones out there. But until I can dip my toes back into the big earring waters, these will do just fine. $20. Go here to pick up a pair.

Love is All You Need Pencil 6 pack. $8.50

I have really grown to love writing in pencil lately. I hate making lists and scratching things off in pen. Pencils are the way to go, and these are so pretty!!

Go here to get them.

Pink and Red embroidered necklace. $35.00

This shop has way more to offer than just this beauty.....as in you can get one with your initial. LOVE IT! I actually pinned their initial necklaces on Pinterest a while back, but since I am a sucker for pink and red together I would love to have this one. Go here to snatch one up for yourself!

Personalized Hand Carved Heart Stamp. $10.

These would be a sweet little addition to a wedding gift.....or anytime really. I imagine I would just stamp this at the end of a note or card instead of writing our names. Go here to get one.

Golden Square Top Ring. $9.50

This one isn't pink or red, and there are no hearts to be found, but I just love delicate little rings. You can get several of these and stack them, but I honestly just love the one. It's small, but different enough that it would be noticed. Go here to get it for yourself! 

Ps: this shop has tons more incredibly cute rings, you really should take a peek :)

Pink Heart Stickers form Knot & Bow. $12

Stickers are so fun. Didn't you love them when you were little? I did. My kids do too. Although they wouldn't be sticking these all over their hands and shirts. When my brother was little he took like 35 stickers and put them all over his fave like a Santa Clause beard. I think they all peeled off in one try since they were all kind of stuck together....but man, that would have sucked if they were plastered to his face! Anyway, these would be cute to seal and envelope with or to decorate gift wrapping. Go here for heart stickers!

Hope you enjoyed my Etsy picks! Have a wonderful weekend! This is the first weekend we have no definite plans. We are going out to eat with some friends tonight, and I might sneak away to clean up at the church for a bit, but other than that we are stress free, and I like it!

A New Favorite

I can't believe I am about to say this, but I think Parks & Rec is no longer my favorite TV show.

I know, take a moment to let it soak in.

Actually, The Office is my all time favorite. Nothing can touch it. I don't care, like some people, that Steve has left. All of the characters hold their own for me and I will be watching this series over and over even when I am 80 years old.

But back to Parks and Rec. This current season is just not doing it for me. Sure, there are funny parts in the show still, but I have just about had it with Knope 2012 (Probably because I don't like any sort of real life politics). When is the freaking election going to be? I realize it will be the closer to the end of this season, I just wish it would hurry up already. This story line makes me super bored......and I sometimes have to force myself to watch it.

Although, there was a glimmer of hope in the last episode when Ron said "When I eat, it is the food that is scared". Love it. Enjoy this horrible clip of hi-ho-hilario Ron.

So what show is replacing P&R? Drum roll please...

for an actual drum roll, click on my husband below.

PS: those drums are for sale.....any drummers out there want some vintage Pearls?

OK, lets stay on task. The winning show is......

Up All Night.

This show has me laughing THE ENTIRE TIME.  This is just the trailer for the show, Youtube isn't rocking any clips of my favorite Mr. Bob episode. I will go ahead and tell you though, I love that episode because they go to this "gym" for babies where they sing songs and all that jazz. There is this one mom there who knows all about how to be an awesome mother and if she were real I imagine she would shove down your throat her parenting style and her birth method. Gag me. Let me give you some news, after you have your second kid, you are worried less and less about telling everyone your parenting style and more worried about making it actually work for you. Thank GOD I have never actually met any moms like this.

 Anyway, if you aren't already hooked this trailer will get you, I promise.

I don't feel too bad about switching shows, since I am still supporting the Arnett-Poehler family. 

And, If you don't watch Parks & Rec or know who Amy and Will are, I am sorry that this post made zero sense to you.

Have you seen Up All Night? What do you think?!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

*pic from here

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday. I think because of all the pinks and reds. I have always hated saying I like pink though. It makes me feel like a girly girl when I admit my affection. I guess part of me is really girly, but not in a Im-so-neat and-hate-when-my-kids-get-dirt-on-them-and-I-wake-up-with-Snow-White woodland-creatures-in-my-bedroom sort of way.

I'm not gonna lie though, a little bit of the reason I heart V-day is because eleven days later is my birthday. I have a friend that was born on Valentine's Day. Man, is she lucky. I guess Christmas should be my fav, but it's just way too stressful. Actually, Christmas is my least favorite. There, I said it. Hate me all you want, I'll be celebrating a day of love.......with a much prettier holiday color pallet.

So, in honor of my favorite day, I thought I would share my favorite V-day finds. Yay! Here we go.

There isn't a tutorial for these, but just get some glitter paper, cut out a heart, and hot glue to a toothpick! These would be so cute stuck in cupcakes or mason jars of a delicious drink.

 

 *image from here

This beautiful wreath screams Valentine's Day to me. I just love pink and red together. I think I need to make a trip to Michael's later for some supplies. 

*pic from here

Free printable valentines cards. These would be so cute to leave your husband everyday before work until V-day. These are from cake. blog. I like this blog a lot. It's simple and pretty. 

These would be so cute to package up in a cello bag for friends. I love chocolate and pretzels together. One of my favorite candies is Pretzel M&M's. Sometimes I think I am the only one who likes them though, because every time I declare my love to people they always say "ugh!" I know I have some fellow Pretzel M&M lovers out there, where are you?!

 

 *image from here 

Do you do anything fun on Valentine's Day? Even if you don't have a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife, I still think it's a great day to let your friends and family know how much you love them! 

I'm so excited V-day is on a Tuesday this year since that is George's off day. We will have a big heart filled breakfast with the kids and then maybe have a date that night. 

PS: Valentine's day is also a great day to think about Christ's love for us. I think it's an awesome day to talk to your kids about how much Jesus loves them. We will be........because Ryder has been known to say "Jesus don't give us Inner Peace(we were watching Kung Fu Panda and he asked what inner peace was), Jesus might put me in the oven and eat me." Hmmm, seems as though we haven't made very clear distinctions between the Lord and the old woman in Hansel & Gretle.