thankful, full, tired, birthday, shopped out

I just love Thanksgiving and spending time with our families. We have so many things to be thankful for...time with family, our home, our jobs, our church, community group, etc. I just love spending time with our families and sharing what we are thankful for. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family on Thursday. I did not take any pictures of the family :( We headed to my aunt and uncles at noon for our feast. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, monkey bread, green bean bundles, corn casserole, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and apple pie. There were only 8 of us and we ate and ate and ate. It was sooo good. As a tradition, after lunch we all go through the Black Friday ads and make our Christmas lists. There were some really good deals in the ads. Then we decide who is going where on Friday morning. I know I am crazy but I went to Walmart at midnight...Andy actually went with me! I was so proud of him...he said he would never do that again! We will see about that :) I went to get some movies, toys, and Andy needed shotgun shells since he was going duck hunting early Friday morning. We got back home around 1, we slept for about 2.5 hours and got up at 4:30. Andy went hunting and I was off to go shopping. I went to Kohl's, Target, Sears, Old Navy, and Ulta. It was super early but I was on a mission and was able to buy everything that I was intending to buy. My friends think I'm crazy for getting up that early but I get some good deals so to me its worth it. My mom met up with me around 7 and we went to the mall and then to Rogers. Friday night we had Thanksgiving with Andy's family at his parents house. We were also celebrating Meemaw's 80th birthday. What an amazing woman! She is so sweet and we love her dearly. We hope to be celebrating many more birthdays with her! We had a wonderful time eating and of course watching some football. My shopping finally caught up with me and I was extremely tired by 7:30 last night. Andy and I left his parents at 9 and got home and went straight to bed. We were worn out! I actually slept in this morning until 9...totally good for me! I did a little shopping this morning, addressed our Christmas cards, and helped my mom decorate her house for Christmas. I came home and Andy and I watched the Hogs play...super excited about beating LSU. We have stayed in all night and made some smores while watching movies! One of my students gave me a smores gift basket for Thanksgiving. So sweet! I can't believe tomorrow is my last day of Thanksgiving break. It always goes by so fast! We only have 3 weeks before Christmas break so I can hang in there! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families.

Fa La La

 I have been dying to post pictures of my Christmas decorations but thought I needed to wait until close to Thanksgiving. Today would normally be the day that I decorate my house, but Andy went hunting a few weekends ago and I decided to go ahead and decorate then. I waited to post pictures because it was so soon. I can't wait any longer!! I had some help with some of my decor this year, my friend Amanda made my garland around my front door and my aunt came and helped too!

By my front door

Entry way table

My Christmas tree...I still haven't perfected the mesh yet but I think this will do for this year. All of my ornaments are lime and red. 

I wrapped mesh around all my chairs at my dining table

Center of my dining table

Place setting: white place mat, silver charger, red plates, white napkin wrapped with red and white polka dot ribbon, and a silver ornament attached

This year I bought another Christmas tree to add to our kitchen. I put all of my traditional ornaments on this tree. I love how it turned out.

This is my front door. I love love love it!! Thanks to my sweet friend Amanda for making my garland look amazing! I'm so glad to be finished decorating. Now I can enjoy it for a little over a month, maybe I will have inspired some of you to start!  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families! 

Thanksgiving Feast

Tonight we hosted a Thanksgiving feast with our community group. There were 16 people total and I was a little worried that we weren't all going to fit comfortably in our living room. Somehow we pulled it off! I borrowed some tables from my mom and we set up a long row of tables in our living room. We have gained a lot of new couples in our group this fall, so I asked everyone to send me 2 or 3 facts about themselves. I copied down everyone's facts and we had a guessing game. It was pretty funny! Even some of the spouses didn't know the facts about each other. We had a great time of fellowship and eating. Andy cooked a turkey and ham and they were so yummy! We had ham, turkey, rolls, green beans, corn casserole, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. Mmm mmm! Nothing like having an early Thanksgiving meal. I didn't take any pictures of our group but I did take some pictures of the food. We are so blessed to be apart of such a wonderful community group!

Here was the table arrangement in the living room..I still can't believe we all fit!

Some of our feast...ham, dressing, turkey, corn casserole...mmm good!

Weekend Madness

So..this weekend Andy went hunting and guess what I did?? I went mad and decorated for Christmas!! It started off late Friday night. Mom and I went to a movie and when I got home I decided I was going to start. Needless to say I was up until midnight and got hardly anything accomplished. I went to bed frustrated! I woke up early on Saturday to get busy working. I worked for about 2 hours and still hadn't made much progress. I decided I needed to take a break and go look at some stores for some inspiration. Mom and I went to Perfect Choice and Signed Sealed and Delivered. I found my inspiration for my kitchen table at Signed Sealed. It is so fun!  I'm officially done decorating the inside. I still have some work to do on the outside. It feels so nice to be finished..now I can enjoy it for over a month. I know some of you think I'm crazy (mom) but I don't care! My house is putting me in the Christmas spirit! I will post pictures soon. By the way, Andy killed an 8 point buck this weekend. He was super excited. We will have plenty of deer meat for a while!

I've Got the Itch...

That's right the itch to...DECORATE for CHRISTMAS!!! Last weekend when I went to Holiday House it definitely inspired me to decorate. I can't believe I am actually wanting to decorate before Thanksgiving. I just saw so many fun ideas and ornaments and trees and just can't wait to decorate! Andy is hunting all weekend so I may just start this weekend. We will see!! Enjoy your Saturday!

Holiday House Weekend

This weekend my mom and I took Friday off and drove to Little Rock to go to the much anticipated Holiday House. We went to Holiday House two years ago for the first time and decided that we would go back every year. It was a blast! My friend Carly was out of school on Friday so she spent the day with us! My friend Brandi met up with us after she got off work and we shopped and shopped! It is a lot like a craft fair but more trendy. We found Christmas decor, clothes, watches, baby gifts, etc. We definitely didn't leave empty handed. Brandi and Carly definitely bought more than I did on Friday...all I bought were some lime green trees for my mantle. However, I did much more damage when we went back today! Since Carly and I don't get to see each other very often we couldn't miss the opportunity for a photo.

After we spent most of the afternoon at Holiday House we went to Silks a Bloom. It is such a neat store. They have all kinds of themed Christmas trees....red/white/silver, green/silver/white, lime/red, brown/gold, turquoise/brown/gold, etc. I just wanted to buy everything in the store! I didn't buy anything this year but did see some great ornaments. Mom and I had dinner plans with Mike, Elizabeth, and Cat Kirk. We were so excited to get to visit with them. We went to this restaurant called Bravo and it was delicious!! We had a great time telling stories and catching up. 

Cat and I at dinner. Isn't she lovely?? I just love her and miss spending time with her! We have known each other since we were 8 years old and have great memories together! I wish she would move back up to NWA! After dinner mom and I headed back to the Peabody for the night. We woke up early this morning and went back to Holiday House to purchase decor and gifts. I bought some lime green Christmas trees, mesh, ornament garland, and ornaments. I'm definitely ready to start decorating for Christmas!! 

Red mesh for my Christmas tree

Ornament garland 

Lime and red ornaments

Lime green trees..my favorite purchase of the weekend!

We bought these reusable bags to hold all of our decor and gifts! I love it...especially since it has polka dots. Mom and I had a great time this weekend! 

Halloween Night

Last night, I went to my uncles for dinner and trick or treating. We walked around their entire neighborhood and the kids got lots of candy. Take a look at our Halloween night.