Christmas Decorating Crafting

I found three old milk bottles under my sink when i moved in and had no idea what to do with it. Then the other day I thought to do this...

cut out letters and glue them down

paint the bottles

put lights in them and tie bows at the top (to hide the cord). Pretty huh? :)

I found these pretty stars on Pintrest and they are so easy and fun to make! The words are in another language but the pictures do a good job showing what to do.stars

And what is Christmas without stockings hung by the fire?

This pillow is made out of burlap from my wedding and then i freehanded with sharpee.

Table centerpiece

Our bedroom. The headboard is just old book pages stuck to the wall with sticky tac. And i made the pillow with a ribbon and burlap hot glude to a pillow i already had (so could hopefully remove it eventually...)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! more crafts to come I'm sure!

Update on my Challege

Well, i kinda failed that challenge. {see challenge here}

I followed it great for the first week!

Then... well there are many excuses to choose from.

After that first week i was sore from these little work outs, i hadn't lost weight but i was feeling better-healthier, more energized, etc. It is a great little workout to do instead of getting on Facebook for a study break!

I would recommend this 4 minute workout to anyone, i'm going to keep using it-but not everyday. I like to mix it up (which i think is one reason i failed) runs, ab workouts, jump rope, bike riding, long walks, Pilates, recreational sports, and now 4 min workout. The point is to stay active and healthy- so get out there and move, figure out what works for you!

Almost Easier than Mac n' Cheese

Found a easy crock-pot recipe on Pintrest that uses things you might already have in your pantry.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

1 can of pinapple- crushed or chuncks
1 bottle of BBQ sauce-hawaiian flavor is recomended but i used original and it worked great
4-6 pieces of chicken

Dump them all in the crock-pot for 6 hour on low! Easy-peasy.
I didnt have 6 hours so I did 3hrs on High and 1 hour on low or so- just make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Add brown rice and a side salad- enjoy!

Foster Parents

Meet Priscilla- an adorable kitten I brought home yesterday.

We've been wanting to adopt a kitten for a long time but we just don't have the funds. I found Salem Friends of Felines and went and talked to them about fostering kittens. Normally they only cover medical things for the foster kittens, but after talking for a while about our situation they decided to provided us with food and litter so we can foster kittens for them! Within a half hour I was driving home with a lovely little fluff ball.

Jeff didn't know i was stopping by there so when i went to pick him up from work i brought blindfold and told him i had a surprise for him. I made him stand by the front door and wait. He thought i had built another fort- then i put a warm fuzzy little body in his hands and his face lit up :)

Salem Friends of Felines is a great little organization that runs almost entirely on donations and the help of their volunteers. They are always in need of volunteers to help out in their thrift store, at Petsmart, and cleaning at the adoption center. They are also in need of volunteers who can support and foster kittens, adult cats, bottle fed kittens and special needs cats until they find a permanent home.

In Genesis God places us above the animals and calls us to be good stewards of his creation, to take care of it. Now I'm not a radical liberal saying get rid of hairdryers, SUV's, and recycle everything and become a vegan- no, God gave us the animals for food (gotta love bacon!!), pleasure  and to take care of. So, if you are like me, eating chicken and beef and pork, drivin' your SUV and occasionally throwing a plastic spork in the fire, but you want to help out, Salem Friends of Felines may be the place to go! You could at least take some of your old stuff to donate to their thrift store. Or you could volunteer in their store. Or you could foster a cutie like this...

Play hard

Sleep Hard

Nap time everyone!

New Obsession!

First it was Facebook,
then it was etsy
and now pinterest!

These are the sites that eat away at the hours in my day and make me feel so crafty and productive without ever getting up from the computer. :(

Facebook is great to connect with friends, such as those people from high school i dont see anymore or live too far away. And its great for sharing pictures with family and friends and keeping updated on their lives.

Etsy is chalk full of ideas for crafts, decorating and gift ideas, and if i dont have the time to make it, i can find it for a reasonable price right there!

Pintrest is FAN-stinkin-TASTIC for creative ideas for crafts, food, decorating, games, exercises, etc. It's a vertual pin-board that allows you to make your own idea boards with pictures from any website! I LOVE IT!!!

here are some fun things i found recently on Pintrest:

dip leaves in wax to save them!

how to make flying lanterns! here

Christmas ornament ideas

fun and beautiful photography ideas

yummy food ideas

things to make you laugh :D

inspirational words

I really want a puppy

ideas for kids

I could go on and on and on! but I'll leave you with this thought for the day...

Challege!

Ok, so I saw this video on Pintrest (which happens to be my latest fling) :) and I was skeptical. I mean, a 4 minute workout? Seriously? After sitting on the couch doing homework for most of the day, i felt the need to get up a move. i remembered this and decided to try it. Holy Cow! the second set was rough! I'm still skeptical about how well it will "burn fat," but I'm going to put it to the test (and myself to the test for that matter).

Okay, I'm putting this up so you all can keep me accountable...

Today I weigh : 156.4 lbs
My goal: 140 lbs (but i mostly want to see less belly chub)

Two week plan (not intending to acomplish goal by then-but i wanna see some results!)

        -4 minute workout everyday- one rest/grace day a week
        -run at least a mile 3 times a week
        -drink at least a water bottle  (24oz) a day
         -log food on livestrong
         -journal everyday what i did for exercise and Bible Study

I not only want to feel good, look better, and be healthy, but i also want to glorify God by taking care of this body He gave me.

Who else is in?

Childhood Inspiration for Date Night

Jeff and I worked a lot this weekend and hardly saw each other except when we fell in to bed with an exhasted "goodnight love."
I worked a catering shift during Friday date night so I had to think up something fun, awesome cheap and easy to do after a long day at work.

So i made dinner, gathered firewood, and built a fort in our living room.

Ingredients: Christmas lights, chairs, coffee table turned on end, a queen sized sheet, blankets, couch cushions and a cozy fire.

We snuggled and watched The Goonies and Lost until two in the morning. Ahhh, its so good to be newly married!

Easy Dinner

Salad, Noodles, Chicken, Tomatos, Salad Dressing- Boom, dinner.

Falling Falling Falling

Take a deep breath...
Crisp air, that green dusty smell of falling leaves, smoke from cozy fires, pumpkin latte steam...

the cold bite of air on your nose, comfy warm scarf, rain boats crunching leaves, pumpkin latte warming your fingertips and tongue...

open your eyes...
colors, so many colors! children laughing on the playgrounds, pumpkins on door steps, squirls frisking from tree to tree, pumpkin latte on the coffee table...

its that time of year again, my favorite time of year- when the air starts getting cold but the rain hasn't set in in full force quite yet, trips to the pumpkin patch, reading next to the warm fire, pulling out sweaters and scarves, collecting colorful leaves in yellow red and orange, jumping in leaves, the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas, Pumpkin latte creamer hits store shelves...

yes, its Autumn.

With school just starting and cold weather setting in and the rain darkening our near future, take the time to smell, feel and see the good, happy things about this season- smile! and have a pumpkin latte!

Charcoal No Longer!

Back in high school (so over 3 years ago) I tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich.... the cheese was melted...but somehow it looked something like this...

 Since then, I have been the brunt of countless cooking, kitchen and holiday jokes.

BUT NO LONGER!!!

 Behold, the perfect grilled cheese and ham sandwich!!!!!

And it tasted good too! :)

Happy cooking!

Pretty Old Cards

I love getting cards from people; mail is so fun! But after a while the bulletin board fills up and not all the cards can stay.

Here's an idea of what to do with those pretty patterns!

Fold along crease a few times to weaken and then tear the card in two. You can save the words in a scrapbook if you wish.

Write on the back of the "pretty side." I use mine to make recipe cards, but it is also fun to make post cards.

Soon you'll be getting a plethora of happy holiday wishes, so save up those colorful cards and send them out next year or use them to record Grandma's secrete family recipe!

Bedrooms

How much fun would it be to decorate a kids room like this?! The word is the ladder! How cool!

Wouldn't it be fun to put a dresser in here with knobs that say "Dresser" and a desk with the top decoupaged with its name across the top and a chair with one leg made out of letters?

Since kids are a long way off in the future (unless God has other plans for us) this idea will have to wait in the decorating archives along with all of these:

http://www.interiordecorationsite.com/search/cool%20furniture%20girls%20room

and how about this crib/changing table! Fit for a little princess!

http://homezinterior.com/bedroom/superhero-bedroom-design-ideas-for-kids.html

And for the little super hero- LOVE IT!!!

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/kids-bedroom-decorating-ideas10.htm 

this totally reminds me of Neverland!

Ok, and if you think I'm thinking about babies too much, how about these beautiful rooms?

http://www.countryliving.com/homes/how-to-get-the-look/bedroom-designs-2008

I love the in-wall book shelf and the cozy rug in this picture. This would be a great guest bedroom. Even the pink lamp, finding funky things from your teenage bedroom can be made more adult in a setting like this.

love the patterned wall and floor with the mellow bedding!

as much as i love plain wood floors, white washed wood floors are really inviting.

I love the idea of hanging a chandelier above the bed

the quilt on the wall is a great headboard idea- you could use one you already have! I love saving money.

 This is our bedroom as of now- with how much I like decorating, in a month or two it'll look a bit different :)

the banner is from our wedding, all the furniture was given to us

we didnt have enough bookshelf space so i piled them up on the floor like i saw in a Pottery Barn ad.

Our room is really small so we can't move around the furniture very much.  I'd like to hang a chandelier and make some sort of headboard or curtains to frame the bed and add some warmth and height to the small space. Hmmm, i'll figure something out- I gotta have something to space off about during classes, right? just kidding!