Thanks!

Last week I won a give-a-way from {DiapersandDivas.com} (check them out- very cute blog) for LaLicious bath scrub. I got it in the mail this week and I can't wait to use it! It smells heavenly. Thanks guys!

I'm going to refer to it as my MaLaLicous body scrub from now on. ;)

Lucy, you have some 'splainin' to do!!

You know how Lucy would get these crazy ideas and Ricky would always come home and make her do some 'splainin'? Well I feel like I had a Lucy moment yesterday.

I've been married for almost 4 years and we are really good about checking with each other before making any large purchases. Things like really expensive shoes or furniture. I would never normally buy something without talking it over with him.

Yesterday - I had a BRILLIANT idea. I was going to buy my husband a leather sectional for Christmas!

As soon as I left the store I realized... "Hmmm.... maybe I shouldn't spend well over a thousand dollars w/o consulting my husband." Did I learn nothing in my Preparing for Marriage class?! I called my mom yesterday (she's been married for over 3 decades) for some wifely advice, which I have listed below.

I was so worried about it I had to tell him yesterday so it's not even going to be a surprise now! Luckily - my husband was super excited about it! It very easily could have gone badly and I would have had a lot of 'splainin' to do!

Wifely advice:
1. Don't make large purchases without talking with your spouse!
2. Tell him about the AMAZING discount you got.
3. If you already bought it, tell him while you are scantily clad! (free advice from my mom!)

Eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie dough as fast as we can

'Tis the season for COOKIES! With so many Christmas parties... we've been making lots of cookies. Some good. Some not so good. I like to bake, I'm not great at it, and to add to the excuses, I haven't had much time to bake.

So here's what I've made: (peanut butter cookies)

What's that you said? No bake. YES PLEASE! I loooove anything I can do quick and easily! I saw this recipe on {howsweeteats.com} and it was really easy to make. I added some festive sprinkles. I'm not even a huge peanut butter fan but these are really yummy.

Next up: (slice & back chocolate chip cookies)
Yep, no shame in some quick and easy slice and bake. I did is Sandra Lee style, "semi-homemade". I added frosting and crushed candy canes on top for a festive touch. I love chocolate & peppermint! Mmmmmm.

Now for the really EMBARRASSING, OMG I really shouldn't post this, how pathetic am I?!? I screwed up slice and bake cookies for another party...

Here are all my excuses before you see below:
1. I worked all morning at the Clothing Shop Ministry at church.
2. I was so tired I passed out for 3 hours and only had an hour to make these. (super poor excuse b/c it only takes like 8 mins to bake)
3. I didn't read the directions. Who knew you add flour to slice & bake?

All of these excuses has led to this terrible outcome:


They looked so cute when I was making them! This is pretty much how they are supposed to look.Note to self: Read directions. Add flour.

Other new obsession...

My other new obsession... The Sing Off! Have you seen it? I can not carry a tune in a bucket but I love love love listening to the contestants on this show! If you haven't checked it out you really should! You're missing out otherwise. It's great on DVR because I can re-watch each performance more than once. (I told you I was obsessed.) Below are my 2 favs this season (in no particular order).

Obsessed with Bright Yellow Fabric

I went to NYC with a few girlfriends of mine in August to see Wicked. We had such a fun time. My cheeks and stomach hurt for a month from laughing so much that weekend.

One of my FAVORITE things to do in NYC is to walk through the fashion district and see all the beautiful fabric! Of course it waaaaaay cheaper to get fabric there than any where around here. So I bought some really cute red fabric for Christmas but what I REALLY wanted to get was some yellow fabric. I just couldn't rationalize buying yellow fabric then.

I found some absolutely lovely bright yellow fabric. I tried to rationalize buying this somewhat expensive fabric - maybe I can use it for my (not even engaged) sister's possible future wedding/shower. Maybe I can do a yellow Christmas this year. Maybe I'll decorate with it in the spring.
(This picture above is the closest thing I can show you that what the yellow fabric looked like) http://www.zgallerie.com/p-8891-diller-pillow-peacock.aspx

I didn't end up getting it but OF COURSE now I need it for a baby shower! And I'm not taking a 3 hour bus ride there and a 3 hour bus ride back just to get it. So I settled for some other yellow fabric. Here it is below. Not as lovely as the one in NYC but it's sheer and looks brighter in person. I'm still pretty excited about using as a table runner. :)

DIY - Headboard

I made this quite a while ago now and I really thought I had before pictures of us making this, however they are no where to be found. Oh well!

My whole family pretty much helped to make this headboard from scratch. We bought some fabric, buttons, MDF board, foam, and batting. I used the instructions from {BeJane.com} which was VERY helpful!

Here is the end result...



It's hard to use fabric with lines on it because you have to make sure they are straight and that determines where you can put the buttons.

My dad insisted on using MDF - it's very heavy now! But we love it and I don't think it will be very hard to re-cover if I want to change our bedspread.

Laundry Room

After reading this post from {Remodelaholic.com} I was inspired to re-do my laundry room. The Rodden Family made over their laundry room and I thought it looked great. I never thought to organize and paint it before seeing this post. So thanks for the idea! Love it!

After: (yay!)

Before: (hot mess)

Took down the old shelves and painted it a light blue/gray...

Thank goodness my husband is handy and can put up this shelving (it came white which saved us a step)...


Scrapbook paper I turned into a stencil - The Rodden Family used wrapping paper, which I might go back and try. It's the holiday's y'all and I'm tired... one thing at a time!

The after - very subtle...
The mess my paper stencil made...


The hard work and mess on my hands! Don't wear your wedding rings while painting! I'm a dummy! (and yes those are my real nails, they do grow ridiculously fast)

YAY! I love that I can have Granny's silver out to see and the other girly things my husband doesn't want out!

Linky Parties! Check them out! :)

Sheet Music Wreath

Hey y'all - so here's another wreath I made after checking out this paper wreath on {dykast.us} blog. It has a great tutorial for how to make it with old book pages. I thought I would try it with some Christmas sheet music. I also added in a few colorful strips of paper.

Super simple and cost me next to nothing to make!

Here's how it turned out:



I didn't have vintage Christmas sheet music, so I Googled and found some then I dyed it with tea...Printed some colorful Christmas-y images...


Cut them into strips then curled them like ribbon (check out {dykast.us} for helpful tips)... and beware of paper cuts!Used some Tacky Glue to attach it to my $1 frame...




I love that I can still see the women and their winter wardrobes...

Made a bow out of red velvet ribbon. I got a whole roll for $.50!


Ta-da!