What I wish for....

Birthday/Christmas List by abigaildeanna featuring a benefit mascara

Instead of writing out a good ol' Birthday/Christmas list, I thought I would make a pretty little Polyvore board of what I wish for. There isn't anything in this world that I need but it wouldn't be my birthday or Christmas without a wish list! So here we go!

1. They're Real mascara by Benefit 
2. Eyeshadow pallet from Benefit called Two Faced Naked Eye (or just a gift card to where benefit is sold would do!) 
3. iTunes gift card 
4. Abigail Bearpaw boots, in purple 
5. Starbucks gift card 
6. A beautiful purple scarf 
7. Toms, in red 
8. Lane Bryant gift card

I can't believe how soon my birthday will be here and Christmas will be here just as fast! I need to start shopping too!

Do you make a wish list every year? If so, what's on your list?

My week according to Instagram

Emma Lee before the 4th of July parade

Maria & Emma Lee

Start of the parade

Maria and Emma Lee baking

The Mr. cooking

The Mr. & me

My sisters and me

Happy 4th of July

Splash park!

Emma Lee & Loryn

Beautiful Loryn Martha

DIY Homemade Silhouette

For Christmas I wanted to add a little touch of DIY to some of my gifts. I searched all over the internet to find the perfect gift for certain people and as soon as I found this DIY tutorial, I knew who I was going to make it for.

I decided to make this project for my sister. It was super easy and really fun! The hardest part was finding an oval frame to put the picture in. I plan on remembering this project and using it for myself with my own kids or for future presents.

I found this tutorial over at The Anderson Crew.

Here is what you'll need:

Oval picture frame (8x10)
spray adhesive
cardstock or regular paper
black paint/paint brush
scissors
picture of the special person (5x7)

 1) Take a picture of person, print it out and cut - This took me a couple of tries, I had to make sure her pony tail was just right and wasn't touching her back, otherwise when I went to cut it out, it looked silly.

 

2) Paint the picture black and let dry - I went over mine a few times, I used regular paper, so it curled at first but after a couple of coats, it laid flat.

3) Once dry, spray the back of the picture with the adhesive spray, center onto white paper that came with frame and attach. (You don't have much time, so it's good to get an idea of where you want it before you press down)

4) Put your frame back together and you're done!

I love the way this project turned out and it didn't take me more then 20 minutes tops. I'm not sure if my sister has put it up yet or not, but I know she loved it when she opened the present.

Happy New Year!

I figured I would start the year off right and blog! I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve and that you are enjoying your New Years Day! I had a wonderful New Years Eve! I spent the evening with my family, The Mr.'s family and my new Fiancé. That's right friends, I'M ENGAGED!

The Mr. totally surprised me last night and asked me to spend the rest of his life with him. I, of course, said "YES!" I'll eventually write the proposal story, but it was very sweet and romantic and I wouldn't have had it any other way!

We are planning on having a long engagement and have not set a date yet, but I'll keep everyone updated!

Here are a few pictures from last night and today! Enjoy!

 

And yes, I already went out and got a wedding planning book! I'm so excited!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from The Mr., Grandma and me! I hope each and everyone of you had an amazing holiday and that you were surrounded by loved ones!

Wordless Wednesday - Tis' the Season!

We made a gingerbread house at work today! Of course we had to do it in between customers, so when I left at 1:30, this is how far we had gotten. I can't wait to see it when I go to work tomorrow!

Christmas Cards and Naps

My goal today was to get my Christmas cards prepped and ready to be sent out, you see, I have the envelopes and I'm just waiting for the cards to come in. My dear friend April from April Showers designed my cards for me this year; I don't know if any of you have seen her work, but she's amazing and so creative! Anyway, the cards were suppose to come in today via UPS and when I heard the truck pull up, I couldn't hold my excitement back, I was waiting for him with the door open but I quickly realized he only had one single package for me. I was so bummed!

I quickly contacted April and we tracked the package and found out that there had been an exception on the shipment due to a "transportation accident." That doesn't sound good at all! After a few calls to UPS and with a little sternness, we figured out that my package is currently being towed to a new location and I'll be updated within one to two business days.

Needless to say, my goal for today wasn't accomplished, my Christmas cards on stuck in the back of a UPS truck and I'm one sad panda.

So instead of getting my Christmas cards ready, I decided to take a nap. It was a much needed nap though, so it was nice.

Things are coming together for our New Year's visitors. The Mr. ordered a very nice blow up mattress this afternoon and sometime soon we'll head to the store to get a shower rod, shower curtain and some new towels. I hope I can throw some new towels in there for myself! I love new towels!

You might noticed that I changed my blog layout again, I really wasn't planning on doing that, but a reader informed me that in my tag line, I had "of me" written twice, and instead of fixing it, I just decided to find an awesome premade layout and use it. I'll eventually get something a little more personable, but this will have to do for the time being.

I need to start thinking about my New Years resolution, do you have one yet?

Done!

I am so excited! I am officially done Christmas shopping and officially done making presents! I can not wait to share my projects and I really wish I could do so right now, but some of my readers are getting the DIY gifts, and that would ruin the surprise.

It feels really good to be done shopping, we just have a few gifts left to come in and a few left to wrap and we'll be set!

The Mr. and I decided to do stockings for each other but set it to a $30.00 spending limit. I went and got all his goodies today, so his stocking is nice and full. I did spend a little more then $30.00, but he doesn't need to know that. ;-)

Yesterday we took some time to clear out the back bedroom to get it ready for The Mr.'s parents. They are coming to ring in the New Year with us! I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. It's not the first time meeting them, but it's the first time having them in our place. I just want to make sure they feel welcomed and comfortable. Having guests is nerve racking!

Christmas will be here before I know it! Have I mentioned how excited I am? I think over the next couple of weeks, I'll get some holiday baking in! Speaking of, I can not wait to have some of my Mom's Christmas candy!

What are some of your favorite holiday things?

Keeping Calm

                                                  Source: craftily-ever-after.blogspot.com via A Dab of Abby on Pinterest

As much as I love this time of year, I have found myself so stressed out. I've been worrying about all the little things that really shouldn't matter, like who's getting what, how much we're spending, what I should or shouldn't be doing, the weather (like I really have any control over that) and any other little thing that can simply bother me.

Some people say it's the grey, dreary weather that is causing this, some people say I need to cut back on the caffeine, or I need to lose weight or I'm being ungrateful. Whatever it is, it sucks. I really do enjoy this time of year and I really am happy and I really do hate feeling like this.

I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling the stresses of the Holidays; it's funny how such meaningful times of the year can cause so much stress, but I'm going to fight it and beat it down. Nothing else is going to get me down!

I can't help if the weather is not on my side, I can't help it if no one likes the gift I give them and I can't help it if I'm broke at the end of the month (just kidding), but I can make sure that I'm happy and enjoying this wonderful time of the year! When I found this on Pinterest, I knew I needed to repin it, share it and look at it everyday. I know these "Keep Calm" pictures are overused, but I enjoy them, and they are a great reminder to enjoy the little things in life.

So friends, Keep Calm and Merry On, seriously. Don't worry about the little things and enjoy this Holiday season!

Catching up

I sure have been slacking in the blog world and I really don't have an excuse. Over the past month, Thanksgiving has come and gone, I went Black Friday shopping, I turned 25 (blah), became an owner of Nook Tablet (that's really been taking up a lot of my time) and the Christmas season is in full swing!

I'm sure duper excited for Christmas this year! I couldn't wait to get our tree and lights up and I can't wait to get my Christmas cards mailed out.

I started wrapping gifts today while listening to Christmas music, it was so relaxing. The Mr. and I still have a few gifts to buy and I have a few to make. I'm really excited about the gifts I am making this year, I'm planning on taking pictures of the process and then posting DIY's after the New Year.

Other than getting ready for Christmas and getting the house ready for our New Years company, there isn't much going on over here.

I did snap a few pictures of our Christmas decor! Enjoy!

DIY Christmas Wreath Tutorial

I went to Hobby Lobby earlier today to find ornaments for our Christmas tree and ended up spending almost an hour and half in the store and walked out with stuff to make a homemade Christmas wreath. I'm a huge fan of wreaths, and I love to change them out throughout the year depending on the season and what not. So far, I've made two of my own wreaths and I plan on making more. They are so fun and so simple!

Here's a quick DIY tutorial on how to make your own homemade wreath! Enjoy!

What you'll need:
1 wreath - your choice on what you use, I enjoy twig wreaths but anything works!
wired ribbon
decorative wire
ornament or decorative sign
holiday embellishments
hot glue gun



Using your hot glue gun, glue a piece of the wired ribbon to the back of the wreath and wrap the ribbon around the wreath:
(I leave a gap in between each wrap so that way I can use the decorative wire in the spaces)



Continue all the way around the wreath:





Next, use your decorative wire and fill the empty spaces:



Like so:



Use the ornaments string and loop it through the twigs in the center and then hot glue the remaining ornament string to the back of the wreath:
(I used a piece of paper (price tag) to make sure the string would stay in place)



Add embellishments!:
(I ended up moving mine around because I could not figure out how I wanted them)



Here's the finished product! So easy, so simple and super cute! It took me less then 30 minutes to make and cost me less then $10 dollars! Thank you Hobby Lobby for your 50% off Christmas decor sale!

I did take the little bit of decorative wire that I had left and used it to make a loop so the wreath would hang better.

I can't wait to decorate for Christmas so I can leave this on our front door but we must wait for Thanksgiving to pass!

Preparing for the Holidays

I've been meaning to write a blog for a few days but I kind of feel like life has gotten a little busy and I haven't been able to sit down and write a decent post.

I should really be sleeping and fighting off this cold, but I took a nap after work and now I find myself wide awake. Lovely.

The holiday season is in full swing and I'm feeling it! We launched the famous red cups at Starbucks on the 1st and everything else will be out on the 15th. Christmas stuff is everywhere, in every store and some stores are even playing Christmas music. I, personally, am NOT ready for Christmas to be here. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays but I'm not ready to buy gifts or deal with crowded stores.

Speaking of gifts, I'm trying to find some DIY gift ideas for a few of my friends/family members. I want something they can use all year long, not just during a certain season. I have found some great ideas, I just need to pick which one I want to do. I've never done a DIY gift, so I'm excited to get started; I'll be sure to take pictures of my projects and post a few of them once I complete them.

One of my favorite things about this time of year is all the delicious scents you can find that remind you of Christmas. I love candles, a lot, and even though I sell Scentsy I have found a candle that I think everyone needs.

Seriously, this candle is like Christmas in a jar. I went into Bath and Body Works the other day and I walked out with more then enough of these candles to get me through the season. I've already burned through a whole candle and I think I need more. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a Twisted Peppermint candle, you won't be disappointed.

One last thing, I am in the process of taking a blog designer class and will hopefully be launching a blog design business at the start of 2012. I'm super excited and will keep everyone updated on the progress, I plan on offering some new business specials, so stay tuned!

Halloween Cookies & Dinner

I won't lie, I'm really glad the week is over and that my weekend is finally here. I'm hoping to have a better weekend then I did last week (and it seem to be going that way) and hopefully I'll get a little R&R in. Last weekend we were dealing with flooding and broken sewer pipes, yuck!

So far this weekend I've been able to watch a movie with The Mr. ( I am not allowed to share the title of the movie we watched because he doesn't want anyone to know he watched a chick flick! Did I just type that? Oops!), sleep in, drink coffee and spend some time browsing the interwebs and I was able to do some baking!

This afternoon I got together with some of my coworkers and we made Halloween cookies! It was nice to hang out with the girls outside of work and spend some time doing something we truly enjoy (not that we all don't enjoy our jobs or anything). I won't lie though, I was a little jealous of the KitchenAid Mixer that I was allowed to use today, I have got to me one of those! My coworker almost has the complete pink set of the KitchenAid set and I'm super jealous but that's besides the point. We made two different type of cookies, one's that looked like fingers and another that looks like owls. We had such a fun time creating the fingers and cutting dough to look like an owl.

Before I left to make cookies I asked The Mr. to get things ready for dinner so as soon as I got home, I could throw all the ingredients together and then pop it into the oven. I made turkey meatloaf and need an onion chopped up and I knew that would take some time so having him do that for me would save some time. After we were done baking cookies I hurried home so I could start dinner. I walked into the kitchen and found this:

What an amazing man! It made my heart happy and made preparing dinner super easy! Anyway, I threw all the stuff together, preheated the oven and made our turkey meatloaf.

I served it with brown rice mixed with salsa and steamed broccoli. I was going to take a picture of the finished product but completely forgot and by the time I remembered, we were almost done eating! Dang it! I could never be a food blogger, I would forget the most important part.

Dinner was great and very satisfying and our cookies turned out awesome! So far, there's been nothing to complain about with this weekend, and I'm so thankful for that!