Our | Oklahoma | Nest

Busyness

2012-01-21T22:33:00.000-06:00

Hi Bloggy Friends,

January has been a pretty busy, kinda stressful month so far. This would be the reason for my lack of blogging. It's been full of car troubles, teaching, teaching, teaching, report cards, assessing, evaluations, observations, cooking, running, and reading. So, here are some iPhone pics to give you a visual of some of this busyness.

Last week, I was driving to the mall to return something at Forever 21. To get to the only Forever 21 in our city, you have to drive on the turnpike. I freaking hate the turnpike because I don't like PAYING to drive on a street. But obviously it's necessary sometimes. So, I had to stop at the bill changer because I only had dollar bills and the toll has to be paid in nickels, dimes, or quarters. It was really windy that day (or everyday in Oklahoma), so I put my car in park as I was about to put the dollar in the bill changer. I was afraid my dollar would blow away so I wanted to use two hands to hold onto it. I get my change and am ready to drive to the part where you put in the toll. Only, my car would NOT move out of park. It was totally STUCK. I nervously wave to the lady behind me to tell her that she needs to go to the other toll lane. Well, she gets out of the car to see what's wrong and thankfully she was so nice. I told her my car would not move out of park. She says that her husband is about 3 miles away and maybe he can help. I call Trey and thankfully I wasn't too far from our house. So, the lady's husband gets there and so does Trey. They try to rock my car and force into gear, but it's not happening. At this point, my toll lane is so backed up AND the other lane is backed up, too! Apparently, there was a tractor trailer trying to go through on the other side and couldn't get the green light and was too scared to go. So, it was MAJORLY backed up. We had to call highway patrol to get them to come help. Some people had gotten out fo their cars and were cussing and yelling. Because obviously I was CHOOSING to be stuck in the middle of the turnpike! So, we wait for the highway patrol to come help and then wait about 45 minutes for a tow truck. Apparently, it's common for Volvos to get stuck in park. But luckily this happened on Sunday and the next day was MLK day so they could work on my car and have it fixed before I had to return to work on Tuesday.

So, the next day while driving to pick up my fixed car we discovered this awesome soda fountain called Kaiser's. We HAD to try their milkshakes, especially since it was happy hour! Oh my goodness, it was soooo good!

Here are some pictures to show the teaching part. We've been learning about community. So, we took a tour around our school and neighborhood and took pics with our iPads, then the kids came back and worked together to make maps to represent what they saw. They worked so hard and they turned out so great! Plus, they kept talking about how fun it was! Score! :)

These are pics of the beginning stages. I broke it up into two days. The first day they created their maps and the second day they labeled everything.

I did get to have a sushi night with my friends to celebrate a birthday. That was fun! I was wearing a cute outfit that day, too! :)

I made a delicious crockpot recipe called Italian chicken and potatoes. It was great! I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs The Larson Lingo. I also made a pizookie the night before thanks to her. It was too good to last for pictures!

Of course I can't write a post without a picture of Fiona! Trey put her up on the stool and she just sat there. What a pitiful little girl! I love her so much!

Oh, and like everyone else I've been reading The Hunger Games series. Oh my word. It is so flipping good!!!!! I cannot wait until the movie comes out. I've seriously watched the trailer about 20 times. It gives me goosebumps.

I host bunco this week and I'm doing a breakfast theme! Breakfast foods and pajamas! It'll be fun! Hopefully, I'll get some pics! Have a great week!

A Burlap Wreath

2012-01-05T08:35:00.000-06:00

So, I really wanted a wreath that wasn't holiday or season specific. All of my wreaths are very specific and I hate when my door is bare! I also really wanted to try something with burlap. I just love the way it looks. When I went to Hobby Lobby, I had grand ideas of what I would create. I was thinking I would make burlap rosettes and glue the rhinestones in the middle. I still may do this later, but once I starting making the wreath I took a VERY easy way out. And I love the result!

So, these are the things I initially started out with: a grapevine wreath, wooden initial, clear rhinestones, natural cord, hot glue, and burlap. I chose the ivory burlap just because I thought it was pretty! Hobby Lobby had several colors to choose from.

So, as you can see, a tutorial is not necessary. All I did was wrap the burlap around in a semi poofy/loose way, so that the grapevine still showed. Then, I tied the cord around the initial and secured it to the wreath. Easy!

It was really simple, which makes it even prettier, in my opinion! Plus, nothing is glued so I can repurpose all the materials if I'd like!

New Year's Day

2012-01-03T17:29:00.000-06:00

We had a very laid back New Year's Day this year. We have a tradition of going to eat Japanese or Chinese food. Who needs black-eyed peas?! Not us! We went with Chinese this year because we recently discovered a fabulous restaurant with delicious food!

Our first picture of 2012!

I love egg drop soup.

wonderfulness

Not so sure about our fortunes? But they could've been worse!

Happy 2012!

My 27th Birthday/ New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T22:59:00.000-06:00

Well, as you've read in my previous post, 2011 was a great year for us. This definitely holds true for my birthday! This was probably the most fun I've had on my birthday. Of course, anytime with Trey is fun, so that's no surprise!

We didn't do anything crazy, which is why it was so fun. We started with early reservations to The Melting Pot. They have a (silly) special menu on NYE after 4 pm, so Trey made reservations for 3:45 so we could enjoy their regular menu. We had never been there before and now we are in love! It was so fun and the food was fabulous!

Here we are before we left for dinner.

Us at the restaurant...I loved how their booths were so private and cozy.

We had delicious champagne that was mixed with raspberry liqueur. We started with the cheese fondue. We had the original cheddar fondue and it came with various breads, apples, and veggies to dip. It was SO good. We also had delicious salads. Our main entree had lobster, shrimp, filet mignon, chicken, pork, mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes, and broccoli to dip. It was unbelievably good. We were very skeptical at first and weren't really expecting the food to be good, but I might dare to say this was the best food we've had! And, of course, we ended it with divine chocolate fondue. It came with brownies, pound cake, strawberries, bananas, rice crispy treats, and two different kinds of marshmallows to dip in their chocolate peanut butter fondue. It was all SO good. And it was just so relaxing because it was dark and cozy and slow paced.

After dinner, we walked over to the Harkins Theatre to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was a great (very dark) movie. We enjoyed it.

After dinner and a movie, we headed back home to celebrate my birthday with cake and presents! :)

My brother gave me the AMAZING pink cake stand for my birthday and I couldn't wait to use it. I am in LOVE with it!

I asked Trey if I could make my own cake this year because I love to bake. I never really get to bake cakes, so I definitely wanted to do it. I just wanted a traditional white cake with white icing. I also wanted a very homemade, simple look (good thing! cake decorating is hard!!!!). I bought some Wilton cake pans that were 3 inches deep, so the cake would be tall and look pretty on my new cake stand. I loved the way it turned out. I just left the icing white and added pale pink pearl non-pareils to the top.

The beverage dispenser was a Christmas present from my mom and I love it, too! I didn't really need to use it, but I wanted to because it was so pretty. I just put pink lemonade in it.

Pretty presents and 2012 glasses

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these plates! Oh, and Haagen Dazs ice cream. :)

Two of the presents I picked out...so excited about my Urban Decay Naked palette!

And the CUTEST version of Anne of Green Gables. I cannot tell you how happy this book makes me!!! :)

Those were the two presents I had picked out, but Trey was about to totally surprise me!

These next pictures show how shocked I was! HA!

A new 50mm macro lens...SO FREAKING EXCITED!

Obviously, I wasn't expecting it at all. He totally surprised me with something so awesome!

After the awesome surprise, it was time to have cake and test out the new lens!

yum

My sweet baby girl

We watched the ball drop in NYC on TV.

And celebrated by being silly in our 2012 glasses!

It was the most fabulous birthday! I can already tell that 27 and 2012 will be a good year for me! :)

In the Year 2011!

2012-01-01T16:03:00.001-06:00

In January...

We enjoyed sushi at Saii on New Year's Day, I did several blog designs (The Cookie Mama was my fave!), we saw Jimmy Eat World and they were amazing, and I had spring fever and made my favorite wreath!

In February...

It snowed a lot, which resulted in lots of snow days, my bedroom got a makeover, Fi had a cute photoshoot, I started Weight Watchers (and never expected to lose 30 pounds less than a year later! But I DID! And I'm still losing!!), started my crazy exercise routine, celebrated Valentine's Day at school and at home, and found awesome books at a book sale.

In March...

we celebrated teacher of the year with my co-workers, we shopped, Trey surprised me with a new camera and a kindle for our 4th anniversary, we celebrated our anniversary in San Antonio, we went to Austin for South by Southwest, Fi made a cute leprechaun, and we had a Sunday night date night!

In April...

My class went on two field trips: one to the zoo and one to swim, we had a day date in Bricktown, I cooked yummy meals, I woke up bright and early to watch the Royal wedding, we went to the Festival of the Arts, we had the best chili dog at Norman Music Fest, we went to a party for Trey's work, and we celebrated Easter with a decorated house and a yummy Easter brunch.

In May...

I continued my love affair with Friday Night Lights, Fiona was adorable, we went to Myriad Gardens, discovered yummy restaurants like Which Wich and Cajun King, I kicked butt with Jillian Michaels as I continued my awesome weight loss/get fit journey, my fifth year of teaching ended, and we celebrated Memorial Day.

In June...

Fi and I posed, I cleaned my closet, it hailed, we had a summer date, I made a Fourth of July wreath, the most tragic thing happened, we went to Vicksburg, MS to cheer on my SIL in Miss Mississippi.

In July...

we continued to cheer on Chel in Miss Mississippi, I visited our old haunts in Mississippi, we celebrated Fourth of July, I had lots of swim party dates with my friends (and wore a bathing suit in public confidently!), I hosted a teacher get together at my house for my kindergarten team, we celebrated 10 years of being together, and we celebrated Trey's 27th birthday with a trip to Dallas.

In August...

I started preparing my classroom and did lots of shopping for it, we had our last summer date with deep dish pizza, we had a spur of the moment trip to Dallas to visit Ikea and scarf down the best dessert, we had sno cones and visited the new outlet mall, my classroom was finally finished, and my sixth year of teaching started!

In September...

I did my first and only Vlog, we celebrated Labor Day with a picnic at Lake Hefner, we had breakfast for dinner, we tried a new hot dog place, had a Bricktown date night, went to the Czech Festival (oops, technically October), and enjoyed yummy food and delicious wine and made friends with sea lions at the Oklahoma State fair!

In October...

I got my new Macbook Pro, I made a fall wreath, I got my Erin Condren planner, Fiona was adorable, I made yummy recipes, we went to the Zombie Walk, we had a blast at the Festival of the Green, went to an AMAZING Taylor Swift concert (and saw NeedtoBreathe), went to a flea market and farmer's market, celebrated my friend's 30th birthday with a fiesta, decorated for Halloween, went to the Halloween Parade and Spaghetti Warehouse, Fi dressed up for Halloween, and we celebrated Halloween with yumminess!

In November...

I became a proud owner of three new pairs of TOMS, we got the most amazing La-Z-Boy, we finally became iPhone users(!), I took my first Instagram, we celebrated Fiona's 5th birthday with a homemade cake, we had date nights for cheesecake, we had a Thanksgiving feast at school, the horrible stomach flu hit our house, I cooked Thanksgiving dinner, I re-watched the Twilight series, and I decorated for Christmas with yummy snack breaks in between!

In December...

my kids celebrated Bear week, I put up Christmas lights outside, we found a delicious new Chinese restaurant, I shopped for my friend's 30th 80's party, I finally saw Breaking Dawn :), Christmas decorations were complete, celebrated my friend's 30th birthday at her 80's party, made our Christmas card, Fiona saw Santa, I hosted a Christmas party at my house, partied at school, saw Christmas lights, made cookies, got a treadmill and started running, celebrated our little Christmas, celebrated Christmas with my family in Tennessee, celebrated Christmas with Trey's family in Mississippi, and I turned 27 with a celebration at The Melting Pot, a movie, yummy cake, and surprise presents!

I am so proud of all the things that Trey and I accomplished in 2011! Of course, most of the real accomplishments are not on the blog; these are the more superficial things! But one thing I am SOOO freakin' proud of is ME! I am so proud of not only my 30 lb weight loss, but of how healthy I am now! I exercise, eat right, and drink lots of water and I ENJOY it! It's awesome. And it will only continue in 2012!

Happy 2012!!!

2010, 2009, 2008

There's Cake in My Future!

2011-12-31T13:17:00.000-06:00

Enjoy celebrating MY birthday tonight! :)

Come Read!!!!!!!!

2011-12-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've posted all three Christmas celebrations from three different states. Come read because I'm tired! :)

And my blog has an awesome new look, if I do say so myself! ;)

A Mississippi Christmas

A Tennessee Christmas

Our Little Christmas

And...

The Beginning of Christmas Festivities

A Mississippi Christmas

2011-12-28T22:40:00.000-06:00

After our Tennessee Christmas, we drove to Mississippi to celebrate with Trey's family.

Fiona and I on Christmas (Yes, I am wearing the same outfit! That's how I roll! ;) )

I tweeted these pictures because it's such a Mississippi thing, but man is it good! Trey and I got Dodge's chicken for our Christmas lunch. Yes, this is from a gas station. Fried chicken tenders, jo jo's, and rolls. Deliciousness

As if the fried chicken was not Mississippi enough, this was in the parking lot. A barbecue mobile!

After lunch, we napped and watched the marathon of A Christmas Story. Later, we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner cooked by my father-in-law, Clay! We had turkey, ham, mac and cheese, rolls, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing, grape salad, green salad, and fruit trifle! He's a wonderful cook and it was all so GOOD!

After dinner, it was present time. I didn't really get any pics of present unwrapping. But I did get some of the pretty tree! :)

Chelsea's (my sister-in-law) boyfriend Dustin and their dog, Butterbean. I snapped that pic at the perfect time to catch that kiss! Ha! He's the biggest beagle ever! He was just a baby last year. Click here to see how cute he was as a baby!

Butterbean was playing with the bows. The pic is blurry because he is so fast!

Chelsea gave her dad a frame to put a picture of him with Trey and Chelsea in it. So, we snapped a picture of them. Sadly, they are the only ones I got pictures of on Christmas! Rhonda (my MIL) and I were there, too!

We had such a great Christmas this year! It was so great to see all of our family!

A Tennessee Christmas

2011-12-28T21:22:00.000-06:00

On the 23rd, Trey and I traveled to Memphis to have Christmas with my family. When we got there, we enjoyed lasagna, garlic bread, and brownies and lemon squares from Bogie's. It was yummy!

After dinner, we opened presents. Again, only pics of me! :) My birthday is New Year's Eve, so my birthday always gets combined with Christmas. I was super excited about my birthday gift from my birthday. It's the cutest pink cake plate. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE cake plates? LOVE them. And this one is my favorite! It's so pretty that it looks edible! My mom and dad also got me the most beautiful antique china. It's so sweet and elegant. It's white with scalloped edges and dainty gold bows. I am in love with it.

We crashed after that! It was a long drive. We woke up to a fabulous breakfast prepared by my brother, Brett.

My brother, my mom, and my dad in the kitchen. :)

It was like something from a fancy hotel.

Absolutely delicious. French toast, applewood bacon, and eggs with cream baked in a ramekin. And of course, orange juice and coffee!

Gracie and Lilly, my sisters :)

My bedroom at my parents' house.

We were lazy the rest of the day while we waited for Christmas Eve dinner with more family. We watched Harry Potter in the amazing home theater that my brother created.

My casual Christmas Eve outfit. I love my sparkly J. Lo sweater from Kohl's. Oh, and I paired it with my beloved Frye cowboy boots.

My mom's beautiful table ready for Christmas Eve dinner.

The other tables all set up.

Christmas decorations

The chest that is actually mine! My mom is just storing it. :)

With all the candles lit for dinner...

I didn't get pictures of the food, but we had beef tenderloin, Sister Schubert rolls, scalloped potatoes, salad with feta, strawberries, walnuts and a Vidalia dressing. For dessert, we had chocolate delight and triple strawberry cake.

My parents and I

Trey and I

My brother, Brett, me, my mom, and my dad

Me and Princess Fiona in her Christmas dress.

It was a great Christmas Eve.

Our Little Christmas

2011-12-28T17:33:00.000-06:00

Trey and I had our little Christmas on the night of December 22. We were headed out of town the next morning to see both of our families.

Here is our tree with presents all wrapped!

I loved my wrapping paper this year. It matched the theme: animal print! :) There was leopard paper, red and zebra paper, and zebra ornament paper.

I put all of our stockings in this chair and Fiona was SOO excited. I've mentioned this before, but every time she sees a present she thinks it's for her. She's spoiled!

Patiently waiting for her stocking

So, it seems that out of all three Christmas celebrations we had there are ONLY pictures of me! So, welcome to The Amanda Show! ;) Sorry about that! Trey was the one with the camera each time and I guess he likes me or something. ;)

Oh, and notice Fiona still trying to get her stocking behind me. Hehe

Awesome camera stuff from my sweet Trey.

Gibson shirt for Trey

Cake pops!

Our traditional stocking stuffer: Toblerone! Yum.

And Reese's Trees.

Our stacks

Finally, Fiona got to open her stocking and presents. You can tell how excited she was by how blurry she is! (Oh, and this post contains pics from my Canon Rebel, Canon Powershot, and iPhone. So, they all vary!)

She really does like clothes.

SO cute in her puffy jacket....:)

And her Christmas dress!

We had a wonderful little Christmas!

The Beginning of Christmas Festivities

2011-12-27T15:04:00.000-06:00

We've had a wonderful Christmas season this year! Of course, I've taken way too many pictures, so there will be several posts for my documenting purposes!

One of my favorite things to do each Christmas season is baking cookies! I love the entire process; baking, decorating, taking pics, and eating them! ;)

This year I went with traditional Christmas colors. I just use Betty Crocker's sugar cookie mix because it's my favorite. But I top them with homemade cream cheese icing! It's the best!

Snowmen, bells, Christmas trees, stockings, gingerbread men and women, and stars!

Our traditional initial cookies! F=Fiona A=Amanda T=Trey

FAT

I also hosted my first Christmas party this year! It was fun! It was just my group of friends. We all brought food, drinks, and we drew names for presents. I only took pictures before everyone arrived, so I don't have pics of all the food, but it was delicious!

Here is the drink set up.

I made cream cheese sausage balls! (Recipe coming soon!) These were FABULOUS! One of my favorite Christmas foods!

And I made bruschetta! Here is the recipe. It's delish.

The last day of school was a fun day for the kids! We started it off making reindeer sandwiches for snack. They LOVED them.

They had fun at our party, too! They decorated cookies, made magic Sprite (candy cane in Sprite and it turns red!), made candy cane ornaments, and Christmas trees out of ice cream cones. We also had a book exchange.

They loved these trees!

After my last day of school (which was Wednesday December 21!!!), we celebrated by enjoying some Christmas lights!

My favorite lights are by Chesapeake Energy. Pictures cannot capture how cool they really are!

They are the most brilliant, bold colors and they change!

You can see behind us in the next two pictures how the lights change colors.

The pink tree is my favorite!

We also enjoyed a delicious dinner at Cheesecake Factory (one of my faves!) and browsing through the new Whole Foods! We just love going to Whole Foods because it's neat. I loved the bathroom. So, I took some pics! :)

See? It's awesome!

A Date and a Visit with Santa Claus

2011-12-19T07:51:00.001-06:00

Trey and I had a date night on Friday to Bricktown. We went to eat at Chelino's. Yum.

Bricktown is so fun and festive right now!

The tree in Bricktown.

On Saturday, I did some Christmas shopping, wrapped presents, and baked cookies, which I'll share soon!

On Sunday, I took Fifi to see Santa Claus! ;) Actually, this was really a Mrs. Claus!

Fiona did so good and looked so cute in her Christmas sweater!

Here is the framed pictured displayed with her other Santa pics!

I bet Santa Claus will be bringing her some goodies for Christmas! She's been a good little doggie!

This week will be a fun, busy week! I have three days of school, which include watching Polar Express and having our school Christmas party. On Monday, I'm hosting a Christmas party at my house for my friends! On Thursday, I have my bunco Christmas party! And then the Christmas festivities begin!

Christmas Home Tour 2011

2011-12-14T23:06:00.001-06:00

I absolutely love decorating for Christmas! My decorations this year are my favorite!

Welcome to our home!

We'll start with our main tree in the living room. I went with a red, green, and leopard theme to go with our Ballard stockings.

Some of my favorite ornaments...

A Jalapeno Cowboy from the Alamo

One of our wedding ornaments

A nod to our cruise ship beginnings...

Another wedding ornament

Bears from Gatlinburg

Another nod to our cruise ship beginnings

Baby Fi on the day we got her! :)

The first ornament Trey and I got together.

Now, for some mantel pics.

I LOVE our (very popular) stockings!

Love my Santa!

Fiona with Santa... I wish I had taken her every year! I'm going to try to take her this year.

I filled my apothecary jars with ornaments and ribbon.

The glittery signs are from Target last year.

The table...

My angel

The foyer might be my favorite! I love this snowman from Pinkitzel! And I just love the simple white, silvery pretties!

And, of course, my PINK tree!!!! My favorite! :) If you're new around here, my birthday is on December 31, so this tree has kind of become my birthday tree! It has all kinds of sweets ornaments!

A for Amanda

My favorite ornament

Love this pink ice cream

My mom gave this to me last year and I think it is SOOO adorable!

My collection of teacher ornaments given to me from students.

The outside! We did lights lining our yard this year and I love it!

It's so much prettier in real life!

The front door

The wreath I made a couple of years ago...Probably will be making a new one for next year.

And the last little touch...some silver sparkly trees in our bedroom.

I hope you enjoyed our Christmas home tour!

Merry Christmas!!!

(Christmases of the past: 2010, 2009, 2008)

Linking here

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-13T21:37:00.000-06:00

Here is our Christmas card for 2011!

This year seems to have flown by and December has been no exception! I planned on getting our Christmas cards ordered the week of Thanksgiving, but then The Great Stomach Flu of 2011 hit our house and those plans were derailed. And every other chance after that, something ELSE came up. So, this past Sunday I was very upset to find that it was raining and we still hadn't gotten a picture. So, my sweet, awesome hubby set up our camera outside, rigged up a light (because it was 4:30 and getting darker by the second), and stood in the freezing cold drizzle to snap around 50 self timed photos with me! Not only did he do that, but he edited it, too, while I was grocery shopping! He is SOOO awesome. So, if Trey hadn't saved the day, we wouldn't have this awesome card or any card for that matter! Now, if only Shutterfly would hurry on its way! (Thank goodness my free code still worked!) Oh, and now I also have a bunch of really awesome photos of us, too! SO happy!

(Fi dog wouldn't really cooperate! So, this is the first year without our little monster on the card! She's a little mad, but I think she'll recover! ;) )

Oh, and here's a look back at our cards from the past...
2010

2009

2008

2007

10 on 10

2011-12-11T17:09:00.000-06:00

Well, this was supposed to 10 on 10, but now it's really 25 on 11! :)

Here's what my 12/10/11 looked like!

It started off with some Couch to 5k on my new treadmill!

Some cheesy, awesome Lifetime Christmas movies! :)

A delicious late lunch from Which Wich. I love this sandwich! It has turkey, pesto, mushrooms, olives, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese! Oh, and salt and vinegar chips. Mmmmm

A little Christmas shopping at Cloverleaf...

I want EVERYTHING in this store. LOVE it.

Getting glammed up for my friend's 30th party 80's style!!!

The birthday girl singing karaoke in her awesome 80's outfit!

Nintendo!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, it was so fun playing Super Mario! I think I need one for myself!

My friends! LOVE them!

Me and the birthday girl! (At the end of the night, so I am looking rough!)

Now, for some bonus pictures!!!

Here I am looking totally rad!

I actually really like this look for myself! Ha! I might continue it! :)

Sonja and her mom singing karaoke

Cheryl and I

Cheryl and Sonja

Kay! Hahahaha! Having fun with the candy cigarettes!

Oh my goodness, it was a FUN night!

My Merry Mantel

2011-12-07T10:03:00.001-06:00

Welcome to my home! As you come in the front door, you can catch a peek of my mantel!

I LOVE my mantel this year! Of course, last year I had my Ballard stockings and I loved them. But this year I wanted to keep with that theme, so I used reds, greens, and leopard to decorate the living room.

I wrapped some canvases with wrapping paper and placed them on the mantel to tie in the colors.

My new favorite thing this year is my gold Santa! I am in love with him! He's the perfect touch to the mantel. I found him at Hobby Lobby.

There are also touches of peppermint swirls and sparkly berries in the garland.

Even the lights follow the theme and are red, white, and green (which also plays homage to our Italian wedding)!

Love, love, love our Ballard stockings! (Even though, it seems EVERYONE has them this year!)

My precious girl! (Yes, this is my puppy's stocking!)

Trey's stocking

It makes me happy!

I love peeking through the kitchen and seeing the sparkles and glow!

Merry Christmas!

Go check our more mantels here!

Tablescape for Christmas

2011-12-05T18:39:00.000-06:00

For my Christmas tablescape, I wanted something simple and traditional, but had a little bit of modern funkiness. When I found the button placemats, I knew they would be perfect!

The Christmas plates are Christopher Radko from Target last year.

I love this reindeer that I found at Hobby Lobby. I didn't know where I would put him when I originally bought it, but it made it's way here and I'm happy with it!

In the end, this tablescape brings something festive to the kitchen and makes me smile!

Enjoy more tablescapes at The Lettered Cottage.

Weekend Happenings

2011-12-04T21:04:00.000-06:00

Breaking Dawn (finally!) and Hideaway Pizza | shopping for an 80's party | yummy Chinese food | Begging Fiona

taking a different route | enjoying the beauty | thankful for weekends

Santa's elf | all lit up | hot chocolate and Dexter

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Holiday Decor

2011-11-30T21:46:00.000-06:00

Just a little peek at my Christmas decor this year! Of course, I will do a much more detailed post later! ;)

Christmas Traditions

2011-11-29T21:46:00.002-06:00

I love traditions for anything, but Christmas traditions are some of my favorite! I hope to add more traditions to our future Christmases, though!

Our tree in 2008

2009

2010

First, I'll talk about some of my traditions with my family when I was little.

-We always decorated for Christmas at Thanksgiving.

-My brother and I would always open one gift on Christmas Eve.

-We would always drive around looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve.

-My mom always had Christmas movies on, too. We always watched Home Alone, Christmas in Connecticut, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, Little Women, All I Want for Christmas (just to name a few!).

-When my brother and I were really little, we would sleep in my bed and talk about how excited we were to wake up in the morning. We always believed we were hearing Santa.

-Again, when we were really little, we would leave cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

-Santa never wrapped his Christmas presents.

-We would wake up early and go get our mom and dad. We opened presents in our pajamas and then ate Christmas lunch.

-After lunch, we would go see a movie.

I have many wonderful memories of past Christmases!

Here are traditions Trey and I have:

-We always get a gingerbread house to decorate, but we only decorated it last year! For several years now, we didn't even open the box. Ha! I plan on decorating one this year, though!

2008

2009

-We always decorate at Thanksgiving! (Either the weekend before or after!)

-Trey got me a pink Christmas tree, so we have two trees. It was our first tree that we owned, so it's special to us! It's now become my birthday tree, since my birthday is New Year's Eve!

the pink tree in 2006

2009

2010

-We usually have "our Christmas" on December 23 or December 24.

-We were engaged on December 24, 2004, so we always celebrate that!

December 24, 2004-just engaged!

-Trey gave me Fiona for Christmas on December 23, 2006 and she is the best gift I have ever and will ever receive!!!

Fiona's first Christmas-2006

-We always make iced sugar cookies on "our Christmas." We always make cookies in the shape of our initials (F, A, T and they unfortunately spell FAT! ha!).

cookies from 2007

cookies from 2008

2009

2010

-We always give each other Toblerone in our stockings.

2008

-We always get something for Fifi and put it in her stocking.

2010

-Since we don't live in the same state as our family, my family usually comes for the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with us.

-We usually go to Trey's family on Christmas day. On Christmas Eve, we usually have appetizers and snacky foods! We have Christmas dinner (turkey, ham, dressing, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, green salad, fruit salad, trifle, pie) and we usually open presents Christmas night. We usually help wrap the presents whenever we get there (usually Christmas Eve night).

Christmas Eve at Trey's family's house

Trey's family's tree in the past

I love our traditions and cannot wait to start more one day as our family grows (in the future)! We love OKC at Christmastime! It's wonderful!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T20:41:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Oklahoma! I am so thankful for my family!

I came down with the stomach flu this past weekend and really haven't eaten since then. So, I was concerned about eating! I wanted Thanksgiving food and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to eat it

(or cook it). But thankfully, I was able to eat some!

We had turkey (I just cooked a breast, instead of a whole turkey.), dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bead casserole, green salad, macaroni and cheese, Sister Schubert rolls, cranberry sauce, and chocolate pecan pie.

We will be having lots of leftovers! They're the best part, anyway! :)

Me and my wonderful, amazing, adorable husband! I love him so much!

My plate- To be honest, I didn't get very far on this! I still don't have much of an appetite.

I gave Fi a little bit of turkey on this plate and was going to take a picture of her with it. The turkey was gone before I could even press the button to take her picture. The girl LOVES turkey.

And I always love comparing pics, so here are our past 6 Thanksgivings! This is actually our 11th (!) Thanksgiving together, but I only have these pics on my computer!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for EVERYTHING I have.

Now, it's on to the Christmas season! :) My house will be Christmas-fied starting tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

2011-11-24T00:38:00.001-06:00

Wow, I haven't been around in awhile! School and illness are to blame! But all is well and I wanted to update my blog for Christmas! It's a very Amanda Christmas, too! :) I seriously want to live in that little pink house in my header!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be back with more! Enjoy your day (and food)!

Fiona's 5th Birthday Party!

2011-11-07T21:52:00.000-06:00

My little sweet girl dog turned FIVE on November 4th! I can't even believe it!

Here we are on her actually birthday!

So, of course, we had a party to celebrate! Yes, I realize that most people consider this crazy. I do not. Fiona absolutely loves it! And I love making her happy!

I decided to make her cake this year! It was fun! It's a peanut butter delight doggie cake. I made them in cupcake tins and then cut the rounded tops off to make a miniature 2 layer cake. The cake texture was a tad crumbly, so it's a little lopsided. But I think she liked it! ;)

I like to throw parties, decorate, bake, and take pictures. Therefore, this post has LOTS of pics!

My mom found these gumballs with Fiona's name on it and sent them to me! :)

Me and the birthday girl in her pink ruffle thermal shirt! hehe

She loved the icing, which shocked me! It was cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

The cake got taken away pretty soon after that! Just a little bit is all she needs!

After cake, it was present time! :)

She got a purple striped fleece jacket for winter and a pink happy birthday elephant!

She is already loving playing with her elephant!

Happy birthday, my sweet Fi!

To see her fourth birthday party, click here!

To see her third birthday party, click here!

To see her second birthday party, click here!

And her first birthday party!

And here she is on her first day with us!

A Cozy Halloween Night

2011-11-01T19:33:00.000-05:00

We had a cozy Halloween night this year. After a long day at work, we were both tired. I picked up a Papa Murphy's Jack-o-lantern pizza for dinner! Too cute! And the Halloween Ghost dropped off some goodies again this year! :)

Halloween Goblets, S'mores, Reeses Pumpkins, and a Greenie for Fi from the Halloween Ghost

I tried to get a picture of Fi in her tutu and me in my zombie shirt. Here are some of the attempts!

Little cutie

Yummy food + Watching New Moon = A Cozy Halloween Night (with only TWO trick or treaters! TWO)

Happy November, now!

Traditions of Halloween

2011-10-30T21:27:00.000-05:00

First-

Happy Halloween from our little Punkin Princess!

AKA-Punk Rock Princess. AKA- I really liked this tutu and black studded collar and didn't know what costume that would be, so we're calling her a punk princess. AKA-totally ridiculous, but cute! ;)

Trey and I had a FABULOUS weekend full of all things Halloween!

We went to Midtown (in the freezing cold) to watch the Halloween parade! We got there after it had started, but we did catch a glimpse of several of the floats.

Some of the floats have bands playing on them.

A lot of the people in the crowd were dressed up, too. This guy was right in front us and he scared me just a little! There was a girl with him who was also dressed up. She was a cat-like thing that was blue and white. Her face paint was incredible, though!

It was freezing outside, but we snapped a pic! After the zombies walked in the parade, we headed to Spaghetti Warehouse!

We love this place so much! (I bet you could've guessed that!)

A lot of the people eating were dressed in costumes. Right after I snapped this pic, a group of zombies sat down at the table next to us!

After we stuffed ourselves with delicious spaghetti and sangria, we continued our tradition of seeing the latest Paranormal Activity. Oh my goodness, this one was terrifying! So, so, so scary! Seriously, we were so scared all night from it!

Of course, I had to include some adorable outtakes from Fiona's Halloween photoshoot (another tradition!).

I started off using the feather trees in the background, but all of a sudden she became terrified of them. Here she is investigating them and becoming scared!

I moved them to the other side, hoping she would look at me. FAIL.

So, the trees were gone, but I got some goofy faces from Fi!

My sweet, sweet girl!

I love her in the little tutu.

Then the fabric started blowing and that scared her to death. She is a big chicken! :)

She really does love getting dressed up! She goes nuts whenever I show her clothes and starts begging to put them on! She's my baby! :)

Halloween weekend=TREATS!

I decided to make these low fat moist chocolate cupcakes from Skinnytaste.

Here are the ingredients you'll need for the cupcakes:

18.25 oz Chocolate fudge cake mix

1 cup canned pumpkin

1.4 oz box of instant Chocolate pudding (sugar free, fat free)

1 1/3 cups water

And for the chocolate glaze:

1 tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2-1 tbsp fat free milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

For cupcakes:

Mix water and pumpkin until blended. Add pudding mix. Combine. Add cake mix and blend for 2 minutes. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

For glaze:

Combine dry ingredients, then add vanilla and milk. Blend until mixed thoroughly. Place in baggie with corner cut to pipe onto cupcakes. Top with sprinkles, if desired.

(3 WW pts + with glaze, 2 WW pts + without glaze)

You guys, they are absolutely delicious! They taste so chocolately and rich! You'll love them!

I am aware that I have some kind of holiday craziness! I can't help it! I love celebrating holidays and keeping traditions!

I loved Target's Halloween plates and napkins this year! Even the cupcake wrappers match! (Makes my heart SO happy!)

Another tradition we have is making homemade chex mix! It is one of my favorite things and I always look forward to it every fall! Here is the recipe, if you'd like it! :)

And it's a tradition to look at Fiona's past costumes! My sweet little pumpkin! hehe

Happy Halloween!

(I'll be back with more Halloween goodies!)

30th Fiesta!

2011-10-24T09:46:00.001-05:00

On Friday night, I went to my friend Keela's 30th birthday fiesta!

Of course, that meant I had to get something to wear! I found this cute sweater at Dillards and I love it!

It was at her in laws' house and they had everything decorated so cute! They even surprised her with a special serenade for the evening! It was too fun!

The centerpieces were adorable!

The birthday girl and her best friend doing some Rihanna karaoke style!

A party is not complete without cake! And it was GOOD!

Keela and I

Keela and one of her friends

My friend Sonja and I

Oh! What Fun!

2011-10-23T13:48:00.000-05:00

Well, if you've read my blog for any length of time at all then you probably know that I am holiday OBSESSED. So, it's only natural that I am already planning our Christmas card. Yes, I realize that it isn't even Halloween yet! Last year, I was so spoiled because I was able to get 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I was super impressed with the quality of the cards (even the envelope was nice)! It was awesome and the card was perfect!

Here's how cute it was (Pink, polka dots, and a monogram?! Yes, please!!):

I got so many great compliments on them!

When I ordered the cards, I also ordered some adorable matching address labels! They are perfect and make my letters even more stylish!

Not only does Shutterfly have AMAZING Christmas cards and address labels, but they have the cutest thank you cards and party invitations. They also have holiday cards and Hanukkah cards! Seriously, they have everything that you could want!

I'm already having a hard time deciding which style I am going to choose this year! Look how cute these are!

There are so many fabulous styles to choose from this year.

If you'd like to register your blog for the chance to win cards, go here!

A Haunted House

2011-10-22T10:06:00.004-05:00

(Well, not really haunted!)

Here are some pictures of my house decorated for Halloween!

I made this decoration for the door. I got everything at Hobby Lobby. I love it so much!!! It all started with those zebra feather spheres. I knew I had to make something with them! So everything else was built around those. I went with a zebra, orange, and purple theme.

I love the pumpkin topiary and the funky gourd.

I love my good ol' owl sign! He's been around for a few years. I just love owls too much.

I love my mantle this year. I found the Halloween banner at Hobby Lobby, too. It's meant to be painted, but I loved the natural look. The mesh is also from HL and the pumpkins are from Target last year. The acorns in the apothecary jar are also from Target.

It's great because it will be simple to adjust this for Thanksgiving.

A few Halloween things on the bookcase...

Love my black glitter pumpkin from Target! And a picture of my Fifi monster when she was a pig!!! ;)

I'm obsessed with these feather trees I got from Hobby Lobby. They go perfectly with my Halloween color theme.

The bowl I've had for a few years, but I don't remember where I got it. Love it, though! I just can't buy any candy yet or it will ALL be gone. I have no self control with that!

I couldn't pass on the spooky, glittery owl from HL. Too fun!

A few Halloween touches in the kitchen...

I made an old fall wreath into my table centerpiece. I added some pumpkins to it and placed it on my cake stand. This way it's easy to move out of the way while we eat.

I'll change it up for Thanksgiving, but this works for now and brings some fall happiness to the kitchen.

A view of the kitchen (and my little monster!).

Happy Halloween!!!!

(If you are curious, here are last year's decorations and the year before and the measly effort when we lived in an apartment ;) )

The Farmer's Market

2011-10-21T14:33:00.001-05:00

The third and final part (here's part one and part two) of the Most Awesome Weekend happened on Sunday.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Cracker Barrel (which we recently discovered that we have one here in OK! I didn't think we had any!). After lunch, we drove to the farmer's market.

We browsed through the flea market building first. So many things to see!

We both really wanted this flashing light. How cool would that be in your house? :)

I love this building SOOO much.

We walked over to look at the pumpkins and mums.

They had a huge variety.

I just love the way they look all stacked up.

It was a fun little trip.

We had such a fabulous fall weekend.

Speak Now

2011-10-19T21:27:00.000-05:00

Also titled: The Most Awesome Weekend: Part 2

So, after we had a wonderful day at the Festival on the Green we headed over to the arena for the Taylor Swift concert!!!! Not only were we going to her concert, but we got to be in the pit!!!!!! The pit is the area right by the stage that you can't buy tickets for. At this show, the stage surrounded the pit because there was a catwalk. It was amazing to be that close. The pictures don't truly show how close we were to the stage.

Needtobreathe opened for her and they were awesome. They are kind of Kings of Leon-ish.

As soon as Needtobreathe went off stage, they drew this huge curtain. Taylor's stage setup was unbelievable. All the details were so neat. Her favorite number is 13, so it was hidden all throughout the stage. The top of the curtain has the Roman numerals for thirteen.

When Taylor appeared, she rose from the spot on the stage where she is standing in this picture.

We were so close I could see the hair on her legs. Not even kidding! ;)

Taylor is absolutely mesmerizing. She's gorgeous in pictures, but when you see her in real life it's almost indescribable. We saw Taylor in Nashville and she had the same effect then. There really is something unique about her.

I loved all of her outfits.

Me in the pit!

I was genuinely shocked at how amazing her singing and guitar playing were all night. She has a bad rap for no reason. She really can sing! We were close enough to tell that it was live.

Her band and dancers were so entertaining, as well.

Taylor's signature symbol-hands shaped into a heart.

So cute

My December-LOVE this song!

The bridge she is standing on dropped down from the ceiling. It was neat.

Each song had an act to go with it. This one was a wedding. I thought the bride's dress was fabulous!

After the wedding scene, she ran down into the pit!!!!! She spoke to me and I got to grab her hand!! And somehow Trey was able to get it on camera! He didn't even realize he did until later. SO cool! So, that's my hand on Taylor's hand! I was shaking from the adrenaline, afterwards. Yes, I am a dork, but I'm telling you she makes you awestruck!

She went to the opposite side of the arena to this revolving tree. It was awesome because no matter where you sat, you got to see her up close!

I loved this dress.

She had acrobats in the show and they were amazing. There were so many things to watch.

My camera battery died on the very last song, so I don't have any pics of it. :(

It was quite possibly the BEST concert I've ever been to! Which is saying a lot, because I've been to quite a few! Though, I don't think I'll ever be able to watch a concert again without being in the pit! ;)

I liked Taylor before this concert. However, I think it's rather obvious that I am now a HUGE Taylor Swift fan and you should be, too!

The Most Awesome Weekend:Part 1

2011-10-16T21:32:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness! This weekend was SO good and SO jam packed with stuff that I'm going to have to break it up into several posts (hence the title ;))! It was SO much fun.

On Friday night, Trey and I headed to Bricktown for the Zombie Walk. We are both wearing our Zombie walk shirts.

We ended up eating dinner in Bricktown and then watching some of the bands that performed. We kind of missed the whole Zombie walking part, but we did see zombies!

On Saturday, we headed back to Bricktown for the Festival on the Green at Myriad Gardens. It was the perfect day to explore the beautiful new gardens. It is the most amazing place.

We started with lunch. I had Italian nachos, which were so good! They are fried pasta with alfredo sauce, olives, peppers, and sausage. Oh, and all drinks at the festival were $1. So, we kept getting Sonic drinks all day long. :)

Trey had a barbecue sandwich and chips.

We found a table by the water and the Crystal bridge. We listened to one of the bands while we ate. This picture shows the stage right across the water. There are several stages at the gardens.

The Crystal Bridge. This place is just too beautiful. I absolutely love living here!

Trey and I on the bridge

Looking the opposite direction from the bridge

The Devon Tower

They had a pumpkin patch set up in one part of the gardens.

And a farmer's market

They have several splash parks throughout, too. This one was so cool. Water came from the top and bottom and it alternated from regular water to mist. It was neat. It'll be perfect for kids someday in the future.

We walked around for awhile, then found a shady spot on a bench to listen to the bands.

This is one of the other stages. It lights up at night.

Another splash area, plus the view of the Devon Tower and the Colcord Hotel.

The Colcord is a beautiful old hotel here. I love the way it looks on the outside.

We walked in the lobby and it was beautiful, too.

And this was just the first part of our Saturday! Saturday night was SOOOO much that it will have to be its own post! Get ready for a million pictures! :)

Happy Things

2011-10-04T15:46:00.000-05:00

I really wasn't going to jump on the planner bandwagon and buy an Erin Condren planner. I really wasn't planning on it (haha). But then I remembered I love to plan. I always have. And I really love CUTE planners. So, when my sweet Twitter friends gave me a discount code, I bit the bullet and ordered my very own Erin Condren planner.

I was so excited when I decided on which cover to get. I haven't seen anyone get this cover and it is, by far, my favorite.

So, despite being home sick again for the second day in a row, I was thrilled when I heard the squeaky brakes of the Fed Ex truck outside my house.

This is what he left on my porch...

Even the box is awesome.

happy dance

I love free things...and labels....:)

LOVE

I am in LOVE with the leopard.

And zebra on the back! That was a pleasant surprise!

Here we go...the beauty continues inside.

stickers

more free goodies :)

Of course, I had to have some awesome pens to grace this awesome planner.

So, needless to say, I think the bajillion pictures prove to you that I love my new planner. I'm so glad I ordered it. :)

While we are on the topic of things I love, I thought I'd throw some more out.

1. Essie nail polish in Master Plan. My new favorite color. Sometimes it's grey, sometimes lavender, sometimes taupe.

2. I'm loving this new scent I got for my Scentsy knockoff from Walmart. It's called Ginger Spice Cake and it makes my house smell like I've been baking the most delicious spice cake. Which is dangerous, because now I crave spice cake. ;)

3. I have been pretty impressed with the new fall shows. So far, my favorites are Revenge, Hart of Dixie, Pan Am, and Up All Night. I also loved The Playboy Club, but I heard someone say it was already canceled. Oh, and I'm afraid Hart of Dixie will be canceled, too. I love Rachel Bilson and Scott Porter (from FNL), but it's a little too fake southern. I still watch it though!

Of course, these are added to my already tight DVR schedule of old shows I love, like: Desperate Housewives, Parenthood, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, The Middle, Gossip Girl, Law and Order: SVU, The Vampire Diaries, and Dexter.

4. Of course, I am thrilled it's October and that means decorating for Halloween and Fall! (Here's a small glimpse. I'll share soon.)

5. Fiona is always too cute, but she was especially cute sunbathing by the window today.

Mutts & Czech

2011-10-02T22:48:00.000-05:00

It's been such a fabulous (three day) weekend for me! After one of the hardest weeks all school year, it was so nice to have Friday off. We had parent teacher conferences on Tuesday and Thursday nights, which means 12 hour days! Plus, I was observed for my teacher evaluation. Everything went great, but it was a long week made even longer because I've been sick for weeks and just can't get well. So, needless to say, sleeping in on Friday morning was much appreciated.

I planned on doing a little shopping for fall decorations and I had a hair appointment scheduled.

Here is a sneak peek at some of things I got for my Halloween decorations. I've already made it and I LOVE it, but I'm not ready to show pics yet! I still have a lot more decorations I want to put out. I feel so behind on this, but the combination of school and being sick hasn't given me energy to decorate. :/

I had such a wonderful day of shopping, enjoying a Chick-fil-a salad, getting my hair highlighted and then I got to have a date night with my amazing hubby.

We decided to try out a new place called Mutts Hot Dogs. It's from the same people as Big Truck Tacos. It was pretty good. A little trendy and overpriced for what it was, but it was a fun date night. I had the Boardwalk Dog with chili, cheese, and onion. Trey had the Pond Dog, which was duck sausage with caramelized onions, apples, and brie.

A pic of my freshly highlighted hair :)

On Saturday, we went to the Czech Festival. We went last year and had so much fun! It just reminds me of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. It's such a neat thing. We watched some of the parade, then went to buy some kolaches. We watched the Czech dancers and listened to the Czech band, while we split a Czech dinner of klobasy, sauerkraut, beans, potatoes, and rye bread. It was a fun afternoon.

We went to mall that afternoon and it was CRAZY busy. We enjoyed walking around and then grabbed some dinner out before heading home to relax.

On a sidenote, there have been so MANY new shows this fall that I love! My DVR is so full. I'm thinking I might have to do a post about my favorite shows! :)

Have a happy week! (It's October! My FAVORITE month.) Now, if only I can get well. I'm thinking a doctor's appointment is in my near future.

Fair Fun

2011-09-25T20:13:00.000-05:00

If you've read my blog for awhile, then you know that I LOVE the fair! To me, it is the signal of fall and all the wonderfulness that is soon to happen. I just love the fair.

The Oklahoma State fair is so good. On Saturday, Trey and I went and of course had a blast.

It was a beautiful (technically) fall day. It was about 85, which was nice, but 75 would have been ideal!

The view when we arrived.

So exciting! We got there around 3 in the afternoon.

I didn't eat anything all day, so I could eat some delicious fair food! YAY!

We both had a corn dog when we first got there. It was technically our lunch. :)

We browsed through the booths set up in the buildings. One booth had this little dough presser-thing, so you could make your own Uncrustables. It was fun to watch the demo, but all it made us want was an apple strudel we had seen earlier! So, we split one and it was goooood.

This fair experience was a little different than previous ones. We did a wine tasting at this booth. It is a new winery in OKC, called Urban. It was fun to taste their wines. They were very unique, too. Usually, I can't tell a big difference in wines, but these were distinct. We ended up taking a bottle home, too.

Later, while we were sharing an Indian Taco, we saw this sea lion show going on. We walked over to watch it and it was extremely fascinating.

I was shocked at how smart they were. If you ever get a chance to watch sea lions, you must! It was fabulous!

I ended up getting a picture with them! I just couldn't resist! They were so cute. They knew to put their heads on you when you posed. The trainer told one of them to kiss me when I got up there. It was so neat. They were SOOOO heavy on my shoulders. That's why I look a little hunched over. (Oh, and this is a picture of a photograph, so it's not the best quality.)

We didn't ride any rides this year, instead we stood and watched people on rides and marveled at how scary they were. Seriously, they all seemed like such a bad idea. It made my heart race just to watch them! And I used to LOVE rides.

They sure are pretty, though.

We realized we hadn't take a pic at the fair, so on the way out we snapped one. Not the best, but it will do for memory's sake!

It was a fabulous fair experience!

Thankful Thursday

2011-09-15T08:03:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for wonderful date nights with my sweet hubby (even if they happened this past weekend and I'm just now blogging it)!

We had a wonderful night in Bricktown, walking by the canals, dining at Spaghetti Warehouse, and satisfying our sweet tooth with some ice cream.

I am so thankful to be living in Oklahoma. I think it is just beautiful and there are so many fun things to do! LOVE it.

This picture is not edited at all. Isn't it crazy looking? It's that amazing Oklahoma sky.

Mmmmm....

So thankful...

Happy Thursday! I cannot WAIT for the weekend! :)

10 on 10: September

2011-09-11T00:15:00.001-05:00

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!
{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

Here are 10 pictures from my day:

I started the day watching Pioneer Woman on Food Network! Love her! I hope they have more episodes.

Part of our lunch: Texas Caviar and Baked Tostitos

Yum

All fixed up now! Ready to leave the house.

We had to stop at the lovely 7 Eleven for some gas for my car.

Trey needed to stop by Guitar Center. So, we spent a couple of hours there. In my 10 years with Trey, I've logged a bunch of hours at Guitar Center. ;)

Then, it was time to get in our car. Just kidding!

When we walked out, we spotted this Lamborghini in the parking lot. We had to take a closer look, as did everyone else that walked by.

We stopped at Dollar Tree for some things I needed for school and then Walmart for groceries, you know the necessities, Diet Coke and Baked Cheetos. :)

We made another stop at 7 Eleven for some movies (Black Swan, Something Borrowed, and Limitless) and we found these yummy pigs (?) in a blanket at Walmart. We decided to have them for dinner! (Only 7 pts+ for 5!)

We watched Black Swan first, which was very interesting. I'm still confused abut some parts!

And we discovered the new Diet Coke can! I love it!

Happy Saturday!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-05T19:39:00.002-05:00

Our Labor Day weekend was wonderful! I definitely needed a little break from school to rest!

Our weekend started on Friday night with a date out to eat. It was yummy, but we were so tired from work that we just went home to relax afterwards. I think I ended up going to bed at 9:30!

Fiona was snuggling between us on the couch and I had to take her picture. She was so sweet and sleepy and cute. I just love her so much.

She knows when I am taking her picture. She stays very still like she knows I want her to!

On Saturday we got a Papa Murphy's pizza and made some chocolate chip cookies and had a date night in. We watched the movie The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. It was a very interesting movie. It was a great day!

Sunday, we didn't do much at all, which was perfect!

On Labor Day, the weather was perfect. Mid 80s! This is so exciting because we've had 58 days of over 100 temps. It has been horrible. It actually felt like fall, which made me thrilled. Me and Fi hung out in the backyard a bit this morning.

Beautiful Oklahoma sky

It was windy!

Fiona was loving it! She just laid herself down and was taking it all in!

CUTEST dog in the world!

Trey and I decided to go to Lake Hefner and have a picnic. It was the perfect weather for it and Lake Hefner is gorgeous!

Here is a very windy pic of us! :)

Our view while we ate

We picked up City Bites on the way for our lunch.

Their cookies are the best, especially the birthday cookie, which is my favorite!

It was so peaceful.

Maybe one day we'll have a boat...

The water is so low due to the extreme heat, but it was still beautiful.

I love the lighthouse. It makes me feel like I'm in Nantucket.

So pretty

We really enjoyed ourselves. And I can't wait to do this more often now that fall is coming!

One of the restaurants on the lake and more boats.

You can see the line on the rocks that shows how high the water usually is. It is VERY low right now.

We had a wonderful, peaceful Labor day!

We ended it by going to the best grocery store. It almost felt like a Kroger! It's sad how exciting that was to me! :)

Oh, and I've been meaning to get a pic of this. There is a cow pasture at the entrance of our neighborhood and it is covered in PRAIRIE DOGS! I couldn't believe it the first time I saw them. They don't have prairie dogs in Tennessee or Mississippi. They are really cute and somewhat remind me of Fiona! There are tons of them, though and they have little mounds of dirt from their digging that they stand on. This is the best pic I could get!

This week will be pretty fast for me because tomorrow is a professional development day. So, I only have to teach for three days! Then, it's weekend time! WOOHOO! Have a great week!

My Accent Vlog

2011-09-03T15:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know some people get easily annoyed when bloggers jump on a bandwagon, but sometimes things are just too neat to pass up! The accent vlog is so interesting to me, so I had to do it, too! I love being able to hear my blog friends' voices. So, here is my vlog! (I say this in the video, but my voice is hoarse right now, so it sounds a little deeper than usual.)

You should make a vlog, too!

Here are the instructions:

Say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting Image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

Answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you say to address a group of people?

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

If you've done this vlog, let me know! I'd love to watch it!

Happy Weekend!

Not Much

2011-08-28T21:39:00.000-05:00

I don't have much to say. All teachers know how the beginning of school is! It consumes you! But thankfully, I survived the first seven days of school! Now, if it could just be October. October always seems to be the magical month where things start to slow down and get easier. Plus, it will be fall! Can't wait for that!

I did redesign my blog! And, of course, I love it!

I also redid my recipe blog. I definitely need to post new recipes soon. You would be ashamed to know how much we've eaten out the last two weeks (But surprisingly I still lost a bunch of weight! That tells you how hard I've been working at school!).

I hope everyone has a fabulous week! Hopefully, I'll be back soon with something interesting! :)

Updated Post and Teaching Blog

2011-08-20T22:22:00.000-05:00

Somehow, when I edited my classroom post, I accidentally deleted a portion of it! So, I updated it with the missing pics. Make sure to check it out.

Also in the deleted portion was the part about my new teaching blog! I started a teaching blog called Hugs and Bubbles. It has pictures of all my classrooms throughout the years. I also hope to post lesson ideas and activities that I do in my classroom throughout the year. Make sure and go follow over there!

Thanks for all the comments! I love reading them! :)

My Kindergarten Classroom

2011-08-17T21:51:00.003-05:00

Finally, here are pics of my classroom! Yay!

I have been working so hard to get everything ready and school finally starts tomorrow!

I love my classroom this year. This is my sixth year to teach and this just might be my favorite. I love classrooms that aren't overstimulating and cluttered. So, for me arrangment of furniture and materials is key. I like to display works on my shelves in a beautiful and appealing way, not just to store them. Yes, this requires extra organization, but it benefits the children so much!

I also love to use black butcher paper on my bulletin boards. I think they help the room to feel calm, plus they showcase work so wonderfully. The focus is on the work, instead of the bulletin board. Plus, on the practical side, anything goes with it, so you don't have to change it!

So, here is my room!

Looking towards the word wall

Looking at the door and mailboxes

word wall and classroom library

a little nook for reading

I am doing the daily five this year, so I wanted areas around the room for kids to get comfy and read!

Looking at Calendar wall and math tubs

Word Work shelves

I incorporate a lot of Montessori works. On these shelves I have sandpaper letters and a movable alphabet. I also display things in a Montessori manner, with the use of trays.

Other side of Word Work.

The yellow boxes in the cubbies are their book boxes. I got them at Dollar Tree last year.

Another comfy spot to read

Math area: right now I have puzzles for the beginning of the year and Montessori style math works that will eventually be introduced and will change throughout the year as children master the works. Also, blocks are behind this shelf.

Listening center and overhead. Also, I made the color polka dots and hung them with magnets, so the kids can take them down. I'll probably move them lower as we learn them.

computers

Dramatic Play

I love my curtains! I made the polka dot ones last year and the stripes were left by my friend who used to be in this room. They match the room perfectly! And they let in a lot of sunlight! I have to have that! :)

the kitchen

I scored this table for THIRTEEN dollars at Hobby Lobby! I am in love with it!

dramatic play materials

I don't use fake food, instead I use rocks, stones, jewels, pom poms, foam strips, and strips of Brillo pads. This way the child can be free to use their imagination as they play, instead of being forced to use items that have pre-assigned identities. The kids love it and I love it!

The cute hut my mom got for me last year at Pottery Barn Kids Outlet.

Looking at the room from dramatic play

writing table

Maybe my favorite part; the art shelf. I ordered the buckets from Oriental Trading. I got the larger ones for markers and mini ones for crayons. I love storing my crayons and markers this way instead of using totes on their tables. I've found they take better care of the materials if they are stored this way. Plus, it allows for more movement around the room. 5 year olds need to move! I also have tracing, play doh, and cutting exercises for the beginning of the year.

a closer look

looking at Word Work again

The first week of school we talk about our hopes and dreams for the year. Then each child gets to explore watercolors by painting a die cut t-shirt. Then, we take their picture and attach their face to the shirts. We record their hopes and dreams and print them on speech bubbles that come out of their picture. It turns out so cute and the kids love it! I'll share a pic when it's done.

Math tubs

I love these tubs! I got them at Walmart and they are perfect for this. They have clear tops and snapping handles. The plastic is really thick and sturdy, too.

Oh, and here's the cute purple zebra rug I got at Ross!

Another full view

circle time area, calendar wall, and chart for morning meeting

Love the rug my mom got me last year! :) It even has polka dots!

My daily five area.

There is a bucket you can kind of see in the bottom of the pic that has black and white circle die cuts attached to popsicle sticks. These will have their names on them. After daily five is introduced, the kids will choose what they'd like to work on. To choose, they will put their popsicle stick in the pocket under the corresponding picture. I'll also record this on a check in sheet.

The poster above that will be the job chart. We will discuss jobs together. Then, each child will have a clothespin with their names and it will be clipped next to their job.

Word wall-I put magnets on all of the words, so the kids can take them off and bring them to their work.

classroom library

You'll also notice the rolled up rugs in baskets. I use these just like in a Montessori classroom. All floor work is put on these rugs. It works so well! I got these at Dollar Tree.

Bins are from Big Lots, Target, Walmart, and Dollar Tree

The cups will hold pencils.

The reading nook with the other rug from Ross. The study pillows are from Big Lots a couple of years ago.

A blurry pic of their mailboxes.

My adorable clock from Hobby Lobby.

The zebra bag is the snack bag. Each month, I make a calendar for snack. The day before the child is supposed to bring snack, they will take the snack bag home. This serves as a reminder to bring snack and helps them carry it in! I've always used a bucket in the past, but I saw these cute reusable bags at Hobby Lobby, so I decided to give it a try! The cute hanging tote is from there, too.

calendar wall

Books I'll read on the first day.

I laminate my calendar cut outs and have the helper write the date with an expo marker, that way it can be erased.

Looking out from the calendar area.

This is the snack table and shelf. Each child has their name on a popsicle stick (in the purple bucket) and when they come to snack they get it and move it to the blue bucket, so I know who has had snack. When a child wants to come to snack (during stations), they will look for a necklace in the bowl. If they see one, they can come. They will wear the necklace while eating snack. This will let other children know that snack is full. When they are finished, they return it to the bowl. Also, the marker board will show how much snack they can get. I write it and draw it out. This way snack becomes a work, too! You'll also see a necklace on the door. When it's vacant, there is a necklace on the knob. When they go in, they either put it on or hang it on the doorknob. This tells kids if it is available.

The view from my small group table.

looking to the right

and the left

My teacher station with everything laid out for the first day.

The cute new sign I made and our owls. All the kindergarten classes have the owls with the kids' names on them. I made the trees! ;)

Thumbs up for it being finished!

I hope you enjoyed the tour! Now, the year begins! :)

(Go check out my new teaching blog, Hugs and Bubbles!)

Last Summer Weekend

2011-08-14T10:07:00.001-05:00

Well, this is my last weekend of the summer! School starts this week! Crazy!

We've had a good weekend, though! We had a fun date night to a new restaurant.

Our traditional pic before leaving...

We went to a place called Humble Pie! I was so excited!

They serve traditional Chicago-style deep dish pizza! One of Trey's friends said it was just like the real deal in Chicago. We were pretty happy when this came out. Oh, goodness!

Look at that deep dish! Y'all, it was so freakin' good! Rich as heck, but good! It tasted like a cheese pie. And I like cheese pie. :)

They also have New York Style pizza that we will have to try at some point, but the Chicago deep dish was AH-MAZING.

We also went to see The Help! I loved the book so much, so I was excited to see the movie. We lived in Jackson, MS for seven years, so it was interesting to see a movie about it and shot there. I think everyone needs to see this movie.

We saw The Help at the AMC theatre in the mall for the first time and it was the best theatre I've ever been to. It was so fun! Plus, I got to shop when I was finished.

(Where I got jeans 4 sizes smaller than what I wore in January! And some cute Forever 21 shirts!)

I had to include pictures of my little munchkin! She loves to sunbathe and she loves to make me feel guilty when we are about to leave! She was for sure putting on a show! And it was cute! :)

Have a great week! Oh, and classroom pics are coming! My classroom is SOOO cute this year! Can't wait to show y'all!