Surprise from Friends!

When Jordan and I were still living in Idaho we were super close with his old roommates. We moved to Texas in December of 2011 and so we left all the boys behind to fend for themselves in the barren wasteland that Idaho is. Anyways...last summer one of his old roommates, Todd, got married to a really cool chick named Brooke. We weren't able to go to the wedding, but it was the one on TLC with all the siblings getting married on the same day.

So I'm sitting on the couch a few weeks ago and I hear a knock knock knock on the door and I open it to find Todd and Brooke standing outside! I was so surprised! They were driving/moving from Arizona to the East Coast and they were driving through Texas and decided to "swing by" and visit us! How insane is that?! Jordan got home from work shortly after they got there and it was so nice to finally meet Brooke and catch up with Todd! They stayed for about 20-30 minutes and then they were off again on their one-way road trip to the East Coast.

It was so so good to see them! P.S. pay no mind my grubbiness please!

Valentine's Day...the day of love!

Jordan and I have never really celebrated Valentine's Day really big, mostly because he is forgetful and I do "lovey" stuff for him all the time, but this year I wanted to surprise him with something special. I started thinking about what I was going to do for him at the beginning of the month. Should I give him a candy bar poster? Should I write him a note with something special about him for every letter of the alphabet? Should I buy him some kind of food and use a catchy phrase? No. No. No. I figured I didn't want to put a ton of time into something for him to appreciate it for 5 minutes. So with that in mind this is what I came up with.

Who doesn't like seeing a trail of rose petals...even if they are from the dollar store?!

A love note for my man.

Little "coupons" for him to use at his discretion. Get your mind out of the gutter!

Our newest family picture and some of his favorite candies.

And lastly a candlelit dinner with special Valentine's Day muddy buddies and Italian sodas for dessert while we watched Taken 2 (super romantic movie...not).

This was nothing big, but I definitely surprised him and we did enjoy the evening together. It is the small things in life that make us happy! Although I think Valentine's Day is a sham, we did do a little celebrating in honor of us. We have been through so much recently and we just needed a moment to realize that we love each other and no matter what happens our love will endure.

Paper Rosette Tutorial

I recently posted a picture of my most recent craft project...my Valentine's Day wreath! There was a ton of interest in it and so I figured I'd repost the tutorial in case any of my readers wanted to also make a Valentine's Day wreath similar.

 

HERE is the complete tutorial that I found. It is very thorough and I found it easy to follow.

I did a few things differently than she did.

1) I accidentally bought a foam ring with a 14 in. diameter instead of a 12 in. diameter and that is why my wreath doesn't look quite as full as hers, but if you want to add a banner or some kind of something else the 14 in. is perfect.

2) She used a spray adhesive to apply glitter all over...I used modge podge and applied it to individual rosettes and then dipped the flower edges in glitter. Total creative freedom here, glitter all over, glitter here and there, or none at all....your call!

3) She did not do any extras, like I did with the LOVE banner. Honestly, I was going to stop with the rosettes, but once I was done I didn't think it looked full and I was scrambling to find something else. I was inspired to do the banner by this tutorial. I liked the banner, but I just didn't have the desire to go back out to the store to get some felt and blah blah blah, so I took a look in my collection of craft supplies and pulled out my white burlap (from a lamp shade I made), my reliable old puffy paint, and some old yarn (from a failed scarf attempt)...I would have liked to use twine, but I didn't have any. I opened a Word document and typed up LOVE, large print, basic font, and printed. I measured my burlap based on the size of the letters, leaving a little extra on top to be able to fold over the yarn and hot glue. I put the burlap over the printed letters and, since the burlap is semi-see-through, traced the letters with my puffy paint, let dry. Then I took each letter and, like I mentioned earlier, made a little fold of the burlap, placed the yarn in the crook of the fold, and glued the edges down to hold the burlap in place. Repeat for all the letters. Then I measured the yarn to the wreath and glued.

I'm not good at explaining myself, so I hope that wasn't confusing....it was easy for me, but I know some people have a harder time at conceptualizing things without pictures. Maybe one day I'll try my hand at a real tutorial.

Some advice I would give when you are crafting though....let the supplies that you already have inspire you. You bought each of those items with a purpose and because you liked them. You spent 30 minutes in the ribbon isle because you wanted the perfect color ribbon, you looked at at least 100 panels of fabric for just the right color scheme, and you certainly didn't just pick your craft tutorial willy nilly. For example, the white burlap I used for my lamp...yeah, I've used it for about 3 or 4 other projects. Anyways...the point is, let yourself use what you know you already like and go from there. Don't be upset if something goes wrong, unless it is with paper...then you're done for. Haha! Be inspired and just go with it!

Happy crafting!

Running? Yoga?

I've been wanting to start a running regimen and yoga too. Have I gone crazy?

After much consideration and research I have decided upon a short running routine:



I am no runner, in fact I hate it....mostly because I have a bad knee....but I'm going to give it a whirl. In addition to running, yoga also has always attracted me. I have chosen a DVD called Ashtanga Yoga-Beginners. I've done yoga before, but never been serious about it, but I'm gunna get serious about it.

My goal is to lose 15 pounds and be lookin extra great for our trip to Florida and the Bahamas!

Recent Events

I feel like I need to write about recent events and address them in order to help myself move forward in a positive way.

It has been one week since I found out that I had had a miscarriage. Since then I have done a lot of searching. Searching for the Lord, searching for my happiness, searching for myself. I retreated back to some old habits, reaching for my headphones, reaching for my most prized music collection, reaching for my notebook, reaching deep within myself to somehow find a way to make sense of everything and allow it to be okay. This was such a raw, emotional, and personal experience and yet in one week I've had more people reach out to me and share their similar experiences. I had no idea, and as hard as it sounds all these women have regained and even built their strength, confidence, faith, and courage. I am not alone in my experience and loss and I am so grateful for those the Lord has surrounded me with to comfort, love, and support me.

Although I lost something very precious, I also gained something very precious that you don't come by very often: perspective.

No one could have predicted this and I don't blame myself for what happened. I know that I am on a path set by God, I have no idea where I'm going, only that I am headed in the direction He would have me go.

Sad News

I am sorry to say that Jordan and I are no longer expecting a little one. For some reason, our little baby's body was not strong enough to continue living and growing. This has been a very sad and very emotional time for us and we are trying to come to grips with our new reality. Although this moment in our lives is something to grieve I know that things will be okay. I know the Lord surrounds us with His love and that our baby is safely in His care.

We are so grateful for the love and support of our family and friends. 

My Favorites: Volume II

Last time I did my post on bathroom stuff/beauty care products, this time we are going to focus on kitchen stuff! I'm really really excited for this one because I am all for making life easier and sometimes you just need a little outside help!

Kitchen Products:

1. Tongs


My mom bought me a pair of these for my birthday back in October and, I kid you not, I use them for most of the meals I cook! They are good for flipping meat, picking up noodles, tossing salads, and any number of additional things. If you do not have a good pair or any pair of tongs in your arsenal of kitchen utensils.....you must spend the $4-5 a pair at any grocery store, Walmart, Target, Ross...any will do. One suggestion, if you can find a pair with a self-locking mechanism I'd go with those over the manual locking system.

2. Reynolds Crock Pot Liners

 

These liners are miracles. I really like using my crock pot, but the clean up takes forever and I hate hate hate cleaning my crock pot! I saw an ad for these in a magazine and instantly thought there were genius and my next trip to the store I picked up two boxes of these babies! I think I paid $2-3 per box and I got them at Target, but I'm sure you can find them at Walmart or most grocery stores. You can thank me later ladies and gents!

3. Garlic Press



In addition to getting a pair of tongs for my birthday, I also got a garlic press. I love garlic and think it adds just the oomph to almost any dish, but I used to scrimp on it because 1) I hate the way it made my hands smell and 2) it took forever to take it out of it shell thingy or husk for lack of a better word and I don't want to take 10 minutes to clean and cut a few cloves or garlic. With your garlic press you pop in the clove, husk and all, and clamp down and you're done. This is a food specific product, but I think it is a huge time saver, and that, for me, is more important than taking up a little drawer space. There are lots of different makes and models to this product so go out and find one you like, that is comfortable in your hand. These are pretty cheap and, again, can be found at any grocery store.

4. Bread Machine




All growing up I had a bread machine and I just LOVED making bread with my dad on Saturday mornings. Once I got married and saw how expensive bread was/is I longed for a bread machine. A few months later, Jordan's grandma gifted her bread machine to us, and still to this day it is one of the best gifts I've ever gotten. Now if you don't have a grandma that is willing to gift you her bread machine, it is a little bit of an investment, but it does pay for itself within a few months if used regularly. If you are thinking to yourself, "Lexi, I don't have time to make bread and even if I did I have no idea how to use the machine or make the bread!" I'm here to tell you, a bread machine is the easiest machine to use ever. You pick a recipe, put all the ingredients in the bread pan (you don't even have to mix them), press a couple buttons, and walk away! There are things you'll learn as you go, but for the most part you'll be pleasantly surprised. There are lots of different brands and styles of bread makers, but if you go to Amazon and do some research (aka read some reviews) you can get a really good idea of what machine to buy. As with anything, you can stay on the cheaper side or you can go really expensive for the best brand out there...it is all up to you and what you want. Oh, I just wanted to put this in there....you can buy a loaf of bread for between $1.50 and $3 typically, but you can make a loaf of bread for about...meh $0.25-0.75 cents depending on what kind of bread you want.

5. Squish Bowls



Okay, so this is more of a wish for me, but a recommendation nonetheless! These bowls are SO COOL! They have different sized bowls, measuring cups,measuring spoon, colanders, etc. They are collapsible for easy storage, dishwasher safe, and even fun for adults! If you have not seen these, wander on over to your nearest Target or Bed, Bath & Beyond, check them out and buy me one! Just kidding, but they are pretty cool, especially if your family is big on camping...great product! It depends on the size and product you want but they run from $4.99-$19.99.

Those are my favorites for the kitchen, but I'd love to hear your favorites!!