12 Days of Christmas {Day 1}

Hey y'all! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, I know I did! It was so great to spend some quality time with my best friend - just hang out, relax, and eat lots of food! Hah. It also made me realize I need to carve out more time to go visit, I've missed girl time so much!

Hopefully I'll get some time over the break to upload some pictures and give a better recap, but for now I'll be joining in on the fun going on at Aly's Analyze This. Yes, dear friends, I know it's not yet Thanksgiving butI'm so overcome with Christmas spirit (and so are quite a few of you, haha!) that I've decided to do the 12 Days of Christmas blogging challenge!

Here we go....! :)

{Day 1} Christmas/Holiday Traditions

This year will be a year of new traditions! But before I get to those, some that I'll be keeping from my childhood are:

• Having Christmas with my mom's side of the family the day after Christmas and eating Mexican food - yumm!


• Having a "traditional meal" (and by that I mean turkey, ham, and the fixin's) with my dad's side on Christmas day


• Watching the Santa Clause trilogy...probably numerous times

Now, this is our (mine & Spencer's) first Christmas together, so we're having to make compromises and try to arrange the best schedule for everyone - no easy feat. But so far I think we've come up with a good plan that will last through the years :)

• Jam out to wonderful Christmas songs and decorate our humble abode. (<-- We're doing this TONIGHT!!)



{via weheartit.com}
and I wish our house would look like this!
A girl can dream...

• Taking Christmas photos and sending out Christmas cards.


• Have our own "family" (me, S, and our 2 pups) Christmas in our home before we head out of town to our parents homes. I also would like to start reading The Christmas Story together and create a new tradition :)


• Spend the 23rd with S's family and go look at Christmas lights and then go to dinner.


• Spend Christmas Eve with my family and do our small family celebration (this year we'll be going to see The Nutcracker at the Houston Ballet, soo excited!)


• And then pick back up from my childhood Christmas traditions :)
  

So it's nothing too terribly excited but it's me :) I'm sure as the years go by we'll add some here and there but for now that's about it. I can't wait to read about y'alls and get some new ideas!

Hope everyone has a superb week!!

Fill-In-The-Blank Friday and I'm off!

Oh it's Friday! YAY! :) I'm feeling like some fun so I'm linking up with Lauren over at The Little Things We Do... If you wanna join the fun, head on over and link up! I'm also taking a half-day at work today and heading to see my BFF after lunch - SOOOooo excited! It's time for a break! And speaking of breaks, Thanksgiving break is next week! So in the spirit of the holiday here is a Thanksgiving themed Fill-In-The-Blank....woohoo :)



1. My Thanksgiving plans this year will include cooking my first turkey! Whoa! Let's hope it turns out well because I'll be having dinner with my fiance, future-in-laws, future brother-in-laws (two of them), and their grandparents. Anyone else feel the pressure? Haha, also, any and all turkey tips will be appreciated very much :)


2. My favorite Thanksgiving was hhmmmm... I really like every Thanksgiving, not sure if I have a favorite. I'm just thankful to spend time with my family :) .


3. My signature Thanksgiving dish is cream cheese and pumpkin layered pie. Soo delicious! It's my momma's recipe and I think it's the only kind of pumpkin pie I've ever eaten. I also make some killer sweet rice, candied yams, and green bean casserole. But I'm looking to branch out and try some new things....like a turkey, hah! :/


4. My favorite Thanksgiving food is candied yams and sweet rice. And dinner rolls. And pumpkin pie. So basically carbs. Hah.


5. Thanksgiving free association! Turkey, cranberry sauce (the canned kind with the lines), pumpkin pie, yams, potatoes, family, football, blessings, Addam's Family movie (weird, I know...), shopping (Black Friday anyone?), and putting Christmas decorations up :) .


6. Thansgiving is wonderful! I love the food and family time, plus it's a sign that Christmas is just around the corner. And bonus that there's no school for both, hehe :) .


7. I am thankful for my family. Both my biological family and the amazing family I will be marrying into. An amazing and ever loving fiance. Four hilarious brothers. Wonderful and supportive parents. Crazy, silly puppies. My BFF Jennie and the special "sister" bond we have. A merciful and loving Father who pours out His love for me everyday and directs my life. And lastly, my students. They may drive me bananas 99% of the time but they are all so unique and full of life and I just love them. They put things in perspective for me and help me work on my patience, love, and mercy which I try to show them everyday :).

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'm off and will hopefully have lots of pictures for you on Monday... Ciao bellas!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Hey y'all! It's been a while and I've missed you so! :) So here is what I'm loving this wonderful Wednesday...:

{one} That I'm back! I started my first year of teaching and coaching in August and have been MIA since! I was so busy that something had to give, and sadly it was blogging :( womp, womp. But now I've gotten things smoothed out enough and have myself into a little routine that I'm able to get back to blogging - yay! :)

{two} Cardigans/Wraps/Cover-ups. I'm able to pull off many different looks (which is great on a teacher's salary) and stay cozy in this cool weather with these lovelies.

{three} Sweaterdresses and leggings. My new fave combo! Comfy and classy! LOVE IT!

{both via Victoria's Secret}

{four} Our Save-The-Dates arrive today!! I can't wait to get off work to rush home and see them! Eek!

{five} Tomorrow is my BFF Jennie's birthday...AND I get to go see her on Friday and spend a whole weekend with her! Sooooo happy! :):):):)

{six} This wonderful fall/winter-ish weather. Dressing warm, being cozy, and eating lots of soups/chilis/warm meals in general makes me (and my tummy) happy.

{via weheartit.com}

{seven} This song by JJ Heller - "What Love Really Means". I heard it this morning on KLOVE and fell head over heels for it immediately.

Can't wait to see what everyone else is loving today!

Forever After Friday

It's that moment we've all been waiting for...

ENGAGEMENT PICTURES!!!!

Leah with LKM Photography posted them today on her blog! I am in love! She is such an amazing and talented photographer; and was such fun and a pleasure to work with - I couldn't have asked for anything more :) Thank you so much Leah for all of your wonderful work!!

And thank you to my phenomenal fiance Spencer for not only being the love of my life and soulmate, but also for being who he is. We had so much fun during our shoot and together we can't help but be silly and make puppy eyes at eachother, hah :) Thank you, babe, for just being you! I love you!

Want to see more? Go here! And please leave a comment on her blog if you feel so inclined to do so (if I get 10 comments I get a free 8x10 print!).

Thanks y'all!! :):):):)

ABC's

I'm being a follower today and jumping on the ABC bandwagon, it looks like fun and I have some time, so why not? :)

A- My AIR CONDITIONER is set on: 68 at night, 73 during the day while we're at work.

B- My BEDROOM theme is: ....we have no theme right now, haha. The bedroom is a work in progress. I found my dream sheets though; they're cream, blue, and brown - so we'll probably use those colors and create a theme around them...eventually :)

C- The CAR in the driveway is: no driveway, we live in an apartment. But we have a Jeep Compass and a Toyota Tundra.

D- My DESK looks: ...what desk? Haha, our dining table doubles as my desk right now.

E- The EXACT time I wake up daily is: it's varied, but now with school stuff starting soon, it'll probably be 6 a.m. - yikes!

F- The FIRST thing I wash in the shower is: my face. It just feels so dirty at the end of the day and it feels amazing to get it clean. I love my St. Ive's Apricot Scrub, makes me feel like a million bucks everyday :)

G- My GARAGE is filled with: boxes and furniture that won't fit in our lil' apartment.

H- My HOUSE is: non-existent. It's apartment living for us for a little while longer. We're hoping to move into a rent house in the fall though.

I- If you peeked INSIDE my bedroom you'd see: not too much, like I said, work in progress.

J- My favorite JUICE is: sugar-free white grape peach juice, soooo goooood!! It makes me feel like a little kid again :)

K- The best part of my KITCHEN is: the appliances, they're all new

L- The LAST person who visited my home was: my daddy.

M- The last piece of MAIL for me was: a card and pictures from my BFF Jennie and a daily devotional Bible from my aunt

N- My NEIGHBORS think I'm: .....not sure. I haven't really talked to any of them, but hopefully they think I'm nice

O- If you OPENED my fridge you'd see: dirty and sparse shelves... I need to clean it and we need to go to the grocery store.

P- My last house PARTY was: never. We haven't had one...don't really have the space for one either :( I love throwing parties, but maybe when we get a house we can do a few

Q- A QUICK meal I like to fix is: any type of grilled chicken with veggies or marinated pork chops.

R- My favorite ROOM of the house is: the living room - comfy couches that are very conducive for lots of cuddling and movie watching.

S- The SHAMPOO brand I use: is Aveeno right now, I just switched from Purology (great stuff, but expensive!)

T- My largest TELEVISION is: in the living room.

U- UNDER my bed you will find: more of Spencer's guitars and occasionally little TazTaz, it's where he likes to sleep

V- The last time I VACUUMED was: not sure, Spencer did it when I went to Lubbock a while back

W- Looking out my WINDOW I see: parking for our building and the one across from us.

X- I wish I had X-TRA: money and time.... Don't we all? Haha

Y- My YARD is: also non-existent.

Z- ZZZZZZZ My bedtime is: after 10:30 and usually close to 11:30, but with school coming up it's going to have to change - probably to between 9:30-10.


And I know so many of y'all are anxious for some engagement pictures but she hasn't posted any yet :( Sad day, but don't you worry, as soon as some (or even one!) is, I'll be sure to post it.

Have a good night lovelies :)

Tuesday TidBits

I missed Miscellany Monday (boo!), and with as much as I enjoy randomness I thought I'd share some today :) You are welcome! ;)

{1} I bought the perfect lipstick on Sunday. I needed some red lipstick for our engagement pictures that night and am terrible at picking out the right shade. Seriously, I always manage to get shades that either make me look like I should be standing on a street corner or that make me look like an oompa loompa. Always too red or too orange. So I enlisted the help of professionals. I went to Ulta and got some advice from the very nice and totally knowledgeable make up artist. He picked out a few shades and we tried them out, and one looked pretty good. But then he said he wanted to try something. This made me nervous. However my fear was unnecessary; he got a nude lip primer and plumper and put it on first, then applied the shade of red that we liked best (it's called Redwood from Studio Gear) and boy did it make a difference! The nude base really brought out the true color of the lipstick and it vibed with my skin tone. Yay! I felt like such an adult buying my first "real" lipstick and primer. I've even sported the lipstick to work the past 2 days, I feel so sophisticated, haha.

{2} Speaking of engagement pictures, our photog called today and said she should hopefully have some up tonight! I certainly hope so! Keeping my fingers crossed...

{3} And speaking of work, today was my last day at my Admin Assistant job. It was bittersweet. I really like my boss and enjoyed learning so much about an industry I wasn't familiar with, but part-time was not working out and it wasn't something I was super passionate about. This is a positive change with so many more opportunities, but I will always appreciate my first taste of the working world.

{4} You know how Spencer was gone all last week? Well, now I'll be gone for a week. Bummer. I leave tomorrow for good ol' Houston. I'm excited because I get to see my good friend Taylor and look at some bridesmaids dresses and check out my hopeful venue. It has everything I envision for our wedding, let's hope it's as good in person as it is in pictures. I also get to see my future in-laws and they get to meet my mother. But on the not-bright side, I will not see the love of my life for 7 days and it makes me sad :(

Well, that's all for today - hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Ohh Today...

Well it's been another one of those weeks. Or months. I feel pretty awful for not posting in so long but really I had no desire to last week, it was a rough one. My wonderful fiance was out of town aaallllllllll week. So I was home alone and it was no fun :( So I was sad and pouty and didn't dare try to do a post with that sour puss attitude. Although my BFF Jennie did make the 2 hour trip to come spend a few days with me which definitely brightened my mood and made me happy! She really is the best friend a girl could ask for, such a blessing. And on Monday a young woman in my church passed away from a boating accident and it took a big toll on me. So between Spence being gone and that terrible news I was a mopey Molly - again, Thank God Jennie came down to visit me! It made a pretty terrible week bearable.

Spencer got back on Friday so I've been spending every second with him and haven't even thought to jump on the computer til now (he's napping...otherwise I'd probably still be putting thing off, haha).

So two exciting things....:

{1.} We're taking our engagement pictures tonight!! AAHH!! So excited!! Right now I'm letting my hair air dry and just finished painting my toe nails...then it's on to hair and make-up! The weather outside is absolutely delightful - okay, right now it's actually a little hot (91 degrees...) but it should be cool(er) by the time we take our pictures - and it should be a gorgeous West Texas sunset - Yay! :)

{2.} Remember the "Big News" I had talked about...ohh...two weeks ago or so (I know, I'm terrible - please forgive me!)? Well, here it is: I GOT MY FIRST JOB!! Let me clarify, I've been working since I was 15, all part-time jobs, most of them waitressing; I graduated from college last May and found it basically impossible to get a full-time "real" job (thank you stinky economy); I've been working as a part-time Administrative Assistant for the past 6 months and have been applying and interviewing for full-time positions since I moved back in October. So I am super stoked I have finally gotten a full-time gig. Perserverence paid off.

So what is it, you ask? I'll be teaching 8th grade Social Studies and coaching volleyball and track at one of the junior highs!! I can't believe it and am ecstatic about it!! I'm also pretty nervous. It is my first job, and not just first "real" job, but also my first teaching job. Sure I've taught Sunday school (to 2 and 3 year olds...) and have volunteered with 7th and 8th grade youth groups the past few years, but this is a whole new ball game. I can't wait to get in there though. I'm ready for this new adventure and I get to do something I'm passionate about: Making a difference in a child's life. Woo-hoo! :)

Well that's all for now, hope everyone has an amazing Sunday!!