Homemade Christmas

Have you ever noticed how much you spend when shopping for Christmas gifts for everyone? Well I added it up last year and oh man does it add up really fast. With the wedding coming up and this new chapter in my life, I have been trying to save a little here and there. This of course means less shopping :( I can be pretty crafty when I put my mind to it, so this year I decided why not just make everyone's Christmas gifts. This will allow me a) to save money b)personalize everyone's gifts to make it extra special and c) get the craft itch out of my system for a while. I have started by making a list of everyone who I will be giving gifts to and trying to think what would suit them. In the next few weeks, I will be hitting up Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Hancock Fabric's. Between all of these stores I am sure to find something special to make for everyone :) I personally think the homemade gifts require more thought than just going and buying a gift. Here's to hopefully saving some money this Christmas and sharing my love with others. Do you do anything special, out of the ordinary for Christmas?

Wedding update

It's October and we have 8 months left!! So far, I have gotten my dress and veil, my invitations, save the dates have been mailed, I have had my engagement party, mom has bought her dress, rehearsal dinner guest list has been finalized, narrowed down my bridesmaid dresses down to 2, will be registering in 2 weeks on my fall break :), pretty certain about what food we will be having for rehearsal and reception, I have decided on my gift for Tim, flower girl dresses picked out, picked out the colors and theme for the wedding, engagement pictures taken, personalized my something blue for the big day, and made personalized gifts for my bridesmaid for just a small thank-you now for the months to come :) That's all for now. Will give an update after we register, I'm sure it will be a story worth sharing.

According to The Knot, we are right on track!

Here is my something blue. I hand cross-stitched and am going to sew it on an inner layer of my dress. 

Personalizing some wood

I went on a creative spree this past week. I made my bridesmaids personalized gifts, sewed something blue for my wedding, and painted some wood. I will post about the other two later. I decided to make good use of some scrap wood in my backyard. I gathered 4 pieces of 2x4s and nailed them together. I sanded the edges and gently went over where i was going to paint to get off any loose pieces. Since I was painting on wood, I wanted to make it look rustic. I started by painting and slowly thinning it with water. After it dried, I sanded over a few places that I felt were too dark. After I was satisfied with the background I picked a bible verse that I thought would be good inspiration to read everyday since I was hanging this in my apartment at school. I get so busy at school, that sometimes I just need to be still and KNOW that GOD has got this. I painted the verse and decided it needed a little something extra to complete it. I picked a bird on a branch because when I think of birds, I think of calmness and stillness. I hope you like it :) 

 Nailing the boards onto a homemade frame

 Ready for some paint

Background done

Ta-da all done  

Twenty four

Oh school has gotten the best of me and has left me with no time to blog! This post is oh about 20 days overdue, but oh well. My birthday was September 7, I turned 24. It happen to land on a Friday this year which meant I got to spend the day with my family, Tim, and my dear friends. I started the morning off by having class and getting my first gift of the day, a Victoria's Secret gift card from Becca :). After class I headed straight for Memphis! I went to Tim's house when he got off, he decorated his house for my birthday...check the pics out. He got my some new paint stuff, I love to paint that is when I actually have time. My parents gave me money, a new camera lens(that's awesome), some bath and bodyworks soap and lotion and a pair of closed toe black pumps! Bailey got me a cute accessory for my car, I love it...it's even personalized with my wedding initials. Brandon gave me gift cards for express and old navy, he really knows how to treat his sister. Sweet Heather got me a nude belt that I have been in desperate need for and nude closed toe pumps. Grandma got me a cute dress and some cash! My Amanda made some awesome looking cupcakes for my birthday, they were so yummy. i loved spending the giftcard she gave me. Momma also made me a chocolate cake and topped it with fresh strawberries. Kirbi have me a beautiful hanger for my wedding! I absolutely love it and will post a picture of it later. I am blessed with such amazing people in my life and thankful for the years that God has given me.

Beach Life

The week before school I had the chance to have one last chance at fun before having to hit the books. Tim and I had the opportunity to go to Gulf Shores with 8 of our friends. All we had to pay for was gas and food! We went from Sunday to Saturday, just in time to miss the nasty storm that is taking place. We spent the whole week being nothing but beach bums and enjoying the company of our friends. We would lay out to catch up on our tan, then hit the water to catch a break from the hot sun. The waves were so strong! We saw lots of dolphins swimming close to shore. While on the beach we played some beach volleyball, the boys had a few games of football, attempted to build sandcastles, and made me a mermaid. One night Tim, Drew, Jenny, and I went sand crab hunting....it is so fun to try and catch those little critters. I got the chance to hit the outlet mall twice while I was there and grabbed me some pretty good deals :) We went out for crab legs one night at the Oyster House, I love crab legs. We went to the pier and say someone catch a sting ray. Tim and I also had Kirbi take some pictures of us on the beach. Here are a few pics from our week of fun. 

 Us playing a mean game of beach volleyball

 Mermaid Brittiany

 Our Sand Crabs

 All 10 of us at the Oyster House

 I think this is my favorite!

 We have to show our goofy side : )

 Love these colors on us

 The sting ray someone caught on the pier

 Us on the pier

I think this fella was looking for some food

Home away from home

This past week I was able to move in to my apartment at school right before I got to go on vacay to the beach(I will post about that later).  My dear friend Kirbi helped get me moved in and came along to entertain me for what seems to be the most boring drive EVER! Heather and Brandon helped with the last few items today! I love decorating and since this is my last year at school I decided there was no point in wasting money on something I would only use at school, so I picked out things that would work for when Tim and I get married :). I got great deals on everything, and if you know me well then that doesn't come at any surprise. My duvet cover was possible the best deal. I snagged that baby at Potterybarn outlet for only 27 bucks! I was shopping with Amanda when I came across it and was like man this is a steal, she could not believe it either. Not to mention you can still buy it at regular price online for over 100 bucks. All of my throw pillows came from Ross for under 20 bucks. I also found my bath accessories at Ross, love that store! My beautiful shower curtain is from a very addicting store....Target. I found all of the towels at the new Home Goods store, maybe one of my favorite boredom stores. 

 My walls need some pictures hanged on them.

 I still need to find some shams, but this will do for now.

I need to hang this cross, but missing a hammer and nails right now. That soap dispenser and toothbrush holder was a whole $3 :)

The beauty of Gods work

Beach time

All packed and ready!

Today has been a great Saturday and it's not even over yet. I got all packed up for the beach, sandcastle buckets included. Just one last stop by Walmart to get some sunscreen and we will be good to go. I can't wait to spend a week with friends before school starts back, it's like the grand finale of the summer for me. Today I also sewed on my new patches for school. I had to take off the new ones first and then all it took was a little magic from my trusty sewing machine. In 17 hrs I will be breach bound, can you tell I'm excited!!! To finish the Saturday off Tim is grilling out ribeyes for my family and I....yummy! How has your weekend been going?

Taco Thursday

Tim took me out for lunch today and it was so yummy! No we did not have tacos, but close to it. We had something better than tacos, He had fajitas and I had fajita nachos :). We both got steak and chicken mix. His fajitas came out smoking and sizzling! We were both so stuffed afterwards.

Tasty Tuesday

Tonight was a night where I wanted no mess, but wanted something sweet. What's better than break and bake cookies when it comes to easy desserts?! Nothing. So me and Tim went to Kroger and grabbed some break and bake white chocolate macadamia cookies...Yummy. So easy to have a quick treat within 15mins. Just preheat the oven, put the cookies on a baking sheet, bake, and walah all ready to be enjoyed! What do you do for quick yummy treats?

God's creations

Here lately I have been taking all kinds of pictures with my new camera. I love that thing! Right now the sunflowers are in full bloom, moons are full, and the animals are feeding in the evenings. These are a few of the pictures I have taken lately. Enjoy :)

 So pretty

 2 does eating

 A buck

 I love the reflection in the water

 2 bucks feeding together

 That bird was flying fast

 A baby turtle

Full moon