Checking in!

Just checking in to say that Black Friday didn’t kill me. I am still alive!  We haven’t frozen to death either.  Burrrrr!  We had a great Thanksgiving!  Ate way too much!  I will post more about Thanksgiving soon!  I know, a little late, but better late than never! 

I have spent the last two days on a furniture hunt.  Luckily Mom was able to go with me both days and help with a very busy but super cute one year old.  If you remember, we were still waiting on our living room furniture that I ordered now three months ago.  Mills shut down in China=Fabric delay=Extreme frustration.  So, after what I would call getting the run around, I decided to go looking for different furniture yesterday.  Found nothing.  So, back to Thomasville we went this morning to figure out what on earth was going on and what we needed to do to either get our money back or get some furniture…SOON!  Long story short, I picked out new fabric and it should be here within a couple of weeks.  The new fabric will totally change the look of our couch from what I originally picked out.   But, I hope it is a good thing!  Here are the new fabrics.  Small pieces are pillows.  Large piece is couch, chair, and ottoman fabric.

I am so happy to get a day at home tomorrow.  I have so much to do and didn’t really plan on spending the last two days running around looking for furniture.  What I am really excited about…CANTON on Thursday!  Wonder what I will find? 

PS…I guess no one thought that the “My favorite things” post was as fun as me.  That’s ok!   Thanks Karen Mays for commenting!  :-)

Black Friday

Black Friday was a success!  Did you shop?  I went to bed Thursday night about 11:30 PM for a quick nap.  My sister in law Yolanda got to my house about 2:45 AM and we were off and on a mission!  We made it to Wal-Mart, Children’s Place, Kohls, Bath and Body Works, Old Navy, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond,  Justice, JC Penney, Dicks Sporting Goods, Academy, Garden Ridge, Michaels, Kohls again, Bed Bath and Beyond again, Sheplers, Saltgrass to REFUEL, Hobby Lobby, and Tractor Supply.  Whew, that just wears me out typing it all.  :-) 

Here’s some of the breakdown…

Walmart-pretty calm!  We didn’t get some things we wanted, but very easy to get in and out.

Kohls-LONG, LONG lines.  Yolanda was looking for our a Roomba and we didn’t find it at either one we went to.  We left our stuff there that we did find and didn’t wait in line. 

BBW and Old Navy-GREAT deals and not much of a wait!

Garden Ridge-Went there looking for a tree.  Didn’t find one I was in love with.  Not much of a sale going on. Kind of disappointing! 

Michaels-Got a Christmas tree and one for the front porch too. 

Sheplers-LONGEST LINE!  Waited almost an hour in line. 

Saltgrass—YUMMMY as always!  Such a treat!

HobLob, Academy, Dicks, BBB, Justice, and Tractor Supply-Got a few things.  Easy in and out!

We got back home around 2:45 PM with the car loaded down.  I got a little Christmas shopping and some house decorations bought too! Yolanda did great and was able to get several presents bought. 

I was ready for a shower and a nap when we got home!  Luckily I was able to take a nap when Hayden did and I felt much better after that.  I was back asleep by 9:30 PM or so! 

It really was a fun day!  We didn’t experience any real craziness!  How about you?  

A Few of My Favorite Things

In honor of Oprah’s recent ever-so-popular “Favorite Things” giveaway shows (in which I didn’t get to see…BOO!), I thought it would be fun to do a post of a few of my favorite things.   Would you not just die if you were able to be there for one of those shows? 

Here’s the super fun part…I would love for you to join me by linking up below!  If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment with a few of your favorite things!  Who knows, we might get some fun Christmas ideas!

So, here goes!  Here are some of my favorite things these days!

{KEURIG}

The KEURIG and I have become great friends lately!  I have not ever been much of a coffee drinker unless it is Starbucks loaded with all the good stuff!   But, Jeff got me the single cup KEURIG last year for Christmas.  When the house burned…well you know.  Anyway, we bought the Platinum KEURIG this time.  I could not be happier!  I love the water reservoir and that you can choose your cup size.  We got this one at Costco for $139.99 and it came with 60 single cups of coffee and a filter if you want to use plain coffee.  By far the best deal I have seen on one!  Jeff likes all the regular coffee flavors.  I, however, stick to the good stuff.  Ha!  I am using Caramel Vanilla Cream right now.  To top it off, I am loving the Coffee-mate Pumpkin Spice or the White Chocolate Caramel Latte creamers .  YUM! 

 

{SCENTPORTABLE}

My Scentportable!  Oh how I love thee!  It is a smell-good-thingy for your car!  You can get them at Bath and Body Works and they work GREAT!  I really feel like they last for quite a while too.  They have all colors and so many holiday scents right now.  I am loving the LEAVES scent.  Smells so good!  I also have frosted cranberry, but I haven’t tried it yet.  They are usually $5.00 for either the Scentportable and one refill or for a 2 pack of refills.  Of course, there is always a sale or coupon so you can get them cheaper!

 

{TERVIS TUMBLER}

I had heard about the Tervis Tumbler quite a bit, but never invested in one.  When I say invested, I really do feel like it is an investment.  They are a little pricey for a cup.  But, in my opinion…well worth it!   When I saw this cute personalized one at Canton, I needed it.  Really…needed it.  :-)  This is really the only cup I used these days. It keeps my drink cold and doesn’t sweat much at all.  LOVE IT!  It came with a lid and you can use it for cold or hot drinks.  You can get them at a lot of places including Bed, Bath, and Beyond where you can use one of their 20% or $5 off coupons. 

 

{TWILIGHT WOODS}

Twilight Woods is definitely one of my favorite scents at Bath and Body Works right now.  (I promise I am not advertising for BBW.  Just happens to be on my favorites list as well.)  I LOVE this scent in the shower gel, lotion, hand soap, and room spray.  But, I do have to admit that the Twilight Woods Wallflower is not my favorite.  But, the other things…love them!  Give it a try if you haven’t already! 

 

{Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair}

I know this isn’t really something for me, but  it is still one of  my favorite things!  It makes me smile every time I look over and Hayden is just sitting in his Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair hanging out or reading one of his favorite books.  Again, it is an investment.  But, definitely well worth it! 

I probably could go on for days about my favorite things, but maybe we will do this again sometime soon!  Now, it is your turn! Write a post about your favorite things and link up!  Or post a comment including some of your favorite things!  I will leave the “linky” open for one week.  So, you have a few days to get your post together!  Feel free to just make a list and post. I can’t wait to see/read what your favorite things are! 

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Our Weekend Away

This past weekend we were able to sneak away for a trip to the deer lease!  We were excited to get to stay in our new camper and get a little hunting in too!  Jeff was so sweet and let me hunt all weekend.  He and Hayden spent a lot of quality time together.

I got my big girl panties on and went to the stand in the dark by myself every time.  I usually don’t like to go in the dark.  Usually Dad or Jeff drops me off pretty close and I don’t have to go by myself.  But, I did it.  The dark out in the middle of nowhere is not my favorite thing.  I am getting better. 

I was able to hunt Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Sunday morning.  I saw the best deer Friday night right at dark.  Should have taken him, but I didn’t.  I should have learned my lesson by now, but I really hated to do it it the first time I was able to hunt this year.  The first year we were on this lease I saw the best deer I have ever seen on the lease the very first time I hunted it.  Of course, I didn’t take him either.  UHG!  Saturday night, a small 8 point came out right before dark and well, he didn’t live.  He died right where he was standing.  Didn’t move a lick.  I am a good shot you know.  Aww…for all you tree-huggers. ;-)  Hey, I am feeding my family! 

Not the best picture.  Taken with my phone in the dark.  But, atleast you can see him.  :-)

When Hayden first saw him, he started petting him and saying “Deer, Deer, Deer”.  Kind of- almost-made me tear up.  Hayden didn’t really think much about it when they were cleaning him. But, he started gagging (from the smell) when Jeff took him into the meat processing place to show him some mounted deer on the wall.  Kind of funny, but poor baby! 

While in the deer stand, I discovered Words with Friends.  I downloaded the app a while ago, but never played with it.  It is basically scrabble with friends or random people.  Quite fun and addicting.  Do you play?  I am not that great, but I am learning!  It kept me entertained in the stand and on the way home.  If you have an iphone, ipad, or ipod, you should try it!!  Let me know if you play so we can challenge each other!

Hayden had  a super fun time at the lease.  He went to the deer stand with Jeff and Dad on Friday night. They didn’t see anything.  Wonder why? 

This was Hayden’s first trip to the stand last year.

He played with his animals and barn.

He ran around outside. 

Funny thing he is doing right now.  He will put his arms in his armpits (walking like a chicken) while walking/running and shaking his booty.  You have to see it, but it is quite hilarious!  

Just for fun I thought I would show you our first deer lease camper. 

  Jeff and I got this from my Daddy’s long time friend, Jack.  Let me tell you, we were happy to have it.  Better than a tent right?  It is still at the lease.  It is used for storage and someone sleeps in there every once in a while if needed.

We have come a long way.  But, this one will be used for a lot more than the deer lease.  :-)

We were all happy to get home yesterday afternoon. 5 hours is a long time for Hayden to ride.  Long trips are not his favorite thing.  :-)  Jeff tried to get our satellite working.  No luck.  Hopefully they will come back out and fix it soon.  I have to admit, it doesn’t bother me not to have TV.  We don’t really watch it much anyway. Who has time?  I am so far behind on my favorite shows, I don’t think I will ever catch up! 

We were so excited to find a package for Hayden when we got home.  Guess what it was?  My cousins Pam and Carla sent The Elf on the Shelf for Hayden.  I am beyond excited and can’t wait to start this tradition in our family.   Now we just need to come up with a name for Mr. Elf.

If you haven’t heard about The Elf on the Shelf, go here to read more about it!   If you have a young child and don’t have him, you should get him!  :-)  Thanks so much Pam and Carla!!!  Love you both!

We all got a really good nights sleep last night.  Hayden was in bed by 7 and we were in bed by 9 and all slept till 8.  That never happens!  But, I am so thankful for it!  Hayden has already been asleep for an hour now for his morning nap (which are also very rare these days).  That deer hunting wears a boy out! 

I am looking forward to getting the rest of our stuff organized and put away this week.  And, some yummy Thanksgiving dinners!!  We have dinner at my brother’s house on Saturday and at the Smith’s on Sunday.  Maybe we will sneak to my Aunt Barbara’s on Thanksgiving Day! 

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving week.  Oh---are you shopping on Friday??  I can’t wait!

Clearance at Wal-Mart

This morning, Hayden and I ran to Wal-Mart in Quinlan to pick up a few things and I noticed the clearance isle.  I very rarely pay much attention to the clearance isle at Wal-Mart because their idea of clearance and my idea of clearance are not usually the same.  (Unless it is after a Holiday.)  For example, I saw an item today that was originally $52.00 and today it was marked down to $50.00.  $2.00 off is not that big of a deal.  What is that like 4% off?  That is not clearance! 

Anyway, I was quite excited to find this…

A three pack of Pro-Health toothpaste for $1.50.  Exciting I know.  I saw a single tube for $3.48.  That is what I would call clearance!  Not sure we needed 6 tubes of toothpaste, but I couldn’t pass it up!  I also got a pack of post-it notes for 50 cents.  It is the small things that make me happy!  I love a good deal! 

Find any good clearance deals lately?

Shawnee and Kelly-Thanks for letting me know that we are not too crazy for using Corona! :-)

Hayden and Corona

You can’t really tell from these pictures that Hayden has had a little tummy virus the last couple of days. We have gone through a lot of Corona.

Ever heard of Corona—the ointment?  Look close…says for horses, cattle, animals, and pets.  Crazy huh?  Well, I had started using Lantiseptic on Hayden’s diaper rash many months ago.  Jen had used this Corona.  She had told me about it,  but I hadn’t tried it.  One day Jen borrowed my Lantiseptic and said, “I think this is the same as the Corona.”  Sure enough, we looked at the ingredients.  Exactly the same.  Lantiseptic-the stuff used in nursing homes is the same as Corona-the stuff used on animals.    I have found the Corona at Tractor Supply, but I am sure you can find it at any feed store.   Kind of makes me laugh.  Hi, my name is Megan.  I buy my baby’s butt paste at the feed store.  It is the same price (per oz.) as the Lantiseptic (we got it from CVS), but you can only get a small tube or a large jar of the Lantiseptic.   The Corona comes in a large tube.  The important thing, IT WORKS GREAT!!!!!

Thankfully, I think (hope and pray) we are on the downhill slide of the virus and the bad diaper rash.

Think he enjoyed his spaghetti?

Hayden played with this bag of nuts and bolts for about 30 minutes. 

SERIOULSY. ALL. BOY.

Hutch Reveal, Lamp Shades, and Pop Containers

We were able to go get our hutch yesterday afternoon and we are SO.IN.LOVE!  I have looked at these hutches for years  at Canton and I can’t believe we actually have one now.  We bought it from “The Noble House” in the Arbors at Canton.  They don’t have a website, so I can’t link up.  But, they have smaller and larger ones if you are interested.  They even have islands available.  They come in black, antique white, red, and couple of other colors.  None of them are the same.  They are made by a man up north (Ohio, Iowa, Idaho,…not sure which) that gets all his materials from old homes being torn down, remodeled, etc.  The people that own The Noble House make monthly trips there to restock.  They have also recently opened a store next to LaurieAnna’s Vintage Home in Canton.

Here’s our hutch…

 

I haven’t really done much “decorating”.  I washed all the white plates I have been gathering up over the last few months (for the plate wall) and put some inside the glass and stacked some up simply to have a place to put them and not have them on the kitchen counter.  I kind of like the look of having some of them displayed in the glass.  I am sure there will be lots of switching around in/on the hutch in the next month or so.  I also had found a couple of old scales and just love how they look!

From afar with the table.  Pardon the junk on the table-just being real!

A {major} decision I have been really struggling with is our bedroom lamps.  I have seriously looked for the last few months everywhere I go to see if something stands out to me.  Nothing.  I finally picked up these two silver lamp bases at Wal-Mart.  Pretty exciting huh?  I decided I really actually like them.  But, now I am struggling with the shades. 

Left to right (burlap-Target, darker linen-Wal-Mart, lighter linen-local resale shop) I really like the lighter linen the best.  I think. Especially for $5.  But, guess what-I only have one!  She did have another one that she was selling with a lamp that I might could talk her out of if she still has it-which is doubtful.  In this picture, the middle one doesn’t look so bad, but in person I feel like it just blends in and doesn’t look that great.  So, I guess I really like the burlap one the best and of course it is the most expensive shade.

I just can’t make myself commit yet and take the plastic off.  Just in case.

Now, last but not least-OXO Pop Containers!  Do you have any of these? 

I found them at TJ Maxx and love them.  I have since seen them at Ross, Target, and The Container Store.  I am sure you can get them pretty much anywhere, but I have found that TJ Maxx has the best prices on them.  They are still a little pricey but well worth it!  They have a push mechanism that makes them seal airtight. 

 

I am all about making things look neat and organized and these did just that!  Now, I can’t wait to talk my MIL into letting me borrow her Circuit machine so I can cut out some vinyl and get to labeling my pop containers!

Night Number 2

Night number 2 in the house.  It is 9:15 and Jeff and I have had our showers and have been in bed since before 9.  I can’t tell you the last time that has happened!  We are LOVING the new house, all our new furniture {kind size bed}, and all the room we have.  We had to go to Tyler today to go pick up our dining room table and chairs from here.  We LOVE it!  It is so heavy though!  Thank goodness one of Jeff’s friends and his girlfriend showed up just in time for us to unload it.  It took 4 of us to get it in the house!  It is 5 1/2 ft square. 

(Just pretend you don’t see the dust.)

We are going to get our new hutch that we got from The Noble House in Canton on Monday.  It will be where that big box is sitting now.  Can’t wait!! 

Not much unpacking went on today.  Going to Tyler and a long Wal-Mart trip for necessities pretty much took up most of our day today.  There’s always tomorrow!  :-)

PS…Did you blog about Shutterfly and sign up for the 50 free Christmas cards?  I got my code yesterday!  So excited!  If you haven’t done it, you should!!

FINAL House Rebuild Update 11-11-10

Yep, you read it correctly.  This is the final house rebuild update!!  Tomorrow, I move out of my HOME, the one I grew up in, into my new HOME.

This week has been lots of odds and ends being finished up and all our floors were installed.  Carpet being today.  Let me tell you, that carpet has whipped my tail end tonight.  We picked out a thick comfy carpet.  The flooring people tried to talk us out of carpet all together and into all wood/tile, etc.  Well, I guess we are traditional.  We still love carpet in our living room and bedrooms.  We spend a lot of our time on the floor with Hayden.  Yes, hardwoods look beautiful but lets face it, they are not comfy to sit or lay on.  Therefore, they weren’t for us. Now, back to the carpet we picked out.  I walked into today after the carpet guys were gone and guess what…all our doors were still off of the hinges.  Why?  Because our carpet is so thick the doors won’t move!  Lovely.  No doors that shut.  Real lovely.  No sweat, I already called our main man Robert and he is coming to fix them in the morning.  THANK GOODNESS!

Back to the whippin’ my tail end part.  I went down to the house to clean, pick up, unpack, etc. after Hayden went to bed.  I decided to unpack our new vacuum and get the carpets cleaned.  I thought it would be a quick job and I would move on to the next “to-do”.  WRONG!  It took me over an hour to vacuum.  Seriously.  Our carpet is so thick, I had to put my whole body into it to get it done.  It was a two handed push kind of job.  Like, I couldn’t hold the cord and vacuum at the same time.  It took all I had to vacuum. I am so glad no one was there to watch.  I was sweating like I had just ran a marathon.  I may not be able to move tomorrow.

So, this concludes the final house update.  I will do a blog home tour in about a month.  I know, a month is a long time. But, it take a while to get it right!  Found out yesterday that our couch and chair won’t be ready for atleast another three weeks.  (I ordered it over two months ago.) Fabric delay.  UHHG!  Good thing we have some THICK comfy carpet!

Thank you again for all your thoughts, prayers, and encouragement throughout this rebuilding process. 

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Kind of crazy timing, but we also bought a new home away from home today. 

  

A new to us travel trailer.  Two new homes in two days.  Pretty exciting!  We wanted to move from a bumper pull to a 5th wheel for more room and one that also had bunks.   It was actually the first one we looked at.  But, of course we did a lot of looking and researching, but kept coming back to this one.  We LOVE that it has a separate room in the back for Hayden. He can have his own play area and room with bunks, couch, desk, entertainment center and a NICE LARGE ESCAPE WINDOW.  In case of fire you know.  We might be a little paranoid.

We are so excited about it and can’t wait to take it to the deer lease soon!

PS…Just in case you are wondering, we didn’t get to go to the deer lease opening weekend (last weekend) because Hayden was sick.  It was this time last year that we went to the lease and Hayden ended up with RSV.  We certainly didn’t want to go through that again.  So, we decided to stay home and get him well!

Free Christmas Cards for BLOGGERS!

Ok, so I am so pumped!  Jen just called me to tell me about this awesome deal that Shutterfly is doing right now.  Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Christmas Cards to bloggers.  If you haven’t ever ordered from Shutterfly, you are missing out!  They have great deals all the time such as free prints, 30% off photo books, etc.  Their photobooks are my new favorite way of scrapbooking!  They are fast, easy, and look FABULOUS too!

So, get you a blog post up about how great  Shutterfly is and sign up here to get 50 free prints!  Who wouldn’t love fabulous looking photo Christmas cards for FREE!!

Shutterfly really has stepped up this year with some great new designs!  I am loving all the ones with several pictures on them!  Here are a few of my favorite cards.  So, don’t be surprised if you get one similar from The Smith’s at Christmas!  :-)

Check out what else I am loving…these super cute gift tags!!

And…these party invitations too!  There are so many cute ones to choose from! 

Now seriously, go sign up here and get ready to design your FREE cards!

Lawnmower+New Rainboots=Happy Country Boy

Good Samaritans was all about Hayden this morning.  I got him an awesome very dirty but looks new now lawnmower along with 4 new boardbooks and a few misc. kitchen items for $2.00.  SCORE! 

We also got him these super cute new Stephen Joseph rainboots at the Prissy Parlor.  HE LOVES THEM!  The Prissy Parlor is a local store that has super cute clothes for ladies, little girls, and even a few little things for boys.  Jen’s momma, Cindy, works there occasionally.  We went by there Friday to see her and we couldn’t resist these boots.

Hayden thought it was super fun trying to get these calves out of the yard and back into the pasture this morning.  Jeff had to do a little fence fixin’ after getting them back into the pasture for the third time this weekend. 

You might be a redneck if you walk around in a shirt, diaper, and rubber boots while doing one of your favorite things…dragging the trashcan around.

Hope you are having a good weekend!  We are!  Don’t forget to FALL BACK!