Cooking/Baking A Storm!

First and foremost, I must confess that our 5K training has been postponed until the holidays are over. I didn't want to be that person that starts going to the gym in January and then in February everything goes down hill, but it will only be half true. We will start our training again in January and continue to do our best to live a healthier life style. 

Last Sunday I was going through our office supplies when I found a lot of pictures from our engagement and stationary from our wedding. So I decided to recycle and use them for our Christmas cards this year. 

I found this card idea from Pinterest and thought it was cute and added a personal touch. 

A big thank you goes out to my sister-in-law Anna! I have been wanting to be consistent about eating at home more, having a budget, and not wanting a crazy amount of left overs. (Twice is enough for me.) She informed me that she pins 4 items to her menu board and makes them for the week. They have left overs for lunch and stick to a $90 grocery budget.  

So I did exactly that...well to the best of my ability. We did get pizza one night but three out of four recipes and $65 of groceries made a successful week for me. 

First was One pan Mexican Quinoa 

Day 2 was Foil Baked Salmon

Last dish was One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

One of many desserts this week was chocolate chip cookies! Nathan's favorite! 

This has been awesome! I have come to find out that I love cooking and it makes me appreciate my home even more! We are set for next week with new recipes that we can not wait to try! 

This week we also had the privilege to baby sit our niece while her parents were moving their last bit of things into their new home! Congrats Bryan and Laurel on your first home!  

My brother Adrian has been in Orchestra since 5th grade and this is the first time I went to one of his concerts. "Bad sister!" I could not have been more proud of him! They all did such a great job and I love him so much! 

 After the concert we had the kids spend the weekend with us. Our traditional breakfast of pancakes and eggs. 

It being the last week of school they had a lot of studying to do which worked out for us catching up on house chores. In the evening we went to Highland Park to look at all the nice homes decorated for Christmas; another yearly tradition!  

How long do you think it took to light this tree?

Today we went to my parents house for lunch and I made gingerbread cookies! 

Last but not least I made my first pie! Yummy apple pie! 

Overall a really great weekend made up for a really long week! 

Starting to look like Christmas

This week we had my family over for dinner. On Monday, we tried to make sugar cookies for dessert and failed. So we tried again Wednesday and succeeded. Yay! 

As for work this week, it has been busy for the both of us so Nathan and I decided to have a few dates. Our first one was Thursday. I made breakfast for dinner; pancakes, turkey bacon, and eggs. Then we watched "Santa Clause is coming to town." (Christmas classic) 

Friday we went to the Fort Worth Drive-in. So much fun and we got to see "Mocking Jay: Part 1" and "Interstellar." As a side note, the first time Nathan and I held hands was the Ennis, TX drive-in, in February 2008.

It  is crazy to think that after 6 and a half years of marriage there are still many firsts! This weekend Nathan and I put up Christmas lights. There is something to be said about doing projects together, it is always a great bonding experience. 

Thanks to Leilani Ram and her example of a lighting ceremony, we had one of our own. We stood outside and oohed and awed as the lights came on, then we sang "Silent night." We ended the night with watching "It's a wonderful life." It was great to be reminded that there is more to life than ourselves. We are so grateful for our savior and His love for us. There is no better time to cherish our family and our life here on earth. 

One can not be sad when they count their blessing! 

Thanksgiving Week

This past week we had some of Nathan's family stay with us. It was so much fun having family together for Thanksgiving. Here are a few of the highlights. 

Family service project was our half bath. Thank you so much to all who helped, we absolutely love it! 

It took a few days but the transformation is amazing! 

Heidi was the ring leader of the project.

Before

After

Nathan and I still need to find and put up accessories but that will not be a problem. 

Another project that required a lot of man hours was crafts for Jordan's wedding.

We also have to make skirts, one down, many to go. 

My dish for dinner was a cranberry-raspberry jello w/pineapple and walnuts, compliments of Paula Dean. 

Last but not least, as promised last week, we have pictures of the outside of our home. 

Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Our Home

As many of you know we bought a house mid September and many have been asking for pictures. We decided we would wait on the pictures till we had the house warming. The party was yesterday so here is the place we call home. (I have not taken a picture of the outside so that will have to wait till next week.)

This is the front door/entry. Coat closet on the left. Garage door on right, closest to front door and half bath also on right. 

Half bath at the top of the stairs.

Once you come down the stairs you come in to the living room.

This is still part of the living room. To the left of the book shelf is a little hallway to the master. I will save the best for last. 

Once you come down the stairs this hallway is to the right.

Current dinning room but I am thinking about making it a game/media room. I know it may sound crazy but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. 

At the end of the hallway is this office/sitting room. (But I think I would like to make this the dinning room.)

Another angle to the office/sitting room. 

To the left of the Buck Stove is a door way to the kitchen. (Which makes since to make this the dinning, right?.... Instead of walking through the hallway?... Still have to think on it.)

Once you walk in the kitchen, this is your view to the right.

This is the left side of the kitchen. 

So this might be a little hard to picture but bare with me. Remember the office/sitting room? Well there is a door(right of the green chairs) that leads to another hallway. Down this hallway is this restroom and two other bedrooms. I did not take pictures because they are pretty bare and not much to look at right now. 

Off the living room is the master bedroom. 

Another angle of the master. 

Master bath and through the door on the left is a pretty sweet walk in closet.

Jacuzzi tub, which I scrubbed and bleached, then scrubbed and bleached again. Lastly, I let bleach water run through the jets. Now I feel so much better about using it.  

Thank you so much to all who came and celebrated with us at our home. We feel truly grateful and so blessed. 

Also, this weekend we experienced Texas estate sales, and here are our findings. I thought they were great deals but you can tell me how I did.

Punch bowl w/ladle and 8 cups. $16

Milk glass plate w/ cup set of 8. $8

Sifter $2, Utensil holder $3, and cake holder $12

Tall candle holder $6. Small set $3. 

Little Nativity set $4.

Hope y'all enjoyed.