A Very "Pinteresting" Valentine's Day!

Well, I didn't do much as far as Valentine's decor this year. Ok, make that I didn't do squat as far as Valentine's Day decor this year. But we made up for it with goodies!

There were so many different yummy ideas on pinterest I couldn't decide which ones to try. I went with the strawberry cake mix cookies from this pin, and let me just tell you - that recipe is a KEEPER! I had to hurry up and bag up the ones for the school kiddos because they were going fast. We made them last night and there's not so much as a crumb left for today, Valentine's Day. *sigh *...

(*disclaimer* This post is full of  pathetic Iphone pics, I know they're terrible...)

We made some of them just for the boys' teachers...

I found that idea on pinterest too, but couldn't seem to find a ready made printable for the tag in a Valentine's Day version...so I just put one together myself real quick in photoshop. It's not fantastic, but it works. The guys wrote little notes to their teachers on the back.

The boys have been "selling" candy bars for the school fundraiser, and I'm pretty sure their daddy and I are their best customers. Something HAD to be done. (They really are that good.) So I found a candy bar wrapper printable on pinterest here,  fancied them all up, and handed them out at church as Valentine's gifts. Whew! Got rid of those wicked things. Now I owe the fundraiser envelope quite a few pennies...

 The boys were thrilled with their lego star wars Valentine's cards, complete with glow stick light sabers. 

Here is the link to that pin.

Which begs the question...

What in this world did we do before Pinterest???

 And I still have a whole board full of ideas to try next year :)

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! I hope it's SWEET!

Sneak Peek!

Progress is being made here at the old Parsonage! So I thought I'd throw a few sneak peeks out there while I work on finishing up the rest of it. 

 Today I'm working on making covers for these pillows that came with the sofa...

because really, teal velvet just isn't my thing. 

At the moment I have 3 finished pillows, and 4 to go. 

I think I can I think I can I think I can....

 I managed to get the whole room painted
 in one day (Woop Woop!!)...

with the "help" of my trusty assistant. ;) 

I only hope he never loses his eagerness to help. 

BUT...I think I can safely say that is the last time I will be painting anything while home alone with a 19 month old wild man on the loose. It was quite interesting let me tell ya!

Happy Friday, Y'all! Go to the Chari Tree to see other "Finished Object Friday" posts :)

Bringin' in some Spring!

Most of you know I don't deal so well with winter. I'm a southern girl through and through! I struggle with feeling "down" during the dreary winter days. So, I thought what better way to beat those blues than to redecorate! The victim of my latest whims is the living room. I had started lightening things up in there a while back, and this is as far as I got...

Now, I'm taking it up a few more notches.

I want it to look more like spring time in there!

Here is a polyvore idea board I threw together with some of my plans for the room.

I've already been hard at work on it, and some things have already been crossed off the old "to do" list. I got the script rug and a "leather" recliner for Christmas, so that helped get me started. 

I thought maybe you guys would like to go on this little journey with me. 

So whaddaya say, are ya with me? 

I'll keep you posted as I get some things done in there, and show you how it's coming along. I'll tell you one thing, I'm loving it already!

Family Photo Shoot

I just realized I never shared our newest family pics here on the pitifully neglected  blog. So, better a bit late than not at all, right?

My guys (that would be all 4 of them...) are SO happy that family photos are done for another year. We tried at least 3 different times, all with no success, so we finally said phooey on it and took the best ones and edited Weston into the pics later. He was so not cooperating. And our patience was so running out...

And I would like to know when these little guys got so BIG! Jackson's almost a tall as his mother. Wow, I'm starting to feel old...

Me and this handsome guy celebrated 14 years together this past fall - and I wouldn't trade him for anything. 

I loved the sunshiney leaves bokeh! Too bad he was such a sober faced little thing...

The middle blue eyed boy is growing up, too - he just had his 7th Birthday party. He's the family entertainer - keeps us in stitches all. the. time. Just last night he said to Jackson, "If you don't watch it, you'll get sent off to college at a very young age." Gotta love him! 

I gave up trying to get a good shot of the 3 boys together. It's hopeless I tell ya.  Here's a few samples... (pay no mind to the photo quality...I didn't even take the time to edit these!)

And then he makes his escape! 

Sigh...maybe next year...

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it's already 2013? Me neither. But I'm looking forward to a great year. I love a fresh start, new goals. Thanks to my Mother-in-law, I've already met one of my goals - she helped me take down and pack away ALL the Christmas stuff! It would have taken me weeks...

I have to share my latest thrifty find with ya. I wanted some new parsons chairs for our dining room for Christmas. I found a set of 4 tan fabric covered chairs on craigslist for....

wait for it....

20 bucks. 

Yep, as in 5 bucks per chair. Unbelievable! I was so stoked. The covers are even removable and washable. Awesome. So my sweetie got me 2 new ones to go with them, giving me a total of 6. Yay! 

He also promised me some new flooring for our kitchen/dining areas. So I'm really excited about that!!

All the garlands and stockings have been safely packed away for another year...

 I decided to leave the cards up for a bit longer. I just love seeing all of your faces! Thanks to everybody who sent us cards - it's one of the highlights of Christmas for us :) 

And just in case you didn't get a card from us, I'll post  it here...

Happy New Year from our house to yours!

Tis the Season!

How 'bout a totally random Christmas post? Just various samplings of Christmas cheer around the Parsonage...

The outside looks exactly like it did last year. As a matter of fact, it was the easiest part of my decorating! I left the trees and wreath all decorated and set those babies up in the attic as is. Alls I had to do was carry them down the stairs and plug 'em up. The best part is, most of lights still *worked* - that's a Christmas miracle for ya right there. 

A few scenes from the kitchen...

 My very crooked little kitchen tree...

And then here's a few shots from around the dining room.

(I still love these old skates!)

I'm enjoying the battery operated candle lights scattered around - they make things look so festive!

Ok, so hydrangeas aren't exactly a Christmasy flower...but I needed some filler. It works for me.

 There's a certain lil reindeer around here that is very curious about the Christmas tree...

What's not to love about a pouty little guy sporting a milk-dribbled chin, wearing reindeer antlers and monkey jammies?!? 

Carson asked if I would please make a Birthday cake for Jesus, since it was His Birthday. I couldn't turn that down, so we had red velvet cake to celebrate Jesus' Birthday. 

 We've been enjoying the Season...the glow of the tree, hot cocoa, fresh baked cookies, Christmas music...it's the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas to all of you!