Blog Award!

I got an award! :) I really do feel honored to have this award. 

Thank you to Missie at ...And Baby Makes Three  and Kathy at Hoping for Baby4678 for giving me this award. Head on over to their blogs and see what these absolutely wonderful ladies are up to. On Missie's blog you'll see a beautiful 4 week old baby girl. Carina will melt your heart, I promise! Follow Kathy's journey to parenthood. The journey didn't turn out quite like we hoped it would but I can guarantee you will love her and her blog.

Now that I have been given this award, there are some rules that I am to follow.

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

Some things about yours truly:

1. I am highly addicted to Mountain Dew. I drink about 6 a day, sometimes more.

2. It is the 25th day of January and my Christmas tree is still up. ::insert embarrassed face here:: In my defense, there are no decorations or anything on it. Josh just needs to put it in the box and in the attic. 

3. I weighed 12 pounds when I was born and am very proud of all 12 of those pounds. 

4. Josh takes up more room in our closet than I do. This surprises most people that know us.

5. I have more random, funny, colored socks than I do white socks.

6. Tank tops/camis are my best friends. I wear one almost every single day. 

7. I'm obsessed with anything with a crown on it. From shirts and jackets to keychains and headbands. If it has a crown, I want it. 

Now for 10 well-deserving bloggers. Yes, I'm cheating and doing 10 instead of 15.

1. Jess @ Leaning Not On My Own Understanding

2. Mrs. Baker @ -My Life As Mrs. B-

3. Josefine @ Baby Cays

4. Amber @ Born in a Barn

5. Katy @ dear diary, its me, Katy

6. Bethany Jayne @ Just An Average Jayne
7. Cat @ My Eggs and Ham

8. Nayt's Wifey @ No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

9. Kelly @ Our Silly Rodriguez Family

10. Ashley @ Slow Motion Roller Coaster

Lowe's=Empty Account

Josh and I have a serious problem. We both are addicted to Lowe's. I'm pretty sure that at least 1/4 of our income last year went to that place. I'm probably going to cry when I count up the receipts from last year. :)

 It's pretty sad when it's my idea to go to Lowe's because I'm bored. 

Some of you may remember me making the big announcement that we are wanting to move this past July. Well, apparently it isn't going to happen anytime within the next 1-3 years. The market just isn't going to let it happen as we had hoped. We would end up losing and paying out of pocket almost $40,000 if we sold now. We are still looking at buying some land at some point this year but again, we are running into the same problems as my August post states. Right now, the market sucks and we picked a bad time to go about all this mess. 

I said all of that to say this...we decided that we would make some more changes in the house since, ultimately, we are stuck here for a little while longer. Among the changes, we are going to change the floors in the kitchen and bathrooms, get a new kitchen table and lighting in there. I'm also going to finally put up our wedding pictures and maybe do some more painting in a room that I'm not thrilled with the color that I last chose. We are also going to buy some more furniture (for the 3rd time in a year) for the entertainment room.

 So, while in Lowe's (1 of the 4 times this weekend) I decided it would be a fabulous idea to buy some of the kitchen organizers they sell for the cabinets. That stuff is expensive, to say the least. Most of the stuff is from Rev-A-Shelf. Below are some examples of what we did and want to do. I didn't want to completely break the bank today and we needed some more measurements to make sure that we were getting the correct sizes. So, hopefully in the next couple of months, my kitchen cabinets will be completely organized. It's a nice dream...

While we were at Lowe's for the 2nd time this weekend, we also decided, on a whim, that we should change the knobs and drawer pulls in the kitchen and master bath. The master bath and bedroom is off of the kitchen so when the house was built, it was built with the same cabinets and hardware in both rooms.

Before- These are pewter:

After- The new hardware is an antique bronze/chocolate coloring. LOVE THEM! They also match the new light that we bought. 

I did pick out a new kitchen table. It's very hard to explain but hopefully it will be in next weekend so I can post a picture. 

We lucked up while at Lowe's today and found the perfect light for half off! YAY for great deals. When the new light and table gets put up next weekend, I'll post pictures. I know ya'll can't wait. :)

So, in a nutshell, Lowe's has been taking my money and will continue to take it because on top of everything that I mentioned, Josh has also decided that he wants to build a privacy fence when my brother gets back from Afghanistan this Spring. In addition to the fence, Josh also is planning on turning our office into my craft room since, for the most part, we just use our laptops on the couch. I'm super stoked! Wow, did I just say that? lol

I guess I'm going to make the best of the situation that I'm in with this house. If I'm going to be stuck here, I might as well make some of the changes that will make me feel more comfortable here. 

*SNOW*

We have gotten more snow in the last month then I think I've seen in my entire life. I love it! Not only is it so pretty, but it gets me out of work. 

This was the view to the left of my house Monday morning.

 Looking straight out of my house.

 The backyard

Our house

My in-laws house Monday night. I really wish I had gotten a better picture though. :(

Finally- Josh, Cody (brother-in-law), and I going sledding. You know you love the camo cover-alls on us. It's illegal or something not to own at least a pair in the South. :)

I heard on the news tonight that something like 48 out of 50 states have snow on the ground right now. That's total craziness!

Our First Anniversary

Josh and I celebrated our 1st Anniversary on Sunday, January 2nd while we were in Texas. We had decided that due to schedules for the cruise the next Monday that we would go ahead and drive from San Antonio to Houston on Sunday and just spend our Anniversary in Houston. I am so glad that we did. Houston is a wonderful place. I loved everything about downtown that we saw. We are actually considering going back and staying for a weekend to do some of the touristy stuff there. 

We ate at an amazing steakhouse called Vic & Anthony's. I could not believe the amazing food, service, and decor. I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Houston (or Vegas) who wants to spend a nice lot of money on  food. It was definitely worth it though. :) It was exactly how I imagined spending our Anniversary.

And...some pictures! 

The above picture was taken in the lobby of the restaurant. 

 This was the dessert that they gave us. 

After we finished at Vic & Anthony's, we spent some time at the hotel bar. 

For shits and giggles, I have to share with you this bottle of Scotch. I found the bottle to be so gorgeous. The bartender noticed that I kept looking at it. He then shared with me that this is a $5,000.00 bottle of Scotch made completely out of crystal. A single shot of this is $195. He said the same bottle has been sitting there since the bar opened 2 years ago.

I can't believe that a year has already gone by. It really does seem like a couple months ago we were still planning the wedding. I guess time really does fly.

New Years

It's time for the (what seems like) never-ending posts with tons of pictures. :) I'll probably do a couple today and some tomorrow or later in the week. We'll see.

Josh and I celebrated New Years in San Antonio for a good friends wedding. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, small and intimate. It took place in the evening at the Plaza on the Riverwalk. Absolutely gorgeous! 

The first picture is of a person that I am extremely fond of. Let me introduce you to Bryan. 

This was taken on New Years Eve at the hotel bar that we all brought in the New Year at. 

Bryan has been my saving grace for the last few years. He and I met in the pageant world. He was one of the pageant directors that I was very close with. He took me and he has helped make me the person that I am today. Not only was he a mentor for me, he has been an amazing friend and is just downright hilarious. He was with me at my wedding, doing anything and everything that I needed him to. He did my hair and make-up, along with my bridesmaids and mother. Not only that but he has an amazing voice. He also sang at my wedding. As if that wasn't enough, he keeps my hair looking fabulous! :) He's the type of stylist that I go sit in his chair and don't tell him what I want or what to do. I just let him do whatever he wants and I have never regretted that. 

 

Back to the original topic...Kelly's wedding. New Years Day was the actual wedding. 

Josh and I

Jessica, Bryan and I

The beautiful bride and I

Finally, the best picture of the evening...the lucky guy, Charlie. He literally picked her up and threw her over his shoulder as they left the Plaza to catch their horse and carriage. 

::waves::

Hi!!! I swear I'm still alive and kicking. Things have been crazy busy and I really needed a break from everything over the holidays. Josh and I also had our big vacation over New Years and the first week of January so I literally have had no time to even think about blogging. Well...I take that back. I've thought about it but like I said, I needed a break and was being lazy extremely lazy.

I have sooooo much to share with everyone. I've got pictures out the wazoo. Ya'll know I love me some pictures! Hopefully by the weekend ya'll will be Jenn pictured out! I know ya'll are super duper freakin' excited! :)

I've also gotten some new readers. Thank you everyone for following. I will try to keep you entertained to the best of my ability. Promise. Also with the new followers, I now have over 50. YAY! I never thought that would be possible. I said way back when (too lazy to find the post) that I was going to do a giveaway when I hit 50. I'm definitely going to stick to my promise but now I just have to figure out how and what to do. In a couple of weeks, hopefully, I will do my first giveaway.

I've got to get back to work now. I haven't seen this place since December 28th so work is definitely calling my name right now. Have a fabulous day everyone!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!