high five for Friday and Friday chaos

1. Christmas in a candle - for real

2. Cannot wait to decorate the Christmas tree tonight with the hubs for the first time as a married couple!

3.Christmas chalkboard art

4. The husband helping me sand a project I'm posting on Monday! Check back then for the big reveal! (also notice Leo the cat photobombing)

5. The Twilight saga ends. Great movie-- if you like the books, you'll most likely enjoy the movie. I also saw Argo last weekend which would be my less "tween" movie suggestion for you. It was such a good movie. It really kept me on the edge of my seat!

Did you see any movies recently? It seems like there are a ton of good ones out! I'd love to hear about your week too :D

Oh How Pinteresting...



Linking up today with the vintage apple and posting some of my favorite *HOLIDAY* pins!

love the use of a wreath!

adorable merry and bright and reindeer pictures

looks just like snow!

gorgeous

wedding invitation ornament keepsake

can't wait to have a Christmas village of my own!

Follow me on pinterest here!!  Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

Out of the mouths of babes...or just funny kids

I've always wanted to keep a journal of the hilarious conversations I have with the kids at school. Most of the time I get a good laugh and then forget about it by the end of the day. In an effort to remember those "kids say the darndest things" moments, this will be a reoccurring post.

So just a little bit about my job, I'm an elementary school special education resource teacher...what does that mean exactly?? Well, I teach kids with learning disabilities, ADHD, high functioning autism, etc. Most of the kids have average to above average intelligence and are mainstreamed; they just need some extra help with reading, writing, or math. My favorite part of the job is the funny little occurrences that happen on a regular basis. Here are the top four:

1. boy: "Ms. G., are you married?"

    me: "No, I'm not."  

    girl: "No, she's going to be a cat lady the rest of her life, all she ever talks about is her cat."**

**It didn't help this conversation happened well before I got married and my dating life was nonexistent.

2. Scenario: One day, Mrs. L., a teacher who was eight months pregnant, came to school wearing a dress.

    boy: (obviously very concerned) "Mrs. L., why are you wearing a dress??!! Won't the baby fall out?"

3. boy: "Back when my parents were dating, my dad had to choose between proposing to my mom and buying a Porsche."

   teacher: "So, what did he choose?"

   boy: "He proposed to my mom."

   teacher: "Why didn't he buy a Porsche, too?"

   boy: "Because women are REALLY expensive!"

 

Fellow teachers and moms: Any "kids say the darndest things" moments you'd like to share?

I'm linking up with Newlywed Moments Today!

Felt Flower Christmas Wreath Tutorial

 Christmas is in the air! I was in the Christmas spirit this weekend, so I made a really simple felt flower Christmas wreath.

Want to make one of your own? Here's what you'll need:

3 sheets of felt (white, grey, and red)

fabric scissors

needle and matching thread

an old wreath or a cheap one found at a local craft shop

2 red and silver holly branches (found at Michael's)

hot glue gun

 

First, cut out different sized four-pedal flowers and one circle for the center of the flower. I made the pattern by hand and traced the original for all six flowers. I found using seven pedal for each flower made the flowers look fuller.

Pile the seven pedals on top of each other making sure to slightly turn each time so that all pedals are seen.

 Repeat this step for all six flowers making two red, two grey, and two white flowers. Attach the pedals by sewing them together.

Then, use a hot glue gun to attach one of the holly berries to the center of each flower.

Place the two holly branches on the side of the wreath (you can even try to fasten it into the sticks). Hot glue the holly berry branches to the wreath so that they stay in place.

Lastly, arrange the six flowers under the holly branches and hot glue each to the wreath.

 Hang it up and admire it!



I'm linking up with these lovely parties:

 

High 5 for Black Friday!

1. Yay, Oprah's Favorite Things magazine is on newsstands! I loved looking at all of her favorite things- especially the "corkcicle". Check it out here!

2. The Thanksgiving table setting at my parents' house. Loving the Fiestaware mismatched look :). Thanksgiving was a great success and my husband's family joined for the first time--so fun!

3. We made an awesome meal this week. The roasted asparagus was amazing! Just coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan, and garlic powder and place in the oven for 7 minutes, delish!

4. Went out to dinner at Millers--and I didn't cook :D.

5. Who can pass up a drink with a fun straw like that?? The drink was 1/2 part cranberry juice, 1/2 part pineapple juice, and  a shot of raspberry vodka.


 

White chocolate cranberry cookies

Do yourself a favor this Thanksgiving and make these cookies. Not only do they have the Thanksgiving theme with the dried cranberry addition, but they are out-of-this-world good.  Even my father-in-law, who can be choosy with food, raved about them for weeks. And believe me, he wasn't the only one.

 Warning: you'll want to make them time and time again and might even replace them with the traditional chocolate chip, gasp! Not only are the pretty much the  best cookie I've ever tasted, they are also super easy.

Want to know the secret?!!

Use the recipe on the back of the Nestle Premium morsels bag and add a bag of Craisins. It's that simple.

Well that and one more IMPORTANT tip to cookie success...

Take the butter and egg out of the refrigerator for at least one hour before making these cookies. When the butter and egg are room temperature, they make a soft, gooey cookie with a crispy bottom which in my opinion is the best type of cookie.

Tip #2: Take the cookies out 30 seconds before they look "done". Let the cookies continue cooking on the tray before placing them on the cooling rack.

And there you have it folks, the best Thanksgiving day cookies as voted by my family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Make something Monday - holiday lanterns

In my "It's all in the details" post, I mentioned the lantern centerpieces we had at our wedding. I kept one of the lanterns to use as a decoration in my home...and a wedding memento :). These inexpensive and rustic lanterns were found at IKEA and are soooo versatile!

 I bought plastic gourds at Marshalls (similar ones also seen at Michaels, etc) which are perfect fillers for the Thanksgiving themed lantern. I also had a pumpkin made of sticks that I purchased at a craft fair many years ago. I detached the pretty ribbon and leaves from the pumpkin.




Materials:

A second option with a white plate-- which I use for almost all of my table centerpieces :).

I had so much fun creating the Thanksgiving lantern, that I had to test out a Christmas lantern! Here are the materials I used: a plain white candle, greenery and holly berries that I cut from another Christmas decoration I had but never use, and Christmas bells found this year at Kohl's.

I attached the holly berries and ferns with floral wire on top, added the candle, and piled the bells all around the candle. And here ya go!

Up close!
 



Such fun and simple ideas to add to your tablescape for the holidays!

Do you use lanterns as a centerpiece or any other staple item?? I'd love to hear from you :)


This Marvelous Monday (or late Sunday night), I'm linking up with:

 http://www.homemakeronadime.com/

http://www.anoriginalbelle.com/search/label/Make-It-Yourself%20Monday



http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/

High 5, it's Friday!



It's been a long week, but today is Friday and next week is Thanksgiving, wahoo! Here's the weekly word:

1. I went home to West Virginia last weekend and had a wonderful time with my parents, sister, and sister's boyfriend. That's the sign when entering my favorite state, West Virginia "Wild and Wonderful"!

2. My mom and I posing in my parents' backyard. It was gorgeous weather last weekend!

3. Snapped another fall picture right outside my apartment complex- I love red leaves!

4. Pot roast in a crockpot. Easiest and most delicious pot roast recipe. Simply add 1 cup of water, a beef roast, carrots, two cubed large potatoes, 1/2 cup of Italian dressing, 1/2 cup of A1 steak sauce, and a 1/4 cup of Worcherstire sauce to the crockpot. Cook for 6 hours on low and come home to a delicious meal already made! It's super good, you can even make it into sandwiches with leftovers the next day!

5. The best store bought cookies EVER--Trader Joe's Pinachos cookies with pistachios and white chocolate chunks...mmmmm so good dipped in coffee! If you don't have time to make cookies for Thanksgiving, buy them, you'll like them!

Happy Friday and Happy early Thanksgiving! Leave a comment or follow, and I'll be sure to follow you back :).

Personalized wedding gifts

 When you're in your twenties, weddings and bridal showers pop up all the time-- and I know this pattern will continue for several years to come. For close family and friends, it's nice to stray from a couple's humdrum gift registry and  make or buy something personalized. Here are a few of my favorite personalized gifts we got for our wedding.

First, we got a basket of wine with labels on each bottle from a lovely, creative bridesmaid. Labels include: Wedding night (not pictured because it's gone :D), First Christmas Eve, First Anniversary, First Fight*, and First Baby. They all have adorable blurbs about the special event (for instance it says the "First Baby" wine is for daddy only). Very thoughtful gift and cute idea for wine lovers.

*note the "First Fight" wine is still in the basket, pretty good for going on four month  of marriage;)

 My sister made us a name sign out of wine corks. I've seen a lot of crafty project made out of wine corks, but never a sign like this. She got a big piece of walnut (with my dad's help), sanded it, and hot glued the corks to the wood. I thought it was very creative and looks great above the window looking into our kitchen.

 Another view :)

Now, it I know it seems like my husband and I are winos (an we do like our wine); however, we hardly knew the people who got us this third wine-themed gift, I swear! It is a  personalized wall hanging of the top of a wine barrel with our last name, year we got married, and even our city and state below vineyard.

One of my best friends got us this personalized picture frame for one of our wedding  gifts. I remember that the box said it was from Personalization Mall. I thought the names and date collage on the frame was so cute and perfect for a black and white photo.

As you can see I really like personalized gifts so my bridesmaids got something personalized as well.  I ordered them glass jewelry boxes with their names engraved on top. The jewelry that they wore for my wedding was placed inside the box when they opened it!

Lastly, is a a picture frame for our parents that I  had made at an Etsy shop. I LOVED the quote which says, "All that we are, all that we hope to be, we owe to our loving parents". I thought it was perfect!

                                      

What is the most creative personalized gift that you  got or have seen? I'd love ideas for the many weddings we have to come!

I'm liking up with these fabulous parties today:

  http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/

 http://www.somewhatsimple.com/

 http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/