WILW

I can't believe it is already Wednesday!! This means it is time to link up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I'm loving that my students were so excited to come back to school on Monday. We have had the best week so far and that really makes a teacher happy!! The growth I am seeing in my students is amazing!! I LOVE my job!!

I'm loving the orders coming into my etsy store. I have had 4 orders purchased this week so far & 4 more in the making! One of the orders is for 9 shirts so to say I am a little busy is an understatement, but I love crafting!

I'm loving that the weather finally seems to be settled into the cooler temps. It may make getting out of bed difficult but I love this time of year.

I'm loving Twitter. I am definitely still learning but looking for new people to follow. Leave me a comment with your twitter info so I can follow you. You can follow me here.

I'm loving the real trees and there smell at the front of the grocery store. We do not get a real tree for a few reasons now but I hope we will once we buy a house. 

I'm loving that we found a realtor that we get along with so well. Lesson learned about going through the home buying/looking process without one!!

I'm loving my dog. She is the sweetest, most loyal dog. Here are some pictures of her from a puppy to now...

 I'm loving my sweet husband. I m so thankful for his new job and him being home more often. This picture is from our rehearsal dinner... Love him!!

What are you loving today? Go link up with Jamie!!

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge- Day 1

Why is it that when I have so much to blog about, I don't have the time? But when I have nothing to blog about I have all the time in the world?? A Thanksgiving week recap may or may not happen. I really don't like to post without pictures and long story short, my phone broke and I had to get a new one. Therefore, I lost all of my pictures from this week because of course I took them all on my phone.... UGH!! Short recap, our first married Thanksgiving was amazing!! We got to see friends and family and eat great food. What is better than that?? Found these 2 pictures on a friends facebook...here is half of our spread of food for the tailgate feast!

I am linking up with Nelly @ A Complete Waste of Makeup for a 10 day blog challenge. Now, every blog challenge I have participated in, I have failed miserably! So, here is to another try and hopefully more success!

Today's topic is: Favorite Gift Received EVER

I have many favorite gifts from my past. Some more sentimental than others but the ones that really stick out are...

- My two front teeth... no really, when I was 7, I was really excited to see my dad and when ran up to hug him, I knocked my mouth on his shoulder and my two front teeth fell out. We think I swallowed one and found the other on the cement. This was around Thanksgiving so the joke is that I got my two front teeth for Christmas because that is around the time they came in.

- A car... I was completely shocked and immediately in love! I loved my little car and enjoyed driving it for the few years I had it. Once I became a grown up and had to pay my way in life, the maintenance on the car was a lot. I look back now and think I got rid of it to soon but I love my car now so it is what it is. I was very thankful for the gift!!

Go link up and tell us what your favorite gift you have ever received is! Also, don't forget to check out my last post about a special I am running in my etsy store through Wednesday!

*Cyber Shopping*

I don't know about you, but I didn't fight the crowds on black Friday so I am doing a lot of shopping when I get home tonight. I thought I would offer my blog friends something special for Cyber Monday! I am running a special for 20% of any item in my Etsy store. If you do not see something you like but have something in mind, leave a comment or message me on Etsy and we can work something out!! This special will go through Wednesday at midnight. If you would like to personalize something, you will need to contact me prior to Wednesday night. I hope to add a few more coasters sets tomorrow night.

You can find my Etsy store by clicking here. If you would like to purchase something, enter "cybershopping" in the discount box when checking out.

Here are a few items from the store:

Please let me know if I can help you with anything!! An update on my Thanksgiving is coming!!

Happy Shopping!

Home Sweet Home

I am back from an amazing 5 day trip to College Station & Houston!! I have so much to catch up on before tomorrow but I promise a good post soon!!

Just wanted to say I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was amazing!!

WILW

Today I am loving so many things!! I am thankful for so much right now and could not imagine a more perfect topic to post about today. I am linking up with Jamie.

I am loving that we are going to College Station tonight and then Houston Friday morning.

I am loving that I get to spend the entire weekend with my family and friends.

I am loving that my Scentsy makes our home smell so warm and inviting. I am looking for a scentsy rep if anyone knows of one.

I am loving that we heard back from our last builder and we are getting all of our escrow money back. HUGE RELIEF!

I am loving that my husband starts a new chapter in his (our) life on Monday. He is starting a new job and he will not have to travel at all!!

I am loving that our wedding video FINALLY came in day before yesterday and that my husband and I were able to relive the most amazing day of our lives last night. A videographer may be expensive but is so worth it in the long run. We will be able to watch these memories forever!

I am loving that I got a blog award from Rebecca @ Southern Bliss. Thank you Rebecca!!

As always, I am loving my sweet husband.

I told you I was loving a lot today!! What are you loving?

Christmas List

Christmas will be here before you know it! This is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons. The past few years have been really exciting/special for me. I have two younger siblings and they are now at the age that they really enjoy and understand Christmas. I love spending time with my family. Our first Christmas married will be a great one! I am trying so hard to wait until after Thanksgiving to get our Christmas decorations out. Now seems like the perfect time though because I have nothing planned for the beginning of this week and I am off work...

For now, I am going to post my Christmas wish list. Of course giving is much better than receiving but there are a few things I have my eye on.

Steve Madden Cadence boots in black

Vera Bradley notebook

Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume

Sewing Machine- Brother XL 2600i

Toms

Michael Kors Hamilton bag

What is on your Christmas list?

Gobble Gobble!!

Chris and I have been married since June but have been together for almost 8 years. In the past, we would spend Thanksgiving with our families and then get together later that night to watch the A&M football game. This just worked best for us so that we could see our families and each other. Now that we are married, we want to spend the day together. The problem with that is both of our families live in the same city. This is not a bad thing, just makes for a long, tiring day but we are both very thankful! Some how we have to figure out how to visit his mom's side of the family, his dad's side of the family, my dad's side of the family, and my mom's side of the family. There are obviously not enough hours in the day to get around everywhere...

Our solution this year is simple, spend Thanksgiving at the tailgate. This eliminates having to drive all over Houston to see everyone. Friday, we will have Thanksgiving at my dads and my mom, and his dad/stepmom will come over. We will make plans to see his mom later that weekend.We are so excited about tailgating for Thanksgiving! There will be around 45 people there so organizing meals was important! Here is our food list:

- Smoked Turkey

- Fried Turkey

- Dressing

- Sweet Potato Casserole

- Mashed Potatoes

- Green Bean Casserole

- Corn Casserole

- Rolls

- Apple Pie

- Pumpkin Pie

What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

How do you split time up between your families if you have a significant other?

What are must haves for your Thanksgiving dinner?

Meal plan for the week

How was your weekend? We went to College Station on Friday night for my sisters ring dunk and the A&M football game. Normally we stay in College Station through Sunday but we decided to drive home late last night. I drove and was extremely tired but it was so nice to wake up in my own bed and not have to drive home today. We are watching football with the back door open and a candle lit. The temperature is dropping and it is beginning to feel like Fall again. I absolutely love lazy days like this.

I didn't take any pictures (bad blogger) this weekend but my dad did...

Pitchers & shirts...check

Ring...check

Family shot after getting the ring

Dunking table with pitchers filled

Mid-dunk

Done!! 1 min. & 33 secs. Good job Michelle!!

Now for our meals this week...

Sunday- Left over BBQ from this weekends tailgate

Monday- More left over BBQ from this weekend (a friend of ours dad came up with 2 briskets, 10 racks of ribs, & 15 links of sausage, to say there were left overs was an understatement)

Tuesday- Crockpot Mongolian Beef

Wednesday- We are heading back to College Station and will have Whataburger on the way

I will do a post on the rest of the week maybe tomorrow. We have a fun week planned! What is on your weekly menu?

We Remember...

12 years ago today, everything changed for Texas A&M University. November 18th, 1999 at 2:42 am, the Aggie bonfire colaposed killing 12 students and injured many others. Many may not know about this amazing tradition so here is a little info about it:

- The Texas Aggie bonfire symbolized every Aggie's "burning desire" to beat Texas in football on Thanksgiving day.

- The first bonfire was built in 1909 and was the biggest bonfire in the world.


- The bonfire is no longer held on campus but others get together and build one off campus.

Here are a few pictures of past bonfires, as well as some of the Memorial:


As an Aggie, this day will always be one of rememberance for the fallen Aggies. If you have a minute, say a prayer for those that were taken or affected by this horrible tragedy.

WILW

I am linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving that I get to see most of my family this weekend.

I'm loving that my sister is getting her Aggie ring this weekend! This is such a special time in an Aggie's life & soon I will dedicate an entire post to this special moment. All of the hard work is rewarded with a beautiful, well recognized, ring. Here are some pictures from my Aggie ring day...

Going in to get my ring

Proud moment for my dad

My little sister (the one who is getting her ring), my mom and I

One of my best friends & awesome roommate & I right (excuse the extra huge smile, I was a little excited)

Chris & I

I'm loving that I only have 3 more work days before a whole week off. I love my job, students, and coworkers but I am so tired and ready for a little down time.

I'm loving these candles and have added them to my Christmas list.

I'm loving that things are falling into place for my husband and I. There are so many changes and decisions needing to be made in our lives and some are finally happening.

I'm loving my sweet husband.

What are you loving today?

Meal plan for the week & budget

Hello All! I hope you had a great weekend! I did and will do a recap tomorrow. FOr now, here is my weekly meal plan, plus some info about my grocery budget.

Since we have decided to buy a house, we have really buckled down on our monthly budget. Embarrassing to admit but before we started this house buying process, we had no monthly budget. We would just pay the bills and do what we wanted with the rest. We would of course save some but didn't have a goal. Now, we look at everything we spend. We have set a good grocery budget around $350 a month for 2 adults. I did my weekly grocery trip this morning and came out way below budget at $56 (& some change). I had hoped it would be under $70 so seeing this was exciting!! This trip also included some staple items that are a little more expensive and not bought as often. Looking at the sales while planning my weekly meal plan is paying off (finally)!!

This week we are having:

Sunday: Cream Cheese, Garlic, & Chive Stuffed Chicken

One word about this recipe...GROSS! We ate dinner really earlier tonight and I feel like a need to make something else. I will take some responsibility for it not being the best but the flavors really don't go together (IMO).

Monday- Bubble Up Enchiladas

I have made this before and it is amazing! If you are looking for a super easy, inexpensive, yummy meal, this is the one! You can find the recipe here.

Tuesday- Breakfast Tacos

I don't have a recipe or a picture for this meal. I use breakfast sausage or bacon, eggs, cheese, and tortillas. It is really good, easy, and cheap!

Wednesday- Grilled Tilapia

Now that my husband is back home, I am going to have him help with a meal outside before it gets to cold. I make foil packets inside and he grills them. In each foil packet is a tilapia filet, green peppers, onions, butter, and seasoning. Once it is cooked, we serve it over rice.

Thursday- Texan Ranch Chicken Casserole

I am not going to let one bad pinterest recipe stop me from trying another but I am a little nervous trying this one... You can find it here.

Friday- Sunday we will be in College Station. My sister is getting her Aggie ring this weekend but I will have an entire post on that!

What is on your menu this week?

WILW

Good Morning!! I am linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday.
I'm loving that it is already Wednesday. This week seems to be flying by!

I'm loving that there are so many giveaways going on right now. Check these out...

Kristen is giving away a Vera Bradley apron & recipe holder.

& this is Hailey's fun giveaway!I'm loving that my sweet husband is home this week. He has been traveling so much lately and it is nice to spend time with him after work.

I'm loving these boots & am getting them on the way home from work today.

What are you loving today?

Awesome Weekend Recap

I hope everyone had a great Tuesday. I am having a great week so far, for many reasons! Like I said, I needed another weekend to recover from this past weekend. I don't even know where to begin...

Friday night was awesome! One of my best friends, Lilly, is getting married next July and planned an awesome night to officially ask us to be her bridesmaids. We went to a place called Let's Art Party in Plano. This place is similar to You Paint It. It was an amazing night and she did will be a beautiful bride! Here are some pictures from that night...

Andrea, Lilly, & I. Once Lilly is married, we will all have been in each others weddings. Special friends!!

Lilly's Matron of Honor's- Amber, Lilly & I

Bridesmaids (minus 1) with our final product

Here is what our painting was suppose to look like

Here is what mine looked like... not to bad for my first painting experience!

Saturday, I got up early and met up with Lilly & Amber to go wedding dress shopping. I am not aloud to give any details but I think she may have found "the dress" and she was absolutely stunning in it!! We had lunch at La Madeline (one of my favorite restaurants) & then I headed home. My plans were to relax and go to sleep early Saturday night but I ended up going out to dinner with a friend around 10. We went to a place in the "ghetto" and I was warned to never go here with out her. She wanted me to try a REAL mexican taco and OMG it was amazing!!

I also may or may not have dropped my phone in water. I may or may not of had a minor panic attack. All is good now though and it still works like a charm!

Sunday was a long but great day! Not only was Chris coming home but I had an amazing dinner planned and was heading to Canton with some great friends for some Christmas shopping. Canton was amazing! I had been once before but was to young to enjoy it. I could have spent a fortune but only bought 2 things....

- I got this to go above our bed (it has a plastic wrap on it and I didn't feel like taking it off for the picture)

- & some amazing homemade dip called cowgirl candy. I am now obsessed with it and will be ordering some soon!

Sorry this is so wordy but I wanted to share my fun weekend!