Shop Till You Drop

Who enjoys a little Black Friday shopping? I know I do!! 

 

 

It all started few years back... after several glasses of wine... when my step-mom, step-sister and I decided to venture out before sunrise to hit-up the best deals. It sounded like a fantastic idea, until 4:00 a.m. rolled around and we had to get up & get going (disclaimer: I am not a morning person). After the initial shock and downing a pot of coffee, we hit the road! First stop: Wal-Mart.

This. Place. Was. Madness!

  

 

After looking around the store for a little bit we had our deals and were ready to check-out. Little did we know that all the people standing around were waiting in one long ass line! We put our items back - it's not like we had a whole bunch of stuff anyways, and we weren't on the hunt for anything specific - and left the store, never looking back!

 

That year we went to all the major stores, like Wal-Mart, Target, and even the Mall - which wasn't as bad as I had expected. We ended up with some pretty decent deals!



 

The first year was a spur of the moment type deal, but the years to follow we started getting more and more knowledgeable about what we wanted to purchase and for what price. Scoping out the Black Friday ads, which you can find here, totally helped! It seems each year the deals are being released sooner and sooner and the stores are opening earlier and earlier to make your shopping experience worth your while.

When I'm out shopping on Black Friday, I try to do most, if not all of my Christmas shopping. Now, I'm no professional Black Friday shopper - I mostly just participate because I enjoy shopping with my step-mom and step-sister, but I do try and think in advance of the items I know I want and check the store websites to see if there are any deals. Now you can find any in-store Black Friday deal online, which is super convenient (and also known as Cyber No-Work Monday).

We skipped out on Black Friday shopping last year, but plan to get out this year just for fun. My youngest brother is in town, so maybe we'll drag him along with us - he's quiet the comedian. We for sure will be hitting up Kohl's and Home Goods... and maybe Target, because who in their right mind can say "no" to Target?

If you're planning to get out and do some Black Friday shopping this Friday, what are some must-have items on your list and what are some of your favorite stores to stop at?

 

Good luck to everyone who decides gets out there Friday!! :)

 

Free Wall Art Printables for Baby & Kids' Rooms

As I've been looking at tons of baby nurseries to get art ideas for little man's nursery, I've come across some really great printable art to use in a baby or kids' room, and wanted to share them with you! Here are a few of my favorites:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star | LostBumblebee

Adventure | I Rock So What

Custom Initial & Name Print | On to Baby

Dream Big | 733 Blog

Animal Alphabet Poster | Kind Over Matter

Love | Laura Winslow Photography

I Love You To The Moon & Back | Sweet Little Peanut

I just love the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Custom Initial & Name prints, so I print them out at home and used some frames that were laying around to display in the nursery.

Each of these printables are super fun & so sweet! Thanks to all these wonderfully talented artists who shared these printables for free personal use.

Thanksgiving Plans + Friday Favorites

I know I've been slacking on posting lately, but there's been entirely too much going on with both home life and work life - gotta love this time of year!

I cannot believe Thanksgiving day is less than a week away - where has November gone?! Our Thanksgiving plans have been pretty much the same for the past several years. We start off the morning by watching a little bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while sipping on some fresh coffee and eating a light breakfast (have to save room for allll the food to come throughout the day). I've already been looking for ideas to start fun little holiday traditions next year with our little one, and saw these cinnamon roll turkeys on Pinterest! Cute, right?! I know the baby won't be able to eat them just yet, but Brandon & I totally can. :)

Cinnamon Roll Turkeys

After breakfast and some sprucing up, we pack-up the dogs and take a trip to Kingwood to visit both sides of our families, where we'll eat (and eat, and eat), drink, watch football, and just spend some great time with family! I can't decide which dish I'm most looking forward to...

What are your Thanksgiving plans this year?

I've been doing a lot of Pinteresting - I think it's to fill the void of not doing anything super crafty lately - and stumbled across these Thanksgiving craft ideas and free printables.



A Beautiful Mess



A Cozy Kitchen



She Wears Many Hats

I'm also loving these soft sole high-tops in Herringbone from Old Navy for baby. And I couldn't help but purchase this top from PinkBlush (my new favorite clothing store)! Since Brandon and I don't do any of the cooking for Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about making these apple pie crescents! And finally, and really just because, I'm obsessed with this exposed brick & beams kitchen (I told you I've been the crazy-Pinterest-lady latey!).

That's all for now. I hope everyone has a delicious and wonderful Thanksgiving next week!

Pregnancy Update: 7 Months

Another month bites the dust and I'm now in my seventh month of pregnancy!

Little man weighs approximately two-and-a-half to three pounds and is about 15 inches long from head to heal (like a butternut squash).

He's still very active; it's like he's doing somersaults in there! I've started noticing movement when I speak loudly or shine a light on my belly, so I think he's beginning to hear my voice and recognize light. :) I also think he likes to press on the right side of my stomach, which is funny because he used to favor the left side. He also is quite the master at hiccuping.

Being in the third trimester is totally different from the second trimester, which felt like a breeze. Now, I'm only a few weeks into my third tri and have a ways to go, but I am already over the uncomfortableness, insane amount of acid reflux (which happens every day at 3PM and lasts for at least 3 hours -- maybe this means lots of hair for the little babe?!), and leg cramps. However, and strangely enough, I am getting better sleep, so I'll take being uncomfortable during the day if that means a good nights sleep! ;)

I'm missing enjoying a beer or glass of wine with my husband when we go on dates (or just out for that matter). So, I'm eagerly looking forward to our first date night out, which I've already started planning in my mind: pizza + (lots of) wine at our favorite spot. I'm also missing, and really appreciating, my pre-pregnancy wardrobe. While dressing "the bump" is fun, my wardrobe is so limited... However, this much cooler (we're talking 30s - 50s, baby!) weather we've had this week has been great, and calls for big shirts and cardigans (and these, because why not?!), which is totally my style.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I feel like time is just flying by. This is by far my favorite time of the year - I absolutely love spending time with both my family and the in-laws (not to mention, they're both excellent cooks). Next years holiday's will be a blast with the little babe - ah, can't wait! :)

With under 70 days to go until little man's arrival, we have started piecing together his nursery. Here's a sneak peak of the furniture we (the hubs) assembled:



We still have a ways to go, but it's finally starting to come together. I constantly find myself wandering into the nursery just to admire the space that will be our son's room. I'm on a mission to find some great classic books to fill his imagination, as well as pieces for putting the finishing touches on his room.

Throwback Thursday

This week has really flown by; in fact, this entire month has flown by!! Tomorrow is the last day of October, and, more importantly, it's Halloween. Although we didn't get around to putting up any Halloween decorations (they're all stuffed away in the attic), we stocked up on plenty of candy for all the scary trick-or-treaters... and surprisingly my ridiculous sweet tooth hasn't made me devour all the candy before Halloween is even here - you're welcome little trick-or-treaters! ;)

We have a busy weekend ahead of us, but it's mostly doing things around the house - which in itself is a never-ending project. Saturday we are going to finish painting the nursery, which just needs some touch ups, and the carpets are getting cleaned. Sunday we will be putting together the nursery furniture and finally getting a feel for how we're going to decorate the room.

So in honor of Halloween tomorrow, here are some fun "Throwback Thursday" pictures of a ninja turtle sitting on a haystack and Dorthy with her Toto a.k.a. Snoopy-Dog. :)

 

Happy Hallows' Eve everybody! I hope you all eat lots and lots of candy tomorrow (and let's be honest, for the next couple of days too - I know we will), watch some spooky movies, and have a great Halloween weekend.

Sunday Snacks

Sundays are for snacking, at least they are in our household! Instead of making three different meals on Sunday, we love to snack on finger foods. It's easy, delicious, and doesn't really interfere much with all the football watching (or for me, crafting and/or napping) going on.

Yesterday, the hubs requested Pizza Balls! So, I thought I'd share this ridiculously easy recipe with you.

What you'll need:
2 cans of biscuits (we used Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers - butter flavor )
1 package of pepperoni (or 2 packages if you want it extra meaty)
Mozzarella (we used fresh sliced mozzarella)
1 egg
Oregano, crushed red pepper, garlic salt (and any other preferred seasoning)
Parmesan cheese
Marinara / Favorite pasta sauce
Non-stick spray
Baking dish

First, pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Second, start by flattening out the biscuit.

 Next you'll want to add your stuffing. I layered cheese, pepperoni, and more cheese (because I'm married to a cheese-aholic), then topped with some crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat.

Then you'll want to take the edges and bring them to the middle, which then forms a ball (hence: Pizza Balls). Do this for each biscuit.

Arrange them in your baking dish and top the biscuits with the beaten egg + oregano seasoning & garlic salt + a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. I also added a little extra shredded cheese on top to please the cheese-aholic. :)

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Heat up some marinara or your favorite pasta sauce - we had some four cheese tomato sauce left over from when we made baked ziti a few nights ago, so this worked perfectly for dipping.

And enjoy!

Weekend Happenings

What an eventful weekend to follow an eventful week! We started off the weekend right away by getting together for a surprise birthday dinner Friday night for one of our closest friends. After dinner, we met up at a local bar, which ended up being a really neat spot, and hung out till the wee-hours of the night (translation: 12:45 am).

Saturday, while the guys all got together and golfed, one of my girlfriends came over so I could help her by sewing "Lettuce Edge" to 24-yards of tulle to add to two of her daughter's friends dresses (for length) for her upcoming quinceanera. If you're unsure as to what "Lettuce Edge" is (it's ok... I didn't know either), it's basically a ruffled hem edging to knit or stretchy fabric:

Source: Donna Huebsch

It's been a long (huge emphasis on long) while since I used my sewing machine, so it needed to be pulled from the closet and dusted off. I also needed to brush-up on the instructions on how to thread the machine, which didn't seem to take too long... However, once I started attempting the "Lettuce Edge" I began experiencing the same problem I had in the past when using my machine - the thread just wouldn't stay in the bobbin, and if anything is wrong in the bobbin department nothing will work correctly. So, we (and by "we" I really mean "I") kept getting this horrible, straight from a nightmare looking hem on this tulle, which in turn made me super frustrated. By this time, my friend probably regretted asking me to do this for her, but I was determined to help her out. After playing with the thread in the bobbin and adjusting the settings (in other words, pretending like I knew what I doing) I gave it another shot. My friend shouted, "It's working!" and we both decided to celebrate with pizza.

After four hours of sewing, I felt like the "Lettuce Edge" queen. I also felt like I was capable of sewing anything my heart desired. So, since it's been a while since I've done anything super crafty, I'm now determined to start a sewing project or two! Do you have any good project ideas for me?

Sunday, I did some cleaning around the house and de-cluttered the nursery closet (mostly by moving everything to the guest room closet). Later that afternoon we headed to my dad's house for the Cowboys game and to celebrate a day early for my dad's birthday with dinner and cake. We ate dinner and watched the game outside (Cowboys are now 6-1!!), since the weather was so amazing - two rabbits even decided to hop their way into the backyard, but T quickly chased them off.



We made it home and we, including the dogs, called it an early night - after Peyton Manning broke the record for touchdown passes, of course.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and continues to have a great week!