Our Most Popular Posts from 2012

It's the last day of 2012, boy did this year fly by!  We thought it would be fun to share with you our most popular blog posts from the year, enjoy!

Julia's UGA Deco Mesh Wreath

 

 

 

Julia's Side Table Reveal

 

 

 

Elizabeth's DIY Chevron Stripe Quote Board

 

 

Elizabeth's Painted Orange Stripe Ikea Curtains

 

 

 

Our Burlap Monogrammed Koozies

 

 

 

Julia's Chevron Stripe Chalkboard

 

 

 

Elizabeth's DIY Photo Wrapped Canvas

 

 

 

Elizabeth's Burlap & Chevron Stripe Table Runner

 

 
Happy New Year's Eve! 
We'll be ringing in the New Year at the Chickfila Bowl where Clemson takes on LSU. 

See you in 2013!


 

African Peanut Soup

I hope you had a great Christmas!! Do you have a lot of turkey or left over meat? Here's a great soup recipe that will use some of that left over turkey or chicken.  It's great for lunch and dinner!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of peeled sweet potatoes, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalepeno, minced

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1 cup salsa

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 cups chicken broth

2 cans Campbell's Chicken with rice soup

1 can black beans, drained

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

 

Directions:

 

Step 1: Saute sweet potato, onion, red pepper, garlic and jalepeno in large pot for 10 minutes.

 

Step 2: Add remaining ingredients except peanut butter.

 

Step 3: Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

 

Step 4: Stir in peanut butter with whisk.

 

Step 5: Serve!

 

This recipe serves 11 one cup bowls of soup so it's perfect for a large gathering. 

 

I had this soup for the first time the other month and it is AMAZING!  It's so flavorful and full of yummy veggies.  We got this recipe from a mother at our mom's school - thank you Larissa for sharing this recipe with us!

 

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Deck the Halls

Good morning!

How was everyone's Christmas? 

 

Mine was busy but great!  I got to visit so much family and it was nice celebrating with those close to us. 

 

Here are a few pictures from the holiday:

 Sunday we had dinner at Linger Longer with the BF's family.  Our dinner was amazing!  They have 4 house infused vodkas: blueberry, pineapple, raspberry and mixed berry.  The food is contemporary American seafood & steak house.  I had the caesar salad to start and grilled salmon with fried brussel sprouts for dinner.  Everything was so tasty!  I also sipped on the Fire Road Sauvignon Blanc which might be one of my new faves :)  For dessert they serve complimentary blueberry cotton candy.  We all tried a few bites and oh course our mouths turned bright blue!!

 

 

Later in the night we stopped by the Ritz to check out their life size gingerbread house.

300 lbs. of flour, 100 lbs. of sugar, 80 lbs. of candy - it was ridiculous!

And we finished the night with s'mores out by the lake!

 



 

The holiday was also filled with a visit to my Grandparent's - our Grandma will be 88 next week.  It's always a blessing to spend another Christmas with her.

 

My family joined the BF and I for the Christmas Eve service at our church.  It was a terrific service filled with lessons and carols and capped off with a candle light ceremony. 

 

Christmas day was pretty easy going.  We exchanged gifts and stockings, watched a few Christmas movies and completed a puzzle of Rockefeller Center.  For dinner we veered from tradition and had take-out Chinese.  It was perfect!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

High Five for Friday

1.  Book Club with the girls!

We read You Better Not Cry by Augustus Burroughs.

2.  The BF and I celebrated our 2 year dating anniversary the other week. 

These are the pretty flowers he got me :)

3.  Our first Silhouette project!

Adding frosted stars to the mirror above our parent's nativity scene.

4.  Early Christmas present from my parents.

A green statement necklace from the Nest - I love it!!

5.  The biggest Christmas tree I've ever seen!!!

It literally reminds me of the Griswold tree - "little full, lot of sap!"

Tonight I'm having the family over for homemade pizza, gingerbread cookie decorating and a Christmas movie.  My parents still haven't seen all my decorations, I guess that's what happens when you're out of town every weekend of December ;)





Sunday the Christmas fesitivities officially begin!  We'll start with lunch at my Grandparent's house, then drive over to the BF's Aunt & Uncle's to spend the night (his parents will be driving into town too) and then back home for Christmas Eve service then Christmas at my parents.

Wishing y'all a happy & safe Christmas! 

I hope you get to spend tons of time with the one's you love! 

Holiday Craft Ideas

I have seriously been confused all week, I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday??!?!  Clearly I am ready for Christmas break!  This year, it works out that I can be out of the office for 12 straight days with only taking 3 days off from work, love it!  Those 12 days will most likely be spent with family, crafting, going on walks with my niece and lots of relaxation :)

Looking for a last minute Holiday Craft to make? 
Check out some of our favorites from last year:

 

Burlap Christmas Pillow

 

 

Coffee Filter Wreath

 

 

Burlap Stripe Tree Skirt

 

 

Burlap Ruffle Wreath

 

What are your plans over the holiday? 

 

DIY Christmas Cookie Tin

 

Every Christmas I make cookies for my peers at work.  I almost always make our Chocolate Crackle cookies with pecans - they seem to be a huge crowd pleaser.

 

You may or may not know, but I love TJ's chai tea mix.  I drink a warm cup every morning.  One day I noticed that the chai tea container would be the perfect container for Christmas cookies.  So I started saving them - it probably took me 3 months to collect 8.  Yes - I was thinking about Christmas back in September ;)

 

 

To start, drink a lot of chai tea.  Next tear off the label and rinse out the container.  These containers are a thick cardboard, so I couldn't put them in the dishwasher, I had to hand wash them.  Allow to completely dry.

 

 

I covered the tins with scrapbooking paper.  Measure the width and diameter of your tin and cut the paper to fit.

 

Modge Podge the paper on to the tin. 

The paper I used was a little thick.  So to keep it in place while it dried, I wrapped hair ties around the tin on top of the paper. 

 

The paper I used was not wide enough in diameter, there was an inch gap.

 

I just cut another piece of scrapbook paper to size (and used fancy scissors) then Modge Podged it on.

 

Allow the Modge Podge to set for a day.  And remove the hair ties.

 

I made stickers for each tin using PicMonkey.  Center the stickers and stick on.  

 

Now fill your tins with cookies, each tin fit about 5 cookies.

Give out to friends and family!

 

What is your favorite holiday gift to give to peers?

 

 

 

 

Gingerbread Houses

 

Only 7 sleeps till Christmas!!

 

Last weekend the family got together for our annual gingerbread house contest (last years's).  We picked up kits from Michael's and then assembled them ourselves.  Lesson learned, read the instructions first!! We were supposed to assemble them the day before decorating so that the frosting would have time to set.  Oops!  Our houses started to shift during the decorating process ;) 

 

 

Julia and I worked on one together and obviously it was the best looking house ;) 

The kits this year came with red & green fondant.  It was fun to roll out the fondant and make wreaths, trees, garland, a front door, etc. 

 

 

I stocked up on candy from my friend's wedding (she had a candy bar).  We had hershey kisses, sour patch kids, swedish fish, and reese's plus the kit's candy.  

 

My brother and his wife went all out with a sour patch theme.  They probably win the award for having a story line!

 

It was fun to be with everyone and see how everyone decorated their houses :)

 

Does your family have  Christmas tradition?

 

 

 

Fa la la la la.... Christmas Apartment Tour

Happy Monday!

It's rainy & cold in Atlanta this morning, perfect for sleeping in. I wish Christmas break existed in the corporate world :(  

 

 

The BF and I spent this past weekend in Columbia SC for one of his fraternity brother's wedding.  It was a blast, probably too much fun!  We attended the Rehearsal After Party on Friday night, lots 0f dancing and champagne - there was an Elton John cover band, so much fun!  Saturday the girls did lunch and pedicures while the boys played golf.  Then we attended the ceremony and reception.  The reception was at the Columbia Museum of Art (very pretty space), another night of too much fun and going to bed way past my bedtime.  I am exhausted this morning! But luckily this is the last week before Christmas and then I'll have 12 straight days off from work - woo hoo!!

 

 

It's time for this year's apartment Christmas tour!

 

The other week, the BF and I picked up a Christmas tree from our local Pike Nursery.  This tree is about 7 feet tall and cost $29.99.  Pretty good deal! 

 

We decorated the tree in white lights with a burlap stripe tree skirt.  The ornaments are a combination of my childhood ornaments and ornaments the BF and I have collected.  So far we have one from: Kiawah Island, Charleston, Tybee Island, and Goats on a Roof :)

 

 

Ziggy our zebra got a Santa hat.  And we're using the tv stand as our mantle.  You might notice we only have one stocking, we still need to buy the BF one ;)

 

My parents gave me the snowman and Santa. And the rocking horse was made by my Mom's friend's father, I've had it for probably 15 years and love decorating with it at Christmas.

 

I am slowly starting a collection of Nutcrackers.  The 2 on the left came from my parents and the 1 on the right came from my brother.

 

Our front door!

I made this coffee filter wreath last year.  The BF's aunt made us the twine tree.

 

Our dining room and kitchen (the view from the front door):

I made reversible placemats several years ago - one side is poinsettias and the other is candy canes.  The table centerpiece is another one of the twine trees and wax pinecones. 

 

I have Santa plates on display in the kitchen along with some holiday dish towel.  Also, the pantry door has been turned into a Christmas Card display :)

And a few more pictures of our Christmas tree!



 



 

Don't you love the "Merry Christmas" sign hanging from the curtains? Julia made that last year before we had a Silhouette Cameo. She hand cut out each letter- DEDICATION!

Now we can make those signs with the press of a button :)

 

Thanks for touring my apartment! 

I love being at home during the holidays with all the Christmas lights on and the smell of the Christmas tree.  It just makes me happy :)

 

 

 

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