Valentine Wreath

I made this easy Valentine Day heart wreath for our front door and boy, do I love it!

I kept the colors pretty neutral so I can use it year round if I want.

A Love Inspired Mantel

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and this year, I've decided to do a little decorating to celebrate!  I'm not going all out like I do for Christmas, but I thought having a Valentine's Day themed mantel would be nice and I'm going to decorate our dining room shelf too (pics of that to come when I'm finished.) 

O Christmas Tree.... O Christmas Trees!

Remember our tree from last year? 

I love this tree!  It's so beautiful.  We have it up again, but this year, I decorated the mirror banister with lights, ribbon that matches the tree, and poinsettias.  And we hung a wreath (given to us my Justin's super nice boss) at the top.

It's gorgeous!

AND, I was lucky enough to find a FREE tree on freecycle this summer.  So we have 2 trees this year.  The fancy tree in the formal living room/office area and a family tree in the living room!

 The family tree has miscellaneous ornaments on it like ones from our childhood, ones given to us as gifts, milestone ornaments like our first Christmas together, our first Christmas in our new home, etc.  I'm going to carry on the traditions of both of our mothers and buy/make ornaments for us and our kids every year.  But since we don't have kids yet, I bought Dexter and Molly ornaments instead!

What? These doggies love Christmas as much as we do!  And I needed an excuse to buy more ornaments to help fill up the family tree (got them at Dollar General for a buck a piece!).  Who wants to look at a sparsely decorated tree?!  Ok, ok, I admit it.  I'm kinda a crazy dog lady...both doggies have a present and something to go in their stocking.  But they can't be left out of Christmas!   =)


More posts to come-mantel and Christmas shelf decorations, an awesome, sentimental diy gift and lots more! 

Witch Broom Door Hanger

 Halloween is next week so I've been busy getting the house spookified for our party!

Here's a little somthing I made for our front door to welcome all the ghouls and witches that will be coming to visit next Saturday. 

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

Over the Labor Day weekend, we had a cold front come through in Texas and we had about a 15 to 20 degree drop in temperature.  It was much needed!  We have been suffering through a very long, very hot summer so we welcomed the cooler air!  It inspired me to start decorating for fall.  It is September, after all...time for pumpkins, scarecrows, orange and red leaves, and anything that makes you feel comfy.  I went to dollar tree over the weekend and picked up some supplies to make a fall door hanger.

I intended to hang it outside, but I think that it dresses up our coat closet quite nicely!

Here's a closer, brighter look.  I used 4 bunches of glitter, fall leaves, 2 bunches of cattails, floral styrofoam, and a hanging basket for a total cost of $8.  It sure does beat a $30 wreath from Michael's!  This week I'll be dragging out all the fall decor down from the attic!  I can't wait to show you how lovely our home will be decorated for the fall!

Linking to:

 

The Land of the Free

Forth of July is just around the corner and I've been busy brainstorming on something pretty for my door.  I decided on making a simple wreath.  I was able to get most of the supplies super cheap-it only cost me about $5 to make!  Isn't it cute?!

Here's what you will need...

The Luck of the Irish

I wanted to share with all of you our pretty door hanger for St. Patrick's Day.  I found this free printable at eighteen25, a blog I've recently stumbled upon and L-O-V-E!  They've got some great ideas over there.

A Time to be Thankful

Mr. Scarecrow says hello from our front door!  Thursday is Thanksgiving so I wanted to share what we are thankful for!

• God-I'm so thankful that God chose me to be His.  I'm so grateful that He accepts me despite my short comings, loves me unconditionally, and continues to guide me, sometimes pushes me ;), in the right direction.
• A loving husband-It took me a while to find him, but I'm so thankful that he loved me enough to ask me to be his wife!  I'm so very grateful for his gentleness with me, his support, and his level headedness.
• Family-we wouldn't be where we are today if it was not for our families.  Thank you for teaching us, for supporting us, and for loving us.
• Molly and her sweet kisses when I get home from work. She can always make me feel better when my world is upside down.
• Friends-thanks to all of you that listen to our venting, give us a shoulder to cry on, and make us laugh!
• So thankful that Justin and I have jobs and are in a financially good place.  Though some days it may be hard for us to drag ourselves out of bed in the mornings, we have jobs that allow us to pay our bills and to put food on the table and that is a wonderful thing.
• Our health.
• That we live in a great nation that allows us to be individuals.  That we are not persecuted for our beliefs, for being a woman, for the clothes we wear, for what we say.  We feel so blessed that we were born into this country and do not have to face the challenges and persecutions that immigrants face coming to this country and becoming citizens.
• CHOCOLATE.  Everyone should be thankful for chocolate.
• And Justin is probably thankful for his Mama's meat and beans ;)

Thanksgiving is not only a time to be thankful for what you have, but it's also a time to give back to those that may not have as much as you have to be thankful for.  Last year I volunteered with my church to provide and serve a thanksgiving lunch to those who are less fortunate.  This year, Justin and I are serving together!  It's so exciting for me to be able to serve along side my husband during this time and being able to share with him my passion for helping others.  We also decided to sponsor 8 thanksgiving meals so that 8 people will get to enjoy a tasty Thanksgiving lunch.  I hope that we will be able to do this every year and that it will become a family tradition.

We're traveling down to Corsicana this year for a big Smith Family Thanksgiving.  We hope all of you who are taking trips out of town are safe and we hope all of you have a great time with your families and loved ones!  Happy Thanksgiving!