Christmas Card Season!

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Candy Striped Snapshot Christmas Card

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Living Room "Artwork"

We've been in our house 2 years on Friday. Wow, has it already been that long?! We've had the living room in a nearly-finished state that whole time. The big items that was always missing was some sort of art piece behind our sofa where there is really, really big, blank wall. After pouring through idea after idea, we decided to try our hands at something like this we saw on Pinterest:

So, I went to our local Goodwill to look for some frames. I came home with a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors! Nothing that a good ole' can of ORB spray paint couldn't fix! I was able to snag all of these frames for a mere $20! Can't beat that anywhere!



We then went to Michael's and Joann's, because we had coupons for both and thankfully they are right next to each other, and got some fabric and matting paper for about $10.

Early Saturday morning, we loaded into the car and made a family run to Home Depot. Picked out our board, had the handy-dandy employee cut it down to size (6.5 feet) and then picked up our stain, the braces and few other odds and ends, and for about $45 we were out of there and on our way back home to get to work!

It took 4 DAYS to get the board just right! After applying our first coat of stain, we weren't particularly thrilled with the color. So, we just mixed it with a stain we had leftover from the crib project, and it ended up being just what we wanted! We wanted to do it right, no matter how impatient I became to just 'get it done', I waited the full 24 hours in between staining so that it could dry before I sanded to apply another coat!




Then, the big install night came! It took about 1.5 hours to do all the measuring, centering, measuring, centering, measuring, centering and you get the point! And then.....




How pretty is it!?!? I just looked at it from all different angles including walking in and out of the room several times, for about 30 minutes!

Project Breakdown:

Board- $8.00 (they cut the board for free!)
Braces- $20.00 (they were sold in packs of 2, so we have one extra for another project!)
Stain & Sandpaper- $15.00
Picture Frames- $20.00
Fabric, Matting- $10.00
Accessories- $0.00 (I had most of these on hand around the house)
TOTAL- $73.00 (definitely can't buy a nice and large piece of art for that!)



BEFORE:

AFTER:

Foodgawker

Lately I have been making lots of yummy treats that I have found on foodgawker.com. That site is fantastic, but a total time hog! Unfortunately for a lot of the recipes, I haven't had my camera close by, so no pictures of banana white chocolate almond muffins, blueberry muffins, yogurt dill bread, buffalo chicken pasta, golden lemon roasted chicken (so easy and inexpensive!), paprika potatoes, variety quiche, and rataouille just to name a few! Last night however, these looked so good, I actually went upstairs and got my camera to capture the awesomeness!

These were suppose to be Gouda-Stuffed Mushrooms, but last week when I bought the gouda, I didn't anticipate having to wait a whole week to make this recipe, and we ate it all before last night! So, I had plenty of mozzarella and cheddar on hand, so that's what we used! I also used cilantro instead of basil, because I had some fresh in the refrigerator.

So, without further ado, here is the evidence of yum:

The inspiration recipe can be found here:

http://circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com/food-and-recipes/2009/12/2/gouda-stuffed-mushrooms.html

Summer Update- Part 2

So, picking up where I last left off of our summer adventures:

In July, we took Amelia on her first plane trip to Virginia/Washington, D.C. We spent a wonderful family-fun-filled weekend with Neal's grandmother, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. There was lots and lots of swimming, which Amelia just loved. We also were able to have a family reunion of sorts with people from all over Virginia & West Virginia. It was good to see some of these people we only see once every year or so.




Our first trip into D.C. we visited the Air and Space Museum...with about 7.4 million other people, as well as the Native American Museum with about 4 people. (Let's just say it wasn't that the most popular attraction in town, but the building itself is fabulous!)

Neal & Amelia in front of the Amelia Earhart section

On the 4th, we dared to travel into D.C. for the festivities there! Heard the concert in the National Cathedral, and toured the beautiful gardens on the ground there.




Visited with Brian in his digs up in Georgetown and enjoyed some tasty watermelon!



And then, for the grande finale of the day, watched the concert and fireworks on the lawn of the Capitol building. It is always such fun to be in our nation's capitol on the day that we celebrate our declaration of independence...and apparently the entire eastern seaboard thinks so too, because they are all there with us!!

A Long Time Coming- Summer Update Part 1

It has been a very packed summer so far! In some ways we are on the go what seems like ALL the time, in other ways, we are getting to spend a lot of quiet family time together at home, just the 3 of us! Here is just a glimpse at the fun summer activities so far!

May
Coca-Cola 125 Years Celebration in Centennial Park, Atlanta

Enjoying her first taste of frozen strawberry lemonade!

Mother's Day
This was my first Mother's Day with Amelia out-of-utero! It was such a fun day celebrating being a mommy to this precious little girl. Our outfits even matched!





Officer Training School Graduation in Montgomery, Alabama
One of our good friends, Michael, graduated from the Air Force Officer Training School. We went down for the weekend to celebrate his commissioning and graduation.




June
June brought on some major life changes for members of both of our families. Hannah graduated from high school. And we celebrated the start of medical school for Sharon. Also, Amelia really perfected her crawling and now scoots along with determination and speed!

Hannah's High School Graduation Party





Father's Day
Their outfits also matched! We didn't get a picture on the actual day, so we took this one the next day when Neal got home from work. Unfortunately, Amelia just wanted her dinner and was not having a pleasant experience during her photo session with dad!



Swimming with Friends, Lake Allatoona, Georgia
My sweet friend, Kenzie, whom I worked with at the Korean Consulate way back when, has a family lake house on Allatoona. Mom, Amelia and I went over one day to swim with her, her kids, and her mom! Amelia wasn't too fond of the water at first, but she eventually warmed up to it and actually ended up falling asleep while I was holding her in the water!










Sharon's Farewell Party
We celebrated Sharon's achievement of being accepted into Medical school! It is bitter-sweet, because although we are terribly excited for her to be taking this next step in pursing her passion, she will be doing it 8 hours away in West Virginia. We will miss her terribly, but hope to see her in her new home in the not so distant future!





Well, that's all I have time for now. Amelia Jane just woke up from her nap and she is quite vocal about getting out and eating her lunch! July updates will be coming soon, and there might even be a video involved! Oh, yeah, that's the hook for ya!

Homegoods Shopping Spree Gift Card Giveaway!

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is hosting a HomeGoods $100 gift card giveaway given by BlogHer! Check it out here!

3 Special Gifts

These coordinating pleated purses are going to 3 very special sisters overseas!









They were all made out of fat quarters, one for the outside and one for the inside and strap. I downloaded the free Buttercup Purse pattern from Made by Rae, and it was pretty easy to follow. I made a few alterations, like attaching interfacing to the entire outside fabric so that it is sturdier. I also made the strap a little bit longer than suggested so that it will fit nice and snug on their shoulders. The inside of each purse is the same fabric as the top and strap. There is also a pocket on the inside made out of the outside fabric. Coordination all around!

Made by Rae also has a tutorial on how to make this pleated purse a little bit bigger, so it will be perfect for an adult size!

Newest Family Member

Damon August Singletary Parker

Born at home to David and Caroline on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. He was 8 pounds exactly!

He and Amelia are exactly 5 months apart, and I can't wait to watch them grow up and play together!

If you want to read Caroline's fantastic birth story, it is on her blog, which you can get to by clicking here.

The Completed Nursery...FINALLY!

Well, Amelia is nearing 5 months, so I figured it was a good time to put the finishing touches on the nursery and call it complete! It was a process trying to figure out what to do in there. Originally, since we didn't know her gender before she was born, we were going to do everything in neutrals. Well, once she was here, I couldn't help but want to put some feminine touches in her room. So, the base of the room is still neutral, but most of the accents have that touch of pink, which could easily be swapped out for a more masculine look in the future if needed!

This is the 9-months-to-refinish crib that Amelia's daddy put so much love, time and energy into! It turned out fantastic!

The frames above the crib have coordinating scrapbook paper and silk flowers that we used in decor at our wedding! Ah, sentiments!

This butterfly mobile cost me less than $5 and 30 minutes to make! I catch Amelia reaching up and trying to catch the butterfly's sometimes!

This was my splurge item in the room! The comfy chair is a definite must for the nursery!

We opted to buy a dresser instead of a more typical changing table. This way, once we no longer need the changing table, she will already have a dresser, we won't have to buy another piece of furniture, and I won't have to worry about storing a cumbersome changing table!

Above the dresser are frames that hold a birth announcement, scripture verses, and a box of roses that "the aunts" brought to the hospital when she was born.


This was a super simple way to add a personalized touch. Scrap burlap and left-over felt!

And to hold her growing collection of hair accessories, a frame from hunny's grandmother, and wrapping paper from Amelia's first Christmas gift from her Aunt, Uncle and Cousin!