Hey It's Ok Thursday

To eat my weight in spinach artichoke dip just because it's the holidays. 

To eat said dip {and fudge and pie and creamy drinks} and in the same breath bemoan the baby weight that is still hanging on 6 months later.

To still call it baby weight even though it's more like fudge/heavy cream/butter weight at this point.

To be dreading taking down the Christmas decor not because it's a job in itself but because the house is going to look naked. 

To love washing my face just because I get to use the clarisonic mia... in pink obvi

{side note I think I'm going to devote an entire blog post to this sucker soon. I loooove it}

To admit to not washing my face with any sort of regularity pre-super awesome face washing tool.

yes, I know that's gross.

and yes, I know I've been genetically blessed with nearly perfect skin

{especially considering the face that I do not take care of it at all.}

To waste more time writing to do lists than actually doing anything on the list.

To write things on my to do list that I've already done just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing it off the list. 

What are you ok with this Thursday?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Christmas lights with the family on Christmas Eve

{@San Jacinto Plaza in downtown EP}

being one of the last people to board the Urban Decay Naked train...

I love love love it.

an amazing date night with the hubs to celebrate my birthday

complete with complimentary Mango Colada Pie topped with a sparkler

fancy

we had the most magical Christmas...

family, good food, thoughtful gifts, laughter and lots of good memories!

the not so awesome side?

a plumbing issue... that flooded our bathroom, bedroom and hall.

maintenance was here until nearly 2 a.m.

on the bright side Tyler and I were still up at midnight to ring in my birthday with an amazing present and a funny memory! 

all in all it was a lovely two days!

I hope yours was as wonderful as ours. 

random crap

I'm in Christmas overload currently... 

scattered by my feet is rolls of wrapping paper and tape, bows, gift tags, scissors, pens, and various wrapping paper bits that have been trimmed and trimmed in a desperate attempt to hide the fact that I can't cut in a straight line to save my life.

I love it.

Christmas= my life

even más exciting? my birthday is the day after... and all the fam will be in to celebrate. 

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I made Christmas place mats for my table. 

I have a pretty awesome pinterest inspired idea for them... 

here's hoping that I a) get around to it before Christmas actually happens and b) that it turns out as cute as I'm hoping

they're less limey in real life and a little more sagey.

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I'm loving fancy donuts that make me smile

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fancy princess girls.

daddy/chicklet bonding time.

two of my most favorite life things

for the record she doesn't have pierced ears-those are  press on earrings.
does anyone remember those?
does anyone know how difficult it was to track those suckers down?!
dang near impossible I tell you!

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ignore the fact that I took a bite of it already...

but these are the cupcakes I made for play group to celebrate Maggie's birthday.

the pink didn't show up as well in this one but it was the brightest most vivid shade.

obsessed.

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and just because this makes me giggle...

Sunday night I took my girls on a date.

some shopping, the park and a px food court dinner.

Maggie picked what we ate Sarku Japan {chicken teriyaki}

she took one bite... and well this is what she thought

pintervention party {week 5}

linking up once again with the fab nicole for a

pintervention party

can you believe it? 5 weeks and nearly 10 pinterest inspired projects. I impress myself.

this weeks project was a little something for the chicklets {and the dog}

Source: allfortheboys.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

1 box + 1 strand of Christmas lights = hours of pure bliss

yep, check out her awesome Buffalo Wild Wings tiara.
&&& the zebra pillow I made her :)

{and just for giggles}

Source: sofiasideas.com via Sharon on Pinterest

and last but not least... a code for anyone who wants to link up on your blog.
share the love <3

get the InLinkz code

christmas fail

a Christmas narrative by Avery

"what? you think this guy is the real deal?

pfffffft sister."

"don't worry I've got this covered"

"well what do you know... it's real.

who would have thought"

"I'm still not smiling for this poser"

**********

in other news... Tyler gets back from hunting {with my dad} in the morning. 

and it could not come a minute sooner.

I did the single mom thing for four months- no biggie.

but he leaves for 4 days? and the crap hits the fan.

it was insanity.

lesson learned? he can never go anywhere again. ha!

things I'm Loving Thursday

my too sweet husband surprised me with an early Christmas present to cheer me up after a rough few days... a super cute phone case from marley lilly

I am obsessed with it and it turned my week around.

so thank you tyler!

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my chicklet who knows exactly what she wants.

in this case?

a french braid and leopard bow.

even if it didn't match... some battles? not worth fighting.

********* 

new nail polish

{and a crappy home manicure}

OPI "speak for your-elf"

********* 

 my dear friend, Raquel, and her husband, Nate, who were featured on CNN

{Nate works with Tyler}

they did an awesome story on this sweet couple.

plus? since I know them I'm almost famous, right? 

they are the second story form the bottom on this screen shot.

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funny moments between daddy and his girls crack me up :)

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Avery loving her high chair and her big girl food 

{avocado & rice cereal in this case} 

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sweet sister moments

and Maggie rocking her "princess" outfit

aka my pink velour face washing headband and a summer dress

dec 14.

3 years ago today a most precious blessing joined our family...

Miss Maggie Claire

{confession: two seconds in and I'm already weepy}

but really how is my baby three years old already?

I could have never imagined how much one little person could bring to my life. 

she changed my heart... my priorities. 

she made me a momma.

I am so thankful for her every day.

2008. 

2009.

2010.

2011.

it's amazing to me to see how much she has changed.

how much personality she has. 

I would not trade her for the world.

so today? 

we celebrate...

life.

a daughter.

a sister.

a grandchild.

a blessing.

pintervention party {week 4}

linking up once again with the fab nicole for a

pintervention party

are you on this bandwagon yet?
because you should be.
I am loving how motivated it has made me to actually do a little bit what I am pinning.

today's pin  is compliments of the lovely ashley at domestic fashionista
she posted this photo of her Christmas decor and I fell in love.

mercury glass and lace doilies? be still my heart.

Source: domestic-fashionista.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I still really need to find a sparkle reindeer. if anyone knows of one let me know and stat. please.
anyway.
this is my very loose interpretation of the same concept but centerpiece style.
mercury glass christmas trees: target.
metallic embroidered snowflake runner: target
baby tree: hobby lobby
ornaments: target {$5 woot!}

I love it!
of course it now sits on the new dining table but you get the idea.

side note: you should totally check out her blog. she is adorable and I loooove her house.
I have pinned so many ideas {current obsession: her table and chairs. I want the same concept for my own table!}

so link up and join this party! 

be inspired.
do something.
post about it.
and let the world know!
{or just me and nicole but whatevs.}

and, if you want the code to share the link up on your page....
get the code here!

I need to blog.

what's on my mind right now?

I need to blog. 

and literally can't think of a single thing to blog about. 

so here's some random crap. 

enjoy.

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we finally put our new dining table in the dining room.

the dilemma? what to do with the old one.

we improvised... 

we now have a buffet for large parties/craft table for everyday projects

and I need to add more Christmas cards to the ribbon.

and find something to replace the hastily improvised clothespin.

keeping it classy. always 

and a semi awkwardly placed portable island which {might} migrate to the closet. 

it's a work in progress. 

the newest addition to the house

it's for the girls 

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Ty and I went to a Christmas party Friday night and I had the Ft Bliss Holiday Home Tour Saturday night. 

I wore heels.

I never wear heels.

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The view from our house after the big snow.

it finally melted like yesterday.  

I wish it had stayed until at least January 1. 

I love snow.

in moderate amounts :)

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and hands down the best part of this weekend?

it was the first day of Tyler's nearly month long leave.

hallelujah sweet baby hay-zues 

help with the girls and grown up company?

SOLD.

Hey It's Ok Thursday

To not sort laundry and rely completely on Shout Color Catcher sheets.

{which btw they work amazing!}

To have a small collection of holiday creamers in my fridge at any given moment.

To believe that oversized sunnies {aka I had a rough night glasses} make you invisible.

To be super excited about Holiday Home Tours

{I am incredibly nosy and I get to poke around a bunch of Colonels and Generals homes. score.

plus? there's wine}

To have a mild obsession with cookbooks.

and still get 99% of the recipes I make from pinterest.

To scrap last night's slow cooker dinner and order Papa John's instead.

To not wash your hair and use dry shampoo for the nth day in a row because it's too cold in my house to deal with wet hair.

favorite things

am I the only one who hears favorite things and immediately starts to hum My Favorite Things?

love me some Sound of Music

all right.

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quite possibly one of my favorite blogs {thanks to my mom for this little gem!}

Suri's Burn Book

synopsis: A study in Suri and the people who disappoint her. 

absolutely hysterical. 

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Glühwein and spiced cookie nights with friends. 

something about it just says Christmas. 

***********

impromptu snow parties.

and apparently outfits too. 

what the bump is going on with my awesome hat and pajama pants. and rain boots.

my eyes. they hurt.

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the Silver Bells scent from Scentsy

it smells sooooo good and pepperminty and delicious

-and yes that's a link to my personal site :)

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piñatas almost as big as me
and again I'm in pajamas... is that all I wear?

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Christmas ornaments.

I love them and constantly see a thousand that I have to have right then or I just might die

lucky for Tyler I restrain myself

but I'm getting antsy to get our family ornaments for the year already!

I love these ornaments from the Jingle Jungle line at Pier 1 but Tyler? doesn't love them as much at all 

ah the sacrifices we make

{and yes, I have the leopard one compliments of last weeks ornament exchange but I'd like the others too!}

what are some of your favorite things?

pintervention party {week 3}

so this weekend and the days leading up to it were downright crazy.

Maggie's birthday party was cancelled. rescheduled. cancelled. and then moved. 

Saturday the original day? ended up being beautiful. of course.

Sunday the day we rescheduled for? not so much.

we had a bounce house.

it got used for a total of 40 minutes maybe.

I have like 40 pictures... but not a single one has been uploaded.

17 adults.

16 kids.

did I mention they were IN my house because it was literally pouring rain.

in the desert. it NEVER rains here. but it did for Maggie's fiesta.

praise the lord for a phenomenal cleaning lady because my house was trashed.

insanity.

so with all of that I haven't done much that was pinterest inspired...

but I'm still dying to know what you did! 

so indulge me and link up and show me what you've done recently.

please?

my one semi-pinterest inspired goodness came via cupcakes.

along with party mode came a bit of a panic because I? am not an awesome cupcake froster.
thanks to this though I watched a youtube tutorial and my cupcakes were passable.

Source: glorioustreats.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

so don't judge me because my frosting skills could clearly still use quite a bit of work

but what I really got from that was the worlds best cream cheese frosting recipe of all time.
no lie, I had at least 7 people ask me for the recipe.
my tip? sub almond extract for vanilla... it was a last minute spontaneous decision
and I'm 99% sure it changed my life.
I love almond frosting for reals.

Source: glorioustreats.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

oh and something cool? it's snowing. a lot. well a lot for the desert. we've got a solid inch plus.

I have lots of pictures of that too. I'll upload them... eventually.

did I mention we live in the desert? ;)

I think I need to sleep and wake up refreshed

...and ready to get my pinterest crafting on!

so link up.
share with your friends.
&&& come back again :)

coffee group

one of the things I love most about the military life is the sense of camaraderie.

more specifically my coffee group.

we meet once a month and always have the best time!

last night we had an ornament exchange and a yummy soup dinner.

the wind was insanely blustery {think 50-60 mph}

and soup was the perfect accompaniment.

oh and I always learn the most interesting things.
more specifically the things that my husband tells other husbands...
like that I can have an LDM and get kind of mean. pffft. men!
I get dancy and then kinda mean ;)

{of course, it's all balanced because you know we gossip about the hubs too.
especially now that they're home and the post-deployment glow is starting to wear off.
the ACU's scattered about and random piles of junk? not as cute anymore.}

anyway...
I got this adorable ornament.

even better? I'd totally eyed it at Pier 1 but knew Ty would be like leopard? pfft.

so the fact that I "won it" and "had" to take it home?

the perfect excuse. and I only had to steal it once for it to be mine. woot!

and since I'm on the Christmas tree topic...

our tree is no longer topless!

I made a bow for it.

the tree

and a random slipper. it's whatevs.

ok, now I need to stop procrastinating and start tackling my gigantic list of pre-party to do's!

nonsense

it's December 1.

you know what that means right?

it's mine and Maggie's birthday month!!!

seriously that was the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning. 

well when I woke up for the 9th time because Avery?

has given up on sleep.

correction- given up on sleep during the night. 

because who does that anymore?

me, well I'd like to at least.

I'm currently in an over-caffeinated/sleep-deprived state which leaves me moving a million miles an hour and then I crash- and I crash hard- {typically} at play group. 

on the bright side? I'm super productive.

the floors are vacuumed and steam mopped.

dishwasher unloaded and reloaded.

a load of laundry is done.

I've done a cursory clean in the kitchen

and cleaned out the fridge.

and I've only been up for an hour.

Maggie's party is this weekend. 

it's changed location/time/date three times.

all within just a couple hours.

EP is under a "severe" weather alert starting today and running through the weekend.

40-60 mph winds, rain {in our little patch of desert? say whatttt?!} and even maybe possibly snow.

so exciting! SO atypical weather for here and now. 

it totally put a damper on our outside party that was perfectly planned. 

we've revamped and I'm still excited although a bit nervous.

regardless we will be fiesta-ing it up and celebrating the magic that is my amazing {almost} 3 year old. 

the one big issue facing me right now?

I am just dying to decorate for Christmas but with 40+ people headed over this weekend and nearly 20 kiddos I feel like that's a bad plan.

plus a Christmas fiesta? I'm not sure that's a concept even I can pull off ;)

so alas I wait. until the day after the party obvi.

and then? it's going to be Christmas all over this house!

it will be all

bows on crack: the Christmas edition

get exciiiiited.