mmm the holidays

I know it has been awhile...like over a month. I do love the holidays, but somehow they always seem like the craziest time of the year. James and I have been busy with hosting Thanksgiving for the first time and getting ready/decorated for Christmas.

Thanksgiving went so wonderful! James made a delicious turkey and I worked on the stuffing and making everything look cute of course! Our families each brought a side and all in all we had a TON of food!

Here are a few pics from Thanksgiving...

my wonderful hubby (who is an unbelievable cook) prepping the bird

the table all set up

(I got the burlap for $2 a yard and the red fabric for $1.80 a yard on sale at JoAnn's for a perfect table cloth)

each place setting

(when everyone sat down they wrote what they were thankful for on their place card)

our first thanksgiving as husband and wife AND our first turkey

After a long day of cooking and family the unthanks took a nap....including jaxon

After we hosted Thanksgiving over here, we celebrated with James' side of the family on Saturday and I made Pioneer Woman's "Dreamy Apple Pie" with whiskey sauce. It was truly that....Dreamy! I love everything she comes up with!

Overall it was a blessed Thanksgiving with great family and lots (maybe too much) yummy food!

peter pan and pumpkin dip

The week of Halloween is always a little crazy. It is red ribbon week at school (which throws it all for a whirlwind) and it always seems the end of October is just a "busy time."

Among all the craziness there has been some fun Halloween/Octoberish things to enjoy...

First, my sister and Caden came over on Saturday morning and we made Caden's costume. Now, of course he tried it on and in the split second I moved on to make one more part to the costume he managed to get his hot chocolate and add his own touch. Overall, it turned out great and of course is unbelievable stinkin' cute....

(again disclaimer for the blackberry photo)

I mean does it get any cuter?

Also, I took some pumpkin dip to community group last week and forgot how yummy it is to share! I got this wonderful recipe from Kristen Campbell my junior year in college and have loved it/made it EVERY fall ever since. It is great to take for a group of people. I recommend getting ginger snaps to dip. Although, I highly recommend getting the thin ones and the only place I have found them so far is Whole Foods.

Here is the recipe....

Pumpkin Dip

1 can of organic pumpkin

1 block cream cheese

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. clove

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

I put it all in the mixer and whisked away!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and yay for weather in the 70's tomorrow!

burlap ruffled pillow

So I have been wanting to find some fun pillows to add to our bed (because I am always looking for fun decorative things to add on.)

I found the look I wanted this summer when pottery barn came out with a variety of pillows in a burlap material that had cute sayings like "nest" or "laughter" stamped on it. I fell in love....then...

(photo courtesy of pottery barn)

...I read the $49 price tag. No thanks! I mean don't get me wrong...I lovvveee our pottery barn bedding (but what I love even more is that it was a mixture of wedding and graduation gifts!)

So instead of forking over the 50 bucks I headed to the good ol' Hobby Lobby and bought a yard of burlap to start my project. I wanted to add some sort of embellishment...so I decided on ruffles (because they are wonderful!)

I grabbed the burlap, cut some strips off the back of an old white t-shirt, and started sewing away. Once I was done, I stuffed the pillow and ta da.....

disclaimer- our computer is on it's last leg and doesn't like the pictures I was trying to upload...so blackberry photo will have to do for now...

Not only did it turn out great...I lovveee the price

1 yard of burlap- 2.99 (with LOTS to spare)

1 bag of stuffing - 2.99 (with LOTS to spare)

Total about $6

The best part is I have enough materials to make another pillow for FREE!

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening!

granola.

Since my morning breakfast typically consists of the same thing (plain yogurt, a little honey, raspberries, and vanilla almond whole foods granola) I decided I needed to spice it up a bit. I wanted to make my own granola so I combined a few recipes and added in a few things I really love. Here it is....

4 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup sliced almonds

about 5 seconds of Agave Nectar(gives it a little sweetness)

2 tbs. Canola oil

1 tsp. sea salt

a sprinkle of coconut (or however much you like)

a handful of dark chocolate chips

a handful of dried cranberries

a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

Bake at 350 for 5 minutes. Take out and stir then bake for another 5 minutes.

Then put it in a Mason Jar (because you can use them for everything) and they are super cute!

I hope to get some more baking in this week/weekend! Fall makes me want to bake things all the time!

Hope you enjoy!

Lauren

7 years

This past Friday James and I celebrated 7 years of being together! We decided since we are high school sweethearts and dated so long before we got married that we will try to celebrate that date each year. We don't do presents or anything like that...just a date!

On Friday James made me a yummy dinner which consisted of salmon, couscous, and broccoli! Then we headed to La Duni for some delicious dessert and coffee. One of my favorite things to do is go get coffee and dessert with James. I feel like we have such wonderful conversations and just relax!

While we were enjoying our coffee we talked about all of the things that have happened in the 7 years we have been together....

started driving

went to homecomings and prom

graduated high school

went off to A&M

worked at sky ranch

graduated college

started our first real jobs

got MARRIED

got our precious pup, Jaxon

There are so many more wonderful blessing we have had in the 7 years we have been together. It is even more exciting to think about what will come. The Lord is using each of us to work on the other and teaching us how to refine each other everyday. We are both so grateful for the gift of marriage and the blessing of the time we have had together!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and I will be posting a yummy granola recipe this week!

Here is a pic from back in the day...

(let's all take a moment and thank God for the invention chis)

chicken pesto paninis

In an effort to cut the cooking time and still enjoy a yummy dinner, James and I made Chicken Pesto Paninis this week. They were super yummy and soooo easy!

Here is what you need:

4 slices of your choice of bread (we grabbed some Whole Foods Rosemary Sourdough)

1 breast of chicken

2 tbs. basil pesto

mozzarella cheese

A side of your choice!

We grilled the chicken breast with italian seasoning and cut it in half (longways) making it thin. Put a little butter on the bread and add the cooked chicken, mozzarella, and pesto. We cooked ours on the handy George Forman.

Enjoy!

Here is one recipe I am drooling over and cannot wait to bake...

It is on the cover of the October Cooking Light. I think it would be perfect with a cup of coffee and cold weather!

fall skirt

A couple of weeks ago I went to City Craft (a wonderful fabric store in Dallas!) I spent way too long picking out fabric for some different projects I am working on, but one of the best parts was I got a wonderful book! James actually talked me into getting the book. It has so many great projects and most of them are great for a beginner seamstress like me!

The book is called One Yard Wonders. And it IS wonderful! I got the idea and pattern for a really cute skirt from the book. With lots of patience I figured it out!

I wanted to get a fabric that would work for fall and my LOVE for boots! Here is a pic with me in the skirt (we had to take it outside because the lighting was being stubborn!)

can't wait for fall.....

here is an up close....

Since it was my first skirt (and I am currently teaching myself) I was pretty excited with how it turned out. I definitely learned a lot making it and they will hopefully get better each time! I can't wait to make some more towel aprons and kitchen towels for the fall holidays! I am also looking forward to trying the jewelry roll and a couple other projects in the book!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! My new skirt and I can't wait for fall!!!