prayers requested

Not too long ago I wrote about my best friend, Chesley having a heart cath done. Unfortunately, when they got in there to repair the hole it was much bigger than they had originally thought. The surgeon recommended open heart surgery and she will have that done tomorrow. I am praying that God provides her with comfort and peace. I am praying for the doctors and nurses. I am praying for a speedy as possible recovery. I am praying that her heart gets healed.

Chesley is everything you could want in a best friend and I hate that she is having to go through all of this. It has been a stressful few months for her, but she never fails to ask how things are going with me. I won't be able to be at the hospital tomorrow, but I will be making a trip down there in the next couple of days. (She is having the surgery done closer to her hometown.)

I love you, friend!

There is something so magical about turning down all the lights and seeing twinkling Christmas lights while lounging at home. There is also something magical about all the Christmas shopping being complete! We finished up this weekend and are just waiting for a few gifts to arrive in the mail. I love the shopping part, but I don't like to be looking for the perfect gift too close to the big day. Something about crowds or being worried about shipping.

I had the hardest time finding stocking holders that I liked. I ended up buying flat ones at Target and then purchasing the little trees wrapped in burlap from there too. Someone remind me to remove the tags later, mmmmkay?

No trip to the mall is complete without a cookie from the Great American Cookie Factory.


This is how Nuts and I spent the majority of our weekend.


I did go to Jane's for a fun girls get together and Ty and I did have a date night. So, I guess I didn't lay around all weekend. It had been way too long since we had gone on a date and we had such a good time. I know I see Ty almost every day, but I sure do miss that man. Quality time together is limited and I love it when he is all mine.

I also made these gluten free cookies for Jane's party. She recently went GF and I decided to try this recipe out. It was delish and I'll be making them for my Mom soon! Pinterest has some great gluten free products and recipes.

Source: divine-baking.com via Lindsey on Pinteres

furniture!

We have real furniture! This is our first big furniture purchase and we couldn't be more pleased. The majority of our furniture has been hand me downs, craigslist purchases or gifts. We really don't have that many pieces, which made moving easy!

It is a dark wood, but shows up a little darker in pictures than it is in person. We bought the bed, two nightstands, and a long dresser. It really fills up the space. Next up, king size bedding! Slowly, but surely is the motto I keep repeating to myself.

Ty finally got to fish in the pond across from our house. He was a happy man.


Williams-Sonoma is selling small candy bar sizes of their famous peppermint bark. YUMMY!


I have broken this Stella & Dot necklace twice. The first time it broke I took it to a local jeweler (who didn't charge me for the repair! score!) and the second time I got creative.


I made roasted chickpeas for the first time.

Such a good, healthy snack! Recipe here, but I did read some of the reviews and made some changes, like dry roasting them for a while before putting on the oil and seasonings and then roasting for about 15 min more.

Orange is...

OSU experienced a tragedy last night, losing two of our women's basketball coaches, along with two others, in an airplane crash. My thoughts and prayers are with their families and players. I am so proud of my school and not because we are ranked #2 in football, although that is great. It is the people and the environment that they create.

I have seen a lot of these posts on facebook and I decided to do my own.

Orange is that day that you moved into a sorority house with 50+ girls. It’s meeting those friends that would stick with you for life. It's "don't look at the arc", house decks and walk-arounds. It’s wearing orange the Friday before the first game & every Friday after that. It’s KURT BUDKE, MIRANDA SERNA, Barry Sanders, John Smith, Garth Brooks, Mike Gundy, Eddie Sutton...it’s you...... and me.

Orange is putting your arm around the shoulder of the stranger next to you to sing the Alma Mater. It’s making the switch to saying “Power” instead of “Orange.” It’s remembering Lewis Field & admiring Boone Pickens Stadium.

It’s knowing that it’s left hand up to make an “S.” Orange is when it’s good for a Cowboy First Down and Ten. Orange is Pistols Firing – Touchdown Oklahoma State. It’s “...O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A Oklahoma STATE” no matter where you are when the state song is played. It’s the big smile on your face when you walk past the orange fountain.

It’s getting engaged at Theta Pond and getting married to your best friend on campus. It's working for your alma mater and loving every minute of it. It’s a cabinet full of Joe’s cups. Orange is knowing that it’s time to go home when you hear “New York, New York” or “Shoulda Been a Cowboy.” Orange is wanting to get out of Stillwater for four years & spending the rest of your life wanting to go back.

Proud and Immortal,
Bright shines your name.
Oklahoma State,
We herald your fame.
Ever you’ll find us,
Loyal and true.
To our Alma Mater
O – S – U!!!

At a recruiting event on Monday in Stillwater.

birthdays

Our nephew, Nathan, turned three on Tuesday and had his party this past weekend. We weren't able to go home for it, but I know my sister-in-law threw a great party. I created the invitations and stationery for Nathan's party.





It is a great month for birthdays and I celebrated the big 2-7 last week. I had a great birthday!


Ty took me shopping and bought me these shoes. They are much cuter in person than in the picture and they are extremely comfortable! My mom bought them in black and I'm thinking I may need the black pair too. Go to Dillard's and check them out in person. The photo does not do them justice. We went to dinner at Mi Cocina, which I think is going to be my birthday tradition. We went last year on my b-day when we were in Dallas. We celebrated my birthday a couple of days before the actual day due to work schedules. Chesley took me to lunch on my actual birthday and then my mom, sister and nephew came up that next weekend to celebrate. I'm a lucky girl!

My best friend found out a couple of months ago that she had a heart condition, arterial septum defect. We have the same gynecologist--love him, and he heard it and sent her to a cardiologist. Thank goodness, he is so thorough with his exams.

Chesley had a heart cath done a month ago to determine the size of the hole and I'm sure some other technical stuff. This afternoon she will have another heart cath done to repair her heart. I am praying for very specific things this morning: I am praying that the doctor ordered the right size part and that everything will go smoothly, so that she does not have to have this done again. I am praying that the anesthesia is much better this time. I am praying for a much smoother recovery than last time.

Love you, friend!

fun, fun, fun

Ty was on call this weekend. When he first told me he would have call weekends, I thought that meant he would wear a pager all weekend, but still be with me for the most part. NOTSOMUCH. He worked all week, all day Friday (obvs) and all night Friday night getting home on Saturday after 12:30. That one long shift! He had the rest of the day Saturday to recover and then worked all day today. Poor guy is tired! I heard two great compliments about Ty on Friday from two different students, saying that they had heard how great of a resident he was and how nice he was. Made me swell with pride. :)

With Ty on call this weekend, I made lots of plans. I hosted a Scentsy party through Megan and had several girls over--Jane, Lynn, Ashley, Katie, and Chesley. We had SO much fun! I promised I would share a couple of recipes that I made for the party:
Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup and Fruit Salsa. (I didn't make the cinnamon chips. You can buy cinnamon pita chips at Target.)

My mom, sister and Mason also came up this weekend. I meant to have my mom take a picture of all of us girls at the Scentsy party, but alas I forgot. Don't worry there are plenty of pictures of Mason!

Testing out the sink in my laundry room:


I love little ones in their jammies.


Such a good little shopper

We rented the stroller from the mall and the steering wheel kept him somewhat entertained.

He wasn't so sure about the carousel at first, but then he loved it!


I'm so glad they got to come up this weekend!

settling in

Thank y'all for all your sweet comments on our new house! Things are finally start to settle down here and we are settling in. We moved in on a Friday afternoon and it all went smoothly. Ty actually got off a little early and was able to help carry the last thing off the truck--the washing machine. My little brother came up to help us move. After everything was unloaded we took him to eat at Fat Guy's Burgers and watched the baseball game.




Ty worked the night shift Saturday and Sunday and then, I left for Orlando for a conference early Monday morning. I did not want to go on this trip. I wanted to stay home and adjust to the new house and spend time with Ty. One good thing about my trip was I got to meet Melissa from For the Love and her cute, little girl, Blaire. Melissa was so sweet and took me to lunch and bought me the cutest new home Christmas ornament and a great new tumbler with a straw. I love those cups!


I am back home now and Ty has the weekend off. We have some fun plans! (And some unpacking to do!) October was pretty stressful for us and I am welcoming November with open arms. It's my birthday month, we are going on a mini vacay, and we get to spend time with our families at Thanksgiving. Yay for November!

This is the view from my living room window. I can also see this when standing in the kitchen.

I'm so excited to have pretty fall leaves in my back yard!



I can't not share this picture of my cute nephew dressed up for Halloween! I can't wait to see pictures of my other nephews and niece. (That's a big hint to my sister-in-laws.) :)

la casa

This has been a pretty stressful selling and buying process and we are so glad today is moving day! Unfortunately, Ty was not able to switch shifts with anyone at work. We had some great friends help me load up the U-Haul last night and more friends will help me unload later today. We feel incredibly blessed and thankful for all of the help we have received! I will be signing double time this afternoon at closing, since Ty can't be there. Thankfully, our Power of Attorney was approved and I'll sign for him and for me.

We were able to pre-sign on our current home, so we don't have to be there for that closing.
The last bit of paperwork was completed an hour ago, so it looks like this is all really going to happen! Yay!

Now for the good stuff! House pictures! These photos were the ones used in the listing.



I'm getting my dream kitchen: white cabinets, wood floors, dark granite. SO excited!








I love the front door! It is beautiful wood.


Can you guess which sink is going to be mine?

The long one has a cut out for a vanity seat.

another living room shot


master bedroom. see the doggy door? I'm curious to see if Nuts will use it.

I have a feeling he will be scared of it. haha. If so, the owners left the original door and we will replace it.

I'm excited to try out the convection oven to see if it really does cook better.


We hope to get some good use out of this patio.


The yards are tiny and we are thrilled. I'll be doing the majority of the lawn maintenance, since Ty works so much and it will be so easy! Or he can do it because it won't take very long.


Our new refrigerator should be delivered tomorrow morning and then we will be set! Well, other than all that new furniture we are dreaming about. :)

my little guys & etsy

A weekend at home is not complete without several pictures of the little guys in my life.

Nathan in his cool shades.


My sister, brother and I had one of these motorized jeeps growing up and we loved it!




Hi Wade!




Don't you just love the little shirt Mason is wearing? I found it on Etsy and thought it was adorable. I'm not a huge fan of babies/toddlers in sports clothes. Not sure why. It's just not my style. But I couldn't pass this one up!

Mason's was done in red and the seller added his name below the truck. via KY Girls Crafts
You can ask for the truck to be in any color to match your favorite team.

I've actually been meaning to do a post on my recent (last 6 months) etsy purchases. I love discovering fun things on there to buy as presents.

Bought this mousepad for my sister in turquoise and brown

via Rogue&CO
I would love to have some of their coasters for our new house!

Melamine plates for our niece and one of our nephews. Loved having a plate with my name on it as a kid. Hopefully, they do too!


I just loved the polka dot wrapping paper I used for Lillian's plate.

via Simply Stella


via Raspberry Bowtique

Cute Alligator Hat

via Bella Tu Designs

Letterpress Birthday cards, write in the name

via TheSparkCollective

Baby gowns for my favorite twins


And bloomers!

gowns and bloomers via Graysie Bug's Boutique

Speaking of Knox and Sloane, I have to share these boston terrier onesies I made them inspired by their doggie, Elton


Have you found anything great on etsy lately?