Thanksgiving Weekend '12

We had a great four-day Thanksgiving weekend- full of rest, eating, family time, shopping & decorating. On Thursday (Day One), we hosted lunch at our house for my family. I took just a few pics before everyone got there (leave it to me to never think about taking pics WHILE family is there)...

These are just a few of my Thanksgiving table- just kept it simple this year...

This is my little turkey platter that I scored on clearance at Dollar General last year. DG is really stepping it up on their decor!

Thursday night, we went to Zach's mom's for dinner. Only one pic really turned out that was taken that night...

It was a full day, needless to say. Then, I headed out that night at 11:00 to meet up with my mom & her best friend for some Black Friday madness! We stayed out all of NINE hours-ALL NIGHT!
And it was AWESOME!!

Friday (Day Two) was pretty much a blur of a day. I didn't do much but lie around when I got home that morning, but keep in mind, I had already put in a full day.

Here's a little pic I took right before the doors were opened at Belk & the stampede began (this was right around midnight)...

... and we were right smack-dab in the middle of it!

Oh, and here's a pic I was able to take of the craziness that was the Belk shoe department- Hello, boot sale!

Yes, it is insane, but it's so much fun for us! We really enjoy the tradition of it. (By the way, this was my second year in a row to get the exact pair of boots both my mom & I wanted. It pays to wait it out, I'm telling ya'! I weaved into the crowd, and with a little bit of sifting through the boxes, found what we were looking for!) :) 

We stayed at the mall & around the mall area all night, just long enough to be there to line up for another store opening at 6 AM...

We had such a great time! We made it home by about 8 AM, and crashed. My sweetie picked up our tree & wreath that day, hauled them home, and decorated most of the tree himself. Bless his heart! I snapped just a couple pics...

I hope to post more on our decor later on. I am changing up some of it this year- I'm sticking with the "less is more" motif. :)

I finally got up & around on Saturday (Day Three), but since the Iron Bowl was in the middle of the afternoon, we didn't get a lot done at the house that day. Roll Tide, by the way!!! (more on that later...)

I did accomplish the front porch transformation over the weekend.

  This is what one side of the porch looked like on Thursday...

...then on Saturday, it looked like this! :) ...

I am loving having this urn out on the front porch.
You can do so much with it year-round!

On Sunday afternoon (Day Four), I did a little more decorating for Christmas (which is still not completely done, by the way), and me & my sweetie watched some TV & relaxed. We don't get too many of those days, so we enjoy them while we can. We have already made our Christmas movie list, and have marked off one already. We hope to watch all of our favorites this year!

I realized I took a lot of pics of me & the babies over the long weekend. I love getting to spend more time with them when I'm home.

We're really looking forward to the SEC Championship game this weekend- I'm a little nervous about this one, but I was also nervous about last week's game. Hopefully, the nervousness will turn out to be a wasted effort like last weekend!

Hope you all have a great one!

Give Thanks to the Lord, For He Is Good;...

...His love endures forever!" - Psalm 118:1

I'm going to post something a little different this time around. I think I have always posted in list form some things I am thankful for at this time of year. But, last night, Zach & I went through some of our Disney pics from our anniversary trip (it's Christmas card time!), and I wanted to share some. These are only pics of us- he has so many others that I hope to share soon! There are just so many to sift through!

This post still represents two big things I am very thankful for- my sweet husband, and the opportunities we have had to travel to some really awesome places together!

We got to meet so many characters- that was my favorite part of the trip, besides the rest! Sorry so many! I love them all! :)

When we first arrived at our resort, The Polynesian!

With Piglet- we got to see Piglet twice!

Miss Minnie Mouse!

Donald Duck

At Le Cellier...yum!!

A cast member gave me this Mickey pom-pom :)

Animal Kingdom

At Narcoossee's 

The only night we dressed up! :) 

The Hollywood Tower Hotel a.k.a. Tower of Terror

This is my favorite attraction of all!

Having a convo with Cinderella (my favorite princess!)...
you know, just another day :)

Belle 

Rapunzel was a spunky girl!

My fave!

Tigger at Crystal Palace

Eeyore

Pooh! Fun fact: I had a Winnie the Pooh nursery as a baby. :) I love Zach's look in this one. He looks like he did when he was younger-
so happy!

Piglet (again)!

Our last night at the castle

Right before we flew out :(...We still look happy though!

Hope you enjoyed them! I loved reliving the trip!

Happy Thanksgiving & happy shopping on Friday! We are hosting Thanksgiving lunch at our house for my family, then heading to Zach's mom's for dinner that night. It's going to be a full day! I hope to chronicle our adventures on Friday- when I get home from shopping, we will have our real tree & all of our decor to put up! Can't wait!!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere...

... Yes- we are still covered in a plethora of pumpkins at the Jones household...and I love it! I am definitely one of those people who cannot stand to have the Christmas decor out before Thanksgiving is over. I hate to think of Thanksgiving being passed over. It is such an important holiday, and I think it gets overlooked a lot, unfortunately. I know that just by having the Christmas tree, greenery & lights up, you don't automatically forget the meaning of Thanksgiving when it comes, but to me,
it just takes away from it.

Since we always have a real tree every year, we don't have it until Black Friday anyway. These reasons, and the fact that last year, I was already tired of the Christmas decor by December 26th, create the result of us keeping out the pumpkins a little bit longer here. I think one full month of the stuff is enough. For me, less is more. The same goes for Christmas music. I love it so very much, but I do get tired of it after hearing it day in & day out for a full month. I usually turn it on (and turn it way up) on Black Friday too.

Don't get me wrong, I am the polar opposite of a Scrooge. I go all out for Christmas- always have and always will. Every year, I have more stuff out than the year before. I just think every season has its own time. And speaking of, I am (still) loving my pumpkin collection this year. I have added more this year, and wanted
to share some quick pics with y'all...

I have a new addition to the porch this year...

The urn was from my sweetie's precious family when my dad passed away. It housed a gorgeous, full plant, which has now been transplanted somewhere new (more on its new home later in this post). It took me just a matter of minutes to transplant the plant that was once here, clean out the original pot, and add some Spanish moss to create a "nest".

I found this cute little pumpkin at Dollar General for 3 bucks!! I was so excited! My mom & I had made our rounds 2 weekends ago at all the local Christmas open houses- I didn't find a thing. Leave it to me to find what I want at Dollar General or the Dollar Tree. I love to buy cheap base items, spruce them up a tiny bit, and make them work. You can do so much with very little!

The raffia on top really adds to it, and I love the glitter!

This has been my normal set-up for the front porch

for the last two years...

That little scarecrow has hung in there for a few years now, and still looks great, if you ask me. The pumpkin was new last year, from Hob Lob. They have now changed these to where you buy the plain pumpkin & the initial decal separately. Mine is the old school version, which I like much better- my "J" initial is carved into mine. I love it more every year. :)

I tried my hand at another Mod Podged pumpkin, just as I did last year. I started out by making one for my mom, then I loved it so much, I decided to make my own. Speaking of, I need to get on that...we'll have my family over to our house for Thanksgiving

in ONE WEEK. Unbelievable!

I used the same infamous pumpkins as I did in the aforementioned project, and for my recent chevron painted pumpkins. I just bought some cute scrapbook paper at Hob Lob, cut it into strips, and Mod Podged it on. After it was dry, I put a coat of Mod Podge on top to protect. I then placed a cinnamon stick through the top for the stem, and added some Spanish moss for a little something extra. This stuff is great, by the way.

 

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I found a new home for the plant that was in the urn that is now on the front porch. It has gotten smaller since last year, so the large urn was taking away from the plant itself. I got the new pot from my grandmother's, and decided to repurpose it. It was again one of those things I saw, and immediately knew what I wanted to transform it into.

I hate that I did not get a "Before" pic, but you can picture it- it was a cream color with an ugly, greenish patina look. And it was very dirty. So to start with, I cleaned it & spray-painted it
a bronze-y gold...

I knew from the start that I wanted to enhance the raised leaves, and work with the grooves. I did not want to go to the store & buy a glaze just for one project, so I worked with what I had. I used simple brown acrylic paint & a paper towel and went to work.

I just dabbed some paint onto the pot, then rubbed it in, making sure to catch a lot of the grooves. This was really easy, and it makes a big difference. It makes me want to go & buy glaze
for another project. We'll see.

I'm happy with the way it turned out. And, if I ever want to

add more, it's easy.

I hope everyone is having a great week. We are still staying busy. We're a little bummed that Alabama lost this past weekend, but we know it's not the end of the world. The same goes for the election. God knows what He's doing.

If I don't make a post at some point before,
Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Black Friday!

For the Love of Chevron

Well, it's been a while. I love blogging, but I love living life more. It's great to take a break every now & then- from everything-
and concentrate on other things.

A lot has happened in our world since my last post. The weekend before last, we had a very fun, busy weekend! My sweetie got a new vehicle. It was very bittersweet, since he has always been in love with his Land Rover, but its time had come. We are very happy with our new purchase so far, and it's another great family vehicle (for now, that means lots of room for our trips, and plenty of room for the doggies on their vet visits), so we're happy. God is good. :)

We also went to our niece's soccer game that day. Never knew we would have fun while watching little ones run around playing soccer, but we did. We had a great time visiting with his family for the second weekend in a row too. We got to eat lunch at, of course, Chick-fil-A, and shop a little that afternoon. That night, we thoroughly enjoyed the Bama/TN game!! The next morning, I volunteered in the nursery & stayed for church, then got a lot done at home that afternoon. Life is good. :)

This past week was an eventful one. Our "big sister" Jen had a stroke at the first of last week (I call her that because she has always been like a sister to us- she babysat my brother & I when we were little, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding, and she was one in mine). We never would have thought when we visited her the first night in the hospital's Neurological ICU that two days later, she would be coming home, but she did! Praise the Lord for taking care of her, and for continuing to give her a quicker recovery with each new day. Continue to pray for her as she returns back to 100%, because she will- SOON- it will just take some work. She's a fighter! Again, God is good. :)

We had a good time this past weekend- nothing was accomplished at our house, but we spent tons of time with family & friends, and at the end of the day, that's so much more important than clean laundry & a clean house. I went shopping on Saturday with Mom & Mamaw, then we watched the Bama with Zach's dad that night. We spent most of the day Sunday (after church) with Zach's best friend Brett and his sweet family.

On Sunday morning, I was asked to volunteer in the nursery again (I see a pattern here... but I love it!), then we had one of the most awesome church services we will probably ever witness. A local soldier named Josh Wetzel was injured by an IED explosion in Afghanistan, and he & his sweet wife gave their testimony. He lost both of his legs at the knees, but they have put such a positive spin on their experience. Our choir also had a show-stopping (if I do say so myself) version of When the Saints Go Marching In, complete with trombone, drums & other instruments. Wow- I was so excited!

It made me think- why don't we get this excited when every other Sunday rolls around??

Now, enough catching up...on to the project...

So, I am falling more & more in love with the chevron pattern the more I see it- and it is everywhere these days! I happened to see the cover of the October issue of Country Living magazine while at the grocery store the other day...

Google Images

Wow! I loved the design & the colors. Naturally, I decided to try

a version of these myself.

I decided not to use real pumpkins. Reason One: Because they are too pricey for what you get; Reason Two: Because I did not want to spend all that time painting & decorating to them, only to throw them out in late November. Nope!

So, on to the Dollar Tree I went. I picked up two of the same pumpkins that I got there last year (the very ones I re-designed with a little time, paint & Mod Podge). I also picked up a third (just like them!) at the thrift store, and for half the price

(yep, 50 cents).

I decided that since I had three of these to experiment with,

why not paint them all differently? 

With the first pumpkin, I painted it a white chevron pattern, letting the natural orange shine through. At first, I tried applying painter's tape, but it was too wide for the small pumpkin, and was, honestly, too much work. So, I free-handed it with a paint pen. :)

I then filled in the lines with simple white paint on a sponge brush.

I applied a clear coat on this one to protect, and then it was done!

With the second, I painted it the gray & white chevron pattern. I simply spray painted the gray, then free-handed the white chevron pattern in three lines.

  

I still have the third pumpkin sitting, just waiting for a transformation. I think I have finally decided what to do with it. My mom mentioned wanting one, so I plan on making one for her. I know what I'm going to do- I'm thinking scrapbook paper with Mod Podge. I will post if I ever get it done!

For now, I'm just enjoying these two myself.

Happy Halloween to everyone today! My sweetie & I have made a deal to each watch a Halloween movie the other has picked. Last night was my turn, and I thought I would have a blast from the past & watch Casper. I have forgotten how much I liked that movie. It was neat, because I remembered so many lines from it. It's a cute, non-scary Halloween movie. I enjoyed the movie while gobbling up some sausage balls I had made over the weekend...

Yum! Not so healthy, but they're so good!

The same goes for this stuff...

...not really healthy, but it warms you up so well- it just goes so well with the Fall weather we are experiencing!

Tonight is Zach's turn to pick his movie, so we'll see

what he comes up with. :)

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week & weekend...

and Roll Tide!!