Semi-Homemade Christmas Gifts

Every year I try to make a homemade gift for Chris's side of the family. This year I made it much easier on myself and did "semi-homemade" gifts. I ordered the vinyl letters on line then purchase the items I wanted to place them on. It was super easy and done for under $20 each.

Wait, Wait don't tell me!

On Thursday I took the afternoon off and drove up to Atlanta with my friend Deborah to see the NPR show "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me". Deborah is a huge fan. I had heard of the show but have never listened to it, to be honest the only thing I really listen to on NPR is Prairie Home Companion. Basically it is a quiz show about current events and their are three panelist (comedians) who try and answer the questions, then they have one guest on the show who has to answer questions. The guest for our show was Rick Sanchez from CNN. It was alot of fun and pretty funny. So if you are bored on Saturday check listen to Wait, Wait Don't Tell me on your local NPR station and think of me, cause I was in the audience !

Here's a peek at my Christmas Decorations

This is my newest decoration. I got it from Old Time Pottery. I think it's quite cute for my kitchen.

My festive dining room table all set up for a yummy Christmas dinner.

Our Christmas tree, after 6 years of marriage it's full of fun ornaments!



This little glittery tree is one of my favorite christmas decorations. I made the ornaments a couple of years ago after seeing the ornaments in a "pottery barn" magazine.

I made this last year for my yard. Chris cut me a piece of plywood and I painted the snowman on. It's probably my second favortie Christmas decoration!

It's been a while.... I know

It's been a while I know since I have posted on my blog. This fall has been pretty busy so I haven't had the time to be as crafty as I would like. I also have failed to take pictures of the fun things I have been doing. It's a habit that I need to pick up :) .

Here though are some projects that I have been working on. I monogrammed the towels, blankets, and sheets. And I sew and monogrammed the romper. Now they just need to be delivered :) !

Don't they look cute in their outifts?

This past weekend, I got to see my shirts modeled by three beautiful and fun-loving girls (Annie, Emma, and Gracie). I think that look so cute on them even though Emma's was little big. I was quite proud :) !

Chipmunks, cute & cuddly, I think not !

So for the past few weeks, Chris and I have been dealing with our kitty, Scout, bringing in chipmunks while we are gone (He has a kitty door that gives him the freedom to come and go as he pleases...it's awesome well, it was until a couple of weeks ago). It hasn't been that much of a pain we just scoop them up and put them outside, we even released some in a nearby park that is, until my dad told me that they travel about a 6 mile radius so they would probably just come back.

Well, this past weekend Chris and I went to the lake for a little mini-vacation. We come home on Monday and well there were no chipmunks in the house, at least none we could find. We thought we found traces of one but Scout didn't go looking for it so we just went about out business.

On to Tuesday, we wake up and our guest room has a bad smell in it so we figure it's a dead chipmunk and we would take care of it when we got home from work. So I am cleaning out the guest room closet and what do I find not one but two dead chipmunks. So I clean it all up, vacumming and carpet cleaning as I go. I am just finishing putting everything back in place when I go to move a chair and out comes a chipmunk. It scares me to death...so I panic and shut the door and immediately call Chris to find out when he will be home. He comes home and we get the chipmunk out of the room and all is well, right? I mean by this time I have put Scout on punishment and he can't use his kitty door so that should solve the problem. So we go grab a bite to eat and then come home and Scout comes in and is eating but then gets distracted by what, another chipmunk that is behind a cabinet in our kitchen so Chris gets it out and again I think that I am in the clear so I finish cleaning everything and am going to sit down in a chair in the living room and relax and what happens a chipmunk comes flying out of the chair. CRAZY! Chris again being my hero, got out the 3rd live chipmunk of the evening. By this time my nerves are frazzeled. I try to sleep but every little creak in the house freaks me out. I am super paranoid all night and to top it off acrons are falling on our roof so everytime I hear that I tense up and hide under the covers in fear a chipmunk being in my room.

So the moral of the story, chipmunks aren't cute and cuddly, there annoying and are everywhere in my backyard so Scout can't go and come as he please anymore cause we're tired of the chipmunks. This weekend my goal is to super clean my house and get rid of the chipmunks. If they know what's good for them they'll leave my yard :) !

See what I made for Annie!

I finally finished up Annie's Auburn top! Now I just have to make her sister, Emma', a top before the next Auburn home game. The Thompson girls will be ready to go with their orange and blue! Yea!!! The top isn't perfect but I am still a beginner at this sewing stuff so you got to love some ribbon cause it can help make anything cuter !

Sewing Projects

I found a couple of photos on my phone of two of my sewing projects that I completed over the last month. The orange and blue bubble is for my friend Brooke's daughter, Gracie. I sent it home with her a couple of weeks ago and am hoping that it fits Gracie.

The dress with the pretty flowers was for my friend, Emily. She and her husband are expecting their first baby in November. It has little bottoms to go with it. The picture doesn't do it justice. I thought it turned out really cute and will be perfect for her little one next summer :) !

Out with the old, in with the new

I know that it has been a while since I have posted....our camera broke and we just got a new one. So here's what we have been up too....

We got new interiors doors. I thought I took a picture of the old ones but I guess I didn't. So you'll have to imagine with me...they were the solid brown doors with gold knobs, yuck! We enlisted the help of Chris's parents to install these nice new white doors with silver knobs. It makes such a huge difference in our house...such a simple change can really update your house. Here's a picture of the new door....

I have also been doing some more sewing but of course couldn't get pictures of the outfits cause my camera was broken. So know that I am still being creative!

Cute Baby Gift

This is my second baby romper, this time it was for some good friends of ours whom we meet in Tennessee. They just welcomed their second baby into the world. They are both graduates of Ga Tech so I went with the black/yellow theme. I thought it turned out cute. My next baby outfit will be for a girl so I am excited to be working on that, so stay tuned!

My new piece of artwork

Some of you may be thinking that's not artwork, that's a crate. Well in my house it is both. I have been wanting an antique crate for forever (since we lived in TN). My ideal spot would be to hang it over a fireplace but I don't have one of those so it will hang here in our living room. I bought it at a local antique mall and got it on sale so it was quite the deal!

A little BIRDIE told me!

Awww....Scout brought me a present last night, a bird that is and into the house!
Last night I had just come home from watching a movie with a couple of friends of mine and my cousin, Mallory, was over so I was catching up with her when I heard this commotion in the kitchen and I looked in the doorway, saw Scout and feathers going everywhere. So I went into the kitchen and what did I find, Scout sitting on the counter and looking into the sink. So I crept my way up to the sink, being ever so cautious (I have seen parts of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, the Birds so I didn't want to get attacked) and looked over in the sink and there was the bird. I was hoping that he may already be dead because that would be an easy fix, just scoop him up and put him the yard but no such luck. At first he looked like he had a broken wing but as you will see from the video he was just faking it (he actually later on tried to fake dead, no joke started tipping himself over on the floor and making his wing look broken....I think it was to throw off Scout so he would leave him alone). Hope you enjoy the video of Mallory and I's adventure with the help of my couragous neighbor, Mr. Ronnie, the bird is now fully functioning in the wilderness again, hopefully never to be brought back in the Ross House again.

By the way Scout was really proud of himself, I don't think that he really ever realized the drama that he caused, you can tell by the way he looks a me in the video, even though I am all over the place...warning there are some high pitch screams but this should make for a good laugh.

I sewed a baby outfit for a gift!

Some college friends of mine are expecting their first baby in August and since I have been wanting to get more skilled in sewing, decided to sew them a baby romper. I was so excited in how it turned out. Of course baby Cameron won't be able to wear it until next spring but he will look adorable in it that I am sure of !

My New Sewing Closet

This past weekend I painted and reorganized my sewing closet. I use the closet in our home office to store my sewing/craft supplies. Here are the before and after shots. I am pretty proud of it. I want to add some shelves on the side to hold additional stuff and I am going to make a curtain to cover up the closet shelf that holds all the big stuff. Now to decide on my next sewing project :) !

Kayaking on the 4th!

I was downloading my pictures for this week's blog entry and I totally forgot about posting my kayaking adventure with my fav sister- in-law, Kim, on the 4th of July. Chris and I spent the 4th with the Hindman crew at the lake. It was fun to have all the sibs together and to play! Kim and I got adventurous and took the kayak out a couple of times. I was impressed with our speed and that we didn't tip it over. I think that could for sure take class three rapids :) !!

Monogramming....It seems neverending

So this week so far, every evening has been spent monogramming, although I enjoy it, it can be time consuming and I have an older machine so it will mess up on me if I don't keep an eye on it. But I got done with all my stuff that I had to get done, I still have a few more things to monogram. Above are some beach towels I made for a friend and a onesie. Now I am done with monogramming for the week and will be heading to the lake this afternoon. YEA!!

A weekend full of sewing & monogramming!

This past weekend was the first weekend I had actually been at home since the beginning of May, so as your probably know my "to do" list was long but I managed to squeeze in some monogramming and I sewed my first baby romper (pictures to come later b/c I haven't given the gift to my friend yet). Here though are couple of things that I monogrammed on Sunday. A friend of mine had me monogram a little girl's dress and then I was given a beach bag and towel so I monogrammed an "R" on it. I rarely monogram things for myself so it was fun to do something for me for a change!

Happy Graduation Rebekah!

Our friend's daughter, Rebekah, graduated from High School this year and I racked my brain on what to get her. I have monogrammed several things for her so I knew that she loved monograms. A couple of weeks ago while in a store in downtown Opelika I saw where they had taken those monogram car decals and put it on a lamp. It was so cute! I knew this was the gift for Rebekah so I asked the clerk about it and of course they were doing the decals anymore, so I went to Etsy and bought it online from a vendor for a total of $7.00 and I got the lamp from target. I think that it turned out to be a fun gift and of course she loved it. It will be a great addition to her dorm room.

So Happy Graduation to Rebekah!!!!

A weekend in Demopolis, AL

This past weekend Chris and I took a road trip to Demopolis, AL where he grew up. His parents put in a pool a few years ago so it is the highlight of our summer and pretty much all we do when we go to visit is to lounge by the pool and eat. It is so relaxing. This past weekend was no exception. I was out by the pool by 10 am, Chris's cousins (Fran, Marcy, and Lolly) , my in-laws (Larry and Judy) and my sister-in-law, Sommer all hung out by the pool pretty much all day. We grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs and of course we had to stay in the pool most of the time because it was so hot! After a day of laying out in the sun, we all met up for Chris's Aunt Ann's birthday party (Larry and Judy didn't get to come because of a wedding). We ate at the Red Barn, one of the only restaurants in Demopolis and a frequent for the Ross family. Above you will see a picture of the whole clan ( Chris and I are in the back). It is always fun to be with family and I am fortunate enough to actually enjoy being around my in-laws!! Just love em'!!

My Journey to Minneapolis, MN!

So it's been a while since I have written in my blog and for good reason, I spent most of last week in Minneapolis, MN. My co-worker/friend, Deborah, and fly up for a conference for work. We left on Saturday and landed safely back in Atlanta on Wednesday. On Saturday afternoon, we ate dinner at one of the local places, Sallie's Pub, and then spent the evening walking around the University of Minnesota campus. Above is the view of the Minneapolis skyline from a bridge on campus. Here are a couple of shots of campus.

On Sunday, we had lunch at the Purple Onion Cafe and explored more of campus and a place called "Dinkytown". It's the happening place for the college students. We also visited the U of M Arboretum....it was amazing....so much better than AU's arboretum. I didn't take any pics sorry but take my word for it, it was beautiful.

On Monday, we took an Urban Agriculture tour so we got to see some community gardens, they are everywhere up there, then in the evening Deborah and I took a cab to Nicolett Mall, in downtown Minneapolis. If you didn't know this Target is headquartered there, they had a two story target in downtown....we went it and it was big but not as clean as ours.

Tuesday, I was hoping to go paddle boating in Lake Calhoun but it rained pretty much all afternoon, so we ended up getting a yummy chocolate malt in Dinkytown and we explored the tunnels. Let me tell you about that, on the U of M campus it is called the Golpher Way.... basically it is an underground tunnel system connecting building to one another so the students and staff don't have to get out in the bitter cold....pretty neat! In downtown they had "skyways" connecting building to one another for the same reason.

As an AU football fan our trip would not be complete without seeing the U of M stadium. They are just finishing up construction on it. All in all I had a great time. It was a fun get-away. I am sure that was lots I didn't see but of course I had a conference to go to so that took up most of my time.

A Cabin in the Woods

Last Wednesday evening, I drove up to Pine Mountain, GA. Chris had a work retreat at the Mountain Top Inn and we got a cabin all to ourselves. On Thursday, I spent the day by the pool all by myself, I mean nobody was out there so it was a little weird but nice, I had a good book (The Painted Veil) and my ipod shuffle handy. Chris came out and visited me during his breaks. When I wasn't by the pool, I spent my time outside on one of the two porches, my favorite was the front porch swing. On Friday morning, when Chris got done with his retreat he unfortunately had to go to work the rest of the day so I was left to roam around the downtown shops. Didn't really find anything but it was fun roaming around by myself, it was a first for me.

So that was my adventure last week, being the spouse on a work retreat and having to entertain myself not as scary as I thought it was going to be.

Weekend at the Beach!

This past weekend Chris and I got to go to Gulf Shores with his family for Memorial Day weekend. I was a little worried about going because they were calling for rain most of the time. Luckily, it didn't really rain except for the first day. So I got to lounged by the beach and read a great book. The only thing was that the water wasn't quite warm enough.

We got to eat great food and we got to go see Three Dog Night in concert. Growing up my parents always made us listen to oldies music so I knew that I would probably know a couple of their songs but to my surprise I knew almost all of the songs they sang so it was fun to sing along to the music, so a big THANKS goes to my parents who made me listen to great music as a kid!

War Eagle Napkins

For those of you that don't know I do a little embrodiery in my free time. Last night I had to monogram some napkins for my co-worker/friend Katie. She is putting them in a give-away basket with all sorts of other AU stuff. I thought they turned out cute.

Scout lends a helping paw

On Saturday when I was working on my purse, Scout, my adorable kitty, followed me around the house and helped me in his own little kitty way. He took a nice nap under the sewing machine. I figured the noise would have freaked him out. He also helped me with cutting the pattern out. Here you can see him sleeping (AGAIN) while I am busy measuring and cutting.

Finished Purse

So after 7 hours of cutting, stitching, pinning, and ironing my purse is now complete. Here's the finished product. I think that it turned out really cute. It is huge which is good for me because I pack just about everything in my purse!

Plans this weekend: Sewing a purse

Forget about laying out in the sun, I am gonna be inside this weekend attempting to use my mad skills at sewing. Yes, that's right, I am going to sew a purse. A few years ago my mom taught me to the basics of sewing. I can sew simple curtains, pillows, skirts, and aprons. I have now been inspired to sew a purse....so we shall see how it goes. Here's the purse. I will post it on Monday the my version of the purse. I told my mom to stay close to the phone on Saturday, cause I may have to get her expertise to help me interpret parts of the pattern :) !

Prayer Garden

This past weekend Chris and I went up to Johnson City, TN. We lived there for the first 3 years of our marriage. While in Johnson City, Chris attended Emmanuel School of Religion and I was fortunate enough to work at the school in the Admissions Office. As part of his thesis project for his Master's degree, Chris did a prayer garden for the school. We were able to go and see it this weekend. We also got to visit with old friends and of course take in the beautiful mountain views that we don't get to see here in our neck of the woods.

Johnson City is a special place to us and I just wanted to share a little video of Chris's prayer garden. I warn you that I am not the best video person but it will hopefully give you an idea of what Chris left behind for the Emmanuel community.

I heart Sephora!

Ok so if you know me then you know that I have never really been in to make-up, I wear it but have never really spent money on it. Well, I finally gave in and am know a Sephora fan. My sister is so proud :). This past weekend in Nashville we went to Sephora. I brought some of their make-up and some Philosopy stuff. Here's a couple of things that I got and am now a fan of!

I got the Raspberry Sorbet Bath Wash. It's a shampoo, body wash, and bubble bath all in one and it smells oh so yummy!

I also got "The Present" by Philosophy. It is a moisturizer that you put on before you put on your make-up. If you are like me I have big pores and uneven skin. It really helps smooth things out. My sister introduced me to this. She is AWESOME and the guru for all things girly !