The Proof is in the Pin {link up}

My internet friend Sarah at Life Sweet Life blog is hosting a link up today on Pinterest creations!


Our church is hosting a ladies' ministry craft day at the beginning of November. The idea is to invite our friends and neighbors out for a day of Pinterest crafts and sharing Christ with ladies outside our normal circles. I'm hosting one of many tables and was charged to come up with something fun to make.

As such, I perused Pinterest quite a bit "for the Lord," of course.

I like simplistic shabby chic-type crafts for the most part, and honestly I don't have the patience or time for things that take a long time. The crafts I came up with were so easy that I thought we'd make two at my table.

This first one is so easy that I thought we'd do a make one, take one. Each lady will make one for her own home and a second to give as a gift.

Original source: Life as a Thrifter

{I can't decide if I like this there, but for now, that is where it lives.}
18 inch quilting hoop with stretched burlap, stenciled. And I love it.

And for our second craft of the day, each lady will make one rustic banner with her choice of holiday phrase. I'll have give thanks, peace on earth, o holy night, and a few others from which to choose. I don't have a pin for this--I just like making banners for my mantle.



I made these up early so photos could be made for the sign-tables.
I'm excited--I love spending my Saturday socializing with a hot glue gun!

Scenes from a bridal shower.

We threw a bridal shower for one of the student ministry associates at our church last Sunday. We've been enjoying leftover punch for the past couple of days. The fruit punch, pineapple juice, and ginger ale kind. Yum.

It was a fun morning for a super sweet girl!

The entry table.

I have since lost the source where I found this idea
for the pinwheel letter, but my friend Ashley put it together.
It turned out so cute!

I bought that lace tablecloth on a cruise to Mexico when
I was a junior in college, and I think this was my very
first time to use it. Sad, huh? It's so pretty!

Cupcakes were from Central Market, and I cut the cupcake cups with my Silhouette.
Next to it are some brie and strawberry pastries made using this Eat Yourself Skinny recipe.

One of the other ladies made the beautiful the floral arrangements,
and the table was layered with a tablecloth, a runner, and doilies.
The R was just a craft letter I bought at JoAnn's and wrapped with a spool of lace ribbon.

The beautiful bride, of course!

Wedding Shower Fun

I'm helping host a wedding shower in early July and what better place than Etsy to look for invitations? A quick search for "custom wedding shower invitations" led me to the above. The bride described her wedding as "vintage, with pops of mustard yellow, sage green, and some pink." I thought this totally fit the bill. And it reminds me of the opening sequence of the Gwyneth Paltrow movie adaptation of Emma by our favorite, Jane Austen, of course.

"Now I need not call you Mr. Knightley. I may call you my Mr. Knightley."

LOVE.

But back to the invitations, the design was done by Yellow Brick Graphics. They have so many beautiful designs to choose from, and Mickenzie was so fast with her responses. When I asked her the best way to have FedEx print these, she e-mailed me back with a pdf that had two invitations per page in place of the original one invitation jpeg. I thought that was so sweet. They were printed on ecru paper and mailed in craft paper envelopes.

I love the way these turned out and can't wait to see how the shower turns out!

Weekending.

This past weekend included my Friday off. It goes without saying that I love my Fridays off. Jack must've read my last post, because he allowed me to sleep in until 8:30. It was marvelous! We lunched with my friend Rebekah, who is waiting to go into labor. Her due date passed by last Tuesday, so I was hoping Jack and I could give her a bit of distraction from the waiting. We spent a good hour and a half talking babies over Chick Fil A and then grocery shopped in Wal-mart. Anything to pass the time!

Later that evening we met up with our supper club for dinner. After, we came back to our home for dessert, which in this case was birthday cake from Bluebonnet Bakery to celebrate Leigh! (She blogs over at The Art of Living.)

She is due with a little girl soon. Doesn't she look beautiful?

The ladies and children. When we started this supper club, we had only 10 adults. Our number has increased by 4 so far!


Saturday we lounged around and enjoyed having no plans. We took the red wagon out for a spin over to the park. Jack loves the swings, of course.

My house is spic and span and has stayed that way through today. My week is so much easier if I take the time to pick up the random things about the house before I go back to work on Monday. Clutter stresses me out, so I'm glad to cruise into the week stress free, house-wise.

We had another wonderful worship service on Sunday morning. Our pastor preached on abortion, and we heard some shocking statistics. In our county alone, 6000 abortions were performed in 2011. That's 6000 babies who were not allowed to live. It grieves my soul. Lord, deliver us.

Shower for Baby Jack!

A few weeks ago, our friends from church threw Baby Jack and me a wonderful baby shower full of such cute and thoughtful details. They filled it with some of the best of the best things in and around Fort Worth--including themselves (and Bluebonnet Bakery petit fours!) So many of my other sweet friends and family were able to make it in to celebrate this special time in the life of our family with me. It meant so much to see everyone!

We received so many great things. By the time the last gift was opened, we were completely set for Baby Jack's arrival. Overwhelmed with thankfulness is how I spent the rest of the day, as I sorted through everything, looking over all the tiny clothes, toys, and cuteness.

Below is a wonderful tree that by the end of the shower was filled with encouragement and blessings for Jack and our family like prayers, parental advice, and an even an offer for Wal-Mart runs (thank you Amy D.!) I will have to snap a closer picture soon, but the tags were re-styled vintage airline tickets. So precious! I just love to thumb through them and know they will be a blessing for years to come.

I wish I had enough space and pictures of the day. I could go on and on, but below is a small sampling. Thank you everyone for all you did to celebrate our boy and dream come true who is coming very soon!



This little lady knew exactly what to do with the rocking chair my grandparents gave Jack!
Airplane cookies from J. Rae's as favors. YUM.
My Grannie, Mother (Jack's Sugar), and my aunt Sheri.

Fun friends!






All of the goodies!

Ladies' Luncheon 2010: Childhood Memories

A few weekends ago was the annual Fall Ladies' Luncheon organized by our church's Women's Ministry. This is my 3rd year to decorate a table, and I love doing it. Part of the fun is seeing what other ladies come up with as well. The theme this year was "Childhood Memories." I wanted to pick a fun, girly, and pink childhood memory so mine was "Playing Dress Up."

My table that morning was made up of some sweet friends. We enjoyed quiche, fruit parfaits, and lots of fun fellowship. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and so I have all of one pic from the day.

This was our table before the event began. The centerpiece in the middle was made by Central Market, and it's arranged in a silver plated urn that I found at Salvation Army a couple of years ago for $10. I must tell you that the day I found it was one of my proudest thrift shopping days. The pink glassware was borrowed from my Grannie and anchored with some of my Spode Tower pink dinner plates. All the other fun "dress-up" stuff on the table came out of my own dress-up stuff. Makeup, pearls, a pink feather boa {of course!}, gloves, and crowns. (For some reason, my Co-Workers have supplied me with numerous crowns. Hmm.)

I handmade the place cards for each place setting. Starting with a doily, some pages from Pride & Prejudice (I have a copy for every room in my house, so this one won't be missed, I promise) and ending with a chipboard initial for each lady at the table. I am dangerous with a hot glue gun--just ask my index finger. After searching every craft store in FW I didn't find silver glittered chipboard letters, so I hand glittered these. I was pleased with how they turned out and now have mine blinging up my office space.

As much fun as it is to plan and execute something as fun as this, the best part is a morning of girl talk with friends!

New Year's Cabin Bash 2009

We spent New Year's Eve much the same way as last year, although the crowd changed by just a few couples! We went out to Riverbend Retreat Center (the Tarrant Co. Baptist encampment.) It's nice because everyone can spend the night and not worry about the crazies on the road, plus we have a kitchen and gym access.

I don't think anyone got a group picture this year or couple pictures, so that's a little sad. We rang in the New Year playing Rock Band. (I might be borderline addicted to that game for I cannot stop playing.) We paused for about 30 seconds to count down to 2010, then picked right back up.

We split up meals for the shindig with one group bringing dinner on Thursday night, some did snacks, and another providing breakfast the next morning. Ashley and I did breakfast with her making Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls (they are SO good) and me with a brunch casserole. (Julie, the recipe is in this link!)

We had a blast and are so blessed to have a wonderful and fun group of friends to ring in the new year.

Here are some of the pics I did take of playing in the gym.

A game of knockout

Julie with a major serve

Friendly dispute about interference.
Love Tara's face in this pic. Very concerned.

My Sweetie.

The Great Outdoors

I seriously could go on and on about Salt Lake City, but it's time to move on. I'm currently typing this on 2.5 hours of sleep (more on that later) so if my humor (if there is any) is lost on you, I apologize in advance.

On Friday the 13th, we embarked on a camping adventure with a bunch of friends. I told no less than 20 people the week prior that we were camping in Weatherford to which each responded, "I didn't know there was a place to camp in Weatherford." Well, clearly I did not make our reservation since it was in Mineral Wells. I had no idea where we were going other than somewhere west of where I live where there are no solid roofs or fluffy mattresses and down comforters. Instead, there are spiders and dirt.

I watched Brad set up the tent. Good job honey!
(He's an Eagle Scout. He certainly doesn't need my help, right?)

Grand theft pictorial: this came from Ashley's blog.
If someone knows where that long hair came from, let me know.

Ashley and Brad were on a quest to drink two gallons of sweet tea.
That equals 1 gallon per person. You're welcome.

They have rock climbing and all sorts of cool stuff out at Mineral Wells. After our
campsite was invaded by Boy Scouts on Saturday, those of us remaining left to explore.

The Laramores win the prize for travelling the farthest to camp.
Oklahoma OK!

The Gentry Family and sedimentary rock.

Overlooking the lake

Caroline by the cave

Painting the Church Pink

Or at least, one of the 10th grade girls' Sunday school rooms.

A work in progress. Color is Benjamin Moore Peony.

This project was started a few Sundays ago with my Sunday school girls. I'm still not sure where more paint ended up--on the walls or on our clothes. But we had fun anyway. Updates to come!

Ladies' Luncheon 2009

Yesterday was the annual Ladies' Luncheon at our church. This year the overall theme was Special Joys, so each decorator chose a special joy to theme their table. My table was a Team effort with my friend Hailey, and we did the Special Joy of Music. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard this year's theme. Music is such a joy all the time!

Hailey did our awesome flower arrangement!

The most asked question of the day was did we play all of those instruments?
The answer: NO. Borrowed from a couple of different sources, like Alisia and my bro.
(But I can play a couple of them!)

We used an old book of sheet music to cover the table, and our favors were kazoos.

The beautiful ladies at our table!

This event is such a neat way to meet ladies of all ages at our church. It's such a fun, girlie morning, and a great place for decorating ideas!

Minnesota Peaches

Last Saturday night we had some church friends over for hamburgers. (I don't know why I say church friends because they are just regular friends too.) One of the couples has been in the process of moving to Oklahoma after a couple of years here in seminary, so this is one of the last get-togethers we'll be having with them as residents. Surely they will come back and visit, and we'll do it again.

(Unfortunately I didn't get pics of everyone. Perhaps I will begin making people pose as they come in the front door, like on a cruise ship?)


Here's the night by the numbers:

8 hamburgers and
15 jalapenos making
30 of Pioneer Woman's jalapeno/bacon/cream cheese things eaten by
8 people +
1 4 year old +
1 baby who almost rolled over

2 Teams playing
4 games of Digital Catchphrase where
4 girls were victorious even on the round where
1 tricky person changed it over to SPORTS (take that, boys!) and
2 viewings of The Lion King by one cute little blondie.


God has blessed us so much in giving such a sweet and fun fellowship with these people in this season of our lives. Definitely a fun Saturday night!

We ♥ America!

These are the only two pictures I took:


Ashley and Coop by the orange illumination of the Home Depot sign.


Self-portrait.

We spent the early part of the 4th buying Brad some socks (no more holes!) and ditching the rec for Chick fil a. Later that night, we went southwest with the Cooks and Ericksons to Glen Rose where we ate at Loco Coyote. The Cooks introduced us to it a few weeks ago where they have the most delicious (and huge) chicken fried steaks, barbecue, chicken tenders, gravy, onion rings, and on and on and on. Definitely worth the drive.

From there, we started back towards town with a stop at the Home Depot parking lot in Granbury to watch the fireworks. The City of Granbury puts on a great show over the lake. The last time we were there on the 4th was while we were still dating. Fun memory.

As a nation, we are so blessed with a tradition of commitment to public service from our peace officers to our servicemen and women. They are out there everyday protecting our safety and freedom, whether on our neighborhood streets or in foreign lands. On the off chance that one of you might stumble across my blog, please accept my humble thanks for all that you do.

Rangers Sweep Angels

Sunday afternoon we went to the Ballpark to watch the Rangers beat Angels with our Sunday school class. Let me just say that the Ranger games are definitely more fun these days--attendance is up, and the crowd is into it.


The top left is my favorite ad at the Ballpark.
The H lights up after a HIT at night!


We ate snowcones, got some sun, and saw a win. With friends.
Perfect Sunday afternoon.

What Then Shall We Wear?

Wow, it seems like it's been forever since I last posted (or 2 weeks, same thing.) We've been up to a lot of little things, so I'll just have to post about that another time.

But this weekend, my family came in to visit, and my mom attended the Ladies' Luncheon at my church with me. The theme of the morning was "What Then Shall We Wear?", and it included a wonderful talk about dressing your heart with time in God's Word each morning before you leave the house. The speaker was Debbie Skinner, and she did this beautiful watercolor painting while she spoke to us. Her analogy was that you wouldn't forget to dress yourself before going out in public, so why not remember to dress your heart before leaving your house. I thought she made a good point. This girl was convicted!

Along with the theme, the event organizers had a style show, and I was asked to be in it. Yes, I was a model for a day! The clothing came from a cute little boutique in Hurst called Machelle's that is owned by a sweet Christian lady (Machelle) and run by her and her mom. I had more fun trying on clothes--they just kept bringing more and more stuff! There were so many ladies in the show from all ages in our church. It was so funny to listen to all of us getting ready.

Photos are courtesy of Ashley. Here I am on the catwalk--haha! You can see
Debbie's setup behind me, with the video camera that filmed her painting.
I was the jeans girl!


My mom and my friends joined me at the models' table for the lunch
(which was delicious--chicken salad and crepes for dessert!) It was a fun morning!

Before Easter

Before going home to Corsicana for the weekend, we hung out with friends quite a bit. Thursday night we met up with this crew for dinner on the patio at Central Market. I only got a couple of pics with my phone, and none of the guys. Sorry boys! We were all quite impressed with the band that night, fronted by singer Maren Morris.



Friday night we had dinner with our Table for 10 bunch at Freebirds, followed by a wild game of Mad Gab back at the Lees. That has to be one of my favorite games ever. You must try it if you have not!

Saturday morning I got up and ran the Tarrant County Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Fort Worth with Bethany. It was her first 5K, and she did so great! I was doing good to keep up. My extended vacation from running over the past few weeks really showed.

Waiting to get to the starting line. There were tons of people
out there supporting this great cause. And everything is PINK, my favorite!

Here we are in action, almost to the finish!

Happy girls at the end!