Our Christmas Card

 One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is receiving Christmas cards from family and friends.  Opening the mail is so much fun!  I love seeing what everyone has been up to during the year or seeing the little babies or kiddos as they grow.  Such a great time of the year to really reflect on how blessed we all are to have such amazing family and friends.  With that said, I also love sending out our cards so that everyone knows we are also thinking of them and wishing nothing but the best for them in the new year!

We haven't really shared our pictures from New York (last December) with too many people (other than me posting a few here on the blog), so it's a perfect way to share them.  We put the most festive one on the front of us in front of Radio City, and then on the back, we're on Top of the Rock with the Empire State Building in our view, then Central Park and last at Times Square.

We used Zazzle this year to do our cards...mainly because I had bought a groupon for a great deal.  I was thrilled with the quality though! And I can't take all the credit for this one as my husband actually picked the picture and the design he liked best.  I think he did pretty good if I do say so. :)

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner to share our Christmas Card and to go check out all of the other beautiful cards!  Click HERE to go view them.

XO,

Tara

Adult Hot Chocolate Bar + Christmas Mantel

We recently had our 8th annual girl's Holiday Party at my new house.  In getting ready for the party, I used a white tray to create an adult Hot Chocolate Bar.  Here's what it included:

Mugs + Spoons

Instant Hot Cocoa Mixes

Marshmallows

Candy Canes

Peppermint Liquor

Bailey's

I'm leaving this bar out for the holiday season for our house guests to enjoy.  Of course the kids can use the bar too when they visit as long as we put up the liquor.

Also, here is a glimpse at our holiday mantel.  As we're still getting settled and upacked, I kept the mantel simple.  I like how it turned out for this year!

(note these are from my phone, so please excuse the blurriness)

I added some mercury glass after I took the pic above. 

I'm linking up to A Thoughtful Place's Christmas Vignette Holiday Linky Party.  Go check it out by clicking here.

Also, I haven't forgotten that I haven't shown you my new white cabinets in the kitchen.  I need to be home long enough to clean up the kitchen and take pictures to show you guys!

Also, I'll be back sooner than later to show you the rest of the food and treats from our girl's holiday party.

XO,

Tara

It's Starting to Look Like Christmas + My Wish List

We are still knee deep in boxes at our new home, but we couldn't resist starting to put up Christmas decorations to make it feel more festive and homey.  The rest of the boxes will just have to wait a bit longer to get unpacked.  Our tree went up while we listened to Christmas music, and we ate a big and comforting bowl of chicken and dumplings for dinner.  This has been our tradition for the last five years since we had our first Christmas together.  It's starting to feel and look like Christmas!  I just adore this time of year!

I also came up with some ideas of items I wouldn't mind receiving this year.

MY WISH LIST...............................................................................

Starting from the top going clockwise:

1. Kendra Scott Elle Earrings in Chalcedony

2.  Michael Kors Gold Link Bracelet

3.  Zara Leather Bag

4.  Keurig Coffemaker

5.  J Crew Rail and Wharf Duffel Bag

What's on your wish list??

XO,

Tara

DC Trip and White Cabinets With No Regrets!

We just got back from a trip to Washington, D.C. and what perfect timing!  The colors of the trees were gorgeous, and it actually felt like Fall!  Here in Texas, it's still warm and well it doesn't feel as quite as festive.  But in DC, it felt like the holidays, which really got us in the spirit for the upcoming Thanksgiving break.  We actually got to wear sweaters and coats, and we enjoyed walking around in the brisk coolness taking in all of the monuments and memorials.  Another reason that the trip was perfect timing is that it was a great time to remember and be thankful for all of the great men and women that have defended our country and led our country and have given us the freedom that I know I too often take for granted.  It's a great time to remember all that our country has been through and to be thankful for all the blessings that we do have.

I'll have to actually start posting pics from our trips, but for now here's a couple of snaps I took on my phone:

Shopping in Georgetown

My first attempt at showing what I wore! haha I'ts blurry, but you get the picture that I could actually wear boots and a fur vest.  Now back in Texas for Thanksgiving...have to change back to wardrobes more suiting for 80 degrees.

Now for a peek at the new house and what's been going on before we left for our trip....Oh yes, we did already have our kitchen cabinets painted white.  And I'm thrilled with the results!   I know, we just closed on the house a few weeks ago, and we didn't waste any time getting workers/painters in the house to make a few minor changes and also paint.  I admittedly was terrified that I was making the wrong decision or possibly picking the wrong paint colors.  I know also that my hubby was not 100% convinced that we should go white on the kitchen cabinets, especially since we have white countertops.  I know it was a risk, but we took it, and now I thank my lucky stars, we have no regrets about our (or my I should say) decision.  Without further adieu, here is our new kitchen in our new home.  Well, this is how it looked BEFORE:

And you are going to have to wait to see how it turned out AFTER.  When we return from our Thanksgiving break, I'll take some updated pics to post and see what you all think of the  kitchen makeover.

Hope you all have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!  We have so much to be thankful for.  What an amazing country we live in.

XO,

Tara

Halloween Treats

Happy Belated Halloween!!

Sorry I missed posting on the actual day, but I enjoyed looking at all of your posts and seeing all of the cute trick or treaters dressed up!

I haven't actually gotten around to posting these until now since we've been busy moving of course, but I just had to share the treats that my niece and I made for Halloween.  These ideas were all found on or inspired by Pinterest. 

To start off with, we made some...

WITCH HATS!

 

and then...

Frankenstien Marshmallow Pops

Actually, she did these all by herself.  Look at those skills drawing that face.  I was so impressed!

(I just wish I had gotten a better picture of the final outcome.  They tasted yummy!!)

Then we made some little ghost men combining the marshmallows and hats!  One is supposed to be scary with the "O" face and one happy.

These were again her idea to try doing the...

Candy Corn Marshmallow Pops 

I think we pulled it off fairly well if I do say so myself. 

By the end of the night things got weird, and we couldn't resist making some gory marshmallow men...with red food coloring for blood and a worm coming out of the head.  You know we had to have some scary stuff too!  haha



It was such a wonderful evening with my niece in the kitchen having fun and sharing time together doing something we both enjoy.  This has become our "thing" we do together, and I absolutely LOVE IT!

(see a tiny bit of our Christmas baking here)

I'll have some house updates soon!

XO,

Tara

New House

It's final!  We have a new home.  We closed on our house yesterday, and this weekend we'll start moving in.  We're having some rooms painted and a few other minor home improvements done this week before we start the unpacking process.  We are thrilled to have found a home we love so quickly and are eager to spend our first night in it!  I have so many things to show you all and hope the decisions I've already made work out!  eek Picking paint colors is so stressful for me.  I'm eager to see the new paint on the walls!  Many more pictures coming soon, but here's a peek of the outside.

XO,

Tara

Moving...from our first home

What a month this has been.  We SOLD our house and are now homeless. hah  We went to Costa Rica in late August and had the most wonderful week-long vacation.  Then upon our return when we were completely relaxed and revived, we came back home to pack and move out of our house in five days just in time for closing.  Yes, we sold our first home.  It sold after only being on the market a little over two weeks, so now we are living with family while we search for our new home.  We are moving to the suburbs.  We lived outside of the inner city already, but now we are taking it a step further.  We chose to move to an area close to friends with great schools (ya know for when that time comes) and hopefully will be a place that we stay in for quite some time.

I felt like we were still decorating our home and then the next thing we knew, we were putting it on the market. So I didn't invest in anymore furniture or home decor, and I never fully revealed all of the rooms in our home.  As such, here is what it looked like up to this point.

**pictures taken by real estate agent's photographer**

Pictures of our home that we sold.

Entryway:

Living Room -

I've featured the living room that was madeover with the help of Jessie from Mix and Chic.

Dining Room:

Kitchen:

Our Master Bedroom  -

I've also shown you this room and the gallery wall with frames from Ikea.

Master Bathroom:

Guest Bedroom:

Our Backyard -

I've also shown you the changes we made to fix up the yard recently too.

You can see Gus in his kennel barking at the photographer.  oops! haha I'm sure he enjoyed that.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our first home. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter of our lives in our new home, and I'm especially looking forward to decorating it and sharing it with you!

XO,

Tara

Celebrations and Vacations, Oh My!

Wow, what a month it has been.  I have THE BEST husband, family and friends. 

On my actual birthday, my friends gathered for dinner and drinks here in town to celebrate.  It was a great time, and I ate lots of these:

Then the weekend after my birthday, we were supposed to be visiting my family at the coast to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday, but instead my husband had rented a house and they threw me a surprise birthday party with my best friends and a lot of family.  We got to sit out here and relax all weekend. 

We took a boat trip and hung out on the beach a bit and ended Saturday night with a big shrimp boil.  It was perfect!  Let's just say I definitely was surprised and ummm may have not been so nice to him leading up to my birthday.  Yes, I have a lot of making up to do!!

But the party doesn't stop yet.  Tomorrow, my husband and I leave for Costa Rica for 7 nights!  It's a much needed vacation.  There's so much going on that I'll have to catch you up on next week.  I've been a little under the weather this week, and I'm hoping I start feeling better soon to really enjoy all of this:

Here's to enjoying the last days of summer!  Cheers!

Tara



The Big 3-0!!

{via google images}

Yes, the day has finally come.  I am turning the big 3-0!  It is kind of sad to say goodbye to my 20's.  I guess it's hit me a little harder than I thought it would.  There were so many good times.... but I am looking forward to all the many things to come in this next stage of my life.  Tonight, I'm looking forward to celebrating with my friends and sweet husband over dinner and drinks.  Hope all of you have a lovely weekend as well.

XO,

Tara

Jewelry Organization

For the last few months I've been on a major organization kick around our house.  I'm tired of some of the clutter in our closets, garage and other places.  I'm also realizing how much stuff we have that we never use.  So my new motto is: "If we aren't using it, let's get rid of it."  I know this is obvious and should be something that is practiced without it being some big change, but well with the craziness that takes on our everyday lives with work being busy and us going out of town many weekends, it's surprising how fast junk can accumulate before we even realize it.

Mission Organization has been in place and well it's gone pretty good so far.  Slowly but surely changes are happening.  I haven't posted them, but we've cleaned out our garage so that we can actually walk in there and could even park a car if we wanted to (you know use the garage for what it's made for).  Awesome!  I hosted a garage sale with a friend and walked away with $165 in my pocket...all for old clothes and other stuff that was lying around but now someone else can actually use it.  Now, most recently, I've organized my jewelry and actually snapped some pics on my phone (meaning not the best pictures) in the process to show you.

You can make this jewelry display board in five easy steps!

STEP 1: Gather Supplies - Foam board, linen or other fabric, tape measurer, x-acto knife, pen or marker, hot glue gun and cup hooks.

Step 2: Measure the foam board to the size you want.

Step 3: Cut the foam board using the x-acto knife.  In my case I wanted two pieces, so I cut the board in half.  Gus did a fabulous job assisting me with this to make sure I didn't hurt myself!

Step 4: Wrap the fabric tightly around the board and using the hot glue gun, secure the corners and edges on the back side of the board.

Step 5: Screw in the cup hooks where you want them on your board.  I used the x-acto knife to make little slits in the fabric and board so that the fabric wouldn't bunch up where I was scewing in the hooks.

Ta-da!  You now have a beautiful and easy way to store your jewelry.  For me, this works so much better than drawers as I find myself not using what I don't easily see, and I tend to not put jewelry back in it's place if it's not easy.  This has been working great so far! 

I designated two of my shelves in my closet for my jewelry.  I just leaned the boards agains the back of the wall, and then I used a plate and some bowls from West Elm to display my earrings, bracelets and rings.

Hope you enjoyed getting a peak at my new jewelry organization!!

Have a fabulous weekend. XO,

Tara