Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day McLovers! Do you have fancy plans? I don't...we celebrated Valentine's Day a bit early by going to a pretty little dinner last night. Whatever you will be doing...make it LOVE-ly! xo

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Holiday Camera Roll

Happy New Year! Here's a peek at our holiday...5 plane rides, 8 hours in the car, 3 different beds, and a wonderful time wrapped jammed into one week.

We used to be the couple who traveled with two carry-ons, no matter HOW long our trip was going to be. We are were expert packers. This is what we look like now....first stop: Chicago.

two large suitcases, two large carry-on's, and the infamous car seat bag LOL

We took a trip to my favorite.sandwich.shop.ever! I have been craving this for over a year, and finally got to indulge in my turkey with hot peppers...yummm.

My in-law's live in the suburbs, but we wanted to take a trip downtown to visit all of our favorite places. It was so much fun - we got to show Sophia all around the city...she was sleeping ;). 

tribune tree

gorg, new burberry store is finally done! 

My very first Chicago apartment - Michigan Avenue...oh, the memories! I lived on the top (38th) floor on the corner - you can see my old window (top left). 

the most delicious hot chocolate ever

After an amazing Christmas in Chicago, we hopped a plane headed to Iowa. We usually have Christmas at my parent's home, but my sister-in-law just had a baby and this meant minimal travel, so my OTHER sister-in-law and brother graciously hosted a beautiful Christmas. I swear, she is the best hostess and thinks of every detail! See what I mean? 

amazing centerpieces 

Sophia and her cousin, Gemma 

Sophia and Graham - these two are 3 weeks apart!

Papa & Sophia 

visiting my brother's new office that he built - so proud! 

How cute is this picture of my nieces? LOL - they love each other! 

The following day, we headed to my parent's house to spend some time and visit my grandparents. I don't get to see them often, and I really wanted them to be able to meet Sophia.

gorgeous sunrise from my parent's front yard

love spending time with my mama (and dad) - wish they lived closer

Sophia and her great grands - such a precious memory. 

airport living

finally home - enjoying a relaxing new year by the fire! 

Back to reality! 

My Year In Review

Happy NYE all! Can't believe this day has come so soon, it feels like each year is flying by quicker than the last, do you agree? I hope you are having a wonderful holiday with family and friends. 2012 was a fabulous year, and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us. Here is a look back at some of my favorites from this year...

 My favorite chicken taco recipe (slow cooker) 

 A Birthday Treat 

Hubby featured on Wedding Chicks 

A (very thankful) Thanksgiving

DIY throw pillows 

Our Anniversary 

Welcoming Sophia to Our World 

Jen's Painted Black Shelves

New Mom Adventures 

DIY Chalkboard 

A Chef in my Kitchen

Kitchen Renovation (still have yet to share our entire reno) 

Here's to making more wonderful memories in 2013...Have a safe & happy NYE! 

Cheers!  

DIY Christmas Pom Poms

Christmas is my favorite time for DIYs - there's just something extra special about handmade decor during the holidays, don't you think? This year, I knew I wanted to make some yarn pom poms for a garland. I enjoyed them so much, I made more to put in my new bowl from Anthropology. They are super simple to make, and do not take up too much time (great for non-DIYers). They look great on a garland, in a bowl, and I'd love to sew some onto pillow corners, or make a wreath as well. The possibilities are endless! 

Step One: Wrap the yarn around your hand. The more times you wrap, the fuller your pom pom will be. I wrapped mine between 40-50 times. 

Step Two: Cut the yarn, and slide it (very carefully) off your hand. Cut another piece of yarn, around 5 inches long, and place it under the wrapped yarn. You will tie this piece around the bundle of yarn - be sure to double knot it! 

It should now look like this

Step Three: Cut the ends to begin forming your pom pom. 

snip, snip, snip

Carefully cut to shape your pom, and viola! You're done. 

Here is the garland I made - I wish I would have used more colors (this is a dark emerald green), but I just used what I had on hand. I had it on my fireplace, but moved it to Sophia's crib - I think it looks cute on there, and she loves looking at it. Don't worry, she can't reach it! 

Do you have any favorite holidays DIYs? 

thankful & happy

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for this year, and can't wait to celebrate my pure bliss all day long! Today, and every day, I'm thankful for GOD, family (especially my sweet babe this year), friends, home, this blog, and passion for life.

"give thanks to the LORD for he is good; his love endures forever"

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Halloween Snapshot

I can't believe it's November 1st, and I'm sure many of you are feeling the same way! Wowza! Thank you all for your kind words, comments, and emails...so sweet, and much appreciated. 

Yesterday was Halloween, and we had such a great time. I bought Sophia the most adorable Halloween-themed outfit (70% off - oh yeah!), and I decided to make a last minute costume (done in five minutes) to celebrate the day. The total bummer of the night? We bought 6 gigantic bags of candy, and we had ZERO trick-or-treaters...I'm still pondering this. We live in a community with a clubhouse, and there was an event going on over there, but we're not sure if this meant no trick-or-treating in the neighborhood or not. We will have to figure this out for next year. 

Here's a peek into our Halloween...

And our 2010 Halloween... (I guess I have a thing for cats)

These were my favorite costumes...I hand stitched the capes and my husband's shirt. I love homemade costumes! How was your Halloween?