As far as the holidays go, I can barely control my excitement this year. I continue to blame it on the fact that this is the first year that Wyet and I have spent living together as a couple {which, for some reason, has given me the excuse to be excessive}, but nonetheless, I have a gone a bit overboard this year on the festivities. Christmas, obviously, has not been an exception. I began decorating as soon as the Halloween decorations came off the shelves. Naturally, I needed to add another decoration to my collection; thus, the crafting began.

I loved the wooden owls I made earlier this year and decided to do something similar for Christmas. I went to my local watering hole for craft supplies, Remember Your Memories, and I picked out some unfinished wood pieces I wanted to work on. Rather than crafting solo, I picked up something for my mom, as well, and we made a night of it.

Though I love to craft, I have to admit, it's not always fun and carefree. That's exactly how this project started out. I wanted to have the projects ready to go so that when my mom arrived we could get right to the creative and fun part. I needed to paint the side and back pieces of wood so that the projects had a clean, finished look. I took the wood outside, laid them on some newspaper, and began to spray paint. Being in the rush I always am in, I didn't bother taking the time to change out of my work outfit. Naturally, I ended up getting black spray paint all over my favorite leather boots. If you know me and my love for shoes, I am sure you can imagine the fit this caused {oh yes, tears and all}. I wasn't off to a very good start.

Even though I was being a bit of a cry baby, my mom came over nonetheless {moms are awesome that way}. She showed up with a list of ways to get paint out of leather, and I began feeling better about things. We started our projects and enjoyed some great laughs and conversation along the way.

Though we made some mistakes {and wasted a bit of our supplies in the process} we had a great time. We each ended up with a unique, handmade decoration and were able to enjoy some incredible mama/daughter time while doing so. I am so grateful for the relationship I have with my mom. She is one of the few people who understands me, and the only person who can cheer me up when I ruin a great pair of shoes. Our craft turned out wonderfully, and our night together was even better.

The supplies: wood from RYM, papers from American Crafts and Mod Podge from any local crafting supply store

Halfway there!

I owe all of my craftiness to this lady. She had me tole painting and scrapbooking before I could read.

Adding this fur {found at Michaels Craft} was the messiest part of the project!

The completed project!

My mom's project all finished! She added some Christmas bells inside of the O for the finishing touch!

Just Like Family

Families come in various forms. We are all born into one. Some of us marry into others. Then there are those of us {well, me} who happen upon people that become as close as any family can be. I have been incredibly blessed to have been born into a family that loves unconditionally and also to have stumbled upon another family that radiates that same warmth of familial affection.

The Ingrams have been nothing short of family to me for the past decade. When I started coming around, {in 2004} we just clicked. Wyet's parents were always welcoming and sincere. They made me feel like I belonged since day one. Matye became the sister I never had; creative, confident and a complete badass, I admire everything about her. I have always considered myself lucky for landing such an exceptional guy, but I am fortunate that he came with such a great package.

As the years have passed, my love for this "second" family has only grown stronger. As Wyet and I embark on starting our own life and family together {referring to our furry little ones, of course} I am grateful for the strong family ties we are linked to.

A special thanks to our photographer for capturing us just as we are.

"It's not so much about the shoes, but rather about the people that are wearing them."

Two Tables for Two

There are so many things we use day-to-day. Things that have just always been there. Things that have no special significance rather than their usefulness. Things that one generally wouldn't take time to appreciate; for example, a table.

Tables are such understated pieces of furniture. Most of us have at least one {after taking the time to count, I discovered I have 8 scattered about our home}. While I have never given it much thought before, the tables in my home are essential to our daily life. At our tables, wonderful things happen.

Sitting around the kitchen table at night is where I get to hear all of the details of Wyet's day. In front of the coffee table in the living room is where we spend quality family time together {with the puppies lying underneath}. In our art room, Wyet has his paint table set up where he creates masterpieces within the comfort of our home. Right next to his workstation, I have my scrapbook table where I get to document all of our memories.

After realizing how much time we spend around these tables in our home, I decided to give them a little attention. Our kitchen table, {which has been a family hand-me-down since the 80s} has a unique formica surface. I had Wyet cover this for me a few years ago, but it was time for an update. I asked Wyet to pick whichever design he liked the best and switch up our look. {Living with a sign-guy has proved to be incredibly convenient when it comes to household projects.}

Our coffee table is probably the most used table in our house. Therefore, it has suffered from quite a bit of wear-and tear. The top of the table was covered in knicks and scratches and was beginning to look really worn. I decided to follow my mama's motto "A little paint goes a long way," and update the color.

Altering these two tables was incredibly simple, yet it changed the look of them entirely. While I have to admit, working on a DIY project is always fun, but the real enjoyment with these projects will come from the future memories Wyet and I will share sitting around these tables. Together.

Before {my design choice}

Wyet applying our new tabletop

After {Wyet's design choice}

Before {covered in scratches and water marks}

After {I used a basic interior black paint and finished with a polyurethane clear coat} I kept the legs of the table natural which gives the table a unique look.

Come On & Celebrate

My love for Halloween stems from the many traditions that have been made over the years. There are some traditions that I have enjoyed year after year, and then there are those that have just begun. Whether new or old, it is the traditions, the moments together with friends and family, that make this holiday worth celebrating. Here a few highlights of our celebrated traditions from this past Halloween.

Each year, I start decorating as soon as the signs of autumn are approaching {generally in early September}. I try and add at least one decoration to my collection with each passing year. For this years addition, I decided to get crafty and make some {not so} spooky owls. I grabbed some unfinished wooden owls that I had lying around {a birthday gift from my dearest friend Ashlee}, some festive scrapbook paper, a bit of paint and mod podge and began to assemble my decoration.

The owls can be found at Remember Your Memories and the paper can be bought from Pebbles in My Pocket

Wyet also decided to make a few decorations of his own. Rather than simply carving a pumpkin, he wanted to make his artwork last a bit longer. He chose to airbrush a few of our ghost pumpkins, and the results were incredible. These pumpkins impressed everyone who had the chance to see them. The best part was watching the step-by-step progress Wyet made as he worked. As detailed as the pumpkins are, surprisingly it only took Wyet a few short hours to complete the masterpieces. This may have been the first year that we had unique, airbrushed pumpkins on display, but it definitely won't be the last.

Before

During

After!

 As always, we had our annual pumpkin carving evening with Patye. Each year, the three of us get together and carve a pumpkin for Matye {it too was her favorite holiday}. This has always been one of my favorite Halloween traditions, however, this year seemed to turn out better than the rest. This year, rather than just carving Matye a pumpkin and calling it good, we all went above and beyond. We each carved a pumpkin of our own and Matye got two unique designs. All of the pumpkins that were carved said a little bit about each of us. Wyet's pumpkin was creative and a little bit intimidating. My pumpkin was cute yet a little bit awkward. Patye made a unique drill-hole pumpkin donned with Matye's name and also a Jack Skellington design to match the theme of the season. The time spent carving pumpkins with these two was an absolute joy. We celebrated the joy of the season and the joy Matye still brings to our lives.

Wyet had to draw all of our pumpkins before we could begin carving.

The finished products!

All lit up!

A new tradition we started this year was attending a murder mystery performance. We always attend a production during Christmas so we decided it only seemed fitting to attend one during this season, as well. We went to the Covey Center with {most of} my family and saw The Unexpected Guest. The play was incredible, and like all of Agatha Christy's scripts had a surprise ending that made the show a hit. To top of the night, the zombie dancers from the Thriller production were roaming the halls before and after the play turning our new tradition into a spooky event for us all.

JC and the {soon to be} newest member of the family Alexsis

 

As a close to our month of celebrations, we threw our annual Halloween Costume Party. We enjoyed a great night with great friends following the maxim of Halloween: Eat, Drink & Be Scary.

Cruella DeVil and a {poor} attempt at turning Murphy into a dalmatian.

A hipster, a chef and a cowboy

Whit made a great cowboy and Alex donned the vampire look perfectly!

The best costumes of the night: Woody and a pumpkin

I am lucky to have found a guy that loves Halloween just as much as I do. Until next year, Happy Halloween.