Holiday Anticipation

It's early Friday morning, and my last Friday at work for the year. I can barley handle the anticipation that is growing inside of me, for not only two weeks vacation, but our upcoming road trip to New York City. While I love my job, these next two weeks are a Christmas gift to me from the Lord because I am worn slap out.

Any who, enough about me and my crazy job, lets talk about more fun stuff...like New York City for New Years
(I'm calling it NY2 (NYsquared)). Our plan is:

Leave KC -
Drive to DC - Stay two nights
Drive to NYC - Stay six nights
Drive to Niagara Falls - Stay one Night
Drive straight back
Go to work on Monday ....

The trip is going to be a LOT of driving, but oh the memories we are going to make! Can you tell I'm excited?

Each day I'll be sure to post some fun memories, a few photos, maybe a video or two for all of you to enjoy! Be sure to stop by daily for the all the details of our NY2 Road trip!

No Spend November - Day #1

 
Day #1

JW and I have been doing No Spend November since our first year of marriage and each year it gets...nope won't lie, it's hard.

What we can spend money one -

1. Bills

2. Groceries

3. Gas

 

That's it. Say goodbye to your random "I like that shirt, I think I'll buy it", and your let's go out to eat tonight, and Starbucks. Wave goodbye to all of it - for 30 days. YOU CAN DO IT!

 

Our first few years of No Spend November were to help us wrap up our Christmas Gift Savings for our 5,000 person family but this year it is for some extra dough in NYC!

 

We are going to NYC for New Years and we are completely and utterly, out of our minds stoked. We are skipping the gifts this year and saying we love you, but we're going to NYC Baby! (P.S. our family is excited we are going on a vacation they understand the trivia of getting from KC to Dallas, TX, Dallas, TX to Longview, Texas, Longview, TX to Jackson, MS, Jackson, MS, to ElDorado, AR, ElDorado, AR, to Harrison, AR, Harrison, AR, back to KC.) Imagine the movie Four Christmas' on crack and that is JW and My Christmas vacation - except our family isn't crazy, they just are all scattered.

 

Anywho - back to No Spend November. Today is day one, Friday, and tonight we are going to stay home, grill some dinner, watch a movie (we already own) and drink coffee by the fire pit. One thing is for sure, No Spend November helps you enjoy the simple things in life.

 

Enjoy! Will you take the No Spend November Challenge??

 

Bye Y'all!

A Blast From The Past - Halloween Costumes

Happy Late Halloween!!

What a fun day it was! JW and I got to hand out candy to kiddos dressed as princesses, ninja turtles, minions, and more for the very first time. It was so fun! We couldn't just hand out candy in our boring ole work clothes so we dug through the old boxes in the basement and pulled out JW's Football jersey and my high school (YES high school!) cheer uniform! I could not believe it fit better last night then it did in high school. Have I told you how much I just LOVE Stimulock?! Any diet that will show me results daily AND allow me to fit in my high school uniform is A OK with me! Check out our fun photos below! Hope you had a great night! What did you dress up as?

 

 

Bye Y'all!

 

Happy Friday!

 

Happy Home Owners

It's true.

You don't quite feel like a true grown up until you sign 1 million papers and become a Home Owner.

All the rumors of how stressful it is however, can be put to bed. It was SUCH a fun process for me. We went house "shopping" one Saturday, fell in love with the next to last house, put in our offer, offer was accepted the next day, 45 days later we signed papers and moved in! I was not stressed once. It's a miracle - because I am the QUEEN at being stressed for no reason. JW however - Mr. Laid Back was on the wire the entire process. Bless his heart, he made it through and we couldn't be happier. Photos of the "super cute" (if I do say so myself) decor coming soon. For now - enjoy this photo of us right before we signed our papers!

Bye Y'all.

The New "Us"

My Husband JW and I just went through an incredible health transformation with the help of Stimulock. If you have weight to lose, 1lb to 200lbs Stimulock can help you reach your goal AND help you transform into a healthier you. Stimulock is a lot like HCG, but no hormones, and is homeopathic so it is healthier! A WIN - WIN. Check out some before and after photos of us below -

JW Began At - 280 LBS - Size 40 jeans and XXL Shirts
I began At - 189 - Size 16/14 Jeans - XL Shirts

Today -
JW - 215 - Size 34 Jeans - L Shirts
Me - 147 - Size 8 Jeans - M/L Shirts

JW has locked in his new weight and is maintaining it like a champ. I took a month off because of travel and I maintained my weight during my "break". I started back full throttle this past Monday and I have lost 4lbs already this week! I feel great! excited to be at my goal weight of 130 and a size 6 soon! I am going to ring in the new year as a new ME!

If you have more information about Stimulock click here and I will hook you up with a Stimulock Practitioner that will help you succeed and answer any question you may have!

Bye Y'all!

We Enjoyed It While It Lasted

Thursday and Friday here in KC were SO SO beautiful. Even though today it is back down to 40 degrees and drizzling, spring is on its way and there is nothing Kansas can do about that! Bring on Spring. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to take the JW's family, who is in from Texas for the weekend, and the dogs down to the lake to soak all the warmth in! Then on Friday, we went to the Plaza to walk around, and went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory. I love it when family comes in! We had so much fun! We did our best to enjoy the warm weather while it lasted. Today - today we are going to refinish some furniture! Stay updated with JW and I by following this blog! simplysouther2.blogspot.com :) 

One Of Those Days

It's been one of those days. So thankful that tomorrow is a new day.

The Snow Is Melting

The Snow Is Melting. Spring Is On Its Way, And I Couldn't Be Happier.

Home.

As promised, I wanted to upload some photos of my home decor. I believe that most home decor is collected over the years, and as you can tell in some of my photos below, that I haven't collected quite as much as my step-mom, but I love my home.

These are my Mason Jars that I keep all of my baking / cooking goods in.
 (remind me to add Splenda to my grocery list)

I love my old luggage. I got them for $1 a piece, and the dog on top is my son, Bentley. :)

The quilt was a gift from my step-mom...I love it. The old wagon wheels as the headboard was my awesome husbands idea. I love how they turned out, and we got them for FREE!

My husband made our coffee table, I showed him a picture of a wood pallet coffee table, and he made my dreams come true. The old fan was a thrift store find for $10, the jar and paper flowers $10 as well, the owls were a Christmas gift from my Step-Mom, and the old books are just an extra decoration piece.

Our cross wall. We are renting a town home right now, and we love it, this vent on the wall however...not so much.

This is my husbands great grandmas AM FM radio. It has been in his family for a long time, and I love displaying it. Can you believe it still works? The & sign was a gift from my sister, and off to the left is a wood pallet coat wrack my amazing, crafty, handy, handsome, husband made. ;)

I love this wall, our H, the window, the cross, and the Keep Calm & Love Texas sign are my favorite items in our home.

 

This is the H on the wall behind my couch. This is another, I showed JW the picture, he made it, projects.

Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil owls.

The lamp was a gift from our fabulous friends for Christmas, and the book is a scrap book of our summer vacation 2012.

This is the other wall in our spare bedroom. Once again, our wood pallets have made their way upstairs. The wagon, chair, and bear are all JWs tows from when he was a little guy.

This is also in our spare bedroom. This little fella we found at Good Will for $5...I had to take him home, plus he is perfect for my baby photo props.

Attention To Detail : Home

I love having people over, in fact some of my favorite girls come over every Monday night. The Bachelor is what brings us all together, but we also just love hanging out and having a great time. Many nights of the week you can find other people at my husband and my house. We love to entertain, and one of the most frequent questions we get asked is, "Where did your decor inspiration come from?" Most of the time I answer with, "Well I'm from Arkansas, so I just love the country / shabby chic feel."

I thought that was the truth, and it is to a certain point, but as I was standing in my Step-Mom and Dad's home this weekend; I realized that my style was most definitely influenced by my step-mom, Bev. Her home is A-DORABLE. There is not a corner that is not full of some of the cutest things, her attention to detail is impeccable.  I have posted some photos of her main living area below. I hope you enjoy them. I will post some photos of my home tomorrow, so don't forget to "follow me" / subscribe to my blog, so you can see all of my latest posts.

This wall is my favorite. It is full of cute little signs that say anything from, We call the Hogs, or Life greatest gift is being a Mimi.

Love these old books and old thread bobbins, and of course the Scentsy!

I love this little class jar with the chicken on top. The red apple bring together all the splashes of red throughout her home.

If you haven't caught onto the theme, she loves chickens, and these two are perfect for her home!

The old kitchen utensil wall! Lots of old kitchen utensils have been meticulously placed on this wall, and the outcome is eye catching very unique.

This is my great grandma's (grandma Buckley) table and, what you can see of it hutch. My step mom did the BEST job with cleaning it, and adding these amazing chairs from Pier One! I just LOVE those chairs!

Adorable right?

"You Are Myself" - Blogger Find

I found this exact post on THIS blog. It is simply amazing.

Dr. Michael Haykin has written a beautiful little book entitled The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers. The book concludes with a profound letter from  Helmuth von Moltke to his wife, Freya von Moltke, written from a Nazi prison where he was awaiting execution for his efforts to oppose the brutality of the Third Reich:

January 11, 1945
“And now my dear, I come to you, I have not included you in my list because you, my dear, stand in a totally different position from all others. You are not one of God’s agents to make me what I am, rather you are myself. You are my thirteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Without this chapter no human being is truly human. Without you I would have accepted love…But without you, my dear, I would not have ‘had’ love. I should not think of saying that I love you; that would be quite false. Rather you are the one part of me, which would be lacking if I was alone…It is only in our union—you and I—that we form a complete human being…And that is why, my dear, I am quite certain that you will never lose me on this earth—no, not for a moment. And this fact it was given us to symbolize finally through our common participation in the Holy Communion, that celebration which was my last.”

Helmuth von Moltke was hanged in prison on January 23, 1945.

Dr. Haykin writes:
“This letter to Freya, one of sixteen hundred that Moltke wrote to her during the course of their love and marriage, presents a strong picture of the oneness of Christian marriage and how, in the words of the Song of Solomon, ‘many waters cannot quench love’ for it is stronger than death (Song 8:7, ESV).”

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All the roads are salted and plowed, the schools are still closed, but I, I am back at work. Oh well, a three day week isn't too bad at all!

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Snow Day Baking

If you know me personally, you know I get stir crazy if I am stuck in the house for too long, so today to keep myself busy, I decided to find a recipe and bake. I went to good ole' faithful Pinterest, and found a recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread. Here is the recipe I found, and some photos of my snow day baking. 

This recipe makes one loaf.  Here’s what you need

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 large bananas, mashed, very ripe

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a standard loaf pan (I use a Pyrex).

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside. 

 In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until blended.

  Beat in the banana, then beat in the eggs until completely mixed.  

(I smashed up the bananas with a fork to make them easier to mix)

Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture in three additions, being careful to not overmix.  Stir in the walnuts with a spatula just until blended.

Spread the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  

Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

TADA!!  YUMMY!!

Last but not least - Clean Up

(I'm typically a clean cook, this time I'm not sure what happened...)

This recipe is adapted from a Williams Sonoma cookbook.