1 Quick little post for a chance to win some amazing, amazing tools for my love for "capturing the moment"! Check it out and register to win yourself:D Thanks, Crave!

http://cravemyphotography.com/blog/business-jump-start-giveaway/

Daytime/Halloween Look!

I saw this really fun "tutorial", if you will, from my latest Martha Stewart magazine to create a fun Halloween Look and Daytime look using the same tools in your makeup drawer! Clever! I think what made me most excited about it is that it uses a gel eyeliner and we have one in our Mary Kay Collection Limited Edition for the Fall/Holiday in both Teal and Black. FUN!

This was my first go at it, and I used a slight variation, so that I wasn't such an "evil" queen, but still fun nonetheless. (I'm not sure why I always seem to give a little smirk when I take pictures of myself, but no matter how hard I tried it always snuck in there;) haha)

Here's what I uesd: Ivory 2 Concealer, Teal Gel Eyeliner/Brush, Moonstone, Azure and Peacock Eye colors, Shy Blush cheek color, Cherry Tinted Lip Balm, Black Ultimate Mascara, and of course, our Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover (for the "wardrobe change". Also, I used our fabulous natural hair Brush Set to apply it all. 

Smirk #1:)

Smirk #2:)
We are big fans of the "dry run" in our family (Walkers;) ), and it's a good thing because the lips need a little work, ha. But it was pretty fun to play dress up for a bit. Although, I'm not sure what to think about the fact that Trey didn't seem to bat an eye at the dramatic makeup application...do I need to revamp my normal makeup routine? Surely, I don't look like this often?!

Then, in just 10 min, I was able to use the exact same products and get this daytime look! How fun!

 *I think I may do a Daytime/Halloween bundle at a special price for anyone that wants to get the same look! Just contact me if you're interested:D 

Happy Birthday, Treybie!!

Wow! My Big Boy is 3!! I can't believe how big you are, and you're the coolest kid:) You are so fun to be with, and as I was hugging you to pieces today, I was thinking how much I love you. I love you so much more today than ever before, and I don't think I could begin to tell you how much I loved you the first time I laid eyes on you 3 years ago today.

This year has certainly come with moments (and sometimes days) of it's trademark "Two Year Old" behavior, but I have enjoyed you so much, and I know there is so much more fun to come. You are so entertaining, and your love for your "shows" has only added to the enjoyment. It's incredible how you can reenact an entire episode of your favorites. One of your very favorite things to do right now is to play Knights in the backyard with Mommy and Daddy. I love being "Knight Uniqua" with "Sir Tyrone" right by my side. At first you just acted out the parts yourself, then you started insisting we become one of the characters, and NOW you've become director as well! "Walk this way. Now do your hand like this..." So adorable, and impressive I must say!

I could go on and on (and perhaps in another post I will;) ) about all the things you love and what I love about you, but most of all I love that God made me your Mommy and YOU my baby boy! I love you and who God created you to be so very much.

Happy Birthday, my sweet, sweet Trey!

A Couple of Cuties.

I originally began our blog (and make some sort of attempt at maintaining it) to stay connected with family and friends with our day-to-day life. I love it for that since we're out of town to EVERYONE, but I've loved it as a journal of sorts for myself too. Since I'm sure that paper won't even exist in the future it's nice to have some "permanent" memory-keeping right here:) SOOO all that said, I've just realized it's been a while since I posted some pics of the boys who just so happen to BE my day-to-day life! The two biggest sweeties I've ever met I may add;)

I'm so amazed and so very thankful at how well Trey has loved his brother!

And Hunter is just in love with his big brother. He wants to be everywhere he is, and his little eyes just follow him all over. It's adorable:)

Ahhh, a special moment from God (and Daddy) allowing Mommy to recharge her batteries:D

Just like Papi's!

Being thoroughly entertained by the Kindle Fire.

Trey has finally learned how to chew gum without swallowing it! I wish I thought it was as much of a treat as he does, I'd be down to my goal weight in no time;)

Birthday Zoo Fun.

We have a fantastic Natural Science Center down here in Greensboro, and the best part about it is the little zoo! I say little, but I personally think it's pretty big, just small in comparison to national zoos. I think it will be quite some time before this one is no longer entertaining for our family: ) Anyway, for "one" of my birthday weekend events I just really wanted to spend a family day at the zoo. It had been a long time since we'd gone the first time, so I was so excited to see how into it Trey would be. Well, he didn't disappoint for sure. The fact that we had to tear him away crying after 2 hours is a good sign that he had a great time!

The pics are in random order, but the story is still the same--a great time was had by all:)

One of my favorite things about my first born doll baby is that he makes friends everywhere he goes. Every group of kids he'd see, he just wanted to tag along and jump into the fun they were having. This is in the tunnel looking into the meerkat "manor";) They thought it was hilarious that they kept slipping around the plastic walls. It was really cute.

Inside they have a dinosaur exhibit, and this one will roar when you roar at it, so Trey kept giving his very best T-Rex interpretation.

"I got him, Mommy!"

Look at these two! What a pair!

Animal cookie break:)

The tigers were walking incredibly close to the viewing area that day. Amazing! God was so creative when designing all of these animals. This guy was getting ready to lie down and let out this huge roar/yawning sound--IT WAS CRAZY! The sound shook the air around us.

What a powerful animal!

The petting zoo area was fun. Lots of goats and sheep and llamas. They had a brush in there that Trey used to groom all the different animals. It was so funny, because he brushed every single one of them, and when he was done he just left the brush on the back of one of the sheep:) May have had to have been there, but I thought it was a hoot.

Yikes! This is the crazy turkey "Tom" that just roams about, but when he'd get all puffed up and start shaking his big ol' tail feathers at us...well, let's just say I wasn't a fan. Zio had a bad experience with a turkey as a child, and that's one more turkey attack than I'd care to be a part of!

I think that Trey could have played on these fun froggies for hours!

'Til next time...

Gotta Love My Man.

Last night over dinner:

(Me) "How's your dinner, Babe?" (Shaun) "Great. Nobody does fish sticks like my Boops."

I can't stop laughing long enough be even write this post;) He's a funny one, he is.

The Eve of My 29th.

I've always been a pretty huge fan of my birthday. I like to spread it out all month long, often shouting inside out home, "It's Mommy's birthday month! Woohoo!" Every fun little activity gets to be "in honor of" my coming (or just past) birthday. It's just fun, and a brand new start! How I love a brand new start!

I was thinking about it, and all of a sudden it dawns on me, all those things that I had wanted to do before turning 30...well, it's now or never, baby! I wanted to get a jump on my "official" list today, so that Day 1 (or 365, if we're doing a count down...yikes, I don't know how I feel about that) wasn't wasted on brainstorming. Though I do love a good brainstorm. Shaun and I often schedule "Dream Sessions", little more specific than a brainstorm, but super fun nonetheless.

So, here goes the list...drum roll please (I'm actually a little nervous typing right now, because I feel like writing this down holds me more accountable, but isn't that the point, Brett? ) ok, so here we go again....drum roll, please...

1. Total God-fidence-- may have to post on this another time, but essentially this means that I no longer think of myself in relation to anyone but myself and who God created ME to be! I want to live excellently so that HE is glorified, and the only way I can live excellently is by living up to who He made Brett to be, not anyone else. How incredibly freeing this will be!

2. Be able to lay my head on the pillow at night knowing that I gave my Father, my marriage, and my babies 100%.

3. See the Aurora Borealis. (haha, just kidding) Although, I'm hoping that God will treat us with a light show like that in Heaven. Gorgeous!

4. Become a more knowledgeable gardener.--vegetable, and new this year, flowers and other landscape enhancers:)

5. Run my household like a fine-tuned machine.--I believe it just takes having some serious organization and prepping systems in place, and the crazy that is our life can be greatly minimized (key word--"minimized". a little bit of crazy is part of the fun;) )

6. Embrace each moment with these two precious boys.--I get teary every time I step back and think about how fast this time goes.

7. Become a Car-Driving, Mary Kay Sales Director.--the Big Goal is to check this bad boy off the list by June 30, so that I can pick up my bonus check in Dallas mid-July!

8. Have a fresh and clean approach to eating.--one that I can get excited about, and more importantly that I can get excited about getting in the kitchen to fix.

9. Reach my goal weight/size.--125 (I'm not even sure that's possible, haha) Size 6 pants. I say size 6 only because I think that is what size my length naturally fits (although, I usually can't get a 6 past my knee caps, so I'm not really sure), so if anyone reading this is like me and DESPISES trying on pants, well, then yeah, you feel my disgust (and let's not even get started on the lighting that they use in dressing rooms! what the world! This seems like retail 101 to me.)

Maybe I'll add more later, once I have time to ponder it some more...or maybe not:)

Have any ReUSE Ideas?

Enfamil baby formula now comes in these great plastic tubs with a snapping lid. I've now collected about 6 of them because I'm convinced that I can find some fantastic uses for them. They just seem too functional to be thrown directly into the recycle bin. So far I've used one to collect Trey's stray crayons...Any other ideas?

On the same "baby-supply recycling" wavelength, one of my favorite reuses lately is my diaper boxes (and Mary Kay boxes:D). There seems to be an overabundance of "little things" that need some corralling, but I'm just not willing to pay $100 to get all of the cute bins and storage containers that I would need to tame it all. Sooo, I bought a $5 roll of pretty contact paper at Target, and have covered tons of these boxes. They would certainly do the trick on their own, but the paper just adds a little style and a little more uniformity, so these storage spaces don't look so junkie.

What are some of your favorite Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ideas?

In the works.

wicker basket. footpath. savannah moss. bennington gray. la fonda wild west green.

It's only taken a year and a half to decide what direction to go color-wise in this humble abode, but we're ready to take the plunge. To the next chapter in casual elegance on the Ranch!

Month of Love Fun

The more crafts and art projects Trey does at school, the more I get inspired to do fun things like that at home. I just have to decide that I don't mind cleaning up a big mess, and suddenly it's lots of fun:)

Here is a fun project that Trey and I did that we found on the Martha Stewart Living website. Most of the "kid's" projects that I found seemed pretty advanced, but this was fun. I had to prep it a bit, and be VERY hands on with the iron, but all-in-all it was a fun little project that he was proud to show off to his Papa when he got home from work:)

I prepped some crayon shavings. Then Trey sprinkled them onto one side of a folded piece of wax paper.

I folded up the edges, slipped it between a paper grocery bag, then Trey helped me run a warm iron over it to melt the crayons.

I cut them into various sized hearts, and Trey glued them to some yarn.

And TADA! We have a pretty little "stained glass" decor in our window. Involved, but fun:)

Zari's Tea Party

Woah! Seeing as how it's October 10th, and my last post was the middle of JULY! to say that I have a lot to catch up on is an understatement, haha. However, to honor my Mama, I'll start with one of our most recent family events...Zari Torijan's (soon-to-be Hunter;) ) Bridal Shower!

Rewind to about mid-March for a brief catch-up on how Eric met Zari...While on a mission trip with VMI cadets in NYC, Eric heard Zari give her testimony at Brooklyn Tabernacle. Enthralled by her beauty (inside and out;) ), he couldn't leave without trying to get in touch with her somehow...needless to say, she got his message and 4 months or so later they're engaged:) God works in incredible ways, doesn't he? There is so much more to the story that I'm leaving out, but this is a post about the Tea Party:) You can find out more about them at their website http://www.zohraanderic.ourwedding.com/.

With very little family of her own in the area, or even in the states for that matter, it was absolutely our pleasure to "shower" the Bride-to-be with love and gifts for their new life together. Mom had her hands pretty full with the wedding itself, so I assembled the Dream Team to make some magic happen for this special day. It consisted of my Aunt Gaynell, Emily and myself:D So fun to stay so connected for a month or so.

After we decided on it being a "Tea Party", I did a little searching around on Pinterest for some creative ideas and the rest of the fun just began to flow! We found an idea for a "Biscuit Bar". Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures after we put the biscuits out, but I've got some of the accessories for the table:)

We had honey, applebutter, honey butter, and

Mom even made little heart-shaped butter pads! Adorable:)

The Sweets table was delectable with delicious Lemon Squares

that I could have eaten every single one of (yum, Sissy!)...

Petite quiche and fresh fruits for pops of rich color and flavor! Wedding photos of family from us to great-grandparents really added a fun element to the bridal decor.

Mom and Zari posing by the Tea Table. I found the elegant silken sachets

of Strawberry Vanilla Green Tea and Lavender Grey Tea at Tuesday Morning,

and what is a "Tea" without sugar cubes!

We had an eclectic feel with the china settings, some care of my Mama, my Granny Lenise and others from Denise our Mary Kay Director (awesome past Star Consultant Prize;) )

The beautiful Torijan sisters, Zari and Deborah.

Ok, so this is one of my very favorite parts...since no one at the shower really knew Zari very well (most had actually never even met her), it was silly to play a "who knows the bride the best" kind of game, but I felt like this would be the best, most intimate occasion for all of us to get to know her better. So! We played a game fondly named "Zari or Sorry!", haha. I had Zari give me answers to a bunch of Zari-Trivia questions, then I twisted some putting each one on an individual card. For the game, each guest read aloud the "fact" on the card, then guessed whether or not they thought it was true of Zari or if "Sorry" it was indeed false:)

I think everyone enjoyed it!

As a parting gift, I found some "Green Tea" hard candies at Tuesday Morning, and put them in cute little treat cones I made from coffee filters. I made handles by stringing ribbon (and yarn, when I ran out of ribbon) through with a little tag I printed on some gorgeous pearly paper (used in their wedding invitations) saying "Thank You! Romans 8:28". The cupcake tree was the perfect little display on the way out the door, too!

And here are a couple of cuties awaiting the arrival of our guests:)

Sweet cousins!

The First Review...

After deciding a couple months back to stopping fooling myself into thinking that "I didn't have time to read a book", and to actually use the bits and pieces of time I found throughout the day to actually complete something, the first one I picked up was Dr. Dobson's (of Focus on the Family) Bringing Up Boys. I obviously chose this book because I, # 1, am not a boy, and therefore have no personal experience in this area, and #2, want to learn more about what makes my sweet baby Trey do the things he does. Because, well frankly, sometimes he can be crazy with a capital C!! (Although, Shaun says that he gets that from me, so who knows;) )

I really enjoyed reading the book, and though, when I first started it, I thought it would be a step-by-step model of how to discipline and make sure my child didn't turn out completely dysfunctional (disappointment there), it turned out to be very helpful in a more general sense. There were a lot of "I need to write this down!" moments that I obviously didn't (hence the generalized review), but my big take-away is that God simply made boys different, down to the chemistry of their body that makes them do things that we (or at least me) as mommies just don't understand. Also, he made every boy so very different! Parents of boys can certainly relate in many areas, but my job is to focus in on my Trey (and his baby brother) and work closely enough with him to unwrap all the gifts that God has given him. They are in such a raw form right now that it can be hard to see at times, but I know that this kid is destined for greatness and if we do all our parenting from our knees (bloody and bruised, perhaps) then we may just complete the task God has set before us with the victory being all His.

I finished a book!

I've never been a "reader" per se, but whenever I have actually completed a book I get such a sense of accomplishment. Every now and then I'd pick up a book, but usually never make it all the way through. With shelves full of fantastic reads that contain bookmark after bookmark, I'm reminded of my lack of "finitiative". (This word was coined by our dear Aletheia friend Brandon Kiracofe--I've loved it ever since he used it in our Wednesday night Bible study of Joshua back in the day:) Thanks, Brandon!) I have loads of initiative, more than I can handle at times, but what is the point of having initiative without finitiative?! I want more "finitiative" in my life.

I've often fed myself the lie of "I'm too busy" or "I don't have enough time" (for much more than reading a book, I must say.), but I'm taking a stance and saying "I'M COMPLETELY OVER THAT EXCUSE! I'M OVER HEARING IT FROM OTHER PEOPLE AND I'M TIRED OF USING IT!" We're all busy! And that's a whole nother can of worms that we'll not open today, but when it comes down to it, these excuses are just dodging the reality that we simply haven't prioritized whatever it is we're just "too busy" for. This may or may not be a bad thing depending on what's important to you, but I hear myself (and so many others) say, "I'd love to read that, but I just don't have time." "Wouldn't it be nice to just have free time to sit and relax for a minute? I'm just too busy."

While I'm sitting there saying this to myself, my precious husband is knocking books out left and right. How is he doing that?! He's a quick reader, but seriously, this is a man that doesn't sit around. I have to MAKE him relax most of the time! He has a theory that 15 minutes is all it takes to make a lot of changes in your life. (This man is a genius, seriously!) I love his names for it, "Power Blocking" "15 min. of Power" "Power Quarter Hours" hehe...I think he should right a book, but for now we're making changes here and there with his approach to "getting things done and making things happen." He doesn't sit down for an hour and read a book, nor does he complain that he doesn't have an hour to sit down and read a book, but he has 10 or 15 min. And so do I! How often throughout my day do I just spend 10-15 min. here and there doing absolutely nothing at all, or at least nothing productive? A LOT!!

So I decided that I wanted to start reading! There are so many fantastic books out there and I have so much in this life I can learn especially being a wife and mother, where I'm faced with my shortcomings daily.

To keep me accountable I'm going to be using the new "I finished a book!" segments of my blog to write a quick little review of what I've just read and my thoughts about it. I'd love if you all would comment as well if you've read it too!

The most current book I've been reading is a bio on John MacArthur, and I loved a quote that he had made that emphasizes the very things about books that I'd never have been able to come up with...

"Unlike television, books freeze thoughts on the printed page, forcing us to argue, and judge ideas using our active, engaged minds. Books are permanent, requiring a response from the mind. They help us raise our thoughts and think outside ourselves and our everyday lives. It's no accident God's chosen vehicle for his special revelation was a book!"

Beautiful!

And we think that it was Dave Ramsey that said this, but not 100%, though quite thought provoking in itself...

"From year to year, the only things that will change a person are the people that you've met and books that you've read."

To be continued...with the first review:)

Oh, the things they say...

Trey loves his little animals so much and last night we were rocking in his chair reading his bedtime stories when he so sweetly stated, "My bear, he's so cute." Shaun and I just looked at each other and giggled. Then again today when he and I were settling down to read before his nap, he was holding another one of his bears and said, "He's beautiful."

I wish I could have a recording of his voice. It's the most precious sound. I never want to forget it:) I love you so much, Baby Boy!

The Big "Baby" Reveal

The Results are in...

Thursday was our anatomy ultrasound appointment, and most importantly, we are so thankful that God gave us a very healthy report, thus far! It's amazing to me what they can "rule out" disorder-wise with all the measurements that they take. Technology can be a beautiful thing:) I'm totally one of those patients that quizzes the tech the entire way through. "Did you see this? Was there anything wrong with that? How's the heart?" But then after all of that, we found out what our beautiful baby is...boy or girl. Except that we didn't find out:) We know but we don't know! We had her tell us when it was coming then to have us look away so that she could write it down on a note card and put it in an envelope for us. Trey is getting dedicated at church on Sunday and many of our family members are coming to celebrate, so we thought it would be a fun way to include them, by having them surprise us with the results!

After much thought about "the perfect" way to find out (without copying exactly some of the very cute ideas I'd heard), we decided that we'd pick out two outfits, and they will wrap the appropriate one for us to open after lunch. The thrill of the surprise has been so fun, and having this envelope sitting right here is so tempting, but I love surprises WAY too much to spoil it:) We had a fun little family outing today to target to find a couple of sweet little outfits for the "Big Reveal".

We did have a serious close call yesterday when Trey was opening some mail and I heard him open a second envelope, and out of the corner of my eye I saw that he had busted into "The Surprise Envelope"! I freaked out and shouted, "NOOOOOOOO!!!" So I ran upstairs and closed my eyes the entire time I shoved the card back into the new envelope--haha, phew, that was close! Anyway, we'll be sure to let you know!

Garden Update

I just finished this entire post and it didn't save anything-grrr. So, let's try this again.

We had the most fun this weekend building our new Square Foot Garden! We've been researching and reading up on it for the past several weeks and have continued to be inspired by Emily and GW's very successful gardening over the last couple of years, so we've been very eager to get started. Takes a little bit of prep to get your SFG going, but it's supposed to pay off big time in the long run:)

All our supplies ready to go!

Our "power" drill is a P.O.P (Piece of POOP!) so my big, strong man hand-drilled the whole thing! We constructed a 4 x 4 box out of untreated wood because treated wood will mess with your soil and crops. We also used 1x8" boards, but I think 1x6" would have been good too. Maybe next time.

We covered the bottom of our box with weed fabric to cut back on the upkeep.

Next is the lattice top to divide out each square foot section for the different crops.

Here we are combining our Mel's Mix soil composed of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. Can you tell that we had to wait till after Trey went down for this part?:)

And Walah! Project Complete:)

I forgot to take a picture after we'd planted our veggies the next day, so I'll just tell you what's in each square. Can't wait to show you the results (and see them for myself!). We've got oregano, basil, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, red leaf lettuce, roma tomatoes, celebrity tomatoes, lavender, zucchini, squash, cantaloupe, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, and watermelon!

I go out to check out the progress multiple times a day, but I haven't seen anything yet;) A watched pot never boils, I suppose;)

Going Green

It's funny how our interests change season to season. Using the Barnes & Noble magazine stand as my indicator of change, I can remember each transition. In college, I dreamed of my perfect man and that perfect wedding day (no need waiting till the last minute to get the details in order, right?), so I poured myself over every wedding magazine. I still love a good wedding spread, but my thoughts moved to design and decor after Shaun and I had a house of our own. What's our style? How can we make it ours on a shoestring? The challenge is so fun:)

My latest focus has become our garden--or my visions of our garden, so far. This one hasn't been as natural of a transition for me. Mom has the green thumb in our family, and for some reason I have managed to kill every living plant I've every owned. But I'm determined that this will change. I'm excited about gorgeous blooming flowers, but I'm more excited about getting our vegetable garden up and running. Fueled by my desire to grow delicious food that we planted and harvested with our own two hands, but even more so by my increasing disgust at the fact that I feel like we have to choose between eating fresh and healthy or on target with our budget. ugh!

So...last year, I got a roma tomato plant and a basil plant. Loved having both, but the summer heat burned them up and I harvested one lone tomato and eventually lost my herbs:(

With even more enthusiasm this year to get multiple crops going, I had to pull back my zeal. As of now, I have gotten some red leaf lettuce, which experimentally I planted in a window box, and SUCCESS!!

The First Harvest!

Our lettuce has been the most productive so far, but we have a small basil plant with several more seedlings trying their hardest to grow, cherry tomatoes in the works, and a neighbor just brought up a green bean plant:) We're on our way!

We are in the process of researching the Square-Foot Gardening method, so we'll be sure to update you on that as it comes together.

Master Bath Mini-Makeover

A couple weeks ago, Shaun and I had the hankerin' to do a little home decorating. The challenge was to pick a space that we could see a noticeable update with a very small budget. Our goal was $50, we went over a bit, but with only $75 we gave our master bath a "Spa-inspired" mini-makeover:)

Our vision for our bathroom is the relaxed and luxurious feeling we get from "the Vitality Room" at the Ritz Carlton in Charlotte. I just love walking into a spa. I don't even need to be having any treatments, and I feel so relaxed. This is our hope at some point.

Thanks to good ol' Garden Ridge we stretched our $75 and were able to get a great hanging shower caddy that tidied up our shower space, a faux-wood shower rod and curtain hooks, a botanical print celadon curtain, a cozy bath rug (that kinda reminds me of a sea anemone), a beautiful impressionistic painting of a willow tree, and last but not least, my little potted moss creations:) Super simple, but I couldn't find anything like it for the price I wanted to pay in the "floral" section at the store, so I thought it would be easy enough to just add our own natural element to the countertop.

We've got some bigger, more dramatic ideas for this space, but this was a fun Saturday project.