lifetime.

I have a few words to sum up the last weekend of my life.  Lifetime Christmas movies.  They have reeled me in and got me hooked!  And I've certainly enjoyed every second.  Top runner? Sunday's at Tiffanys.  Oh it just got me giddy inside while filling my head with big dreams of fairytale type love. Aside from that, I got this new recliner....well actually the prior owner of my home left the recliner when she moved.  And then we left it in the middle of the house while we renovated...through ceiling scraping, wall paintings, new drywall, and then of course new floors.  So you can imagine, the chair has history.  Lots of history.  Well, I stuck it in a spare bedroom and finally decided, what the hey, lets test the sucker.  So, now, it's planted in the living room adorned in a bedsheet "slip cover" and now I find myself adorning the recliner as well.  It. is. perfect. If you have yet to consider a recliner for your living room, oh boy are you missing out.

All this being said, I've been busy with work [believe it or not]. It's a good thing I love it.  Come to think of it, I believe the work makes me giddy inside like the love stories on tv.  Its an incredible peace to be doing what you love.

While I'm on the "current obsessions" bandwagon, I'll go ahead and add some other favorites....
1.  Words with Friends [somehow- I am significantly better at this game than Scrabble]

2.  Oatmeal [flavored. any brand. mostly "lower sugar". it sure warms the soul]
3.  Revlon Plum Night nail polish

4.  And yes...I gotta add....jeggings.
5.  Tacky Christmas outfits.

Ok, I'm done now.
Though I realize this post is major lacking photos & major substance, I'm gonna leave you with what's been heavy on my heart lately.  Dream big.
xoxo

Saturday unwind...

Lovin' this Saturday of nothing that has to be done. 
Unfortunately, I've had several techinical difficulties, limiting my photos to share, so I guess I will just consoladate what I wanted to share with you guys...

 So for starters-  my family had the honor of visiting the home in Augusta that was built this week by Extreme Home Makeover.  It was incredible.  I mean, you think you cry at home watching the episode [or is it just me??], try visiting the house as you learn about this family in need.  It was heartwarming and motivating and simply wonderful.  We showed up around 7pm and it was freezing freezing.  The builder of this home is a Creeker and old time friend of my family and he offered to show us around.  Now, I wasn't really allowed to take pics of the home [you'll have to watch for it to show up on tv in Feb-March], but I'll share what I got...

Sammy and I suited up

Dad and Mom... also ready for the cold

Our builder friend, Mr. Beazley

 

The exterior of the home... they did an incredble job of keeping maintaining the same style of the surrounding homes



You can see they spared no expense... because of limitation from the county, they had to work with approx 2000 sq feet [which was incredible compared to the prior 600 sq ft].  From the floating stair case to the specail tile in the master bedroom, I loved every second.  But I must say, the volunteers were truly overwhelming.  Someone was in every corner- offering any kind of assistance.  It was moving..

I'm gonna leave you with this [more on Christmas parties when technology decides to cooperate]... I changed up some of my orgnazation in my room this week... Found these wonderful little bowls at Pier1 for about $1 a piece and lined my vanity drawers...I'm loving how easy it is.



rapid recap.

Loving me some Christmas season!  Not loving how busy I'm staying...
Running 90 miles a minute at the new job [of course- its all fun].
So lets do a rapid catch up. 

Christmas decor! 

First off..the kitchen center piece.  Branches I grabbed when buying my fresh tree + Christmas balls galore and some berries for a punch of color.  Love love...
Then comes craft time... Mom said, Hey Sarah, I have an old Styrofoam tree I've never used...want it?  And of course I can't turn down free...

So I bought craft supplies... and tried to get creative....

hours and hours later......[yes hours!!] here is the end result....



Then the tree...[which I mentioned came from Gay's Christmas Tree Farm].  At the risk of being made fun of for my excessive use of the word, I am obsessed with how it turned out.

I think that's it in the decor department.  I'll keep you update as I get some fun pics from parties to share. 
Aside from that- I'm excited about the newest addition to my home.  I was given this beautiful hutch from a wonderful lady in my church....

Mom kept telling my I needed to be patient while filling my house with special pieces- that the right ones would come along.  I doubted her and then low and behold, this lovely one landed right in my lap!  The shape and size are just right!! Sure it needs a little TLC, but it wouldn't be my style if it didn't.  I'll keep you updated with the progress.

Honestly, I feel like I have so much more to say. But. My camera chord is at my old office [still] and I feel like pictures are worth 1000000 words and so we all just need to practice patience [once again]. I sure hope your Thursday turns out perfect.

Cheers.

christmas time!!

yet again, an incredible amount of time has passed since gracing your guys with my words.  my sincere apology. 
I guess a lot has happened... I mean- thanksgiving. 
I enjoyed some time in Cleveland, TN with the family...

I even put an apron on and joined the ladies in the kitchen...

Then, some crazy idea came over Emily and I.  To go to Target when it opened.  So, I give you my Friday AM---4am that is.  Yes. It is cold and rainy in this pick and the front door is finally in sight.  This experience was truly like nothing else.  Evidently, people had been in line since 5pm Thursday. 



Emily and I picked out a few purchases....



Black Friday managed to still be a success though.  Mom and I shopped til we dropped. The woke up Saturday and shopped some more... 

Moving on. I was so glad to return home to my Augusta friends and new home and church family.  Sunday morning flew by in a rush [as my first Sunday on the job] and I enjoyed a lovely lunch with my typcial lunch crew.  love it.  And then, convince Emily [different Em] and Dusty to go pick out a Christmas tree with me.  We went to Gay's Christmas Tree farm on Tobacco road and picked out this beauty....

And sweet Dustin chopped it down for me...

Next step.  Decorating.  Tomorrow night!  No worries, there will be pictures. 

If you want the yellow jacket update...

Well.  Its Wednesday- the day before Thanksgiving.  I went to bed last night without setting an alarm and woke up naturally today later than I have in a while.  I put my slippers on, made a pot of coffee, and caught up on blogs that have been neglected.  Can you say perfect morning?
Anyway.  Remember the yellow jacket fiasco?  Well.  Saturday night, my eye became inflamed and extremely itchy.  I woke up Sunday morning to an eye swollen shut.  For your own good, I avoided taking a picture.  Needless to say, this prolonged discomfort truly fueled dad and my anger toward these little beasts.  We decided we would attack early in the morning while the temps were just below 50 degrees [I read somewhere that they can't fly as fast when they are cold].  Initially, we were a bit overwhelmed as to what to do. Maybe just finish the yard without disturbing the colony?  A few minutes into this, we were not satisfied.  At this point, Dad turned to me and suggested he get into his car and run them over.  While this would provide incredible footage to look back on and laugh, we concluded that this would mainly anger the yellow jackets without for sure killing them.  So we pulled out the big guns: fire.  Now let me just say.  Dad was dressed for combat complete with a full layer of sweats, hooded  jacket, face mask, and gloves.  [yes, i was wearing my winter coat with a hood as well.  better safe than sorry.  of course, i refused to come anywhere near the colony].  We found matches and decided lighting an old rag might be most affective.  We tossed the lite rag into where we assumed the colony was located and just watched it burn.  With our water hose in hand in case of emergency, we kept the fire going.  Slowly, we began to see confused yellow jackets circling, at which point we sprayed them with bug killer.  Dad decide to take advantage of the freedom and work on cutting down a few more bushes.  Soon after, I see him run, screaming down the middle of the road.  Yes, he was fearing the worst- that somehow a yellow jacket got into his bullet proof outfit. Though I never saw a yellow jacket on him, he swears he was being attacked and that he defeated them. 
The good news is, I photographed and filmed this entire fiasco.  Unfortunately, my beloved iPhone crashed Monday night before I had a chance to back up the pics.  [Also unfortunately, I hadn't backed up my phone since early September... SO, i lost some good stuff.]
So where are they now? That's a good question.  After Dad left, the fear crept back in and I haven't gone anywhere near the bush.  Luckily, the yard looks incredibly better :)

is it really friday?

Gracious.  its end of day Friday. And this is the first blog post all week.  Eeek. Sorry.
So where even to begin?!
Well- you remember how I bought a house?  Except it kept falling through? And we had several closing dates that just never happened?  I know I have kept you guys out of the loop- but now I'm ready to fill you in!  Okay... here's the timeline...
July 10: found the house and fell in love [yes- the first and only house my parents and I walked through]
July 11: placed an offer on the house [with low expectations because we offered less]
July 12: offer was accepted!
July 30: closing date!
July 29: just couldn't get my paperwork taken care of in time...
Aug 9: closing date #2! [and jury duty... haha] [didn't happen!  got word that we could close soon!]
Aug 15: closing date #3.... still didn't happen.  BUT we signed a renters agreement and got full access to the house.
Aug 17: Began RENOVATING... starting with popcorn ceilings [ugh]
and daily work begins....
Aug 22: [against better judgement] tore down a wall.
okay... fast forward several weeks.  The plan= close before September ends. 
[at this point- we know that there were title issues that had to be sorted]
we continue to work.
September ends.  Maybe close in October?
Lay floors and move in the second week in Oct. 
October ends. 
THEN! 
Nov 15: Official closing date [#4- but who's counting?]
Thanks right.  This week, I officially took ownership of my house!!
So that happened Monday, and Tuesday, I started a new job. You heard it right. 2 life changing days in a row.  You're talking to the new Director of Children's Ministries at Stevens Creek.  [talk about being on cloud 9]  Yep. I'm loving every second so far.  Couldn't be happier.
In other news.  Found this adorable piece to hang above my bed.  Perfect subtle glam.

I'm pleased with the turnout.  For sure. $24 from Marshalls.  And yes, those are jewels.
Also- Mom and I showed up at lunch today wearing nearly the same outfit.  Same top, different colors. Same jeans. Same flats [in diff colors] and even same socks.  Out. Of. Control.

Okay. And last but not least.  Today, Dad and I began to work on the yard, which hasn't been touched since probably June. I had major overgrown bushes that needed removal.  So, Dad and I eagerly got to work, cutting down branches, ripping them out, and straight up down-sizing.  And then, the unthinkable happened.  Dad was using his chain saw and suddenly dropped it in pain.  Rubbing his arm, he runs towards me.  I soon realized he had been stung.  By [killer] [angry] yellow jackets.  It seems my bushes have been housing a colony of yellow jackets.  It's safe to say there were thousands of yellow jackets.

Wikipedia: In the southeastern United States, where southern yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa) nests may persist through the winter, colony sizes of this species may reach 100,000 adult wasps.

Dad and I race to the street, away from the angry creatures, swatting as quickly as we could.  Then i felt a terrible sting. on. my. face.  Yes. the yellow jacket decided to sting me between the eyes.  Screaming, dad and I made way into the house, safe from the villains.  Dad made it out with only 3 stings.  And me- just the one.  But wow.  What intense pain.  My forehead began to swell and I had the worst headache ever.  After a little more Wikipedia research, we found this is the absolute worst time of year to agitate a colony [as it is as it's peak size].  Dad got brave two hours later and decided to suit up [in his winter coat and worker gloves] and finish pruning the bush.  You guessed it, bad idea.  This time, 4 yellow jackets made it into the house with him, continuing to pester us in the house. Thanks to a can of Raid, we showed them who was boss.

Moral of the story: don't mess with the yellow jackets.

More on the yard later :)

Cheers :)

finally friday!

Friday.  Finally!  Has this week inched by or is it just me?  

Ok- let me take a second to mention my sweet neighborhood.  The homes have been around since the late 60's/ early 70's and most of the owners around me are the original homeowners.  [Did I mention that I grew up in the house 2 doors down from me? fun fact.]  So, as we've gone about re-doing the place, several neighbors have stopped by to check on progress.  They don't mind letting themselves in and are unashamed to look through my windows- even if someone is inside. [this is absolutely no exaggeration].  I guess being my neighbor entitles them to home details?  As I was leaving for work this morning, I made note of my neighbor, Maddie [the one we caught peaking in the window] having work trucks in her driveway- and then realized, she's had some company over every day for the last two weeks. It seems that all over our over-hauling has inspired someone [keeping up with the Jones'!]. Anyway- enough of my useless banter.  

I made time last night to sit in front of the sew machine and crank out some curtains! [err, finish what mom had started].  So excited to finally have something other than a sheet hanging over my windows.  

night view. 

Ok. curtain details.  I bought top sheets from Walmart [@ $4 a piece] and found this yellow leafy fabric from Hancock [@ approx. $3/yard....bought 6 yrds- prob used 4 on this project].  From there I just measured and went for it.  The sheets are hanging horizontally and let me say- its a ton of fabric and hard to manage!!  You'll notice, the two panels don't match up exactly.  I need to take about 2 in off the left side top so that the yellow meets in the middle.  But hey, $20 for curtains.  Beat that.  [Also, found the rod- 108 in- on clearance at Lowes for about $20 and then 2 packs of drapery rings from Walmart- $4 each].  Grand total- approx $45. Didn't I mention I was on a budget? 

Unfortunately, as I was hanging these last night, I notice this... .

its a pretty substantial crack in the ceiling right where we took down the wall and added new ceiling.  This was heart breaking because I know Dad worked incredibly hard on this-  layers and layers of drywall compound, tons of sanding, and multiple coats of ceiling paint.  Ugh.  Weekend project I guess?

I guess thats all for now!  I have a MAJOR week next week so stay tuned for some details :)
Enjoy the beautiful weekend....
loves.
-Sar