Out with the old

I LOVE mudrooms! I wish I had one, but I don't.

Really, I wish I had one, so I could put a cute bench and shelf with hooks, or a hall tree in it. I love the ones they have in Pottery Barn's catalog. But, they carry a hefty price tag along with it.

Recently, I was strolling through Hobby Lobby (imagine that) and I came across this hall tree that I really fell in love with. And, though I don't have a mudroom, I did have the perfect place to put this piece. So, for Christmas, I received several gift cards to my favorite store, and this week they also have furniture 30% off! So, I didn't waste any time and went and purchased the hall tree ASAP! I even put it together all by myself! I put it in the entry/formal rooms. I moved an iron table that I previously had sitting in that space. I was never quite happy with the vignettes on that table.

Here is the before:

Some things are a little misplaced-- hopefully it didn't always look that messy!

Here is the after:

I'm still working on something to put on the shelf ledge up top and a cushion!

Notice the cute frame that Shannon got for me at War Eagle a few years ago. I still love that frame and what it says. I put a picture of Rhett's newborn feet in it. It seems very fitting given the quote on it. I stapled jute twine to the back of the frame and hung it from one of the hooks. I think it looks pretty cute there. Thanks again, Shannon!

Four Christmases

Uggggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! For some reason, I have had to type and re-type this post. So, instead of trying again, I am just going to show pics of Christmas with little explanation. Here they are, in no particular order:

My dad and brother
Rhett test driving one of the FOUR motorized vehicles he got.
My other brother, dad and mom.Rhett wearing some new construction gear he got.

Taking his jeep for a spin.

Rhett opening presents at Mawmaw's house

He got a motorcycle! And Luke got a 4-wheeler

Opening the motorcycle (told you they are out of order)

More presents

Checking out his Jeep from Santa

He seemed to like this gift

Santa came!

A snowman cheeseball I made using store-bought cheeseballs, cream cheese, black olives, a baby carrot and a red bell pepper. Wish I had something creative for a hat for him.

Chocolate wreath I copied from here.

We had a white Christmas! It was the first in like 80 years! So cool!

Hope you all had a magical Christmas and got everything you wished for!

Merry Christmas!

From Our Family to Yours!

Wrapping it up!

I LOVE to wrap presents! I might have said this before, but growing up, I wrapped ALL of the Christmas presents, even my own! I promise I never peeked!

My mom is the queen of making a present beautiful with huge bows! I don't like to add bows to my Christmas gifts because they get smashed and then don't look so pretty. I try to make my gifts pretty, but don't quite live up to the standard she has set. But, I have fun doing it none the less, and here are my creations this year (it involved lots of ric rac!):
I found this gold ric rac on clearance at Hobby Lobby, and thought it would be a perfect combo on this black and white wrapping paper to go under my gold tree.
I LOVE this leopard wrapping paper that I get in Canton! I don't know what I'm gonna do if they ever stop making it! I chose a really wide ribbon, and then glued on ric rac in a contrasting color. I also like the look of the pom pom fringe. I was going for a ragamuffin bow here. Not sure how much I love it, but it is different!

A gift that was meant to be

This Christmas, as with most special holidays, I struggle with what gift to purchase for my dad. He is a man whom doesn't require much to be happy (wish I could be more like that). So, needless to say, he is VERY hard to buy for! So, I was contemplating several gifts that I wasn't very enthusiastic about, and yesterday stumbled upon a perfect gift for him!

He loves antiques. Although I don't know how old this is, I know that I never sat in one when I was in school. I instantly fell in love with it for me, but when I saw what someone had carved into the desktop, I knew I had found a gift for my dad! His name is Steve, and when I saw this, I couldn't pass it up! I hope he likes it! If not, I'm pretty sure I can take it off his hands!

Put on a little lipstick, and you'll be fine!

I am NOT laughing (well, maybe a little). Rhett did it yet again and found my stain lipstick! The last time he did it, the pics didn't come out, but here is proof of today's episode. Lesson learned, lipstick out of reach of the toddler.

Catching Up on Rhett

I haven't posted about Rhett's day to day activities in a while, so this post is all about him.

A few days before Thanksgiving, we went out to Babe's to celebrate Uncle Marc's birthday.

Rhett thoroughly enjoyed the dessert of the evening, so much so, he tried to share it with his cousin... and, she accepted!

A few days later, Rhett fell asleep while eating spaghetti. Sometimes I call him "Rhetty Spaghetti" so this was a perfect photo op!

On Thanksgiving, we went to Heather & Marc's house. She had everything looking so festive, and had a small table set up for the kids.

While watching "beetball" Rhett discovered his cousin's helmet, here he is trying to wear it backwards.

He wore this helmet for a good portion of our time there.

A few weeks ago, we went to a tree lighting ceremony at a local outdoor mall. We met Aunt Heather, Uncle Marc, Luke and Dylan there and had dinner.

Our family

Rhett running and running like a crazy kid

My two loves

All bundled up, ready to go home
(Jeremy called him a snowman because he was so puffy!)

On Monday, we went to a local mall to ride a small train that travels through the middle of the mall. We went with Rhett's MawMaw, Aunt Heather and Cousins, Luke and Dylan. While we were there, the kids took a trip to see Santa and they were filmed during their visit. I recognized the newscaster there with the camera man, but they never mentioned anything to us. So, we decided to tune in to the news that evening, and sure enough, all of the kiddos were on the news!

In this picture, Rhett is wearing a puffy vest that used to be Jeremy's when he was little. I love that he can wear it and that my in-law's saved it all these years!

A few days later, Rhett was in rare form. Within the span of about an hour, (a fully supervised hour, mind you) he managed to dump out the contents of my purse/diaper bag, get lipstick all over himself, get into permanent marker and draw all over one of the kitchen chairs, and blow bubbles in the dog water bowl, among other things.

This is a pic of him later that night, after he stuck his whole face in his chicken and dumplings.

His face has been so red from the cooler temps lately (or maybe it's from putting his face in the dog water!)

Rhett got a new coat from a CUTE baby boutique recently. I wish I had a picture of the back of it. Here he is all bundled up to brave the frigid temps we've been experiencing lately. His PawPaw came over this week and bought him a new hat and new gloves that he loves to wear.

Later that evening, Rhett decided to watch some TV. I left the room and he was sitting up, when I returned, he was laying there, chillin'! I had to snap a pic, he looked like such a big boy!

I think that about sums up the goings on of Rhett of late! Hope you enjoyed our pictures!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

I've mentioned before that clocks are a little bit of an obsession for me. Well, I have added another one to my assembly, and it's a beauty! It may very well be my new favorite! My dad had the day off today, so he came to hang out for a little while. While he was here, I convinced him to help me hang it (or really do it for me-- I wasn't much help!). Thanks so much DAD! YOU ROCK!

The clock doesn't work. The hands are fixed at this time. That is a plus because Jeremy can't stand the sound of a ticking clock! I LOVE IT!!!!

Santa Baby

We had Rhett's Santa pictures taken in November and they just came available for viewing last week! A local photography studio hosted a charity event for Santa pictures, and I was very pleased with the final result! Rhett did pretty well, only getting upset once (hence the ornament distraction in Santa's hand). Enjoy pics of my Santa Baby!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas trees are up and ready for all to see!
Enjoy our pics:

Our Gingerbread House

Front Entry

Formal Tree

Kitchen Tree


Small Fireman Tree in Rhett's Bathroom

(The ornaments look weird and misplaced in this pic-- I promise in real life it's not!:))
Master Bedroom Tree

Family Room Tree
Rhett's Nautical Tree to match his room
Pink tree in guest room

Thanks for stopping by! Merry Christmas!