First play in the snow!

We had a lot going on over the holiday break and during the weeks surrounding Christmas that I'm hoping I can cover it all. I'm just gonna give you the pics of the snow today. Here is the snow we got right before Christmas. It was so beautiful. I freaked out the day it started and we got about 2 inches, so I came home from work early and got Carter from school. It was nice snuggling at home with hot chocolate when I was actually supposed to be slaving away at the office. Then, the snow realllly came during the night and we got to play in it the next day. Little man was too funny playing in it. He wasn't really sure what to do! His first snow was actually in October of last year, in the mountains, but he couldn't play in it because he was only 2 weeks old. So this is the first snow he's ever really seen or played in!

This was the house right before the big snow fall
(Let me go ahead and apologize for the garland that is missing on the left side railing of our porch! I know you home decorators may see it and have some shoulder spasms, so I want to apologize ahead of time.)

I found these snowflake "garland" things at the Dollar Store, loved them, but didn't know what to do with them. I think they look adorable on my front porch though!

I love going with burgandy colors during the holiday season instead of the traditional bright red!

This wreath was sooo wonderful and gave the house such a great smell as you opened the door!

Ziplocs tied around the socks! Mom always did this to us as kids and it totally worked with Carter! He was crawling around so much and the snow didn't get into his socks at all!




We tried to take him out in the wagon, but the snow was so deep that we couldn't pull it.

We had a little more luck with his car and he just loved every minute of it!

My sweet lil' man with his Harry Potter scar.


He couldn't seem to keep his balance in the snow (with all the layers)
So, there was lots of this:

and this....
...and this.

I bet he kept the hat and gloves on about 20 minutes before he was totally over it all.

Carter tried to eat the snow....

But it didn't taste anything like his beloved Goldfish!
A lil' slave labor never hurt anyone....



And here is a video for you to watch of my happy boy. Sorry it's filmed sideways and I can't rotate it, so you're just gonna have to tilt your pretty little head to see my lil' man enjoying his ride in the snow!

baby shower

We will be back in the mountains for a baby shower this weekend that I am hosting with a mutual friend for a very special couple that means a lot to Phillip and I. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. Looks like I'll be leaning on a few "old-faithful" recipes that you've seen before, but I can't wait to show you the pics of the presents I am making her. I just can't wait to be surrounded by friends and the beauty of my "peaceful spot" back in Sylva.
Things at the house are going very well. We got a lot done at the house and have been living in it full time since this weekend. We've got a few things left at the apartment to take care of, but other than that we're pretty much all moved. We got the living room painted a very beautiful light tan color, the hideously pink bathroom is now a beautiful green, and the dining room is the same red as our old bedroom. But.... I hate the dining room color. It's awful. It turned out more of a lipstick color this time around, and I don't know why. For some reason, it has more of a pink tone to it than it did back in our mountain home. I thought our bedroom was pretty light, but it must have been more dark than I knew, b/c that color was NOWHERE near that pink color we ended up with. Oh well.... can't change it now. Phillip started to strip the wallpaper in the kitchen and that was just a bad idea. It pulled up the wall behind it and it's just a big mess now. Not sure what we're going to do with it.
OH!! I forgot to mention.... Lil man just got introduced to steps at this new house. Let me tell you!... it is nooooo problem for this guy! He hopped right up on them and got half way up the steps before he got tired! Not to mention, he didn't even use his knees to get up. He's just going one foot after the other! Sheeeeesh!~

Move in!

Tomorrow we sign papers to make the house in Elon ours! I'm waaaay too pumped to finally get in there! We've got loooooots of updating and painting to do that will come in stages over time, but I just can't wait...... I've got ants in my pants! Be thinking of us tomorrow as we sign papers and work our little fingers to the bones this weekend! Praise the Lord we are off on Monday!

Seriously huge news on the homefront!

Hello friends! It's been a while since I've been able to update. My new job has kept me super busy and I feel like a better and more efficient worker than I have ever been. It's crazy. I never realized.... scratch that..... I realized that I was a bit of a slacker at my last office, but here I'm more motivated and actually enjoy what I do and ALL the people in my office instead of 4 or 5 select few from my last place. I'm constantly on the run, and then when I get home all I want to do is play with Carter. He is really growing up so fast right before our eyes.
Anywho!!
I've been crazzzzy busy lately. Tuesday was Paisley's 2nd birthday (I KNOW RIGHT!! I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE'S 2!!!!!) But, this weekend is her actual party. My sister asked me to make her cake again this year. I plan on doing it up a little more fancy than I did last year with her number shaped cake for the guests and Barbie cake for her.

Don't get me wrong, I stinkin' love last year's 2 cakes. But I want to do something a little more for her. And, I've taken it upon myself to make her birthday outfit as well. I have found some really great ideas on other blogs and I gotta say that she is going to be the cutest thing once I get done!! I'll post pictures after the party b/c I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Ok, and for the news here.... WE ARE BUYING A HOUSE!! We have found the most beautiful 2-story home in Burlington that we just love. It's in the Elon area in a neighborhood that Phillip esteemed to be as he grew up. It's 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, with a 2 car garage, wrap-around porch (you guys know I'm a sucker for a porch!!!!), a great backporch, and a great backyard. The house will DEFINITELY need some updating though. It's going to be a very very very loooong and expensive process to get everything out of the 1980's time period, but I'm so pumped about doing it! We are planning to have Carter's 1st birthday at the house and hopefully most of you readers will be able to see it when you come to the party. I can't wait to send you more pictures and keep you updated on everything! Check back in on us soon!

Yipppppeeee Skipppeeee!!!

Great news!!!! We got a great offer on the house and we will be closing May 18th!!!!! I can't believe it's actually happening!! I'm so excited, but I'm so sad! I am just so happy someone loves our house as much as we do. Lord knows we would probably live there forever if we could because it's so perfect and beautiful, but there are other plans for us and hopefully things will move quickly and with no hick-ups. I have no idea where I'm going to live if my job offer doesn't come through by the time we sign papers. I guess I'll have to rent a place here for a month or two.
To clue you in on the job stuff...... I am transferring to another branch within my agency down east. It takes FOREVER for the state to approve jobs, so I'm just waiting on the budget department to say that they have the funds for me to transfer. But, I was offered the job back in March and accepted immediately. Our agency has been known to take 2-6 months to get someone in a position and I'm really hoping it doesn't take long.
But, anyway..... YAY FOR GREAT NEWS ON THE HOUSE!!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Weekend glory

I went home to visit my parents, sister, and neice this weekend. It was very much needed. I just get so homesick, especially now that Cheeks McGee is here and I'm pregnant. Cheeks, her momma, and I got to hang out a lot this weekend. It was wonderful! I can't believe how much that little one is growing. She's rolling from one end of the house to the other. We all headed out and got furniture for my mom's house. They've lived at our house since I was a baby and have had pretty much the same furniture all this time. I can't wait for mom to get everything in the house and together. They've made lots of changes and it all looks fantastic! Looking at all that furniture made me itch to paint and redecorate... I know, I know... we haven't even lived in our place or had our new furniture for a year yet! I'm just one of those people that could re-decorate and re-organize a room in a heart beat if I could afford it. I have an urge to put this beautiful green on the walls at my home that I saw in the Anthropologie catalog. They have the most beautiful green and white bedding set that has a matching green on the walls that is to die for!! I looooove it! I would also like to go with an aqua color at some point... you know, like the color of a Tiffany's box or Martha Stewart's logo? It's just so pretty!
Anyway, my chicken pie went well on Valentine's day. The crust was oh-so-not-professional looking in the slightest bit, but it sure was tasty. I think I did pretty good considering this was my first attempt with any kind of homemade crust. Phillip and I visited Old Salem in Winston Salem, NC with friends last summer and picked up a recipe book with a bunch of recipes from goods they sell on site. They have recipes like their sugar bread (AMAZZZZZING!!), Moravian cookies, and other good stuff. I'll put the picture up of the recipe card now, but will re-post it later just in case you can't read it.
Cooking the chicken:




the finished product:

Happy Valentine's Day!! I usually don't do much for this holiday besides cook my hubbie a nice meal and give him a nice back rub, but I went a little further this year. I made Valentine Cupcakes with Raspberry Preserves mixed with my icing, got Phillip a box of chocolates, a cute card, and there's gonna be a seriously good chicken pie for dinner tonight! The cupcakes were delicious and simple. Just make a normal cupcake, I should've chosen chocolate but everyone on God's green earth was snatching cake mix up last night. But, anyway, the vanilla was good. Cook them as directed. Let them cool for about 10 minutes on a rack and then slice the tops off. Use a knife to cut out the hearts, I have a cookie cutter and it made it much easier! Mix a jar of vanilla frosting with three tablespoons of seedless raspberry preserves in a medium bowl. spread onto cupcakes with a touch more in the middle part. Be careful not to fill it too much, as you can tell from the picture some of them decided to spill out the side. Then, place the lids back on top... DELICIOUSNESS!!

As stated in a previous blog, our dishwasher has decided to die on us and we finally went out and bought a new one. We really want to get stainless appliances for the kitchen, but it's just not feasible right now, especially with a baby on the way!!!! :) So, we got the Whirlpool Quiet Partner II.... it's amazing! You used to not be able to stand in the room and hold a conversation while our old dishwasher was running... NOT THE CASE NOW! It's amazing! I love it! Well, I gotta go and finish up stuff that I missed while I was out of work last week. Happy Valentines Day kids! See you Monday!

Working hard for the money, so hard for it honey!

(this is a black-iron piece on my wall at my house, I looooove this iron material almost as much as I love my orange walls!!)

Working for the state can be a beast!! We get paid once a month, with a measly salary I may add, at the end of the month. I don't know what the deal is with the state, but they pay us December's pay check two weeks before December actually ends. So, we have to hold onto that paycheck for two weeks of December, and then into January, which has 5, count them... 5, weeks to cover. It would be so much easier if both of us weren't working for the state, but unfortunately that's not the case. So, Phillip and I have been scrounging up money in the couch cushions and anywhere else we can find it when the end of the month rolls around. Inevitably, something goes wrong within the time that you are extremely strapped for cash. For us, both of us need oil changes, my car needs new tires (mountain roads are a bitch on tires!), our dishwasher is fried (I refuse to go back to washing them by hand now that we have this luxury!!), I have a baby shower to plan (I'm farrrrrr to excited about this~!), and my nephew will soon be coming home from Vietnam after the adoption papers come through from our government. Talk about strapped! Sheesh!
I haven't been into any of my crafty stuff and cooking lately. I've been absolutely drained when I come home from work this week. My excitement level did go overboard last night though. I'm an absolute fan of the show "Lost". I hated it at first b/c it really freaked me out, so I didn't watch the first season fully. But since then I've totally been into it. Last night kinda started getting back into the freaky stuff. Can I just say quickly how much I looooooove Hurley!! He's soooo kind hearted and just an awesome character to love! And, he's really cute in a "big boy" kind of way. I'm into those boys though. I don't like anyone that I feel I could smooch and break in half. I'm not going to lie, Jack and Sawyer are quite the eye candy also... gggggrrrrrrr!~ The part where Hurley was looking in Jacob's window and te eyes pop up- HOLY CRAP! I jumped in my seat and give poor Gizzy quite the heart attack as she lay sleeping in my lap! The episode was awesome though, and I cannot wait for next week! Oh, and you guys could probably expect me to talk a good bit about reality tv shows on my blogs also. I'm very much addicted. I love the trashy ones like Rock of Love, Flava-Flave, I love New York, Celebrity Detox with Dr. Drew (a total hottie also... did you see those guns!!! Whew!~), and all kinds of other crazy crap. Anyway, I just had to sit through quite a non-sense computer training at work and I'm totally drained. Here's some pick-me-up pics:


This was our driveway with our first snow at our new house. The next picture is the view of the neighborhood.




These were dancers at the Mountain Heritage Festival down the road from our house in Dillsboro, North Carolina



These were options for Gizzy's halloween costume. Which do you prefer, the pig or the cow?