Smith Snapshots

Jumping Bean

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

As Lilly has gotten bigger she is not as content just laying on her play mat or lounging in her bouncer...who would have thought!? She is loving being up and around where she can see what's going on around her.

Here she, at 5 months, in the doorway jumper that Taylor's mom let us borrow.

She's not so much jumping yet, as much as she swings back and forth or goes in circles.

Right now her favorite part is that bee you see on the left strap.

It has the "crinkly" wings and she loves to grab it and really loves to get those wings right in her mouth when she can reach!

I wonder if the lack of jumping is tied to how high or low I'm adjusting the jumper; either way I'm sure she'll be a little jumping bean pretty soon.

The next few pictures are from when we first tried this fun new toy out at 4 months. I feel like she's changed so much!

At first she was just slip-sliding around so I grabbed the gripper pad from under her changing pad so her little strawberry feet could get some traction!

At 4 months you can also see I tucked a few rolled-up receiving blankets in around her to keep her from leaning to one side.

Looks like someone got their hands stuck all snuggled in the seat!

Little Missy, you are just a growin and a growin!

Sleepy Bear

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

Look how invigorated Lilly is after a brisk walk!

When the weather has been nice (January = 40 degrees one day, then 70 degrees another day!) we've been venturing out on more walks! Sometimes I just wrap her up in a blanket and carry her up and down our street, sometimes we whip out the stroller to venture to and around the park, and one Sunday we took a new route and walked over to pop in for a quick visit at our home group leaders' (Jerry & Rayanna) house. This day we snuggled Lilly up in the Baby Bjorn carrier Mark & Lindsay lent us.

When I have her in the carrier I can't see her face so I'm constantly asking Taylor "Does she look cold?" "Is she happy or sad?", etc, etc. She obviously takes after her Daddy because she seems to love the cold air! As the wind blows by she just looks around wide-eyed....and then even falls asleep! She was obviously uncomfortable on this chilly day!

This day we had walked to and around the pond at the park. She is snuggled up in her hat and bear jacket and then you can see we got crafty with the pants / shoes set up. Her legs are so long that even these 9 month leggings (at almost 5 months) have a hard time staying down so we tucked them into her socks! Also, if you look close you can see the little black hair bands around her ankles that I slipped on so that her booties wouldn't shimmy their way off her sweet long skinny feet!

Sweet Feet

2012-01-25T23:15:00.000-06:00

Our little sweetie is 5 1/2 months old!
In the last two weeks diaper changing time has become lots of fun as she has discovered that she can grab onto her sweet little feet; it's pretty precious!

Her cloth diapers are a little bulky, thus making it hard for her to reach her feet all of the time. Once the diaper comes off, those feet pop right up!

She is also putting everything in her mouth...including her toes when she can reach them. I'm amazed at how flexible our little munchkin is!

I've also been teaching her that these fun new little toys are called feet and toes.

I'll usually draw out the word and emphasize the end "ffffffff...eet!" and that usually gets a smile or sometimes a giggle out of her!

She is loving them so much that when I start to put her diaper back on now she gets a little frowny face and starts to whimper. Sorry Miss Sweetie; we have to put our cute baby clothes back on! We'll play with our feet again soon! Or at least, with your feet!

Pretty in Pink

2011-09-22T09:19:00.000-05:00

Yes, we have a five and a half week old; surprise!

A recap of our first month with sweet little Lilly Marie is coming soon, but for now I wanted to share a few pictures I snapped earlier this week.

This outfit was inspired by these cutie shoes!

I realize these shoes are not weather appropriate since our days our still in the upper nineties, but Tay likes to keep the house nice and cool...frigid... :) So, break out booties!

At 5 1/2 weeks Lilly has not mastered sitting up on her own :) so we found a nice spot in the corner of the couch cushions to hang out in.

Here's her signature "cherrio" face! She's made this little cute 'oooo' face since day 1!

She made a lot of these serious/concerned looks early on; so cute!

She loves to kick, kick, kick, so socks and shoes don't stay on often.

It's been so fun to play dress up with her cute girly clothes and accessories! I can assure you there will be many more pictures to come!

2011-07-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

As we celebrate America's Independence Day I am reminded of the freedom that believers, in every nation, have in knowing Christ as their Saviour!

May our lives reflect our belief that the Lord is our Saviour and that HE has conquered sin and death once and for all!

We don't have to live in bondage to our sins, big or small.

Instead, let's strive to know Him more and more each day, accept His forgiveness and grace when we fail, and praise His name that His love for us is unconditional and can never be earned or lost due to our successes or failures!

Happy 4th!

34 weeks

2011-06-30T22:47:00.000-05:00

Here we are at 34 weeks!

Really loving the long dress; so comfortable!!

Our little girl is between 4 1/2 and 5 lbs and is doing great!! Praise the Lord!
I'm feeling great too, just finding it hard to bend over to tie shoes, cuff jeans, pick things up, etc. This is especially fun when I drop something in the hallway or kitchen at work; hoping nobody walks by at that moment to witness such an awkward attempt to bend / squat.

And yes, our bed is made. Woo-hoo! I've been making it each day right when I get up as a little way to keep things tidy. Yes, this is a new thing...eek!

OK, that being said, off to bed!

cupcake wrapper; first go-around

2011-06-27T23:43:00.001-05:00

As promised here's the final product of my first go-around with DIY cupcake wrappers!

Again, I made these for a little get-together celebrating our home group friends' upcoming wedding.

I used the template that I mentioned in my earlier post and they were super easy. I love the special touch it added with little money and little effort! Plus they covered up the basic foil cupcake liners I used!

Excuse the grainy ITouch pics; my sweetie husband has our camera at the moment.

Other details:
I used my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe that my mom came up with back when the two of us had to bake and bring cakes to our cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby. I'll have to post it sometime. It's a doctored up Betty Crocker cake mix; easy and delish!

The frosting is The Pioneer Woman's "Best Frosting Ever" that I tinted pink.

I topped them off with a white chocolate wafer and piped the couple-to-be's new initial.

By white chocolate wafer I mean these:

You can buy these at Hobby Lobby / Michaels, etc for $3 a bag (or 40% off if you have your printable HobbyLobby coupon!). They are meant to be melted and used for candy molds, but I just flipped them over so that I had a flat surface and piped an "M" on top. A quick and yummy alternative to doing fondant circles!

Here's a few pics of our celebration!

The cute / happy couple; Jason and Kaitie

Our home group that we love! If you look close you'll see the plate say's "hi Taylor!".
A quick shout-out to my sweetie husband who couldn't make it. If you know us personally this makes a little more sense!

That's all for now!
So have you baked up any crafty kitchen projects lately?

cupcake wrappers

2011-06-22T13:30:00.000-05:00

Have you seen these cute cupcake wrappers?

Style Me Pretty

This trend may be old news, but it's new to me.

I've been seeing them pop up on blogs and now they even sell them at Hobby Lobby!
I'm making some cupcakes for an engagement shower tonight and wanted to give these a try.

http://www.favor-days.com/

I knew that some blogger somewhere had to have done a tutorial or a created a template for making them yourself.

You can find anything on the internet! :)

http://svgshop.com/

Sure enough I found the following template:
Skip To My Lou - Cupcake Wrapper Template

I took the 8 1/2 X 11" scrapbook paper I bought that matched their wedding colors and ran it through my printer.

http://www.favor-days.com/

It's easy as printing, cutting along the template lines, wrapping it around your existing cupcake liner and adding a piece of double stick tape to hold it!

http://www.favor-days.com/

Well see how they turn out; I'll be sure to post a pic of the finished product!

megan's baby shower!

2011-06-21T13:22:00.000-05:00

Megan has been my best friend since 7th grade. We've shared birthdays (we're 1 day apart!), high school jobs, the stage in our high school's pop group (think Glee, sort of), a dorm room, and countless hours of chatting and laughs.

Most recently we've shared the experience of being mommies-to-be!

She and Ben shared there big news with us over a birthday dinner at Chuy's last November; little did Tay and I know that we would be following in their footsteps just eight weeks later!

Back in May Megan's mom, sisters, aunt, cousins and I all hosted a shower to celebrate little Camden's upcoming arrival.

The theme was a take off of "great things come in small packages". Megan's sister, Brittany, made the cutest Tiffany's box decorations which fit perfectly with Megan's love of all things teal!

"C" is for cutie little Camden!

The shower was in the early evening so we served sandwiches, fruit, chips & dip, cupcakes and a few other treats.

Megan had been craving strawberry cake so her mom Vickie whipped up the yummiest strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream icing!

I had seen fruit skewers served at another get together and loved how they were much easier to munch than trying to spear individual pieces while they slid around the plate you're most likely balancing on your lap! Made sure to include some of Megan's favorite fruits!

Megan's sister, Brittany, also took the time to make these adorable (and delicious) baby themed chocolates!

Gift table with a few little keepsakes sprinkled in.

Pictures of Megan's parents when she came along.

A sweet note from Megan's sister Brittany.

Some of the sweet friends and family there to celebrate:

Megan and her mom, Vickie

Sisters Jen, Megan, Brittany, and cousin Tamara

Daddy-to-be, Ben

Ben had picked out two sweet gifts from Pottery Barn kids and had them wrapped adorably. It was so sweet!

One of Ben's gifts for Camden, Baby 1st Journal / Scrapbook.

Megan's teaching team

We did have a game planned and Megan was such a good sport!

The other moms agreed that being able to change a baby blindfolded is a pretty good comparison to those nights when she'll be low on sleep and a little out of sorts!

Vickie surprised Megan with a handmade quilt she had been working on for months.

It was so fun to celebrate Megan and her little boy on the way....

and here he is a couple of weeks later!
Hi Camden!

It's so fun that our kids will be just a few months apart; can't wait to share the adventures of being a mom!

more nephews!

2011-06-14T16:13:00.000-05:00

I shared about our newphews, Caedmon & Issac, a few days ago when chatting about Isaac's first birthday party.

Those are just 2 of our 5 little cutie nephews!

Here's the lowdown:

Tanner was our 2nd nephew to come along. He'll be two in November and is just as active and talkative as can be! Taylor's sister, Linz and her husband Chris live pretty close so we get to see this munchkin a little more often than some of the others.

My little sister, Julianne, had Tytus in March so he is coming up on 3 1/2 months!

She's started blogging recently so I'm loving getting to keep up even though she and Ian live a couple of hours away. He's such a little cutie pumpkin and I can't wait to see them in a couple of days!

Oliver is our newest nephew! He lives in Austin with my older brother Mark and sister-in-law Lindsay. He'll be 2 1/2 months soon! We've only spent a little time together so far, but he is the sweetest little string bean I've ever seen! His eyes are so bright and he just loved looking all around when we hung out at Gramma Janet and Grandpa Dude's house (my parents). Can't wait to snuggle this little cutie when I see him this week too!

It's been so much fun to meet each of our little nephews and observe how God made them so different; but just perfect! All of our siblings are great parents; I've loved getting to watch and learn from each of them over the past few years!

It's fun to think that our little girl will be so close in age to Tytus and Oliver; she'll have to learn to hold her own with all of these rough and tough boys!

Isaac's 1st birthday!

2011-06-11T22:07:00.003-05:00

Yesterday our second 3rd nephew, Isaac, turned 1! Can't believe it!
Today Daniel and Karen had friends and family over for a wild animal themed party to celebrate!

Here are Karen (in white) and the kiddos! Isaac (with the bib), big brother Caedmon (orange), church friends Drew and Harrison (in blue) and cousin Kayla (in green).

They served up BBQ sandwiches, deviled eggs, potato salad and watermelon for lunch; everything was summery and delicious!

Karen had animal themed books, stuffed animals, and boxes of animal crackers scattered about; everything was super cute!

Karen always does the cutest cakes to match the theme!

This time she actually ordered the cake and white icing separately from Central Market and then colored the icing and decorated the cake herself! Such a good idea!!

I would much rather just have fun decorating than baking the cake too!

The icing was BUTTERcream; emphasis on the butter. It was SO good!

I was the designated photographer, but used Daniel and Karen's camera. These are just a few from I snapped with my ITouch (aka my old IPhone - a data plan = an ITouch / camera, IPod, etc!)

Birthday boy, Isaac!

Big brother, Caedmon
Here his great-grandpa Schwarz is helping him hit it outta the park!

Daniel actually cut, carved, stained and sealed this little bat for the boys! He also wrote a little note, signed it and added an "S" logo. I love it and the homemade tee!

I've loved hanging out with them lately and celebrating with them today. It's such a blessing that they live close by!

You have to check out Karen's blog to see her fun updates on what these little cuties are up to!

31.5 weeks

2011-06-10T22:30:00.000-05:00

Yes, in my post yesterday I made the first blog mention that we're expecting!
I only waited 31 weeks! :)

Here's what I'm looking like these days:

We are having a sweetie little girl! She's probably about 3 1/2 lbs right now and she loves to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! It's crazy to see my tummy move from the outside!

Aside from my left lower back aching on and off, I feel great! Thank you Lord!

My feet are nice and "plump" (aka swollen), but have been for about 2 months already! Eeeek! They don't hurt, just attract some unwanted comments and attention! My doctor has no cause for concern at this point.

It's also hard to get used to tiring so easily! Man!

With that, I'm off to bed!

Hello!

2011-06-09T14:25:00.000-05:00

Just popping in to say "hi"!

I have lots to share, you know, little things like:

1. The fact that we have a little one on the way....soon!
2. Home projects long finished, yet to be documented.
3. Snapshots and stories of what Tay and I have been up to over the past few months.

Hopefully this online scrapbook of sorts will have more and more "scrapbook pages" added soon!
Hope everyone's having a great day!

austin visit

2011-04-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago Tay and I headed to Austin for my sister-in-law, Lindsay's, baby shower! We loved seeing Mark and Lindsay's new house and neighborhood, celebrating at the shower and visiting their church, Austin Stone, for the first time.

Here are a few snapshots from our Austin visit!

Clockwise from bottom left: Grandpa Strucely, Dad, older brother Daniel, Caedmon, Lindsay, Granny Strucely, mom's sister Aunt Cherie and Uncle Carter, Isaac, sister-in-law Karen, Mom, Tay, sister-in-law Amy, little bro David, and oldest bro Mark.

They have a great house with tons of room which so suits them! They are always having friends, neighbors, and family over for some great dinner party or get-together. Here's everyone crowded around what may be the biggest dining table I've ever seen!

We had hamburgers with all the fix-ins and these amazing homemade fries! Mark and Lindsay are adventurous in every way and always cook up something new and delicious!

Some of our views from dinner.

Cute pic of three generations: Dad, Daniel, and Caedmon

It is always fun when Granny and Grandpa can join in on the fun.

Love this pic of Lindsay cracking up!

The newlyweds; they are coming up on 6 months in May. We love our newest sister Amy!

Mom's sister, Aunt Cherie and Uncle Carter live nearby in San Marcos. They are always so much fun and Tay and I are so inspired by their amazing DIY home projects! Daniel and Karen's littlest one, Isaac seemed pretty content hanging out with Uncle Carter. Aunt Cherie said he was always the "baby whisperer" with each of their 3 boys!

Caedmon can often be heard saying "Go out-side?"; he loves the outdoors! Tay got this cute pic of him eagerly waiting for everyone to get ready and head out to the park.

Isaac snuggled during most of the evening walk to the park. Aunt Amy loved it!

I had to get one last pic of mom and her youngest sis before Cherie and Carter headed out.

After traveling for a the better part of 2010, Mark and Lindsay settled back in Austin, moved into their first home and actually just had their first little one last Saturday! Oliver Matthew was born on April 2nd and is as cute and healthy as can be!

We're so excited for them; they'll be great parents!

Can't wait to meet the little guy in person!

god of victory

2011-04-02T15:47:00.000-05:00

Last night Tay and I were so excited to be "back home" at our old church The Village.

They had a night of worship to celebrate the release of their new worship CD, "God of Victory".

In the 3 1/2 years we were members we always loved the worship and hoped that every year would be the year they'd compile some of the songs onto a CD.

It was amazing to see so many people come together to worship on a Friday night! We knew it would most likely fill up so we met some of our new home group friends for Chick-Fil-A nearby and then headed over to get there an hour early. Thanks goodness Tay was so adamant about arriving so early. When it started at 7 there were still 500 people waiting in the lobby! Amazing!

The CD is available through ITunes and is currently the #22 album across all categories...in just one day! Which is amazing since the entire album is basically "god-breathed" scripture put to music! Rihanna, Katy Perry, The Bible...!

Yes, it's amazing to see the interest and excitement in the album,
but there would be no album if we did not have an amazing God and Savior that was worthy of our praise and worship.

"To the God of Victory, all glory be, to the One who conquered ALL."
I hope you'll check it out, pass it on, and that it would stir your heart to praise your Him, our redeemer!

Click Here to visit the album web page for videos, stories behind each song, lyrics, chords, etc.

Click Here to go to ITunes to buy one, two, or all of the songs!

shakin' it up

2011-04-01T08:27:00.005-05:00

What is quick, delicious, filling, mobile, and {somewhat} healthy?
Why, my breakfast of choice almost every morning, of course!

If you know me, you know that I'm not what they would call a "morning person". As much as I love the thought of me and Tay sitting down together and enjoying a healthy, hearty breakfast before work each morning...that's just not what works for us. Realistically, right now our morning schedules just do not match up and I'm usually lucky to eat anything on my way out the door.

Each morning I use the "Creamy Chocolate" shake mix and whip up my own chocolate banana shake to drink on the way to work.

My "recipe":

1 cup milk

1 scoop shake mix

5 ice cubes

2 bananas

2 tsp Benefiber powder (to help keep me full until lunch)

*1 tablespoon peanut butter every now and then if I want to get crazy!
Throw everything in the blender and blend on high until smooth.

The mix is not cheap at about $8 for 14 servings, but comes out to about $.60 / shake which is pretty cheap for a meal.

Mom and Lori, I'm sure you're cringing at the thought of my drinking slim-fast each morning while pregnant! You have to agree that it's better than eating nothing! :)

So that's my current go-to breakfast....what's yours?

spring cleaning

2011-03-31T09:57:00.000-05:00

Ta-dah!
Tay is a blog design genius and has been helping me do a little spring cleaning / decorating
...on my blog!
We'll continue to make little tweaks as we go, so things may keep changing bit over the next few weeks.
More to come; sooner rather than later!

"What I Wore Wednesday": Week 4

2010-08-18T12:32:00.001-05:00

I was a little better this week with getting pics of my outfits each day, so I have a bit more to contribute for "What I Wore" Wednesday this week.

Like the past three weeks, I'm linking this post up with other bloggers over at The Pleated Poppy. Have you been to her site? She has an Etsy shop where she sells the cutest jewelry and accessories!

work

dress shirt tunic: Marshall's

slim / skinny jeans, cuffed: Citizens

black patent flats: Ann Taylor Loft

casual Friday @ work

hoodie: Target

tank: Old Navy (sooo many years ago)

semi skinny jeans: Citizens from Nordstroms

gold sandals: Bandalino from Zappos.com

dinner and shopping with tay's parents

embellished tshirt: Old Navy

white linen pants: Old Navy

black sparkly sandals: hand-me-down; thanks mom!

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charcoal gray, ruffled cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft; sweet gift from my inlaws

eggplant cami: Ann Taylor Loft

trouser jeans: Lucky Brand @ Macy's

nude heels: Antonio Melani @ Macy's ?

earrings: Christmas gift from mom & dad

work

brown wrap dress: Ann Taylor Loft

aqua top: Ann Taylor Loft

Have a great week!

"What I Wore" Wednesday: Week 3

2010-08-11T18:32:00.001-05:00

Back again for my third installment of "What I Wore" Wednesday. Each week I'm linking this post up with other bloggers over at The Pleated Poppy. I only have two days documented this week as I either forgot to get a pic, wore the same thing multiple times :) or didn't feel like taking time to get a picture with so much else going on!

Here goes:

work

tomato red jersey dress: victorias secret

cardigan: old navy

belt: jcpenney

wedges: ann taylor loft

yes, that is the color of my legs! :)

maybe i should actually use the self-tanner i bought a month ago! :)

half finished fireplace in the background...going for the rustic look :)

work

purple cami: ann taylor loft

black suit jacket: ann klein (dillards?)

this was half of my "career fair / interviewing" suit from 5 years ago!

thanks mom and dad!

haven't pulled this out in years, but am glad I did!

necklace: jcpenney

jeans: citizens - nordstrom

leopard flats: b.p. - nordstrom

that's all for now!

good luck "shopping" your own closet!

What I Wore Wednesday: Week 2

2010-08-04T12:33:00.000-05:00

Back again, linking up with The Pleated Poppy in documenting what I wore over the past week. Definitely seeing the slim Citizen jeans, gold sandals and leopard flats as some of my wardrobe staples!

work

purple top: Banana Republic

jeans: Citizens

leopard flats: B.P. Nordstrom

work (casual Friday), and Saturday, and Sunday! eek!

v-neck tshirt: Target

cotton scarf: Marshalls

jeans: Citizens

gold sandals: Bandalino from Zappos.com

work

black racer back shirt: Target

brown cardigan: Old Navy

jeans: Citizens

leopard flats: B.P. Nordstrom

work

blue flowered cami: American Eagle from Marshalls

khaki cardigan w/ satin trim: Ann Taylor Loft

white linen pants: Old Navy ($14.99!)

gold sandals: Bandalino from Zappos.com

necklace: JCPenney?

I'm having fun documenting my outfits each day and getting creative with the pieces I already have.

The blue cami has been sitting in the closet for over a year...until now!

Hopefully see you next week!

Saying goodbye!

2010-07-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last week we had our friends David and Meredith over for dessert.

We met this sweet couple while working with the 2 year olds in Little Village each Sunday. We all four worked together in room for the first few months and would grab dinner afterwards when we could.

We have enjoyed their friendship...and now we have to say good-bye! David accepted a job as part of the Navigator’s campus ministry at University of Colorado at Boulder. They leave in less than 2 weeks!

We are excited to see how the Lord will continue to use them as a couple as they disciple college students.

If you'd like to partner with them in working to impact the students in Boulder...




	David and Meredith Billingslea Collegiate, Univ. of Colorado - Boulder

And a shot of Sydney. She enjoyed their visit too!

Homemade Blizzards!

2010-07-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

The other day, Taylor did something very out of character....he craved a ridiculously tasty, unnecessary treat! Yes, driving home the other evening he insisted that we get Blue Bell ice cream and candy bars for home-made blizzards! I was in heaven!! Usually I’m the one with these ridiculous suggestions! After a splash of milk and a trip through both the blender and the food processor they were ready and thoroughly enjoyed while watching TV.

He chose Butterfinger

and I went with Reeses.

Yum! Yay for spontaneous little treats!

What I Wore Wednesday

2010-07-29T08:31:00.000-05:00

I'm linking up to the What I Wore Wednesday group over at The Pleated Poppy.
Why?
1. Because it's fun to see what other people are wearing and how they are creative with their wardrobe
2. To help keep track of what I'm wearing & how it looks on me (pulled together? sloppy? young? frumpy?) Are there things I own that I never wear and can pass on to someone else?
3. To encourage my creativity with matching up the pieces I do have, rather than saying often "I have nothing to wear!"

I've been snapping a quick picture as I leave or come home over the past 2 or so weeks, but have yet to post, so here goes!

work

cardigan: Banana Republic

one-shoulder ruffled shirt: Old Navy

patent croc skinny belt: JCPenney (with $10off coupon)

skirt: Banana Republic clearance

work

oxford shirt: Old Navy

slightly skinny jeans: Citizens of Humanity (these have a strong reoccurring role in my wardrobe!)

leopard flats: B. P. (Nordstroms; happy birthday to me!)

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v-neck tshirt: Target (have this shirt in 5 colors...hmmm)

trouser jeans: Lucky brand

necklace: Ann Taylor Loft (I always admire the look of a simple outfit and bold jewelry, so I snatched this up on clearance)

shirt: one of my company’s logo shirts

jeans: Citizens of Humanity

leopard flats: Nordstrom

friend’s rehearsal dinner

dress: Billabong company store in Florida (3 yrs ago; thanks mom!)

gold sandals: Bandalino from Zappos.com

gold clutch: Talbots - hand me down from mom?

work

v-neck shirt: Target

cream lace cami: Ann Taylor Loft

skirt: Ann Taylor Loft

wedges: Ann Taylor Loft

work

jacket: Old Navy

jeans: Citizens

leopard flats: B.P. - Nordstrom

work

cardigan: Banana Republic

black cami: Ann Taylor Loft

patent-crock skinny belt: JCPenney

skirt: Banana Republic

red patent snakeskin heels: Jessica Simpson

(definitely not my “walking” shoes, but they’re so fun!)

work

cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft

silk shirt: Ann Taylor Loft

jeans: Citizens

gold sandals: Bandalino from Zappos.com

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cardigan: Banana Republic

black racer-back pleated shirt: Target

trouser jeans: Lucky brand

heels: Antonio Melani (Foley’s?)

(have worn these out; so versatile; love the patent bow!)

work

cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft

pink ruffle tank: Ann Taylor Loft

brown wrap dress: Ann Taylor Loft

leopard flats: B.P. - Nordstrom

work

black v-neck tshirt: Target

teal sleeveless shirt: Ann Taylor Loft

earrings: Target

trouser jeans: Lucky brand

heels: Antonio Melani (Foley’s?)

work

gray company logo tshirt (yes, very casual Fridays)

jeans: rolled up Citizens

yellow canvas “loafers”: Walmart

nephew’s baptism

cardigan: Old Navy

pink silk shirt: Forever 21

white linen pants: Old Navy ($14.99!)

earrings: Betsey Johnson birthday gift

gold sandals: Bandalino from Zappos.com

work and at home...as I type this

tshirt: Old Navy

skirt: Banana Republic

heels: Antonio Melani (Foley’s?)

Isaac's Baptism

2010-07-28T13:42:00.000-05:00

Our newest little nephew, Isaac, was baptized this past Sunday.

We enjoyed worshiping with Daniel & Karen and their church family in Fort Worth. Daniel & Karen had asked Taylor & I to be Isaac’s baptism sponsors or godparents. We are so honored to take on this special commitment to partner with them in praying for and encouraging Isaac in his faith, that he may grow up to know the Lord as his Savior.

After the service Daniel & Karen hosted the family for lunch at their house.

We had delicious lasagna and fixins from Olive Garden and enjoyed catching up with everyone.

Everyone included, Isaac (tired from so many hugs and snuggles from family),

Mom

(I didn’t get a picture of you in your cute Anthropolgie outfit, Mom!)

Dad, Grandpa Schwarz, and Caedmon,

Tay,

David & Amy,

Grandma Schwarz,

Karen’s grandparents,

Granny and Grandpa Strucely,

and Karen’s mom, dad, and brother...no pictures either! :(

It was a fun surprise to see David & Amy! David lives and works in College Station, and I didn’t realize he would be coming in this weekend! Yay! On top of that, they asked Taylor and I to be part of their wedding party in November! So excited to be part of their special day!

Mocha Cake

2010-02-18T09:00:00.001-06:00

I really love to bake and create pretty / yummy things in the kitchen....when I'm not rushed!

All fun and enjoyment flies out the window when I'm pressed for time.

Well, two weeks ago I had plenty of time Friday after work to try Mocha Cake.

I found this recipe when The Nester tweeted about Edie's signature, delicious Mocha Cake.

It's a two-layer chocolate cake with both mocha and chocolate-mocha frosting. I iced the middle and sides with the chocolate and used a star tip to frost the top with the mocha.

I love chocolate and I LOVE coffee, so it was a win-win for me; it actually tasted a lot like a grown-up Swiss Cake Roll!

The real test was whether Taylor would like it; most desserts are usually too rich for his liking.

And as you can see, he was a fan too!

Craig's List Redo!

2010-02-17T09:00:00.001-06:00

Some long, over-due show and tell!

Almost a year ago I spotted this 6 piece dining set on Craig's List for $90!!

After I scrubbed it down, stripped it, sanded it.....

....primed it, painted it, and recovered the chairs......I'm now loving it!!

Hall closet makeover

2010-02-15T09:00:00.012-06:00

We have a small closet in our hallway that up until two weeks ago was pretty useless.

I think it might have housed a water heater at one point due to the single platform shelf on the floor.

First my sweetie cut shelves to fit and screwed in the supports.

Then I painted the walls, supports and ceiling a cheery robin's egg blue color and painted each of the shelves white.

The paint was free since I "shopped" our garage and mixed together two different sample containers I already had!

Tay: "Why would you paint a closet?"

Me: Even though most people won't ever see or enjoy this part of our home, it will make me smile when I open the door.

I also was inspired by Julie's "Real Simple" closet makeover shown here!

Ok, here's the real-life shot of our closet in use!

I now have a cheery place to store all my crockpot, large serving pieces, etc, etc!

Furniture Inspiration

2010-02-08T12:29:00.000-06:00

I've been so inspired lately by two alternatives to buying new furniture.

"Re-Cycling" something old

Creating something new

I've been so inspired to

"Re-Cycle" something old

by these creative gals:

Holly @ http://www.inthefunlane.com/

has a great eye for taking

"very loved" pieces

and making them so fresh and new!

I know there are so many "treasures" to be found on craigslist.com

or at my local Goodwill or Salvation army.

I also love how Carrie @ patternoflife.wordpress.com

had a vision for this $30 dresser

to become a bathroom vanity with such character

On the other hand,

I am itching to

Create something new

after finding

Ana's amazing site

knockoffwood.blogspot.com

She says "I'm just a stay at home Mom with expensive taste and no money."

Instead of purchasing all of her favorite pieces from Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, etc.

she draws up plans and builds the pieces herself!

I love it!!

Inspiration:

Photo courtesy of PotteryBarn.com

part of her plan:

and

she shares all of her plans for free!

Hope you are inspired too!

2009-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Loving these new birthday shoes:

and these birthday CDs:

Will this be next??

I love a good story and have heard one too many people with my same "vampires? i don't do vampires.." mentality say that they love the series. I borrowed and friend of a friends' copy and will be curling up on our couch with it sometime soon.

Hmm; I will let you know...

My 26th!

2009-11-17T20:29:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday Taylor planned a casual birthday dinner with some of our friends to celebrate my 26th birthday. It's was so fun to see everybody. We easily get caught up in the day to day routine and miss keeping up with our great friends. Kristen came and brought lil Katie. Laura and Justin came with this adorable cake in tow!

She took one of the Wilton classes at Michael's and has been whipping up one cute cake after another.

It looks so professional!
My best friend Megan and her husband, Ben were there too. It had been soo long since we'd had them over, so it was fun to update her on all of our home improvements and projects! My college friend, Leslie, and her husband Jeremy also came. They are always a fun and dynamic duo!

(L to R: Leslie, me, Laura, Kristen, Megan)

Nothing like cake and beans! Yes the other food on the table is what was left of the dinner portion of the evening. For a "less-stress" get-together, Tay and I decided to let Central Market do the cooking. We swung by and picked up tamales, beans, chips, salsa and queso.
I did make this rice, because it is always muy tasty!

Here's Tay and I at the end of a fun evening!

Meal Planning Monday

2009-09-28T12:29:00.000-05:00

Monday
Meat and Rice (similar to beef stroganoff)
Steamed broccoli
Rolls
Fruit Salad (I'm going to try making a large batch today for us to munch on the rest of the week; we'll see)

Tuesday
Chicken Stirfry w/ brown rice (ahhh! it's been two weeks and we still have yet to get this on the table)

Wednesday
Date night!
Last week I was jumping ahead; the concert is actually this Wednesday!

Thursday
Spaghetti
Salad
Rolls

Friday
I'll be out of town for another wedding so Taylor will enjoy eating out!

Last week’s results:
We got 2 out of 3 dinners on the table.
I swapped homeade mac & cheese for the potato salad. I already know how to make it and didn't have a lot of time to experiment on Monday night. Tuesday we failed to have stir-fry again! We took dinner to some friends that had just come home with their new baby girl; cooking two meals proved to be too much for one night. I honestly don't remember what we had when we got home; I think we proably got fast food. Wednesday we did go out to eat at one of our favorite local deli/bakeries before heading to a movie. Thursday was hot dogs accompanied by the remainder of the mac & cheese. I completely forgot the chili though...woops!

Hope you have a great week and that you get a chance to sit and chat at your own dinner table!

Meal Planning Monday

2009-09-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

Monday
Sloppy Joes
Potato Salad (My mom’s tip: Pick up a few baked potatoes from a local BBQ to mash up as the base; quick & yummy!)

Tuesday
Stirfry w/ brown rice

Wednesday
Date night!
We have tickets to see Ben Folds at the Meyerson, so we'll do a fun dinner out too!

Thursday
Chili dogs
Potato Salad

Friday
Out of town for a wedding

As you can see, this week is pretty low maintenance. I’d love it if the menu was “healthier” or resembled full meals on the table, but we're taking it one step at a time. My goal right now is still just to have something on the table that will stretch through lunch the next day.
We are going to the local homecoming parade tonight so I wanted to do something easy and sloppy joes just sounded like parade / outdoor evening food to me. What do you typically serve with sloppy joes? Any suggestions? I decided on doing a big batch of potato salad that we can serve with the chili dogs later in the week as well. We ended up skipping the stir-fry planned for last Tuesday, so we’ll fit it in this week. Taylor requested the chili dogs & that definitely works for me (I’ll just leave the chili off of mine)!

Last week’s results:
We were 4 for 4 as far as getting dinner on the table…with a few tweaks to my original meal plan.
I never picked up the ingredients for Tuesday’s stirfry and I did not feel well so Taylor made tomato soup and grilled cheese instead. I have such a sweet husband!
The soy burgers were OK. The patties are smaller than average so I served them on multi-grain English muffins; this made them feel even less like the real thing. Hmm… I think we’d try them again at some point, but on regular hamburger buns. Instead of sweet potato fries we had these. They were a recommendation in Real Simple and were a tasty / bit healthier alternative to the Ore Ida brand we’d usually buy.

Hope you have good week!

Meal Planning Monday

2009-09-14T18:25:00.000-05:00

In an effort to get home cooked meals on the table more often, I'm going to join in on "Meal Planning Mondays" as seen here and here.

Monday
Pork Tenderloin
(pre-marinated from Kroger, Target, etc. Take out of package, drop in pan, 35 min at 350deg, done!)
Wild Rice / Brown Rice blend
(Uncle Ben's with an additional 1/2 cup of brown rice added to stretch to lunch tomorrow)
Rolls
(my mom's secret...Mrs. Baird's "HomeBake" rolls in the bread section. Rub a little butter top, sprinkle some parmesan, bake at 450deg for 8-10 min....yum!)

Tuesday
Chicken stir-fry
(Taylor is cooking tonight; his stir fry is always delish!)

Wednesday
Rigatoni
(one of our go-to's)
Salad
Rolls

Thursday
Soy Burgers on English muffin buns
(a suggestion from Natalie)
Sweet Potato fries

Friday
Eat out / date night

The goals with this system are that Taylor and I would:
A. be better stewards of our money by eating in more often
B. be better stewards of our bodies by eating a bit healthier
C. spend a little more downtime together over dinner at home at our kitchen table

Kitchen: Green to Blue

2009-07-13T19:07:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I finished painting our dark green kitchen a cheery blue!
Here are a few before and afters for those of you that were waiting to see me finish up this project!
I'll hopefully share more details later!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Kristen's Baby Shower

2009-07-09T22:31:00.000-05:00

In May all of the girls in our home group teamed up to throw Kristen a baby shower! She and Matt are expecting their first precious baby, little Katherine any day now! It was fun to see everyone add their own special touch to their contribution to the shower. Here are some pics:

Yum! Amanda and Lindsay tackled the main course by ordering some sandwich trays, veggies, chips & dips! Forgot how tasty I find french onion dip!

How cute & fun is this! Brittany made a tasty lime/sherbert/icecream punch, as well as Chick-Fil-A sweet tea; a win-win drink situation in my book!

Brittany and Faith

I made cupcakes for dessert and was sooo excited with how they turned out! As my homemade tag says, they are chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing. The green circles were my first go-around with fondant. The "K" was simply piped using buttercream (before I tinted it brown). Kristen loved these (super easy) chocolate cupcakes when I made them for another shower. Also, I wanted to do something green with a modern polka-dot look to match their baby room decor! I have to say, I was so excited with the final product!!

For the favors Faith, Abby, and Angela did a cookie tree! I had never seen this; what a cute idea! Hanging on the branches were a baby-themed, iced sugar cookies. They did such a great job; what a special touch!

The parents-to-be!

The diaper cake Faith made; so creative!

Our dear friend Laura brought her and Justin's little one, Landon! We miss them 30 minutes away so it's always a treat to hang out! Here and her and Taylor chowing down.

Taylor and I; a self-portrait!

Thrift Store Frame Redo

2009-05-26T23:11:00.001-05:00

Long time....no post. eek!
I did want to share a mini project I did recently; enjoy!
This project was inspired by another blog....that I can not remember at all! If I run back across it I'll post the link in a later post.

Here goes!

1. I started with a few cheap frames from the thrift store:

Cute, right? mmmm; not really my style....yet!
I looked for frames that had a simple frame and a wide mat.

2. Then I headed to the nearest fabric store, JoAnn's, and picked up some cute fabric.
I'm loving the blue burlap!

3. Once home, I took apart the frames.
4. Threw away the cutsie / dated / not-my-taste artwork inserts; kept the mats!
5. Spray painted the frames white.
I actually used spray primer because it was the only thing I had on hand.
It was white so it worked for me!
6. Cleaned the glass with dish soap and Windex.
7. Now time for the fabric!
8. I cut the fabric just slightly bigger than the outside of the picture mat.
Basically I left just enough to wrap around and adhere to the back of the mat.
9. Then I laid the fabric face down.
10. I sprayed the front of the mat with spray adhesive
and laid the the mat face down on the fabric.
I'm pretty sure this is the spray I used; maybe $6 at Michaels.
The spray adhesive is really quick, but can be a little messy.
I made sure to put newspaper underneath so that my kitchen floor did not end up sticky.
Yes, I was doing this on the floor. :)
10. Then I flipped the mat over and smoothed out any bumps in the fabric before the glue dried.
11. Next I took a pair of scissors and cut a small starter hole in the middle of the mat opening.
12. Then, starting in the middle, I cut 4 diagonal lines; one into each corner of the mat.
13. At that point I had 4 triangle flaps that I could fold around from the mat opening and stick to the back. I made sure to cut all the way into each corner so that the flaps would fold back flat.
14. Next I flipped the mat back over face down.
15. Sprayed the back of the mat with spray adhesive.
16. Pulled each of the 4 flaps from the middle around to the back and stuck them down.
17. Pulled the excess fabric from the outside edges and stuck them to the back.
18. Ta-da! I now have a cute fabric mat!
19. Finally I reassembled my "new" white frame and added some scrapbook paper for now. You could also add a picture, a monogram, or whatever else you come up with!

Here are my before and afters:

I love it!! I don't have any pictures of the other frame/fabric combo yet; I'll have to post them later.

Hope you're inspired!

bitten by the project bug!

2009-04-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

Taylor and I have been busy bees! We've been painting, spackling, hanging, wiring, sanding, shopping (at Home Depot), etc, etc!

I'll gradually share each of our updates with you....starting with a spring wreath!
General inspiration: cute spring / Easter wreaths everywhere!! In the stores and on people's front doors.
Direct Inspiration: this blogger's homemade wreath gave me the push I needed

Off to Hobby Lobby I went!

Supplies:

grapevine wreath
dried floral filler to fill in some of the gaps
brown, paper mache eggs
2 bottles of craft paint (a springy blue and white, if I needed to lighten up the blue)
hot glue and glue gun
foam brushes for paint and decoupage
mod-podge

I did this project one evening when it was pouring outside. It was really nice to sit and craft away at the kitchen table while listening to the rain.

About 45 minutes later...ta-da!

Steps:

Paint 3 of the 6 eggs a springy robin's egg blue
Decoupage the remaining 3 eggs with scrapbook paper
Strategically hot glue eggs around wreath
Tuck pieces of dried floral stems in all the gaps

To hang the wreath I looped a thick ribbon through the middle of the wreath and used an upholstery tack to tack the ends of the ribbon onto the top of the door. I picked this little hanging trick from the Nester; surprise, suprise!

Look, it's as if you are coming to visit!

Almost here!

Welcome!

inspiration...the lamp redo

2009-04-08T23:07:00.000-05:00

You may remember when I spray painted the brass thrift store lamp.
Of course you remember! It's not hard to keep track of 10 whole posts! :)
Well, although spray painting a lamp is not a new idea, my project was directly inspired by a post on Eddie Ross's blog.
Eddie was a contestant on Bravo's Top Design reality tv show; his blog has lots of great / more professional design ideas. His "after" lamps look oh-so chic. If we ever end up living in Taylor's dream museum-loft then those would fit right in!

Speaking of Tay, "Happy Birthday!" to my sweetie today!!

the little things...

2009-04-08T21:43:00.001-05:00

a few things I'm loving around our home!

little spa-like accents in our master bathroom...

yes, that is a Ball fruit canning jar with bars of Dove soap!

this was inspired by the Nester; putting ordinary items in cute containers.

I love using all different shapes and sizes of glass jars around the house; as candle holders, vases, even to hold the sweet n' low packets for Tay's morning coffee.

the jar on the left is definitely a former spaghetti sauce jar!
but now, oh-so fresh! tip: Goo-Gone is a great product for getting those stubborn labels off.

so cliche, but I love having seasonal M&M's in a jar and the Easter colors are so springy!

a french lemonade bottle on our kitchen table.

although somewhat ordinary, these little touches make our house a little more homey!

Amazing find!!

2009-03-30T12:25:00.000-05:00

I've been spending a lot of my free time lately pouring over peoples' blogs and have been so inspired by their craftiness! I'll have to share some of my favorites with you periodically.

One AMAZING find that I had to share right away is:

http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/fontsforpeas/

This site centers around one couple's (kevin & amanda) love for handwriting!
Two words to describe their site; adorable & FREE!!
You can actually send them samples of your own handwriting and they will make it into a font that anyone can download on their site......for FREE!
There are over 300 other people's adorable handwriting fonts and 100 scrapbooking fonts that you can download.....all for FREE!!
There are instructions for how to create your own font and how to download fonts onto your computer. Click around their page, the "What's New" section has great blogging tips and some free downloads as well. Everything is sooooo cute; you must check it out.

Can you imagine all the cute cards, scrapbook pages, invitations, etc. you could create with these cute fonts?!

Enjoy!!

my best friend's wedding; literally!

2009-03-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

My best friend, Megan, did get married on the 14th; yay!! I'm so very thrilled for her and her new hubby! Megan and I have been best friends since 7th grade, 4-year college roomies, and big fans of the movie this post is named after. I think we saw the movie 3 times in the theater and now we have both shared our first dance with each of our husbands to the tune "The Way You Look Tonight".

Here's a picture from her bridal tea the day before:

The Lord is so good! I'm so thankful for my Mego!

inspired!

2009-03-10T21:05:00.000-05:00

You may see a new link on the right toolbar of my blog. Under "inspiration" I've listed my new favorite blogger, The Nester! She is all about making your home a place you love by adding no-fuss, low-budget touches. I've loved reading what she has to say and seeing what she comes up with. In fact, I was inspired last Saturday to make some changes to our dining room (turned sitting room). In all, this mini-makeover took about 45 minutes...and I love this room now!!
Here's a few snapshots of the process:
It all started with a $10 brass, thrift-store floor lamp. I've been wanting a floor lamp, in order to create a cozy reading nook without taking up precious table space. Where would I put my oversized cup of coffee and book?
Here's the lamp "before"

Ugh! Not a fan of brass, but I liked the classic lines of this lamp. I thought that with a fresh coat of brushed nickel spray paint (Krylon Metallics - $3.99 at Sherwin Williams), this lamp could be perfect. And, if it was a flop, then I'd only be out $14! Well, I was so happy with the results!!!
Here's the lamp "after"

Yay!! Just a few notes on the actual process.
1. I wiped the lamp down with a wet wash cloth, followed by a dry one; no cleaners necessary
2. Put a small piece of tape over the hole where you screw the lightbulb in.
3. Wrapped brown paper around the cord.

If you plan to spray paint, you have to buy one of those cheap nozzle attachments with a trigger handle. It's just a plastic thing you snap on & off any spray can and it makes the paint spray so evenly. They are only about $5, and are so worth it!!

Here's the lamp in the finished sitting room!! I love the light, fresh, comfy, clean look!

Some of you may recognize the blue chairs. My best friend, Megan, and I found these for $10 each at a garage sale in college! My mom helped me recover them for our college house. I haven't loved them in our living room with our red couches; too red-white-and-blue for my taste. I'm loving them here now!! The Nester talks about "shopping your home" for items you are either using elsewhere, or not using at all.
Here's what I got on my "shopping trip" around the house.

The white table was being used as night stand in the guest bedroom. I actually grabbed this off the side of the road back in college (actually I made my lil sis jump out and get it)! It was a brown office - type piece that I just painted white.
The rug was still in a box from my college room.
The vase was a Tuesday Morning find that I used to have fake stems in; not my fave. Instead, I snipped some branches off our tree in the backyard. I love the little blooms!
The mirror was actually already hanging there from when we used the room as a dining room.
The last piece, that is not in the picture, is a chunky khaki blanket from our living room. I just folded it up and placed on the shelf under the table. Cozy, cozy!!
Oh, and the lamp shade was a $13 T.J. Maxx Homegoods find that I had been using in the living room.

Yay! I hope you are inspired to make spaces in your home, spaces that you love!!
Ok, this was my longest post by far!!!! If I said I was heading to bed I'd be lying. I'm actually going to douse myself in aloe gel. Speed tanning for your best friend's wedding is never a good idea. Eeek!

'night!

2008-10-22T22:34:00.000-05:00

Ok, in an effort to be consistent with my posting, I am going to write something.....hmmm. Actually I do know what I want to share. Every now and then I stumble across someone's "favorite things". It's fun to see what products, recipes, traditions are their 'go-tos'. So, here are a few of my own (at least for the time being).

Stainless Steel wipes
They are like Clorox wipes; except for all those great S.S. appliances that are so hard to keep free of spots & fingerprints. One swipe with one of these, and my oven and microwave look brand new! I found these at Kroger on the cleaning aisle, top shelf. I'm sure BB&Beyond has a similar product, or 6.

Johnson's 'Melt Away Stress' Lotion
I use this every night and love it! It has a sweet / light lavender scent and is not greasy. Even if if doesn't actually 'melt away stress', it makes me feel pampered and tells my body that it is bedtime! Another stress-free aspect is the price.

Tyler Candle Company candles
These candles are wonderful! You know how sometimes a candle will smell wonderful in the store, but then you can burn it at home for hours and....nothing! I can light one of these for even 10 minutes and the entire living room and kitchen smell yummy! They are well worth the money, although you can even treat yourself to a votive for around $2.00 My favorite scent is 'Envay'. It's different, but smells great! I know you can find these at Sample House.

Ok, that's all for now, off to bed. Hope you enjoyed my short little list!

2008-10-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post a delicious "fall" recipe to match our blog's new "fall" look.
One of the girls from home group, Angela, made these pumpkin squares a few weeks ago, and shared the recipe. It's always a treat when it's her turn to bring food; she has a such a gift for cooking and "hospitality". Hope you enjoy this tasty treat as much as we have!

Pumpkin Squares
shared by Angela Northcutt
(Home Group meal 10/2/08)

Cake batter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350°
Grease or spray 9 in. square pan
On medium speed, mix sugar and eggs for two minutes
Beat in pumpkin and oil
On low speed, add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder & salt for 1 minute
Pour into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Insert a toothpick to see if it comes out clean
Cool completely before icing
(make sure it's really cool or it will crumble apart -- lesson learned!)

Icing
¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup cream cheese
2 Tbs. butter softened
½ tsp vanilla

On low speed, mix all ingredients for 2 minutes or until fluffy.

Also makes 16 cupcakes:
Use heavy paper or foil liners. Fill ½ full & bake for 20 min. ENJOY!

2008-10-14T12:40:00.000-05:00

A few things we have going on:

Tay is busy planning a wine & cheese networking event they are hosting at the office. This includes painting and putting the finishing touches on their office space. He has done everything from designing the invitations to selecting the specific cheeses, to coordinating with the winery he works for part time. He's super busy, but enjoying these different aspects of his job. I'm so proud of him!
I'm finally putting our bedroom closets to use! Until now there has never been an organized system for storing all of our clothes. It's been a mix of the closets and the bedroom floor. Sad, I know; but no more feeling like a failure in this department! I'm making some major headway on this project and our bedroom is already feeling a lot more neat & peaceful!
Also, I am 1 week into a new womens' bible study. The study is "No Other Gods" by Kelly Minter and focuses on the modern-day idols in our lives. I've actually never done a bible study like this in which you have daily "homework". It's been really good so far; I really enjoy the author's approach / style. Also, part of the study is that there are recipes provided for each group time. We meet once a week, eat dinner together and discuss. Fun, fun!

Hmm, ok that's all for now. Hopefully we really will update with some pictures soon.

2008-08-09T18:11:00.000-05:00

Tay will pick some of his favorite pics from his trip and post them soon....

2008-06-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

Washington, D.C.
The Big Apple
The "#1 Internationally Ranked"Argentinian Soccer Team
Taylor
Amanda
Justin "J-Mill" Miller
4 day weekend

"Six of these things belong together....one of these things just doesn't belong..."
(Song lyrics compliments of Sesame Street)

So, you ask, what doesn't belong? If you guessed Amanda (me) then you are correct!
The other six items are in some way a part of Taylor's weekend!
Put them all in order and here's what you've got:
Taylor is visiting Justin in D.C. for the weekend. On Sunday they will take the train into NYC, and head to Giants Stadium to watch the U.S. Soccer team take on the #1 team in the world, Argentina.
They bought tickets months ago and Tay has been pumped about traveling and hanging out with Justin "like old times".

I'm praying for safety while he's traveling and away, and praying that the Lord will decrease my worrying and increase my trust in Him on this!

Tay has the camera so we will definitely share some trip pics with you!

Bye for now!

2008-06-03T00:43:00.000-05:00

You are watching us take our very first steps into the blogging world!

As the title indicates, we hope this blog will provide our family & friends with little snapshots of what's going on in our lives here at the Smith house; hence, Smith Snapshots.

So as to not be dissappointed, please take note that our blog will not be updated daily; maybe not even weekly sometimes! Hopefully the pics and stories we do share will be entertaining and a way for you to stay current with what we are up to!

Here goes!