Working on that DIY List

I promised myself that I would learn more about Blogger and look what I've done! I just figured out how to post pictures side-by-side AND centered! YAY me....I know, its the little things in life that you need to remember to celebrate. I think this is the first time that my HTML class from college finally helped me!....Obviously it didn't work! What am I doing wrong? Can anyone help a gal out?!

Personal Photos

So the adorable little one in the pictures above is my nephew. He is a hot mess that I love to pieces! He is so much fun and is ready to take on the world. We picked up some Christmas trees on Friday morning and he was ready to haul them back home for us with his Daddy. Needless to say he was not a happy camper when we took him out of the truck and strapped him into his car seat in Mommy's car.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is over for another year. This year I collected pecans from my yard (yay for pecan trees!), shelled them and made chocolate pecan pie. Its amazing how much money I saved as well as how much better the pie was with fresh pecans. The pie wasn't even around long enough for me to snap a photo! My sister-in-law and my mom have requested this pie for Christmas!

I've got a couple more DIY projects coming for the holidays! Today I collected sticks for my next project.....you'll have to stick around to see why!

Sweet Dreams,

Southern Gal

A Little of This, A Little of That

I bet you're wondering if I was able to walk on Thursday following my Pure Barre work out. Well Thursday I woke up feeling pretty good. I was much better than I expected until I was going to bed on Thursday night. Finally, I felt some major ab soreness creep in. I had a hard time sitting back up to turn the light off after reading. At least its the good kinda soreness! I still need to research an adult ballet classes. I promise I will do that this weekend!

Alright, so I have a couple things to add to my DIY wish list!

• Glitter lanterns- I'm gonna use blue glitter instead and have them as part of the decor for a baby shower that I'm co-hosting in a few months. I cannot wait to try this project!! It will be a few months before I can do it, don't want the glitter to dull before the shower, but nonetheless I'm really excited about it!

Adorable blog photo credit

• Make more time to bake/cook. I have tons of recipes that I want to try. I get Southern Living magazine and Our State magazine and both give me such inspiration each month to cook or bake but guess what?! I never make the time to try all these recipes. Also, I have a co-worker who brings the most delicious leftovers everyday and she is sweet enough to share all her recipes and tips with me. In 3 1/2 years I have never made one of her recipes. But have no fear!! I'm making her mac and cheese on Thanksgiving this year! My SIL and I already planned out Turkey Day menu and mac and cheese is on my list.

Who wants to be my taste testers?!

From Southern Living- cake, grits

• Figure out blogspot. I do not like that fact that I don't know how to put photos side-by-side. Sometimes a blog calls for that instead of this vertical layout. How do I change it? I like visual interest and I like knowing how to make things happen. Right now I am not pleased on either front.
• And finally, I can't decided if I want to tie-dye onesies or if I want varying shades of onesies to hang on the clothesline decoration. Below is my inspiration. I like how its simple, clean, sophisicated. But I'm not sure how to replicate it. On the other hand, blue and white tie-dyed onesies would be fun, energy, and 100% rough and tumble boy. If you haven't put 2 and 2 together, the babyshower is for a baby boy. What are your thoughts on these onesies?

Stay tuned...

The Last Day of November

OMG, I cannot believe it's the last day of November. Seriously, where has 2010 gone?!

My Thanksgiving in a nutshell- Thanksgiving was a nice day. I got to sleep in on Thursday morning and it was pure heaven. I rarely get that joy so when I do, I take FULL advantage. After mom and I got all our assigned dishes prepared, we head down the street to my brother and sister in law's house. My sweet nephew was dressed in a preppy sweater vest and khakis....LOVED IT! Several friends joined my family for dinner and the evening wrapped up with some vodka and wii.

It was a pretty uneventful weekend following Turkey Day. I saw the new Harry Potter movie which was surprisingly great!

One of the best parts of the weekend was that on Sunday, KLM and I got the whole house decorated for Christmas!! This time of year is my favorite. I love Christmas decorations, holiday cheer, parties, and lights- lots and lots of lights! Here's our brand (and all reused) front porch wreath!

(sorry for the bad photo- the shadowing is weird)

After an unnecessarily long trip to Lowes Home Improvement store, I decided to make a wreath with ornaments on it. I'm pretty proud of my handiwork and I didn't have to buy a single thing to make this wreath happen! I had everything in my house and I'm thrilled to reuse things!

Tonight I'm baking cookies so I'll let you know how those turn out. I snagged the recipe from Our State magazine. If they are good, I'll share the recipe!

Please enjoy this holiday season!!