DIY Rustic Ornaments

So many DIY's lately! I've been staying busy! :)

Since this is the first year in our own home, I am so excited to start my Christmas decor collection, get our first tree together, and making a ton of different decorations!

Like this:

To make this rustic style ornament, I used clear glass ornaments from Hobby Lobby (50% off).

I had some extra burlap from another project, so I cut it in strips about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long. I put about two strips per ornament. 

Next, I thought to keep it rustic, I would add some pearl beads, small "jingle" bells, and some small brown buttons.

I also found some small snowflake buttons to add in as well as you can see above.

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I also made some jute wrapped ornaments!

Again, I used the clear ornaments from Hobby Lobby for 50% off and a roll of jute string.

I started from the top and just wrapped the jute around hot gluing the lines around in different spots. Super easy, but it can be time consuming!

But, the end result is so cute!

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The last ornament I made...well, I didn't really make it...

All I did was take a bag of pine cones and tie some jute around the tops and hang them from the tree! Loved the way it made it look extra rustic by having them on there! 

I'm still putting the finishing touches on our tree. Pretty proud of what I've done so far! :)

Btw, I am sooo in love with my burlap tree skirt. I was contemplating making my own but I just don't have the time lately. So, I went on a search on Etsy and came across redesignaccessories. She has the cutest Christmas decor. I got this tree skirt for $40 shipped! It is great quality and came so fast! I couldn't be happier with my purchase!

And now from looking at this picture, I'm so going to go and adjust some of the burlap wrapped around the tree! Funny what a picture can show! :) Back to work! 

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Happy Black Friday!

Happy Black Friday everyone!

Click here for some Jimmy Fallon, Carrie Underwood, and Rashida Jones Black Friday parody fun!

Hope you all are enjoying getting some great deals and steals!

I am staying in today and getting most of my shopping done online. 

Just wanted to share with you some pictures from yesterday!

I had two Thanksgivings. One at my dad's side of the family

and the other at my sister's grandmothers.

It was so nice! 

The boyfriend has been working for almost 12 days straight now.

Luckily he got to come to the last dinner! 

Even though it was pretty late...I was so happy that he could make at least one! :)

Sweater: Forever21 (Similar)

Long Tank: CottonOn

Leggings: Charlotte Russe

Boots: Target

Scarf: LindisDelicateEdge 

(Sold Out) 20% off all orders enter ONSALE at check out!

Side note...looking at these pictures REALLY makes me want to get an iPhone5!

My selfies are so blurry! Lol. 

I really need to learn more about my new Nikon I got for my birthday!

This is my sister Bailee! One of three! Two of them live in Marshall...about 5 hours away from me. So, anytime I have with them is amazing! Miss them all the time!

Here is one with all three of us. In the middle is Alexa! The youngest of my sisters! 

Love them to death. Pretty sure the last picture is a perfect example of us! :)

Anyways, I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful to have gotten to see my sisters and finally get some time with my boyfriend!

What were you thankful for?!

Pre-Black Friday Sales!

There are so many sales going on right now, I feel like I can't even keep up with them!

I just wanted to share a few I know about so you can plan your shopping early and knock it out!

I'm SO close to being done Christmas shopping this year. I am so proud of myself for tackling it so early. BUT, I am SOOO wishing I would have at least waited until all these sales kicked in!

There are some GREAT deals going on right now!

So check out these:

Right now, Old Navy has 30% off everything and if you wait until Friday everything online is up to 50% off and EVERYTHING is 50% off in store!

OLD NAVY

Cotton on has 40% off their entire store. Great place to get your staple pieces!

COTTON ON

Express is doing 50% off their entire site! They have some GREAT dresses that would be perfect for the Holidays!

EXPRESS

My favorite sale to shop is always Juicy Couture. They are doing 40% off everything in store and online!

JUICY COUTURE

J Crew is also having their Holiday Sale with 30% off everything! Use coupon code "HOLIDAY".

J CREW

You can also find some great sales going on at Forever21. They are doing a different sale everyday until Black Friday. Today they are doing 20% off gifts for him/her. It goes from jewelry, clothes, and accessories.

FOREVER 21

Those are just a few of the sales I know I will be shopping for sure! I've already got some great stuff from Juicy Couture and Forever21!

Enjoy!

Bag Craving

I'm already posting ANOTHER bag craving! 

This one I just can't pass up. 

I saw it in the Dillard's mailing they sent out for Christmas and now, it's just GOT to be mine! :)

Meet the BOW-NANZA by Betsey Johnson! 

Pretty sure this is on the one I'm going to purchase. I'm just loving the rose gold look lately, and this one actually has a complete sequined bow and what girl doesn't love all things glitter! 

The best thing about this bag I think is the price tag! It's $98.00! 

You can check them out here:

Betsey Johnson Bow Nanza Bag

It also comes in a range of colors like:

Loving the gold one too! 

Perfect for the holidays! 

Personalize Your Stockings

This year is the first year we are in our house together, so of course I'm going all out for Christmas! I'm going for a pretty rustic look for our Christmas stuff and I wanted to get some burlap stockings...but, the ones I wanted were about $75.00 a piece. 

That's crazy! So, I went to Hobby Lobby because all of their Christmas stuff is 50% off right now. 

Here's how I personalized my stockings!

1. Paintbrush

2. Glitter in color of your choice

3. Letters to paint

4. Paint in color of your choice

5. Krylon Glitter Blast Sealant

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1. Paint your letter with whatever color you choose.

2. Spread the glitter on top of the wet paint.

3. Before the paint dries, spray it with the Krylon Glitter Sealant.

4. Let it dry!

I used some leftover jute string that I had to tie the letters to the loop on the stocking. You can use any kind of string to do this!

Of course my puppy has the cutest stocking! :) 

Maple Pumpkin Pie Bars

This recipe is a perfect one if you're looking for something a little extra to bring to Thanksgiving Dinner!

I found this recipe in a tear out of Southern Living I think? Not sure.
They are SUPER tasty! Can't wait to share it with you!

You will need:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

4 eggs, divided

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 pkg. (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened

1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 pkg. (3.4 ounce) Jell-O Pumpkin Spice Flavor Instant Pudding

Whip Cream

3 tbsp. maple syrup

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

First, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350*F.

Next, line a 13x9-inch pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray.

Mix cake mix, 1 egg, and butter until blended and then press this into the bottom of the prepared pan.

BTW...I was in a SUPER rush and that's why that looks SOOO not pretty! :) 

Next, beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, dry pudding mix and remaining eggs with mixer until blended and pour over the crust.

Now, bake for about 40 minutes. Until the center is set. Cool for 10 minutes.

To make the whipped topping, I just took about a cup and a half of whip cream, add the cinnamon and the maple syrup and mix it really well. I only made enough for how many pieces were being eaten so I could keep it fresh!

YUMMY-ness!!! :)

My Birthday At Painting With A Twist

Well, it's official! I am 26 years of age! 

For some reason, it has me totally freaked out! I feel like such an old lady!

Gotta have a 26 year old selfie! ;)

I had a GREAT birthday. I celebrated with family and my bestie Lauren at a place called Painting With A Twist.

I'm sure most of you have heard of places like that. Seems like every corner in our area has one now! 

For those of you who don't know...and you SO need to know about these places...it's a place that's perfect for girl's nights, birthdays, Mother's Day, or anything like that.

You pay an amount ($35 for us each) and you are supplied with a canvas, paint, brushes, and a 2 hour paint class that will at the end have you feeling like Pablo Picasso!

This was my third time to come. I've gotten totally addicted to these places. To me it's relaxing and super fun. Not to mention the woman who owns the place and teaches, used to be a kindergarten teacher so she's SUPER pleasant and so sweet.

It's also BYOB and food. So, of course you have the opportunity to drink ALL the wine you want! :)

So here are some pics from my birthday night!

(My sister, mom, and I)

(Posing with some of my gifts PERFECT for me)

(My sister and I)

(Lauren and Future Mom In Law Cheryl)

(Lauren, My Mom, Cheryl)

(The gang with our finished paintings)

(My finished painting)

(My Mom and I)

OKAY and now, seriously my favorite part of my birthday.

My mom ALWAYS gets me the best cakes every year. Last year I had a zebra cake with hot pink all over and diamonds everywhere. So me! 

But, this year she got it SO right. 

I am a HUGE fan of skulls, day of the dead stuff, etc. 

So, she went to the cupcake shop that my sister works at and got them to make this AMAZING cake!

It killed me to cut into this cake! It was just SO pretty! But, it tasted GREAT!

BTW, the cupcake shop is called Rise Cupcakes and they just placed second on Cupcake Wars with Jessica Alba! 

You can check them out here: Rise Cupcakes

And to round out my birthday...my AMAZING boyfriend got me what I've been wanting SO long...a new camera! After trying for so long to figure out what I wanted...I decided to go with this Nikon. I can't wait to test it out! It was seriously the BEST gift!

I couldn't make it to the local Nutcracker Market this year, and I was so sad because all I wanted to go for this year was a Paul Michael Co. cutting board. They are AH-mazing!

My mom and sister got to go, and like the sweetheart she is, my sister picked up one of the cutting boards for me for my birthday!

I absolutely love it! It's going to sit out on my counter all the time. Not even sure I ever want to use it! Haha.