Destined to Visit Destin

Two weekends ago Joe and I got to take a little weekend getaway. Joe has been itching to take a vacation and Anthony and Julie went to Destin during the summer and recommended it. It was a 9 hour drive, which wasn't too bad. We left Thursday after work and drove for 4 hours to Covington, Louisiana for the night. It was nice to get to break up the driving time. It took 5 hours on Friday to get to Destin, which meant we were there by lunch time.

We stayed at a resort called Sandestin. The hotel we stayed at was about a 2 minute drive to the ocean. Our room overlooked the bay. It wasn't as pretty as overlooking the ocean, but it was a lot cheaper and we still loved being able to look out and see water.

It wasn't a super fancy place, but we really didn't spend tons of time in the room. The rates were a lot cheaper so it was totally worth it.

We drove out to the marina one morning and it was beautiful!

The resort had this little shopping area with lots of restaurants and fun little shops. We ate at a pizza place one night because they had a tv for Joe to watch the Rangers play in the World Series. It was lots of fun, and the pizza was fabulous!
One of the perks that came with staying at the resort was free bike rentals. We decided to ride around one day and we ended up having a blast! I love being outside when the weather is nice. Just feeling the sun on my face, listening to the birds, and being able to take in my surroundings makes me feel so happy!
One of the most enjoyable things we did was go to the beach. When Joe and I got married and I knew I'd be moving to Pearland and I found out we'd be close to a beach, I was pretty excited. I pictured beaches I had seen in movies--you know with the white sand beaches, and beautiful blue water. Well, the beaches here really aren't like that at all. What a letdown. It's still fun to go to the beach, since I didn't grown up around a beach. The sand here is more coarse and has a brown color......so does the water=) You will notice in the following pictures that this beach was more like what I had originally pictured. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!!!

We forgot to take our beach chairs, and there was a $20.00 charge to rent 1 chair. Joe decided he would just make his own chair=)

I loved just sitting on the beach and listening to the waves crash. It was just so beautiful! The sand was so fine. It felt like we were walking through powdered sugar.

Joe dug a hole and wanted me to bury him. He drew on his dream abs=)
Eglin Airforce Base was close and we got to see this helicopter fly by a few times while we were there. Pretty sweet!

The water was the perfect temperature to play in. We had lot of fun swimming out and jumping up into the waves as they rolled in. That person you see in the water is Joe=)

We stayed until sunset. I took this picture before the sun started to set, and the bird just happened to fly past. It turned out pretty cool!

I don't know why, but I always like to do this when we go to the beach.=)

We look pretty rough after playing in the water, but we had to have a picture at sunset. Isn't it just gorgeous!?

Our last day we went back again. It was a little cooler so we decided to just take a stroll along the beach.

We went to this Fish Market one night for dinner and it was SOO good! Being at the beach always makes me want seafood. We'd rate this right up there with Landry's.
The second day we were there Joe wanted to Golf. He had taken his clubs and had scouted out the different courses. I decided to go along for the ride=) I love driving the golf carts=)

Joe also made me his caddy. I had to pull the flag out when the ball got close.

Since being in Texas, I have fallen in love with Magnolia trees. There's just something so beautiful about them. Florida had tons of them too, and there were some of the most beautiful Magnolia Trees on the golf course. One day I want one of these in my back yard. LOVE them!
Joe played a pretty decent round. At times when he would get frustrated he said he was holding back because I was there. He said normally he would have started to throw his golf clubs!=)

So pretty!

The last night we were there we read some reviews about this restaurant called Fudpuckers. They had dinner and then a gator show. The reviews said it was pretty entertaining, especially if you have kids. Well, I happen to have one big kid.......Joe=) He LOVED it! They had this live gator that's pretty big here and then lots of smaller ones they kept in a different area.
They had different exhibits and when Joe saw the snakes in this one, he said "Oh heck no!" and turned and walked the other way. It only took me a minute to realize they were fake=) Joe HATES snakes more than anything!

They had lots of fun things to take pictures with.

Joe loves watching this show called Swamp People, which is about hunting gators. He's always wanted to do that, and to rassle one. This is as close as I'm going to allow him to get to fulfilling that dream!
After the gator show they allowed people to pay to take pictures with a real live gator. Of course we had to do that! Joe and I joked about making this our Christmas Card this year since we don't have kids. =) I've turned into a hillbillie=)

Attached to the restaurant is this arcade center. We decided we'd have some fun! Joe loves playing the basketball games.

I learned something about Joe while we were there. It's a good thing we don't gamble!=) He found this game kind of similiar to the claw game where you control it and try to pick up a stuffed animal or something. This game though you try to cut the string that's holding different electronics. In this case, he wanted to get the Ipad. He became totally addicted! He'd get SO close to cutting the string, and he just had to try again and again. I think we spent about 5 bucks just on this game alone! He was having so much fun, and I figured if he got it, 5 bucks wasn't bad for an Ipad=)
This picture says it all! Look how he's so focused, and has his hand pressed up to the glass and everything! I was just cracking up watching him! I finally had to cut him off and make him walk away! =)

Cashing in his tickets=)

While we were driving around one of the first days, we happened to see this! Shakes has the most amazing custard(concrete)! It reminds me of a place my dad used to always take us for dessert before we'd go to Hale Theatre growing up! There used to be one in College Station but the owner moved away and shut it down or something. We were so stoked when we saw this! It was just as good as we'd remembered it!

We had so much fun! We couldn't believe somewhere so beautiful was so close to us! We're so glad we went, and we plan to go at least once a year now! The drive home wasn't bad at all either. With scenery like this, I couldn't help but just be in awe of the beauty!
The morning we left to head home it was 56 degrees! We just soaked up the cooler weather! It's been cooler in Houston too and we have just loved it! We're so glad we don't have to deal with snow and freezing temperatures already!
Here's a video Joe took on our stroll at the beach. Just so we could always remember its beauty. We filled up every empty water bottle we had with the gorgeous white sand so we can decorate with it and always keep a piece of this trip with us.

Crafts Cont.

At the end of my post about crafting, I mentioned two other projects I was working on at the time but hadn't finished yet. Here they are!

I got this idea from Serena. She had made something similar, and I loved the idea. I had a black frame with no glass (from having to replace one I broke at Tiff's) and needed something to decorate our bathroom with. I decided to try my hand at making fabric and ribbon flowers, and making my own art piece. It ended up being a lot of fun, and was fairly cheap! Just a little burlap, spray paint, fabric, ribbon, and hot glue! This picture is crooked, but you get the idea.

There wasn't anything above our toilet before so, here's the end result.

I had purchased the picture frame in Utah at Roberts. The little saying is magnetic and can be switched out! Pretty cool! The sconces I found at the dollar store for 2 bucks. They were black so I just spray painted them in an oil rubbed bronze color to match the picture frame. The lighting in our bathroom is bad, so it all looks better in person. It turned out cute though I think.

The next thing I did was an idea from the blog that I love, Decorchick! I got some vases from the dollar store and some candlesticks at Walmart and then filled them with pinecones, leaves, and acorns for fall decoration. I already bought some cute things to put in them for Christmas. They were inexpensive, and will be fun to use all year.

Either Decorchick or Thriftydecorchick copied hurricane candle holders from pottery barn by using things from the dollar store and I loved them too!

I had looked at our Dollar Tree before and they didn't have those vases. While we were in Florida this past weekend I asked Joe to stop and let me run in to see if they had them there! They totally did! Woot Woot! I just put one together real quick to show, but I have several. These will be beautiful centerpieces for Thanksgiving, with some leaves in between the vase and glass candle holder inside. Love that they cost about 6 bucks!

These are the supplies I used. You just glue the vase on to the stand! So easy!

Another Year Older

Well, another birthday has come and gone. It seems the older I get, the more quickly time seems to fly by. I've had to work on my birthday the past couple years. Joe said to me "Welcome to an adult birthday!" Ha ha! Andrey and I went to the park and had fun playing on the playground, playing tag, and picking acorns.

Joe had told me the night before my birthday " Don't expect to be wakin' up to balloons and decorations everywhere." When I woke up, there were no decorations.........but when I got home from work that evening I walked in to this! It totally made my day! I didn't realize how much I love seeing decorations on my birthday until I woke up to none, and came home to tons! Joe even put confetti out! (That's hard for him because its "so messy") ha ha!

Joe had all of my cards out on the coffee table. Talk about feeling loved!

He thought the candle on the centerpiece would be a good place to put my birthday crown=)

Joe took me out to The Olive Garden for dinner. SO YUMMY! Our good friends Jason and Jillian came over for dessert. They are so sweet!

Their baby's name is Lincoln and he's so adorable. He LOVED the balloons. Jason and Jillian say he has a crush on me because I can always get him to smile SO big.

They brought over these yummy cupcakes from a bakery they found. Joe had already gotten dessert, and they knew that, so they said these were for Joe and I to eat later. So yummy!

So, let me just tell you about these amazing cupcakes that Joe got from Coldstone! They were seriously AMAZING!! The "cupcake wrapper" is hard shell chocolate, and it's filled with half cake, half ice cream, and topped with this amazing cool whip type frosting! I have been craving one ever since, but have not given in because they come in a 6 pack and I know I would eat them all=) I HIGHLY recommend them if you ever have someone to share with! They are in the freezer by the cakes.

After Jason and Jillian left, it was time to read cards! This is the cute card Brittany made from her, Joseph, and Korv. Joe always loves seeing what cute cards she makes. It's so cute!

Well, not long after I started reading cards, this is what I looked like and Joe thought it would be funny to steal my phone and take pictures of me crying. ( He also posted one on facebook without me even knowing!!!) Bob and Sharon, and Tiffany had me in tears. Later, I read an email that my dad had sent (because my mom sent the card without giving him a chance to write something) and the water works started all over again! Thank you so much for all the cards and the sweet things that you all said. I really felt so loved and so special!
Joe's card made me cry and laugh. He and my sister had a little sneaky plan to get me to try on some cycle shoes in Utah and Joe surprised me with some for my birthday! I have been wanting a pair forever! LOVE them! They totally make the workout different! We didn't take a picture of me opening the shoes I guess.

The next day we went to lunch with James, Shelby, and Grayson to La Madeline!

They have the best tomato basil soup!

After lunch Joe and I went to the theatre to see Moneyball! It was a good movie, and something fun to do!

As if all of the above wasn't enough.....The following Friday morning (October 14th) I woke up at 4:45 to get up and get ready and then head to Dallas for the weekend. The story behind this is.... Ashley and I always wanted to go to a Chris Brown Concert after he got big (either our senior year, or right after graduation) but his tour never went to Utah. We've wanted to go to one of his concerts ever since! Several weeks ago I heard a commercial on the radio saying he was coming to Houston, but he was going to be here on a Sunday:( I looked up his tour and saw that he was going to be in Dallas on Friday October 14th. I really wanted to go! I jokingly text Ashley and told her he was coming and that I'd come up with this plan that she could come Friday and stay until Tuesday so she could use 4 regular days off and just use one personal day. She could fly in to Dallas, I would pick her up and we could shop and sight see before the concert, go to the concert, spend the night in Dallas, then shop and do whatever Saturday then head back to Houston that night. I added a few of these :) :) on the end of my text. Well, she text back "What are the dates? Ok, let me request them off" HOLLA!!! I was SOO excited! Talk about an awesome friend! I love that she's willing to do stuff like that spur of the moment. Ticket prices had a lot to do with her being able to come too. They were cheap! It was meant to be because everything fell in to place! We ended up having such a fun weekend, and the concert was SO amazing! Everything we'd dreamed of=) ha ha!

After I picked her up we happened to pass SMU and she and her boyfriend have this inside joke so we had to stop and take a picture at this Barnes and Noble that sold SMU stuff. She ended up buying a t-shirt too!=)

Just had to have proof that we were together again!=)

We headed to the North Park Mall because H&M had just opened there! I LOVE this store! They had some really cute things for way cheap!
After the mall we went to the hotel to check in and drop our bags off and then headed to the concert! It happened to be right over near the fair grounds and the Texas State Fair was going on. It took us a while to park, but we got there.

T-Pain was an opener and he was such a fun entertainer.

Then Chris came out and the place went nuts! Talk about entertaining! His dancing and everything was SO good! It was just so much fun to be there. We got really good seats. I took lots of videos (so I could re-live it later=) but I can't get any to load on here=( So, this picture will have to do. We had SO MUCH FUN! We didn't sit down the whole time, and we sang our hearts out. It was totally worth the drive, and it was so much fun to be there with Ash! We can check that off of our bucket lists=)
On Saturday we decided to go to the State Fair. THat opportunity doesn't come around very often. It was not a decision we regretted. We had a blast! There were so many fun booths, lots of cool vendors, and some good ole' fried fair food!

Ash tried one we had never heard of.....Fried Bubblegum. She said it was NASTY! I took her word for it! Her face says it all!
The corn dogs were great though!=) I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten a corn dog!
After the fair we went to the Galleria Mall in Dallas for some more shopping. That's something we really miss doing together. Our boys hate to shop and it's not fun to go with them. We were both in the mood to shop and had so much fun! We didn't go nuts though, don't worry. Just a couple new things. Ash tried on this ugly feathered hair thing! Pretty hot eh?
We drove back to Houston Saturday night, went to church Sunday and then went to the Kemah Boardwalk that evening just to walk around. Joe and I had never been there. It was fun to be near the water, and to walk around.
Monday we headed to Sam Moon! Woot Woot!! Ash stocked up on purses to take back to family and friends. I think she bought 12! She brought an empty suitcase just so she could take them back! So much fun! It's always a highlight to her trips to Houston!
After Sam Moon we headed to Highland Village to look at some cute stores. Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, West Elm, etc. There is a cupcake bakery called Sprinkles. Dave and Serena always rave about it, so we had to try it out! AWeSOME!!! Ash got one with coconut and said it was the best cupcake she's ever eaten. I got a dark chocolate one and it was fabulous!
We finished off the night and her trip, with Lupe's! Also a highlight of her trips to Houston! Everyone we've ever taken there has loved it! Best fajitas ever!
Birthdays just don't get much better than this! I got to celebrate for almost 2 weeks! Ashley has come out around my birthday for the past two years that I've been here and it makes it so much fun! I had such a great birthday! Hard to believe I am now 28!!!

Crafting Fever

Well, I'm sure you can guess from the title of this post what it's going to be about! Let me just start off by saying this is my sister's fault=) The last couple of times I've been in Utah she has wanted me to help her with some decorations for her house. I LOVE doing that sort of stuff. It's crazy the satisfaction I get out of being able to make something for a home. I can't explain it really, I just love being able to look over at something and think "that's so beautiful! And, I actually made it!" So, while I was in Utah last month, Tiff and I worked on finding cute things to go on the shelves of her TV stand. We went to several stores, (we got good at getting Braden in and out of the car) painted shelves and picture frames, used copy paper to trace and cut out outlines of picture frames so we could arrange a collage on the wall, and more. I really enjoyed spending time with her! I love knowing that even though I'm far away, when she sees those things in her home that we've worked on together, she can always think of me.=) This I did late one of the last nights I was home. Tiff was so exhausted! She had worked late several nights and had spent almost every spare minute with me. We had picked out the paper together, and the letters so it just had to be done! It turned out pretty darn cute, and it looks fabulous on her black shelf!

Well, after I got home I continued to have the urge to be crafty. I will be the first to admit that I'm not creative when it comes to making up stuff, but I can sure copy someone's brilliant idea=) On Etsy I had seen this

So cute, right? After shipping it would have cost me $40.00. I decided I could probably make it cheaper, and remember the whole satisfaction feeling I mentioned earlier? I wanted that every time I walked into our apartment and saw it!=)Well, after consulting with my handyman (Joe) we made a trip to home depot, and hobby lobby. We just bought a 1x3 piece of wood, and some unfinished wood knobs. At hobby lobby we bought some wood plaque pieces, paint, ribbon, and vinyl letters. Joe was so sweet to go to our friend's house to use his saw and cut the wood to the right size, then measured and screwed the knobs in for me. He also painted the "welcome" pieces of wood. What a great side kick=) Here's the final product! We made it for about half of what it would have cost to buy it!

Pretty cute eh? I wanted a wreath above it but didn't want to pay $40 bucks or more for one. So, I looked up on youtube how to do it. With hobby lobby's half off sale it ended up being about $10 bucks! I just bought the stick wreath and added the berries! I am going to change out the wreaths with each season. I looked up how to make a wreath out of ornaments to hang for Christmas! I'm pretty excited about it!

The inspiration for my next project was this.

I thought it was a pretty cute way to show some pride for your team. I knew Joe would love it if I showed some Aggie spirit, so I decided to make one for A&M. This involved Joe cutting a 2x4, and another piece of wood I had used for my sister's baby shower, paint, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and scrapbook letters, and vinyl letters again. Here's the finished product! It sits on our tv stand.

My next projects came from an incredible blog I happened to stumble over! One night while I was at Joe's softball games, I was playing around on my phone and some how ended up at this girl's blog. Let's just say I didn't see much of the game after!=) Oops! I've since apologized and done better at just watching the games when I'm there. The blog is decorchick.blogspot.com and she has links on her blog to thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com (which I have also found some cute stuff on) I think I have links on my blog for both. Well, after I saw some things she had made, I had visions of what I wanted to make and where I would put it! The thriftydecorchick said she gets lots of cute stuff at the dollar store. So, I have ventured into more dollar stores the past couple of weeks than I have in years=) I have found a few really cute things!

I got all excited to decorate for fall after looking at those blogs. Here is what I made, and the finished result=)

This cute wreath is made out of a styrofoam wreath form and yarn! Pretty sweet! It did take a while to wrap the yarn around it, but I started it on our road trip to College Station for the A&M game, and finished it while watching tv. I found that I enjoyed being productive while watching=) The tutorial is on decorchick's blog

This tutorial is also on her blog. It was really pretty easy! The leaves and berries were all 40 percent off at hobby lobby! I spray painted the little pot and dowel, and used little foam balls and some floral moss. It was all pretty inexpensive! Joe appreciates that fact=)

Here are our shelves all decorated for fall!

I must say that I still sit there whenever we're watching tv and just stare at it sometimes=) It is so fun to make things! The little harvest thing came from the dollar store, and the pumpkin is actually one from hobby lobby used for wreaths! I just cut the stick off. On sale it was a dollar fifty. Not bad!=)

I made this little arrangement for the coffee table last year. The leaves and stems of pumpkins poked through the bottom last year and minimally scratched the table, so this year I just added a little bit of fabric underneath. I love this!

Next I saw this and just had to have it=) It was pretty dang easy too! The rosettes are made out of lace, the foam wreath wrapped in burlap and tied with ribbon. Several hot glue sticks were used in this project!=)

It's hanging on the mirror of my dresser in our room. Love it!

Well, I'm not quite finished with everything. There are a couple more thing's I've done but just need to add some finishing touches. I will do another post with those. If you've made anything lately, do a post about it! I love seeing what people make!