Birthdays and Comfort Zones

Happy Wednesday to all!

First and foremost, I want to wish the happiest of birthdays to my best friend, partner in crime, number one fan, and husband Charles! He is 27 years young today, and I hope he has a wonderful day! When I asked Charles what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to rent a movie, pick up a Papa Murphy's pizza, and sit on the couch. Easy! I can do that, and I can certainly use a night of sitting on the couch after everything we have had going on as of late. I'm truly excited to give him his gift, he has no idea what I got for him and I'm sure he will be as shocked as I've ever seen him. In all honesty, I could probably write on here what I got for him, since he doesn't read this, but since everyone thinks I can can't keep a secret, {ok, this is true, I really can't keep a secret, I get way too excited and end up giving the surprise away...oops}, I'd better just wait and actually surprise him.

Secondly, I wanted so share a few photos from the Holiday Scarf Exchange I posted about on Monday. The ladies all had a great time getting to know each other on a more personal level outside of the office, and I really think it helped everyone to get rid of some stress and tension we have all been experiencing in the last couple of months with all of the changes our company underwent. What a lovely evening we had =)

 

 

Some punch I made for the occasion! I made a smaller batch of a frozen Merlot beverage, and I made a white wine spritzer with frozen raspberries!

 

"Have yourself a vintage little Christmas" is what comes to mind when I think about the look of our table and burlap runner. Here are some snacks that I prepared for the occasion: Meatballs, pasta salad, veggies and spinach dip, pretzels, some pretzel rods with chocolate, cookies, and a cream cheese block shaped like a Christmas tree with pepper jelly on it. 'tis the season, y'all!

 

I placed the Christmas themed paper plates and napkins over here, along with some cups for the guests. Most cups had an "A" on them {bought at kirklands for $2.99 a pack!}, and the adorable napkins say "You're the Jingle to my Bells!" I also threw out some of our wedding koozies for any guests that might have wanted a beer instead of wine {and YES, I did have non-alcoholic beverages for our guests who didn't want alcohol}

 

Here some of the ladies are in our living room, enjoying a nice fire and waiting for the scarf exchange! LOVE the look of our new home.

 

A few days back, Charles and I were walking through the mall, finishing up a little last minute shopping, when I pointed out a sweater that I liked. Charles responded by saying "that's so plain, there's no color there, it just looks like oatmeal. I don't really like it." I asked him to point out a sweater that he would like to see me in. Interestingly enough, he chose the same sweater I picked out, only in a peach color.  When I asked him why he liked that one more than the cream one, he said because he likes it when girls were a little color, not just creams all of the time. I was wearing a cream colored, plain top that day, and started thinking about what I typically wore: Creams. Taupes. Beiges. Blacks. Whites. Nothing with a lot of color or pattern. I like to think of myself as dressing very classic, but that one statement that he probably doesn't even remember saying about liking girls to wear color has really got me thinking.

I tend to stay away from brightly colored clothing because it draws attention. It makes me feel like people notice me more, and it makes me uncomfortable. I like what I like, and I like it for a reason. But my husband expressed to me that he liked me to wear more of a variety of colors. That's such a simple request that I can easily do to make him happy. Does that mean I'm throwing out every cream colored top I own? No. Not at all. {I love my creams and taupes!}

So here I am, sitting with my cup of coffee, at my desk in my bright colored shirt, outside the realm of my comfort zone. Who knows? Maybe getting outside of my comfort zone will be a good thing. Maybe it will even help me stop feeling so anxious about trying new things. It can't hurt to try and do something to please my husband.

This week, I encourage everyone to "get outside the realm of their comfort zone." Maybe you'll like it! Maybe you won't. But it never hurts to try. Bust out your bright colors every once in awhile and have some fun.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

24 Years Young..

Hello, bloggyworld!

I hope your week has been as great as mine {but I hope your weather is slightly better than ours..}

It's currently Thursday morning, freezing cold outsdie and the sleet/ice/snow is supposed to be making it's way in for a two day vacation in a few hours. The public school system where I live is closed for the day.

Wow.

I'm all for protecting the children and making sure everyone gets home safe, but it hasn't even started anything yet. Kids these days have all the luck. Back in my day {ha, ha, I've always wanted to say that...} it had to be a certified blizzard before they would cancel school. Not even kidding, and by the time they would finally allow us to leave school, it was already so bad on the roads it would take us two hours to drive 15 minutes.

None of that matters now, of course, because in the big girl business world, my inclement weather policy is this:

Get your butt to work. {Yes, I am serious. Our customers across the globe aren't experiencing inclement weather, so they won't understand why we aren't there to serve them}

Let me tell you a little about my 24th birthday! I was a little concerned I might have a boring birthday, as 24 isn't really one of the exciting birthdays...It wasn't my 21st birthday, so I could already drink, and it isn't my 25th birthday yet, so no insurance breaks for me!

                               

Monday night {birthday eve}, my mom, sister, husband, and I went to one of my favorite local places to eat! Mmm it was fabulous, filled with mango margaritas and rum cake!

            So everyone knows by now that Friday {tomorrow} we were supposed to close on our new house. Well my sneaky husband decided to surprise me on my birthday with closing on the house early {and thank goodness he did, because this snow/ice/sleet storm moving in is no joke, y'all..} So behold, we are HOMEOWNERS! Best husband EVER <3

Stopped by the new house, Elf was waiting on the door for me. Is Charles not the most adorable thing ever?

Charles and I really wanted to do a paint class at a local furniture store {3's Company, CHECK THEM OUT! You will NOT be sorry. They have the most amazing furniture, and you all know how much I love shopping local..suppost your local stores!}They offer paint classes where they teach you to chalk paint and distress your old furniture on the first Tuesday of every month, and it just so happened to fall on my birthday. Here we are after painting for two hours ;)

 

Here's the finished product, before and after photos! I think we did a great job, and this matches our bedroom set perfectly.

 

 

I'll be taking lots of photos of the new house {unfinished as well as finished} so that I can share our journey with you. I hope to be taking advantage of this snowed in weekend to decorate and set up the new house {as much as possible, anyway, we still need quite a few things that we just ran out of time for...}

Have a blessed week!

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Thanksgiving break Re-Cap!

Hello, y'all!

 

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving, spent with friends and family {and lots of food, too!} I certainly did. It was a much needed break from work and just typical week to week life in general. By the time last Wednesday at 3pm rolled around, I was in desperate need of a break, I felt like I was at my wit's end. Isn't it funny how breaks happen just when you need them the most?

 

It's back to work for the Alley household today. We have an incredibly rough week ahead of us, and I'll tell you why. First, Charles' grandfather passed away yesterday morning, which makes this week a difficult one. Secondly, it's my birthday tomorrow and we still have SO much to do before we move on Friday. I'm talking we still have furniture to buy, things to pack {and I'm out of boxes! I need some more in a bad way, because I have SO much left to pack...} On top of everything we still have left to do, it's supposed to snow/sleet on Friday, which doesn't exactly make for a pleasant move, haha!

 

All in all, I can't really complain with how this week plays out, because we are so blessed to be in the position to move into a beautiful new house. Yes, it may take a few all nighters and lots of help from loved ones to get all moved in and settled, and it won't happen overnight, but it will still get done, and I couldn't be more excited for when it is all put together and we can start our new chapter!

 

Without further delay, let me tell you about my break...

 

 

On Wednesday night, we had "Friendsgiving" with some great friends who live about an hour away but came into town for Thanksgiving with their families. Chicken and waffles seemed appropriate.. =)

 

Best way to start a Thanksgiving is with Mimosas {with cranberries!} and Black Friday ad's at my parents house. I only wish I hadn't skipped my typical morning cup of coffee, as I woke up at 6am and had a looong day ahead...

 

After a breakfast at my parent's house, we headed to Charles' families house about 30 minutes away and had a Thanksgiving meal with his family. Here I am with Charles' brothers' girlfriends!

 

Loving on the husband..XoXo

 

Round 2! I am more of a ham person than a turkey person...

 

Thanksgiving was also my sweet momma's birthday! Happy birthday to my mom!

 

Charle's decided that through the month of December, he is going to do Elf on the Shelf for me every morning. He is so adorable I can't stand it. Here is day 1!

 

Elf on the Shelf Day 2, as I get into my car it scared the heck out of me!

 

Well, friends, I hope you all have a blessed week and a blessed December. If I don't post much this week, please understand how crazy life is for us right now! Once we get all moved in, I am praying life will get a tad bit easier and less chaotic and I can post on a more regular basis. Hey, a girl can dream, right?! Have a wonderful December, y'all! <3