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

Thankful Thoughts..

Hello, all!

I hope you are having such a great week. It’s the day before Thanksgiving! I wish I was at home, snuggled with a blanket and a cup of coffee, getting ready to cook all of my sides for both Thanksgivings with my husband’s family and my family, however now that I’m out of college and a working woman, the tables have turned and I’m at work. Bah humbug, I really love the day before Thanksgiving! I am, however, incredibly fortunate to have a job that allows me to have off Thanksgiving and Black Friday, so I am counting my blessings today. Plus, everyone is in good spirits here, so you can’t complain about having to work.

I have a BILLION and one errands to run it feels like today. I’m going to sneak out on my lunch break and get my mom’s birthday gift {her birthday is the 28^th, so this year it falls on Thanksgiving!}. After work, I need to run to the grocery store and get the items necessary to all of the Thanksgiving items I have been tasked to make. Then, this evening we are having “Friendsgiving” with some of our friends who are in town for the holidays. We are so excited! This year we are going to have it at a local restaurant called AJ’s Oyster House, since it was a last minute plan, and Charles and I have virtually no kitchen or furniture due to the move, so we couldn’t host a homemade meal.

Tomorrow should be another busy yet fun day! Every year we start off with heading to my parent’s house in the morning for sausage balls, coffee {and mimosas…} and to watch the Macy’s Day Parade, and I always look at all the ads for Black Friday and plan my attack. From there, we head to Greenwood to have appetizers and then a meal with Charles family {and watch the dog show..those dogs are TOO cute}. This year, I am making chipotle ranch dip, green bean stacks, and jalapeno cranberry sauce. After spending time with Charles’ family, we head back to my parents for Thanksgiving meal there. This year, I am making green bean casserole and a pumpkin dessert! Nothing too fancy with my cooking this year, as I barely have a kitchen to cook in. It makes me sad, but it will be worth it! Afterwards we are so tired that we go home and CRASH and I rest up for black Friday!

I wanted to share with you all some things for which I am thankful this year…

First and foremost, I am thankful for my husband. I cannot thank the Lord enough every day for the wonderful man he has blessed me with. He knew exactly what he was doing by putting this one in my life, and I am thankful for him daily, not just around Thanksgiving.

Secondly, I am thankful for my family. My family has drastically grown in the past year. I am so thankful for the love and the support that I constantly am blessed with from both of our families. We would not be the man and the woman we are today without our wonderful families.

I am thankful for my job. In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to even get a job, I am blessed to have a job {me and my husband both} that has benefits, is challenging and rewarding, and one that I love.

I am thankful for our new home. We are so blessed to be able to have the ability to purchase a new home and have the family and friends to help us with the transition. We are so fortunate.

I am thankful for puppies, and lots of them. Because really, what is better than puppy cuddles on a bad day?

Here is a picture of some of Charles’ family and us on Thanksgiving last year! Boy how time flies!

 

I hope you all have a SAFE and blessed holiday. Be blessed, and be thankful!

XoXo..<3

Life via iPhone, again...

Hey, y'all!

I did better this time, only 6 days since my last post...I'll take it.

I'm currently sitting on my bed, cozied up under a nice blanket, puppies in tow, big slippers keeping me warm, and watching Christmas movies while it's sleeting outside. It's a little early in the season where we live for it to be sleeting, typically it doesn't start this weather until Christmas or a little after..sometimes even as late as February. But hey, I've seen crazier. Last year we had the most beautiful white Christmas you could imagine, and I'm hopeful for a repeat!

Let's do another phone explosion, shall we? Albeit, my life has not been exciting in the past week at ALL (honestly y'all, it's been nothing but boxes, packing, sleeping, working, repeat. But let's take a look...

Even though we have been extremely busy with moving, we still make time to spend time with our family and most importantly to spend time together. It's very important ladies to show your men how much you care for them! Even though they don't express their feelings as much as we do, they still enjoy feeling wanted just as much as women. 

We had a few friends over to the house to have a final farewell to the house. We had a blast with the people who helped us create all of our memories in our old house!

Holiday finds =) How adorable is this towel?

Mimosas, anyone? It makes packing go by SO much quicker!

We have been wanting to try these for a long time, and never seemed to pick them up at the store. While I wouldn't recommend these every day {pretty rich..}, they were an excellent stressful week treat!

Furniture shopping with my husband..I guess this is where all the guys hang out while the women shop?! At least it got him out of my hair! 

Oh look...more boxes! 

What's a chilly, sleeting afternoon without my favorite candle of all time and a nice Chai drink?

The first pieces of furniture we purchased for our new home. The chairs are the brand Threshold and they are by Target! They were a great deal. My husband actually picked them out, maybe I underestimated him... ;)

There was plenty nephew loving when he was in town. We don't get to see him again until Christmas which is a total bummer, but we are so thrilled we got to love all over him! 

Well you guys, next week is Thanksgiving, which means a 3 day work week! Can I get an amen for that? I'm thrilled. Although I am extremely excited that it's a short week, it's also going to be CRAZY hectic {aren't the holidays always? Add moving on top of that..not our wisest decision but we are having a blast with it..}

I hope you all enjoy your holiday with food, friends, and family! I'm off to cuddle up with the puppies, drink the glass of wine my husband just poured me, and watch some more Christmas movies..'tis the season, right?

Happy Thanksgiving, lovies! XoXo..