Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts

Monday, October 7, 2013

Weekend Take Away


Hey, y’all!

It’s Monday…. Again. I promise, I just needed 5 more minutes in bed before Monday happened. Only 5. Possibly 10. An extra hour would have been great.

Fall is officially here, complete with cool enough weather to open the windows and very chilly mornings. So chilly, in fact, that getting out of my warm bed, snuggled up with my husband and the two fur daughters is all the more difficult. I've overheard several people at the office today saying things along the line of "If I could have taken a personal day today, I would have.." Agreed. Amen to that!

How was your weekend? Was it just a tad too short like mine? Well here’s some information to make your Monday go down a little bit easier, a spoon full of sugar for your Monday, if you will:

v  24 days until Halloween

v  52 days until Thanksgiving {and 53 until Black Friday…yes, it’s important}

v  78 days until Christmas

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. I feel like people have better behaviors, the air feels crisp, leaves are falling, Starbucks is booming..not to mention the holiday market comes around, my birthday comes around, I get to spend lots of time with family, and I get to meet my new nephew all this holiday season! Happiness overload.

I spent this weekend doing various things. As promised, I did go straight to Kirkland’s after work on Friday and I bought that monogrammed “A” doormat, as well as another cute doormat, which I put on the back deck, right where you walk into the French doors to go inside the house. Both of these doormats were an additional 20% off {have I mentioned that I like love Kirkland’s}. I also scored these two cute wine goblets for a mere $5 each. Kirkland’s autumn sales right now are insanely awesome, as they are gearing up for Christmas. I then took said wine goblets to my sister’s house for a nice glass of white wine, while we cooked up some delicious food for her husband’s going away dinner.
Another Kirkland's purchase. Excuse the wet spots around it. It rained ALL day Saturday! Not too shabby for a $9 doormat.

I'm dying. Seriously. $5 from Kirkland's. I'm a believer.
 
Saturday was one of those picture perfect, cozy Saturday’s. We opened the windows on Friday night when we went to bed and we woke up to the sound of rain beating against the window and a wonderful breeze was coming through the window. I tiptoed out of bed just to snatch up my iPad and a steaming cup of coffee, and I was right back in the warm bed, enjoying a little pinterest and the weather I’ve been dying for. Happy gal right here! After we begrudgingly got out of bed to start the day, we went to my parent’s house and got to watch the wedding video! I swear, y’all, I could have watched all day. I can’t wait until the copies are made so I can get a closer look ;)

Since my parent’s house is right down the road from Wal-Mart, we decided to go ahead and get our grocery shopping done for the week. {I know better than to bring Charles grocery shopping with me , we always end up with $50 more of food than we needed, not my brightest idea}.

After cleaning the house, we felt that we deserved a nice mojito and some company, so some family and some friends came over to watch our beloved Razorbacks, bless their hearts. It was pouring all day, but that didn’t stop us from grilling out some chicken and sitting on the deck that evening! To polish off the rainy day, we decided to make an apple crisp, topped with vanilla ice cream! So good for my soul!
 

Sunday was spent writing thank you cards! I’m almost not even close to being finished, but at least I made a dent! It was also “switch your summer and winter closets” day, and it was a complete disaster for a while. I have too.many.clothes. I know, a girl can never have too much clothing, but I either need a bigger closet or I need to drastically reduce my clothing {I vote both!} This pretty much consumed most of my afternoon…oh yeah, and we got a new bedspread because our demon angel dogs decided that while we were on our honeymoon, they needed to panic and try to get ALL of the stuffing out of our comforter. You know, no big deal. This comforter is not my dream comforter by any means, but we needed a new one quick, and it was the prettiest one we found at wal-mart while we were there. Meanwhile, I’ll browse online to find a better suited bed set for our room!
Not even all of it! Underneath it all is the new bedspread, not too thrilled, but it's cozy and it does it's job, for now!
 

If you’re a Shutterfly fan like myself, you need to go to their website ASAP {like, yesterday} and get your free gift! You can choose from 101 free 4x6 prints or a free 16x20 print. Christmas is coming, and photo gifts are always a good option. Print out some pictures of your favorite friends or family, and while you’re on the site, go ahead and order some holiday cards or maybe a coffee mug for one of your friends gifts. I have a feeling I’ll be ordering some photo coffee mugs and filling them with cocoa mix and marshmallows for some friends this year, what a great gift! Check out shutterfly now! It’s where I got my guestbook for the wedding, and it was a HUGE hit. So many guests asked me where I got the guestbook, and here is the answer!

Something that is going to be a theme on my mind this week is going to be Christmas Lists! Not only do I need to create my “wish” list for my family, but I need to make a list {and a budget} for all of my family members and friends this year. Any suggestions for how you guys budget for Christmas shopping? What kind of gifts do you enjoy giving to friends? Any holiday shopping traditions or amazing sales on your mind? Please. Share! Sharing is caring and it can be very, very rewarding for all parties!

How about holiday cards? Charles and I are starting a tradition this year of sending out a holiday card to friends and family with a written letter about what we have been up to that year. Where do you get your holiday cards printed? We are thinking of using our professional pictures and using an online website to order our holiday cards. What good websites are out there?

Some pictures of my cutie pie nephew to start your week off with a smile!

 

 Time to get back to work, always keeping busy, busy, busy! I hope your weeks fly by! Until next time!
Michele Alley

 

Friday, October 4, 2013

5 for Friday!


Happy FRIDAY, y’all!

I’ve seen this been done on an increasing amount of blogs lately, so I thought I might try it. It’s called 5 for Friday. Basically, you just talk about 5 things that are on your mind as Friday rolls around. How fun!? I feel as if I could be a regular 5 for Friday blogger, so let’s start with my first 5 for Friday post!

{One}

Coffee is something that is sometimes always on my mind, but especially today. For starters, I’ve been SO sick all week, and haven’t been sleeping at all, which means coffee has been a Life. Saver. No joke, I wouldn’t have made it through my first week back at work post wedding and honeymoon  at all, especially being sick, without coffee. My pal coffee has also helped me out this week by soothing my throat with its warm coffee goodness. Coffee will continue to help me this weekend as I sit under a blanket Saturday morning {HOORAY for cooler temps} and write a billion thank you notes! Here’s a few new fall coffee flavors you all might want to give a try…


 

{Two}

Starting Saturday, it’s officially Sweater Weather! Insert happy dance here. I have so many new and old sweaters that I can’t wait to dig out and fill my closet with. I’m fairly certain Sunday will be dedicated to laundry / switching my closets! {I have a closet for winter clothes and a closet for summer clothes. I switch the closets according to seasons to the closet in the bedroom} It makes my little heart happy when I switch my closets; it feels like I get a whole new wardrobe, which in a sense, I do. Here are some sweaters I am lusting over this fall / winter!
Oversized sweaters. I need no explanation why I am loving this for fall!



Tribal print sweaters! There are so many ways you can dress up and down a tribal print, fun sweater!
 
 
Studded sweaters are probably my favorite sweaters this fall. Rock and Republic for Kohl's has an amazing studded sweater I grabbed last season, and I'm looking forward to transition it into this fall!
 

{Three}

Kirkland’s holds a new, special place in my heart. I was looking for the perfect new monogrammed doormat {I know, I know, Bed Bath and Beyond has them, but they aren’t very cute in my opinion…a little too simple} and lo and behold, I found the most wonderful of all doormats. I give you the Kirkland’s monogrammed doormat! That’s not even the best part. The best part is its price tag. You might want to take a seat. This puppy is only $11.99 at Kirkland’s. I just can’t. TOO amazing! Not only odes Kirkland’s have these amazing and inexpensive rugs, but they have THE best {and most budget friendly} home décor and the yummiest smelling candles ever. Plus, they are always running some kind of sale or special. Blows my mind, I’ll be there most likely right after work.
The detailing on this doormat really sets it apart from others that I have seen. Thank you Kirkland's for such amazing and affordable products!
 

{Four}

A friend recommended that I start reading Erin Hilderbrand books if I wanted a good juicy beach read {I was about to head to the beach for my honeymoon, so of COURSE I wanted a nice juicy beach read!} I bought a few of her books, one of them being Barefoot, and fell in love!  I can’t wait to read ALL of her books. They are available on the Kindle also, for all of you tech savvy gals!
 

{Five}

It’s the weekend, and I’m Happy Happy Happy!  I started the weekend off right with a frozen Cinnamocha from Sacred Grounds, a local coffee shop. It is literally heaven in a cute little clear to go cup, and is making this Friday afternoon fly by!
 

My plans for this evening will start out with a going away party for my brother in law {he is joining the air force and will be shipping out for basic training later this month} at my sister’s house. I am SO looking forward to a night with family, food, and hopefully a huge glass of wine.

Tomorrow is a day of thank you cards and football! Charles’ brother and his girlfriend are coming over to watch our beloved Razorbacks play Florida, and I am going to try out a new mojito recipe {I’m on quite the mojito kick since Mexico…have a good recipe? Comment below}

I’m sure at some point this weekend we will watch Iron Man 3 {Charles is dying to see it, and I like to keep him happy} which means puppy snugs and cuddles with my husband. You can’t really beat that.

 
What’s on your mind this beautiful Friday? Big plans? I’d love to hear. Be a blessing today, and have a fabulous weekend!

Michele Alley