cheers to 5 years!

How we've made it five years without killing each other is beyond me! See, Bradley and I have that relationship where we can banter back and forth, giving each other a hard time, but we know deep down that we are obsessed with each other. I swear this is the only man who can put up with me. Honestly, we have a good understanding for each other and really know each other's faults. Like I know when he's had a long, hard day at work, I shouldn't nag him even more about the trash not being taken out. I know that will only lead to a bigger argument when it wasn't that important to begin with. And he knows to not make a big deal when our house is a complete wreck. He knows that I know it and don't want it to be, so complaining about it would do nothing but upset me. Ok, sorry for the tangent. This post is supposed to be happy, so let's move on!

We had plans to make a nice dinner at home that night and decorate our tree, but the universe had other plans. Bradley had asked me to pull the steaks out of the freezer early in the day so they could thaw. I did it (shocker that I actually remembered, I know) and put them in the sink. After a few hours they had thawed and I noticed that they had a strange smell. Like possibly they had gone bad. But what do I know? So I left them there for Bradley to inspect when he got home. And no surprise, he agreed that they had spoiled. So now do we go buy some new steaks or go out to eat? We decided to splurge since it was our anniversary and we went out to our favorite Japanese steakhouse. Ohhh and it was so worth it! Here is Bradley stealing picking me a rose from the parking lot of the restaurant! I swear this boy doesn't understand consequences. But I love his spontaneity.

We then made it home and started to decorate our tree! This is my absolute most favorite part of the holidays. Bradley thought it would be sweet to make it a tradition to decorate our tree every year on our anniversary. I love the idea for sentimental reasons, but I don't know if I want to wait until Decmeber 5th each year! The only reason it didn't feel late this year was because thanksgiving was a week later, but next year it might be back to the 3rd week in November. I guess we'll gap that bridge when we get to it.

Bradley always gives me a hard time for how many lights and decorations I like on my tree. I want it to look overdecorated. And I don't know that I've ever been completely satisfied with the number of ornaments! More is more in this case. But obviously that can rack up a rather large charge, so I just keep growing our collection each year!

Thank you babe for five wonderful years! You have truly made me the happiest girl.

christmas lights don't like me

Ahh! It's that time of year again! I was so excited this year to get our christmas tree. It's our first Christmas in our new home, so I wanted to make it extra festive. Bradley works for a landscaping company/ nursery so we got a free tree! I couldn't wait to pick him out. He has to be a little chubby and have some awkward branches that Bradley would want to cut off.

Going through these aisles of trees was a little weird though. I got this unsettling feeling that the trees would all fall like dominoes and I would be burried alive. Haha, so much for it's the most wonderful time of the year!

These lights were my Nana's. I found them after she passed away. The woman kept everything. These are really old and they get super hot. Like so hot, I wouldn't dare put them on a tree. Unless I didn't care if our sweet little home burned to the ground. But I do. So they have a new home, adorning our arch!  

This sweet, little picture is from the third time that I strung the lights. The first time, I included some purple lights that I figured out I didn't like so much. But I didn't know this until they were on the tree. Guess I should have re-read this post! Would've saved me some time and frustration. The second time, I think I connected too many strands together because about 5 minutes after it was perfect, all the lights went out! Talk about a sinking feeling in your stomach! I had no idea what happened and the last thing I wanted to go was take them all off the tree, but that's what google told me to do, so I did. Sure enough, I blew a strand, so they all went out. I was just happy that I didn't have to go buy 15 more boxes of lights. The third time, I strung on all the white lights and plugged it into a power strip. Then I strung all the colored lights, not connecting them to the white lights and plugged them into a different outlet on the power strip. And then I strung all the white globe lights and plugged them into their own spot on the power strip. So far, so good, but I swear if something goes wrong and I have to take down all these ornaments and restring the lights, so help me God.

pine cone garland tutorial

Hi everyone! To cheer up your Monday, I've got a tutorial on how I made my pine cone garland! This is such an easy little holiday project to set your mantle off right. And it's so fast! You can definitely finish it in an afternoon. 

 A few years ago, I collected pine cones from the yard and spray painted them silver. I used them as a centerpiece for our thanksgiving table. This year I had new plans for these sweet little guys. If you haven't spray painted pine cones, it's very easy. I just laid out some cardboard outside and got to spraying! Simply rotate and keep spraying until it's all covered. Allow to dry completely before next step.

Now you need to screw in the screw eyes so you can hang them. These are from Home Depot. Pick a finish that matches what color you are spraypainting so you don't have to paint these, too. This part isn't too hard, but your fingers might hurt by the end. You can always use pliers, or just give them to your big muscle boyfriend/husband and I'm sure he'll take care of it. In the beginning it may seem like they are not screwing in, but you just have to apply a lot of pressure and twist at the same time.

Now you're ready to string them into a garland. You can use anything from ribbon to yarn to fishing line. I went with yarn. I laid the pine cones out on the floor to roughly get an idea of the spacing. You can get really picky about the spacing or just eyeball it. I eyeballed a few inches in between each one. Start with the center pine cone. String it on and tie a knot in the center. Now, work away from the center on each side. And you're done! Hang your garland and enjoy the immediate holiday cheer effect :)

happy fall

I am thanking my lucky stars that it is fall, and that it is feeling like it! I've been going a little overboard, but I can't help it. It's our first fall in our new house and I am totally taking advantage of all the decorating opportunities! Bradley has cut me off from buying anymore pumpkins. Last christmas it was ornaments, and this fall it's pumpkins. Seriously, if this is the worst problem that we have, I think we'll be just fine.

Bradley works for a local nursery and landscape company, so of course we paid them a visit. They have an awesome selection of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes. I was very impressed to see so many funky ones with bumpy texture and fun colors! Bradley was going crazy because it took me forever to pick my pumpkins, but you see it's not my fault. The store had two long tables set up with all their goodies, but they were separated by a display of flowers. So I had to constantly move between the two tables creating the group I wanted. I would get to one table and not remember what the other table had! Eventually, we I was able to pick my group and we headed home to set up the porch. I am so in love with the cinderella pumpkins that you can stack! And I think that blueish one on top is a gourd. Either way, it's awesome.

And moving on to the mantle, I love these teeny baby pumpkins. And even better, they were only fifty cents! So of course, I bought like twenty! Putting them everywhere. I am dying to get my hands on these mercury glass candle sticks for the mantle. Maybe one day this week I'll be able to swing by and pick them up. Also, let me just say, now that we have a house, it is so freaking wonderful to have an artist for a mom. I mean it's been wonderful my whole life, but now, I can steal goodies for my house!

Lori Keith Robinson

you are the bacon to my eggs 

This is just the first of my decorations for fall, despite what Bradley thinks! More pumpkins. 

More gourds. And maybe a few garlands! Happy Fall, lovies!